The Observant Dilettante

Who can spy on the spies? Who can smell out the fox without running with him? Lacon to Smiley, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Yesterday afternoon, I listed everything that's left to do for the party, up to the point on my Big Day list where we get 16 bags of ice...

We hosted the Mardi Gras party on February 22, 3 weeks before our St. Urho's Day party. The Mardi Gras party was a huge success; we brok...

We're hosting a Mardi Gras party on February 22 this year, so it's time to get started on the planning. Here's what I've got...

Panoramic image from the surface of Mars at night time. Scroll up to see the Milky Way as you've never seen it before: http://www.360c...

MAGFest, day two. NB: For the MAGFest program, go to magfest.org and look for the Guidebook link. Download the app, then download the MAGFe...

"MAGFEST?" Yes, MAGFEST. Also known as Music and Gaming Festival 2013, also known as the BIGGEST BADASS GEEK PARTY EVAR. We'...

Do we even celebrate holidays any more in America? We do stuff, yes:  We spend money.  We drink.  We complain to friends.  We travel, or we ...

 # Skyfall   # spoilers   At the core of the conflict within Skyfall is age versus youth, treachery versus skill. Silva's near-Oedipal ...

# Skyfall   # spoilers   A quick list of a few dichotomies in Skyfall ... Trust, suspicion Revelation, concealment Presence, absence Clarity...

#skyfall #spoilers   #007 So I've watched Skyfall twice now, trying to get a handle on how best to write about it.  It is rich,...

Politics and nursery rhymes. What to make of them? What to make of the Guy Fawkes rhyme on this #Election2012  day? This week...just t...

You are here, shaking things up in the countries of your social media world. Just when you think you are done, there are new media topics th...

 # google   # panda   # writing   # writers   # curation   Google's much-described Panda algorithm change last year and a recently conf...

Two prefaces: One, I am not here to discuss the political aspects of the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Two, I'm quoting song lyrics in Germa...

Halloween costumes used to be generic: Hoboes, princesses, witches, clowns. But popular culture now has us remixing so that our costumes...

Today is the first anniversary of #OccupyDC, a movement that brought less attention to itself than #OWS did by a long stretch, but which p...

I assure you, I am still sane. The backstory to the question: Years ago, I had a friend, Rayna, who once remarked that a mutual friend...

A few years ago, I blogged on parody and scientific inquiry . Short version: I argue that the cultural conditions that lead to scientific th...

Thought-provoking article by James Flynn --yes, that one--in the  + The Wall Street Journal "Modern people do so well on these tests ...

You've got seven days, counting today, to see the Master Nerd exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. After that, you'll h...

Interesting news this week on the activity in the "dark matter" of human DNA .  Unlike the boxes of items you've got packed aw...

Is there a better way to think about social divides? Blame my humanities background, but I was struck today by two articles, one by Feli...