NYT: Defenders of the Faith

Slavoj Zizek does a nice twist on Dostoyevsky's classic dictum that without God, everything is permitted. His take, backed by the murderous activities of the Islamists and other religious terrorists, is that with God, everything is permitted.

Read the article. (Free registration required)

Must See: Dr. Wafa Sultan

The internet is full of weird and funny videos--even some that are quite disturbing. But many of them are just silly wastes of time. This video -- of Dr. Wafa Sultan -- is the kind of video that makes you remember how awesome a tool the internet is. Dr. Sultan, demonstrating courage, integrity, and intelligence, forcefully and clearly makes the case against Islamist terror--on Al Jazeera no less.

Watch the video

(Hat tip to Robert Bidinotto)

Meme of Four

Over at the Liberty & Power blog, they are playing a game of Meme tag. Roderick Long gave a generic tag to anyone who, as he paraphrases from Alexander the Great, is strong enough to seize it. So, I thought I'd seize the meme and play as well.

Four jobs I’ve had
1. Summer Camp Chef
2. Cookie Store Manager
3. Bagel Maker
4. College Adviser

Four movies I can watch over and over
1. Casablanca
2. The Godfather
3. Blazing Saddles
4. History of the World

Four places I’ve lived
1. Poughkeepsie, New York
2. Framingham, Massachusetts
3. Tel Aviv, Israel
4. Tempe, Arizona

Four TV shows I love
1. Cheers
2. Seinfeld
3. Las Vegas
4. Coupling (Original BBC)

Four highly regarded and recommended TV shows I haven’t seen (much of)
1. Sopranos
2. The O.C.
3. Lost
4. House

Four places I’ve vacationed
1. Amsterdam, Holland
2. Florence, Italy
3. St Thomas, VI
4. Sedona, AZ

Four of my favorite dishes
1. Turkey Sandwich
2. Caterpillar Roll (Sushi)
3. Grilled Swordfish
4. The Kristen Special

Four sites I visit daily
1. Boston.com Sports
2. Weather.com
3. Amazon.com
4. Arts & Letters Daily

Four places I’d rather be right now
1. Same place, but in a parallel universe where the job pays 20K more than it does here (Copied from Aeon Skoble)
2. Florence Italy, sipping on espresso and eating Gelato
3. Starbucks
4. San Francisco

Four new bloggers (and since I don't know too many other bloggers: friends) I’m tagging
1. Joe Duarte, A Galaxy Far, Far Away
2. Kristen Klein
3. Patrick Stephens
4. Keith Costa

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spidey!

Your results:You are Spider-Man

You are intelligent, witty,
a bit geeky and have great
power and responsibility.

Spider-Man	95%
Green Lantern	65%
The Flash	65%
Superman	60%
Hulk	60%
Robin	50%
Iron Man	50%
Supergirl	45%
Wonder Woman	35%
Catwoman	30%
Batman	20%

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test