Archive for the 'Books' Category

War is Hell

July 4th, 2008

Recently my twin brother (and Ed-itor) Ed turned me on to an excellent book called “What Every Person Should Know About War”, by Chris Hedges. Hedges is a long-time foreign correspondent for the New York Times, and his goal was to write an unglamorous, no-nonsense, meticulously researched book on the facts of war. (He’s covered many wars in the past, and was even captured for a week in Iraq.) The book is quite short at 120 pages (I’m not including the extensive notes), terse, and has “very few adjectives”. If you’re looking for the latest spy …

A Weighty Issue, Part Two

June 20th, 2008

(This post is the second in a two-part series on physical attractiveness and the effects of how you look. Part one was about the data involved and some basic findings. Part two will talk about my personal experience with beauty and dieting, and how you can use the information I found to your advantage.)

Last time I talked about the book “Looks: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined”, by Gordon Patzer. I also talked about why looks do in fact matter, and how well researched the author’s claims were. (Reading the first part is a must to …

Fasten Your Seat Belts

November 2nd, 2007

Today’s post is about the humble paper clip. (Hey, I can’t write about weighty topics every week, right?) Sure, it’s a great fastener, but the Wikipedia link talks about using paper clips in many diverse applications, from outward signs of government solidarity to lock picks. I have my own unconventional use for them: as a bookmark. (Sorry guys, I’m not McGuyver here.)

My problem is that when I handle or lend books to others, the normal bookmarks I put in the book inevitably fall out, a problem which paper clips fortunately don’t have. Though I’m surely …