Author Archives: Swany

Google’s Dead Sea Scrolls project

Wired: Cloudline: “In bringing the Dead Sea Scrolls into the cloud via an interface so user-friendly that even a humanities professor can navigate it, Google has once again played a part in something wonderful for the world. .… Even ambitious … Continue reading

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salmagundi

Online Etymology Dictionary: salmagundi — 1670s, from Fr. salmigondis, originally “seasoned salt meats” (cf. Fr. salmis “salted meats”), from M.Fr. salmigondin, coined by Rabelais, of uncertain origin, but probably related to salomene “hodgepodge of meats or fish cooked in wine,” … Continue reading

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The High Times Interview with Noam Chomsky

Chomsky: Chomsky concludes the main purposes of the War on Drugs are incarceration of the unemployed class (mainly blacks and Hispanics) and an excuse for counterinsugency operations in foreign countries.

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Does Marijuana Make You Stupid? [No]

Wired.com: “[T]he amount of pot consumed had no measurable impact on cognitive performance. The sole exception was performance on a test of short-term verbal memory, in which “current heavy users” performed slightly worse than former users. The researchers conclude that, … Continue reading

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Observations upon Scripture Plants

Sir Thomas Browne: “23. The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of Mustard-seed, which a Man took and sowed in his Field, which indeed is the least of all Seeds; but when ’tis grown is the greatest among … Continue reading

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Scientists want to dig up Shakespeare to find out if he smoked weed

The Raw Story: “Recently uncovered evidence suggests that William Shakespeare used marijuana, and now a team of paleontologists want to dig him up to prove it.”

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Five

Johnson’s Life of Browne: “[Browne] is then naturally led to treat of the number five; and finds, that by this number many things are circumscribed; that there are five kinds of vegetable productions, five sections of a cone, five orders … Continue reading

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Subjects of little importance

Johnson’s Life of Browne: “Some of the most pleasing performances have been produced by learning and genius exercised upon subjects of little importance. It seems to have been, in all ages, the pride of wit, to shew how it could … Continue reading

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Vulgar Errors III.xiv: The Salamander

Sir Thomas Browne: “THAT a Salamander is able to live in flames, to endure and put out fire, is an assertion, not only of great antiquity, but confirmed by frequent, and not contemptible testimony.”

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Of messes in pots

World Wide Words: “Pepys doesn’t record salmagundi because the name is first recorded shortly after he stopped writing his diary for fear of his eyesight failing. It has been known by many names, including salladmagundy and Solomon Gundy (it can … Continue reading

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