Weekend Reading
On Fridays I suggest worthwhile weekend reading that’s guaranteed to improve your posture, your online dating prospects, and make you an all around better person. Read all this and probably, you’ll lose five pounds.
But first, the week’s photo challenge. See if you can guess what city this is.
Okay, you’re right, that’s impossible. So to be fair, here’s a view of this city’s downtown, although it’s from several years ago:
Did that help? The answer is at the bottom.
Now, on to some worthwhile reads:
The author of this article writes that a growing body of research suggests human behavior on social media is strikingly similar to collective behavior in nature. How Online Mobs Act Like Flocks Of Birds.
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Two Mongolia recommendations in two weeks is a record that should stand indefinitely. This week it’s Philip Marsden on The Weather in Mongolia. “In Mongolian lore, winter lasts precisely eighty-one days: nine periods of nine days.”
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The debt ceiling standoff could hit as early as June. Here are four not great ways President Biden could sidestep it. Best, if only half plausible, of four not great options: Invoke the 14th Amendment. Section 4 of the 14th Amendment specifies that “the validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law ... shall not be questioned.” That may or may not render the debt ceiling unconstitutional.
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“At the Requiem Mass, Francis preached a homily in which he mentioned his predecessor’s name only once, and couldn’t be bothered to attend the interment in the crypt.” With Pope Benedict dead, the gloves are off, and Catholic infighting is vicious. Inside the Catholic civil war.
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Within days, “Zelensky would be dead, captured or in exile, creating a political vacuum for FSB agents to fill.” A long look in the Washington Post at how Russia’s spies misread Ukraine and misled the Kremlin as war loomed.
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“When your Jeep spins lazily off the mountain road and slams backward into a snowbank, you don’t worry immediately about the cold. Your first thought is that you’ve just dented your bumper. Your second is that you’ve failed to bring a shovel. Your third is that you’ll be late for dinner.” Frozen Alive.
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There are no lessons to be learned from the Big Bang. Nothing, I tell you. Cosmic origins remain a mystery. The Big Bang says nothing about the creation of the cosmos.
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There are some “patients who present with symptoms that appear to have a strong psychological component, but for which the patient seeks a particular physiological diagnosis. Examples include Long Covid, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Havana Syndrome, and "TikTok Tourettes.” What Long Covid Means.
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“Costs for cell-cultured meat need to come down quickly. Most of us have a limited appetite for 50-dollar lab-grown chicken nuggets.” True, and true. A hard, unfortunate, skeptical look at lab grown meat.
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Feel pity for the restaurant reviewer. “What people don’t understand fully, your 10 meals a week, you are probably lucky to get one starred restaurant a week or a star contender, and the other meals are pretty mediocre. And that’s kind of a drudge.” Confessions of a Michelin Inspector.
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This week’s photo quiz answer is: this is Quito, Ecuador. That first photo was a tight shot from the top of Panecillo Hill. There are a few more photos in the Ecuador Gallery at EarthPhotos.com.
The next few weeks will be different at Common Sense and Whiskey. Tomorrow I’ll explain, and we’ll look back at the week and see if we can figure out what just happened. Please ask someone you know to join you, and consider a subscription. Rates start at the entirely reasonable rate of free. See you tomorrow.
