Tag Archives: postage stamps
Frustration in Flatland
29 Nov
Frustration in Flatland
Do you ever think about how boring it must be to be trapped on a sheet of postage stamps? Of course not, because you are (we hope) a person with a firm grip on three-dimensional reality. But I do. I like to think of the stamp as a little window on a flat world. The people in there are uncomfortable because they have to sit perfectly still — at least while we are looking at them (thank you Erwin Schrödinger).
If you have an interest in learning about what life might be like in a flat universe there is really only one reliable source: the 1884 novel Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott. It is a satirical view of Victorian society written with dry humor, but its genius lies in its ability to help us see in only two dimensions. It also gives a very clear picture of how difficult communication would be for beings in different dimensions — definitely worth thinking about in these days of string theory, dark matter, and dark energy.
(You can read Flatland online here.)
Like this:
Damaged in handling
9 Nov
Damaged In Handling
My surreal view of some well-known American stamps (the 1908-22 Washington definitives to be precise). I’m just a sucker for engraving, I guess.
Grammar Police
-
Grammar Police: Exclamation Point Disposal Squad
In the English Grammar System the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups; the hyperactive hoi polloi who improperly use multiple exclamation points, and the police who investigate these crimes and arrest the offenders. These are their stories!!!!
-
Grammar Police: Unnecessary Quotation Unit
In the English “Language System” the people are “represented” by two separate, yet equally important “groups”; the grammar-deficient public who “insert” gratuitous “quotation marks” without regard for “meaning”, and the “police” who “investigate these crimes” and “arrest” the offenders. These are their “stories”. (Click here to buy this graphic on mugs, hats, t-shirts, etc!)
-
Grammar Police: Special Apostrophe Unit
In the English Grammar System the people are represented by two separate, yet equally important groups; the poorly-educated masses who insert unnecessary apostrophes and omit required ones, and the police who investigate these crimes and arrest the offenders. These are their stories. (Click here to buy this graphic on mugs, hats, t-shirts, etc!)
Too much evil?
-
The current evil glut
Due to overproduction, world evil prices have plummeted in the last three years. American evil producers have been steadily losing market share to China and other countries where evil can be manufactured for a small fraction of the U.S. cost. Some desperate investors are even considering eliminating evil from their portfolios. Ultimately, I am sure [...]
Bishop Finn
-
The Indictment of Bishop Finn
The dark, mind-numbing corruption of the Roman Catholic church was blazingly illuminated recently in the Diocese of Kansas City. Local prosecutors had the courage to indict the Bishop (albeit only for a misdemeanor). You can read about it here.
Please help the rich
-
The rich…won’t YOU help?
I can’t really recommend Reach Out To The Rich as heartily as I would the World Ice Tea Organization, for example. The rich have their charities, too, like the opera and their beloved conservative think tanks. We must let them use their donations to shelter their income from taxes. After all, they wrote the tax [...]
