November-April (A) 2004

Diane Palley: In Your Mouths and In Your Hearts
Papercut artist and old friend
Temple Israel, Boston. May 14 and 16, 2004.

Harold Bloom: The Best Poems of the English Language: From Chaucer Through Frost
Friday, 04-23-2004, 6 PM, Harvard's Sackler Museum, 485 Broadway
Must pick up free tickets at Harvard Book Store

Roger Lowenstein: Origins of the Crash
Harvard Book Store, Wed., 04-07-2004, 6 PM

Robert McNamara: The Fog of War-Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert McNamara
Kennedy School of Government, Wed., 03-03-2004, 6 PM
U.S. Secretary of Defense for President Kennedy and President Johnson (1961 through 1968); Author, In Retrospect: The Tragedies and Lessons of Vietnam

Kevin Phillips: The Bush Family-An American Dynasty
Kennedy School of Government, Mon., 03-01-2004, 6 PM
Author, American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush (2004); Chief Elections Analyst for 1968 Richard Nixon Campaign for President

Official MIT IAP
Unofficial Hackers MIT IAP

Franco Modigliani Memorial Sunday, December 7 at 10:30 AM. Kresge.
By invitation only.
Webcast

MIT BioStrategy Seminar:
Economics of Pharmaceutical Innovation: Costs, Risks, and Returns
Dr. Joe DiMasi, Director of Economic Analysis Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development
Thursday, December 4, 2003; 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Sloan's Tang Center Room E51-315

Richard Dawkins: Tanner Lectures on Human Values
The Science of Religion and the Religion of Science
LECTURE I: THE SCIENCE OF RELIGION
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2003 4:30 PM Lowell Lecture Hall, Kirkland & Oxford Sts.
LECTURE II: THE RELIGION OF SCIENCE
Thursday, November 20, 4:30 PM Lowell Lecture Hall
SEMINAR WITH RICHARD DAWKINS, KEITH DEROSE AND STEVEN PINKER
Friday, November 21, 10 AM-Noon
Wiener Auditorium, Taubman Building, John F. Kennedy School of Government

William J. Mitchell book talk on 'ME++: The Cyborg Self and the Networked City'
MIT, Bartos Theater, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003 at 5:30 PM
'How the transformation of wireless technology and the creation of an interconnected planet are changing our world and our lives.'

Building a Brain to Last a Lifetime October 8, 2003. MIT faculty Club. 9-12 AM
Paul Nussbaum, PhD, Neurologist
Contact Nancy Martin (nlmartin@mit.edu), MIT AgeLab or by phone at (617) 253-1547.
We went. He was great.
Paul Nussbaum.com
TEN TIPS FOR MAINTAINING A HEALTHY BRAIN FROM 1 TO 100

04-13-2004

HOW BUSH GOT BOUNCED FROM CARLYLE BOARD (Progressive Review)

Barred as Rivals, Doctors See Some Hospitals in Court 04-13-2004 (NYT)
Siphoning off the best business from hospitals is similar to how private insurers undercut Blue Cross.

04-07-2004

Braingle: Brain Teasers (via Larkfarm)

Matt Stoller: When Mainstream Political Kibitzing Comes Online 04-04-2004 (BOPnews)

For Today's Weddings, Forget Yesterday's Rules 04-04-2004 (NYT)

Quick Guide to the Best Restaurants in NY (NYT; Megnut)

KINJA: Blog-Bleary? Try (What Else?) a Blog 04-01-2004 (NYT; Megnut)
Nick Denton: Kinja is live 04-01-2004 (via Megnut)
and for kicks. . . Gawker Stalker: Weighing in on America's Next Top Model 04-08-2004 (Nick Denton is Gawker)

Peter Bergen: Questions for Dr. Rice 04-04-2004 (NYT; TPM)

Josh Marshall quotes Harold Meyerson 04-07-2004
'The only unequivocally good policy option before the American people is to dump the president who got us into this mess, who had no trouble sending our young people to Iraq but who cannot steel himself to face the Sept. 11 commission alone.'

04-03-2004

All the pretty colors... 03-30-2004 (PeterMe)
Points to NewsMap, which visually presents what is happening in the news.

Bush and Blair made secret pact for Iraq War 04-03-2004 (DeLong)

03-29-2004

Is Trump Headed for a Fall? 03-28-2004 (NYT) Bankruptcy in his casino business?

Annenberg Political FactCheck

Does George Lakoff Know Something that Conservatives Know But Liberals Don't? Fall 1996 (Santa Fe Bulletin; MeFi)

03-23-2004

The Verdict is in on Medicare (The Decembrist; DeLong)

Tim Dunlop's Road to Surfdom has been commenting on Richard Clarke's 'Against All Enemies 9via DeLong)

Integration Types for Leaving cert. Honours Mathematics 03-23-2004 (via Crooked Timber)
Since I just blasted some Sloan MBA students for not knowing how to integrate, I should check to make sure I can still do this. Heh.

Slender and Elegant, It Fuels the Bomb 03-23-2004 (NYT; Harry)
Dr. Gernot Zippe and his uranium centrifuge.

03-21-2004

Former White House Terrorism Chief Richard Clarke Writes His Book 03-21-2004 (DeLong)
Richard Clarke (Against All Enemies) interviewed on 60 Minutes.
Linkmeister points to some links, videos

03-20-2004

90-Day Media Strategy by Bush's Aides to Define Kerry 03-20-2004 (NYT)
After 19 Years in Senate, Kerry of Today Is Far From Kerry of 1985 03-20-2004 (NYT)

Living Room Film Club, a Click Away 03-19-2004 (NYT) NetFlix etc.

Mr. Invisible and the Secret Mission to Hollywood 03-14-2004 (NYT Mag; Steve B and Harry)
Movies on the cheap.

03-19-2004

Iraq on the Record (Rep. Henry Waxman; FmH)
A comprehensive examination of the statements made by the five Administration officials most responsible for providing public information and shaping public opinion on Iraq: President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.
This Iraq on the Record database identifies 237 specific misleading statements about the threat posed by Iraq made by these five officials in 125 public appearances in the time leading up to and after the commencement of hostilities in Iraq.

03-16-2004

Happy 57th birthday, Emily.
Rest in Peace, Denise.

Greenspan Shifts Views on Deficits 03-16-2004 (NYT)

The Meaning of 'Human' in Embryonic Research 03-13-2004 (NYT; Harry)
Being Human Readings from the President's Council on Bioethics (out of print and won't be replenished) 12-2003
Transcripts by topic [President's Council on Bioethics]
Still available:
Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness
Monitoring Stem Cell Research

John Kerry's Jewish Brother 02-13-2004 (Detroit Jewish News; SSG)

03-13-2004

Study Finds a Nation of Polarized Readers 03-10-2004 (NYT) Network of book purchases

Bush videos and Kerry videos

Democracy in Action 03-13-2004 (SFGate) South Korea

The Gospel of Debbie 03-08-2004 (NYer; Emmie)
by Paul Rudnick. Very funny.

Clearly the Candidate, Bush Takes on Kerry on Defense, Taxes and Terrorism 03-13-2004 (NYT)

03-12-2004

Calvin and Hobbes Stripsearch (via DeLong)

THE ART OF THE WELL-PLACED ELLIPSIS 03-10-2004 (New Republic; DeLong)

From a Bush campaign press release:

"In My First Hundred Days In The White House, I Will Roll Back George Bush's Tax Cut..." (Sen. John Kerry, Remarks In Manchester, N.H., 12/27/03)

In my first hundred days in the White House, I will roll back George Bush's tax cut for the wealthiest so that we can invest in education and health care.

03-10-2004

Why you should vote for Bush in '04 (Quicktime) (via FmH)

'There are trivial truths and great truths. The opposite of a trivial truth is plainly false. The opposite of a great truth is also true.' Niels Bohr (Quote cited by FmH)

Map of the West Wing (Wash Post; BOPnews)

03-08-2004

Flip-Flops of President Bush II (from a comment on DeLong's site)
And I see the source is the Daily Kos 03-07-2004.

So Bush has a site somewhere that tracks Kerry's "flip-flops". Reader TK probably spent three seconds coming up with this list of Bush flip flops. It's not like they're hard to find:

Bush is against campaign finance reform; then he's for it.

Bush is against a Homeland Security Department; then he's for it.

Bush is against a 9/11 commission; then he's for it.

Bush is against an Iraq WMD investigation; then he's for it.

Bush is against nation building; then he's for it.

Bush is against deficits; then he's for them.

Bush is for free trade; then he's for tariffs on steel; then he's against them again.

Bush is against the U.S. taking a role in the Israeli Palestinian conflict; then he pushes for a "road map" and a Palestinian State.

Bush is for states right to decide on gay marriage, then he is for changing the constitution.

Bush first says he'll provide money for first responders (fire, police, emergency), then he doesn't.

Bush first says that 'help is on the way' to the military ... then he cuts benefits

Bush-"The most important thing is for us to find Osama bin Laden. Bush-"I don't know where he is. I have no idea and I really don't care.

Bush claims to be in favor of the environment and then secretly starts drilling on Padre Island.

Bush talks about helping education and increases mandates while cutting funding.

Bush first says the U.S. won't negotiate with North Korea. Now he will

Bush goes to Bob Jones University. Then say's he shouldn't have.

Bush said he would demand a U.N. Security Council vote on whether to sanction military action against Iraq. Later Bush announced he would not call for a vote

Bush said the "mission accomplished" banner was put up by the sailors. Bush later admits it was his advance team.

Bush was for fingerprinting and photographing Mexicans who enter the US. Bush after meeting with Pres. Fox, he's against it.

03-07-2004

Republicans rally at Bush's alma mater 03-01-2004 (Yale Daily News; FmH) Funny!

03-06-2004

"Off-shoring" Manifesto/Rant: Eighteen Hard Truths about Inevitabilities, Pitfalls, and Matchless Opportunities
Tom Peters. 02-21-2004 (via S Greenberg)

Translated Suntory scene from 'Lost in Tanslation' 03-06-2004 (via FmH)

03-05-2004

'Big Media' Meets the 'Bloggers' (PDF) (Kennedy School; Scripting)
Kennedy School Case Study on Trent Lott's Strom Thurmond comments and the blog firestorm that led to his demotion.

The Wars of the Texas Succession 02-26-2004 (NYRB)
Krugman reviews Kevin Phillips: American Dynasty and Ron Suskind: The Price of Loyalty

Merck: the Pipeline Problem 02-16-2004 (New Yorker; Peter M)
I just saw Judy Lewent (Merck CFO/EVP) at MIT last week.

02-28-2004

John Emerson (Zizka) Smear Page (via DeLong)

02-26-2004

To Trim Deficit, Greenspan Urges Social Security and Medicare Cuts 02-26-2004 (NYT)
-Greenspan's Testimony Before House Budget Committee

NYT endorses John Kerry 02-26-2004 (NYT)

Michael Watkins: On Not Getting Tenure at HBS 01-25-2004 and Death Knell for the Delicate Experiment at HBS 02-18-2004 (via Scripting)
I don't know anything about Michael Watkins beyond what I read here.

02-25-2004

Stanford's Philosophy Talk
Stanford's answer to 'Car Talk.'

Family of Sonia Talan and Morris Homonoff
Found while doing a Yahoo search on 'Homonoff'

The Complete Guide to Googlemania 03-2004 (Wired; Scripting)

02-19-2004

The New Face of the Silicon Age 02-2004 (Wired; DeLong)
How India became the capital of the computing revolution.

02-18-2004

Rosalind, Saskia, and Joshua were in town. Rosalind made a wonderful meal and Saskia made a tasty cheesecake. Since Saskia was cagey with her recipe, I called upon Google and found this:
Amaretto Macaroon Cheesecake
Phillippe has started a new catering business and mentioned wasabi-chocolate cake. Interesting.

How to tell if your cat has seen you naked (via FmH) Requires FLASH.

02-16-2004

The World According to Bill Fisher
Emmie's childhood friend, Gwen Gould, whom we haven't seen in 15 years, had dinner with us (and husband Ed Grossman) and introduced us to the blog of their friend, Bill Fisher. Fisher is an ex-diplomat with extensive experience in the Middle East. Interesting.

02-15-2004

Reach Out and Upend an Industry 02-15-2004 (NYT)
Vonage and internet telephony

Four Ways That Conventional Wisdom Can Go Astray 02-15-2004 (NYT)
What do love, health, telecommuting and skepticism about free advice have in common? To a tax expert, the answer is that all can play roles as you try to figure out your income tax liability.

02-14-2004

TRUE: John Kerry and Jane Fonda at Sept. 1970 Anti-War Rally [Snopes]
Both in audience, not sitting together. They were acquaintances but not friends.
FALSE: John Kerry and Jane Fonda Share Podium at 1970 Anti-War Rally [Snopes]
Doctored photo. Faked to look like newspaper article/photo.
Note: Fonda did not come to be known as 'Hanoi Jane' until 1972 (two years after photos) when she visited North Vietnam.

02-13-2004

DOWD: The Khan Artist 02-12-2004 (NYT)
I had stopped reading Dowd but this one is pretty good.

02-12-2004

Boston Globe Coverage of Bush's National Guard Service

02-09-2004

'This is not a dialog; this is a lecture' 02-04-2004 (via Poynter and FmH)
How Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg responds to flame e-mails.

Dear Reader:

I received your e-mail message. Sadly, I no longer permit myself the pleasure of personally responding to snide remarks from dissatisfied individuals, as doing so inevitably leads to time-wasting arguments and annoying exchanges of insults. Since such encounters often end with the reader complaining to my boss, it seems that this is what rude writers really want to do all along -- to provoke me so they can satisfy some inner schoolyard desire to squeal. You may do so now by e-mailing the editor in chief, Michael Cooke, at mcooke@suntimes.com, though I should point out this is a form letter, so his reaction probably won't have the sense of fresh outrage you desire.

Otherwise, I would like to point out -- since so many fail to grasp this point -- that the piece of writing that upset you is a column of opinion, that the opinion being expressed is mine alone, and the fact that you disagree with or were insulted by my opinion really is not important, at least not to me. This is not a dialogue, this is a lecture, and you are supposed to sit in your seat and listen, or leave, not stand up and heckle.

I do not write the column for people who disagree with me, nor am I concerned with trying to convince them of the falsity of their worldview at a one-on-one level. I've done that for years, and it's a waste of time, both mine and theirs, since such readers are not typically open to ideas other than their own, and cannot even entertain the notion that they may be wrong.

Not that I am pleased to have upset you. Believe me, I would have preferred your letter to have been one of praise -- most are -- but that doesn't seem to have been the case.

If you have cancelled your subscription, I am sorry for that too, though I am also confident, as you wade through the arid world of the competition and the barren void of television, that you will eventually soften and start reading the Sun-Times again, and would remind you that you can always skip my column; that's why it always has my name and picture on the top, as a subtle clue.

While I cannot sincerely thank you for writing, I do hope that, as your life progresses, you eventually come to realize just how wrong you were in disagreeing with me in such a rude fashion. If there were a shred of politeness or sense in your e-mail you would not be receiving this letter, but as you are, I would urge you to re-examine your life, and suggest that you reach out to all the people you have no doubt hurt with your brusque and offensive manner and beg their forgiveness. Though utterly indifferent to your taunts, I will myself set a good example by forgiving you now. It can be a terrible world, and I'm sure you have reasons for being the way you are.

Best regards, Neil Steinberg

02-08-2004

Tim Russert's Interview of George W. Bush 02-08-2004 (DeLong) Assessment.
Staffing Tim Russert II 02-07-2004 (DeLong)

02-06-2004

The Virus Underground 02-08-2004 (NYT Mag)

02-05-2004

Let's Be Tim Russert's Staff! 02-05-2004 (DeLong)
President Bush will be on 'Meet The Press' this Sunday. Brad DeLong offers Russert some questions to ask. Let's hope that Russert asks them.

The Torn Document 02-04-2004 (Calpundit; BOPnews)
Questions about George W. Bush's military service record.

02-01-2004

Roger Lowenstein: The Company They Kept 02-01-2004 (NYTM)
John Rigas and Adelphia Communications

Jack Beatty: The Real Real Deal 01-26-2004 (Atlantic, FmH)
Comparison between Edwards and Kerry

Janet Jackson and the Super Bowl 02-01-2004 (Drudge Report)
Shocked! I am shocked!

01-30-2004

Margaret Hennig obit 01-30-2004 (BG, svd)
Co-founder (with Anne Jardim) of the Simmons Graduate School of Management.

My old colleague, Jerry Katz, told me that Cohens are forbidden to attend funerals.

An Open Letter to Ralph Nader from The Nation 01-29-2004
Please do not run.

Dishonest Dubya (animation) (via Peter W)

01-28-2004

Sally Corwin obit 01-28-2004 (BG)
[Joe Corwin went to Harvard Law with my father. Sally and Joe and Al and Pansy had next-door apartments (in Brookline) during my first four years. We all moved to Newton about the same time. For two decades, we vacationed together with the Lapins and the Palmers in Bridgton, ME. Sally and Joe and Linda and Laura were best friends with the Homonoffs. Sally and Joe will be sorely missed.]
Sally Corwin, 86; with spirit, acuity, helped build law firm
By Tom Long, Globe Staff, 1/28/2004
Sally Alpert Corwin, 86, an attorney who specialized in construction law, died of a stroke Saturday in Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Three days before her death, Mrs. Corwin drove from her Newton home to her Boston office, where she worked on two pending appeals and prepared letters to several elected officials. She also consulted with other members of the firm and scolded a few lawyers because their desks were not neat enough.
"She was somewhat of a tornado," said Jerrold A. Olanoff of Corwin & Corwin, the firm Mrs. Corwin and her late husband, Joseph, founded in 1947.
Olanoff, who practiced with Mrs. Corwin for nearly 40 years (and admitted he was one of the lawyers whose desk was not neat enough), described her as "a true individual who practiced law with tenacity and wisdom and was totally dedicated to the law and her clients."
Mrs. Corwin represented many small construction businesses that could ill afford long legal battles.
"No matter how slow the court was, she got her cases moving," said Olanoff.
Mrs. Corwin was born in Tacoma Park, Md. She graduated from Washington College of Law (now part of American University), studying nights while working days as a secretary.
She did not always dream of being a lawyer. "She wanted to be a veterinarian, but her father made her go to law school," her daughter Laura, of Florence, Italy, said yesterday.
After graduating in 1939, Mrs. Corwin served as secretary to Thomas Corcoran, who was an adviser to Franklin D. Roosevelt. She then worked as a lawyer for the US Housing Authority and the Office of Price Administration.
In 1947, she and her husband moved to Boston.
"She was a trial lawyer in a period when there were very few women [lawyers], and working in the construction industry, too. There were not a lot of guys in ties and white shirts in construction," said her daughter.
In 1993, when Mrs. Corwin was honored by the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts as one of six trailblazing women in the profession, she said she knew what it took for women to excel in the law: "Be prepared, it's the secret," she said. "When you go into court, they'll know you know what you're doing."
Her daughter described her as a very serious, hardworking person. "Much like the men in the construction industry she worked with, she would not brook any nonsense," she said.
Mrs. Corwin was active in the election campaigns of US Representatives Robert Drinan and Barney Frank and Governor Michael Dukakis, who named her to the State Judicial Selection Panel in 1987.
As one might expect of a former secretary, Mrs. Corwin did most of her own typing. "She was always rewriting and revising," said Olanoff.
She typed so many drafts, Olanoff said, the process seemed endless. But when she finished, it was worth it. "Her arguments were always short, precise, and readable," he said.
In the late 1980s, Mrs. Corwin called an opposing counsel to settle a case. "I thought you were dead," was the lawyer's response. Mrs. Corwin admitted that indeed, she had died, but had come back after learning he was handling the case just to see if she could persuade him to settle.
He did.
Mrs. Corwin leaves another daughter, Linda of Jamaica Plain; and a brother, Hy Alpert of Silver Spring, Md.

01-26-2004

The Tyranny of Copyright 01-25-2004 (NYT Mag) Lessig.

01-23-2004

The Science of Juggling 11-1995 (Scientific American) by Peter J. Beek and Arthur Lewbel.

Greg Palast: No Child Left Behind and SOTU 01-21-2004 (GuerillaNews; FmH)
Go ahead, George, and lie to me. Lie to my dog. Lie to my sister. But don't you ever lie to my kids.
Deep into your State of the Siege lecture tonight, long after sensible adults had turned off the tube or kicked in the screen, you came after our children. "By passing the No Child Left Behind Act," you said, "We are regularly testing every child ... and making sure they have better options when schools are not performing."
You said it ... and then that little tongue came out; that weird way you stick your tongue out between your lips like the little kid who knows he's fibbing. Like a snake licking a rat. I saw that snakey tongue dart out and I thought, "He knows."

01-14-2004

LAKOFF: We'll Grant This to the Republicans: They Know How to Frame Issues and Keep the Democrats on the Defensive. 01-14-2004 (BuzzFlash; MeFi)

Powell Memorandum: Attack on American Free Enterprise System 08-21-1971 (MediaTransparency; MeFi)
Proposal on how to combat the Left.

Study Disputes View of Costly Surge in Class-Action Suits 01-14-2004 (NYT, User)
Perhaps Tatiana will be interested.

Home Networking:
How to Hook Up 05-2003 (Wired; Comcast)
Set up a network in a snap 01-2002 (PC World; Comcast)
Home Networking Guide (ViewZ; Comcast)

01-12-2004

BushOut.TV (via Scripting)
'The weblog for 2004 campaign ad coverage, from a progressive point of view.'

XP: Using Remote Assistence (MSFT; Evan)
A tool for an expert to help a novice regarding XP

The EDGE: Universal Laws? (via Kottke)

Bounding the Global War on Terrorism (Strategic Studies Institute; MeFi)

01-11-2004

Dr. Karl Kruszelnicki's Great Moments in Science (via MeFi)

01-10-2004

Torture by proxy: How immigration threw a traveler to the wolves 01-04-2004 (SFGate; DeLong)

Kazaa Delivers More Than Tunes 01-09-2004 (Wired; FmH)
Forty-five percent of the executable files downloaded through Kazaa, the most popular file-sharing program, contain malicious code like viruses and Trojan horses, according to a new study.

Growth in Jobs Came to a Halt During December 01-10-2004 (NYT)
Most forecasters had said they thought December would be a breakthrough month for job creation, given the strengthening economy. But instead of the 150,000 new jobs they had expected, there were a minuscule 1,000. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent from 5.9 percent in November, but that was mainly because so many people chose not to look for work, a requirement to be counted as unemployed.
[DeLong: According to the household survey, the number of people at work fell by a net 54,000 in December. Nevertheless, the unemployment rate fell because a net 309,000 people stopped looking for work and so dropped out of the labor force.]
EU Unemployment Rates (via D. Devore)

Literature by the Numbers 01-10-2004 (NYT)
Quantitative mapping of literary trends.
Franco Moretti, a professor at Stanford, proposes a more systematic, scientific approach to scholarship: literature as data.

01-09-2004

Let There Be LEDs 01-08-2004 (NYT)

01-05-2004

Just Like, Er, Words, Not, Um, Throwaways 01-03-2004 (NYT; AWAD)
The French say something that sounds like euh, and Hebrew speakers say ehhh. Serbs and Croats say ovay, and the Turks say mmmmm. The Japanese say eto (eh-to) and ano (ah-no), the Spanish este, and Mandarin speakers neige (NEH-guh) and jiege (JEH-guh). In Dutch and German you can say uh, um, mmm. In Swedish it's eh, ah, aah, m, mm, hmm, ooh, a and oh; in Norwegian, e, eh, m and hm. . .
By far the newest — and most controversial — idea comes from Herbert Clark, a psychologist at Stanford, and Jean Fox Tree, a psychologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who determined that speakers use (and listeners understand) uh and um in distinct ways. Uh signals a forthcoming pause that will be short, while um signals a longer pause, she said. Uh and um are not acoustic accidents, but full-fledged words that signal a delay yet to come. Of course that is not necessarily a good thing in public speaking. "It makes you look weak when people have come to hear you prepared, and you're not prepared," Mr. Clark said.

Reith 2003 Lectures: The Emerging Mind (BBC Radio 4)

The Things They Carry 01-04-2004 (NYT Mag; PermURL)
On the Democratic Candidates.

FactCheck.org (Annenberg; Rebecca) Political checks.

Writes, Punctuation Book and Finds It's a Best Seller 01-05-2004 (NYT)
Lynne Truss: 'Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation,' has become this year's surprise No. 1 best seller [in London].

01-02-2004

FmH on New Years Traditions 01-01-2004

12-31-2003

Rabbit, rabbit

TSA: Permitted/Prohibited Airplane Items 12/28/2003 (PDF) (Via FmH)

FBI Issues Alert Against Almanac Carriers 12-30-2003 (NYT/AP; FmH)

Infrared Astronomy (CalTech; FmH)
Elephant Trunk 12-19-2003 (NASA-apod; FmH)

FILMS:

Elvis Mitchell: The Movies of the Year 12-28-2003 (NYT; Scripting) Review links.

Pirates of the Carribean
21 Grams
The Triplets of Belleville
Elephant
Capturing the Friedmans
Lost in Translation
Raising Victor Vargas
American Splendor
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, directed by Peter Jackson
Finding Nemo, directed by Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
The Barbarian Invasions, directed by Denys Arcand
Capturing the Friedmans, directed by Andrew Jarecki
City of God, directed by Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles
House of Sand and Fog, directed by Vadim Perelman
Lost in Translation, directed by Sofia Coppola
21 Grams, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
American Splendor, directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
Angels in America, directed by Mike Nichols (HBO)
In America, directed by Jim Sheridan
Girl with a Pearl Earring, directed by Peter Webber
Monster, directed by Patty Jenkins
Shattered Glass, directed by Billy Ray
Spellbound, directed by Jeffrey Blitz
My Architect: A Son's Journey, directed by Nathaniel Kahn
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara, directed by Errol Morris
Spider, directed by David Cronenberg
Holes, directed by Andrew Davis

The Pianist, directed by Roman Polanski.
The Fast Runner, directed by Zacharias Kunuk.
Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, directed by Peter Jackson.
All or Nothing, directed by Mike Leigh.
Talk to Her, directed by Pedro Almodóvar.
Far from Heaven, directed by Todd Haynes.
Standing in the Shadows of Motown, directed by Paul Justman.
Chicago, directed by Rob Marshall.
Spirited Away, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Bloody Sunday, directed by Paul Greengrass.
Catch Me if You Can, directed by Steven Spielberg.
Nine Queens, directed by Fabián Bielinsky.
Dogtown and Z-Boys, directed by Stacy Peralta.
Bowling for Columbine, directed by Michael Moore.
The Son's Room, directed by Nanni Moretti.
Gangs of New York, directed by Martin Scorsese.
Road to Perdition, directed by Sam Mendes.
Y Tu Mama Tambien, directed by Alfonso Cuarón.
Elling, directed by Petter Næss.
Intacto, directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.
About Schmidt, directed by Alexander Payne.
Adaptation, directed by Spike Jonze.
The Hours, directed by Stephen Daldry.
Punch-Drunk Love, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

12-28-2003

Challenging Bush:
From Patrician Roots, Dean Set Path of Prickly Independence 12-28-2003 (NYT; Robinson)
In Seeking Presidency, Braun Could Win Back Reputation 12-18-2003 (NYT)
A Centrist, Lieberman Fights for Votes in an Extremist Era 12-08-2003 (NYT)
Sharpton Is Campaigning for Presidency and Influence 12-05-2003 (NYT)
Storied Past, Golden Résumé, but Mixed Reviews for Kerry 11-30-2003 (NYT)
General Clark on the Hustings: Complexity and Contradiction 11-23-2003 (NYT)
For Gephardt, Congress Role Is Both Platform and Hurdle 11-13-2003 (NYT)

Report on Brutal Vietnam Campaign Stirs Memories 12-28-2003 (NYT; Robinson)

Boston Globe series on Foundation Abuse (Boston Globe; P Maltz)

12-26-2003

Christmas Dinner. Last might, Dave Robinson, Lita Newdick, and Mary Louise Wilson joined us for dinner. 'ML' told us about a Newyorker article she wrote (Village Life, 04-02-2001) but I couldn't find it on the web. I did find this New York Observer article about Diana Vreeland and ML's portrayal of her in 'Full Gallop.' Also I searched for ML on Google and on IMDB. 'Full Gallop' is missing from our library system but 'D.V.' is available.

The story of Schroedinger's cat (an epic poem) 05-07-1982 (The Straight Dope)

Bush Advisers, With Eye on Dean, Formulate '04 Plans 12-26-2003 (NYT)
President Bush's campaign has settled on a plan to run against Howard Dean that would portray him as reckless, angry and pessimistic, while framing the 2004 election as a referendum on the direction of the nation more than on the president himself.

12-24-2003

Ben Fry, MIT Media Lab
Genomic Cartography
Zip Code Visualizer (MIT Media Lab; MeFi)
Type in successive digits and see how the area narrows.

12-23-2003

George Lakoff: Framing the issues: UC Berkeley professor George Lakoff tells how conservatives use language to dominate politics
and "The 'free market' doesn't exist": More on framing from George Lakoff 10-27-2003 (UC Berkeley News; Ben Adolph)
Rockridge Institute

10 Ads America Won't See 12-22-2003 (AdAge; Blogdex)

Bush campaign will write your letters to the editor for you. (via TPM)

Smith College Museum of Ancient Inventions (via DeLong)

12-22-2003

The loser's guide to getting lucky 12-22-2003 (BBC Mag; D. Devore)
Prof. Richard Wiseman's research eventually revealed that lucky people generate good fortune via four principles:
They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.
Here are Professor Wiseman's four top tips for becoming lucky:

• Listen to your gut instincts - they are normally right
  
• Be open to new experiences and breaking your normal routine
  
• Spend a few moments each day remembering things that went well
  
• Visualise yourself being lucky before an important meeting or telephone call. Luck is very often a self-fulfilling prophecy

12-21-2003

The Scoop on Poop 12-21-2003 (via Eatonweb)

HR 3687: A bill to provide for the punishment of certain profane broadcasts (via MeFi)

12-17-2003

MARIAN BURROS: The Kitchen Faucet Is a Vegetable's Best Friend 12-17-2003 (NYT)
[F]ruits and vegetables have been responsible for about as many reported cases of food poisoning as beef, chicken, fish and eggs combined . . .
Firm produce (apples, pears, peppers) should be scrubbed with the hands under running water. Fragile fruits such as berries should be rinsed with a sink sprayer, using a colander so the fruit can be tumbled. If a sprayer is not available, berries and soft fruits should be placed in a colander and immersed in warm water and swished three or four times, and the water should be changed twice more or until it runs clean.
Root vegetables and tubers should be sprayed with water first and then scrubbed with a vegetable brush. Produce should be washed just before serving, not before storing; dampness increases spoilage.
Outer leaves of leafy vegetables should be removed before washing. All greens should be washed in the coldest water possible to maintain crispness.
Damaged or bruised areas should be cut away immediately because bacteria thrives in them. The produce should then be refrigerated immediately.
Fruits and vegetables with rinds, like melon and squash, should also be washed. When fruit is cut, bacteria on the surface can be transferred to the flesh.

Fortean Slips

12-12-2003

Stephen Roach (Morgan Stanley) offers grim news on the labor market.
12-12-2003 (via DeLong)

IT Doesn't Matter--Nicholas Carr site (via Harry)
Includes responses to Carr's HBR article.

Tom Lehrer: Stop Clapping, This is Serious 03-01-2003 (Sydney Morning Herald)
Sue D and I were exchanging emails on Tom Lehrer and I Googled him.

Innovators Navigate Around Cliques 05-2003 (Stanford Bus Mag; Rebecca)
Weak links are better than strong ones for innovating.

Virtual Teams: Teams That Span Time Zones Face New Work Rules 05-2003 (Stanford Bus Mag) More Readings:
"Conflict and Virtual Teams," by Terri L.Griffith, Elizabeth A. Mannix, and Margaret A. Neale, In Virtual Teams That Work edited by Cristina B. Gibson and Susan G. Cohen, Jossey Bass, 2003.
Distributed Work, edited by Pamela J. Hinds and Sara Kiesler, eds. MIT Press, 2002.

12-11-2003

Tim Lambert on John Lott 12-11-2003 (via DeLong)

12-10-2003

R.I.P Uncle Leo

Welcome Leah Charlotte Doyle

12-07-2003

Franco Modigliani's Memorial Sevice is this morning. A blizzard is raging (15 inches and 10 inches more expected). The service will not be postponed, but I wonder if I can get there; Don Lessard has offered to drive. There is a webcast.

Namebase.org for George W. Bush plus his Social Network Diagram
While looking up the speakers for Franco's service, I saw Mario Draghi's name. I remembered him as an economics student at MIT and recall seeing him at MIT with Franco while Mario was at the World Bank. Naturally, I Googled him and happened upon the Namebase.org Social Network Diagram. Some of the names that I put in (like Fischer Black) didn't show up but Dubya was there.

New Medicare Bill Bars Extra Insurance for Drugs 12-07-2003 (NYT; FmH)

Howard Dean: Common Sense for a New Century
Steve G. sent this to me.

Reagan image: new deal for the dime? 12-06-2003 (SFGate; FmH) Republicans want Ronnie to replace FDR.

12-04-2003

PollingReport.com (via MeFi) Lots of current polls.

12-01-2003

Stephen Roach-The Productivity Paradox 11-30-2003 (NYT; Rebecca)

AUSTAN GOOLSBEE-The Unemployment Myth 11-30-2003 (NYT; Rebecca)

Peekskill Riot, 1949 (via MeFi
from The Literature & Culture of the American 1950s

Rumsfeld wins 2003 Foot-in-Mouth Award (PlainEnglish; MeFi)
'Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know.'

11-28-2003

Judah Folkman Speaks 11-28-2003 (PBS-Nova)
Cousin Larry Alpert was talking this evening about Folkman's work in angiogenesis; Larry recently heard him speak.
The PBS show, Cancer Warrior, can be viewed on the web.

Table Manners/Etiquette 11-28-2003 (Manners Int'l; NYT)
Always pass food to the right
. . . but answers to some of the most important questions were missing; e.g., What is the correct way to butter a roll? Should you dismiss yourself from the table if you need to sneeze or blow your nose? What is the correct way to serve yourself a porion of brie (tunnel under the skin?)? What should you do if you spill beverage on yourself?

11-26-2003

Emily remembered

Dave's list of words that are fun to say (via MeFi)

OneLook Reverse Dictionary 11-25-2003 (via Dori)
OneLook's reverse dictionary lets you describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept.

11-17-2003

Researchers discover link between Alzheimer's,herpes 11-17-2003 (Brown Herald)
Herpes and Alzheimer's are linked by amyloid precursor proteins. Researchers found that APPs, which kill nerve cells in the brain of a person who has Alzheimer's, are also used to transport the herpes virus through nerve terminals in the body, according to Elaine Bearer, senior research assistant and associate professor of medical science.

11-15-2003

Uncle Leo, Happy 103rd Birthday!

The Greatest Album Covers that Never Were 11-15-2003

11-13-2003

Study of Two Cholesterol Drugs Finds One Halts Heart Disease 11-13-2003 (NYT, svd)
Lipitor (Pfizer) wins.

Peeking Behind the Curtain of Secrecy: The memory Hole 11-13-2003 (NYT, svd)

Social Sites Clicking With Investors 11-13-2003 (WashPost)

11-11-2003

Interview with Scott Adams (Mundane Behavior; FmH)

Links to old time music 11-10-2003 (MeFi)

11-07-2003

Teaching Physics 11-05-2003 (Uncertain Principles; DeLong)

Wm Mitchell: Me++ book review 11-06-2003 (Guardian; FmH)

11-04-2003

Try this simple visualization: (American Politics Journal; FmH)



Diebold Memos Disclose Florida 2000 E-Voting Fraud 10-24-2003 (Scoop; FmH)

New American Strategies for Security and Peace Conference 10-28-2003
(Center for Am. Progress; Josh Marshall)
Zbigniew Brzezinski: Transcript and Video feed

Presidential Fundraising 3Q 10-16-2003 (Open Secrets)

11-02-2003

'Passing' In America 10-31-2003 (Alternet; FmH)
Review of 'The Human Stain' which Emmie and I saw on Wednesday.