We all have our morning rituals. Mine is waking up well before sunrise and padding into my home office to fire up the computer. While it struggles from slumber, I make coffee and argue with the cat. He believes he should be fed "Nowwwww" while I insist he wait until my wife and I are ready to leave the house, otherwise he will sneak into places where he is not allowed during the day, and fall asleep.
Back at the computer, I begin my reading with Arts & Letters Daily, a web portal sponsored by The Chronicles of Higher Education.
It's where I go to kick-start my mind.
A&L Daily is a simple, straight-forward web page, evoking the look of an 18th century broadsheet. There are three columns of links: Articles of Note, Book Reviews, and Essays/Opinions.
And it is amazing what they pack into so lean a design.
The two editors, Dennis Dutton and Tran Huu Dung hail from opposite ends of the political/cultural spectrum, so the links, always written with witty teasers, cover a wide range of thought.
I lifted these examples of ALDaily teasers from Wikipedia:
- "Before Ritalin, little Tom Bradley set out for his Mormon school each morning, head brimming with amino acids, keen to challenge his teacher's creationism..."
= "'A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.'" Joseph Stalin was callous, but maybe somehow right..."
- "Anti-poverty advocates point to drug abuse and depression as prime "barriers to work" for welfare moms. And drunken, abusive men?"
- "Science does not follow a clear road to truth; better is the idea of a meandering river in flood and drought..."
- "Oprah Winfrey? Compared to the whining, spoiled, conceited snots of the high-art literary world, she's an exquisite, classy lady..."
- "You've taken LSD and are headed for a bad trip. Whose music do you seek as a quick antidote? Mozart or Haydn?..."
ALDaily's features often leave me heavy with food for thought, so for a little light intellectual dessert, I navigate down the resource list to a topic titled Nota Bene.
Here the links are often humorous and frequently bizarre.
This is today's list:
Brainy men healthier
Tipping is down
Odetta R.I.P.
Mocking Thomas Kinkade?
Roget's words
Emanuel Ax
Rolf Potts profile
The Bad Sex Award
In praise of the turkey
French maids
Awkward group photo
Lévi-Strauss at 100
Today's Features:
The Saga Of The Plane Trip That Took Four Days by Duckie 1
A touching testament to the essence of humor - being pain.
Smoking Required - A Sordid Tale of Stupidity and Intrigue by Greg Schiller
Life after the smoking ban.
Gentlemen, set fire to your boats (Sausalito Lighted Boat Parade humor) by John Philipp
A humorous take on a wonderful tradition.
The Blessing of the Christmas Tree by Kimberly Ripley
A Christmas story.
Today's Links (Check back throughout the day for updated links):
My Gift to Myself May Have Backfired! By Kimberly Ripley
A very embarrassing Christmas Card.
Med School to Admit First All-Asian Female Class by Con Chapman
It was inevitable.
As Obama Presidency Nears, Hopes Rise for One Downtrodden Group
Another inevitability.
Not the Time of Year to Peek (Humor Monday) by Elsie Duggan
A little early Christmas cheer
Last Week In Humor:
Why Peahens Love Long, Sexy Peacock Tails! By Gary (aka: William Pinn) J
Recession Bingo -- Jack Engelhard by Jack E.
Neil Young and Wilco, Toronto Air Canada Center by The Shark Guys
I Am Jack's Inopportune Headcold by De ( It takes a village to feed a dragon.) M.
Carla's Corner for the Silliest Gifts This Christmas by Ian Thorpe
You Know You're On Gather Too Much When... by Ed Williams
Wombat Writing Accidents -- CCXXIV by Pat Betram
And Then There's Football by Mike Ball
24 Hour Boozing in DC for Obama Inauguration by The Shark Guys
It Be A Guy's Thing! By Ed Williams
Thought~Byte No. 130 by John Philipp
Thought~Byte No. 24 by John Philipp
Con Chapman's Links:
Your Pocket Guide to Conversational Freedonian
The Yogi in Winter: Berra Sets the Record Straight
Bush Considering End of Term Pardon for Pee-wee Herman
The Girl With the Cullender on Her Head
Christmas Shopping Ideas for the Busy Sports Guy
Yes Virginia, There is a Trustee in Bankruptcy
Patriots' Welker Cleared to Play After Vicious Hit
With College Competition Tight, Pressure's On Normal Kids to Find Personality Disorder
Prince's Holiday Favorites a Hit for Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Fall From #1 Ranking Rankles Top Coach
Gator vs. Funky Worm: Which Office Party Dance is Right for You?
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 18
We haven't been able to serve the page you asked for.
If you typed in a URL, please make sure you have typed it correctly. In particular, make sure that the URL you typed is all in lower case.
Kind of ironic, heh?
That's their way of saying you only deserve the best. [blush] did I just say that?
I do it while I am pretentiousing to be intelleshual.
What an absolute bummer that she won't be singing at Obama's inauguration.
Thank you for posting to Make me Laugh