Jack Valenti Dies

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Jack Valenti of the Motion Picture Association of America has died. I used to regard him with some bitterness, thinking of him as one of the prudes keeping movies watered down, but apparently this may be unfair:

And he fended off lawmakers’ recurring campaigns to curb violence and sex on the screen, arguing for free expression. He devised the film-rating system precisely to avoid censorship by local review boards.

Though, I think he has sided too much with the conservative voices, which is a trend that seems to be only continuing since he stepped down a couple of years ago, and so we only get edited versions of American movies that Europeans get to enjoy uncut, like we're children. Sometimes life feels like a joke.


(Source: David M. Halbfinger for The New York Times)

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Jack Valenti Dies

♠
Jack Valenti of the Motion Picture Association of America has died. I used to regard him with some bitterness, thinking of him as one of the prudes keeping movies watered down, but apparently this may be unfair:

And he fended off lawmakers’ recurring campaigns to curb violence and sex on the screen, arguing for free expression. He devised the film-rating system precisely to avoid censorship by local review boards.

Though, I think he has sided too much with the conservative voices, which is a trend that seems to be only continuing since he stepped down a couple of years ago, and so we only get edited versions of American movies that Europeans get to enjoy uncut, like we're children. Sometimes life feels like a joke.


(Source: David M. Halbfinger for The New York Times)

xXx

Math and Imagination

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Yesterday, prahlad posted about the comparison between America and Asian countries when it comes to learning math, and how we are often alarmist about comparing rather unfavorably with, say, the Chinese.

Today, Thomas Friedman has a column directly on point, with a favorable detour through the life of Einstein, and how both sides may be shortchanging the power of the freedom of imagination.

( Friedman column )

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Math and Imagination

♠
Yesterday, prahlad posted about the comparison between America and Asian countries when it comes to learning math, and how we are often alarmist about comparing rather unfavorably with, say, the Chinese.

Today, Thomas Friedman has a column directly on point, with a favorable detour through the life of Einstein, and how both sides may be shortchanging the power of the freedom of imagination.

( Friedman column )

xXx

The Soviets Are Back?

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“The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars in Eastern Europe are going to threaten the Soviet strategic deterrent is purely ludicrous, and everybody knows it,” Ms. Rice said, slipping inadvertently into cold war terminology with her reference to the Soviet Union.

-- C.J. Chivers and Mark Landler for The New York Times

As well she might. It is feeling like the old days.

America wants to set up an anti-missile system to defend against future nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea and the like. Putin is crying foul, for reasons unclear, except to be defiant and assertive, and is threatening to withdraw from Russia's treaty obligation with NATO regarding conventional weapons, and thus holding up the specter of a possible Russian march westward.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

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The Soviets Are Back?

♠
“The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars in Eastern Europe are going to threaten the Soviet strategic deterrent is purely ludicrous, and everybody knows it,” Ms. Rice said, slipping inadvertently into cold war terminology with her reference to the Soviet Union.

-- C.J. Chivers and Mark Landler for The New York Times

As well she might. It is feeling like the old days.

America wants to set up an anti-missile system to defend against future nuclear threats from Iran and North Korea and the like. Putin is crying foul, for reasons unclear, except to be defiant and assertive, and is threatening to withdraw from Russia's treaty obligation with NATO regarding conventional weapons, and thus holding up the specter of a possible Russian march westward.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

xXx

Einstein and the Mind of God

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Walter Isaacson has a nice piece in The Washington Post on Einstein's subtle religious beliefs: "Einstein and the Mind of God". Here is a taste:

“It isn’t possible!” the skeptical guest said, turning to Einstein to ask if he was, in fact, religious.

“Yes, you can call it that,” Einstein replied calmly. “Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in fact, religious.”

Mr. Isaacson, of course, has a new biography on Einstein, as we have been getting quite a bit of buzz about it, to the point that it is tempting me give it a run, maybe in the summer. I suppose Einstein is something of an Elvis figure in the world of science, after all.

( Walter Isaacson )

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Einstein and the Mind of God

♠
Walter Isaacson has a nice piece in The Washington Post on Einstein's subtle religious beliefs: "Einstein and the Mind of God". Here is a taste:

“It isn’t possible!” the skeptical guest said, turning to Einstein to ask if he was, in fact, religious.

“Yes, you can call it that,” Einstein replied calmly. “Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible laws and connections, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. To that extent I am, in fact, religious.”

Mr. Isaacson, of course, has a new biography on Einstein, as we have been getting quite a bit of buzz about it, to the point that it is tempting me give it a run, maybe in the summer. I suppose Einstein is something of an Elvis figure in the world of science, after all.

( Walter Isaacson )

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Carrie's Story

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The dressage shows were among the stranger events Jonathan had taken me to. They had their rules, too. They'd take place in some very fancy house, really a mansion, usually down the peninsula, often with walled grounds you'd drive through on the way to the house. Jonathan would give the car to a valet, who would also take my coat. Without my coat, I'd be naked, except for boots and a leash and collar. Jonathan would take my leash and lead me to the chairs set up in a ring, usually in some gorgeous garden area. He'd take a seat and attach the leash to a little post set up next to it, and I'd kneel there, as all the other slaves were doing next to their little posts.

-- Carrie's Story by Molly Weatherfield

I am now taking the pleasure of my second reading of this gem of S/M erotica. It is in that top league with "Story of O", a porn novel that has full characters and a substantive storyline that it is worth coming back to again and again - a nice fantasy getaway, made all the cozier for its familiarity. There aren't many of these. I'm afraid all the best works are in French.

Anyway, in keeping with the overwhelming voices who want more porn from this blog, I am including a classy picture of a babe in bondage.

( WARNING: Nude Babe )

xXx

Carrie's Story

♠
The dressage shows were among the stranger events Jonathan had taken me to. They had their rules, too. They'd take place in some very fancy house, really a mansion, usually down the peninsula, often with walled grounds you'd drive through on the way to the house. Jonathan would give the car to a valet, who would also take my coat. Without my coat, I'd be naked, except for boots and a leash and collar. Jonathan would take my leash and lead me to the chairs set up in a ring, usually in some gorgeous garden area. He'd take a seat and attach the leash to a little post set up next to it, and I'd kneel there, as all the other slaves were doing next to their little posts.

-- Carrie's Story by Molly Weatherfield

I am now taking the pleasure of my second reading of this gem of S/M erotica. It is in that top league with "Story of O", a porn novel that has full characters and a substantive storyline that it is worth coming back to again and again - a nice fantasy getaway, made all the cozier for its familiarity. There aren't many of these. I'm afraid all the best works are in French.

Anyway, in keeping with the overwhelming voices who want more porn from this blog, I am including a classy picture of a babe in bondage.

( WARNING: Nude Babe )

xXx