A Must-Read Article for those concerned about the current state and future of the world

This is the NEW best essay I´ve read on our current political situation--much better than the piece in the New Yorker--which unlike the multitude of hack pieces churned out for the race-addicted public (I don´t exclude myself from that group), manages to incorporate the political race into the more important context of our conflicted history and our world as it is developing before us. That is to say, it is not so much an article (it is an essay) about one candidate over the other (though it is "about" Obama) as it is a well-written and critical account of our culture and our politics as they have shaped the world and will continue to do so. Keep in mind that the piece is written by Andrew Sullivan, a well-known conservative author (former editor of the New Republic). I found it worth every second of the read and I hope you will too. Oh, and no matter who you´re planning on voting for (granted, there´s still a lot of time left) please remember to vote. Let me also add innocently (or not so innocently, but earnestly) that I think it would be unfortunate to wager the "electability" of a candidate in deciding who to vote for--that´s not exactly in the spirit of American politics as I understand them to have been originally conceived. Moreover, I continue to believe that if enough individuals act with their minds and hearts, an awful lot is possible. So read up, feel the energy, stay strong and when the time comes, rush the booth.

Ben Franklin - American Master

The following link leads to an article about the life of Benjamin Franklin and his many aliases, particularly Poor Richard (of the Almanacs). If anybody has read some kind of literature or reportage on Ben Franklin that they enjoyed, please share, because I'd really like to learn more about this mythical man.

Here's the link:

I dug this story...a lot (and not just because it involved hot lesbian sex. Seriously, it's really good)

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2008/01/28/080128fi_fiction_erdrich

Best Piece I've read on Clinton/Obama

This, to me, is the most honest and personal approach to the Democratic split I've seen so far. It focuses mostly on Hillary and is neither drooling nor overly aggressive, but instead relies on a great deal of comments from campaign advisers and friends (who speak candidly about both candidates). You can find it here:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/01/28/080128fa_fact_packer


Word of the Day: Shibboleth

n.

1. A word or pronunciation that distinguishes people of one group or class from those of another.
2.
1. A word or phrase identified with a particular group or cause; a catchword.
2. A commonplace saying or idea.
3. A custom or practice that betrays one as an outsider.

Origin

The term originates from the Hebrew word שיבולת, which literally means the part of a plant containing grains, such as an ear of corn or a stalk of grain [2] or, according to other sources, "stream, torrent"[3] [4] (the latter meaning is not in use in Modern Hebrew). It derives from an account in the Hebrew Bible, in which pronunciation of this word was used to distinguish members of a group (the Ephraimites) whose dialect lacked a /ʃ/ sound (as in shoe) from members of a group (the Gileadites) whose dialect did include such a sound.

In the Book of Judges, chapter 12, after the inhabitants of Gilead inflicted a military defeat upon the tribe of Ephraim (around 1370–1070 BC), the surviving Ephraimites tried to cross the Jordan River back into their home territory and the Gileadites secured the river's fords to stop them. In order to identify and kill these disguised refugees, the Gileadites put each refugee to a simple test:

And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay;

Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.

– Judges 12:5-6, KJV

(This info is from the "Shibboleth" article found at Answers.com)

New Book: Life stories in 6 words

I like the idea of this. Definitely fulfills that most American desire for instant gratification.

clipped from www.youtube.com

Apes and evolution

Something is happening which is not happening.
Something is happening that is not happening at all.

Exams are coming up next week and of course it's one of the most beautiful weeks we've had here in a while. Thanks, Justice-delivering Weather Gods. (Dicks.) He kicks himself in the now fairly-well-dented-from-kicking region for not using some of that long-gone "free time" to do a better job of preparing for exams gradually. When will he learn? "Probably never," he whispers to himself under his breath and laughs a mocking laugh thinking, "How could such a self-destructive personality be the result of thousands of years of evolution?" He proceeds to wonder how he might have been as an ancient ape and falls into a deep reverie, failing to make any progress on the mountain of 17th and 18th century Spanish poetry books he has yet to scale. Coming back to himself a long while later, he thinks "If the above were more than a just a bad metaphor for “a lot of work,” it would probably be quite helpful to have an ape-like physique to climb said mountain of books. Climbing books might even be fun. You could build some really cool obstacles with books. Suddenly receiving a neural message from his more others-focused side (that is to say, his less egocentric side), he mulls “Maybe there is some way to blend the activities of climbing and reading books that could be designed into a low-cost, after-school activity and implemented in underfunded school districts to encourage kids to read. Leaving that puzzle for another time the ape scratches his head and tries to understand this habit he's developed of going on epic mental journeys of late. He remembers the mountain of books and proceeds to ask himself (rhetorically) why he is so averse to sitting down and doing as much of the work in front of him that he can in the time he has left, like any reasonable ape would do. But before he can move forward with that train of thought, he finds himself overwhelmed by a craving for potassium, so he leaves his room, pulling himself along on his knuckles and starts on his way to the nearest banana grove, which is somewhere in Africa. He was never very good at thinking things through before acting. Upon arriving at the spot where his landmass meets the indifferent and bananaless ocean, he sighs deeply, sits on a rock, and wonders why he can’t ever seem to get to where he’s going.

HIDING THE BALL

clipped from www.mcsweeneys.net HIDING THE BALL IN PRESIDENTIAL INTERVIEWS: HOW THE LIBERAL MEDIA CAN FINALLY ASK THE QUESTIONS THEY'RE DYING TO ASK. BY JASON KELLETT Mr. President, we have all heard the reports that you are extremely health-conscious—exercising daily, eating right, and making sure you get to bed at a decent hour. But with all the stress that comes along with being the leader of the free world, I imagine there must be days when you find yourself hard-pressed to find time to run. And as for healthy sleep patterns, I know when I'm under a great deal of stress I sometimes lie in bed tossing and turning until the wee hours of the morning. I've tried Ambien, warm milk, sheep-counting. Nothing seems to help. So tell me, Mr. President, how do you sleep at night?

Liberal Media ask President questions they've been burning to ask

clipped from www.mcsweeneys.net A while back, a wire story on the contents of your personal iPod reported that you were listening to the Knack, Credence Clearwater Revival, and Van Morrison. Noticeably absent from the reported playlist at that time were any classic '70s soul-music artists such as Al Green or James Brown. Perhaps you have added some Marvin Gaye to the rotation since that story. I wonder if you'd like to update us on your current iPod selections. Have you no soul, Mr. President? On my tour of the White House, I noticed that the hall leading from the Oval Office to the press room is devoid of mirrors or reflective surfaces of any kind. Now, surely you sometimes want to make sure your tie is straight or your hair is fixed before a press conference. How do you even look at yourself in the mirror?

Borowitz Shouts and Murmers on NYC Real-estate

clipped from www.newyorker.com RARELY AVAILABLE corner unit in circular building. Dramatic floor-to-ceiling walls. Breathtaking, massively proportioned mortgage. This one won’t last: moisture-drenched BR was formerly home to one of New York’s oldest families of termites. Original mold throughout. Architect-designed, carpenter-built, and painter-painted, this 400 sq. ft. jewel box has been lovingly overpriced at $2.8M. Specious! ,

Geece Pictures

I just added a new Picasa Web Gallery of what I think are the best of my Greece pictures. Feel free to take a look if the disposition strikes you. I think they're pretty decent for the most part.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aaron8008/Spetses

Comments welcome

Politicial Mudslinging and a nice reader response

Nicely put. I'm a fan of the ending

clipped from andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com A reader writes: Is it wrong for me to want to smack the shit out of the Clinton advisor who provided that quote?  You would think by the way Hillary barely won in New Hampshire, she'd go the extra mile to make sure that no one in her staff says some asinine comment that can only serve to alienate the very same voters that cost her Iowa.  Oh, I forgot, she's become inevitable again. I'm a 29 year old third generation veteran with plenty of real hip black friends.  I pay out the ass in medical insurance.  My father died from exposure to Agent Orange.  There are plenty of causes for which HRC could latch her boat onto with people like me.  Instead, the vile hubris that flows like a river in her camp from the top down has sickened me beyond belief.  Hey campaign adviser, I support Obama for his real, tangible principles, you pompous dick.

The Spetses Adventure, First Installment

We were on the Flying Dolphin and halfway to the island when she looked over and said, "I should probably call my Mum."

"Mum, hi. Yes, it's Katerina, your daughter. Yes, Mum, I'm coming today. Mum, I have a friend with me and he's staying for Christmas. What should I do?"

Needless to say, this is not exactly the conversation I was expecting to overhear.

"Well," said Margaret, "I suppose you should bring him here and tell your father that he's a friend of yours from school who had no where to go for Christmas. That's what you usually do, isn't it?"

So here I am in the middle of some Greek ocean waters, unspecial--I would come to learn that Katerina always brings someone home with her when she decides to come home because she has a rocky relationship with her father who simply doesn't understand why she insists on running off to live on other land masses when she could just stay on Spetes, take over one of the hotels and lead a happy Greek life like her younger sister Kristiana, who never struck me as being particularly happy--AND unexpected. Surprise! Another stranger will be dining with us on Christmas! Naturally I felt a little uneasy. "I told you I wasn't very organized," she said. I smiled a smile, laughed a confused laugh, and sat nursing my bruised ego while drifting in and out of sleep with the little Greek waves until we arrived at Spetses.


(More to come)