From Elfland to Poughkeepsie

The current status of the Church of Satan (by Alex Mar, whose Witches of America is a fascinating account of her experiences with several forms of Paganism)

Thanx to Metafilter

Media

Does Facebook aspire to the condition of Reality TV?

Thanx to Slate Star Codex

Stupider Than You Realize

Here’s another of those Two Kinds of People things. Ever since I was drafted into public school, I have felt that the average person is fairly dim and by definition half the population is stupider. The fannish culture is proverbially full of elitist pigs who believe that most people are even dumber than they are, and many of these appear to be correct. But here’s an article saying that smart people overestimate the intelligence of the masses.

Thanx to Slate Star Codex