Christopher Hitchens: Religion Poisons Everything

Here’s a very good video of the late Christopher Hitchens’ talk and subsequent on-stage interview at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas in Sydney, 2009. It’s called Religions Poisons Everything and deals with the same topic as Hitchens’ book God Is Not Great that had been published a year or so earlier. It is a long video, but worthwhile viewing.

There’s a lovely “encore” right at the end (101:02) when Christopher sings the Pythons’ Bruces’ Philosophers Song.

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The Jiro Dreams of Sushi of Bread & Butter: Razza Pizza Artiginale

Delightful little film about a bread and butter nut.

via The Jiro Dreams of Sushi of Bread & Butter: Razza Pizza Artiginale on Vimeo.

Jimmy Anderson and the eleven legends

Until you know what it is like to walk out on the field as a No. 11, with the opposition sniggering, and your team preparing to take the field behind you, it’s impossible to know what batting at No. 11 is really like. It takes a special person to bat last.

via Jimmy Anderson and the eleven legends | cricket with balls.

Great piece by Jarrod Kimber.

Laugh At Creationists

I’ve spent a large part of today watching videos on YouTube, and not cat ones. I happened across a set of videos created by a guy known as Thunderf00t called Why Do People Laugh At Creationists?. There are 42 videos (the link goes to the master playlist), mostly about 5 to 10 minutes long, uploaded from September 2007 to the present. By and large, each video deals with the daft assertions of creationists. Thunderf00t explains the science that invalidates the creationists’ claims: Science, bitches. It works!

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Wimbledon: Tech behind world’s most prestigious tennis tournament

Wimbledon: Tech behind world’s most prestigious tennis tournament.

Terrific photo gallery by Andrew Hoyle for CNET.

The 10,000 Hours Myth

It’s easy to see why the message that anyone can do anything if they try hard enough might be popular.

Unfortunately it’s not true.

via The 10,000 Hours Myth: Practice Predicts Only 12% of Performance — PsyBlog.

No more guilt about not putting in the 10,000 hours.

 

Opening A Bottle Of Red Wine

Oh, and then this: Opening a Bottle of Red Wine. Doesn’t sound like much, but it’s five minutes of a master sommelier called Ronan Sayburn opening and decanting a bottle of fine wine, perfectly. It’s such a joy to watch him and experience the pleasure of seeing something done really well…

via Sediment: YouTube Wine.

He’s right.

 

Why Apple really cares about your privacy

Apple has always tried to build an emotional connection between its devices and customers. With its increasing focus on privacy, it’s clear that Apple not only sees privacy as important to maintaining this bond, but as a means of differentiating itself from the competition. For a variety business and technical reasons, it’s an advantage that will be hard for Apple’s competition to duplicate.

via Why Apple really cares about your privacy | Macworld.

Interesting read.

Climb Dance

There was a mention of this video during TV coverage of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I tracked it down on YouTube. It shows Ari Vatanen in a Peugeot rally car attacking the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Beautiful cinematography and incredible driving!

Bloody Mary

I’ve always been partial to a good Bloody Mary. It works not only as tasty preprandial, but also an early morning breakfast before the tummy has properly woken up. I’ve drunk more than a few in airline lounges, or in the Eurostar lounge waiting for the 06:10 to Brussels. So when I happened on this SeriousEats article, The Bloody Mary: The History and Science of an Oddball Classic, I didn’t hesitate to click on the link.

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