Newsletter 830
Best of the Moment
Google Now: Behind The Predictive Future Of Search
Dieter Bohn | Verge | 29 October 2012
Google is using what it knows about you (a lot) to build Google Now. It combines voice search with "cards" that guess what you might want to know at any given moment. It's a kind of pre-emptive search. In time, it'll run our lives Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/google-now-behind-predictive-future-search)
The Case Of The Mormon Historian
David Haglund | Slate | 1 November 2012
On being a Mormon intellectual. Can the two things go together, you ask. This is what happened when Michael Quinn challenged the history of the church he loved Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/case-mormon-historian)
The New, New Black
Eric Ellis | Global Mail | 2 November 2012
Profile of Conrad Black, disgraced press baron. Now out of jail, promoting a book whitewashing his own reputation and savaging that of Rupert Murdoch, "a tottering, cowardly supplicant and a prime candidate for criminal prosecution" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/new-new-black)
The Collaborator's Song
Anne Applebaum | Foreign Policy | 31 October 2012
On the Communist takeover of eastern Europe after WW2. "The genius of Soviet totalitarianism was its ability to get people to go along without apparent protest." But only for so long. Resentment and shame bred eventual rebellion Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/collaborators-song)
The Curious Case Of The Sherlock Pilgrims
Edward Docx | Prospect | 31 October 2012
Docx witnesses two weird spectacles for the price of one when he travels to the Swiss Alps to see Sherlock Holmes "pilgrims" re-enact the story in which Conan Doyle attempted to kill off his hero at the Reichenbach falls Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/curious-case-sherlock-pilgrims)
Infographic: The History Of Silver
Stephen Ward | Perth Mint | 1 November 2012
Why have people throughout history stored liquid in silver vessels and used silver cups and cutlery? Why does silver tarnish, when in the past it didn't? And what made it valuable for early civilisations? Answers here (h/t @rszbt) Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/infographic-history-silver)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)
FiveBooks Interview
(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/ilan-kelman-on-disaster-diplomacy)
Ilan Kelman on Disaster Diplomacy
The perception that disasters are isolated events beyond our control is simply not true; we – governments and others – have a greater role in creating them than we wish to acknowledge, says the disaster research expert Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/ilan-kelman-on-disaster-diplomacy)
Featured Special Report
(http://thebrowser.com/reports/paying-election)
Paying for the US Election
How much is Romney vs Obama 2012 going to cost? Who's paying? And what do they expect in return? Read on (http://thebrowser.com/reports/paying-election)
Reader Recommendations
@henrylf Dead As A Doornail? Alive, or dead? It all depends on where you are at the time & who gets to decide #browsings t.co/EiHNw2bS #browsings (https://twitter.com/search?q=#browsings) More like this (http://thebrowser.com/browsings)
Book of the Day
Book of the Day (http://thebrowser.com/recommended/spy-who-came-cold-by-john-le-carré-0)
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carré
Keith Jeffery says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/professor-keith-jeffery-on-secret-service) : “I think it sets the standard for all spy literature. It’s very hard to improve on The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. It’s the classic le Carré recipe." FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)
Video of the Day
Love And Dashi
(http://thebrowser.com/videos/love-and-dashi)
Two weeks of Japanese food compressed into three minutes More videos (http://thebrowser.com/videos)
Quote of the Day
Claude Monet, on his art (http://hbr.org/2011/04/ethical-breakdowns/ar/1)
"My life has been nothing but a failure, and all that's left for me to do is to destroy my paintings before I disappear"
More quotes (http://thebrowser.com/quotations)