purplemass.com

CNet and the Wall Street Journal are up with scoops on a long-awaited device from Amazon, a thing that could either be quite grand but that odds say will prove a bust: an e-book reader. It’ll come out Monday, they say, in a flashy media event in New York.

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The disinhibiting and pain-numbing effects of drugs make them perfect for turning people into killing machines. In fact, criminals on PCP have been reported to withstand multiple shocks with Taser guns, pepper spray, and Mace, and even direct gunshot wounds to the chest, without slowing down. It’s no wonder that so many generals have relied on drugs to bring out the so-called best in unwitting soldiers.

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Courtesy of Pizdaus

For some reason the above link was lost from Pizadaus so I found these two on Flickr (courtesy of Pierre J.)

http://sawse.com

Sent in by Johnny.

🙂

Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you’d have good people doing good things and evil people doing bad things, but for good people to do bad things, it takes religion.

Steven Weinberg

Thanks to Amir for sending this one.

behindthename.com

Names. Everyone has one, most people have a vague idea what their own means, but few give them much more thought. The study of names is called onomastics, a field which touches on linguistics, history, anthropology, pyschology, sociology, philology and much more.

When people refer to the “meaning of a name”, they are most likely referring to the etymology, which is the original literal meaning. This website looks at the etymology and history or all types of given names.

Went to see this French animated movie the other day – it’s about an Iranian girl’s life in Iran/Europe.

Totally awesome!