The Brown File

The Joy of Less

2009-06-10T13:28:00.002-05:00

The Joy of Less

"In the corporate world, I always knew there was some higher position I could attain, which meant that, like Zeno’s arrow, I was guaranteed never to arrive and always to remain dissatisfied. I’m not sure I knew the details of all these lives when I was 29, but I did begin to guess that happiness lies less in our circumstances than in what we make of them, in every sense. “There is nothing either good or bad,” I had heard in high school, from Hamlet, “but thinking makes it so.”"

from The New York Times

2008-12-18T10:23:00.003-06:00

The Dude of Roller Derby and His Vision

"The legend of the modern roller derby has claimed its place in the Generation X canon: playing on an outdated fad of their Nixon-era upbringing, some tattooed, disaffected young women from Texas reimagined the sport as a symbol of postfeminist sisterhood. Tough, brash and calculatedly sexy, with a rockabilly swagger, the roller girls declared themselves She.E.O.’s, started a coast-to-coast cultural juggernaut and inspired books, reality TV shows and a forthcoming Drew Barrymore movie.

But history will record the odd man out was, in fact, a man. And certainly odd."

from The New York Times

2008-09-22T10:06:00.003-05:00

How We Became the United States of France

"This is the state of our great republic: We've nationalized the banking system, taking control from Wall Street bankers we no longer trust. We're about to quasi-nationalize the Detroit auto companies via massive loans because they're a source of American pride, and too many jobs — and votes — are at stake. Our Social Security system is going broke as we head for a future where too many retirees will be supported by too few workers. How long before we have national healthcare? Put it all together, and the America that emerges is a cartoonish version of the country most despised by red-meat red-state patriots: France. Only with worse food."

from Time

2008-08-12T12:35:00.004-05:00

Sorting Out Coffee's Contradictions

"Hardly a month goes by without a report that hails coffee, tea or caffeine as healthful or damns them as potential killers."

- Coffee, a topic near and dear to the Brown File's heart.

from NY Times

Part Company

2008-08-01T12:35:00.001-05:00

Part Company

"Once a song exists, it never ceases to exist, whether I have constant access to it or not. And much of my music collection is under-appreciated and under-listened to anyway."

from NPR

Shimano Shuns Cables for Full Electronic Shifting

2008-07-31T23:38:00.005-05:00

Shimano Shuns Cables for Full Electronic Shifting

"Road-bike aficionados are much like trout: simultaneously enthralled and mortified by anything shiny and new that enters their environment. And so it's not surprising that the first two questions people tend to ask about Di2 are: 1) What if the battery dies? and 2) What if it gets wet?"

from Wired.com

Angry Clinton Women ♥ McCain?

2008-06-18T13:26:00.000-05:00

Angry Clinton Women ♥ McCain?

"But the notion that all female Clinton supporters became “angry white women” once their candidate lost — to the hysterical extreme where even lifelong Democrats would desert their own party en masse — is itself a sexist stereotype."

from The New York Times

Just who is this 'Stephen Colbert' character?

2008-06-09T23:19:00.004-05:00

Just who is this 'Stephen Colbert' character?

"The walls of "The Colbert Report" studio are plastered with letters and artwork of the show's fearless leader submitted by loyal fans. In one painted portrait, Stephen Colbert, astride a horse, is substituted for George Washington."

from CNN

God Help Italy

2008-04-17T13:42:00.012-05:00

God Help Italy - Silvio Berlusconi is back

"Why did Italian voters return Mr Berlusconi for a third time, after his previous wins in 1994 and 2001? There are three answers."

from The Economist

Taking Marriage Private

2007-11-28T12:15:00.000-06:00

Taking Marriage Private

"WHY do people — gay or straight — need the state’s permission to marry? For most of Western history, they didn’t, because marriage was a private contract between two families. The parents’ agreement to the match, not the approval of church or state, was what confirmed its validity."

from New York Times

Stem Cell Breakthrough Is Like 'Turning Lead Into Gold'

2007-11-20T17:05:00.000-06:00

Stem Cell Breakthrough Is Like 'Turning Lead Into Gold'

"If the new method proves successful, "we can disconnect the whole stem cell debate from the culture war, from battles over embryo politics and abortion rights," said Marcy Darnovsky, associate director of the Center for Genetics and Society."

from Wired

2007-11-15T14:14:00.000-06:00

Recession in America

"IN 1929, days after the stockmarket crash, the Harvard Economic Society reassured its subscribers: “A severe depression is outside the range of probability”. In a survey in March 2001, 95% of American economists said there would not be a recession, even though one had already started. Today, most economists do not forecast a recession in America, but the profession's pitiful forecasting record offers little comfort. Our latest assessment (see article) suggests that the United States may well be heading for recession."

from The Economist

Should Hillary Pretend to Be a Flight Attendant?

2007-11-14T17:18:00.000-06:00

Should Hillary Pretend to Be a Flight Attendant?

"It turns out that men avoided women whom they perceived to be smarter than themselves. The same held true for measures of career ambition — a woman could be ambitious, just not more ambitious than the man considering her for a date."

from New York Times

Church ordered to pay $10.9 million for funeral protest

2007-11-09T15:32:00.000-06:00

Church ordered to pay $10.9 million for funeral protest

"A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals in the belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality."

from CNN

New Apple Trojan Means Mac Hunting Season Is Open

2007-11-02T10:15:00.000-05:00

New Apple Trojan Means Mac Hunting Season Is Open

"It's Mac season. The next two years will be interesting."

from Wired

Is it El Chupacabra?

2007-11-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

Is it El Chupacabra?

"Was the hairless canine-turned-roadkill last summer near Cuero a Chupacabra?"

from Fort Worth Star Telegram

Team Turns Unsung Runners Into Elite Marathoners

2007-10-31T11:58:00.000-05:00

Team Turns Unsung Runners Into Elite Marathoners

"He was not a superstar in high school, he was not a superstar in college. His commitment put him at the top of his sport."

from The New York Times

What Did You Call It?

2007-10-30T17:09:00.000-05:00

What Did You Call It?

"Stop looking at my vajayjay."

from The New York Times

What’s in a Name?

2007-10-29T14:40:00.000-05:00

What’s in a Name?

"Shirley Temple didn’t make many enemies, but Alleen Nilsen can think of a few people who loathed America’s sweetheart. Nilsen ... once met a Shirley from a family that used the name for four generations — for its men. As soon as Temple stamped it as indelibly girlish, Shirley IV disgustedly switched to Shirl. There was no Shirley V."

from The New York Times

Home, Sweet ... Yikes!

2007-10-26T16:29:00.000-05:00

Home, Sweet ... Yikes!

"Not a night goes by that I am not absolutely convinced somebody has entered the house and they do not have a conscience."

from The New York Times

Pass it Along

2007-10-26T09:08:00.000-05:00

Pass it Along

"Beauchamp is young; under pressure he made a dumb mistake. In fact, he has not always been an ideal soldier. But to his credit, the young soldier decided to stay, and he is serving tonight in a dangerous part of Baghdad."

from Michael Yon online

2007-10-25T10:31:00.000-05:00

Health and happiness is all down to a roll in the dirt

"According to the research, the action of Mycobacterium vaccae (M vaccae) on the brain is similar to that of some commonly used antidepressants.

The bacterium [...] prompts certain cells in the brain to produce more serotonin, a hormone associated with feelings of wellbeing."

from Times Online UK

The Surveillance Law That Matters

2007-10-24T20:58:00.000-05:00

The Surveillance Law That Matters

"That was Mr. Carter's prerogative as it is President Bush's--but neither they nor Congress may take away the constitutional power of future presidents."

from The Wall Street Journal

Don't Fear Big Beer

2007-10-19T11:49:00.000-05:00

Don't Fear Big Beer

"The age of American industrial brewing is over."

from The New York Times

Technology for paperless boarding passes adopted

2007-10-16T11:10:00.000-05:00

Technology for paperless boarding passes adopted

"The incredible shrinking boarding pass may not be done evolving."

from San Francisco Chronicle