FOREIGN AFFAIRS – Page 17 – Stillness of Heart

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Why women rule / Your handshake / Ross Perot may be back / ‘Downton Abbey’ returns on Jan. 6 / The ordeal of leaving Cuba

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. An 8-Year-Old Girl’s Awesome List of Why Women Rule
By Katie J.M. Baker | Jezebel | July 20
“‘We have veginas. We get jobs. We are creative. We have stuff that makes us preanet. We have milk in our bobes. We are smart. We have power.'”

2. What Does Your Handshake Say About You?
By CareerBuilder :: AOL Jobs | October 2009
“Handshakes are a sign of trust and help build strong relationships.”

3. Why Ross Perot is made for the 2012 race
By Chris Cillizza | The Fix :: The Washington Post | July 21
“Perot’s laser focus on debt and spending issues — not to mention his outsider persona — is a perfect fit for an American electorate sick of the two major parties and increasingly concerned about the country’s red ink.”

4. The new Ottomans
The Cafe :: Al Jazeera | July 21
“Can Turkey strike a balance between the country’s modern, secular aspirations and its deep-rooted Islamic identity?”

5. Money woes, marriage jitters in store for series three of ‘Downton Abbey’
By Amy Wills | The Telegraph | July 22
“When … Matthew Crawley stooped down on bended knee in the snow last season, his tempestuous love affair with Lady Mary seemed to finally have reached a conclusion.”

6. Remember, Remember, the Fifth of May
By William Moss Wilson | Disunion :: The New York Times | May 4
“On May 5, 1862, Ignacio Zaragoza … led the brave defenders of Puebla in repulsing the elite troops of an invading French Army.”

7. Scott Kim takes apart the art of puzzles
TED | December 2009
“Sampling his career’s work, he introduces a few of the most popular types, and shares the fascinations that inspired some of his best.”

8. To Use and Use Not
By Julie Bosman | The New York Times | July 4
“A new edition of ‘A Farewell to Arms,’ which was originally published in 1929, [includes] all the alternate endings, along with early drafts of other passages in the book.”

9. Leaving Cuba: The difficult task of exiting the island
By Sara Rainsford | BBC News | July 21
“Cubans need permission to leave their island. And if they stay away too long, they can’t come back.”

10. The Landslide Election of 1964
By Walter Cronkite | NPR | November 2004
“The Republican Party fought its last rear-guard battle against FDR’s New Deal of the 1930s, while the Democrats promised a ‘Great Society’ and a new health program to be called Medicare. The national mood was liberal and the outcome was never in doubt.”

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TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN June Carter Cash
2. TOO MANY FISH IN THE SEA The Marvelettes
3. SLIP SLIDIN’ AWAY Paul Simon
4. STARDUST Louis Armstrong
5. BANG BANG Nancy Sinatra
6. ME, MYSELF AND I Billie Holiday
7. JA VIDI Christophe Goze
8. WHEN IT FALLS Zero 7
9. A HUNDRED MILLION SOUNDS Second Sky
10. SING ME A SWING SONG Ella Fitzgerald

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Assad’s next move / Workplace attire / Destroying Istanbul’s treasures / Our obsession with apocalypse / Tech’s most influential women

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Bashar al-Assad: fight or flight?
By Ian Black | The Guardian | July 20
“After high-profile defections and the loss of four key advisers, the Syrian president’s options are shrinking”

2. Counting Afghanistan’s Dead
By Joshua Foust | The Atlantic | July 20
“Addressing the war’s failings means talking about policy, but before we do that, a reminder of why it matters.”

3. What Not to Wear To Work
By Melissa Korn | At Work :: The Wall Street Journal | July 20
“A new survey shows U.S. adults expressing more outrage at scantily-clad co-workers this year than they did last year.”

4. Destroying Istanbul
By Andrew Finkel | Latitude :: The New York Times | July 20
“Now here’s a bit of hyperbole I wish I didn’t have to defend: the damage now being done to Istanbul rivals the damage done to Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade.”

5. The Ten Most Influential Women in Technology
By Marissa Mayer | Time | July 18
“In 2012, it’s hard to believe that only 19 companies out of the Fortune 500 are led by women.”

6. Will the fight against HIV/AIDS ever end?
Inside Story Americas :: Al Jazeera | July 20
“As scientists and campaigners launch a new drive for a cure we ask how much longer we will be fighting the disease.”

7. Jennifer 8. Lee hunts for General Tso
TED | December 2008
“Reporter Jennifer 8. Lee talks about her hunt for the origins of familiar Chinese-American dishes — exploring the hidden spots where these two cultures have (so tastily) combined to form a new cuisine.”

8. America’s apocalypse obsession
By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd | Alternet and Salon | July 18
“Why are we so fixated on the end of the world?”

9. Stone Links: The Rise of Café Philosophy
By A.C. Lee | Opinionator :: The New York Times | July 3
“Jules Evans … describes an emerging scene in which people from a diverse range of backgrounds gather at cafés, pubs and pizza parlors to tackle the great philosophical questions.”

10. Gulf of Tonkin’s Phantom Attack
By Walter Cronkite | NPR | August 2004
“Faulty Intelligence Played Role in Decision to Engage Viet Cong”

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TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD U2
2. SUGAR SUGAR The Archies
3. PIANO CONCERTO #22 IN E FLAT, K 482 – 3. ALLEGRO Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
4. EVOLUTION REVOLUTION LOVE Tricky
5. A KISS TO BUILD A DREAM ON Louis Armstrong
6. OUR FADED LOVE Patsy Cline
7. SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME The Drifters
8. HERE COMES THE SUN (Live) Paul Simon & George Harrison
9. SONATA FOR CELLO & PIANO IN G MINOR, OP. 65 Frederic Chopin
10. MINOR SWING Django Reinhardt

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Psychology of Batman / Middle East’s future / Wedding depression / What’s Sorkin’s problem? / The HIV wars

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. What Makes Batman Tick?
By Linda Holmes | MonkeySee :: Weekend Edition Sunday | July 15
“When you look at Batman with a coldly analytical eye … a few things stand out as potential red flags: the secrecy, the lair, the attraction to danger, the blithe self-sacrifice, the … cape.”

2. The good, the bad, and the ugly: Three scenarios for the Middle East
By Stephen M. Walt | Foreign Policy | July 20
“Although most commentary tends to obsess about recent events (Will Assad fall? Was Hezbollah for the bombing in Bulgaria? Will there be war with Iran? Is the two-state solution really dead? etc.) today, I want to step back and ask what the larger implications of these various events might be.”

3. The Wedding Effect
By Maggie Shipstead | The New York Times | July 18
“There is something numbing about all this marrying. The thrill of the first friends’ weddings, when everybody was young and lifelong commitment seemed wild and transgressive, has worn off, and a jaded peanut gallery has sprung up …”

4. NASA’s Mars rover may be in for blind landing
By Irene Klotz | Reuters | July 16
“That’s because the satellite that NASA was counting on for real-time coverage of the Mars Science Laboratory’s descent into Gale Crater, located near the planet’s equator, was sidelined last month by a maneuvering system glitch.”

5. Sharks tagged off Scotland monitored online
BBC News | July 20
“The movements of eight basking sharks can now be followed online, after scientists fitted them with satellite tags.”

6. ABC’s Ross takes heat for another blunder
By Dylan Byers | Politico | July 20
“Ross came under attack again Friday when he reported that James Holmes … may have connections to the Tea Party — basing that on a single web page that listed an Aurora-based ‘Jim Holmes’ as a member of the Colorado Tea Party Patriots”

7. Jean-Baptiste Michel: The mathematics of history
TED | May 2012
“From changes to language to the deadliness of wars, he shows how digitized history is just starting to reveal deep underlying patterns.”

8. Aaron Sorkin versus reality
By Alex Pareene | Salon | July 19
“The increasingly unpleasant superiority complex of America’s most prominent liberal screenwriter”

9. Semicolons: A Love Story
By Ben Dolnick | Opinionator :: The New York Times | July 2
“To abjure semicolons was to declare oneself pure of heart, steely-eyed, sadly disillusioned.”

10. The early days of HIV/Aids
Witness :: BBC News | June 3
“It’s 30 years since the HIV virus was first identified by medical experts. In the early days, carriers of the virus were stigmatised and treatment was in its infancy.”

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TUNES

Tonight I’m spending some time with the blues, specifically with the Texas Blues Café. Check out the line-up and then listen here.

1. The Jeff Strahan Band — Supercool
2. The Jeff Strahan Band — Folsom Prison Blues
3. Anna Popovic — My Man
4. Los Lonely Boys — Road House Blues
5. Bernard Allison — The Other Side
6. Zed Head — Till I Lost You
7. Scott Weis Band — Hurricane
8. Blackberry Smoke — Up In Smoke
9. The Derek Trucks Band — Revolution
10. ZZ Top — Brown Sugar
11. Etta James — Purple Rain
12. Brandon Jenkins — Austin
13. The Red Hot Blues Sisters — Bring It On Home

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Persia’s Alexander the Great / Iraq emerges as Iranian ally / Pakistan, our frenemy / More shelter needed for Austin’s homeless / One man juggles five lovers

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Alexander the not so Great: History through Persian eyes
By Ali Ansari | BBC News Magazine | July 14
“lexander the Great is portrayed as a legendary conqueror and military leader in Greek-influenced Western history books but his legacy looks very different from a Persian perspective.”

2. The Afghan Air War
By C.J. Chivers and Ben Solomon | The New York Times | July 2012
“[Chivers] flies in an F/A-18 over Afghanistan, examining changes in America’s air power and how Afghan troops will fare without it.”

3. Amber Waves of Green
By Jon Ronson | GQ | July 2012
“Guess what, compatriots? The gap between the richest and the poorest among us is now wider than it has been since we all nose-dived into the Great Depression.”

4. Iraq-Iran Ties Grow Stronger As Iraq Rises From The Ashes
By Dan Froomkin | The Huffington Post | July 14
“Though technically a democracy, Iraq’s floundering government has degenerated into a tottering quasi-dictatorship.”

5. More shelter space for homeless women needed, local advocates say
By Andrea Ball | Austin American-Statesman | July 13
“Currently, those who want a place to stay are routinely turned away from local shelters because of a shortage of beds, said Richard Troxell, founder of the advocacy group House the Homeless.”

6. Our high-maintenance relationship with Pakistan
By David Ignatius | The Washington Post | July 13
“The two countries talk about strategic cooperation one month and feud the next. They claim to be allies against terrorism, even as each side’s intelligence service conducts operations the other regards as hostile.”

7. Terry Moore: Why is ‘x’ the unknown?
TEDx | June 2012
“Why is ‘x’ the symbol for an unknown? In this short and funny talk, Terry Moore gives the surprising answer.”

8. An Interview with Eva Illouz
By Jessa Crispin | Bookslut | July 2012
“Haven’t you for years felt like you were being conned somehow in the realm of relationships?”

9. The Single Guy Juggling Five Girls in One Week
Daily Intel :: New York Magazine | Feb. 28
“Once a week, Daily Intel takes a peek behind doors left slightly ajar. This week, the Single Guy Juggling Five Girls in One Week: 29, male, single, East Village, straight.”

10. Death of Sid Vicious
Witness :: BBC News | Feb. 2
“With his snarl and spikey hair, the Sex Pistols bassist, Sid Vicious, was the embodiment of punk rock.”

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TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. QUEIQU’UN M’A DIT (Someone Told Me) Carla Bruni
2. SPINNING Zero 7
3. SILVER LINING David Gray
4. LYING PEACEFULLY Pepe Deluxe
5. MISGUIDED ANGEL Cowboy Junkies
6. ALWAYS ON MY MIND Willie Nelson
7. STANDSTILL Hardkandy
8. THE FORGOTTEN PEOPLE Thievery Corporation
9. NEVER THE SAME Supreme Beings of Leaisure
10. LEAN ON ME Sounds from the Ground

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Arnold’s film career / A certain San Antonio fashion designer / The physics of Batman / Let the dog make the baby healthier / A girl with two lovers

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Schwarzenegger Gears Up for Act 2 as an Action Hero
By Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes | The New York Times | July 12
“[I]t was lost on no one that Mr. Schwarzenegger’s appearance marks his return to a film career that will find him taking more substantial action roles, even though he will qualify for Medicare upon turning 65 this month.”

2. To these successful designers, the concept of outsourcing is out of fashion
By Michael Quintanilla | San Antonio Express-News | July 12
“‘Made in the U.S.A.’ — it’s a refreshing phrase in a world of outsourcing and overseas production.”

3. Batman could fly, but he’d crash and die
By Michael Holden | Reuters | July 9
“Holy crash landing Batman! The crime-fighting caped crusader could fly but if he did, he would smash into the ground and probably die, a group of British physics students have calculated.”

4. Another Stab at the U.S. Constitution
Room for Debate :: The New York Times | July 9
“As the United States prepares to mark the 225th anniversary of its Constitution, we have the benefit of hindsight that the framers lacked. What should be omitted, clarified or added?”

5. Remember Iraq? Still A Mess, but the US Needs to Stay Out
By Robert Dreyfuss | The Nation | July 9
“Still, it’s important for liberals, the left and the antiwar movement to remember Iraq by borrowing the phrase, ‘Never again.’ And here’s what the Obama administration ought to do about violence in Iraq: Nothing.”

6. Babies in dog-owning families may be healthier
By Andrew M. Seaman | Reuters | July 9
“Dogs are no longer just man’s best friend: The furry family members may also protect infants against breathing problems and infections, a new study suggests.”

7. More public schools splitting up boys, girls
By Jessie L. Bonner and Heather Hollingsworth | Associated Press | July 8
“Proponents argue the separation allows for a tailored instruction and cuts down on gender-driven distractions among boys and girls, such as flirting. But critics decry the movement as promoting harmful gender stereotypes and depriving kids of equal educational opportunities.”

8. Woman With Two Lovers Trying to Hide the Bruises
Daily Intel :: New York Magazine | May 9
“Once a week, Daily Intel takes a peek behind doors left slightly ajar. This week, the Woman With Two Lovers Trying to Hide Bruises From Rough Sex: female, fashion buyer, 24, Williamsburg, straight, single.”

9. Rereading: A candid view of Candide
By Julian Barnes | The Guardian | July 1
“Julian Barnes pays tribute to Voltaire’s Candide, a satire that remains as fresh and pertinent today as when it was written in the 18th century”

10. The death of Pushkin
Witness :: BBC News | February 11
“Pushkin died after a duel with a Frenchman. Rumours about the other man’s relationship with Pushkin’s much younger wife had led to the stand-off.”

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Tonight I’m spending some time with the blues, specifically with the wonderful Texas Blues Café. Check out the line-up and then listen here.

1. Preacher Stone — Come On In
2. Preacher Stone — Judge Me Not
3. Ian Moore — Nothing
4. Big Head Tod & The Monsters — House Burn Down
5. The Geoff Everett Band — Hole In My Life
6. Los Lonely Boys — Evil Ways
7. Johnny Lang — Living For The City
8. JJ Gray & Mofro — All
9. Demian Bell — Long Way Up
10. Gerry Joe Weise — Who’s Calling
11. Jane Crow & Blues Inc — Back For More
12. Rocky Jackson — Goin’ Back To Texas
13. Joss Stone — Right To Be Wrong
14. Tommy Crain — Take Me To The River

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Latino voting power / Fish pedicures / Sinan, the starchitect / Richard Nixon’s five wars / The end of ‘Mad Men’

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Latino Growth Not Fully Felt at Voting Booth
By Adam Nagourney | The New York Times | June 9
“Latinos are not registering or voting in numbers that fully reflect their potential strength, leaving Hispanic leaders frustrated and Democrats worried as they increase efforts to rally Latino support.”

2. Check Out All These Awesome Interpretations of the Old Twitter Logo
By Jesus Diaz | Gizmodo | June 10
“The new Twitter logo is anything you want it to be if you are a genius illustrator like Ape Lad.”

3. Baghdad Spa Offers Fish Pedicures
By Kay Johnson | The Huffington Post | June 10
“Dozens of beauty salons, cosmetic surgery centers and other enterprises have sprung up to cash in on war-weary Iraqis looking for pampering.”

4. Life returning to normal on Giglio Island after Costa Concordia
By Carolyn Lyons | The Los Angeles Times | June 10
“Giglio, a tiny vacation island off the Tuscany coast, is dotted with charming villages, clean beaches, quiet accommodations and waterside trattorias.”

5. Tracking Turkey’s First Starchitect
By Andrew Ferren | The New York Times | June 8
“Sinan (circa 1490-1588) was chief architect and civil engineer of the Ottoman Empire, working when the empire was at its apogee; his employers, Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and his heirs, were the most powerful men on earth.”

6. 40 years after Watergate, Nixon was far worse than we thought
By Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward | The Washington Post | June 8
“What was Watergate? It was Nixon’s five wars.”

7. As army grows, a unit highlights the challenges
By Kathy Gannon | Associated Press | June 10
“No one denies the Afghan National Army has an equipment problem. President Hamid Karzai says he is disturbed by problems such as the helmet shortage. The U.S. is providing the army with new, lighter helmets, but not all the soldiers have them.”

8. America’s Last Prisoner of War
By Michael Hastings | Rolling Stone | June 7
“Three years ago, a 23-year-old soldier walked off his base in Afghanistan and into the hands of the Taliban. Now he’s a crucial pawn in negotiations to end the war. Will the Pentagon leave a man behind?”

9. ‘Mad Men’ Creator Matthew Weiner Reflects on the Season So Far
By Dave Itzkoff | Arts Beat :: The New York Times | June 10
“What are the long-term marital prospects for Megan and Don Draper? Will we ever see Peggy Olson again? How is everyone at the office coping with the sad fate of Lane Pryce?”

10. 12 Coolest Ridley Scott Moments
By Keith Staskiewicz | Entertainment Weekly | June 8
“Popping an alien through a chest; putting a hammer to Big Brother; revving up the stakes for ‘Thelma and Louise’; and more gems from the ‘Prometheus’ director”

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TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. GIVE A DEMONSTRATION (Grant Phabao remix) Big Daddy Kane, Conne Price and the Keystones
2. BACK TO THE HOTEL N2Deep
3. IT WAS A GOOD DAY Ice Cube
4. SMOOTH Tha Dogg Pound
5. BE FAITHFUL Crooklyn Clan & Fatman Scoop
6. NASTY GIRL Avery Storm, Jagged Edge, Nelly, P. Diddy & The Notorious B.I.G.
7. NAS’ ANGELS Nas & Pharrell Williams
8. MO MONEY MORE PROBLEMS Mase, Puff Daddy & The Notorious B.I.G.
9. HEAD SPRUNG LL Cool J
10. HEY MAMA Black Eyed Peas

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Texas influence / Children of depressed parents / Illustrating gay rights / New Lincoln find / Women and ‘Alien’

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Gail Collins: Texas runs America
By Kyrie O’Connor | Salon | June 9
“In a Salon interview, the New York Times writer who made Mitt’s dog famous takes dead aim at the Lone Star State”

2. Should Depressed People Avoid Having Children?
By Maia Szalavitz | Healthland :: Time | June 5
“Do people with depression or other psychological problems have any moral obligation to forgo bearing children in order to avoid passing on their ‘bad’ genes?”

3. Gay rights in the US, state by state
The Guardian | May 8
“Gay rights laws in America have evolved to allow — but in some cases ban — rights for gay, lesbian and transgender people on a range of issues, including marriage, hospital visitation, adoption, housing, employment and school bullying.”

4. ‘O Doctor, do what you can,’ Lincoln’s wife pleaded, says new find
By Richard Simon | The Chicago Tribune | June 5
“The 21-page handwritten copy of [Charles A.]Leale’s report was discovered about two weeks ago by researcher Helena Iles Papaioannou while she was poring through records at the National Archives in Washington.”

5. Woman: The Other Alien in ‘Alien’
By Tom Shone | Slate | June 6
“Why are academics so obsessed with Ridley Scott’s movie and its sequels? Plus: An ‘Alien’ bibliography.”

6. ‘Mad Men’s’ Jared Harris on Lane’s Shocking [SPOILER ALERT]
By Gwynne Watkins | The Stream :: GQ | June 4
“Lane Pryce was a tragic character from the beginning, a bumbling sadsack of an Englishman who desperately craved the respect he had never received from his employers, his father, his wife, or his coworkers.”

7. Team of Mascots
By Todd S. Purdum | Vanity Fair | July 2012
“Four years ago, Barack Obama said he wanted a Lincoln-esque “team of rivals” in his Cabinet. Thanks to his own temperament, the modern White House, and the 24-hour news cycle, what the president has created is something that doesn’t look Lincoln-esque at all.”

8. Obama’s friend in Turkey
By David Ignatius | The Washington Post | June 7
“Turkey’s ascendancy in the region may seem obvious now, but it was less so in 2009, when Obama began working to build a special relationship.”

9. 10 Reasons Why Cormac McCarthy Is A Badass
By David McMillan | Thought Catalog | June 5
“McCarthy is a poetic storyteller whose challenging novels explore themes of violence, good and evil, and human survival.”

10. 11 Sneaky Ways People Use to Ruin Their Relationships
By Stephen J. Betchen | Psychology Today | June 4
“What pulled you together may be pulling you apart.”

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TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. CAFE Eddie Palmieri
2. AZUCAR DE CANA Trio Los Chasquis
3. I DECREE PEACE Aurah
4. OYE EL CONSEJO Ibrahim Ferrer
5. CHAN CHAN Buena Vista Social Club
6. BALDERRAMA Mercedes Sosa
7. HAPPY Bruce Springsteen
8. PRETTY BALLERINA The Left Banke
9. FOCUS ON SIGHT Thievery Corporation
10. HOME Zero 7

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Stay-at-home moms / Invisible octopuses / The rare transit of Venus / The damage from Texas textbooks / Departures of Kristen Wiig and Peggy Olson

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. How Texas Inflicts Bad Textbooks on Us
By Gail Collins | The New York Review of Books | June 2012
“Ever since the 1960s, the selection of schoolbooks in Texas has been a target for the religious right, which worried that schoolchildren were being indoctrinated in godless secularism, and political conservatives who felt that their kids were being given way too much propaganda about the positive aspects of the federal government.”

2. Stay-at-Home Moms Report More Sadness, Anger and Depression than Working Moms
By Bonnie Rochman | Family Matters :: Time | June 1
“Gallup.com found that working mothers report greater well-being than stay-at-home moms. Is a job the ticket to bliss?”

3. How Octopuses Make Themselves Invisible
By Katherine Harmon | Octopus Chronicles :: Scientific American | June 1
“Do they survey the whole area in their proximity and incorporate the general hues and patterns into their skin display, or do they pick out just a few nearby landmarks for a more precise match?”

4. Tuesday is last chance to see transit of Venus
By Elizabeth Weise | USA Today | May 31
“It happens only four times every 243 years. If you want to see the famed transit of Venus, next Tuesday is your last chance this century.”

5. A Study in Farewells: Kristen Wiig and Peggy Olson
By Sasha Weiss | Culture Desk :: The New Yorker | June 1
“What a relief — and what a brilliant coincidence — that the gods of TV charted a course this week from Peggy’s quiet triumph to Wiig’s loud one, and one we can all share in.”

6. Christina Hendricks on Joan’s Epic Moral Moment
By Gwynne Watkins | The Stream :: GQ | May 30
“The emotionally wrenching episode was the best so far this season, and a tour de force for actress Christina Hendricks (whose hourglass beauty gets more press than her considerable acting chops).”

7. Issues for His Prose Style
By Andrew O’Hagan | London Review of Books | June 2012
“[Ernest Hemingway] never takes nouns for granted. He invests his whole personality in them, because nouns are the part of speech where a person gets to show off.”

8. NASA to future moon explorers: Don’t ruin our Apollo landing sites
By Larry McShane | The New York Daily News | May 29
“Space agency issues guidelines to help other lunar missions to protect historic remains”

9. Are literary classics obsolete?
By Laura Miller | Salon | May 30
“A new study says today’s writers are influenced by authors of the present, not the past”

10. The ‘Muslim Schindler’
By Mehdi Hasan | The New Statesman | May 23
“A lawyer by training, he used his negotiating skills to try to persuade the Nazis’ experts on racial purity that the 150 or so Iranian Jews living in the city in 1940 were assimilated to non-Jewish — and ‘Aryan’ — Persians through history, culture and intermarriage.”

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TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. WHY TRY TO CHANGE ME NOW Fiona Apple
2. SLOWLY Max Sedgley
3. SAIL AWAY David Gray
4. WHY Annie Lennox
5. WAS LOVE Captain Ahab
6. SMALL OF MY HEART Madison Violet
7. HEAVEN’S GONNA BURN YOUR EYES Thievery Corporation
8. TA DOULEUR (Your Pain) Camille
9. MEET YOUR NEW LOVE Atlantic/Pacific
10. ANGEL OF SOLITUDE Alias

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

The ‘napalm girl’ photo / Exercise and get smarter / A looming galactic collision / Texas traffic / Living to 100

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. Cheever’s Art of the Devastating Phrase
By Brad Leithauser | Page-Turner :: The New Yorker | May 31
“The more you read Cheever, the more you feel his best work is often less about plot than about language — about poetry in the broadest sense.”

2. AP ‘napalm girl’ photo from Vietnam War turns 40
By Margie Mason | Associated Press | May 31
“‘I really wanted to escape from that little girl,’ says Kim Phuc, now 49. ‘But it seems to me that the picture didn’t let me go.’ ”

3. Exercise Makes You Smarter, Thanks To A Common Gene
The Huffington Post | May 31
“It turns out that exercise does a lot more than get the blood pumping: in about 60 percent of the population, it may be responsible for the expression of a gene that floods your cells with … a protein that is thought to help with mental acuity, learning and memory.”

4. Mexico’s Drug Corruption Arrests: Why Soldiers Make Bad Narco Agents
By Tim Padgett | Global Spin :: Time | May 31
“While putting soldiers on the streets might have provided some short-term relief, the fact remains that in the long run soldiers make lousy anti-drug agents … and the longer they’re kept in that role, the more problems you’re going to have.”

5. NASA Predicts Our Galaxy Will Collide With Another In 4 Billion Years
By Carl Franzen | Talking Points Memo | May 31
“Andromeda, which is located 2.5 million light-years away, is moving rapidly towards the Milky Way at a rate of 250,000 milers-per-hour, a clip that will only increase as the galaxies approach.”

6. Are you feeling sleepy? Here’s why …
By William Leith | The Daily Telegraph | May 31
“The pace of modern life forces us to ignore one of the most powerful parts of our brain — the body clock. But at what cost?”

7. Yes, Texas Traffic Really is That Bad
By Jason Cohen | Texas Monthly | May 31
“INRIX, which released its numbers last week, also found that Austin was the eighth most congested city in America.”

8. Is the vice presidency worth having?
By Chris Cillizza | The Fix :: The Washington Post | May 31
“[Here] are our most up-to-date rankings of the vice presidential field … . This month we decided to cut to the chase and give a single line about the good and the bad of each potential pick.”

9. The secret to living over 100 is optimism, genetic background
GlobalPost | May 30
“A new study on aging studied participants over 95 of Ashkenazi Jewish descent.”

10. The 1 Percent’s Problem
By Joseph E. Stiglitz | Vanity Fair | May 31
“Why won’t America’s 1 percent — such as the six Walmart heirs, whose wealth equals that of the entire bottom 30 percent — be a bit more … selfish? As the widening financial divide cripples the U.S. economy, even those at the top will pay a steep price.”

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TUNES

Tonight I’m spending some time with the blues, specifically with the Texas Blues Café. Check out the line-up and then listen here.

1. Blake Havard — Love
2. Mark Guitar Miller — Tired
3. Rob Mcmahan — Trouble
4. Summer and the Sinners — Breakin’ Up
5. Kid Rock — Country Boy Can Survive
6. The Midnight Flyers — Down Low
7. Tommy Z — Can’t Hide My Feelings
8. Los Lonely Boys — Man to Beat
9. Bleu Edmondson — Dallas
10. Dana Fuchs — Lonely for a Life Time
11. Chris Aaron Band — Grain Of Salt
12. Voodoo Blu — Blues is my Business

Recommended reading / viewing / listening

Films on the environment / The perfect paper clip / Summer books for politicos / The Lucretius effect / The end of men?

Most of these great items come from my Twitter feed or Facebook news feed. Follow me on Twitter and on Facebook for more fascinating videos, articles, essays and criticism.

1. The Environment video collection
PBS :: American Experience | May 2012
“Ever wonder what would happen if Antarctica’s ice melted? Or whether you live near a nuclear power plant? Or what kind of rare and intriguing indigenous animals live on Cuba’s undeveloped islands? Find the best green indie films, and learn more about what you can do to help the Earth.”

2. The Perfection of the Paper Clip
By Sara Goldsmith | Slate | May 22
“It was invented in 1899. It hasn’t been improved upon since.”

3. A better border is possible
By Katie Ryder | Salon | May 26
“A more enlightened boundary could make us richer, save lives and even help rescue the Rust Belt.”

4. Summer 2012 Reading List
By Gwen Ifill | Washington Week | May 26
“Looking for some good summer reading? Check out the books Gwen and the Washington Week panelists recommend for the beach, the car, the plane or the pool. From fiction to politics, history to biography, there is something for everybody. The smartest reporters in Washington, D.C. bring you their suggestions for the summer’s best reads.”

5. ‘The Swerve’: When an Ancient Text Reaches Out and Touches Us
By Jeffrey Brown | PBS NewsHour | May 25
“In his new book, ‘The Swerve: How the World Became Modern,’ author Stephen Greenblatt unearths the tale of a book collector whose discovery of poet Lucretius’ ‘On the Nature of Things’ helped change the direction of human thought.”

6. Infertility Genes Could Lead to Male Contraception
By Jennifer Welsh | LiveScience | May 24
“Infertility remains a sensitive topic, and about 25 percent of cases remain unexplained.”

7. The Demise of Guys
By Philip G. Zimbardo and Nikita Duncan | Hero :: Psychology Today | May 23
“In record numbers, guys are flaming out academically, wiping out socially with girls, and failing sexually with women.”

8. Japan Tsunami Debris: Bones Expected To Wash Ashore, Oceanographer Says
Associated Press | May 23
“Anyone who discovers such remains should call 911 and wait for police. DNA may identify people missing since the March 2011 tsunami hit Japan.”

9. Feeding a hungry world — or meddling with laws of nature?
By Michael McCarthy | The Independent | May 25
“As scientists at Rothamsted’s GM trials plead with activists not to sabotage their work, Michael McCarthy visits the battle field”

10. Making iTunes Ignore the Gap
By J.D. Biersdorfer | Gadgetwise :: The New York Times | May 21
“I enjoy listening to opera on my iPhone, but the Music app treats the parts of an opera recording as if they were ‘songs.’ Because of this, there is always a gap between the tracks of an opera CD. Is there a way to defeat this feature so that an entire act of an opera is played back seamlessly?”

**************

TUNES

My soundtrack for today included:
1. 24 DEEP Brotha Lynch Hung
2. BLING BLING B.G.
3. MS. FAT BOOTY Mos Def
4. ELECTRIC RELAXATION A Tribe Called Quest
5. HEY MAMA Black Eyed Peas
6. NO FEAR Originoo Gunn Clappaz
7. HEART OF THE CITY Jay-Z
8. TOO CLOSE Next
9. COLD ROCK A PARTY MC Lyte
10. PICTURE ME ROLLIN’ 2Pac

Thinking As Leverage

Developing deep and critical thinking.

Behind The Wall

Tabletop Games

Rebecca Aguilar

#CallingAllJournalists Initiative | Reporter | Media Watchdog | Mentor | Latinas in Journalism

Anna Fonte's Paper Planes

Words, images & collages tossed from a window.

Postcards from Barton Springs

Gayle Brennan Spencer - sending random thoughts to and from South Austin

The Flask Half Full

Travel stories and culture, with a twist.

Government Book Talk

Talking about some of the best publications from the Federal Government, past and present.

Fighting Irish Wire

Cadillac Society

Cadillac News, Forums, Rumors, Reviews

Real News That Matters

Talking Pictures Audio Description

Pintar Discover

bringing joy to family meals

Øl, Mad og Folk

Bloggen Øl, Mad og Folk

a joyous kitchen

fun, delicious food for everyone

A Perfect Feast

Modern Comfort Food

donnablackwrites

Art is a gift we give ourselves

low waste living drawn from food lore through the ages

BeckiesKitchen.com

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