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Showing posts with label ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ideas. Show all posts
09 July 2009
27 April 2009
A Beautiful Revolution
Dr. Mark Taylor neatly sums up problems with graduate education across America's universities and poses a revolutionary--but necessary--solution:
Op-Ed Contributor - End the University as We Know It - NYTimes.com
On a related note, check out an article from this week's Economist about European universities: Bolognese Sauce
Op-Ed Contributor - End the University as We Know It - NYTimes.com
On a related note, check out an article from this week's Economist about European universities: Bolognese Sauce
15 April 2009
Wes Anderson & His Influences
Great five part article about Wes Anderson's work and the diverse set of artists who have informed and inspired his own creations. Check it out below.
The Substance of Style-Wes Anderson: "Detractors say Anderson’s dense production design (courtesy of regular collaborator David Wasco) overwhelms his stories and characters. This complaint presumes that in real life our grooming and style choices aren’t a kind of uniform—visual shorthand for who we are or who we want others to think we are. This is a key strength of both Anderson and Salinger’s work. Both artists have a knack for what might be called “material synecdoche”—showcasing objects, locations, or articles of clothing that define whole personalities, relationships, or conflicts."
The Substance of Style-Wes Anderson: "Detractors say Anderson’s dense production design (courtesy of regular collaborator David Wasco) overwhelms his stories and characters. This complaint presumes that in real life our grooming and style choices aren’t a kind of uniform—visual shorthand for who we are or who we want others to think we are. This is a key strength of both Anderson and Salinger’s work. Both artists have a knack for what might be called “material synecdoche”—showcasing objects, locations, or articles of clothing that define whole personalities, relationships, or conflicts."
14 April 2009
13 April 2009
A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Andrew Sullivan
ANDREW SULLIVAN: THINKING. OUT. LOUD. | More Intelligent Life
A great introduction/interview with influential and controversial blogger Andrew Sullivan. Two passages that particularly jumped out at me:
It was at this time that Sullivan discovered the philosopher who was to provide the timber of his conservatism—and the road map to many of his apparent contradictions. Michael Oakeshott was then a relatively obscure English philosopher in his 80s. Sullivan characterises his thought as “an anti-ideology, a nonprogramme, a way of looking at the world whose most perfect expression might be called inactivism”.
At the core of Oakeshott’s thought is the belief that human beings are extremely limited in what we can know. As Sullivan puts it: “While not denying that the truth exists, the [Oakeshottian] conservative is content to say merely that his grasp on it is always provisional. He begins with the assumption that the human mind is fallible, that it can delude itself, make mistakes, or see only so far ahead.” In light of this extreme fallibility, human beings should err on the side of inaction. Claims to certainty—in religion, or political ideology—are invariably hubristic. We have to build our politics on “the radical acceptance of what we cannot know for sure”.
"He believes his greatest future conflicts will centre on religion—the topic of his next book. He learned his Catholicism as an altar boy in East Grinstead. For him it is a sacramental religion, all about smell and sight and touch. Ritual is at its core, because “ritual has no point beyond itself. Only ritual can approximate the ineffability of the divine, enact its truth while not purporting to explain or capture it.”
Sullivan feels that this model of religion—filled with a sense of the mysterious, and the unknowability of God—has been replaced in both America and the Vatican by outright fundamentalism... “I remember feeling that without the structure of my faith, without my knowledge of its infallible truth, I might have been completely overwhelmed,” he says. Fundamentalism “was a way of sealing myself off from the world”. He sees American Christians turning to fundamentalism as a panicked response to change and doubt too. They have ended up pining for a theocracy that is contrary to his beloved US constitution and basic liberties for gay people.
He says his next battle is to “turn Christianity against the fundamentalists”. For him, “their certainty is the real blasphemy; their desire to control the lives of others the real heresy; their simple depiction of the Godhead proof positive they do not really understand him.” In the Gospels, the men who set themselves up as arbiters of moral correctness are often the furthest from God, he says, while Jesus urges people to see beyond fetishising rules and commandments to their own conscience. This is the flag Sullivan will carry into battle as a paladin against the Palins.
A great introduction/interview with influential and controversial blogger Andrew Sullivan. Two passages that particularly jumped out at me:
It was at this time that Sullivan discovered the philosopher who was to provide the timber of his conservatism—and the road map to many of his apparent contradictions. Michael Oakeshott was then a relatively obscure English philosopher in his 80s. Sullivan characterises his thought as “an anti-ideology, a nonprogramme, a way of looking at the world whose most perfect expression might be called inactivism”.
At the core of Oakeshott’s thought is the belief that human beings are extremely limited in what we can know. As Sullivan puts it: “While not denying that the truth exists, the [Oakeshottian] conservative is content to say merely that his grasp on it is always provisional. He begins with the assumption that the human mind is fallible, that it can delude itself, make mistakes, or see only so far ahead.” In light of this extreme fallibility, human beings should err on the side of inaction. Claims to certainty—in religion, or political ideology—are invariably hubristic. We have to build our politics on “the radical acceptance of what we cannot know for sure”.
"He believes his greatest future conflicts will centre on religion—the topic of his next book. He learned his Catholicism as an altar boy in East Grinstead. For him it is a sacramental religion, all about smell and sight and touch. Ritual is at its core, because “ritual has no point beyond itself. Only ritual can approximate the ineffability of the divine, enact its truth while not purporting to explain or capture it.”
Sullivan feels that this model of religion—filled with a sense of the mysterious, and the unknowability of God—has been replaced in both America and the Vatican by outright fundamentalism... “I remember feeling that without the structure of my faith, without my knowledge of its infallible truth, I might have been completely overwhelmed,” he says. Fundamentalism “was a way of sealing myself off from the world”. He sees American Christians turning to fundamentalism as a panicked response to change and doubt too. They have ended up pining for a theocracy that is contrary to his beloved US constitution and basic liberties for gay people.
He says his next battle is to “turn Christianity against the fundamentalists”. For him, “their certainty is the real blasphemy; their desire to control the lives of others the real heresy; their simple depiction of the Godhead proof positive they do not really understand him.” In the Gospels, the men who set themselves up as arbiters of moral correctness are often the furthest from God, he says, while Jesus urges people to see beyond fetishising rules and commandments to their own conscience. This is the flag Sullivan will carry into battle as a paladin against the Palins.
10 April 2009
American Exceptionalism
Since the puritans, America has often envisioned itself as a "city upon a hill," above the riff raff and muck of the rest of the world. At times, this has been true, at others, we are down there in the mire as deep as just about any other country across the globe.
Obama's nominee for legal adviser to the US Department of State brings a refreshing point of view to this perception--Koh appears to be a strong advocate of transnationalism, or the notion that American courts should honor and apply the laws of other nations in our own courts. Now, I readily admit fully applying this theory could have disastrous results, but at least including bodies of foreign law as meaningful precedent should be a more commonly used tactic that we have seen yet in this day and age. As Dean of Yale Law School, Koh seems to be quite competent and up to the job--I hope the difficult confirmation hearings ahead go in his favor.
The Fight Over Harold Koh: News Desk: Online Only: The New Yorker
Obama's nominee for legal adviser to the US Department of State brings a refreshing point of view to this perception--Koh appears to be a strong advocate of transnationalism, or the notion that American courts should honor and apply the laws of other nations in our own courts. Now, I readily admit fully applying this theory could have disastrous results, but at least including bodies of foreign law as meaningful precedent should be a more commonly used tactic that we have seen yet in this day and age. As Dean of Yale Law School, Koh seems to be quite competent and up to the job--I hope the difficult confirmation hearings ahead go in his favor.
The Fight Over Harold Koh: News Desk: Online Only: The New Yorker
05 February 2009
Get Your Inner and Auto Motor Started....
...with the same delicious fuel. This is awesome news--but what of us French press coffee drinkers? I think that brewing method leaches out more of the natural oils from the beans (which explains a large part of the improved flavor). Can this process only be used for large scale percolator and drip style brewing remains?
Fuel from coffee grounds | Oil in your coffee | The Economist
Fuel from coffee grounds | Oil in your coffee | The Economist
24 November 2008
Debating the Bailout
Paul Krugman's Bailout Dissent - Media Column - Howell Raines - Portfolio.com
An interesting piece from Portfolio that looks at Krugman's prescience in arguing for real nationalization through the treasury's acquisition of equity stakes in struggling institutions. Makes a LOT more sense to me than much of the activity in the last 2 months. It worked in Sweden once before, as well as elsewhere.
An interesting piece from Portfolio that looks at Krugman's prescience in arguing for real nationalization through the treasury's acquisition of equity stakes in struggling institutions. Makes a LOT more sense to me than much of the activity in the last 2 months. It worked in Sweden once before, as well as elsewhere.
09 November 2008
A Simple Game
A game has been making its round around the Internet recently to the delight of film geeks everywhere. It's rather simple--list your favorite films, one (and only one) for each letter of the alphabet. If you need to twist the rules a bit (e.g. going back and forth between English and original language titles, do what you need to do).
Taking a mental break from a complex few days, here goes with my list... there are a few letters (B, C, etc) for which I really struggled and had to call out the titles that just barely missed out..
Annie Hall (Allen, 1977)
Before Sunrise/Before Sunset (Linklater, 1995 & 2004)
honorary mention: Being There (Ashby, 1979), Brazil (Gilliam, 1985)
Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942)
honorary mentions: Cidade de Deus ("City of God", Meirrelles 03), Chinatown (Polanski 1974)
Doctor Zhivago (David Lean, 1965)
Easy Rider (Hopper, 1969)
Fa Yeung Nin Wa ("In the Mood for Love", Wong Kar Wai, 2001)
The Great Escape (Sturges, 1963)
High Fidelity (Frears 2000)
Igby Goes Down (Steers, 2002)
Jules et Jim ("Jules and Jim", Truffaut, 1961)
Kill Bill (Tarantino, 2004)
Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962)
honorary mention: El Laberinto Del Fauno ("Pan's Labyrinth", del Toro, 2006)
Manhattan (Allen, 1979)
Nuovo Cinema Paradiso ("Cinema Paradiso", Tornatore, 1988)
Ostre sledované vlaky ("Closely Watched Trains", Menzel, 1966)
Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994)
Quentin Tarantino presents Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wai, 1994) [I know, it's a stretch...]
Rushmore (anderson, 1998)
Spanish Apartment (L'Auberge Espagnole)
honorary mention: A Shot in the Dark (Edwards, 1964)
Trainspotting (Boyle, 1996)
Un Chien Andalao ("An Andalusian Dog", Buñuel/Dali, 1929)
The Vertical Ray of the Sun (Tran Anh Hung, 2005)
Waking Life (Linklater, 2001)
Xiao cheng zhi chun ("Spring in a Small Town", Fei, 1948) [my one cheat: I haven't seen it yet…but I couldn't bring myself to write X-Men or XXX]
Young Frankenstein (Brooks, 1974)
Zelig (Allen, 1983)
What do you think? Throw your lists in the comments!
Taking a mental break from a complex few days, here goes with my list... there are a few letters (B, C, etc) for which I really struggled and had to call out the titles that just barely missed out..
Annie Hall (Allen, 1977)
Before Sunrise/Before Sunset (Linklater, 1995 & 2004)
honorary mention: Being There (Ashby, 1979), Brazil (Gilliam, 1985)
Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942)
honorary mentions: Cidade de Deus ("City of God", Meirrelles 03), Chinatown (Polanski 1974)
Doctor Zhivago (David Lean, 1965)
Easy Rider (Hopper, 1969)
Fa Yeung Nin Wa ("In the Mood for Love", Wong Kar Wai, 2001)
The Great Escape (Sturges, 1963)
High Fidelity (Frears 2000)
Igby Goes Down (Steers, 2002)
Jules et Jim ("Jules and Jim", Truffaut, 1961)
Kill Bill (Tarantino, 2004)
Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962)
honorary mention: El Laberinto Del Fauno ("Pan's Labyrinth", del Toro, 2006)
Manhattan (Allen, 1979)
Nuovo Cinema Paradiso ("Cinema Paradiso", Tornatore, 1988)
Ostre sledované vlaky ("Closely Watched Trains", Menzel, 1966)
Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994)
Quentin Tarantino presents Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wai, 1994) [I know, it's a stretch...]
Rushmore (anderson, 1998)
Spanish Apartment (L'Auberge Espagnole)
honorary mention: A Shot in the Dark (Edwards, 1964)
Trainspotting (Boyle, 1996)
Un Chien Andalao ("An Andalusian Dog", Buñuel/Dali, 1929)
The Vertical Ray of the Sun (Tran Anh Hung, 2005)
Waking Life (Linklater, 2001)
Xiao cheng zhi chun ("Spring in a Small Town", Fei, 1948) [my one cheat: I haven't seen it yet…but I couldn't bring myself to write X-Men or XXX]
Young Frankenstein (Brooks, 1974)
Zelig (Allen, 1983)
What do you think? Throw your lists in the comments!
06 November 2008
Books Online
Google's book deal | A new chapter | The Economist
An interesting new development in online information availability...with some significant repercussions for key players in this segment.
An interesting new development in online information availability...with some significant repercussions for key players in this segment.
03 August 2008
The Life of Linguists
Sunday morning lifeblogging: adventures in European subtitling | afoe | A Fistful of Euros | European Opinion
Great post from one of the AFOE authors documenting his day job as a subtitler. Some interesting careers out there, to be sure... read all the way to the end, it gets rather amusing!
Great post from one of the AFOE authors documenting his day job as a subtitler. Some interesting careers out there, to be sure... read all the way to the end, it gets rather amusing!
14 July 2008
09 April 2008
The semantic web
The semantic web | Start making sense | Economist.com
I really love this stuff... can't wait to see what evolves in this space.
I really love this stuff... can't wait to see what evolves in this space.
11 March 2008
Serial Entrepreneur
Business.view | Seed capitalism | Economist.com
Interesting...I have definitely seen these infomercials and am increasingly keen on purchasing one of these units. An indoor herb garden really brings kitchen cuisine to the next level.
Interesting...I have definitely seen these infomercials and am increasingly keen on purchasing one of these units. An indoor herb garden really brings kitchen cuisine to the next level.
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