The Misspent Life

It's Book Review Time!

Now, now, friends, calm down. It is book review time. A few weeks ago (God, was it only last week?) I mentioned that I had finished Colussus. I never did get around to tell you what I thought of it, and I know that many of you are wondering, so I will tell you now. I found it much more enjoyable than Empire, which I had read maybe a month ago. I should say that I found the first two-thirds of it more enjoyable than Empire. Ferguson ended the book with chapter after chapter of econo-babble. Now, I'm not one to disagree that we are in a bit of a spot with Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid down the road; I just don't think one can take a static look at things and assume the worst. This is where I think Ferguson's monetary policy knowledge hurts him.

Having been schooled in economics at Chicago, I am tempted to take an economic look at everything (rational maximizing individuals and all that). However, I've lately been torn between whether economics or social structures are more important. For an example of what I'm talking about here one needs only to look at the development of poor countries. Does a country develop economically because of strong social structures or do strong social structures result from economic development? Today, I would argue for the former; a few years ago I may have been tempted to argue for the latter. I guess one can say that I've turned a bit away from economic determinism to social determinism. This is why I found the declinist arguments Ferguson makes somewhat lacking. There's more to say about this, but this is a blog not a thesis; you don't get no thought-through analysis here, just ideas thrown at a dartboard.

This is a two-fer review. Today, I finished reading The Rise of the Vulcans, about Bush's War Cabinet and I must say that this book is simply smashing. I could not put it down! I found it extremely level-headed and balanced, although I would have enjoyed more Condi (I love her). Out of all the Vulcans, I would say that I like Wolfowitz the best (U of C Straussian/Wohlstetterian represent!), but I like them all. Well, here is the order I like them in:

Wolfie

Condi

Cheney

Rumstud

Powell

Armitage (if only he hadn’t pissed of Perot he might have done more for me to like him, there’s a lot to like him for even with his stymied career!)

The book has re-invigorated my interest in pursuing graduate studies in international relations/political science. That being said, next week I spend my time getting ready to apply to MBA programs. I am prone to massive swings in plans, so if my next project is as awesome as I hope it will be, I'd best be prepared to chuck my PhD plans out the window and make money!

More Thoughts On A.S.

A few days ago I remarked on why I am disappointed and don't read Andrew Sullivan much anymore. I was thinking of this again the other day and came upon another interesting thought which I will share with you now. The constant theme running through many people's lament on Sullivan's perceived decline is that he has become narrow-minded, inconsistent, and self-absorbed. I think this is because he is a blogger. I think it is because he is a solo-blogger. Everyone lauds blogs because there are no editors, you report to no one but the truth and fellow bloggers. Yada yada yada. These virtues can be a bad thing, however. An editor would warn Mr. Sullivan that he isn't making sense. I know that readers often communicate these things to him, but writes them off as right-wing theocons. He could not do so as easily with an editor, with other pressures on him. That is one weakness that I see with blogs, you often speak in an echo chamber when you aren't willing to take your critics seriously and you go off the deep end, becoming detached from reality. This is what happens often with Democrats and their echo chamber in the mainstream media.

I think that there is more here, but I'm not in the mood to think it all through. Just wanted to throw some meat out at you.

Kreepy Kerry

Am I the only one that finds all the focus on Kerry's 16 weeks in Vietnam a bit creepy? I mean, "reporting for duty"? Saluting? The weird videos he took of himself that he said he would never use in a campaign? The boat ride into Boston? It is all just so creepy, so obsessive. It is all the more creepy when one thinks that this is the Democratic Convention and the vast majority of the delegates were against the Vietnam War and a sizeable chuck was probably violently against it (protesting, baby-killers, spitting, etc). Now, they respect Vietnam Vets?

He was 24 when he left Vietnam. He has been a Senator for almost that long, for crying out loud! Why don't we hear about that? This is not 1976. It just gives me the heebie-jeebies. It is just not normal.

I'm Free (Sort of)

On Wednesday I had hoped that someone would be a Mr. Peacock to my Mr. Humphreys and ask that eternal question, "Mr. Humphreys, are you free?" to which I would reply, "I'm free!" because, well, I am free. Just what am I free from, you ask? Well, from my project.

I had taken many opportunities to knock my project, project team, place, whatever and I won't say that these shots weren't deserved or warranted. I will say that I am somewhat sad. As the plane lifted off from Peoria Wednesday morning I did feel a slight pang. But it might have had more to do with the previous night's activities than it had to do with any longing for times gone by.

Quick back story. I have been working in Peoria since January. I have not spent a full week in Chicago since then. This can be tough. I'm used to it, but it still is annoying at times; especially when one is as beset by fragile nerves as I. I probably should have stayed on through the end of the week but I just need to get away. I needed it to end. I was become very frustrated. I was a very hostile and bitter little man sitting in the room with the ten other people. I have said things there that I shouldn't have just because the would either get a laugh, make someone feel bad, or make me feel better. So I fought and kicked around a bit and with the help of someone's generosity I was able to get away.

While last Wednesday I had had a preemptory roll off lunch at a burger dive, the team felt that I needed something more. I thought the burger place was the best thing, as I left lunch with a bad feeling in my tum, much like the project had done to me, and I had done to my teammates. (Ha!) So on Tuesday night we went to a pizza place. They have karaoke, and for some reason several of the people on the team think I do a great Shaggy impersonation. So they wanted me to sing some Shaggy. It turns out they didn't have any songs I knew, but that didn't stop them from making me sing one I didn't. I was able to pick two songs that I did know to sing. I sang The Association's Windy and The Carpenter's Superstar. These aren't the best karaoke songs, never mind the best ones to sing in Central Illinois, but I love those songs.

Well, suffice it to say that the team wanted me to drink a lot and they wanted to do the same themselves. So they shoved several different kinds of liquor down my throat through the evening. This wouldn't have been so bad had I not started the night off with two pints of bitter. I felt like everything unholy in the morning. So when I got back to Chicago I did a few things, watched some TiVo and then took a nap at 3:00, which I didn't wake up from until 7:00am this morning. So you can understand why I was missing yesterday.

Not As I Had Hoped

I have to say that I was able to get lunch and a mattress, but I wasn’t really successful in finding the books I wanted to procure. The Newberry was crowded and the selection poorly organized and impossible to either browse or quickly find what you were looking for. It was so crowded that any enjoyment in looking over the selection was completely negated. I was looking for the following:

Books of John Buchan

Poetry of Rudyard Kipling

A Latin dictionary

Flashman hardcovers

Antique history books

Well, I suppose on reflection I did get the last bit. Here is what I was able to find:

Bunyon’s Pilgrim’s Progress published by Jerry Falwell and the Old Time Gospel Hour

Macaulay’s History of England with an inscription “A Merry Christmas from Tommy and Adam, December 25th 1890”

All together I paid $5.00; $2.00 for the Bunyon and $3.00 for Macaulay, which I don’t think is that bad for a book from 1890 in moderate condition I would say. The pages are yellowed and brittle with a few spots on them and the cover is only slightly faded.

Where Have I Been?

You may have noticed a bit of a lag in posting. Contrary to what you may have thought, my mother did not actually hire the Democrats biggest contributor's business partner to kill me. I've got some fun things to relate to you and will do so later today. But before that, I need to look for a new mattress, eat lunch, and then go to the Newberry Library book fair.

Which To Choose...

Does anyone else out there find it interesting when people criticize the Bush administration for thinking that things in Iraq would be much smoother than they turned out to be and then in the second breath criticize the Bush administration because things are (supposedly) going badly in Iraq? How can anyone who says Bush thought things would be over quickly then criticize Bush for short-term setbacks? How can you say he didn't take a long-term view (which he is doing, actually, but I'll save that for some other time) and then not take a long-term view yourself? Should you be better than that?

Truthfully, I don't think that anyone in the Bush administration really thought that Baghdad would turn into Topeka in three months. And please, don't rely on mainstream media reports on Iraqis not liking us or greeting us as liberators. The mainstream media has done more to setback Allied efforts at home than Iraqi terrorists have. Also, notice you don't hear much about Iraq now. Could it be because things are actually going fairly well?

Déjà Vu

As a chronic sufferer of déjà vu, I read this article with interest. You should too. Key quote:

As late as 1975 the prominent psychologist Bernard L. Pacella proposed that déjà vu occurs when the ego goes into a regressive panic, "scanning the phases of life in a descent historically to the composite primal-preobject-early libidinal object-representations of mother."

No really, you should check it out, it isn't all written like that--that was just the author poking fun of the Freudians.

I AM IN TROUBLE

Friends. I am in it deep. Sunday was my mother's birthday. I forgot that it was. Please excuse me while I crawl under this rock here.

UPDATE: Thankfully I do not need to get flowers (which are dreadfully expensive); her forgiveness can be bought with one simple, but horrendous and humiliating thing. This. Ugh.

Cheap Shot

I just can't help myself.