Brad DeLong’s murmurings on Richard Ben Cramer’s book, How Israel Lost, makes it sound like just the book I need to read to better understand the underpinnings of the divestment debate that Ranjit pointed me out to. I can just add it to the queue of books I suppose…
Author Archives: Anand Sarwate
tracks char
1. Speaking In Tongues I (Sheila Chandra)
2. Kanonen-Song (Kurt Weill)
3. Fit But You Know It (The Streets)
4. Gallop of a Thousand Horses (Kronos Quartet)
5. Head Rush on Lafayette (David Holmes)
6. Midnight In a Perfect World (DJ Shadow)
7. O Fortuna (Carl Orff)
8. The Girl at the Typewriter (Raymond Scott)
9. Seed 2.0 (The Roots)
10. Hang On St. Christopher (Tom Waits)
11. Take Me Home Country Roads (John Denver)
12. Mustang Sally (The Commitments)
13. Summer Song (Dave Brubeck/Louis Armstrong)
14. the pennycandystore beyond the el (Leonard Bernstein)
15. Promenade/Gnomus (Modest Mussorgsky/Vladimir Ashkenazy)
16. Ana Ng (They Might Be Giants)
17. P.P. (Picolo Pesos) (Ornette Coleman)
18. Fugue in C minor, BWV 847 (J.S. Bach)
19. Ain’t Nobody’s Business But My Own (Ella Fitzgerald)
20. Oh, Good Grief (Ellis Marsalis)
21. God Bless The Child (Billie Holiday)
22. Madness (Deltron 3030)
23. Fitter Happier (Radiohead)
24. I Am Superman (REM)
boycotting Israeli academic institutions
Via Ranjit’s new blog, Cultural Sabotage, I read this article from ZNet. I don’t always find myself agreeing with ZNet on a lot of issues, but they frame the debate in more interesting ways than most “mainstream” publications, which don’t seek to have a debate. What follows below the fold are disorganized first impressions on the topic of academic boycotting of Israel, and is likely to be riddled with self-contradicting statements.
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far too tense
Why is it that terribly uncomfortable situations happen in the kitchen? Is it because the proximity of sharp knives lends an subtle threat of violence to the air? Needless to say, I am highly tempted to retreat to my corner of the house and hide there until the coast is clear.
wurzelfrei
I learned a new word today from Inequalities, by Hardy, Littlewood, and Polya (definitely on my wishlist): an analytic complex function f(z) is “wurzelfrei” if it has no zeros in |z| < 1. Note that a wurzelfrei system may have an unstable inverse if it has zeros on the unit circle.
Mugabe is insane
As if we didn’t know enough already, Mugabe wants to ban human rights workers in Zimbabwe.
The bill requires non-governmental organisations to apply for a licence, but says none will be granted if the group’s aim is to promote human rights.
I’m pretty much speechless on this one.
two teas
I went to the TenRen tea store in SF the other day and picked up two boxes of Chinese teas which I knew very little about. The first is a Pu-Erh, which is black, smoky, and somewhat fermented smelling. Although quite pungent, it didn’t taste nearly as strong, but it does form a dark heavy liquor. When it comes to smoky teas, I prefer Lapsang Souchong. A good Lapsang is like a fine peaty single-malt. How’s that for snobbery?
The other was the Ti Kuan Yin tea, named for the “Iron Goddess of Mercy.” I’m a bit of a sucker for those fantasy-novel-esque names, but this tea was light and refreshing, with a pleasant amber liquor and very little bitterness. Deb called it standard Chinese restaurant tea, but I found it to be better than that, probably because it was a single serving and not heated in a huge vat for hours.
The TenRen store is a pretty cheap way of getting samples of new teas, and since my tea-knowledge to this date has been very India-centric, I suspect there’s a lot to explore.
jesus bread-golem
I guess you can’t be Catholic and have a wheat-gluten allergy. Just goes to show how crazy Catholics are. In related news, over at Fafblog they are having some trouble with their Jesus bread-golem.
holy mackerel
I had a picnic today with Darcy of Kaseri and Morbier cheeses, a ciabatta from Semifreddi’s, and smoked peppered mackerel, washed down with some sparkling cider. It was tasty, but even after vigorous soapy handwashing my fingers still smell strongly of mackerel. Which is not a terrible thing, but a bit disconcerting. I wonder what Lady Macbeth would do…
far off places with funny names
My friend Asad from high school is going on a Fulbright to Kuala Lumpur. As I mentioned to Sin today over IM, I always parse the city’s name as “Koala Lump Uhr,” some kind of Australian animal boxing show, televised in German.
An Ergodic Walk 