The Fall of Conservativism

Well, this one is a doozy of an article looking at the history of the conservative movement over the past 4 decades....A good quote to give you an idea of the articles content: "The fact that the least conservative, least divisive Republican in the 2008 race is the last one standing—despite being despised by significant voices on the right—shows how little life is left in the movement that Goldwater began, Nixon brought into power, Ronald Reagan gave mass appeal, Newt Gingrich radicalized, Tom DeLay criminalized, and Bush allowed to break into pieces." Wow. Enjoy!

The Fall Of Conservativism

PS: It's another suggestion from Matt Eggers - thank you for your continued contributions!

Reactable: basic demo #1

This is a REALLY cool electronic table that produces some amazing sounds and effects....a must for lovers of the beats! Check it out.

The Singularity

This is a fascinating podcast of an interview with legendary inventor Ray Kurzweil. He discusses the fact that individual events are impossible to predict, but many large scale trends are 'exquisitely predictable'. Here is the summary:

"The prolific inventor, futurist and entrepreneur Ray Kurzweil, anticipates an “Age of Singularity,” when we'll be able to achieve a kind of immortality by downloading all of our essentially human qualities into a computer hard-drive. A feature interview by IDEAS host Paul Kennedy."

(I would recommend subscribing to the 'CBC: Best of Ideas' podcast -always good stuff)

Here is the link (you need to scroll down a bit to get to the Kurzweil podcast):

The Singularity

Portrait Of An Oil-Addicted Former Superpower

Thanks again to Matt Eggers for forwarding this interesting piece on the power of the US around the world and how it seems to be decreasing with the sustained elevation of the price of oil.....had to argue....(although I'd be happy to have you give it a go by posting a comment!). Enjoy:

Portrait Of An Oil-Addicted Former Superpower

The Neural Buddhists

Thanks to Matt Eggers for this interesting piece on atheism, religion, and mysticism. The basic argument is that it's belief in the Bible, not belief in the soul or spirituality, that will increasingly erode, since science and mysticism complement each other, while science and the Bible do not. At least that is my quick take on it:) Enjoy:

The Neural Buddhists

Can Money Buy Happiness?

"Money doesn't buy happiness." We've all heard it, we all know it, right? Why then is there still such a 'theory-practice' gap for so many people. You probably know many examples of this, possibly even yourself. This article covers the topic really well, citing a lot of the most well known and relevant studies that have been done on the topic. It also provides LOTS of food for thought on the role of government, individual responsibility, etc. Very enjoyable. Check it out:

Can Money Buy Happiness?

Surfwise: A Family That Surfs To A Beat: Its Own

The NYT review of 'Surfwise', the new surf movie about surfing's 'first family' - the Paskowitz clan from San Onofre. I am looking forward to seeing the film!. Check out the review:

A Family That Surfs To A Beat: Its Own

The Rise of the Rest

Another great article by Fareed Zakaria. There is some overlap with my previous post from Zakaria ("The Future of American Power"), probably because it all comes from his new book ("The Post-American World"). The article talks about the third main power shift in history (the first being the rise of the West, starting around the 15th century, and the second is the rise of the US, starting around the end of the 19th century), which is the 'rise of the rest', meaning the undeniable rise of countries around the world. It's definitely an uplifting piece (for a change), as it puts many things into a perspective that is easy to lose in the modern media mania. There is a great line: Only three countries don't use the metric system: Liberia, Myanmar, and the US. If the US wants to lead the world, it's first going to have to join it! Check it out:

The Rise of The Rest

In Praise of Dual Class Stock Structures

This is admittedly a wonky piece on the benefits of dual-class stock structures. Arguing for the benefits of such a structure certainly is against the norm, but when Warren Buffett, Google, and Marc Andreessen take a side, it's at least worth listening to their reasons.....here is the post from Andreeseen's blog:

In Praise of Dual Class Stock Structures