Newsletter 840
Best of the Moment
Could Texas Become A Blue State?
Ryan Lizza | New Yorker | 12 November 2012
"In not too many years, Texas could switch from being all Republican to all Democrat. If that happens, no Republican will ever again win the White House." So what is the GOP doing to widen its appeal to Hispanic voters? Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/could-texas-become-blue-state)
How I Learned A Language In 22 Hours
Joshua Foer | Guardian | 9 November 2012
Foer says he's no natural linguist but he managed to learn an entire Lingala dictionary and converse with pygmies in northern Congo. And here's the thing: He really isn't special; it all comes down to learning techniques Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/how-i-learned-language-22-hours)
When A CIA Director Had Scores Of Affairs
Steven Kinzer | NYT | 10 November 2012
David Petraeus resigned as CIA director after one affair. His Cold War predecessor, Allen Dulles, had at least 100. Consorts included Clare Booth Luce, Queen Frederika of Greece. White House and press turned blind eye Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/when-cia-director-had-scores-affairs)
Obama Wins For Whom?
Michael Hudson | Michael Hudson | 9 November 2012
"Obama’s two presidential victories represent an object lesson about how the 1% managed to avoid rescuing the economy – and especially his own constituency – from today’s rush of wealth to the top" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/obama-wins-whom)
Philosophy's Mad Hatter
Richard Marshall | 3:AM | 9 November 2012
Interview with language philosopher Roy Sorensen, who describes himself as an anti-Wittgensteinian Wittgensteinian. "For Wittgenstein, philosophy is a mental illness. For me, it is an expression of mental health" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/node/52867)
Obituary: Valerie Eliot
Anonymous | Telegraph | 11 November 2012
Born in Yorkshire village where Alan Bennett was butcher's boy. TS Eliot's secretary from 1950, married him in 1957. They would "hold hands and gaze at each other like lovesick teenagers, in defiance of the 38 years between them" Comments (http://thebrowser.com/articles/obituary-valerie-eliot)
(http://www.amazon.com/Best-of-FiveBooks-2011-ebook/dp/B007GAM6RC?tag=thebro-21)
FiveBooks Interview
(http://thebrowser.com/interviews/michael-farr-on-tintin)
Michael Farr on Tintin
Why do the Tintin stories have such enduring appeal? A Tintinologist tells us what makes them special, how their creator, Hergé, came to write them, and why he was accused of being a Nazi collaborator Read on (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/michael-farr-on-tintin)
Featured Special Report
(http://thebrowser.com/reports/epic-adventures)
Epic Adventures
Extreme tourism, unwise adventure and plain bad luck. Enjoy it all from the comfort of your armchair Read on (http://thebrowser.com/reports/epic-adventures)
Reader Recommendations
@henrylf (http://twitter.com/henrylf) Corridors Of The Mind: When #neuroscience (http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=#neuroscience) meets #architecture (http://twitter.com/#!/search?q=#architecture) - interesting topic #browsings (https://twitter.com/search?q=#browsings) (http://thebrowser.com/browsings) t.co/mVUNiTqwMore like this
Book of the Day
Book of the Day (http://thebrowser.com/recommended/beware-pity-by-stefan-zweig)
Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
Steven Amsterdam says (http://thebrowser.com/interviews/steven-amsterdam-on-worry) : “It is an ethical story and a dark one: every good intention and social nicety leads him further from the truth and leads Edith further astray.” FiveBooks Archive (http://thebrowser.com/fivebooks/archive)
Video of the Day
Dave Arnold's Burger Of The Future
(http://thebrowser.com/videos/dave-arnolds-burger-future)
Try and stop watching this. Just try More videos (http://thebrowser.com/videos)
Quote of the Day
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, on scaling (http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/longpeace.pdf)
"A mean person with a stick is categorically different from a mean person with a nuclear weapon"
More quotes (http://thebrowser.com/quotations)