Two weeks ago yesterday, I turned the big 4-O. I look back on my
thirties as a decade that vastly improved on my twenties, which weren't
too bad. I optimistically look at my forties as a time for profound
growth and change and undoubtedly, deep challenge.
The Responsibility to Protect
Among the many wonderful things I learned from Roméo Dallaire's talk on the Berkeley campus on March 14, 2007 was the concept of the Responsibility to protect. See also 03.21.2007 - The responsibility to protect.
Morality, the Wikipedia, and Academics
Scientist Finds the Beginnings of Morality in Primate Behavior - New York Times:
- Biologists argue that these and other social
behaviors are the precursors of human morality. They further believe
that if morality grew out of behavioral rules shaped by evolution, it
is for biologists, not philosophers or theologians, to say what these
rules are.
Moral philosophers do not take very seriously the biologists’ bid to
annex their subject, but they find much of interest in what the
biologists say and have started an academic conversation with them.
Wikipedia is good for academia
-- nice to see an essay about how the Wikipedia is good for the
university and academic culture. I should say more about what I mean
here....
Summoning the spirit of Glenn Gould
My friend Dan referred me to Ghostly Grand Piano: Technical Marvel Plays Like an Old Pro - washingtonpost.com, which in turn led me to Zenph Studios - Glenn Gould’s - Bach Goldberg Variations - Connections Column - New York Times:
- Zenph also announced it had accomplished this feat
of technological legerdemain with one of the most remarkable recordings
of the last century: Glenn Gould’s 1955 mono rendition of Bach’s
“Goldberg” Variations. Gould, who retreated from performance into the
private realm of the recording studio where he could splice and fiddle
with sound and phrase, would be posthumously pulled back into the realm
of public performance.
I'm almost ready to plunk down the money to hear the recreation of Gould's famous Bach recording. (See *BACH:
The Goldberg Variations - Glenn Gould's 1955 performance re-created in
modern hi-res surround sound and hi-res binaural sound by Zenph - Sony
Classical for the album cover.) Where can I buy it?
Notelets for 2007.03.15
I'm happy that TimesSelect University
program opens up TimesSelect to university folk like me. (It would be
even better if my friends and family outside the university could also
read the special features of The New York Times for free.
Enchanting TED - Pogue’s Posts points to the latest round of TEDTalks (audio, video).
Guidelines for Using a Cellphone Abroad - New York Times is useful if I ever go to Europe or Asia -- but mostly, when I leave the USA, I'm in Canada.
The Bach Birthday Bash sounds tempting. Stanford is just a bit too far away these days for me:
- Join us for a celebration of the master's 322nd
birthday with a musical party, featuring Bach family videos, a wig
tossing contest, and an intimate performance of several of his
wonderful Brandenburg Concerti. Featuring the award-winning Palo Alto
Chamber Orchestra and their music director, Benjamin Simon, this
evening will be an opportunity to brush up on your Bach trivia, have a
fugue explained to you, and learn the names of all of Bach's
twenty-plus offspring. Those attending in period costume are eligible
for valuable door prizes!
Amazing Grace and William Wilberforce
I look forward to seeing Amazing Grace: The Movie, a movie about William Wilberforce, either in the local theater or on DVD (I've popped it into my Netflix queue!) The review of Amazing Grace in the NY Times was lukewarm. Wilberforce's life and example have intrigued me since I first read Every Arrow Needs a Bow: William Wilberforce almost 10 years ago.
Notelets for 2007.02.17
I want to do a closer reading of Philip Jenkins' Believing in the Global South
because it helps me to see how much of my cultural heritage/baggage is
entwined with my particular experience of Christianity in the west.
The functionality I showed in class a week or two ago, namely the
blogging integration in Flickr, got mixed reviews. I think it's so cool
to be able directly to weblogs right within Flickr. Some people agree,
others thought that things are still too messy, that few non-techie end
users would use this functionality. I would certainly agree that
configuring weblogs is still a bit too difficult to do within Flickr.
(I think the flock is a pretty good job of figuring out how to
configure a weblog given its URL.) It is true that plumbing is really
exposed right now. And that in the future, we need to move towards more
hidden and interconnected plumbing.
It's good to know that you can get average temperatures for places such as Sitka, AK when you think about traveling to such places.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Sweetie
Happy Valentine's Day, Sweetie
Originally uploaded by Raymond Yee.
As Laura and I come close to two years' of sweet married life, I am grateful for this opportunity to say how much I love my dearest Laura.
Chris Ashley’s quote
Congratulations to Chris Ashley who was recently quoted in the East Bay Express in Botero's Politics of Mediocrity. You can read Chris' original post on his weblog.
In the same issue of the Express is an inspiring story about John Reed (Don't Tread on Me), a man who singlehandedly fought back against expensive lawyers.
On Sunday, I was trying to decide between buying a specialized notebook case or a messenger bag. I opted for the latter because it has a lot more space to store papers, books, other knick knacks that are useful for the work I do. The faux leather or real leather on some notebook cases were tempting....
