Hitch

The eminent journalist and contrarian Christopher Hitchens, in the words of his contemporary Stephen Fry, "was one of very, very few people on earth whom I would have missed just as much had I never had the pleasure and fortune of knowing him." Like most, I hadn't the fortune of knowing Hitchens, but news of his death was met with profound regret. The knowledge that unpleasant news will arrive at some point does little to diminish the unpleasantness when it does. Although I would like to think I have Orwell's described "power of facing unpleasant facts," I couldn't believe how sad I felt.

It is perhaps a testament to a writer's relationship with his readers that one man's death has inspired such a uniquely heartfelt international reaction; although, in truth, it proves something a little more personal to Hitchens himself and the way in which his writing was loved by so many. "The most satisfying compliment a reader can pay is to tell me that he or she feels personally addressed," he once wrote. Clearly, Hitchens was owed such a compliment many thousands of times over.

Due to my absence from the blogosphere, this post has only been made available at this website recently (17 January 2012). It was written in the days following the death of Christopher Hitchens, the author in question. 

Excuse me, this blog is currently on hold

But you can find me here, instead. Don't ask why. I'll elaborate on the future of this blog at some point in the future.

On Steven Pinker, ctd

Ingrid Norton reviews The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, and has some kind words for its author:

Pinker is a curious, lucid guide across eons of evidence. He is equally articulate about the social arrangements of primates and the pacifist theories of Immanuel Kant. With eclectic verve, he surveys taxonomies of different kinds of warfare, explores the way satire can puncture social norms, and interrogates how the increased presence of women in the public sphere has changed men’s perception of rape and sexual harassment. The scope of the undertaking is staggering; the results, unfailingly thought provoking.

"Ba-bye"

An eight-year-old confronts Bachmann regarding her perspective on homosexuality (ensure that captions are turned on, as the child is a little too quiet, even for Bachmann):



The video's quickly gaining a large number of views on YouTube and elsewhere, thanks in large part to the blogosphere's mixed reaction. Of course, there are those who doubt that the child's message was his own, and those who – like the person who uploaded the video – deem the eight-year-old an 'activist'. Even by the most liberal definition, it's hardly an accurate description.

Regardless, Bachmann's reaction is priceless. In her defense, though, what does one say? I suppose any other candidate would have been able and willing to give a short "of course not," but with her history on the issue, that wasn't really on the cards, was it? "Ba-bye" will have to do.

Choosing Egypt's future

Yasmine El Rashidi recounts Egypt's long struggle towards parliamentary elections:

When we went out for our first ‘free and fair’ vote back in March—a Yes/No vote on a package of nine constitutional amendments—most of us expected we would already have a parliament in place by now. Instead, we have endured protests and gun-battles and church burnings and riots. Over 100 people have been killed in such violence since the fall of the old regime—including more than 40 in the chaotic week preceding the election itself. Indeed, the election took place at one of the lowest moments since the revolution.

3.2 million dots

Being Stalin's daughter

A little while ago, it was reported on this blog that Stalin's daughter had died at 85 years of age. Included was the quote in which Lana Peters said she will "always be a political prisoner" of her father’s name. Ed Pilkington reflects on her desperately sad story:

Born on 28 February 1926, her childhood reveals a quality in Stalin rarely discussed in the history books, testament perhaps to the truism that even political monsters have their softer sides. She was spoiled as the "little princess of the Kremlin", a Soviet version of Shirley Temple. In a rare interview last year with her local paper, the Wisconsin State Journal, Peters was asked whether Stalin had loved her. "Oh yes," she said. "I looked like his mother. I had this red hair, which I still have. It's not coloured. It's my own hair. I have freckles all over, like her."

Barbarians on the Thames

Theodore Dalrymple examines the possible explanations for the London riots. On one such possible cause:

When one bears in mind that leniency is shown toward criminals who have committed other serious offenses as well, it is no surprise that the young and criminally inclined should believe in their own impunity. They may not be able to do arithmetic, but they can certainly recognize long odds when they see them. They know, too, that they have respectable society on the run when successive lord chief justices have complained that too many Britons are sent to prison and that such sentences should not be administered to first-time burglars (meaning, of course, the first time that they get caught, not the first time that they burgle, a distinction that seems to have escaped their lordships). It would not be too much to say that recent lord chief justices of England are a major cause of the riots. 

(Image: "Police officers in riot gear walk past a burning building in Tottenham on August 7, 2011." Stefan Wermuth/Reuters, via Boston.com, WSJ)

Creative people cheat, smart people do drugs

According to studies. On the latter part of the post title:

James White and G. David Batty analyzed data from a long-term life-history study of thousands of people born in the United Kingdom in April, 1970. As the subjects took IQ tests in childhood, the researchers could look for relationships between IQ at age 5 and age 10 and any subsequent history of drug use. They found that higher IQ in childhood was associated with a higher chance of drug use in adulthood (interestingly, the link was stronger for women than for men). Maybe, the researchers speculate, it's because smart kids are tormented by their mediocre peers and need to self-medicate. But maybe the connection is due to the fact that smart people are more eager for stimulation and new experiences. 

On the former, here. Why do I get the distinct impression that there are far too many of these studies?

All the angry people

An 'Occupy' must-read.

The hideousness of the art world

Collector Charles Saatchi lashes out at "the sport of the Eurotrashy, Hedge-fundy, Hamptonites; of trendy oligarchs and oiligarchs; and of art dealers with masturbatory levels of self-regard," and actually makes a good point:

Do any of these people actually enjoy looking at art? Or do they simply enjoy having easily recognised, big-brand name pictures, bought ostentatiously in auction rooms at eye-catching prices, to decorate their several homes, floating and otherwise, in an instant demonstration of drop-dead coolth and wealth. Their pleasure is to be found in having their lovely friends measuring the weight of their baubles, and being awestruck. 

(Image via the Saatchi Gallery)

The art of standup

Steve Macone on the misunderstood line of work:

There is that famous metaphor, E.B. White’s: “Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.” The profession of standup, the idea of “the comic” in the minds of the average person, exists in a similar state of delicate homeostasis. To be a comic at a party, at a bar on a night you aren’t working, is to make small talk under a giant hovering footnote, a looming scalpel. Friendly, inquisitive people invariably inquire, always revealing some benign or cancerous misconception. “So you, like, think of all that stuff on the spot?”

"Cat-butt coffee"

Maggie Koerth-Baker, of Boing Boing, gives a critical review of Kopi Luwak, the bean which is given its unique flavour through a process which includes being eaten (and subsequently, you know...) by Asian Palm Civet cats:

There is a difference in flavor. Kopi Luwak is noticeably not bitter. Swallow a sip, and it's like you just drank some water. There's no sting or heavy flavor left in the back of your throat. That makes sense. Proteins are part of what is responsible for the bitterness of coffee. Kopi Luwak beans have fewer whole proteins than normal beans. So they're less bitter, but still taste good. As my husband put it, "Everything that is wrong with cheap gas station coffee is right about this."

Canada's war on counterfeiting

Grant Robertson explains how counterfeiting led to a major overhaul of the country's paper currency, and their decision to switch paper bills with polymer notes, like those found in Australia:

As Canada’s polymer money is introduced over the next two years, paper banknotes will be rounded up and removed from circulation in the largest scrubbing of Canada’s system of paper currency. Old paper notes that find their way to banks will be sent off to the Bank of Canada to be burned. Polymer bills will then be released.

The Bank of Canada issues between 300 million and 400 million new notes a year, replacing torn, taped, defaced and crumpled bills with crisp replacements as needed. At that rate, it would take four to five years to replenish the entire supply of notes. But the central bank will be attempting to replace paper money in the span of about three years, swapping out the cash much faster than usual.

See, too, the story's infographic on the process used to create polymer money. Speaking of currency, you might also be interested in Wired magazine's recent article on the rise and fall of Bitcoin.

Tiny personal newspapers

The creator captions:

Little Printer lives in your front room and scours the Web on your behalf, assembling the content you care about into designed deliveries a couple of times a day. You configure Little Printer from your phone, and there's some great content to choose from - it's what Little Printer delivers that makes it really special. We have an incredible group of launch partners, and in the run-up to shipping we're working with them all on custom publications.

(Via Kottke)

100 top global thinkers

Foreign Policy's annual list.

In the unlikely event of an emergency

Avi Steinberg sets the 'fictional' airline safety card straight:

As everyone knows, the story contained in this pamphlet has little to do with anything resembling the truth. If shit goes down, if that horrifying alarm is sounded, will your fellow passengers really calmly place oxygen masks over their faces? Will that crazy lady sitting next to you inflate her life jacket in a quiet and orderly fashion? (“Put it on as you would a waistcoat,” a 1930s British Imperial Airways card advises its clientele.) In the history of aviation, has any plane ditched over the north Atlantic, leaving its passengers floating in the mountainous, frigid waves of the open ocean with serene expressions on their faces? Airline safety cards aren’t instructional guides, they are works of fantastic imagination. 

(Image: Flickr user aomd88, via Andrew Sullivan)

On Steven Pinker

The latest installment in the Times' fantastic 'Profiles in Science' series:

Some linguists argued that language simply emerged as a byproduct of an increasingly sophisticated brain, but he rejected that idea. “Language is so woven into what makes humans human,” he said, “that it struck me as inconceivable that it was just an accident.” Instead, he concluded that language was an adaptation produced by natural selection. Language evolved like the eye or the hand, thanks to the way it improved reproductive success. In 1990 he published a paper called “Natural Language and Natural Selection,” with his student Paul Bloom, now at Yale. The paper was hugely influential. 

"There is no mode of action, no form of emotion, that we do not share with the lower animals," Wilde wrote. "It is only by language that we rise above them, or above each other---by language, which is the parent, and not the child, of thought."

Cain bows out

Cain's not-so-unexpected departure from the race leaves one feeling rather taken aback, even if we really did see it coming. The 'continued distractions' Cain cited are particularly misplaced, as it is clear to any casual observer that they have overtaken all mention of Cain's candidacy in recent weeks. Likewise, his ignorance in marking this as a 'suspension', rather than an outright end to the campaign, is telling: the CEO of self never bows out.

But did anyone really think that Herman Cain could actually secure the nomination, let alone the presidency? Did Herman Cain think such ridiculous things? Surely not. Despite evidence to the contrary, and the risibly genuine nature of Cain's shameless self-promotion, I remain convinced that his candidacy was little more than a minor cog in a grand mechanical plan: to establish himself as a conservative player. The presidency could wait, in his eyes; Cain has bigger things on the horizon. 

It seems laughable that the man who softly crooned "imagine there's no pizza" could come so close – and let's not allow ourselves the indulgence of forgetting that he did come scarily close – to securing the nomination. Sure, this year's GOP crop is hardly the ideal group from which to pick, but surely even Bachmann would be preferable to the motivational speaker, at least under some circumstances. That's saying something. 

Cain's one-legged stool of a campaign was destined to collapse spectacularly at some stage, and in some sense the regrettable allegations he faced simply hastened his demise. Whether Cain intended to become president or not, I doubt that he would have declined the opportunity. Something tells me his place, though, is in packed convention halls for conservative audiences – not the Oval Office. Who knows which he was intending to win?

I don't know if Cain was serious or not. Who cares? But I daresay his candidacy was a joke: that I almost know for sure. 

(Image: "Herman Cain, whose bid fell apart amid accusations of sexual misconduct, spoke on Saturday with his wife, Gloria, behind him." Scott Olson/Getty Images, via the New York Times)

Is Anders Breivik insane?

Simon Baron-Cohen would say no:

If we could ask the court psychiatrists why Breivik murdered children, they would, according to this week's reports, say it is because he had paranoid schizophrenia. This diagnosis, if confirmed by independent clinicians, has surprised some people following the case because the 1,518 pages of Breivik's manifesto do not appear to be the incoherent output of "thought disorder", but instead read like a rather linear, carefully crafted tome. It is the work of a man with a single vision, a single belief that he wishes to prove to the world in exhaustive detail, and in a logical fashion.

Cain comes to a halt

Yay? "Herman Cain, a little known businessman who became a frontrunner in the Republican presidential race, suspended his campaign Saturday following allegations of an extramarital affair and claims of sexual harassment." Let's forgo the usual speculation on such matters of who benefits, and simply skip to America's finest news source. Need I say more?

Backing Mitt

Niall Ferguson endorses Romney, arguing that his business success makes him more qualified than any of the other candidates.

Is Herman Cain serious?

Michael Tomasky reviews the candidate's new book, This is Herman Cain!: My Journey to the White House, which is titled so presumptuously as to be considered laughable. On the accusation that Cain is simply running to build his conservative profile, Tomasky takes the opposite view:

Cain is so serene, so certain of his superiority to most of those around him, so assured that he is carrying out God’s plan for him and for America (a conviction that solidified after he survived stage-four colon and liver cancer in 2006), that he thinks that in fact, it’s everyone else’s candidacy that is a joke or a lark. He writes like a man who is confident that he will wake up on January 20, 2013, ready to take the oath of office. To Cain, this has all been foreordained, at least from the time of his cancer, and more likely since he was appointed the first-ever student band director from the junior class. He doesn’t have a ground operation in New Hampshire because true CEOs of Self don’t need things like ground operations. They exert their will and they win.

(Image via Politico)

Marriage, the declining institution

Among modern women, explains Kate Bolick:

If, in all sectors of society, women are on the ascent, and if gender parity is actually within reach, this means that a marriage regime based on men's overwhelming economic dominance may be passing into extinction. As long as women were denied the financial and educational opportunities of men, it encouraged them to "marry up" – how else would they improve their lot? Now that we can pursue our own status and security, and are therefore liberated from needing men the way we once did, we are free to like them more, or at least more idiosyncratically, which is how love ought to be, isn't it? When Gloria Steinem said, in the 1970s, "We're becoming the men we wanted to marry," I doubt even she realised the prescience of her words. 

Art and Occupy Wall Street

Michele Elam explains:

Occupy art might just be the movement's most politically potent tool in its dramatic reframing of the racial dynamics of a populist uprising frequently characterized as largely white and "hippie." [Shepard] Fairey's "You Are Invited" is an especially compelling example. It offers an image of a young black woman with turtleneck sweater and iconic Afro, a la Angela Davis -- the "uniform" of the Black Panther Party of the 1960s and '70s. The poster's retro look recalls a militant past, almost startling in our new millennial moment, and surely is meant as a challenge to the idea that as a society we are anywhere near "post-race" enlightenment.

Also, while we're on the topic of Occupy, you may be interested to read this interview, between Joshua Cohen and Seth Resler, at the website of the Boston Review. An interesting read, but certainly not essential. This, however, is excellent and certainly worth your time.

World's worst similes

There are too many to choose from if one were to select a favourite, but this one's pretty bad: "The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t." You get my point.

In defense of the adverb

A writer explains her advocacy:

It's not that adverbs aren't often unnecessary. In screenwriting parlance, an acting instruction meant to make up for lazy, nondescript dialogue is known as a "wryly," so called after the overused parenthetical direction—and nobody wants to be accused of relying on wrylies. It's that adverbs are no guiltier than any other part of speech. A noun can be nonsense. A verb can be vague. A preposition can be improper. An adjective can be antiquated. A conjunction can be confusing. Even if English speakers have a tendency to misuse adverbs, that doesn't mean they're evil. Some—those that help the current move "ceaselessly" at the end of The Great Gatsby or the crew of the starship Enterprise go "boldly"—are downright great.

The adverb can be rather boring if overused, but isn't that true of everything?

Examining Thatcher's legacy

With a new biopic coming out, and the Conservatives in power once again, interest in the Iron Lady has been greatly revived. Charles Moore reflects on her 'invincibility':

Margaret Thatcher never wholly recovered from her loss of power. She felt bitterness about what she regarded as the “treachery” of her colleagues, and she tended, in private at least, to complain about her successors. Above all, she simply missed the delight of being prime minister, something, I am convinced, she enjoyed more absolutely than any holder of the office before or since. Once, at lunch, when she was approaching 80 and experiencing some problems with her memory, we fell to talking about which part of the Downing Street house she had preferred to work in. In her mind, she guided me, with total recall, through the geography of the place, the rooms she had redecorated and hung with portraits of great men, including Isaac Newton, who also came from Grantham. Suddenly, she burst out. “Oh, I should dearly love to be back there now! There’s so much for us to be doing.” “Doing” was what she loved, and she did more of it than anyone since Winston Churchill.

(Video: trailer for the upcoming film, The Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep.)