Monday, April 12, 2010

Around the Web

Quick non-sequitor: what a great Masters Tournament.
  • Vanity Fair profile of General Petraeus praises his drive and competence but also portrays him as unyieldingly ambitious
  • The latest salvo in Matt Taibbi's tussle with David Brooks.  Granted, Taibbi's writing tends to be a little hyperbolic.  But sometimes things are more fun that way. In this particular post, I don't think he's taking any unfair shots
  • The Daily Show on the recent Catholic disgrace: “If any other organization had done anything close to what the Church is being accused of, they’d be done! the Church is barely showing any contrition - for God’s sakes, look how sorry Domino’s was just for their shitty pizza! They had a bad sauce recipe, (and) they’ve been out there nonstop - ‘Oh, we’re so sorry. Here, have some Crazy Bread!’”
Update:

    Wednesday, April 7, 2010

    ISI list of 50 best books...no big surprises

    Ranking books, music and movies according to some notion of "quality" is gimmicky and best and foolish at least.  But, if these kind of rankings aren't taken too seriously, they can be fun and interesting.
    The conservative Intercollegiate Studies Institute has released their list of the 50 best books of the twentieth century.   Unlike a lot of other top books lists, this one omits literary fiction. While the list has a decidedly conservative/traditionalist tilt (which is no surprise, given the ISI's advocacy for "Great Books" curricula), I think most people would get a lot out of reading most of the books on the list.  There is more balance than you might expect (they include Autobiography of Malcolm X, for instance.)

    Still there are some glaring omissions (what no Timothy Leary?*).  I think a few get an unfair ideological bump from likeminded editors, but there's plenty on there that I haven't actually read,  so this is just speculation.

    Their worst books list is much more crassly political and not really worth reading.

    *joking.

    Around the Web

    Tuesday, April 6, 2010

    Judging Characters

    Some of these are kind of late.  I blame my work schedule.
    •  This profile certainly makes Janet Napolitano seem like one of the cooler cabinet secretaries("Napolitano has been known to close down a bar or two in her time") 
    • Brendan Nyhan easily deflates the Obama as "Polarizer in chief" narrative (credit Gary Jacobson with an assist on this one, or vis versa)
    • Being a Blue Devil can be hazardous to one's political ambitions in the Bluegrass state
    • It's about time somebody speaks up about the absurd growth of unpaid internships
    • Jeff Toobin's article on John Paul Stevens (At the moment, most succession speculation revolves around Merrick Garland, Elena Kagan, and Diane Wood.  Tom Goldstein, who knows a lot about this sort of thing, is betting on Kagan. I like Garland's chances and I like what I've heard about him so far. I haven't read as much about Diane Wood but I like her Texas ties and I hear she's brilliant. She would definitely be the most interesting pick of these three.

    Friday, April 2, 2010

    To hell with Edward De Vere

    I have to admit I'm one of those people who enjoys indulging in a little historical speculation when the opportunity presents itself. While a lot of the great mysteries have been uncovered in recent years (David Geffen and Mark Felt), there's still a big fish in the pond: the Shakespearean authorship debate.


    It's a classic debate because it has so many different angles and because the heterodox opinions have some high profile champions. And from the looks of it, it's also a case that is about to be reopened.  James Shapiro has a new book out this month in which he explores the history of the authorship debate from a decidedly Stratfordian viewpoint (i.e. he believes Shakespeare was the real author). I'm pretty excited for this, as I hope it will finally put those snooty Oxfordians in their place.