Wednesday, July 28, 2010
America’s Real Treasure
Recent Articles
Loneliness of Learning
I’m at a seaside resort somewhere in the Aegean. I’ve just visited the Temple [Read More]
The Poetic Voice of Generation Me
Poets from around the world—from Vietnam and the Netherlands and Brazil and Canada, [Read More]
Movie Review — Shutter Island (2010), a Psychological Thriller Masterpiece
A masterpiece by Martin Scorsese on the level of Taxi Driver and Goodfellas. The year is [Read More]
Arts and Letters
Movie Review — Intermission (2003), a “romantic thriller” that parodies itself
Intermission, director John Crowley’s first film, is supposed to be a film about “life is what happens in between” two major events; that is, an intermission. But the [Read More]
José Saramago and the Reconstruction of Novel as an Inner Monologue
After having weathered the post-modernist deconstructionist storm of the last fifty years, I think the novel format has found its reconstructionist master in the person of [Read More]
Science and Technology
TED: Ideas Worth Spreading
Thanks to StumbleUpon, the most enjoyable social media/bookmarking site thus far (and the [Read More]
Sunita Williams Runs Boston Marathon in Space
The Independent reports that Sunita Williams, the woman who will soon hold the record for [Read More]
The Perfectly Sized Couple
According to a recent article in The Independent, the ideal female body shape can be best [Read More]
Humanities
Narcissus and scholarship revisited
Yesterday, I received a postcard from a friend studying in Rome that had the Italian Renaissance painter Caravaggio’s famous depiction of Narcissus staring at his own [Read More]
Peter Pan Syndrome: What’s So Appealing about Eternal Adolescence?
I admit, I’m not the best person to write about this. I’m not a single male in his twenties. I’m a 40-year-old woman who’s been married for 17 years. But I read a [Read More]
Pop Beat
Levi Johnston Not Mature Enough to Marry Bristol Palin
Something tells me Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s loss of the Vice Presidency may have [Read More]
It’s Possible to BE Green Without Looking Green
I get totally depressed when I go shopping and I’ve come to realize lately that I [Read More]
Beware of Mineral Makeup Marketing Myths
Being a girl, the fact that I thoroughly enjoy wearing makeup should not come as a shock. [Read More]
Current Affairs
America’s Real Treasure
Here is a commencement speech that every American (and every culture vulture, for that matter) should read. In this important speech retired U.S. Justice David Souter defends the U.S. Supreme Court against charges of “activism” and explains why a simple-minded [Read More]
Boundaries and Identity in the Age of Globalization
Boundaries are a must to preserve identity. Individuals need a boundary. And so do nations, football fans, and lovers. [Read More]
Defending Western Civilization Against “Equality Before the Law” Fetishism
“Democracy is not a suicide pact.” – Amitai Etzioni I’m sick and tired of those bleeding-heart liberals who defend [Read More]
Am I the Only One Who Pays My Taxes?
I feel like a real schmuck. The sad fact is that the reason I feel like an idiot is because I’m honest. On the day I’m [Read More]