The Directory

Some interesting links to things that we've found online.

NOTE: The views espoused in these sources do not necessarily reflect ours. They interest us, but that does not mean that we subscribe to their ideals.

Industrial Society and its Future, Theodore Kaczynski's anti-technological manifesto in its original form. While we make no comment on the substance of Kaczynski's writings, they provide a fascinating window into his idiosyncratic views.

Why the Future Doesn't Need Us, Bill Joy's semi-reply to Kaczynski's manifesto. What is most interesting about it is that despite his personal opposition to Kaczynski (his close friend having been severely injured by one of Kaczynski's bombs) and his role in developing modern technology as a founder of Sun Microsystems, he agrees with many of Kaczynski's points.

The Meaning of Timothy McVeigh, an article written by Gore Vidal for Vanity Fair about an often-forgotten era of domestic unrest beginning with the siege of the Branch Davidians at Waco and culminating in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. It was published only a few weeks before the September 11 Attacks.

Requiem for the American Empire, another Gore Vidal article reflecting on the transition of America into an imperial state and its probable demise. His predictions only seem to grow more accurate as time passes...

The Truth About John Connally, a comprehensive exploration of John Connally, a high-profile Democrat-turned-Republican who was a close confidant of Richard Nixon, and former Governor of Texas. While little-known today, he figures quite prominently in the political history of the '60s and '70s, both for his role as Treasury Secretary under Richard Nixon, and his attempts to secure the Presidency. If you enjoyed this, you might also like Not Guilty, an article about his trial for the charges leveled against him in the Milk Price Scandal, which significantly affected his career.

The Witness, an article about Nellie Connally, John Connally's wife and witness to both the events of John F. Kennedy's assassination and John B. Connally's political career. It provides an interesting alternate view of John Connally, one kinder and gentler than the public, political persona that so defined him.

The Unveiling of Lloyd Bentsen, an article about another Texas Democrat of the latter half of the Twentieth Century. Closely associated with the Johnson-Connally wing of the Texas Democrats, he continued in their vein even when the latter defected. While best-known for his zinger at the vice-presidential debate in '88, he was also distinguished in Texan politics of his era and served as Secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton, like his one-time mentor, John Connally.

Bob and George Go to Washington, an article about the fractured political state of post-Watergate America and two of the people involved in its aftermath: Bob Strauss and George (H. W.) Bush. On a broader level, it is about them, as people and politicians, in a time before they entered the defining phases of their careers.

How a Nation Is Exploited, an anti-colonialist article by George Orwell about British rule over Burma, drawn from his own experience as a colonial officer there. While about Burma, the article itself can be applied to a host of other colonial governments that existed in Orwell's time. If you enjoyed this, you might also like A Hanging, a short story from his time in Burma, or his book Burmese Days.

Can Socialists Be Happy?, an essay by Orwell on the nature and portrayal of utopia and its flaws, including an analysis of Jonathan Swift's Houyhnhnms. It also analyzes and opposes the utopian nature of the communist society in traditional socialist thought.

Orwell's article about Charles Dickens, which dives into his (surprisingly-elitist) conceptions of society and class and the nature of his revolutionary sentiment. It gives a fairly balanced perspective of him, all things considered. One of Orwell's longer articles.

Committee of the Whole, a short story written by Frank Herbert. Leaving expressly political interpretations aside, the story has a very interesting perspective on the nature and balance of power.

The Propaganda Multiplier, an illuminating article about the centralization of our press and its resulting control by state actors and others seeking to mislead the public. The system by which three "news agencies" or "news wires" provide most of the world's news to more familiar news outlets is little-known, yet critical to a good understanding of our media.

Hiroshima, a short yet moving nonfiction story by John Hersey on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, told through the eyes of six residents of the city. This is the original version as published in The New Yorker in 1946, without the later "Aftermath" chapter.

The Sunbelt Strategy, an article written about the increasing shift of economic and industrial power to the Sun Belt and its ramifications on a possible socialist revolution in America.

Fight for the Right, a Ph.D dissertation on the state of the Republican Party immediately after the Second World War, written by Michael Bowen. A long, technical read, but very informative. If you liked it, you might also like Running From Behind, a paper about the contentious Republican primary of 1964.

WhitlamDismissal.com, a website by Malcolm Farnsworth about the dismissal of former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and the 1975 Australian Constitutional Crisis in general. It contains many primary sources.

Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, one of the most extensive resources relating to American elections on the Internet. Of note is the Electoral College Map Generator, which is useful for creating maps of election predictions or alternate-history elections.

TedMontgomery.com, an old-Internet site made by the eponymous Ted Montgomery with lots to take note of, including an excellent directory of "Alt Codes" and a concise page about the anatomy and nature of the human eye. It also has a surprisingly-neutral current-events section.

Rick Aschmann's Map of North American Dialects, a map of regional varieties of American English collated by Rick Aschmann. While not the most scientific source or even the most accurate (compared to the Atlas of North American English), it is the most accessible and contains a wealth of information packed into it.

The World Wildlife Foundation's Ecoregions. Buried in the greater WWF website, this list of exceptional ecoregions is a very informative resource for anybody interested in ecology. Best used in conjunction with the E.U.'s Digital Observatory for Protected Areas Explorer, which maps the described ecoregions.

Prehistoric Wildlife, a site about... prehistoric wildlife. Fun to browse through, and the pages have a whole lot more character than the corresponding Wikipedia articles. Despite the big, floating dinosaur head on each page, the non-dinosaur critters are the most interesting out of the bunch.

The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center. While the front-page climate maps are useful, there's a wealth of information to be found by looking through the other pages, such as El Niño information and educational models. The organization hosts a yearly teleconference about weather and climate.

Worldbuilding Pasta, a blog by Nikolai Lofving Hersfeldt about simulating and creating realistic alternate worlds. The guides are very granular and require a good knowledge of the various sciences to make use of, but they are very informative. Incorporates astrophysics, geology, geochemistry, climatology, and more.

Planetocopia, a collection of fictional planets united by sharing the capacity to support intelligent life, all exactingly detailed to scientific standards and painstakingly hand-modeled by the creator, Chris Wayan. However, the creator has some... eccentric preferences with regards to the sort of intelligent life he puts on his planets.

kaomoji.ru. From a time before emoji. They look a lot better, even if they are harder to use in today's phone-centered world. This resource is by no means exhaustive, so collect your own!

Origami-Make, the best website for origami models. This website, created by Hyo Ahn, contains several books' worth of models, ranging from the traditional to the innovative.

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