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Ah! Almost done with summer school… Now’s the time to really study hard. Here’s my summer reading list:

Lovemarks: The Future Beyond Brands by Kevin Roberts
Massaging my marketing neurons…

The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power by Joel Bakan
I’m curious about the movie… Much like The Trials of Henry Kissinger, the movie was better than the book. We’ll see how this one fares.

In Defense of Globalization by Jagdish Bhagwati
I loved Stiglitz’ Discontents, and Jagdish, besides sharing workplace with Stiglitz, also seems to be a very lucid and constructive writer.

How to Ruin Your Financial Life by Ben Stein
What can I say? He’s the man. A bit “coffee table-ish”, but he’s probably the only modern renaissance man(ex-speechwriter for Nixon, comedian, writer, actor, do-er of good deeds) that can make me laugh my ass off.

Affirmative Action Around the World: An Empirical Study by Thomas Sowell
Got a very good review in The Economist, but I want to read it especially because it talks about affirmative action around the world, and is not ethno- or geo- centric. It doesn’t necessarily say it’s good or bad, but rather describe its implementation and results around the world.

Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte
Yeah, I know I’m not a software engineer or an IDCC major, but I still think it’s an important skill to have, whether you’re making a powerpoint presentation or writing the emergency manual of a Boeing 777. This guy is the pope of Information Design, and let me tell you, the pricetag on this book sure reflects that.

From Airline Reservations to Sonic the Hedgehog: A History of the Software Industry (History of Computing) by Martin Campbell-Kelly
Perhaps more useless information, but it’s joins two of my passions: computers and history.

So yeah, I got a lot of stuff to chew on. I’m done with two (Cathedral & the Bazaar by Eric S. Raymond as well as Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham– both excellent collections of essays on IT)

Now, for a recovering intellectual whore like myself, this might be analogous to an alcoholic being invited for a tour of the Jack Daniels factory, but there was a great article on Nerve.com and I couldn’t help but sit and ponder.

Feeling lonely? Carente? Well, you don’t have to be desperate. For $20, you could go to a:

If you wanna know what being an IW feels like (perhaps you’ve been or have had one yourself), then just show up and get the experience for about 3 hours! All the cuddling you want, with NO sex or dry humping. Kissing ok.

There’s a plethora of “new-sexuality” (not to be mistaken with bi-sexualism) and “open relationships” involved here, guided by expert, hip and urbane “sex experts” (note the schizophrenic caps on one of the leader’s name: REiD MiHALKO, the self-described “bi-coastal sex and romance coach”. Perhaps a product of his Landmark brainwa– i mean, training?).

Check it out. Maybe, just maybe, you are a guy just really likes to hug people (but only in the Stuart Smiley “doggone it people like me” way) or perhaps a woman who has sex just for the post-coital cuddling-related activities. If you are, then Cuddleparty.com is for you!

ric

*09/23/1930 – †06/10/2004

The original soul brother.

ric

“You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade…”

Today marks the 60th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied landings at Normandy. Those who fought weren’t professional soldiers; they were tens of thousands of carpenters, school teachers, students, fathers, brothers and sons. Thrust into uncertainty, they went, they saw, and they conquered.

This was the greatest generation the world has ever seen. As they pass from life into history, let us honor their cause by remembering that the tyranny and persecution that they gave their lives fighting against is still very much alive in countless corners of the globe.

“When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle..”
–Edmund Burke

ric

Dinner at the pad with Mm. Rick “Crikey” Baumer. Serving a delicious double-breaded chicken breast parmegian accompanied by Porcini mushroom tortelloni.

Followed by: The Spanish Prisoner

All in all a good movie– highly predictable but entertaining finale nonetheless. The final scene kind of had of a “The Transporter” laugh-my-ass-off-when-I’m-not-supposed-to moment.

6:00AM. I drag myself out of bed, take a shower, hop on the T. Government Center, last stop. JFK Building room E-160. Go.

Finally– I’m legal again (!). Well, not that I was illegal before but I’ll be legal for longer now, let’s say. Filled out an I-90, took a picture (I should’ve friggin’ shaved this morning), got stamped and off we go.

Nice, I guess I’m going to Europe after all…

Next stop: Russian Embassy.

ric