Thursday, July 02, 2009



Describe the world as an ordinary person sees it Take things seriously. And tell the truth. Tell the truth ... George Orwell, desperately sick, fighting demons of his imagination in a bleak Scottish outpost after the war, was trying to finish a novel…

Laws of supply and demand do not apply The end of East Germany: Mirror on Germany
The end of East Germany was ushered in by massive protests across the land. But opposition to communist rule had started with a whisper...

Jan Fleischhauer was forbidden to eat oranges as a child. Proper left-wing German families knew oranges grew in lands ruled by dictators. As for eating at McDonald’s? Mein Gott!...


• The likes of neither Victor Navasky nor Ann Coulter owns the truth about spying against the U.S. in the Cold War. Time to let facts alone speak. Cold War; [After the Germans rolled over France’s defenses in 1940, how brave were French writers in resisting the Nazis? Ah, it was a complex, sadly mixed affair Complexity of Fear; Thomas Paine both inspired and witnessed two revolutions: the one that gave birth to the United States and the one that destroyed the French monarchy... French Rulers]
• · Bernstein on the podium: “fencing, hula-dancing, and calling on the heavens to witness his agonies.” Then there was his politics Machiavelli; Vodka was invented in Russia by medieval monks, but it has had a most unholy effect on the Russian people...Holy Voda
• · Philosopher E.M. Cioran is all about despair, ecstasy, boredom, insanity, suicide, crime, illness, nothingness – And puncturing our bloated pieties...; The atonement Milan Kundera’s critics have demanded of him seems strangely to act out dramatic scenes from his novels...
• · · What’s going on? Much of Europe falls into the hands of conservative parties, while America has “gone socialist.” In truth, differences between Europe and the U.S. are overrated... Truth; Boring labor is a threat to one’s humanity. It follows therefore that interesting labor can be a form of redemption. Like fixing motorcycles... Boring labor is a threat to one’s humanity
• · · · One day, I’ll write a really nerdy book. But until then, Malcolm Gladwell will continue to be the rock star of nonfiction... Nonfictions on Amazon; Said Groucho Marx to the talkative bore, “You must have been vaccinated with a phonograph needle.” Mark Edmundson too has met his share of bores... Mark Edmundson too has met his share of bores...
• · · · · How much richer is your existence since you got that high-speed router? How much better off is the life of the mind in the internet age?...Digital Dragons; In a story, the writer commands every aspect of the world the reader inhabits. Fine: it’s worked for centuries. But in a video game...
• · · · · · Kmart gave some bloggers a free shopping spree in exchange for a blog post about the experience — a practice we call sponsored conversation. With appropriate protections for disclosure and authenticity, this practice will take its place alongside public relations and advertising activities in the blogosphere. Marketers should take advantage of sponsored conversation as an entrée into the online conversation. To succeed, you should get to know the bloggers you plan to work with and set expectations across your organization. Add Sponsored Conversations To Your Toolbox - Why You Should Pay Bloggers To Talk About Your Brand ; Obama's Team: The Face Of Diversity National Journal Profiles Key Players in Obama Administration