- It’s worth fighting for: On her blog, a Tampa newspaper intern praises her editor’s speech about newsroom change in the wake of layoffs, sparking a huge debate among veteran ink-stained wretches.
- Justice Dept. Admits Error in Not Briefing Court (NY Times): The Supreme Court’s ruling recently that convicted child rapists shouldn’t be subject to the death penalty depended on evidence from a review of existing law. After the ruling came down, a blogger found that some recent additions to the military code of justice undermine the courts argument — facts that you’d think the Bush Justice Department would have known. More incompetence on the administration’s side is hardly news, but it’s a notable instance of the “enough eyeballs” principle at work.
- Lamentations of the Father: Ian Frazier’s classic, more resonant to me now that I have been a parent lo these eight years:
Of the beasts of the field, and of the fishes of the sea, and of all foods that are acceptable in my sight you may eat, but not in the living room. Of the hoofed animals, broiled or ground into burgers, you may eat, but not in the living room. Of the cloven-hoofed animal, plain or with cheese, you may eat, but not in the living room.
- Can You Become a Creature of New Habits? – New York Times: I guess it’s not news that learning new things is good for you, but here’s some neurological explanations for why and how the brain-stretching happens.
- Dissecting today’s Internet traffic spikes – Esoteric Curio: Forecast: less and less predictable spikes in traffic to sites, including small sites, at greater and greater magnitude.
- An Attack That Came Out of the Ether – washingtonpost.com: Thorough, fascinating gumshoe effort traces the false “Obama is a Muslim” email to its murky roots. Why am I not surprised that the Freepers play a prominent role?
- J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement : Harvard Magazine: Rowling’s excellent talk focuses on the value of failure:
The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.
Given a time machine or a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.
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