The Emperor’s Handbook is a new translation of Marcus Aurelius’ classic The Meditations. Marcus Aurelius was a second century Roman emperor and stoic philosopher. You probably know him as the old guy (Richard Harris) that chose Maximus (Russell Crowe) as his successor in Gladiator. Marcus is counted among the “five good Roman emperors”1 and his … Continue reading Marcus Aurelius tunes my RSS Feeds
Category: Reviews
What’s the opposite of Transcendence?
Serious science fiction is a demanding cinematic genre; that’s why you see so little of it! Most of what passes for science fiction is out-and-out comic fantasy. In the last year only three marginally serious science fiction films made it to wide release: Catching Fire, Divergent and Transcendence. Sadly, they’re all pretty awful and Transcendence … Continue reading What’s the opposite of Transcendence?
Cosmos Reboot
I am enjoying Neil deGrasse Tyson’s reboot of Cosmos. So far it’s as good as the early 1980's Sagan original. Popularizing science is a thankless task. Successful stars like Tyson and Sagan will earn nothing but envy and scorn from their peers. They’ll be derided as dilettantes and panderers whoring out science for demeaning public fame and … Continue reading Cosmos Reboot
Review: Into the Wild
Anyone contemplating a “return to nature” would be well advised to read Into the Wild first. This gripping little book investigates the last journey of Christopher McCandless: a young man who walked into the Alaskan wilds north of Denali in the early 1990’s with the intention of living off the land. He was woefully under-equipped, … Continue reading Review: Into the Wild
Review: The Creature from Jekyll Island
In 2008 whatever residual trust I had in American democratic institutions was irrevocably shattered by the larcenous and criminal bank bailout. If you recall the bailout, the infamous “crap sandwich”, was overwhelmingly opposed by the public, initially rejected by Congress, but stuffed down our throats anyway. The sky was falling! The banks had to be … Continue reading Review: The Creature from Jekyll Island
Twitter is not Trivial
I enjoy being wrong because it doesn't happen very often. When Twitter first reared its itty-bitty head I thought it was one of the dumbest ideas ever. Who wants to “tweet”, in an utterly disorganized stream of consciousness way, 140 character messages to total strangers? What could emerge from such inane chatter? Isn't this like … Continue reading Twitter is not Trivial
The New SmugMug
Websites compete in a brutal Darwinian struggle for eyeballs and clicks: adapt or die is an understatement. Every few years users get "upgraded" whether they want it or not. Generally things move in a better direction. Even twenty-something web programmers aren't completely stupid but setbacks and complete disasters are not uncommon. My new SmugMug layout - click … Continue reading The New SmugMug
Review: The Signal and the Noise
There is nothing like being right to make an impression. After calling the majority of congressional districts in the 2012 US election Nate Silver enjoyed his 15 minutes of fame. Before his election prediction I was only dimly aware of Nate Silver. I knew he worked for the New York Times, but that's no longer … Continue reading Review: The Signal and the Noise
The Myth of Sisyphus: Camus’s Absurd Prototype
In 1942, with World II raging, readers of The Myth of Sisyphus could easily identify with Camus's absurd man. Not only is man absurd he has reduced his entire world to absurdity. Now, seventy-plus years later, Sisyphus readers are more likely to politely yawn and wonder what the fuss is about. Camus's themes are not … Continue reading The Myth of Sisyphus: Camus’s Absurd Prototype
Oz the Gratuitous and Purile
This is not the Oz you're looking for! The original Wizard of Oz, the one we have all seen many times, is on a very short list of nearly perfect movies. Everything about the 1939 film is superb in excess. It's as fun to watch today as it was over seventy years ago and you … Continue reading Oz the Gratuitous and Purile
Analyze the Data not the Drivel 