A couple of links for you kind readers today. Mostly I spent the day baking cookies and finishing the first season of Star Wars Rebels. Which ends, by the way, with a pretty intense three-part story. And the droid, Chopper, remains a psychopathic asshole.
Irish Whiskey Cookies, Perfect for Christmas – Science! A friend posted a link to this recipe on Facebook a few days ago, I went out and bought myself a bottle of Jamesons, and this morning-ish I baked myself some cookies. I made a slight change to the recipe — I replaced the chopped almonds with chocolate chips. There’s a wonderful interplay of flavors, and my apartment smells of whiskey. Recommended. Irish Central
Can the Constitution Govern America’s Sprawling Empire? – The Constitution was written for an agrarian, pre-industrial society. Does it still work today for a United States that is more than just the fifty states — there are commonwealths, a federal district, overseas dependencies, and Indian tribes to consider as well. The Atlantic
The Pre-Fab “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” – A thoughtful take on the new Star Wars film, delving into its derivative nature. It’s a pastiche of a Star Wars movie. The New Yorker
The Problem With The Force Awakens And Spectre: Not Just Sequels But Pastiches – In that vein, Grant Feller at Forbes considers the extent to which some of today’s blockbuster films — such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the James Bond film Spectre, and Jurassic World — are less sequels than remakes (or remixes) of previous hits. Also, I love that critics are using the word “pastiche.” It’s absolutely the right word, and it’s the word I used on Facebook Thursday night when I got home to describe Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Forbes
Meet the Fox News atheist – the man Bill O’Reilly calls a fascist and Sean Hannity thinks is evil – A profile of American Atheists president David Silverman. His new book, Fighting God, came out last month. I’ve met David a few times over the years at science-fiction conventions. He’s a pretty cool guy. I like Silverman’s characterization of Hannity a lot. I think Hannity is… well… dim. Salon