Happiness

Robert Solomon on Philosophy Talk from 2004.

Maybe my impression is wrong, but the hosts seem pretty dismissive of callers' comments, even though they beg for them (especially if the caller is a woman). Solomon is worth listening to.

WALL-E

I saw WALL-E last night for the first time -- I know, I know, always late to the show -- and I have to say that it is one of the best films that has ever been made, not necessarily the best, but definitely in the top ten. WALL-E manages to capture and present the magic that is cinema. Little touches, like Pong and the Macintosh boot sound, were humorous and endearing.

However what sold me on the movie, and what captivated me, was the movie's implicit dissection of what makes us human, as opposed to intelligent automatons -- it is an argument with two different prongs. On the one hand there is the romance between WALL-E and EVE. And on the other there is the effect that WALL-E has on the humans aboard the AXIOM space ship. It is a subtle and deft treatment of an ages old philosophical question, with an answer that is both illuminating and humanistic. It also lends the movie a greater heft than other Pixar fares, such as the incredibly entertaining Ratatouille or The Incredibles.

The Real Madrid strategy

In light of today's latest Cristiano Ronaldo rumors, this old-ish post on Real Madrid's strategy seems apt.

Another deep thought

The bigger the microphone, the less likely the speaker has any clue what they are talking about.

Just saying.

Deep Thought

Striking a note of reasonableness in a heated dispute between other parties is a sure way to be ignored.

It does not, however, mean you are wrong.

One bad apple for another

Real Madrid exchange one bad manager for another

Real Madrid have sacked their coach, Bernd Schuster, and the former Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos has taken over at the Santiago Bernabéu, forfeiting a pre-contract agreement with Atlético Madrid. Ramos has been appointed until the end of the season.

I believe Ramos is to blame for everything that went wrong with Tottenham at the beginning of this season -- even the Berbatov snafu.

I do not believe that he will be able to solve Madrid's many problems -- especially considering that one of its biggest problems is its chairman.

We need to look out for each other.

Chileans have a new hero: an apparently homeless dog who's gone missing. A surveillance camera on a Santiago freeway captured images of a dog trotting past speeding cars to pull the body of another dog, mortally struck by a vehicle, away from traffic, to the median strip.

The scene was broadcast by Chilean television stations and then posted on Web sites such as YouTube.com, and hundreds of thousands of people had viewed versions of it by Monday.

Highway crews removed both the dead and live dogs from the median strip of the Vespucio Norte Highway shortly after the Dec. 4 incident, and the rescuer dog ran away.

Authorities say images of the rescue prompted some people to call and offer to adopt the dog, but neither highway workers nor a television crew could find they animal when they went to hunt for it.

Not the news I want to read

Publishing houses slashing themselves.

"Black Wednesday" or "Overly-emo-slash-'I need attention' Wednesday"?

My first novel is two-thirds done. I'd actually welcome news that would encourage me to finish faster, not slower.

revelation

Sheldon Rampton discusses the LDS and homophobia, with context:

As a high school student in 1974, I felt privately uncomfortable with the "Negro doctrine," but like many members of the church, I didn't think about it very much. It didn't become a personal thing for me until one day in gym class, when a black kid came up to me and angrily said he had heard that Mormons didn't think blacks like him should go to heaven. What did I think of that? He wanted to know.

Technically, he was wrong about the theological details. Mormons actually believed that blacks could go to heaven. They just couldn't have the priesthood. I tried to make that distinction the basis for a joke to defuse the situation. "No, we think you can go to heaven," I replied. "We just think you don't deserve to." The black kid glared at me for a minute, and that was the end of the conversation. Today, more than 30 years later, I don't remember his name, but I remember the moment very clearly. I imagine he walked away thinking he had wasted his breath by even talking to me. He certainly didn't get a satisfactory reply. But the conversation had an effect on me. It left me feeling profoundly shaken and uncomfortable about a church practice that until then had seemed like a theoretical abstraction of no particular relevance to my own life. Over time, that discomfort helped inform my thinking and changed my attitudes.

Self-knowledge

The Middleman, pilot episode:

WENDY: Is it true what you said? That if there’s one thing you hate more than scientists trying to take over the world, it’s scientists who twist innocent primates with computer enhanced mind control to live out their sick and perverted fantasies of criminal power?

THE MIDDLEMAN: Why would I lie about that?

WENDY: It’s a very specific thing to hate.

THE MIDDLEMAN: Self-knowledge is the gateway to freedom.

Snark about show business

Score!:

Look, I don’t know who the PR wizard is behind the rollout of Britney Spears‘ new album is but he or she is doing a masterful job. It’s like pre-meltdown Britney is back. But with the added benefit of knowing that any second she could pull out an Uzi and take out the entire crowd at the American Music Awards. Score!

Drama!

In the 83rd minute, with Hearts less than 10 minutes away from winning their first championship since 1960, Kidd scored the opening goal with a close-range finish from a corner kick. Six minutes later, Kidd effectively ended Hearts' chances by scoring a sublime second goal to make the final score a 2–0 win for Dundee. Remarkably, Kidd had not scored all season[2] before scoring two goals in the last 10 minutes of the season. Celtic won their game 5–0[5] to win the championship on goal difference by three goals.

No longer recognizing marriage?

An interesting take on the marriage wars...

I no longer recognize marriage. It’s a new thing I’m trying.

Turns out it’s fun.

Yesterday I called a woman’s spouse her boyfriend.

She says, correcting me, "He’s my husband,"
"Oh," I say, "I no longer recognize marriage."

The impact is obvious. I tried it on a man who has been in a relationship for years,

"How’s your longtime companion, Jill?"
"She’s my wife!"
"Yeah, well, my beliefs don’t recognize marriage."

Fun. And instant, eyebrow-raising recognition. Suddenly the majority gets to feel what the minority feels. In a moment they feel what it’s like to have their relationship downgraded, and to have a much taken-for-granted right called into question because of another’s beliefs.

Just replace the words husband, wife, spouse, or fiancé with boyfriend, girlfriend, special friend, or longtime companion. There is a reason we needed stronger words for more serious relationships. We know it; now they can see it.

Ordinary soap operas

The life and death of Suzanne Tamim.

Basic Civics

Some of the economics questions are biased, but whatever: I got 32 out of 33 correct. Woot to me.

Apparently our elected officials need to be schooled. US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday.

Serie A

Amy Lawrence on the decline of Serie A

Sinfest

Sinfest keeps getting better and better. A moment of sublime goodness every morning.

Inter Win

Inter won against Juventus. It was a good game, and in reality Inter deserved the win, although they had trouble converting attacks into goals.

Now I'm looking forward to tomorrow's Barca game.

Liverpool and Chelsea

Two good results for Manchester United as both Liverpool and Chelsea draw today. Hopefully Manchester United will capitalize and come away today with a win.

The Chelsea game was good, with two controversial, but spot-on, refereeing decisions. Chelsea dominated the ball and generally looked like winners. But were stymied, I believe, on their reliance on their midfield to create opportunities. The Chelsea strikers were not good enough to break down a determined Newcastle defense -- a defense that was essentially a 'team bus' approach (parking the team in front of goal). Chelsea should have won today, but the opportunities they created were slight and would have depended on luck to make them come through. Really they should have worked harder to create better opportunities.

Update: Well boo. Man Utd held scoreless and fail to capitalize.

A sporting life

I suppose one of the great things about sports are stories like this one.