Nunc Scio

Politics. Media. Culture. Now you know.

Month: October, 2008

Nunc Scio wishes you a zombie-free Halloween

Unless, you know, it’s one of those friendly zombies.* In the spirit of this fine holiday, I offer you this: See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor. Oh no! The ghost was actually a zombie in disguise! Have fun, all. *may not exist.

When Ligers attack

A bad idea: take one large, toothy, and potentially maneating predator, and combine it with another large,  toothy, and potentially maneating predator to make an even bigger toothy, potentially maneating predator. A zookeeper in Tulsa learned this lesson the hard way when he was attacked by Rocky the Liger, a lion/tiger hybrid. Somewhere, a Jurassic [...]

On the abuse of political language

In his seminal essay, Politics and the English Language, George Orwell makes this observation: Political language – and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists – is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. And so it [...]

Hating makes you smarter

Fascinating new research has revealed something interesting about the neurological processes behind hatred. Sure, it does the thing you’d expect, like activating the aggression centre and the motor cortex, presumably lay some hurt down. But it also increases your judgement and ability to reason what people may do next. Quoth the study: What seems not [...]

Tell Nunc Scio what you think

As I sit here, day after day, writing this humble journal, I wonder: does anybody read this thing? Do they like what I write about? And, do these shoes go with my pants? So, using the magic of interweb technology, I’ve assembled two little polls. Please take the time to fill them out. Hopefully, it [...]

RIP: Frank magazine

After 19 years of making fun of Canada’s political and social elite (such as they are), Frank Magazine is closing up shop. Said publisher Michael Bate: “It’s time to fold it up. It’s not a business model that works any more. There was a time when Frank would break stories and print information you just [...]

Watch Joe Biden be interviewed by an idiot

Watch what happens when a local news anchor asks Smilin’ Joe questions apparently written by McCain flacks: I think Biden shows an impressive amount of restraint here, and his response at 1:05 is gold. For her part, this anchor seems to believe that ‘journalism’ is a mishmash of discredited smears and a tenuous grasp of Marxism, Sweden, and indeed, reality. Here’s [...]