With so many examples of disorderly and conflict-ridden transfers of political power (or refusal to transfer power), it was refreshing this morning to read this story on Al Jazeera: Bhutan king steps down.
The people of the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan have greeted the announcement of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck’s earlier-than-expected abdication with sadness and gratitude.
He’s 50 and has been ruling since he was 16. He had previously announced that he would abdicate in 2008.
I discovered a game/virtual reality/creative hotbed called Second Life, and I’ve been spending a lot of time checking it out.
One of my favorite childhood Christmas memories is my mother’s albums of carols. You know, those compilation albums with some artists putting their own spin on the carol and others singing it pretty straight. Since the advent of CDs, I’ve built a small collection of Christmas music, ranging from the cheesy compilations I loved in childhood to early music recordings I’ve come to love.
There’s a fantastic new album available. Wynonna Judd’s A Classic Christmas is just that–a classic. She does familiar songs without tarting them up. Her Ave Maria is outstanding.
This is a totally cool game: WORLD MAP — countries of the world. (Tip of the hat to Kottke.)
100 Notable Books of the Year from The New York Times Book Review –and I’ve read only one (Omnivore’s Dilemma, which I loved). Just goes to show how far out of the New York literary mold I am, I guess.
Haaretz reports on gay marriage ruling in Israel:
the High Court of Justice on Tuesday ruled that five gay couples wedded outside of Israel can be registered as married couples.
Peggy’s going to Burundi, and Freedom Friends Church will receive funds for Peggy to disburse in ways that will make a difference. Checks can be sent to Freedom Friends Church, 2425 13th Street SE, Salem OR 97302, clearly marked for Peggy’s Africa compassion fund.
USA Today reports that Blockbuster signs deal to be exclusive renter for Weinsteins. The agreement gives Blockbuster a four-year exclusive on rentals of films by the Weinsteins. (Thereby giving Blockbuster a leg up on Netflix.)
“Their concentration of stores and online footprint is too appealing not to be part of,” said Harvey Weinstein.
Like Blockbuster wouldn’t carry their films without an exclusive contract. I’m a happy Netflix customer, and now I’m even less inclined to consider using Blockbuster. From the consumer point of view, this is a very negative business model, and I hope it blows up in their faces.
A tip of the hat to Brian for turning me on to John Meaney’s trilogy “the Nulapeiron Sequence”: Paradox, Context, and Resolution. Like Brian, I thoroughly enjoyed them and would rank them as richly developed scifi novels.
I can’t believe I bought it: Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine. It’s entertaining, and at times mildly provocative, but it never took me to any truly deep place. The fact that I started it last spring and only recently skimmed to the end when I uncovered it during cleaning tells you all you need to know.