online archive
6:00PM
OCT 26 2007
Trapped in God's video game?
John L. Castiand (SFI): Why We See the Events We Do and Not Something Else. From Vision, a special report on Ideas That Shaped Modern Thought. From Discover, are we trapped in God's video game? Probably not. And no, he's not looking at your underwear. A review of The Situated Self by J. T. Ismael. A review of The Secrets of Happiness: Three Thousand Years of Searching for the Good Life by Richard Schoch; The Science of Happiness: How Our Brains Make Us Happy—and What We Can Do to Get Happier by Stefan Klein; and Making Happy People: The Nature of Happiness and Its Origins in Childhood by Paul Martin. A review of The Loss of Sadness: How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow into Depressive Disorder by Allan V. Horwitz and Jerome C. Wakefield. From The Simon, life may not be worth living, but there's no reason to feel bad about it. From Commonweal, Charles Taylor on the sting of death: Why we yearn for eternity. Is it distressing to experience consciousness slipping away or something people can accept with equanimity? How does it feel to die? When your number's up, your number's up. But some people's numbers come up in a most unusual way. Here are some notable bizarre deaths.
5:00PM
OCT 26 2007
The limits of law
From The Economist, a look at the difficulty of reconciling traditional freedoms of expression with the new demands of national security. A review of Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House by Valerie Plame Wilson (and more and more). Charles Fried on the limits of law: Bush, through a combination of bad judgment, bad advice, and bad luck, had made the case for discretion and reasonableness disreputable. An interview with Michael Otterman, author of American Torture: From the Cold War to Abu Ghraib and Beyond. Naming names at Gitmo: Navy Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Diaz put himself in the middle of the prisoner-detention issue — and went to jail for it. A review of Nation of Secrets: The Threat to Democracy and the American Way of Life by Ted Gup; and Top Secret: When Our Government Keeps Us in the Dark by Geoffrey R. Stone. Acting like a usual suspect: There’s an art to behavioral profiling. An interview with Ames Holbrook, author of The Deporter: One Agent's Struggle Against the U.S. Government's Refusal to Expel Criminal Aliens. When it comes to immigration law enforcement, the Constitution is noticeably silent on the rights of noncitizens, legal or not. An article on Bush's legacy on voting rights: A story from Ohio. Citizen participation through influential assemblies such as Citizen Congresses would address three critical failings of the political system.
4:00PM
OCT 26 2007
Miscellany
Sometimes bric-a-brac has meaning: An interview with Joshua Glenn, co-editor of Taking Things Seriously: 75 Objects With Unexpected Significance. Weirdonomics and Quirkology: A look at how the curious science of the oddities of everyday life yields new insights. A look at how daylight savings time disrupts humans' natural circadian rhythm, but we experience more darkness than necessary: We should turn the clocks forward, not back. From LA Weekly, an internet love mystery: The Life and Death of Jesse James. From Cracked, a look at the 5 creepiest urban legends (that happen to be true). Historically rooted in Celtic tradition, the Americanised version of Halloween has captured the market in monstrous fashion. Is the modern celebration, then, purely a retail phenomenon? Here are 6 reasons the 70s should have killed us all. Being Juan Valdez: A "Colombian idol"-style search transformed a humble farmer into the 21st century version of TV's coffee icon. Meet the man behind the mule. From Stars & Stripes, go ahead and cuss like a sailor: It’s good for morale. Swamp Ghosts: In Papua New Guinea, a journalist investigates the controversy over a World War II bomber. From Forbes, an article on how lawyers don't make enough. Sports and music halls have a built-in fan base, but the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, filled with presidents, authors and engineers, has faded into obscurity. The Curiosity of Cats: When the musical opened on Broadway, 25 years ago, few predicted its amazing success—or what it would mean for composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
3:00PM
OCT 26 2007
The future is drying up
From Rolling Stone, James Lovelock says that global warming is irreversible — and that more than 6 billion people will perish by the end of the century. A look at how the history of mass extinction is a grim lesson on climate change. The world has a narrow window of opportunity to save coral reefs from the destruction caused by extreme climate change. The future is drying up: The West is the fastest-growing part of the country. It’s also the driest. And climate change could be making matters much, much worse. Which is the more environmentally sensitive thing to do: let the Greenland ice sheet collapse, or throw a little sulfate in the stratosphere? From Fair, an article on Rachel Carson, mass murderer? The creation of an anti-environmental myth. From Counterpunch, an article on transsexuals and the death of the Earth First!, or where have all the rednecks gone? Vegans vs. Vegetarians: What kind of diet is best for the environment?
2:00PM
OCT 26 2007
Shame, sex and South Park farts
From American Sexuality, what are the connections between shame, sex, and South Park farts? An interview with Janice Irvine. People, don't let shame over sexual sin destroy you. Porn stars speak: HBO’s documentary “Thinking XXX” takes an unconventional look at the porn industry. More on Girls Gone Mild by Wendy Shalit. More on Virgins: A Cultural History by Anke Bernau. Female genital mutilation: An attempt to restore sexual sensation to women whose genitals have been cut. A review of Rape: A History From 1860 to the Present by Joanna Bourke (and more). Are some men predisposed to pedophilia? Lower average height of pedophiles reinforces theory of a biological cause. The research subject that dare not speak its name: Public morality has long dictated that science stay away from pedophilia. That's beginning to change.
1:00PM
OCT 26 2007
Asian godfathers
From Foreign Affairs, Jason T. Shaplen (KPEDO) and James Laney (Emory): Washington's Eastern Sunset: The Decline of U.S. Power in Northeast Asia; Victor D. Cha (Georgetown): Winning Asia: Washington's Untold Success Story; R. Nicholas Burns (State): America's Strategic Opportunity With India. From NPQ, an interview with Lee Kuan Yew on Burma. From Prospect, Burma as a feminist utopia: Decades of military dictatorship have taken their toll, but Burma's ancient commitment to sexual equality remains strong. It is clear that the Burmese military junta is brutal. But what else do we know about them? A review of Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia by Joe Studwell. A look at how Deng Xiaoping's legacy divides the Chinese leadership. Slavoj Zizek on how China got religion. You can’t kill Confucius: An ancient sage makes a comeback to serve the Communist party’s purposes in China. A review of Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming the World by Joshua Kurlantzick; Rising Star: China's New Security Diplomacy by Bates Gill; A War Like No Other: The Truth About China's Challenge to America by Richard C. Bush and Michael E. O'Hanlon; Challenging China: Struggle and Hope in an Era of Change; China: Fragile Superpower by Susan L. Shirk; and China Road A Journey Into the Future of a Rising Power by Rob Gifford.
12:00PM
OCT 26 2007
Supercapitalism and superimperialism
From The Economist, does the latest financial crisis signal the end of a golden age of stable growth? The financialization of foreign policy: Other nations have already taken note of the opportunities presented by rapidly changing global financial markets. Washington would be well advised to do the same. One world, taking risks together: A global economy was thought to be more stable — but not if everyone is speculating. From Asia Times, an article on a structural link between supercapitalism and superimperialism (and part 2). Clive Crook on ending global inequality: become a Luddite. The World Bank's Francois Bourguignon on a new agenda for the poor: Agriculture for development. Will the Bottom Billion ever catch up? Paul Collier investigates. An interview with Bob Geldof on the economics of poverty.
11:00AM
OCT 26 2007
Glorious eccentrics
From LRB, where does he come from? A review of A Writer’s People: Ways of Looking and Feeling by V.S. Naipaul; and black and white life: A review of Ralph Ellison: A Biography by Arnold Rampersad. From TLS, a review of William Empson: A Life, Volume Two: Against the Christians by John Haffenden; and reader, she #!%?@& him!: A review of Harold Robbins: The man who invented sex by Andrew Wilson. From Slate, Timothy Noah on Lynne Cheney and the Anxiety of Influence: How a soft-porn classic begat a memoir by the vice president's wife. A review of Hippies and Bolsheviks and Other Plays by Amiel Gladstone. The Big Red Songbook is 538 pages long, and contains over 250 Wobbly songs and many poems, cartoons, and graphics. A review of The Art of Ill Will: The Story of American Political Cartoons by Donald Dewey. More and more and more on Schulz and Peanuts by David Michaelis. A review of Due Considerations: Essays and Criticism by John Updike. An interview with Mary Ann Caws, author of Glorious Eccentrics: Modernist Women Painting and Writing. Driven by a tabloid episode from her own marriage, novelist Terry McMillan joins the debate over the mass marketing of Ghetto Lit, trashy books to young black readers.
10:00AM
OCT 26 2007
Generation on fire
From Social Policy (reg. req.), a review of Activism, Inc.: How the Outsourcing of Grassroots Campaigns is Strangling Progressive Politics in America by Dana Fisher; and a review of After the Storm: Black Intellectuals Explore the Meaning of Hurricane Katrina. A review of Generation on Fire: Voices of Protest from the 1960s—An Oral History by Jeff Kisseloff. From Variant, a review of Realizing the Impossible: Art Against Authority; Do it Yourself: A Handbook for Changing our World; Rebel Alliances: The Means and Ends of Contemporary British Anarchisms by Benjamin Franks; and radical education in a proto-fascist era: A review of Against the New Authoritarianism: Politics after Abu Ghraib by Henry Giroux. Alan Wolfe on mobilizing the Religious Left: Walter Rauschenbusch's Christianity and the Social Crisis argues that one can be a dedicated Christian and a social reformer at the same time. A review of The Liberal Moment: The McGovern Insurgency and the Identity Crisis of the Democratic Party by Bruce Miroff.
9:00AM
OCT 26 2007
The revenge of the "good blacks"
From The Black Commentator, an article on the revenge of the "good blacks": John Ridley, Eugene Robinson and Juan Williams. A review of Come on People: On the Path from Victims to Victors by Bill Cosby (and more). A review of The Heart of Whiteness: Confronting Race, Racism and White Privilege by Robert Jensen. An interview with Sherrilyn Ifill, author of On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century. Should Nobel Prize winner James Watson have been shunned after his explosive remarks on race? Binary limitations: A predictable debate surrounds James Watson's recent comments. But how far could you go along with his argument before descending into racism? An interview with Melvin L. Johnson, author of Overcoming Racism Through the Gospel. A review of Reparations: Pro and Con by Alfred L. Brophy. Whaddya mean, "We"? Or why wear red on Halloween: When black feminism isn't enough, a brand new sisterhood takes on the politics of pronouns.
