Disqus - Latest Comments for str82ais

Re: fatherhood ::: lessons in mortality. questions of morality.

str82ais — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:45:27 -0000

This is a moving post. I like that you come out with this strong declaration of love.

The 'father character' - eh.

I don't follow your "they didn't choose" argument; if anything, your post is an argument for procreation and propagation of species: for love, no matter how flawed.

Re: happy birthday mama | katharine whitehorn on old age [bbc radio 4 @bbcradio4live]

str82ais — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:26:33 -0000

This is a touching post. Ella Fitzgerald's song is lovely.

Happy Birthday to your mother.

Re: my friends seeking solace all over. [osho | humaniversity | hypnosis | regression]

str82ais — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 11:22:11 -0000

If there was ever evidence that one shouldn't pay any attention to charisma and presence, it is this vid. The man's ideas are a waste of space and yet his pregnant pauses, his thoughtful earnestness, his dignity, his clothing, all imply otherwise.

Your hero for only this week, not forever, I hope.

Re: A Fall Summary. Columbia Business School MBA 2011.

str82ais — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:06:45 -0000

This is a fine summary - thank you for sharing.

Questions it opens up for me:

1- Why is Columbia so keen on elitism? It seems to me that the experiences you sketch are centred around building a false sense of elitism.

2- Does elitism work?

3- Are MBAs necessary?

4- How can Columbia continue to spawn greedy, Goldman Sachs-motivated grads in this new age?

5- Alcohol consumption in the name of community, does that not tell you all you need to know about the type of relationships being engendered here (i.e., short-term, feel-good, ...)?

Re: life changing albums. [@wnyc]

str82ais — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:08:57 -0000

Surprised Nick Hornby isn't on the list. I recall he wrote an article or series in the New Yorker - or the mag that Tina Brown edits, can't remember - about the same topic, about 3-4 years ago.

Something about the music of the pet shop geezers is catchy. I don't miss them now, I don't listen to them. But a friend recently put on Rent and before it had ended, I told him "I like this song." Being an old friend, he reminded me that I used to love it back in the late eighties too.

I'm your puppet, I love it!
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Never quite got into U2. But, dude, that story about the South American couple - eerie! Dude, you were 16 - they traumatised you, those bastards.

Re: What is Free? Seth on Anderson V Gladwell.

str82ais — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 08:57:51 -0000

I'm with Gladwell's rebuttal on this. I don't see the free thing working long-term. All the signs are we're in some sort of transition period.

Re: an arab for israel. [30 years later]

str82ais — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:00:32 -0000

These days I'm under the influence of your Naipaul quote "the past has to be seen to be dead; or the past will kill."

I'm also under the influence of "who moved my cheese?" the story of two humans and two mice who feed off a giant piece of cheese. One day, the cheese's gone, the mice immediately scurry away looking for new fortunes, but the humans go: "who moved MY cheese".

So, yeah, hey, Israel is reality and the Palestinians should move on, and the Arabs and the sympathisers and everybody else. The Palestine of past has to be seen as dead or, bloody hell, it will phosphor-bomb kill you. Those who moan about Israel should stop saying "who occupied MY Palestine" and scurry off chasing new dreams.

Does the above look right to you?

Re: v.s. naipaul’s india.

str82ais — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:52:41 -0000

I share your respect for his prose.

"the past has to be seen to be dead; or the past will kill." - killer!

I'm vague about whether you and I have ever discussed Naipaul's "Beyond Belief" - a book that left me wanting to study it for its prose, and also wanting to spit at Sir VS himself.

His Nobel prize as you may know was not universally greeted. Many people felt he was erudite, sophisticated yet fundamentally a coconut.

A recent biography of him illuminates the man's distinct character. It exposes him as an utterly despicable, ruthless man (particularly to his lovers), and also it makes for compelling reading.

Re: the red talk.

str82ais — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:03:56 -0000

Mother of all talks, eh? :-)

Happy birthday to your mum. She doesn't look her age.

Re: amr bargisi on egypt’s jew haters.

str82ais — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:36:17 -0000

I was with a Palestinian guy last night who was telling us about the siege of Gaza - how ugly, inhumane it is. After we all sympathised, he turned on us. "You, Egyptians," he turned me, "of all the countries that can help us, that bring this whole tragedy to an end instantly, it is Egypt." He carried on around the table with the other Arab nationalities. Knowing I would not tense up with him, he came back to me and said: "An Israeli goes to Egypt, you treat him with all due respect. But us, we could be sheep to you. Is this right?" He went on to decry Tantawi's shaking of hands with Peres - how could the Sheikh of Al-Azhar do something so undignified, he asked.

It is important to recognise that we must treat _both_ sides of the situation well. It will not do to stop the anti-Jewish bias in our papers, while our authorities continue to treat the Palestinians like sheep.

What the hell is our government doing supporting a terrible, inhuman siege like that of Gaza's?