Losing one’s life in democratic elections
Until today I believed that the current elections in the U.S. are calm and civil compared to places like Ukraine where the oppositions candidate became very sick in the weeks leading up to this coming Sunday’s fateful election because he was apparently poisoned by the incumbent party. But then I read this short report about the famous Katherine Harris, who has a secure place George Bush’s Christmas card list for the foreseable future.
Katherine Harris Is Almost Hit by Car
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARASOTA, Fla., Oct. 27 (AP) -Representative Katherine Harris, Republican of Florida, and a group of supporters were almost hit by a speeding car on Tuesday evening, and the driver was charged on Wednesday with aggravated assault, the police said.
The driver, Barry M. Seltzer, 46, of Sarasota, told the police that he had been exercising “political expression.” Bystanders said a silver Cadillac sped through an intersection here and swerved onto the sidewalk. The car headed toward Ms. Harris before swerving and driving away, the police said. No one was injured.
Continue ReadingGenius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds
I discovered Harold Bloom last year and have become a big fan of his literary criticism. Even when he writes about authors I know quite well, he brings a fresh perspective on the material. Many of his 100 creative minds I have not had the chance to read in detail, but my appetitive for their works is enormously stimulated by Bloom’s deep knowledge of how they fit in the larger canvass of world literature. Bloom is a literary heavyweight. His language is a spectacle for the mind. I highly recommend this book. One does not have to read the book all at once but can read about one author a day, for example.
Spiderman 2
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.
A History of Sex
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.
Continue ReadingFantastic New Series: Jack & Bobby
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 Website
Wealth and Happiness
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.
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.
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.
Continue ReadingThe Day After Tomorrow
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 world
Till Death Do Us Part, or Whatever
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.
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”?
Dr. Butts did mind. His advice: Find another minister.
Continue Reading
Annie Hall
During the first thirty minutes of the movie I wanted to scream out after every sentence of the dialogue: Brilliant!!! The rest of the movie is excellent as well. Woody Allen could (perhaps should) have stopped writing, acting and directing movies after Annie Hall (1977), and he would have deserved to be inducted into the hall of fame of great comic analysts of the human (New York) condition. Three thumbs up! This is the one Woody Allen film that you don’t want to miss if you like intellectual comedy.
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