Procastination Science Reading (July 8/2006)

This time around, we have a poem, something about lego, a great piece by the ever interesting Kurt Vonnegut, and a conversation with an academic that sort of defies categorization . Not ranked in that order, in any particular order really. Just good for a few minutes of your life of science.

The poem we'll start with is by Tao Lin, and is the sort of poetry I can easily enjoy - a great piece with a subtle sustainability theme. Plus it's also good for a chuckle. Originally presented at the always marvelous monkeybicycle, Tao recently allowed me to reprint it at terry.ubc.ca. Click here to read I Went Fishing With My Family When I Was Five.

Hoover Dam Fast-Fact Pamphlet If Hoover Dam Were a Scale Model Made of Legos by Orr Goehring. Clearly, this is one of those things where the title says it all. Great addition Ben.

You know Mr. Vonnegut. He's this guy: Kurt Vonnegut is a legendary author, WWII veteran, humanist, artist, smoker and In These Times senior editor. His classic works include Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, Cat's Cradle, among many others.. I'd imagine that unless you were Mr Vonnegut, publishing this type of essay would be pretty difficult - a shame really. Anyway, click here to read Cold Turkey. Apparently, his latest book A Man Without A Country works around this essay - must remind myself to pick it up.

And lastly, Ben drew me into this interview with Lawrence Weschler at themorningnews.com, where "he pretty much puts it spot on, talking about how you can't do what he does and be an academic" and then asking whether "are we, perhaps, trying to be academic weschlerians?"

Wouldn't that be nice?

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