When Ted Stevens was found guilty of all seven charges of failing to report gifts last week, the conventional wisdom, at least in the Lower 48, was that the Republicans had lost another Senate seat. I’m inclined to agree. But with reservations. Because if there’s any place that will surprise you politically (other than Minnesota, [...]
What happens when people my age (28) or younger start to feel nostalgic? Some turn to the common cultural thread of television. I’ve found a handful of YouTube tributes to the cable channel Nickelodeon, which, according to a couple of these videos, enjoyed a golden era from about 1990 to 2004. The kids born in [...]
Jo Becker and Don Van Natta detail the philanthropic and financial ties between Bill Clinton and a mining magnate named Frank Giustra in today’s Times. It’s an engaging feat of investigative journalism and well worth reading. At least if, like me, you’re interested in mining, money, influence, Central Asia, and calling people out. It comes [...]
My friend and former colleague Pat Joseph has an article in the latest Virginia Quarterly Review. It’s about the boom (and recent bust) in soy farming in the interior of Brazil. Well written, all round, but one section I especially liked was about the Brazilian sense that the Americans need not tell them how to [...]
Ran across an interesting ad on the New York Times‘s home page today: (Note, the image is a composite of two screenshots as my screen is quite small.) So. Save Dartmouth. I must have misunderstood that the ruckus over Dartmouth’s alumni constitution and its system of having alumni vote for half the Board of Trustees [...]
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner wrote a post-election story examining the political fortunes of its lone U.S. representative–and, to a large degree, the political fortunes of the state. Entitled “Alaska’s congressman still has clout,” the article emphasizes how powerful Young had become during Republican domination of Congress. While senior members of the minority party still have [...]
A couple of years ago, a friend told me about the Technology, Entertainment, and Design Conference, which both of us still can’t afford to go to. Would we even get through the application process? Luckily, Tom Abate (whom I once met and found to be a really nice guy) alerted readers of The Tech Chronicles [...]
I’ve been telling people that Columbia made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. And I refused. Both are great schools, there’s no doubt about that. I would graduate satisfied with my experience at either place, I’m quite sure. But after some careful examination, my choice is Berkeley. It is, right now, the better school for [...]
Dear Reader, I am sorry that I have not posted here for weeks–weeks! It’s not been for lack of content or interest, but merely lack of time and energy. I have been trying to sort out the tangled decision about where to go in the next stage of life. I have made a handful of [...]
No problem. Let me know if you have any questions. 
