The Dude abides.

Stranger Than Fiction

Down with an annoying flu, we took time off to watch “Stranger Than Fiction“. Lovely movie, excellent acting (in particular, Maggie Gyllenhaal is delicious) with an excellent ending:
“Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when [...]

Culture Matters

The mid-week sojourn to Thailand gave me an opportunity to finish “Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress“, a collection of essays by reknowned scholars (Francis Fukuyama, Nathan Glazer, David Landes etc) on the impact of culture on human societies. It was slow reading at the start, until I came across a fantastic paper by [...]

On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

Note: I love this essay, posted here for posterity.
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience
by Henry David Thoreau
[1849, original title: Resistance to Civil Goverment]

I heartily accept the motto, “That government is best which governs least”; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, [...]

I Don’t Believe in Creationism

Comic by zoitz.