From Around the Net (January 11th)

In perhaps one of the best articles of the week, Baekho discusses what it means to be an artist and how we can become artists creating ourselves. From the Nunc-Fluens blog.

Nita has at least two excellent articles up this week. The first is a stimulating discussion of advertising, while the second is a revealing slide show of rural India. From A Wide Angle View of India.

Pr3rna has a great little article mocking TV commercials here. From I Love Life… So I Explore.

Glenn Greenwald discusses how American political reporters are trying to influence the 2008 presidential election here. Greenwald is one of the people to watch this election season for information on the media’s manipulation of the election. From the Glenn Greenwald blog.

Human rights activists in Saudi Arabia are calling for higher educational institutions in the Kingdom to teach human rights. John Burgess has the story here, along with some commentary. From the Crossroads Arabia blog.

Ebonmuse over at Daylight Atheism has put up an expose of Pat Robertson’s predictions. Robertson always claims his predictions come straight from God. If so, God has a lousy track record at predicting things. The miracle is so many people still send money to Robertson.

Webs has been following California’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over automobile emission standards. Read what’s happening here. From Webs’ Random Ideas.

Zeno has a charming story of how one of his math students talked a cop out of a speeding ticket — using a combination of math and pizza. Check it out here. From Halfway There.

Alonzo has written an impassioned plea for our testing presidential candidates on their understanding of science here. From the Atheist Ethicist blog.

Over at Open Parachute, Ken writes about a miracle he witnessed as a child and what it means to him now that he’s an atheist. Article here.

Trinifar eloquently argues that “Worldwide justice is a necessary condition for worldwide [economic] sustainability” here, and he proposes that we use our economic clout to change the standard of living of poor workers in places like China. From the blog, Trinifar.

Stevo has a wonderful photo of a little girl late for class climbing up a stairwell here. I love the contrast of the geometric lines of the stairs with the moving girl. From Inane Ramblings.

Poetman has created a moderately successful poem about a bed or something here. (Just teasing! It’s a work that — at the very least — approaches genius. So far as I can see, he’s one of the most creative and authentic voices on the net.) From 1 Poet 4 Man.

Shefaly proposes a disturbing experiment with immigration here. Disturbing because any nation that tried it would probably sink into recession. From La Vie Quotidienne.

The damnable Religious Right in America is at it again. This time they are trying to pass a US House Resolution that tells outright lies about the Founders of the Nation. Chris Rodda has their number over at Talk To Action.

Over at Revenge of the Castanets, AOS writes about the insane and unethical War on Drugs. Check out his concise and persuasive article here.

TIV, who is both a psychologist and a blogger at The Individual Voice has a great article up on how our decision making can be biased here.

How much of human behavior is instinctual? The old answer was none. But check out the way newborns show a preference for certain kinds of motion here. From Ed’s Not Exactly Rocket Science.

David has a thoughtful, eloquently written piece on intellectual elitism here. From Quotidian Vicissitudes.

Priyank is fresh back from Israel and has begun discussing his trip here. He writes some of the best travel stories I’ve been able to find on the net. From Final Transit.

Zenuria explains the neurology of compassion here, and then goes on to ask whether the neurology implies that compassion is addictive. From Karma Web.

George reviews a series of action/adventure books written by the same man who composed “The Ballard of the Green Berets” here. The books actually raise some interesting questions about what it would be like to be immortal. From Decrepit Old Fool.

Eolake writes about a beautiful teenager who unexpectantly found herself tossed into an internet storm of unwanted attention simply because she was gorgeous. Article here. From the Eolake Stobblehouse blog.

Egor has a breathtakingly graceful art nude at his site here. This is a world above most art nudes — and most art nudes are pretty good already. From Roge.

Rambodoc has an extremely exciting article about a new treatment for Alzheimer’s that might actually produce a cure for the disease. Article here. From A Twist of Word and Mind.

Les Jenkins, over at Stupid Evil Bastard, reveals a new poll that finds 44% of the people in America who don’t go to church think Christians “annoying”. That 44% includes a whole lot of people who believe in God — even though they don’t go to church. Check it out here.

Brian, at Truth is Freedom, has a nicely done analysis of the results from Iowa and New Hampshire that contradicts the conventional BS being put out by the mainstream media. Article here.

Chanson has an excellent article up at Letters From A Broad on the way the Religious Right is alienating young people from Christianity. Story here.