Down By The River

In case you haven't noticed I like maps, a lot.

Here are a couple that caught my attention this spring, hopefully you saw them already (actually scratch that, I hope this is the first time you see them and they blow your mind and you feel forever indebted to me for showing them to you) but if you haven't they're worth a gander.

Someone took the time to make a map of the US out of just rivers and streams and it's beautiful and fascinating.  You can also think about this as a map of all of the waterways in the US and nothing else, two sides of a coin if you will.



If you're interested in who you might run into by your local or regional river or stream you can check out this fairly meta map of the US broken down into geographic areas based on the circulation of dollar bills.

In order to figure out exactly what you're looking at head on over to the NPR story on the map and the researchers who put it together.

US - Canada Relations

Ever wonder why that line between the US and Canada is so straight out west?  Ever think that maybe it actually isn't as straight as it looks on most maps?  This video is for you...



This is just one of several gems from CGP Grey, they'll keep you amused while making sure that you learn at least a little something new.

(I can't remember how I got there, but these days it was probably Digg)

Ah Government

Our system of government is pretty muddled if you ask me; many, many common sense issues that need to be addressed just get bogged down and picked at and never even get voted on by our law makers (can you tell I'm frustrated with the way we do the business of governing here?).

The latest victim is shaping up to be immigration reform, and the GOP Congressmen looking to block the current efforts but out a letter about their complaints.  Former high school teacher and current Dem Congressman Mark Takano gave the letter some comments.  It would be funny if it wasn't so sad...

Also Takano's tumblr is called There Will Be Charts, I think I like this guy.  Has he been on the Daily Show yet?

Stamos!

Or maybe the title should be Fallon!  I couldn't tell you who else even has a late night show anymore, Jimmy Fallon is continuing to blow everyone else out of the water.  Here's the latest little gem that I've caught...



Maybe it's just me but Fallon has his audience nailed.  Or maybe we're all just in the same generational boat and the things he comes up with are the same things that the rest of us think would be goofy and great too.  Now if he could just get Cousin Balki to be a guest on the show...

TGIF!

(via Digg)

Old School Hacking

Hacking used to mostly mean making something work in new and unexpected ways that were normally an improvement or at least something that the hacker thought would be cool.  I think that we don't have as much of that as we should these days especially among kids.  When we do though, those toys and social constructs that do encourage hacking tend to be aimed at boys.

Girls can and should be hacking too...



On the current connotation of hacking if you put your mind to it you can play Donkey Kong and Zelda with the Princess as the hero and the dude needing to be rescued.

Read This Now - Down Goes DOMA

I'm not pleased with how everything shook out in the recent SCOTUS rulings (frankly I'm giving the Justices murder eyes over their gutting of key previsions in the voting rights act - doing away with the protections that helped allow a black Mayor to get elected in Selma because Selma now has a black mayor is just a nutso argument.) but they got the DOMA ruling right and I'll give them some credit for that.  Even if it was about as open and shut as you can get in my opinion.

I thought President Obama's statement on the end of DOMA was a really good one, good enough to not make you click through to read it:

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 26, 2013

Statement by the President on the Supreme Court Ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act

I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act.  This was discrimination enshrined in law.  It treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people.  The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it.  We are a people who declared that we are all created equal – and the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. 

This ruling is a victory for couples who have long fought for equal treatment under the law; for children whose parents’ marriages will now be recognized, rightly, as legitimate; for families that, at long last, will get the respect and protection they deserve; and for friends and supporters who have wanted nothing more than to see their loved ones treated fairly and have worked hard to persuade their nation to change for the better. 

So we welcome today’s decision, and I’ve directed the Attorney General to work with other members of my Cabinet to review all relevant federal statutes to ensure this decision, including its implications for Federal benefits and obligations, is implemented swiftly and smoothly.

On an issue as sensitive as this, knowing that Americans hold a wide range of views based on deeply held beliefs, maintaining our nation’s commitment to religious freedom is also vital.  How religious institutions define and consecrate marriage has always been up to those institutions.  Nothing about this decision – which applies only to civil marriages – changes that.  

The laws of our land are catching up to the fundamental truth that millions of Americans hold in our hearts:  when all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free.

The ending lines really sum it all up, don't you think.

Apparently Picasso Was A Mystery

Or so the title of this documentary about the man and his work from 1956 would have you believe...



The bulls and the goat are my two favorites; they're both quite something.  And now I'm ready for a museum visit...

(via OC via digg)