tomartin
date with death
A little, somewhat surprising background on Terri Schiavo's immanent life shortening.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-smith090503.asp
From Slate Klausfile. How does one prove they are not PVS?
"NPR vs. NPR: I was just growing more sympathetic to the cause of those who want to pull the plug on Terri Schiavo--then I heard an eye-opening interview on NPR's Day to Day with a woman who says she was near to being diagnosed as being in a "persistent vegetative state" and was trying desperately to signal her doctors and nurses while they debated the most convenient time to kill her--sorry, I mean, exercise her "right to die." If she tried to make repetitive letter motions with her hand, they sedated her. ... She was finally saved by one nurse who suspected she "was in there." ... Her case may not be Terri Schiavo's case--but it's enough to make one very wary of the wonderful ethical/legal consensus, obediently trumpeted by All Things Considered and Slate's Dahlia Lithwick, that has established the PVS/plug-pulling protocol. ... How does a) the number of innocent people who will be executed under death penalty procedures compare with b) the number of innocent, live patients who will be killed under a tendentious diagnosis of PVS? I'd guess the ratio is probably one to 100, maybe 1 to 1,000. But the American left makes a huge (and legitimate) fuss about the former while it actually promotes the latter. ... "
the funniest man alive?
The Onion has a q & a interview with former SNL cast member Will Ferrell. And in an ominous developement he is scheduled to star in Confederacy of Dunces. (see books recommended by fictitous teenage girls Thu Aug 14, 10:38:23 AM).
The article calls his impressions "strangely convincing". This weeks issue also has a funny piece on the Pope.
http://www.theonionavclub.com/3942/feature1.html
criterian online film school
The Criterion film collection offers an interesting list of films. It's sort of a film school/arthouse film list. The films are available in dvd with an outstanding array of supplemental materials. One could do a pretty systematic study of film history by following the list. The site also has a good supply of articles. I read an article by Jean Cocteau.
The "browse the list" page has a fairly thorough synopsis of each movie. There are some pretty sharp stills from most of the films too. I'm not sure about the film availability for rental. I'll check........
http://www.criterionco.com/asp/
the prince
I just finished reading The Prince as a part of my MIT OpenCourseWare class, paper page version (though it is available as online text through bartleby.com or projectguttenberg.com.) I didn't find it to be all that Machiavellian.
He speaks harshly of despots and encourages the prince not to oppress his people. I would call it utilitarian in that it recommends what seems to work. Don't be opressive so people will like you and you'll stay in power for a long time.
[T]he wise man should always follow the roads that have been trodden by the great, and imitate those who have most excelled, so that if he cannot reach their perfection, he may at least acquire something of its savour. —VI. Niccolo Machiavelli
http://www.bartleby.com/36/1/
Questia offers a number of great rescources (for a fee) - articles, websites, essays etc.......
http://www.questia.com/Index.jsp?CRID=machiavellis_the_prince&OFFID=se1
Pinkmonkey.com offers text and notes for free.
http://pinkmonkey.com/search/machiavelli.asp
Bartleby.com advertises an online game that developes negotiating skills. I haven't played the game. Maybe I will.
http://www.machiavellisworkshop.com/index.html
buzz per yahoo
1 Halloween
2 Britney Spears
3 Texas Chainsaw Massacre
4 NASCAR
5 Jennifer Lopez
Yahoo has a feature on their My Yahoo page called the buzz index. It fascinates me. It is a listing of the top searches currently being undertaken. Halloween is the number one search (it is today), two um photogenic pop stars (Britney and J. Lo), the national passtime (nascar), and a creepy hit movie.
And in the interest of full disclosure, I'm curious if I can generate hits as a result of mentioning those buzzy items.
mission accomplished
Why Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson are trying to get off the purity pedestal. From the beliefnet article Whatever Happened to Chastity Chic? Britney and Christina seem to be projecting a sexuality that doesn't line up with their young audiences musical taste. Jessica Simpson and her husband apperantly waited until they were married- their marriage as featured in their new MTV reality show Newlyweds.
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/134/story_13473_1.html
the rumsfield golf war memo
We are seeing, in the press, the sort of things about Mr. Rumsfield that we see about people who are on the way out of their jobs. I thought this interesting because it has that great Rumsfield voice. Obviously meant for a small audience (addressed to four people). It is a very backstage look at the Bush administration. I find it refreshingly frank and free of happy talk and we-need-to-get-re-elected spin. And of course, how did it wind up in the New York Times?
I publish the letter in its entirety..........
October 16, 2003 TO: Gen. Dick Myers
Paul Wolfowitz
Gen. Pete Pace
Doug Feith
FROM: Donald Rumsfeld
SUBJECT: Global War on Terrorism
The questions I posed to combatant commanders this week were: Are we winning or losing the Global War on Terror? Is DoD changing fast enough to deal with the new 21st century security environment? Can a big institution change fast enough? Is the USG changing fast enough?
DoD has been organized, trained and equipped to fight big armies, navies and air forces. It is not possible to change DoD fast enough to successfully fight the global war on terror; an alternative might be to try to fashion a new institution, either within DoD or elsewhere — one that seamlessly focuses the capabilities of several departments and agencies on this key problem.
With respect to global terrorism, the record since Septermber 11th seems to be:
We are having mixed results with Al Qaida, although we have put considerable pressure on them — nonetheless, a great many remain at large.
USG has made reasonable progress in capturing or killing the top 55 Iraqis.
USG has made somewhat slower progress tracking down the Taliban — Omar, Hekmatyar, etc.
With respect to the Ansar Al-Islam, we are just getting started.
Have we fashioned the right mix of rewards, amnesty, protection and confidence in the US?
Does DoD need to think through new ways to organize, train, equip and focus to deal with the global war on terror?
Are the changes we have and are making too modest and incremental? My impression is that we have not yet made truly bold moves, although we have have made many sensible, logical moves in the right direction, but are they enough?
Today, we lack metrics to know if we are winning or losing the global war on terror. Are we capturing, killing or deterring and dissuading more terrorists every day than the madrassas and the radical clerics are recruiting, training and deploying against us?
Does the US need to fashion a broad, integrated plan to stop the next generation of terrorists? The US is putting relatively little effort into a long-range plan, but we are putting a great deal of effort into trying to stop terrorists. The cost-benefit ratio is against us! Our cost is billions against the terrorists' costs of millions.
Do we need a new organization?
How do we stop those who are financing the radical madrassa schools?
Is our current situation such that "the harder we work, the behinder we get"?
It is pretty clear that the coalition can win in Afghanistan and Iraq in one way or another, but it will be a long, hard slog.
Does CIA need a new finding?
Should we create a private foundation to entice radical madradssas to a more moderate course?
What else should we be considering?
Please be prepared to discuss this at our meeting on Saturday or Monday.
Thanks.
fear and loathing in the nfl
Don't we all just have to read a little Hunter Thompson once in a while? He has a weekly column on espn.com. Weekly? He sometimes takes cryptically explained sabbaticals on short notice at erratic intervals. Always funny in a decadent sort of way. Heartbroken gambling diatribes mostly centered around the nfl but including everthing. Football, horseracing, firearms, left-wing paranoia - always in good fun.
http://msn.espn.go.com/page2/s/thompson/031028.html
getting creeped out of having sex by the pink nun
I'm not sure how to take this. A performance artist who dresses as a pink nun, who works as an abstinency advocate.
http://www.beliefnet.com/frameset.asp?pageLoc=/story/134/story_13477_1.html&storyID=13477&boardID=65139
historic creeds 101
In an interview with Luke Timothy Johnson called The Power of the Creed from Beliefnet, subtitled What's in the Christian creed, what's left out, and why we need statements of belief more than ever. It would seem we are returning to square one - deciding, finally, that what we believe and think, specifically, is important.
http://www.Beliefnet.com/frameset.asp?boardID=64267&pageloc=/story/133/story_13333_1.html
The article ran a link to an Anglican website that is just packed with info. (I've been getting quite a bit of stuff from beliefnet.com if you haven't noticed.)
http://anglicansonline.org/basics/nicene.html
housekeeping
I have a huge backlog of articles and links that I'll be working through in the next couple of days. I'll also be going back and editing past entries and expanding some of the entries that were posted just to get something up.
There are some emerging themes in my posts that I want to focus on and accentuate and give the blog a theme or storyline. After settling on some areas of emphasis there will be a regular extended article (written by me) of an extended length, published at a regular interval (weekly?).
There may not be a narrow defined theme and it may become what is called in the magazine world a "lifestyle" magazine.
When i know what it is I will begin to take some of the steps people take when they decide that they want people to see what they are writing.
the funniest woman alive?
The New Yorker has a profile on SNL headwriter Tina Fey - an interesting, funny woman. For years I took WU as my signal to go to bed. I now cannot go to bed until I have seen the fake news in its entirety. SNL has never been better and the adorable Tina Fey is the reason.
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?031103fa_fact
the greatest man of the second millenium
Luther (the movie) is getting pretty good reviews. It seems to be fairly accurate.
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20031027&s=kauffmann102703
For a good selection of Luther texts and other assorted Lutheran information:
www.projectwittenberg.com
the greatest man of the 20th century
Rolling Stone Magazine has posted links for all their major Dylan interviews over the years. I don't know about you , but I think I'll just sit around and read every article.
http://www.rollingstone.com/features/featuregen.asp?pid=1999
tom wolfe and a theoretically great building no one likes
I think I recall seeing this building in New York and thought it looked strange in Columbus Circle. I see Wolfe's point about it's significance though. Article sites some of Wolfe's great books. Read the article, read the books. Questions? COmments?
http://slate.msn.com/id/2089958/
matt & ben off broadway
A New York off-Broadway phenomenon. Two young women play the rolls of Matt & Ben before Good Will Hunting - which apperently feel from the sky - which accounts for them not writing anything else since. Sounds funny/interesting/creative.
http://www.mattandben.com/nytimes2.html
