online archive
5:00PM
FEB 1 2008
The delusions of celebrity culture
From The Washington Spectator, Lou Dubose on Ralph Reed, John McCain and CNN. Jonathan Rauch on how our inevitable withdrawal from Iraq could poison American politics for a generation. From Public Resistance, Valerie Scatamburlo-D’Annibale (Windsor): Peddling Patriotic Correctness in the Post-9/11 Era: The Intercollegiate Studies Institute; and Andrew Austin (Green Bay): The Truth According to Bud Peterson: A Case of Enforcing Patriotic Correctness. From Onearth, a look at how discoveries about the impact of the environment on our DNA could revolutionize our concept of illness. From Techne, a special section on technology and normativity. From Applied Semiotics, an article on the "emoticon" and its roles in impression formation. America's whites-only towns: An article on the rise of "sundown towns" and their enduring legacy. More on Homo Politicus by Dana Milbank. From Japan Focus, defending the indefensible: A meditation on the life of Hiroshima pilot Paul Tibbets, Jr. From Foreign Policy, a look at how to steal an election without breaking a sweat; and an article on the world’s top spy agencies. An interview with Kurt Loder on the delusions of celebrity culture and the coming collapse of mainstream media outlets. A review of Education’s End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life by Anthony T. Kronman.
1:00PM
FEB 1 2008
Life is full of coincidences
From Plus, an interview with Nira Chamberlain, mathematical modelling consultant; a look at how a little maths goes a long way in unravelling dodgy media claims; and life is full of coincidences, but how do you work out if something is really as unlikely as it seems? An excerpt from The Women's Movement Against Sexual Harassment by Carrie N. Baker. Research finds people can accurately judge the sexual orientation of other individuals by glancing at their faces. From Theme, a special issue on Asian nerds. From Postmodern Culture, a review of Frederic Jameson's Archaeologies of the Future: The Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions; and a review of books on Adorno. From Portal, a special issue on Contesting Euro Visions, including Damian Spruce (UT-Sydney): The Cosmopolitanization of the EU’s Borders? From USA Today magazine, a look at the character of George Washington, and an article on John Adams and the pursuit of happiness. A review of The Invention of Ancient Slavery? by Niall McKeown. A review of War and Peace in the Ancient World. A review of The Faces of Terrorism: Social and Psychological Dimensions by Neil J. Smelser. Michael Barone on how Americans’ views of macroeconomic trends are increasingly a product of their political leanings. The transition to a new economy is over; do our candidates know it?
9:00AM
FEB 1 2008
The real surreal world
From Parameters, Carl Ceulemans (RMA): The Moral Equality of Combatants; and an essay on rethinking morality in war. From The Atlantic Monthly, a review of Christian Dior by Marie-France Pochna; The Golden Age of Couture by Claire Wilcox; Balenciaga Paris by Pamela Golbin and Fabien Baron; and Balenciaga and His Legacy by Myra Walker. The Neurosciences of Religion: How the neurosciences explain religion or not. The Real Surreal World: Why are the most visceral, defining moments in our life often perceived as unreal or dream-like? An excerpt from Plato and the Art of Philosophical Writing by Christopher Rowe. The introduction to Justice: Rights and Wrongs by Nicholas Wolterstorff. An excerpt from The Structural Evolution of Morality by J. McKenzie Alexander. From Virginia Quarterly Review, I make myself unimportant: A symposium on the life and work of Ryszard Kapuscinski. William Blake's "London" is a devastating portrait of a society in which all souls and bodies were trapped, exploited and infected. An art form that enlivens our city or a mindless act of vandalism: Attitudes to graffiti are wildly ambivalent, but jail terms for graffiti writers? From the last issue of Public Opinion Pros, who wears the pants? An article on Hillary Clinton’s prospective First Gentleman; and a look at why popular government may have an optimistic future.
