Links of the Day, January 11
It's Human Trafficking Awareness Day! Tell someone who doesn't know about the 27 million people trapped in modern slavery. And then do something about it!
Check out these awesome pics to start out your week/day:
And then enjoy this cover from Cathy Nguyen and Andrew Garcia:
News
- Whistler's homeless are being relocated ahead of the Winter Olympics.
- The oldest known Hebrew script has been deciphered. Find out what it says here.
- Colt McCoy shows grace and faith in the face of defeat:
Human trafficking
- China claims to have freed over 10,000 victims of human trafficking in the last year.
Immigration
- A new report comes out: immigration reform will ease economic decline.
Miscellaneous
- NBC's Bryan Williams: why Jon Stewart is good for the news.
- GOOD covers the H&M saga.
- For the Angelenos, the fake freeway sign that became a real public service.
- Oh, the places you'll go ... The NY Times lists 31 places to go in 2010.
- As a fantasy geek myself, I can appreciate this from what's fast becoming one of my favorite blogs, YOMYOMF ("You offend me, you offend my family"): "Fantasy gone wrong."
- Some fascinating facts about sneezing.
- Some secrets about London!
Links of the Day, January 4
Welcome to 2010! (Here's Jon Stewart's review of 2009.)
Since there was ZERO net job creation in the US over the last decade, let's hope the next ten years go a little better, shall we?
News
- France joins the US and the UK in shutting its Yemen embassy.
- The NY Times offers a fascinating look inside Barack's war on terrorism. And WaPo defends the President against critics who say he's "soft on terror."
- Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, NJ, is fast becoming one of my favorite people. Check out this awesome story.
- Avatar breaks $1 billion, worldwide.
Health care
- From Foolocracy: "Rush Limbaugh praised the American health care system while in a Hawaiian hospital for a couple of days during the last week. What he did not mention is that Hawaii has the most socialized system of any of the 50 states and, with its near universal healthcare, resembles the Obama health care plan."
Immigration
- The Nation investigates the ICE's detention facilities.
Miscellaneous
- Read Jim Wallis's op-ed in WaPo yesterday: "A religious response to the financial crisis."
- Rich Mouw considers a poetic revision of "In Christ Alone." I think I agree with him (and Tom Wright).
- If you haven't already subscribed to xkcd, I think you should:
Happy birthday, Jon Stewart
Today is Jon's 47th birthday.
Happy birthday, Jon! Thanks for being awesome.
The Time Traveler's Wife
I saw The Time Traveler's Wife this weekend. Having read the book and loved it, and knowing that Rachel McAdams (for whom I have a soft spot) was playing the eponymous heroine, I was definitely looking forward to the movie. Coming in, I'd heard a couple of mixed reviews, saying that there wasn't all that much spark, particularly given the sweeping romance and heady chemistry that permeates the book. And I suppose if you're expecting to be swooning for the duration of the movie, you'll probably be disappointed. Or if you're looking for every twist, nuance and detail in the book to be in the movie, you'll also probably be disappointed.
But I thought that director Robert Schwentke did a pretty good job of drawing the essentials out and making the movie work. Rachel and Eric Bana were credible in their parts, and the chemistry between them was pretty clear (at least to me!). And the ending ... well, I've only ever cried in one movie at the theatre, and this came awfully, awfully close to being number two.
Extra linkage:
- Rachel McAdams' hilarious appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
- Rachel's site for all things green: www.greenissexy.org.
And here's the trailer: