The Third Man… neurological defect or a glitch in The Matrix?

With only 22 hours to spare I just finished our next tome on the existence of the Third Man. Author John Geiger distills the phenomenon of sensing the presence of another being with us during times of stress or panic as not a guardian angel or religious savior but as a neurological defect that enables us to triumph over our immediate appalling situation. He further suggests that we should learn to master this feature of the brain. While interesting, I am not sure I am sold on the “science” behind the idea but I do have a few tangential ideas…

1) Check out the TED video presentation by Oliver Sacks (the neuropsychiatrist who wrote Awakenings) as he describes the lucid hallucinations of visually impaired people and the discovery of the areas of the brain the recognize teeth, facial features and cartoons. Maybe this is just biological brain stimulation and nothing more?

2) What of Will Ferrell’s character in the movie “Stranger Than Fiction” who is an IRS auditor suddenly finds himself the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire life, from his work, to his love-interest, to his death.  Maybe we are all just characters in our own book?

3) Perhaps there is a much simpler story… Maybe we are all captives of The Matrix and much like Deja Vu is an example of the The Matrix re-writing code to fix a glitch or bug… the experience of The Third Man is an example of our minds transcending The Matrix to see that we are actually part of “the system?”

Recession Holding Back Education Too…

Great… not only is the recession hurting my income today but it is likely to have a much larger economic impact on education (and thus earning potential) of future generations.  It a NY Times article last week titled “Facing Deficits, Some States Cut Summer School” many schools are cutting back or closing their summer school programs to save money.  This is being done in spite of $100 billion in stimulus money being pumped into education and the Secretary of Education urging states and districts to keep their summer school programs open.

Summer school you say?  Who really really cares about summer school… unless of course you are talking about the classic 1987 movie Summer School with Marc Harmon and Kristy Alley.  The reality is that summer school can be critically important to those kids coming from low-income households.  In our most recent bout, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell we learned that the knowledge gap between the kids from the poorest families to the richest families is almost exclusively attributed to what knowledge is gained or lost during the summer (not technology in the classroom or classroom size).  As the Times article points out, children of working parents will be at the mall or in front of the TV instead of in the classroom preparing them for the next grade level.

If Gladwell’s analysis is correct, why is it that state governments or school districts would make such a short sighted decision?  Perhaps his research hasn’t made it back to the education establishment?

Jon Stewart goes “mad” on Jim Cramer?

For those who missed The Daily Show last night it was awesome… Jon Stewart took it to Jim Cramer and CNBC on the lack of “financial reporting” on their supposed “financial news” cable network.  Not to be a spoiler… but there are some great video clips of Cramer off air.  Take 20 minutes of your day and watch this episode!

Where’s Amazon’s Spine? Don’t give up on Kindle-Talk!

According to the WSJ, Amazon is conceding audio rights with the Kindle II.  They are going to allow authors and publishers the ability to opt-out of the text-to-speech future.   I am very close to buying the Kindle and this was a compelling feature!  I get that the publishers are worried about the premium that they get from the audio version of the book… but what about the customer?  Amazon insists that the feature is legal because “no copy is made, no derivative work is created” where’s Lawrence Lessig when you need him?

Ooooh Sony… how we hate you… let me count the ways!

Last week Xbox 360 had an update to their User Interface… along with it came a few other new enhancements like the Netflixstreaming feature allowing users who are Netflix subscribers to stream up to 12,000 titles to their home theaters.  Well… apparently Sony didn’t like the idea of Microsoft streaming Sony movies (from LA Times and Motley Fool)?  So Sony decided pull 200 of their titles from being able to stream to the Xbox 360… the Roku player and PC will still work fine.  Sony this is exactly why we hate you… your arrogance and bully attitude is what leads you to think about your self-interests over your customers’ interests.  Just so you know… I used to be pretty loyal to the Sony brand… but over the last 5 years I have not made a Sony purchase – after this move I will try to make it at least another 5 years before I buy another one of your products.

WSJ Opinion Suggests Treatment of George W. Bush Has Been Disgrace?

Last week Jeffrey Scott Shapiro suggested in a WSJ Opinion article that the treatment of George W. Bush has been a disgrace – citing as an example the San Francisco proposal suggesting to name a sewage treatment plant after him.  Mr. Shapiro suggests that like President Harry S. Truman, who also had a low approval rating of 22% before he left office but is now ranked as one of our most popular presidents, George W. Bush will also be seen as a strong president who lead our nation during a difficult time.  Mr. Shapiro further suggests that our disloyalty to our current president is a “shameful display of arrogance and weakness that will haunt this nation long after Mr. Bush has left the White House.”

 

Well Mr. Shapiro… you are a patsy.  President George W. Bush is a disgrace but I also believe that he has also been played like a fiddle by his own team.  Cheney, Rumsfeld and their policy wonk lawyers (like Douglas Feith) have been of equal disgrace.  This president and his staff have lied to the American people on numerous occasions and put to doubt the patriotism of the American’s who have questioned his strategy and motives with the “embolden the terrorists” rhetoric.  America is great not because we all fall in line but because we think and we question, we have the courage to point out our flaws and shortcomings and not by covering them with the American flag in blind patriotism.  When faced with the conclusions of the bi-partisan 9/11 Commission Report, the president was asked if he agreed with their recommendations – his answer was “I didn’t read it” and that was his same response on the memos concerning “aggressive interrogation techniques”.

 

Well Mr. President, I am sorry to say that it is your job to read these opinions – whether you agree with them or not.  Your arrogance, hubris, and lack of respect for all of us “non-Bushies” is your legacy and you will have to live with that in infamy.

What are the responsibilities of Mayor of Wasilla?

There were a few folks after John McCain announced his running mate that drew the comparison between Sarah Palin and Teddy Roosevelt for their short time as governors and of course their leadership capabilities.  You know… leader of the First Calvary (Rough Riders) and Mayor of Wasilla… obvious conclusions.  And then there was the comment during Palin’s RNC address where she chided Obama about being a “community organizer” while she was just a small town Mayor with “Responsibilities.”  Well thank God for investigative journalism… we now know ALL of the details that the Mayor of Wasilla is responsible for… and it is a LONG list!  Watch for yourself from The Daily Show (details at the 2 minute mark).

New use for Twitter… Poll Cop?

I ust saw this one on Twitter… NPR wants you to tweet to #votereport if you “experience probs when voting, send a tweet with your zip, the tag #votereport & a description so we can investigate trends.”

What do you think?

Minneapolis Home Takes the LEED!

A story from MPR this morning was showcasing a Minneapolis home that received the highest possible rating for sustainability (platinum award) from LEED which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  Concrete walls and countertops… kitchen lighting made from recycled stop lights… check out the video tour.

Truth, Lies, & Taboos… how dearly do they cost us?

I have been doing a lot of think lately about several of our societal taboos… specifically talking about religion, politics, and money.  I have always been a fan of the quote “Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, which refers to the benefits of openness and transparency.  There was a further suggestion from Louis Grumet, Publisher of The CPA Journal, who offered “We should not only accept criticism and suggestions, we should embrace them.  If questions from constituents, the public, or the media make leaders or other responsible parties obfuscate, the questions are usually valid and the answers are not.  People who feel uncomfortable under the bright light of scrutiny and criticism often have something to hide.”

I am suggesting that this impartive not only holds true for politicians but for all of us and that by conforming to the norms and labeling subjects as taboo we are supporting prejudice, hatred, misinformation, lies, deceit, and unaccountability – we are letting these lies survive in the dark alleyway between Truth & Freedom.  When women like Gayle Quinnell of Shakopee suggested that she didn’t trust Senator Barack Obama and called him “an Arab” at a Lakeville, MN, McCain rally we all thought wow… did she just say that in public?  My next question was, where had Gayle been “hiding” this racism?  Hasn’t she talked with others about the candidates?  Doesn’t she know that Barack is actually a Christian?  If her friends, family members, or fellow parishioners had heard her mention this idea before did no one speak up?  Did no one correct her on the facts?  When we avoid discussing our religious and political beliefs with others who do not agree with us we are protecting ourselves from having difficult or uncomfortable questions that we may not wish to face.  The latest of these taboos is the belief that we should not talk about money with friends, neighbors, or family.  A couple of stories that I thought I would share… 1) two years ago in a local fast food establishment I overheard a couple talking about how their daughter and son-in-law planned to file for bankruptcy immediately after returning from the cruise trip that they were on, 2) a year and a half ago friends were trying to sell their condo and plan for a down payment on their house – they had almost no money in savings but drove new Cadillac and Audi vehicles and spent lavishly on expensive clothes and purses, and finally 3) this weekend I overheard a few patrons talking in a restaurant about how one of them had four different vehicles in four years but had no money.  Where was the sense of responsibility from these people?  Did no one question their actions?  Did no one question their sense of accountability?  We need to again talk about our beliefs and actions… we need to expose them to the light of day… and we need to be more accepting of those who might question us or our motives… or we will continue to provide safehavens for prejudice, hatred, misinformation, lies, deceit, and unaccountability.