Diary

1978: Letter from Iran

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Letter From Iran published in December 1978, right before the fall of the Shah. In the article, just posted on The New Yorker’s Web site, Joseph Kraft writes about an interview with the Shah: He looked pale, spoke in subdued tones, and seemed dwarfed by the vast expanse of the room, with its huge, ornate chandeliers image [Read More]
Curious News, Diary

“The most surreal day of my life”

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The case of Rod Blagojevich reveals that I have limited understanding of the human psyche. This guy is unbef*kinglievable! Read this story by the Associated Press that just came over the wire. Blago guest stars in ‘Rod Blagojevich Superstar’. By RUPA SHENOY. CHICAGO – Standing on a chair with his arms raised as if image [Read More]
Diary

Lawrence of Arabia

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Watching one of the great films in the history of the art form always fills me both with excitement and trepidation, particularly when the film was made a long time ago. Some films are timeless; others translate very poorly from the past into the present. Gone with the Wind bored the teenage me beyond belief image [Read More]
Diary

Hellhole: Is solitary confinement torture?

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I knew that humans beings are social creatures and that we need others to reach our highest potential. But I had no idea that the brain completely disintegrates after longer periods of solitary confinement that is now practiced in many U.S. prisons. Read this fascinating story by Atul Gawande in the New Yorker. He happened image [Read More]
Diary

Blood on the Water: Oxford Versus Cambridge.

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This review in the Economist wetted my appetite. I will read this book during my summer holiday. The Economist: SIBLING rivalry has many famous examples. Cain and Abel, Linus and Lucy, Liam and Noel. Less well-known, but no less competitive, are David and James Livingston, two brothers who, in April 2003, raced on opposite sides image [Read More]
Diary

How to Help Children Survive Separation and Divorce

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The Economist reports: JULIE LYNN EVANS, a well-known British psychotherapist, deals with troubled children with remarkable devotion and insight. As the recession puts added strain on many marriages, her account of the mental stresses and strains that parental break-up inflicts on children could not be more timely.Many of the children Ms Evans sees do not image [Read More]
Diary

I want to join the “Century Club”

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I want to be as productive as Elliot Cook Carter at 100. Read this fascinating story about the concert in New York a few months ago. Alex Ross. (The New Yorker). The last emperor of China had just assumed his throne. William Howard Taft, the President-elect of the United States, was meeting with Theodore Roosevelt at image [Read More]