Hangin In
My friend continues her heroic hold-out against whatever organism is trying to do her in. We are now in day four and she still hangs in the balance between a stout heart and sodden lungs. I know you will lend her your energy.
In the meantime two fascinating matters have caught my attention and I pass them on to you.
The first is an article in the upcoming Sunday NY Times Magazine about Google and the internet in China. It can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/magazine/23google.html?th&emc=th
and it raises fascinating questions about free speech and human rights as we Americans understand them and now seek to practice and model them around the world. What the article's author never mentions is that our rather self-righteous notion of how free we are is not shared by everyone around the world. The Chinese interviewed for the article insisted that the search engines understand there are limits to what they can talk about and provide access to, just as we do in this country. I commend the article as providing a window into the complexities of the global marketplace.
The other is a 50 minute video of the legendary scientist and teacher, Richard Feynman, being interviewed in 1981. I have read some of his writing and much more - since I am not a trained scientist - about him and have always wished I might have heard him at least once myself before he died. It was better than I imagined. It is worth 50 minutes of your life. Just go into a quiet room and settle down. They will be the fastest 50 minutes of your life.
In the meantime two fascinating matters have caught my attention and I pass them on to you.
The first is an article in the upcoming Sunday NY Times Magazine about Google and the internet in China. It can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/23/magazine/23google.html?th&emc=th
and it raises fascinating questions about free speech and human rights as we Americans understand them and now seek to practice and model them around the world. What the article's author never mentions is that our rather self-righteous notion of how free we are is not shared by everyone around the world. The Chinese interviewed for the article insisted that the search engines understand there are limits to what they can talk about and provide access to, just as we do in this country. I commend the article as providing a window into the complexities of the global marketplace.
The other is a 50 minute video of the legendary scientist and teacher, Richard Feynman, being interviewed in 1981. I have read some of his writing and much more - since I am not a trained scientist - about him and have always wished I might have heard him at least once myself before he died. It was better than I imagined. It is worth 50 minutes of your life. Just go into a quiet room and settle down. They will be the fastest 50 minutes of your life.
posted by Blayney at 11:26 AM
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