introvert.net

Paris - May 7th through the 14th, 2006. A reading list.

• Edwin Abbott Abbott : The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, 160p (2001)
• Kevin Mattson : When America Was Great: The Fighting Faith of Postwar Liberalism, 231p (2004)
• Rich Bowen : Hot dog Chicago: A native’s dining guide, 180p (1983)
• China Mieville : Perdido Street Station, 640p (2003)
• Richard Hofstadter : Anti-Intellectualism in American Life (Vintage), 464p (1966)
• H.L. Mencken : Mencken Chrestomathy (Vintage), 656p (1982)
• Daniel J. Boorstin : The Mysterious Science of the Law : An Essay on Blackstone’s Commentaries, 264p (1996)
• Robert Tallant : Mardi-Gras… As It Was, 263p (1989)
• Edmund Wilson : To the Finland Station: A Study in the Writing and Acting of History (New York Review Books Classics), 592p (2003)

Brad DeLong has such an excellent post on the topic of war, excellence, and heroism:

Let me put it this way: who would you rather have standing beside you when spear meets shield–Achilles, Hector, or Odysseus? With Hector, the man of honor, you will wage war when you should–but you may well lose. With Achilles, the man of skill, you will win–but you will wage war all the time, whether or not you should.

With Odysseus, the man of strategy, you will wage war only when you can win–but will you always be happy with your victories?

I think I would take my place beside Odysseus. But who should I take my place beside? It is an interesting question…

The question for my readers is this:

Who would you rather have standing beside you when the horde of chitinous bugs comes swarming up out of a cave? Lt. Rasczak, Dizzy Flores, or Carl Jenkins?

(Update: Carl Jenkins. You know — Doogie Howser.)

I was in New York City for the first time over Halloweeen. It was pretty okay. I would describe it as just like Chicago, only on an island and with a 200 year headstart. The downside of having such a large population is that even though the assholes-per-capita number (0.053) is probably the same as other places, you’re running into them more often simply because there are more of them.

The best thing I saw in NYC was the public library, specifically, the Newton exhibit. If you’re at all the kind of person who would totally spazz out upon seeing, for instance, a first edition of the Principia interleaved with Newton’s handwritten notes for the second edition, you should certainly go.

And, if like me, you found the scene in Quicksilver where Newton stuck a knitting needle in his own eye unbelievable, you will be thrilled to see the actual notebook he was taking notes in while he was doing it, along with a hand-drawn diagram of where he was putting that needle.

It’s on until February 5th.