I like to do a lot reading about the BRIC countries, given that Russia is one of them, they are dominating world economic growth, and they produce 100% of Bollywood movies in the world. Adam , who keeps the finger on the pulse of China so I don’t have to have anything to do with it, pointed me in the direction of an article that conclusively proclaims that China fudges its economic statistics.
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Note: The Victorian Era was a long period of prosperity for the British people, a time of cultural revival, and of great advances in engineering and fashion. The Victorian Error is a weekly column where I bitch about my life experiences.
I recently read The Desert Contract by John Lathrop.
»I was listening to Mary Poppins post-workout yesterday. The point is not that I’m 22 and listen to Julie Andrews to cool down. The point is that kids are given crappy movie-watching choices these days. Or maybe there are movies as good as Mary Poppins with songs of the same quality (i.e. Wall-e,) but there is an uneven distribution of the majority of songs being crap in the childrens’ song market. Disney Channel, I’m looking at you. Why are you unraveling all of your years of good work with Hannah Montana and Cody and Zach and whatevs. Parents, what say you? I don’t know anything. I’m just groovin’ to Mary P. This song gives me goosebumps.
»I think from time to time about why more people in America don’t know a second language or at least attempt to learn one. The common argument goes that, since English is becoming the most widely-spoken language in the world, what would be the point?
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Before I knew much about Lev Landau, the renowned Russian Jewish Nobel Prize-winning physicist, I would always compare my life to Mr. B with him, because the main facts I knew about Landau were that 1) he was a genius in theoretical physics and math and 2) constantly misplaced his socks.
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Cross-posted on Swifteconomics.
»I’ve been asked courteously by Neo Indian to “give a shout out” to the desis. So, here is my story of how I grew to love Indian and South Asian culture.
»I am a delighted connoisseur of childrens’ movies. See previous post on how Beauty and the Beast makes me break out in the kind of tears I usually reserve for 75% off sales. But you know, lately, there just are not a lot of live-action movies for children out. Sure, there’s Wall-E and Finding Nemo, but what about with live actors? How am I supposed to relate to a talking fish who not only can swim better than me, but also is friends with Ellen DeGeneres? Let me rephrase that. There are not a lot of GOOD movies for kids out. High School Musical does not count. Yes, I saw it. You know why it sucks? Here you go.
»My parents’ house is a museum to Soviet nostalgia. It’s like walking into Miss Havisham’s house. Only with Blue Ray and walnut cabinets. Also, Miss Havisham is dead. Some days, I find books I used to read when I was five that are still copyrighted in the USSR. Other times, I use the same dishes that were given to them for their wedding.
»More on this next week. Have a great weekend.
»I don’t know about you, but I always love a good story about how the U.S. government screws over its constituents. Turkmeniscam by Ken Silverstein (journalist and fellow Jew) promises such a story and delivers with style. The subtitle, “How Washington Lobbyists Fought to Flack for a Stalinist Dictatorship,” says it all.
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