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sparrows and sandcastles

 Benjamin ― http://sparrowsandsandcastles.wordpress.com

This is a free-thinking literary blog about current affairs, culture, society, religion, politics, atheism, humanism, the English language and literature.

Avg. Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0 ∙ 1 Reviews ∙ 8 Followers

Listed: Apr 2, 2012

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“george orwell’s critique of internet english”

sparrows and sandcastles ― by Robert McCrum Some while ago, with reference to Orwell’s essay on “Politics and the English language”, I addressed the language of the internet, an issue that stubbornly refuses to go away. Perhaps now, more than ever, we ...

Tags: English Grammar, English Language, &quot, George Orwell's Critique Of Internet English&quot, By Robert McCrum, Politics And The English Language&quot

Benjamin ― 2 days ago

dan dennett’s seven tools for thinking

dan dennett’s seven tools for thinking

sparrows and sandcastles ― by Daniel Dennett Use Your Mistakes We have all heard the forlorn refrain: “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!” This phrase has come to stand for the rueful reflection of an idiot, a sign of stupidity, but in fact we...

Tags: Good Books, Philosophy, &quot, Intuition Pumps And Other Tools For Thinking&quot, By Daniel Dennett, Analytic Philosophy

Benjamin ― 4 days ago

ac grayling on humanism

sparrows and sandcastles ― by AC Grayling The current quarrel between religious and non-religious outlooks is another chapter in a story whose previous main incidents are to be found in the mid-nineteenth century and the early seventeenth century, in connection ...

Tags: Atheism, Humanism, AC Grayling, AC Grayling On Humanism, Achieving Lives, Animism

Benjamin ― 6 days ago

“the dark side of homeschooling”

sparrows and sandcastles ― by Katherine Stewart Several decades ago, political activists on the religious right began to put together an “ideology machine”. Home schooling was a big part of the plan. The idea was to breed and “train up” an army of...

Tags: Education, Religious Fundamentalism, &quot, The Dark Side Of Homeschooling&quot, By Katherine Stewart, A Christian Takeover Of The Political System

Benjamin ― 1 week 9 hr ago

“murder is our national sport”

sparrows and sandcastles ― by Chris Hedges Murder is our national sport. We murder tens of thousands with our industrial killing machines in Afghanistan and Iraq. We murder thousands more from the skies over Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen with our pilotless drones. We murder...

Tags: Contemporary Affairs, &quot, A Checkered Past&quot, By William Van Poyck, Murder Is Our National Sport&quot, By Chris Hedges

Benjamin ― 1 week 9 hr ago

horror story from pensacola christian college

sparrows and sandcastles ― by “Darrell” Pensacola Christian College loves to talk about its high standards and the way it strives for excellence. What they don’t highlight so much is that excellence is a blood sport that often puts students at risk. It...

Tags: Religious Fundamentalism, Benjamin Chew, Benjamin Chew Blog, Blood Sport, Chew Hongjie

Benjamin ― 1 week 5 days ago

“michael gove and correct grammar”

sparrows and sandcastles ― by Michael Rosen I should have guessed that if Michael Gove was going to reply to one of my Guardian Letters from a Curious Parent, he wouldn’t engage with what I actually wrote. Expert though he is in linguistics, he seems to find it...

Tags: Education, English Grammar, English Language, &quot, Correctness&quot, Doesn't Help Us Understand Language

Benjamin ― 1 week 5 days ago

embarrassing partisanship

sparrows and sandcastles ― “People use democracy as a free-floating abstraction disconnected from reality. Democracy in and of itself is not necessarily good. Gang rape, after all, is democracy in action. All men have the right to live their own life. Democracy must ...

Tags: Contemporary Affairs, &quot, Gang Rape Is Democracy In Action.&quot, A Democratic Vote, A Sacred Right, Benjamin Chew

Benjamin ― 1 week 6 days ago

lowbrow fare from taiwan

lowbrow fare from taiwan

sparrows and sandcastles ― Pauline Lan Xin Mei Without mentioning the Sinophone culture, bimbotic vanimal Pauline Lan is one reason among many I spurn Taiwanese television. I would have left Lan and her rabble of vainpots to their neanderthal mumblings about skin-shallow...

Tags: Contemporary Affairs, Popular Culture, &quot, Lady First&quot, The Cinema&quot, A Hooker

Benjamin ― 2 weeks 2 days ago

“the corrosion of reason”

sparrows and sandcastles ― by AC Grayling An opinion panel research survey conducted in July 2006 found more than 30 per cent of UK university students believe in creationism or intelligent design. This raw detail is gasp-inducing enough in its own right, as indication of...

Tags: Anti Intellectualism, Education, Philosophy, Science, Superstition, &quot

Benjamin ― 2 weeks 3 days ago

“are religions respectable?”

sparrows and sandcastles ― by AC Grayling It is time to reverse the prevailing notion that religious commitment is intrinsically deserving of respect, and that should be handled with kid gloves and protected by custom and in some cases law against criticism and ridicule....

Tags: Secularism, Society, &quot, Are Religions Respectable?&quot, By AC Grayling, AC Grayling

Benjamin ― 2 weeks 5 days ago

“why people believe in conspiracy theories”

sparrows and sandcastles ― by Sander van der Linden Did NASA fake the moon landing? Is the government hiding Martians in Area 51? Is global warming a hoax? And what about the Boston Marathon bombing…an “inside job” perhaps? In the book “The ...

Tags: Science, &quot, The Empire Of Conspiracy&quot, By Timothy Melley, Why People Believe In Conspiracy Theories&quot, By Sander Van Der Linden

Benjamin ― 2 weeks 6 days ago

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