Fausta's buys

Sunday Hsu, Sunday shoes, Sunday book and Sunday Carnival

2007-10-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

Several readers have asked me when will I post about the Atlantic City revolving mayors. You can read my article Forget it, Jake, it's Atlantic City at Pajamas Media today.

I'm sure you all remember that line from Chinatown.
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday Hsu, via Instapundit:
Hsu's love of wine and Clinton on display:

Until recently, Hsu, 56, traveled in glittering circles as one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's most prolific supporters, raising more than $1.2 million for the New York Democrat and other Democratic candidates in the last three years.

In August, however, The Times revealed he was a fugitive, wanted in connection with a 1991 theft case. Since then, federal prosecutors have accused the Hong Kong native of masterminding a $60-million Ponzi scheme and breaking election laws by reimbursing associates for political donations made in their names.

Hsu also has been sued by investors in Southern California and New York who say he defrauded them and, in some cases, pressured them to make campaign contributions.

What I want to know is, who was bankrolling Hsu?
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday shoes:

The Delman Xosa pumps in patent leather, available in red or black. A classic style that will carry you through every ocassion from the office through the weekend.
------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday book:

Essential Manners for Men: What to Do, When to Do It, and Why

Anecdotes on cricket matches and beach houses aside, this is a very entertaining book explaining the when and how of ettiquette without lapsing into metrosexual/henpecked/women on pedestals mannered foolishness. Post (Emily's great-grandson) is especially good in explaining the why for manners (page xxi):

Etiquette is governed by three principles: consideration, respect, and honesty. These provide the framework for defining every manner that has ever been formulated. Each of these principles is timeless. These principles transcend cultural boundaries, cross socioeconomic boundaries, and apply equally to all ages.

In today's world, where everybody's life is laid bare on the internet, cell phones and emails, this is most valuable advice.

While the book is aimed at men, women need to learn how to behave appropritately, too, particularly towards men. I recommend this book to women not so they find fault in men's behavior and go nagging them into propriety, but to understand that there are limits to a man's forebearance (which many women tend to forget), and that it is appropriate for a man to not want to be with a woman who only demands (but can't deliver) consideration, respect and honesty.

May we all live by all three.
------------------------------------------------------------
This week's book selection at the WSJ is by Michael Barone, who says, "These books illuminate the shared heritage of America and Britain." I also include a link to Churchill's A History of the English Speaking Peoples.
Churchill won a Nobel for Lit (1953), not for peace.

------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Sanity has the Carnival of the Insanities

Cross-posted at Fausta's blog

Sunday fashions, books, shoes, and a Carnival

2007-09-16T09:52:00.001-07:00

It was due to happen: first the ads, then the crib, after that, the TV series, and this morning, a full-page ad in the NY Times Men's Style Magazine, with a caveman modeling a Weatherproof parka.

Will Caveman chocolates be far behind?
---------------------------------------------------------
Speaking of style, the WSJ has a great selection of 5 books on classic fashion style:
The Glass of Fashion, by Cecil Beaton, 1954, currently out of print,
The Fashionable Mind, by Kenneth Fraser, 1981,
DV, by Diana Vreeland, 1984,
Couture, by Caroline Rennolds Milbank, 1985,
and Alan Flusser's Dressing the Man, 2002.
Of the five, I've read DV, which left me totally cold (I never really "get" Vreeland's vapidity), and Dressing the Man.

Dressing the Man is a most interesting book on style, on what looks good, and why proportions and colors are important. Don't be misled by the title, it's a book women will want to read when studying what looks good on them. I like the author's concept of personal architecture, which he explains in his book. It's also a beautiful book, too.

---------------------------------------------------------
Today's shoes:
Charles David's high heel ankle-straps in leopard print:

I'm wearing them right now with black tights and a red dress.

This is a high heel and therefore the shoes are not suitable for a lot of walking (some of you can walk a lot in high heels but I don't really enjoy it), but they do look very nice on, particularly if you have thin ankles.
---------------------------------------------------------
It's Sunday, and Dr. Sanity has the Carnival.

Tea and Mma Ramotswe

2007-07-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

I have enjoyed Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency book series for several years, and just finished reading the latest installment, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive.

Smith's love of his characters and his deep affection for Botswana are palpable in each installment of the series. His characters respect and love each other deeply, and strive to lead lives of purpose and decency. To build an entire series of books based on these values while at the same time bringing humor and insightful commentary on the human condition and holding his readers' hearts is a remarkable accomplishment, yet, he succeeds again and again.

In The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, the traditionally-built Mma Ramotswe, her excellent husband Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, and their clients struggle to find the truth about a possible series of murders, and about a difficult marriage. At the same time, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni's apprentice Charlie, and Mma Makutsi, Mma Ramotswe's right-hand woman, travel down different paths.

Mma Makutsi, who wears glasses and is as fond of shoes as I am, has a moment of insight (page 104),

She looked down at the broken shoe on her lap. It was such a sad thing, that shoe, like a body from which the life had gone. She stared at it. Almost challenging it to reproach her. But it did not, and all she heard, she thought, was a strangled voice which said, Narrow escape, Boss. You were walking in the wrong direction, you know. We shoes understand these things..

And now, for the tea
Mma Makutsi's fond of Indian tea, while Mma Ramotswe loves bush tea.

I like coffee in the morning, but tea in the afternoon.

The owner of the b&B where I stayed the first time I went to England taught me how to make tea:
In a teakettle, boil the water. Use freshly drawn water. When water is re-boiled, or stands for a while, it loses oxygen which prevents the full flavor of the tea being released.

Once the water boils, warm the teapot by swirling some of the boiling water in it. Pour out that water, and add 1 teaspoon of loose tea for each person, and one for the pot (I prefer to use a large tea ball so I can remove all the tea after it steeps. If you use a tea ball, make sure it remains less than half-full). Add boiling water.

Let the loose tea steep for 3-5 minutes. Stir and serve. I like my tea "black", with no milk, and no sugar. Sometimes a slice of fresh lemon is nice.

Here's where you can get the materials:
You can find a selection of fine loose teas basically everywhere.

The Chef's Choice teakettle turns itself off once the water boils, is cordless (the heating plate remains puggled), and keeps the water warm for cocoa:

We have had nearly every brand of teakettle by now and this one is worth it.

The Brown Betty teapot is the traditional English teapot:

Here's a nice tea ball:

and a mesh one:

While serving the tea in a porcelain cup and matching saucer is nice, ceramic mugs and hot tea glasses are good, too. Remember to pour the tea on a silver spoon in the tea glass to absorb some of the heat in order to avoid cracking the glass (the tea glasses also should not feel cold to the touch). I don't like drinking tea out of plastic.

I like buttered toast with my tea, and maybe a Pepperidge Farm sugar-free Milano cookie. Serve some for a friend, or sit on the porch and enjoy some of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels.

Enjoy!

Sunday reads

2007-07-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

It's time for a book post:

In today's Opinion Journal, Robin Aitken writes about The Beeb's Bias
Britain's public broadcaster is a major source of anti-American propaganda.

On every issue of public policy and political controversy, the BBC's instincts are to side with the progressive, liberal wing of politics.

The war in Iraq? Opinion within the London newsrooms was overwhelmingly opposed to military action from the start and has never wavered since. Man-made climate change? The BBC has jettisoned all semblance of impartiality on the issue; it now openly campaigns with a constant stream of scare stories. The Arab-Israeli conflict? The BBC's sympathies are firmly on the side of the Palestinians, who, having achieved the status of permanent victims, escape skeptical examination of their actions and motives.

The same biases color attitudes on moral issues. Abortion? BBC reportage invariably starts from the premise that it is an unquestioned social good, and the company has close links with pro-abortion groups like the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Multiculturalism? The BBC enthusiastically embraces a relativism that treats all cultures, no matter how backward, as equally valid and gives our own democratic traditions no special weight. Homosexuality? The BBC has consistently pushed the agenda of gay-rights activists on issues like same-sex marriage and the adoption of children by gay couples.

The reverse of the coin is that the BBC has its own in-house pariah groups: the "Christian Right," neocons, climate-change skeptics, "homophobes," George W. Bush. These people will never get the soft interview or helpful publicity.

This week's WSJ's book selections:
Author David Gelenrter chooses the "Best 5" books about America:

Also in Geletner's list, The Religion of Abraham Lincoln by William J. Wolf, and The Two-Ocean War by Samuel Eliot Morison, both published in 1963.

The WSj also has reviews of

While I was at the beach I was reading,

But before you buy your books, don't miss Dr. Sanity's Carnival of the Insanities,

Bear sightings

2007-06-14T08:43:00.001-07:00

Yesterday three dozen people came to my blog from googling "Bear Grylls", plus two who were searching for "Bear Grylls naked".

At first I was puzzled as to why the sudden interest, but later last night when I was watching Mythbusters, I realized that Bear's new season starts tomorrow.

I'm sorry to dissapoint the latter two, but here's a shirtless Bear Grylls YouTube:

Monsters and Critics World Premiere Friday, June 15, 9 PM ET/PT

EVERGLADES: This premiere episode finds host Bear Grylls stranded in the swamps of the Florida Everglades, where each year at least 60 tourists need to be rescued. With more than a million alligators, thousands of snakes and even black bears roaming these waterlogged lands, the area has more than its share of hazards. Bear demonstrates how to keep alligators at bay, deal with vicious razor-sharp grass and find stomach-churning food that will keep you alive if you find yourself stranded in this beautiful but dangerous destination.

The first thing I'd do if stranded in the Everglades would be calling my sister on the cell phone, since she lives in the area. But then, she'd probably come along so then the two of us would be stranded.

The Phoenix is quite insulting, calling Bear "English boy adventurer".

Over on the Discovery Channel, English boy adventurer Bear Grylls backflipped off a chopper into the ultramarine waters of the Pacific, swam two miles to a desert island, scaled a cliff, descended through the root system of a banyan tree, and finally found a hospitable little cove, where he subsisted for a few days on coconuts and tiny fish ( MAN VS. WILD , Friday at 9 pm). A juicy turtle passed within harpoon range, but Bear courteously forwent a feast on account of the turtle's position on the endangered-species list. Both Bear and Criss, as they go about their respective tasks, make a selection of animalistic grunts and coughs. Shinning down the coconut tree seemed particularly hard on Bear, who grimaced against the chafing bole and warned the viewer against it "as a bloke."

Last month Bear glided over Everest

Flying over the top of the world A British Everest summiteer has become the first man to fly higher than the top of the world in a powered paraglider.

Bear Grylls, who at the age of 23 became the youngest British climber to scale Mount Everest in 1998, achieved a feat that had been deemed impossible by many critics prior to the mission.

The Telegraph carried his arcticles,Flying into a dream and has a video you can watch here

Here's a selection of books authored by Mr. Grylls,

I haven't found Man Vs Wild on DVD yet, but when I do I'll link to it.

Meanwhile, if Mr. Grylls is reading this, please email me at faustaw-at-yahoo-dot-com. I'd love to have you as my podcast guest.
-------------------------------------------------
In other diversions, I have become addicted to Facebook. I'm learning the ropes and just this morning asked a question, but then I made a mistake and the question got sent to all my friends, which probably means I've annoyed everyone early in the morning. My apologies to all.

Jeff Jarvis (who is a lot better at figuring out Facebook than I am) has a terrific post, Facebook: the platform of people?

Does Bear Grylls have a Facebook page? Well, I looked and there are dozens of Bear Grylls Facebook pages. Will the real Bear Grylls please stand up?

Technorati tag: Bear Grylls
Share on Facebook
-------------------------------------------------

This weekend's WSJ picks

2007-06-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

On time for Father's Day, the WSJ has a delicious list of books this weekend:

Alan Murray wants an outdoor propane grill:

Theodore Dalrymple, who wrote

picks his five favorite books on the criminal mind:

The WSJ book section also has reviews on

On the DVD aisle, there's an article by Peggy Noonan on The Sopranos. Here are seasons 1-6

Tom Selleck selects his favorite performances by leading men:

I would add to the shopping list The Illusionist: a romantic movie men will like.

On the CD aisle,

More Father's Day items here

Ethanol and wealth creation

2007-03-10T06:25:00.000-08:00

In The Economist, an article about ethanol, Fuel for friendship

Firms around the world are trying to make biofuel out of everything from trees to cooking oil. To make ethanol from corn or wheat, as Americans and Europeans tend to do, distillers must first convert the starch in those crops into sugars. But Brazilian distillers dispense with this expensive step, as they use sugarcane as a feedstock. So Brazil can produce ethanol for 22 cents a litre, compared with 30 cents a litre for corn-based ethanol, according to Icone, a Brazilian think-tank. That makes it cheaper than petrol, and therefore lucrative for farmers without subsidies.

U.S. sugar is too expensive to convert to fuel, thanks to a complicated system of tariffs and quotas that keeps the U.S. price of sugar artificially high, and the US can't produce enough sugar to meet an increasing demand in ethanol. Those are two reasons why import it.

However, as I mentioned in yesterday's Blog Talk Radio with WC of The Gathering Storm, the ethanol produced in Brazil is subject to a 54-cents-a-gallon US tarriff.

Since Brazil's ethanol has too much water (and is quite similar to rum), the way to get around this tarriff is for Brazil to ship its ethanol to dehidration factories in one of two dozen Caribbean countries that are exempt from the tarriff, and then take it to the US by tanker where a gasline refiner makes it undrinkable and blends it with gasoline. The blended ethanol is then shipped to gas stations.

The lobbyists are to blame for this tarrif:

The ethanol industry not only receives billions of dollars in subsidies each year, but governmental protection from international competitors as well.

But back to The Economist,

Brazil is not the only country in Latin America that sees great promise in ethanol. Colombia now has five distilleries amid the sugarcane fields of the Cauca Valley, which produce 360m litres a year. Two more are under construction elsewhere. These producers are guaranteed a market, since regulations oblige fuel merchants to mix ethanol into petrol. By 2009 the required blend will be 10% ethanol and will gradually rise to 25% thereafter. Costa Rica has a similar policy, and Panama is contemplating one.

Indeed, since sugarcane is grown throughout the region, most Latin American countries could benefit. A recent study from the Inter-American Development Bank argued that replacing 10% of Mexico's petrol consumption with locally refined ethanol would save $2 billion a year and create 400,000 jobs. Several Caribbean governments hope that the ethanol boom could help revive their ailing sugarcane farms.

The greatest lure would be access to the American market. Various Central American, Caribbean and Andean countries can already send ethanol to America tariff-free, thanks to concessionary trade agreements. Maple, an American energy investment group, plans to spend $120m on an ethanol plant in Peru to take advantage of such a waiver. A pipeline running out into the nearby Pacific Ocean will deliver the plant's output directly to tankers bound for America. Proponents of the project say it will create 3,200 jobs. If all goes well, exports could reach 120m litres a year by 2010, and perhaps as much as 400m in the more distant future.

The United States, for its part, has several reasons to encourage ethanol production in Latin America. For one thing, it will need seven times more of the stuff than it currently produces to meet Mr Bush's 35 billion-gallon target. There simply is not enough spare land in America to grow adequate feedstock for such an amount, unless scientists find a way to make ethanol cheaply from abundant materials such as wood or grass. Although Mr Bush's ultimate goal is energy independence, he would presumably prefer to be dependent on ethanol from friendly countries such as Brazil and Colombia than on oil from hostile places like Iran and Venezuela.

An ethanol boom in Latin America would also attract investment to rural areas and create lots of jobs. That might help to reduce the steady northward stream of illegal immigrants. It would certainly burnish America's image, and stem support for anti-American tub-thumpers such as Venezuela's Hugo Chávez. He has won friends throughout the region by selling oil cheaply. By sharing technology and promoting investment in ethanol, America would also be reducing Latin America's fuel bill. If it bought lots of ethanol from its neighbours, it would be providing them with a lucrative export of their own.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Brazilian counterpart signed an energy agreement making ethanol an internationally traded commodity.

This can be a first step that the US takes to unleash a new area of prosperity in Latin America. Let's create free markets, and create wealth by abolishing all farm subsidies and trade barriers with Latin American countries that are willing to provide property rights, democracy and the rule of law for their citizens.

President Bush went to Brazil and will also visit Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico. Robert Mayer has more thoughts on the subject.
--------------------------------------------------
In yesterday's Blog Talk Radio show with WC of The Gathering Storm, I mentioned several books:
Journalists Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza, Carlos Alberto Montaner, and Alvaro V. Llosa's

Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto has written several books that I highly recommend on the subject of property rights, rule of law, capital creation and free markets:

Later in the conversation we talked about Dinesh D'Souza and Robert Spencer, who I met at CPAC last week. Their books are:
Dinesh D'Souza

and
Robert Spencer

The perfect steak

2007-02-24T08:26:00.000-08:00

The WSJ tells us how to cook a steak. Since the article is by subscription only on line, as a service to my readers I'm copying it:

Preheat your oven to 450F degrees
On the stove top, heat a large, dry skillet until it is very hot. Season the steak (a 4-5 lbs porterhouse or bone-in-ribeye steak, 1 1/2" to 2" thick) well with salt and pepper and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side, until it has a dark crust [Note If your smoke alarm is very sensitive, like mine is, make sure to run the hood fan or you'll get blasted]
Place skillet in preheated oven for about 14 minutes for a 1 1/2" steak. Cook to between rare and medium rare, because residual heat will continue cooking the meat while it is resting. To test for doneness, press your finger to the meat: it should yield to the touch but not be soft. The chef says a thermometer will pierce the meat and allow the juices to run out.
Rest steak for at least 5 minutes before slicing or serving
Tester's note: If you don't feel confident about judging the doneness of the meat the way professionals do, use an instant-read thermometer to be sure the meat has reached an internal temperature of 120F for rare or medium rare

And here's the steak:

Baked potato with sour cream and butter, a salad, and maybe some green beans with almonds.

The perfect meal.

In praise of Saul Bellow

2007-02-15T07:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my son brought to my attention this wonderful article about Saul Bellow that was published in the NYT Book Review two weeks ago, Beyond Criticism, and asked me to blog about it.

The article starts by saying,

It may be heretical, or just foolish, for a book review editor to admit it, but there are times when criticism is beside the point.

and ends with

Bellow's books illuminate themselves. And all commentary is only so much background noise.

Sam Tanenhaus, who is the editor of the NYT Book Review and who wrote the article, is not alone in his admiration. My friend Roger Harris, who used to be the books review editor of the Star Ledger is equally enthusiastic about Saul Bellow. Bellow was a rarity in the modern literary world: a writer of great literature that is also fun to read.

Tanenhaus wrote his article because The Library of America has issued a new edition of Saul Bellow's major fiction from the 1950s and 1960s

Since I do my recreational reading usually lying down on the living room sofa with a book on my lap, I prefer single novel editions. The novels included in the second Library of America volume are Seize the Day, Henderson the Rain King, and Herzog:

This is the second Bellow volume by the Library of America. The first one,

included novels from 1944-1953, Dangling Man, The Victim, and The Adventures of Augie March

And don't forget his short stories,

Him with his foot in his mouth - We can all sympathize with a character such!

Sunday blogging: Music

2007-01-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

The rest of the family's away for the weekend, so I've been indulging in a great music extravaganza: listening to viola da gamba music CDs playing LOUD every moment I've been at home (except when I watched the Fox News special I mentioned in the other post).

I started with

moved on to

and then to

After listening to all of those, I've decided to get this one,

Needless to say, I'm in gamba heaven. Follow the links and listen to a sampling. You might like it, too.

I want Beckham's agent

2007-01-13T09:31:00.001-08:00

Now, I don't know a thing about sports. And I certainly don't know anything at all about football or soccer. So I'm completely amazed that a guy who wasn't scoring in his last team has just signed a contract for a quarter of a billion bucks. What's even more amazing is that the guy is referred to as a sex symbol. I kid you not. The TV anchors say, "the superstar and sex symbol" - I just heard one right now.

A sex symbol? He spends more on manicures that I - and I go for a manicure every week!

So it seems to me that the lesson in this is, have a really really good agent.

This weekend, however, my mind is focused on one thing and one thing only - you guessed it. I was visiting Obi's Sister who's anticipating Jack Bauer's return, and, as she puts it,

Even the obscene amount of money offered to pseudo-royal Beckham cannot tarnish my anticipation. After all, if Jack really wanted Beck's money, all he'd have to do is show up and take it. Like candy from a baby. And he wouldn't even need a hacksaw.

And I bet Sir Becks doesn't even own a pair of Jack Bauer pajamas

Did she say, Sir Becks? He was knighted?

Get me that agent - I want to be a Dame!

Here's a quick 24 round-up:
24 facts about '24'

James Cromwell will appear on season six as Jack Bauer's father. Sorry, Donald. Guess you weren't believable enough to play Jack's dad.

James Cromwell?
24 forum
Stephen King says, '24': So Good It's Scary
------------------------------------
NY Times delivery update:
For the first time since I started assertively asking (i.e., stopped paying) the NYT to discontinue weekend delivery, the paper was not on the driveway this morning. Did they finally stop? The real test comes tomorrow. One time they didn't deliver early on Saturday but they delivered it later. If it's not on the driveay by then, it must mean they stopped.
------------------------------------
Via Pamela, not a sex symbol but a very sexy performer: Charles Aznavour. Some day I'll post about the time I saw him on stage, but for now, hear him sing She

What a fabulous guy.

The Discovery Channel Guys

2006-12-27T08:52:00.000-08:00

After two days away from political blogging, I'm still not in political news mode, so there.

Being the only female in the house I'm outvoted when it comes to TV selections, so I've watched a lot of Discovery Channel stuff over time.

I love the Discovery Channel guys.

My first pick is my fantasy cab ride, The Cash Cab. The Cash Cab's the only game show I can stand. There's this guy named Ben who drives a New York city taxi and he asks you trivia questions. If you get the questions right he gives you money. If you don't, you still get a free cab ride: A win-win situation.

I've been taking cabs in NYC for over 25 years and one can only dream of finding a
1. nice American cab driver
2. who speaks English
3. knows where he's going
4. and doesn't drive like he's in the throes of demonic posession.
Making $500 after answering a few questions would only be the icing on the cake. The Cash Cab is on at 5PM while I plan and make dinner, at the same time as Larry Kudlow's program on CNBC, which comes to think of it, has also made me a little money.

The Dirty Jobs marathon was playing on Christmas Eve while I was cooking. Mike, the show's host, has achieved fame and fortune by finding the grossest, messiest jobs around and building a TV program about them. All the jobs require a great deal of physical extertion. Most of the jobs are done by men, with a few exceptions, such as the lady that shucks oysters and the Army maintenance engineer. Some of the jobs - such as silkscreening - require great skill and training, and others are simply disgusting, but Mike's there, showing us that there is great pride in doing a job well, and that these jobs are indispensable to the functioning of our society:

But you'll walk away from Dirty Jobs with more than just a glimpse into unfamiliar occupational duties - serving slop to pigs, collecting sperm from stallions and removing bones from fish, for example. If you're like us, you'll also gain a new understanding and appreciation for all the often-unpleasant functions someone is shouldering to make your everyday life easier, safer - and often cleaner.

Mike's nice-looking and seems like a real nice guy but I hope he gets good and clean before he heads home after he's done. You don't want him bringing that stuff into your house.

I wasn't sure whether to include Man vs. Wild on this post, because I think the premise is crazy. So I (F) discussed with my son (S), and the conversation went like this,

F: It's crazy.
S: It's not!
F: I've watched the program and the guy's crazy.
S: He's not crazy. He's cool.
F: OK, I'll look up the program on the website. What's the guy's name?
S: Bear.
F: The guy's named Bear?
S: That's his real name. Bear Grylls.
F: That explains a number of things.
S: Like what?
F: Like why he has a job that requires him to be dewormed after he's done in the jungle.
S (Patiently explaining to the obviously clueless mother): It's called surviving, Mom. The idea is to go to the jungle and survive.
F: My idea would be to go to Club Med in Cancun and have a great time.
S: He's not going to do that - he was Special Ops in the British Army, and did a program on the French Foreign Legion. And he can fish with his bare hands.
F: That, too?
S: Oh yeah, he's cool.
F; You're right. I'll include him in the post.

But my favorites are Adam and Jamie of Mythbusters, which yesterday had a marathon while I was cooking. (Do I see a pattern here?) Adam and Jamie do actual science experiments while having a great deal of fun (they do get to blow up a lot of stuff), and their crew are definitely cool. However, The Husband, who worked as a scientist in a lab, complains about their lack of safety measures, especially when it comes to flammable materials.

I'm sure I'm not the only Mythbusters fan out there since last Friday I nearly started an altercation at the Barnes and Noble at Marketfair. I was looking for this book and for a last-minute gift when I saw a lady go by carrying a copy of MythBusters: Don't Try This at Home. I was standing at the Information desk while the clerk looked up some information for me, and I asked her where the book was. She said she'd go and get it for me while I picked up the Che book.

She was back before I got back to the Information desk, and waiving the book in the air said, "Mythbusters book!" Four people raised their hands trying to grab at the book while the clerk fought them off.

She managed to tell them where the book was, and as I headed to the register with the copy she'd found me, I saw two people getting in a tug of war over the one copy left at the display.

As I'm writing this post American Chopper's Christmas special's playing. I haven't watched American Chopper yet. No time like the present - they're making Santa a motorcycle.
-----------------------------------------
Not related to the Discovery Channel, but cool, via Maria,

-----------------------------------------
Here's more stuff from the Discovery Channel guys,

The Che myth

2006-12-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

Michelle Malkin blogs that Target's pulled the Che CD case but still carries the Che Calendar.

Nothing shows what an ignoramus you are like having a Che Calendar hanging on your wall.

Yesterday I was talking to Mary Anastasia O'Grady of the WSJ, and I asked her, what book would she recommend for a quick primer on Che? Mary's choice is The Che Guevara Myth and the Future of Liberty by Alvaro Vargas Llosa, published by The Independent Institute. I read the whole book (67 pages of text) in one sitting last evening.

As it turns out, Alvaro had an epiphany because of Che's image hanging on a wall (page 2):

A few years later, I spent a semester studying at an American university. Che Guevara made a new attempt to seduce me. This time, my friends were mostly politically active Puerto Ricans who wanted their land to be independent.

It never ceases to amuse me how many independentistas come to the USA for college. But I digress.

One of them hung a poster of Che Guevara on his wall and, next to it, a picture of "Comrade Gonzalo", the genocidal leader of Shinning Path, Peru's Maoist organization.

And that's another thing: the rich Marxists. When I was at the University of Puerto Rico, one of the most Marxist guys around drove a convertible Jaguar. Now, when you realize that a Jaguar in Puerto Rico at that time cost twice what it cost in the continental USA, you really appreciate the meaning of the word irony. Alvaro continues

As I came into the room one afternoon and this couple [Che and "Comrade Gonzalo"] faced me from the wall, I was paralyzed. It suddenly downed on me why my South American friend from boarding school had never been quite able to persuade me to take up Che.

There it was, pure and simple: just like Abimael Guzman, Che was the negation of what I most seemed to long for in this complicated word - freedom and peace. I must have vaguely sensed this at school, but now, for the first time, I was able to fully grasp a precious truth: one should never be confused by the many variations of that species: the tyrant. Stalinist Che Guevara and Maoist Abimael Guzman belonged to different camps and represented contrasting attitudes to life - the former being the quintessential pinup, the latter a bizarre recluse - but what they had in common, their lust for totalitarian power, was much more important than their differences.

I had experienced firsthand Shining Path's campaign of terror against the very poor peasants in whose name it purported to act. Like millions of Peruvians, I had personally been affected in different ways by this unlikely reincarnation of Cambodia's Pol Pot in the middle of the Andes. Seeing Che Guevara next to Guzman on a chic campus wall brought to light the ugly truth about the Argentine hero of the Cuban Revolution, but, more importantly, it inspired the poignant realization that all those prepared to use force to take life and property from their fellow men are soul mates whatever the ideological or moral subterfuge used to conceal their real motives. "Really, you should rip that off. You have no idea," I said to my friend, and I left the room quite disturbed.

Many years later, when I had the chance to encounter numerous other disguises for tyranny, some on the left but others on the right, I focused on that image from university as the starting point of a larger reflection. The conclusion I reached continues to haunt me today: there are myriad forms of oppression, some much more subtle than others, sometimes adorned with the theme of social justice and at other times obscured by the language of security, and recognizing and denouncing the deceitful psychological mechanisms with which the enemies of liberty attempt to bamboozle us into voluntary servitude is one of the urgent tasks of our times.

I highly recommend The Che Guevara Myth and the Future of Liberty

Books for Christmas

2006-12-21T08:17:00.001-08:00

Dr. Sowell has the list:

Please visit the Christmas Store for last-minute gift ideas.

The Ben Franklin Reader

2006-12-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

In the morass of political correctness that floods school curricula today, most students don't get to hear much about Benjamin Franklin.

Aside from helping draft the Declaration of Independence, Franklin was an entrepeneur, scientist, vegetarian, publisher, husband, father, founding father, inventor, diplomat, musician, writer (and singer) of drinking songs, postmaster, and author.

He was also a great wit, with a great sense of fun. He's attributed with advising young men to pursue older women, "because they're more grateful", and there are lots of anecdotes like this one,

Ben Franklin was a little stout later in life and it was said that in Paris a young woman, tapping him on his protruding abdomen, said,"Dr. Franklin, if this were on a woman, we'd know what to think." And Franklin replied,"Half an hour ago, Mademoiselle, it was on a woman, and now what do you think?"

Franklin was indeed eminently quotable.

Several years ago I was at the shore browsing at Atlantic Books when I came across Franklin's autobiography, published by Dover Thrift Editions, and was fascinated by it. Franklin's purpose in writing this book was to describe to his son what was important in life. The Autobiography is brief and very interesting. You can find it on line.

The Husband's an amateur historian, and a couple of years ago I gave him Walter Isaacson's excellent Benjamin Franklin: An American Life, which is now available in paperback. The Husband highly recommends this book because "it gives you an appreciation of why Franklin was trusted with matters of State, especially as ambassador". Isaacson's Franklin is a brilliant man that shaped our nation,

He was the only man who shaped all the founding documents of America: the Albany Plan of Union, the Declaration of Independence, the treaty of alliance with France, the peace treaty with England, and the Constitution.

This week I've been reading the companion book to the Ben Franklin: In Search of a Better World Tercentenary Exhibition (the Exhibition is currently in Houston). The book is a collection of ten essays by prominent scholars, and is beautifully illustrated.

In addition to the essays on Franklin, I also recommend Ben Franklin In Search of a Better World to people interested in the furniture and furnishings of the Federal period. Like myself, Franklin cherished his home and furnishings, and once wrote to his sister,

[It] "fills me with humble Thankfulness to the divine Being who has graciously conducted my Steps, and prospered me in this strange Land to a degree that I could not rationally have expected, and can by no means conceive my self to have merited. I beg the Continuance of his Favour but to submit to his Will[,] should a Reverse be determin'd."

An extraordinary man in extraordinary times, and a man from whom we can learn and learn to love.
----------------------------------------
Remember to visit the Christmas store. Recent additions: Isaacson's book, and Omaha Steaks. I ordered both as gifts - to the same household; after all Ben liked his food, too.
----------------------------------------
It's Sunday, and Dr. Sanity has the Carnival:

(technorati tags Ben Franklin books)

Christmas store now open!

2006-11-25T13:32:00.000-08:00

In solidarity with Dr. Sanity's material spirituality, I opened a Christmas store, where I include several items I've received as gifts, and other items readers will like.

Among the books I listed Janson's History of Art, THE artbook of all times. For little kids, the Olivia books and George and Martha are sure to get the grown-ups chuckling even after repeat readings.

I included Risk among the low-tech toys so your thundering hordes can invade Kamchatka. Princeton toy stores do not carry Risk. Instead, the carry the premier jeu des échecs du bébé ("baby's first chess game", oui! in French! So your offspring can get a head start on snobbery!) - I kid you not.

I also included two items I'd love to get:
1. the DVD of The Illusionist, which will be coming out soon (catch it at the movies now if you can)
and 2. Paloma Picasso Mon Rouge Lipstick in the right red. The lipstick is no longer manufactured and I've had to settle for Revlon's Cherries in the Snow, but it's still available at Amazon. I ordered two for myself.

The're also the Casino Royale watch, too.

Happy shopping!

A Philippe Noiret movie festival

2006-11-24T10:38:00.000-08:00

French actor Philippe Noiret dies aged 76

While most people outside Europe won't recognize the name, Philippe Noiret was a wonderful actor, and even if they don't remember his name they might remember his performance as Alfredo the movie projectionist in Cinema Paradiso.

I cry at movies. My second-favorite movie is a real tearjerker and I've watched it repeatedly, which causes other family members to ask why do I torment myself - it's not a pretty sight (no one looks good crying, unless they're in a movie).

I saw Cinema Paradiso when it first came out in 1988 with my friend G.

G. really got crying early on in the film. I remained cool, with the sad story about Salvatore the poor little kid and the kindly Alfredo rolling right along, until the part where Alfredo projects the movie on the walls by the town square. That really caught my attention. The scene where Salvatore puts together all the censored love scenes that Alfredo had saved got me into a torrent of tears - to this day my eyes water if I hear the love theme music that played during that scene.

Of course this was cause for much hilarity from my friend's then-teenage son, who had come with us to what his father referred to as "those weird foreign movies G. and Fausta are so fond of" because his game got rained out.

Noiret was also known in the USA for his part as Pablo Neruda in The Postman (a.k.a. Il Postino, NOT to be confused with the Kevin Costner yawner).

Noiret was just fabulous in that he never acted, he did.
Here are a few of his fims, which are also available from Netflix.

A Beautiful Actor

(technorati tags Philippe Noiret movies film)
digg story

Top 10 Books Liberals Would Like to Burn

2006-11-23T05:16:00.000-08:00

Via Huber, Top 10 Books Liberals Would Like to Burn:

Fifty fabulous films

2006-11-14T12:50:00.000-08:00

I saw this advertised at the TMC channel:

Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films
These are the films, and among them is my most favorite film of all time (which I don't own):
ALEXANDER NEVSKY (1938)
ASHES AND DIAMONDS (1958)
L'AVVENTURA (1960)
BALLAD OF A SOLDIER (1959)
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946)
BLACK ORPHEUS (1959)
BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945)
THE FALLEN IDOL (1948)
FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959)
FISTS IN THE POCKET (1965)
FLOATING WEEDS (1959)
FORBIDDEN GAMES (1952)
THE 400 BLOWS (1959)
GRAND ILLUSION (1937)
HÄXAN (1922)
IKIRU (1952)
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (1952)
IVAN THE TERRIBLE, PART II (1958)
LE JOUR SE LÈVE (1939)
JULES AND JIM (1962)
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949)
KNIFE IN THE WATER (1962)
THE LADY VANISHES (1938)
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943)
LOVES OF A BLONDE (1965)
M (1931)
M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY (1953)
MISS JULIE (1951)
PANDORA'S BOX (1929)
PÉPÉ LE MOKO (1937)
IL POSTO (1961)
PYGMALION (1938)
RASHOMON (1950) RICHARD III (1955)
THE RULES OF THE GAME (1939)
SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)
THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957)
THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (1973)
LA STRADA (1954)
SUMMERTIME (1955)
THE THIRD MAN (1949)
THE 39 STEPS (1935)
UGETSU (1953)
UMBERTO D. (1952)
THE VIRGIN SPRING (1960)
VIRIDIANA (1961)
THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953)
THE WHITE SHEIK (1952)
WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957)
THREE DOCUMENTARIES BY SAUL J. TURELL
It includes the films and a hardcover book with essays on each.

Fantastic!

(technorati tags film Movies Entertainment DVD)

Cowboy boots and Irish scarves

2006-11-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

Cowboy boots and Irish scarves have nothing in common, except for craftsmanship. Usually when one hears about classic fashion items one pictures grandma in her cashmere twin set and pearls, but the two items below aren't just for grandma.

Last year I bought myself a pair of black Lucchese boots. Lucchese is made in Texas, and is the classic cowboy boot. Their products are beautifully handcrafted and offer excellent value, since the craftsmaship is comparable to much pricier footwear.

I've worn my boots several times a week when the weather's cool enough. They are very comfortable - comfortable enough for walking around all day, offer great arch support, are fully lined in leather, and are sturdy enough to toil though rain and mud (they are not waterproof, though). They look great with trousers and jeans. While they're not the fad now, they still look stylish with casual and semi-casual clothes. I don't wear these boots with skirts since I prefer to avoid the square-dance look, but they could be worn with skirts.

If you have the opportunity before you order them, try the ones you like at a store. I have narrow ankles and mine fit perfectly.

While I'm providing the link to the Amazon associates item, if you're going to purchase a pair of Lucchese, make sure to do a Froogle search. You'll probably find the ones you like at a discounted price.

Not available through Amazon, but available locally in Princeton, are the Patrick Francis scarves at Landau's (800) 257-9445.
They are made in Ireland of 50% silk and 50% cashmere, lightweight while very warm, and beautiful.

The craftsmanship is superb and can only be best appreciated in person - much silkier and softer than pashmina, with hand-knotted fringe, the scarves caress your neck.

All the scarves have Celtic-knot jacquard patterns that are subtle yet elegant. Click on the photo for a better look.

One word describes these scarves: exquisite.

The scarves are priced in the $60-$70 range, and need dry-cleaning. With that in mind, they'd be the perfect gift for a lucky lady.

Saturday blogging: Camille Paglia

2006-10-28T06:28:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of Camille Paglia for many years. Her writing is always interesting, always clear and always thought-provoking. You can go back and read her essays and they're still as fresh as the first time you read them.

She does tend to get carried away with the meaning of symbolism: For instance, while skyscrapers might be phallic, the very obvious reason men (and women) architecs design them is not because they are phallic, but because so far they're the most practical way to maximize the use of space in highly populated areas.

Be that as it may, while you might not agree with her views, it's worth reading her books. (I make an exception: I haven't read the one on Madonna because if it was up to me Madonna would still be working at the IHOP. 'Nuf said on Madge.)

I first started reading her work in the early 1990s when I came across her book Sexual Personae at a used book store in Manhattan. I bought it because of her essay on Pre-Raphaelite art, about which I have an interest, and after that I kept going back for more of Paglia's writing. This kind of writing is not light reading, however. It demands commitment and attention.

Her very successful book of commentary on poetry classics is much easier to read, and it lends itself to reading in brief intervals, as you want to read the poem, think about what it says to you and then read what she has to say. Reading is two minds communicating; in Break Blow Burn it's three minds.

Now she has a new book about visual images coming up, and Salon has an interview. Here's a sampler:

On Foley and the Democrats

And with the Democrats' record of sex scandals, what the hell were they thinking of? For heaven's sake, after we just got through the whole Clinton maelstrom! What Clinton did with Monica Lewinsky was far worse than any evidence I've seen thus far about what Foley did with these pages. Clinton, whom I voted for twice, used his superior power as an employer to lure Monica Lewinsky, who was perfectly willing, into these squalid sexual assignations on the grounds of the White House. There was a time when feminists were arguing, in regard to sexual harassment in the workplace, that any gross disparity in power cannot possibly produce informed consent. All of a sudden, all of that was abandoned for partisan reasons in the Clinton case. I take the European view that any government official has the right to conduct as many sexual affairs as he wishes -- off government property. But Clinton, with all his power, somehow couldn't figure out a way to discreetly meet his chosen women at the mansions of his many friends. I can understand why hotels and motels might have been difficult to manage, with the telltale Secret Service presence. But to use the hallway off the Oval Office for those encounters -- to be serviced by a young woman to whom he gave no other dignity and whom he used like a washrag -- he turned that hallway into a sleazy mosh pit! The Democrats are being extremely imprudent to arouse all those sleeping tigers again -- particularly if their next presidential nomination is Hillary Clinton. They've reignited the endless series of charges about Clinton's allegedly abusive physical encounters with women, beginning when he was governor of Arkansas. The Foley case shrinks in comparison to Clinton's rumored history of hitting on women in subordinate positions.

On Condoleezza Rice:

Every feminist who wants to smash the glass ceiling should realize she has a stake in Condi Rice's success.

On Bob Woodward:

Oh, Woodward, what a big yawn! Who the hell cares about Woodward? I mean, at this point, he's just an inside-the-Beltway figure. I certainly don't need him to clarify my view of the Iraq debacle.

Chomsky certainly doesn't fare any better, and neither does robo-Hillary.

Read the interview, buy the books.

(technorati tags Camille Paglia books)

Sunday blogging: Savall in concert

2006-10-22T06:03:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I was posting about my passion for Early Music. Later on I hotlinked a picture of John Hurt as Caligula (yes, I should know better by now) and the webmaster courteously complained. After apologizing and promising to make ammends, I visited the website.

Imagine my delight when I found out that he had attended a Hesperion XXI concert. Here's his review:

I was gratified to note that Gaspar Sanz's Canarios and Jacaras - favorites of mine from Hesperion recordings - were to be performed; but then I was somewhat dashed when I saw they had gotten the boot in the revised program. But Diego Ortiz's Canarios was substituted, so I was mollified. And I loved the performance of Captain Tobias Hume's A Souldier's Resolution, a battle piece from Hume's curious collection of music for the viola da gamba, Musical Humours. Here it is [please go to the website for link], in streaming Real Audio format, from Savall's album of pieces from Musical Humours. By the way, Sanz also wrote a stirring battle piece for guitar, Clarinas y Trompetas - one could come up with an entire program of battle music, what with William Byrd's The Battell. Savall returned to the stage after the concert, answering questions in the friendliest way, showing his instruments, including his priceless treble viola da gamba, circa 1500:

You must go to the website to look at the photos and listen to the audio. I can only wish I'd been there.

One note on my prior post: the old soundtrack CD of Tous Les Matins doesn't have the complete Savall rendition of the Spanish variations. The film does.

If you like Savall/Marais, you're also going to love this:

In other matters, Dr. Sanity has the carnival!

(technorati tags Jordi Savall Marin Marais viola da gamba Music)

Little book of the week: Tiara

2006-10-19T06:53:00.000-07:00

A friend gave me this charming book a few years ago. It features some 4 dozen tiaras, beautifully photographed, as "The tiara is the hallmark of grace and distinction".

My only complaint is that several interesting photographs are too small to be appreciated.

Balm for the spirit

2006-10-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

I have a passion for Early Music, and nearly worship Jordi Savall and his recording label, Alia Vox. I developed an interest in this music after listening to the soundtrack of a thoroughly depressing film, Tout Les Matins Du Monde, where Mr. Savall knocked my socks off with a magnificent rendition of Marais's Spanish Variations

Mr Savall has produced an impressive body of work, and performs along with his exceedingly beautiful and talented family, who are exceptional musicians on their own.

Here are two selections from Alia Vox that I recently purchased:
Metamorphoses Fidei (Metamorphosis of Faith), which the CD booklet states,

The programme offered in these Metamorphoses Fidei is the expression of a mestissage of different cultures and music which came together thanks to the presence, contact and coexistence of people in Old Hesperia during the Middle Ages, a process which was intensified as a result of the discovery and conquest of the New World.

I find these songs at once haunting and relaxing.

Equally enjoyable is Diaspora Sefardi (Sepherdic Diaspora),

The Sephardic Jews, scattered through the world after their expulsion from Spain in 1492, kept alive for centuries not only their language, Ladino, but an extraordinary repertory of "folk" songs, many of them quite sophisticated. As Ladino culture began to slowly fade away over the course of the 20th century, musicologists collected and transcribed these melodies from Ladino-speaking communities in Sarajevo, Sofia, Salonika, Smyrna, Jerusalem, and other cities. Beginning in the 1970s, these extraordinary songs were revived (to considerable excitement) for concert audiences--a revival sparked in large part by a 1976 recording by Hesperion XX. This now-legendary early music ensemble, renamed Hesperion XXI for the new century, has returned to the music of the Sephardic Diaspora with this beautifully produced and packaged release.

Enjoy them all, and bask in the beauty of their joyful music.

(technorati tags Jordi Savall, Hesperion XXI, early music, Middle Ages)

Michael Totten's latest

2006-10-02T07:08:00.000-07:00

The New Pamphleteer has just published

Everything could explode at any moment.
Dispatches from the Lebanese-Israeli front

and
Blog digest #1: The Hezbollah War

both by Michael Totten.

Also don't miss Michael Totten on Blog-Journalism and the Middle East

(technorati tags Middle East, Michael J. Totten)

Hewitt's indispensable bookshelf

2006-09-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

The Indispensable Bookshelf: The Books You Absolutely, Positively, Must Read

These are the books he recommends:

Little books

2006-09-16T05:25:00.000-07:00

Few things cheer me up more than a good book, and I've been blessed with having more books than I have time to read. In fact, here at casa de Fausta I recently had to donate many previously-read books for having run out of space. These are keepers, and all of them are small sized, comfortably fitting in the palm of the hand, in a briefcase or a handbag. They're also good for gifts, either by themselves or as part of a gift basket.

Birding Babylon: A Soldier's Journal from Iraq, newly released, is written by Jonathan Trouern-Trend. Sergeant First Class Trouern-Trend was stationed in Iraq in 2004-2005 and not only kept a blog, Birding Babylon, but also wrote this charming book keeping tack of the 122 species of birds he found in Iraq.

The book is beautifully designed, in hardcover, illustrated with silhouettes of the birds, and, thankfully, in a good sized type that is easy on the eyes both in natural and artificial light.

Sgt. Trouern-Trend is back in Connecticut with his wife and five children, and writes about his experiences,

I have been blessed with the opportunity to be here [in Iraq], doing a mission I believe in. Because of my job and the places I visited, I had perhaps more opportunity to see and appreciate Iraq's natural world than some. One day I hope to return, with binoculars but without a weapon.

I look forward to that day.

I haven't been to London for well over a decade, so I look forward to going back and visiting the places featured in London: A Guide to Recent Architecture. The editor's review at Amazon describes it as

London: A Guide to Recent Architecture is one in a series of lovely little guides to many of the world's major cities created by British publisher Ellipsis. The information contained here ranges from brief perspectives on the city's architectural history to tips on which maps are best for visitors and how to navigate the local public transit system. The book considers architecture not as something that happens on isolated building sites, but rather as social, cultural, and political phenomena. At four inches square, this highly portable book is an ideal travel companion.

If you are going to give the book as a gift do bear in mind that the type is small and can be tiring.

Also in a London theme, Shakespeare at the Globe, a little brown notebook, a small journal with small illustrations and factoid such as

The Globe didn't begin life as the Globe, when actor/manager James Burbage erected his playhouse in 1576 he chose to call it the "Theatre". This established the name by which playhouses (the the Elizabethans called them)were to be known by future generations.

The small size is perfect for writing a few notes, and pasting receipts and small photos taken during a trip.

For a write-in journal, it's also nice that the recipient will have light reading along with writing space, not just a blank book with no time to enter anything while on a tour.

Nowhere near as high-culture is the ridiculously funny Hot Dogs: Single Dogs Seeking Same, a spoof on singles ads featuring dogs of all breeds. You will laugh out loud. However, you don't want to be reading this one in front of the kids because you will have to do a lot, and I mean a lot, of explaining.

The creators of Hot Dogs also came up with a companion (!) book featuring cats Sex Kittens: Single Cats Seeking Same, which is equally funny and just as tasteless.

I picked up Hot Dogs for $1 at the Barnes and Noble bargain table.

(technorati tags books, birding, birdwatching, Iraq, London, Dogs)

Make-up

2006-09-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't live near Ulta, and don't want to subscribe to the "club" Bare Minerals is advertising on TV, the products are available through Amazon

Fendi

2006-08-19T05:18:00.000-07:00

Fendi Leopard B Bag: $2550.00

Fendi Patent Trim Boots: $850.00

Waiting for eight hours in the emergency room for the plastic surgeon to show up so he can stitch up your forehead after you walked straight into the doorjamb: priceless.

There are some things money can't buy.
For everything else, there's MasterCard.

(not a buy, but a parody of one)

The happy map and science books

2006-07-29T07:13:00.000-07:00

Via Juan, behold the Happy Map (PDF file). While on the happy subject, a study out of Princeton concludes once your income goes above an additional 12,000 dollars a year, it has little effect on your life's happines. Maybe if you're a tenured professor with a six-figure income, a subsidized mortgage, and help for the kids' college tuition but I believe they'll find a lot of volunteers willing to prove them wrong.

I don't know what science methodology was used for the happy map or the money study, but Russel Seitz, physicist, reviews 5 science books in today's WSJ, and here they are, from oldest to most recent:

The only one I've read from Dr. Seitz's list is Longitude, and it's excellent. After reading it, I bought The Husband the illustrated edition as a gift:

This edition has all the unabridged text, and wonderful photos and maps that really bring to life the story. Please note that the print is very small, particularly for the illustrations, so you might want to remember when purchasing it.

Another excellent by the same author is Galileo's Daughter:

The difficult life of Sister Maria Celeste is beautifully told, and is based on the translation of 124 surviving letters to Galileo by his daughter.

Not listed by Dr. Seitz, but another interesting book on the subject of science and technology in history, is Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel

While many will argue about Diamond's thesis, the book is a fascinating, enjoyable, read.

Starting this week, you can find all my book reviews and picks at my new page, Fausta's buys.

(technorati tags books,Science )
------------------------------
A reminder: Fausta's blog has a new address. Please update your bookmark and your blogroll

Stoics in review

2006-07-27T04:24:00.000-07:00

I picked up a few books that visitors to this blog might find interesting.

The first one is not the most interesting. Live Your Best Life: A Treasury of Wisdom, Wit, Advice, Interviews, and Inspiration from O, The Oprah Magazine is a compendium of previously-published articles from O Mag, with 1-2 page long articles on the usual Oprah fare. There's plenty of advice by O, Suze, Dr. Phil, et al, and some interviews, but I can't say I found much wit or inspiration. Skeptics might refer to it as the Book of Common Fare for the Church of Oprah.

The confessional self-help and possitive affirmation tone of the Book of Common Fare for the Church of Oprah couldn't be further from Nany Sherman's fascinating Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy behind the Military Mind. One might even say that Oprah is from Venus and Nancy is from Mars, to paraphrase another of Oprah's protégés, which would mean short-changing Nancy but wouldn't be too inaccurate. As Ms Sherman says in the first line of the preface,

This book is about "sucking it up".

and thank G-d for that. Control, self-discipline, endurance, "can do" agency, and stiff upper lip are virtues (yes, virtues) we can all use in these our trying times. As Sherman explains (p. 27),

Virtue alone becomes sufficient for happiness, without dependence on external goods or luck. This position, in essence, is what the Stoics return to and embrace.

Think of Stoic Warriors as the Oprahantidote.

While Ms Sherman at times plods through the psychology of facial expressions and the "ritualized aesthetics of garments" in the military, the book is both interesting in its exploration of the military and in its explanation of the Stoic philosophy. She gives clear descriptions of what the Stoics believed, and quotes appropriately from Cicero, Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius. All these authors' works are available for free on line at The Internet Classics Archive and other sources, in addition to being available at Amazon.

If the name Marcus Aurelius sounds familiar, it's because Bill Clinton (arguably the least stoic president in history) claimed to have as bedside reading The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius. Bill didn't specify on whose bedside, so maybe it was.

I also came across Arthur Cotterell's The Encyclopedia of Classic Mythology, beautifully illustrated with Victorian (mostly Pre-Raphaelite) and Eduardian paintings and drawings. Each character description is complete while not too lengthy.

Cotterell's The Encyclopedia of Classic Mythology is a very nice reference book on Greek, Roman, Celtic, and Norse mythologies, which also comes in handy when trying to decypher the meaning of the art and music of the Western tradition. My only misgiving is that the print is very small and the captions to the illustrations are smaller yet, and in lighter font, which makes them harder to read, so please keep that in mind if you're buying the book as a gift.

While not related to the ancient Romans or the Stoics, Olivia the pig continues to amuse her many fans. The latest installment of the charming series, Olivia Forms a Band, brings back my favorite girl pig and will bring a smile to your face. The series is brilliantly written and illustrated by Ian Falconer, and each Olivia book is a classic.

Olivia Forms a Band is delightful. Buy one for yourself and one for a friend!

(technorati tags books, Religion and Philosophy, Oprah, Nancy Sherman, Olivia)
------------------------------
A reminder: Fausta's blog has a new address. Please update your bookmark and your blogroll.
Thank you