ffortsa reads 2024
Talk Magazines!!!!! New Yorker, Science, Atlantic, Mad......
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1ffortsa
I'm back to reading my New Yorkers, among other magazines.
January 1 & 8
The Ventriloquist: a profile of Scott Frank, who has become one of the most prolific script doctors in Hollywood, and how he finally wrote his own movie. Very entertaining.
The Cats of L.A.: What happens when no-kill is the only option and the species is incredibly prolific. L.A. is being overrun with feral cats, and the neutering programs can't keep up. A prime example of unintended consequences.
How the Mongol Hordes Made the World: A review of Marie Favereau's book "The HOrde: How the Mongols Changed the World". The article cites other works on the Mongol influence as well. In fact, there is a movement in historical investigation to in a sense rehabilitate the Mongols and show their influence on all the lands they once conquered.
There is also an essay on the art of Camille Pissarro and his central place in modern art. I wish that it showed more of the art it talks about.
January 29
Ruling Class Rules: Tucker Carlson as an exemplar of the advantages of being born into the elite, and how the elite is defined in various cultures. It goes back to Vilfredo Pareto, the source of the term elite and also of the 80/20 rule. He was afraid of instability in society, and observed that as long as the 'elite' group was open to newcomers and a term he called 'the circulation of the elite'. When the elite stagnate, harden into a fortress class, instability is likely. The article, by Evan Osnos, also refers to Branko Milanovic, another economist, who essentially predicted the upheavals in Europe based on the entrenched elite.
Today we have a series of overlapping and often clashing elites, people elected or appointed to power, people holding incredible wealth, people of intellectual stature.
Paul Fussell, also referenced in this essay, satirized and predicted the characteristics of the upper class and the sinking of the middle class. Osnos also notes the most recent evidence of the elites - entertainers longing to be invited in as evidence of their status.
All of this as a review of "The End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration". by Peter Turchin. I've decided to see if I can read this book, although I may be out of my depth.
Two more interesting essays, one on Sofia Coppola and her film work, the other, by Jill Lepore, on William Howard Taft as he was as a Supreme Court Chief Justice, and how his influence has contributed to the court we have now.
January 1 & 8
The Ventriloquist: a profile of Scott Frank, who has become one of the most prolific script doctors in Hollywood, and how he finally wrote his own movie. Very entertaining.
The Cats of L.A.: What happens when no-kill is the only option and the species is incredibly prolific. L.A. is being overrun with feral cats, and the neutering programs can't keep up. A prime example of unintended consequences.
How the Mongol Hordes Made the World: A review of Marie Favereau's book "The HOrde: How the Mongols Changed the World". The article cites other works on the Mongol influence as well. In fact, there is a movement in historical investigation to in a sense rehabilitate the Mongols and show their influence on all the lands they once conquered.
There is also an essay on the art of Camille Pissarro and his central place in modern art. I wish that it showed more of the art it talks about.
January 29
Ruling Class Rules: Tucker Carlson as an exemplar of the advantages of being born into the elite, and how the elite is defined in various cultures. It goes back to Vilfredo Pareto, the source of the term elite and also of the 80/20 rule. He was afraid of instability in society, and observed that as long as the 'elite' group was open to newcomers and a term he called 'the circulation of the elite'. When the elite stagnate, harden into a fortress class, instability is likely. The article, by Evan Osnos, also refers to Branko Milanovic, another economist, who essentially predicted the upheavals in Europe based on the entrenched elite.
Today we have a series of overlapping and often clashing elites, people elected or appointed to power, people holding incredible wealth, people of intellectual stature.
Paul Fussell, also referenced in this essay, satirized and predicted the characteristics of the upper class and the sinking of the middle class. Osnos also notes the most recent evidence of the elites - entertainers longing to be invited in as evidence of their status.
All of this as a review of "The End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration". by Peter Turchin. I've decided to see if I can read this book, although I may be out of my depth.
Two more interesting essays, one on Sofia Coppola and her film work, the other, by Jill Lepore, on William Howard Taft as he was as a Supreme Court Chief Justice, and how his influence has contributed to the court we have now.
