Happy Thanksgiving!
Interrogated About ‘The Daily Show’ in Iran →
He was fascinated with New Jersey. I think the words New Jersey sounded to him like the most American place that you can be in your life. Because he thought of New Jersey as kind of like paradise. To him, he had to suffer on this world in order to go to paradise — in order to drink wine and have sex with at least 72 virgins and then others if he wanted to… He hated me and he was jealous of me at the same time, because I had been to New Jersey. And then, I thought to myself, ‘Maziar, you are screwed, because these guys are in charge of your life and they are stupid, they are ignorant.’
NSFW: Give me ad-free conversations, or give me death (please RT) →
Our blogs are already affiliated-linked up to the eyeballs, our TV shows are product-placed to hell, radio has succumbed to payola, even our schools are brought to you by the letters COCA COL and A. Human conversation is the last area of communication to hold out against the relentless march of commercialisation and it’s our duty, as humans, to make sure it stays that way. So, screw consensus. And shame on me for starting to lean towards it yesterday. Give me ad-free conversation, or give me death.
(Please retweet.)
When keeping it real goes wrong, political ad style. I do like that he follows all the swearing with, “I’m an Eagle Scout,” but I’m worried about James Perry’s ability to count.
Advice to my sons. Never put whisky into hot water bottle crossing borders of dry states or countries. Rubber will spoil taste. Never make love with pants on. Beer on whisky, very risky. Whisky on beer, never fear. Never eat apples, peaches, pears, etc. while drinking whisky except long French-style dinners, terminating with fruit. Other viands have mollifying effect. Never sleep in moonlight. Known by scientists to induce madness. Should bed stand beside window on clear night, draw shades before retiring. Never hold cigar at right-angles to fingers. Hayseed. Hold cigar at diagonal. Remove band or not as you prefer. Never wear red necktie. Provide light snorts for ladies if entertaining. Effects of harder stuff on frail sex sometimes disastrous. Bathe in cold water every morning. Painful but exhilarating. Also reduces horniness. Have haircut once a week. Wear dark clothes after 6 p.m. Eat fresh fish for breakfast when available. Avoid kneeling in unheated stone churches. Ecclesiastical dampness causes prematurely gray hair. Fear tastes like a rusty knife and do not let her into your house. Courage tastes of blood. Stand up straight. Admire the world. Relish the love of a gentle woman. Trust in the Lord.
— John Cheever, The Wapshot Chronicle
One goal of dialogue among cultures and civilizations is to recognize and to understand not only cultures and civilizations of others, but those of ‘one’s own.’ We could know ourselves by taking a step away from ourselves and embarking on a journey away from self and homeland and eventually attaining a more profound appreciation of our true identity. It is only through immersion into another existential dimension that we could attain mediated and acquired knowledge of ourselves in addition to the immediate and direct knowledge of ourselves that we commonly possess. Through seeing others we attain a hitherto impossible knowledge of ourselves.
— Iranian President Mohammad Khatami speaking at the UN-sponsored Conference of Dialogue Amongst Civilizations, 5 September 2000.
China and the American Jobs Machine →
Each year, tens of millions of poor Chinese pour into large cities from the countryside in pursuit of better-paying work. If they don’t find it, China risks riots and other upheaval. Massive disorder is one of the greatest risks facing China’s governing elite. That elite would much rather create export jobs, even at the cost of subsidizing foreign buyers, than allow the yuan to rise and thereby risk job shortages at home.
Miles Davis Quintet playing “Agitation”
Stockholm, 1963
…you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, gender, or color of skin.
— Sarah Palin, on her displeasure with Newsweek’s cover photo of her.
