Diary
Peter Parker a.k.a. Spiderman once again finds himself with too many heroic acts on his daily calendar. This prevents him from excelling at his studies at Columbia University and making sufficient money to pay his rent. New York needs a fulltime Spiderman just to keep the city functioning. Again Spiderman battles a mad scientist who is about to kill millions of people. But Spiderman’s own heart is what almost makes him crash. He still loves the neighbour girl, Mary Jane Watson, who is now an actress in Manhattan. She also still loves him, but she seems to have given up on Peter and is now engaged to another man. Can they ever get together? I don’t agree with those who say that Spiderman 2 is even better than the first one. It is more of the same. There is no reason to see both films. If you want to know how the love story ends, see the second film.Spiderman 2
Diary
From The Economist print edition, Sep 23rd 2004, p. 95 New Evidence that people have been promiscuous for a long time. LOTHARIOS everywhere will be pleased to hear that monogamy does not appear to be a natural human state. That, at least, is the conclusion of a study conducted by Michael Hammer at the University of Arizona in Tucson, and just published in Nature Genetics. By examining the DNA of living people, Dr Hammer and his colleagues have found that far fewer men than women pass their genes on to subsequent generations. In short, a small number of men have been putting it about a lot, thus outcompeting their lesser rivals.A History of Sex
Diary
Last Sunday a fantastic new series started on the WB Channel. It follows how a teenage boy become president of the USA in 2040. The writing is clever and insightful. One has the feeling that Washington insiders have written the script. In the middle of a presidential campaign, it is all the more fun to watch such a drama. Here you find more information on the series: Jack&Bobby WebsiteFantastic New Series: Jack & Bobby
Diary
SHARON BEGLEY has filed this interesting report about the connection between wealth and happiness in today’s WSJ. It seems like justice is valued highly all over the world. But what is less clear is what people are willing to pay for it. Wealth and Happiness Don’t Necessarily Go Hand in Hand On a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 means “not at all satisfied with my life” and 7 means “completely satisfied,” it’s no surprise that survey-respondents who make Forbes magazine’s list of the 400 richest Americans average 5.8, while homeless pavement dwellers in Calcutta average 2.9. Does money buy happiness? In particular, does raising a nation’s income or wealth, as measured by gross domestic product, raise the population’s overall level of happiness? Intuitively, you’d think the answer is a definite yes. After all, classic economic theory holds that additional income allows people to meet additional needs, and the more needs—or even wants—you satisfy, the happier you are. Also, money buys choices. With $10 you can buy steak or hot dogs, but with only $1 you better hope you have relish in the fridge. The more choices people have, economists assume, the happier they are.Wealth and Happiness
All in all, sleeping on sidewalks and starving can’t hold a candle to sleeping on satin and splurging.
Not so fast. In the surveys, taken off and on over the last 20 years, the Inuit people of frigid northern Greenland also average 5.8. So do the cattle-herding Masai of Kenya, who live in dung huts with no electricity or running water. And Calcutta’s slum dwellers, for whom being only a single economic rung above the pavement denizens apparently makes a huge difference, come in at 4.6.
Diary
The Oscar winning Titanic was boring compared to this remarkable motion picture by Roland Emmerich. America as we know it coming to an end is simply a bigger issue than two lovers going bathing because their vessel hit an iceberg. The notion that New York City could turn tomorrow into Iceland is scientifically wrong; but evidence that global warming is taking place with possible huge consequences for the worldThe Day After Tomorrow
Diary
Given that most people seem to know that the divorce rate in contemporary America is about 50 percent for first timers (the odds for 2nd and 3rd marriages are even worse), I was curious whether some people would feel a little bit queezy about uttering the promise Till Death Do us Part. SAM ROBERTS in today’s New York Times reports that a few couples indeed try inject a bit realism in their marriage vows. Dr. Butts did mind. His advice: Find another minister.Till Death Do Us Part, or Whatever
THE Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, pastor of Harlem’s Abyssinian
Baptist Church, was stunned recently when three couples who
wanted him to preside at their weddings asked if he would
alter the traditional marriage vows. Forget the
till-death-do-us-part injunction, they suggested. Instead,
would he mind substituting a more realistic escape clause,
say, “as long as our love shall last”?
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