Defiant Newcomer - Small Bookseller

Finally some great news for those of us who decry the diminishing number of independent booksellers in this country. A brave family from Canada opens a new store in Nolita. I hope that this signals a trend. We need the independents. It isn't so much that I despise the chains, I just regret the lack of interested personnel which they employ. When was the last time you got a good recommendation from someone at Barnes & Noble?The New York Times > Books > Defiant Newcomer Hopes Small Booksellers Still Have a Place

Lassie - Get the Oncologist!

Just when you thought that you had seen or heard everything --- dogs in the UK have been trained to sniff out cancer. They have proven more reliable than some scans or other imaging techniques. The theory is that tumors emit an organic smell that dogs can differentiate from healthy tissue. No one truly knows what the power of a dog's nose is -- it is estimated at one hundred times that of man. Lassie�Get the Oncologist! - - science news articles online technology magazine articles Lassie�Get the Oncologist!

Talk About Dumbing Down!

Here is a real shocker. This a test given eleven year olds in Britain in 1898. Take this test at your own risk. Xerxes did and it was humiliating. Who says that our schools are keeping up? Can anyone still 'parse'? Untitled Document

Book Exchanges

Here is a teriffic idea that is working in Baltimore. Read the Washington Post piece on how it works. The Give-and-Take At the Book Thing (washingtonpost.com)

Clive James -Madame Bovary:

Here, on Powell's Books website, is another wonderful review by Clive James. James remains one the literary lions (sorry Clive -- a cliche, yes) of our time. Those of you who have not read his collection of essays, recently published as Powell's Books - Review-a-Day - Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners by Gustave Flaubert, reviewed by The Atlantic Monthly As of This Writing should hurry out and pick it up. Not a quick read but a highly satisfying one.

What would Jesus do at Harvard?

One thing he would surely be doing is marvelling at and cheering for the magnificent Season of the Crimson. 9-0 and champions of the Ivy League. Hail to the 10,000 men of Harvard who wanted victory this year. After all we have to put up with a Yalie in the oval office so we need some solace.

This article is rather interesting and has nothing to do with football. A very interesting and popular course. The title has the first reference to Jesus in a course name in seventy years.Boston.com / News / Boston Globe / Ideas / What would Jesus do at Harvard?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope that all my readers enjoyed a festive and reflective Thanksgiving. This uniquely American holiday is devoted to family, friends and the recollection of our blessings. I was rueing the fact that Wal-Mart and K-Mart were opening this year on Thanksgiving day. My friend remarked that perhaps the workers who went in did not like their famlies and needed the money. Tant Pis!

Books of the year 2004

Almost every publication of note publishes a list of favorite books in the run-up to Christmas. The Economist's is always worthy of note, and for this year, I strongly recommend the Wodehouse biography. In times of tension or trouble one can always count on Plummy to bring one back to a comfortable reality. Economist.com | Books of the year 2004

Out, Out Damned Handel!

So, one can't perform the Messiah in Jersey schools. What a pity and where will it all end. Just as it is now permissable to play Wagner in Israel, we can only hope that Jersey will re-open its ears to Handel. New York Post Online Edition: postopinion

Israel

Arafat's death should provide a window of opportunity to stabilize Palestine that the World cannot afford to sqander. It will be Israel's call backed by the United States to make peace happen. Given the blunders in Iraq, it will be interesting how much moral persuasion America can bring to Israel. What is also interesting is whether Europe acting through the EU or the United Nations can be an effective agent for stability in the Middle East. Let us prayThe Spectator.co.uk

Dollar's Demise

The last election did little to expose the issues surrounding the rather astonishing drop in the value of the USD during the first Bush term. The conventional wisdom seems to be that the beneficial effects to our export industries justifies the diminishing value in the face of the Euro and the GBP. The unwanted result may be that we may have seen the end of the Dollar's reign as the World's reserve currency. Robert Rubin belives that the Dollar must regain its strength. Does anyone else? especially anyone in power? Economist.com | The Buttonwood column

George's Girl

John Kerry emphasized the enormous importance of repairing the damage done to the 'Western Alliance' by the Bush administration. One of Condoliza Rice's most pressing tasks will be to patch up things with Germany and France. It shall be daunting if our posture continues in Iraq. The fact that Tony Blair remains staunchly in Bush's corner does not reflect the very significant diaffection with Bush among the citizenry of the UK. Her job ahead will not be easy. The Spectator.co.uk

Intellectual Property

Outside the realm of the specialist lawyers who inhabit the world of copyright and patent, there is not a tremendous amount of public understanding of the crucial nature of these protections to the encouagement of invention. The tension with free interchange of ideas through the media is rising and so-called process patents invade areas hitherto unknown to even the patent bar. Here is a discussion from the Economist that is quite worthwhile. Economist.com

Tom Wolfe

This book has not been well reviewed but it sure makes one want to go back to college! Tom Wolfe on fraternity row. What more could one ask. Economist.com

Middle East

Sorry fans, computer problems have kept me out of touch for the last few days. Lots occured. I strongly recommend this article by Boris Johnson on the prospects for some sort of Middle East accord in the wake of Arafat's death. Bush's statements made with Blair on the subject are opaque and the ascension of Condi Rice may not bode well, but the subject needs a thorough airing. Eighty-five percent of Spectator readers agree with the Johnson position. Untitled Document

Something to cheer about

Here is something to feel good about, the basketball season has arrived -- at least the pro variety. So.....drain it people!

The Note

This newsletter from ABC news contains a remarkable amount of good stuff largely devoted to politics. It was featured in an article in last weeks New Yorker. It is worth checking out on a regular basis. ABC News: The Note: Political Eye-Teeth

Poetry

This is a lovely obituary for Donald Justice, a fine American poet. It is a wonder that poetry seems to have fallen into disfavor with many readers. Perhaps it takes thoughtful repose to apprciate good poetry and we have diminishing amounts that precious leisure these days. Something to lament. The memory of Donald Justice by David Yezzi

The New York Times

The Times does itself proud by the election. This article together with a companion piece on San Francisco aptly describes how out of step with the rest of America the East and West Coast Blues feel after the Bush win. Other recommended articles include a very insightful business section speculating about the effect on commerce of the election. Finally an unusually thoughtful editorial is a plaintive plea to President Bush to lead with moderation, compassion and with the rest of the world in mind. The New York Times > New York Region > A Blue City (Disconsolate, Even) Bewildered by a Red America

Closer to Truth | PBS

If you enjoyed Bill Bryson's A Short History of Practically Everything , check out Closer to Truth PBS then you will surely be captivated by this PBS series. Something besides the inane reality shows. It examines science -- especially items at the cutting edge, in a fashion that even a dilletante like me can understand.

GOP Won With Accent On Rural and Traditional

What these analysts from the Washington Post have discerned is that the gap between red and blue or metro vs. retro is significant enough to have the election be decided on so-called moral issues such as late-term abortions and gay rights. I don't believe that this is a religious issue, strictly speaking. It ia almost as if rural citizens view the metropolitan areas as they viewed communism a generation ago. Much misunderstanding here and much healing and elucidating to be done. GOP Won With Accent On Rural and Traditional (washingtonpost.com)

Steyn Happy

In these troubled and troubling times it is good to reflect that at least our friend Mark Steyn is happy. Now that Bush has been re-elected, Mark is free to stay. The Spectator.co.uk

Four More Years

What am I missing here. Our foreign policy is in a shambles. The Iraq war is a catastrophe of enormous and far-reaching embarrasment. Yet we re-elect the President. Truly we have a massive cultural divide in this country. Retro vs. Metro? Maybe, but there is something more here. This election was not so much a political phenomona as an expression of very bitter differences rooted in peoples' fundamental views of themselves. The Reds are afraid of something but I am not sure what it is. We soldier on!