Took awhile, but I finished reading “Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions,” by Karen Armstrong (heavy duty reading on comparative religion analyses), in addition to Qiu Xiaolong’s “Red Mandarin Dress” (a Chief Inspector Chen Cao novel; interesting read; still wish Chief Inspector Chen had more of a personality).
Slate commentary on an anti-drug cartoon of my generation; what’s scary is that I remembered watching it during that late 1980’s/early 1990’s period – where the Muppet Babies, Alf, the Chipmunks etc., convince this idiot kid to Say No To Drugs. Upon review, yes, Slate, you’re right – it was a lame cartoon, but it was one of those rare opportunities to see so many characters in one place and at one time – and all acting very patronizing and pedantic… yes, even Alf.
Goodbye to Analog TV; Time with a photo gallery to honor ye olde television. I’m not entirely certain about digital tv, but here goes nothing.
Also, another end of an era: goodbye to the Virgin Megastore. Admittedly, I didn’t shop there very much, but I am concerned by the loss of a big retailer and the lack of commerce in a huge amount of real estate in the city.
Time Magazine poses the question of whether Facebook hurts the school reunion industry. I thought Facebook actually helped my college’s 10th year reunion; people came. It’s hard to tell if that will generate donations for Alma Mater or if the alumni office is really out of business because of Facebook, but that depends on what one thinks is the purpose of reunions and alumni offices, I think.
Hmm, so every time Time Magazine comments on Facebook, so does Newsweek? Well, at least Newsweek tries to remind people that Facebook is only a supplement to enhancing your friendships, not replace them.
Why am I a sucker for cop shows that get cancelled? I like “The Unusuals”; enjoyed watching the leftover episodes. It’s too bad that ABC won’t give it a shot.
The articles on Judge Sonia Sotomayor have been interesting, to say the least. Count on Tom Goldstein of Scotusblog to review all of the racial discrimination appellate cases that Judge Sotomayor sat in (Scotusblog is awfully known for being thorough) and finding that there’s no so-called bias in Sotomayor’s decision-making. Goldstein’s key conclusion: “The public debate ought to be about what the law should command in these kinds of difficult cases. Unsubstantiated charges of racism distract us from these questions and demeans our justice system.”
For a country that doesn’t quite like America, Iran apparently likes the English language, sort of – as the Slate Explainer explains.
Slate’s John Dickerson ponders on President Obama’s response to the Iran situation, which is still developing and with no certain answers regarding the elections (at least, not to people outside Iran, anyway). So, query: how do you respond to a still developing situation? Answer: Very carefully, whether the American people, or the world at large, likes it or not.
That is really fascinating: Obama’s the first president of a generation that grew up watching Sesame Street, not just a parent of kids who watched it? The first generation of Sesame Street watched 1960’s tv at its most diverse and optimistic (and oddly entertaining, in that 1960’s way; Obama was the first generation that grew up watching Star Trek too) – this all pretty much sums up Obama. This was an awesome article on Time.com, plus great accompanying video of Obama praising Sesame Street.
It must be a slow news day if we get excited over President Obama’s killing a fly; well, it was kind of impressive.