First it was Sunni, here and here, then it was Presto. Now it’s Ernie The Attorney’s turn. Much to think about as I ponder changes in my life.

Burning Porcupine Festival 2008 : Anarchy In Your Head

The best recent books about communism. - By Anne Applebaum - Slate Magazine

Read ‘em and weep.  And never forget.

Evolutionary Fitness seems to be all the rage these days among my wordpress blogrollers and my livejournal friends, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve been on Pritikin/Ornish before and I know they work, especially in lowing blood pressure and cholesterol. The problem I had was that I was always feeling hungry on that diet and after awhile, I stopped and gained back all the weight and blood pressure. Thus far, Art De Vany’s protocol seems to avoid the feeling of constant hunger.

In one of those Black Swan serendipitous moments, I also got a notice from Borders Books letting me know of a new book by Mario Batali on grilling, Italian style. There are several recipes that are perfect for the Evolutionary Fitness lifestyle and I thought that I’d point y’all in their direction:

Asparagus with Lemon Prosciutto Vinaigrette

SPICY BLACK PEPPER COATED DRUMSTICKS

MARINATED ZUCCHINI WITH RICOTTA BOTTARGA

I’ve made them all and recommend them to y’all without reservation.

Thanks to posts over at Rich’s & Art’s, I picked up a copy of Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s, The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.  It’s a fascinating read and ties together a ton of other ideas I’ve absorbed from other authors, ranging from Jerzy Kosinski to Ayn Rand to Jacques Monod to Alfred Korzybski.   I highly recommend it.

Speaking of Kosinski, it was a book review of his book Passion Play that led me to cancel my subscription to the National Review.  It wasn’t that the review was negative, it was that they made the factual error of saying that Kosinski won the National Book Award for his novel, The Painted Bird, when he actually won it for Steps.  Coming as it did after the Review’s scurrilous article on libertarianism, that error was the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back.

Even Ernie isn’t going to vote and tells why: Ernie The Attorney: The problem with normal. The comments are good, too.

I’ve been reading Billy Beck’s stuff since his days on usenet (remember alt.philosophy.objectivism?) . I know that there are some people in the blogosphere who chide him for the tone of some of his posts, especially when he focuses on current events. Those folks think he’s too antagonistic, too angry. However, when I look at the current state of affairs, I can’t help but think his tone is just right. People who are out to steal your money, your time, your life, should be treated with disdain and anger. On those rare occasions when I listen to some candidate wax eloquent on how they want to regulate and control my life,  I check to see that my shotgun is loaded. And on those occasions, I think Billy isn’t angry enough.

In reading Sunni’s post on this topic and the comments people made, I find myself nodding in agreement with most of what was written. I would like to note, however, that it would all come to naught without maintaining a certain level of awareness, what the Russian Rage - thanks for that characterization, Billy - sometimes called focus. It’s a constant struggle in a society where the average person watches several hours of television a day and where the siren call of the computer sucks untold hours, to pull away and actually think. Many people exist in a state of semi-consciousness for most of their lives. Can you really be happy when you aren’t totally aware?

I’m listening to German radio over the internet and I note that their traffic reports include announcements of where speed traps and cameras are set up.  I wonder how long  a U.S. station could get away with doing that?   On a similar note, while I was in Germany last month I saw a television report that showed that the cameras wouldn’t function when cars were driving faster than 251 km/hour.

Put down your drinks before watching this video:

Gay scientists isolate Christian gene by Glumbert - RichardDawkins.net