Books I read: “Somebody Else’s Century…” (Patrick Smith)
“Somebody Else’s Century/East and West in a Post-Western World” by Patrick Smith (2010)
Why did I choose this book?
I wanted to learn more about Asia, something beyond the usual news articles and television programs that only focus on politics and financial news. From such narrow reporting, it isn’t possible to have more than a vague idea about the countries and people and cultures in Asia.
I didn’t even know precisely which countries are East and why. I wanted to learn more about the distinctions between the Japanese, Chinese and Korean people.
And a blurb on the back cover of the book also sparked interest:
This thoughtful and highly original meditation on the future of Asian societies should be required reading for anyone interested in where our planet is heading. (Chalmers Johnson)
Finally, it was the credibility of the author. Patrick Smith is a journalist who has been a foreign correspondent in Asia since 1981.
Did I learn what I hoped to learn?
Yes, and much much more. The depth and detail of reporting in this book transformed my views of Asia. An unexpected reaction was the anger I felt that our traditional news media does not offer such comprehensive reporting in its daily coverage. Smith brilliantly demonstrates what a journalist can do if given the chance.
Choosing a perspective from the inside out, Smith writes about the complex reasons a defeated and humiliated Japan (post-World War II) embraced and imitated the priorities and culture of those who conquered it. He traces the historical relationship between China and Japan. He discusses the attitudes of the people in each toward each other. And Smith analyzes a crucial aspect of India and its people that makes the country and culture markedly different from China and Japan.
Most interestingly, he reviews the arbitrary line that divides East from West, questioning exactly what it is and whether it has any validity. Excerpt:
Herodotus concluded that the business of East and West was ‘imaginary.’ The line he referred to was drawn by humans. For a long time we have simply lost track of this. We have erred in thinking the divide is eternal — ever there, ever to be there, somehow (and somewhere) etched into the earth. Now we enter a time when we can see from another perspective and see the truth of things and of ourselves.
Favorite quote from the book:
“The past is made of every moment up to the one we live in, the moment we know as ‘now.’ Each speck of our past is part of what makes us who we are… We honor tradition only when we add to it. The rest is mere convention, unalive.”
Who wrote this book?
Patrick Smith is an American journalist who has written for major publications including the International Herald Tribune, The New Yorker, The Nation, Business Week, and The Economist. He is also the author of the award-winning book, “The Nippon Challenge and Japan: A Reinterpretation.”
Rare snowfall in Rome: Feb 4, 2012
Man walking his dog in the snow
We don’t often get snow in our neck of the woods here near Rome, and when we do it’s usually no more than a three-minute wonder. But recent weather forecasts predicting arrival of the beautiful white stuff were raising my hopes.
So yesterday, I loitered near our front windows watching the steady fall of the rain, hoping for the magical transformation into winter wonderland. Finally ’round midnight, my vigil was rewarded. I would say at least five inches fell — and it’s still here!
SPECK ‘N U: 22 (Marcelo Gleiser – A Tear At The Edge of Creation)
From “A Tear At The Edge of Creation” by Marcelo Gleiser
Link of the week: Vangelis interviewed (Jan 21, 2012)
In a feature titled Vangelis: A message of hope, the Greek composer gives a rare interview to Al Jazeera. He discusses his ideas about beauty, music and culture. Click on screenshot below to listen (25 min approx).
Boat with orange stripes and its reflection at Lago Albano
I’ve often wanted to take a photo like this. With the perfect light we had here yesterday, my wish came true.
How to keep that 2012 New Year’s resolution
Human routines are stubborn things, which helps explain why 88% of all resolutions end in failure, according to a 2007 survey of over 3,000 people conducted by the British psychologist Richard Wiseman. (Wall Street Journal, 2009)
New Year’s Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. ~Mark Twain (quotegarden.com)
Notwithstanding the dismal prognosis of the first quote above, and the blackly humorous perspective of the second one, I will be making a couple of resolutions when I raise my glass of spumante in a New Year’s toast a couple of days from now. And I suspect in doing so I will be among the majority in the Western world.
Old habits die hard, you might say. And that is one of the points of the Wall Street Journal article, excerpted above. In particular the article recounts some recent studies about will power. And in spite of its gloomy opening paragraph, the report also offers some hope.
In effect, it’s not that there are superhumans among us who simply have amazing will power, it’s that these humans seem super because they’ve learned how to cleverly manage the same meager will power we all share. The research the WSJ cites shines a light on how that’s done. And the good news is that anyone can do it.
To read that good news, read the full article here (it’s short).
I also unearthed a one-minute video on how to keep our resolutions by the psychologist Richard Wiseman quoted in the WSJ article. Click on the screenshot below to watch it.
And I leave you with a dash of optimism from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Ellen Goodman, who probably knows a bit about will power.
We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential.
Happy New Year, or as they say in my part of the world… Buon Anno!
Links you may have missed (Dec 23, 2011)
Fun stuff and good news
Il giro in bici più pericoloso del mondo (la Repubblica) – video — I wouldn’t even be brave enough to walk this.
Solar-powered boat sails around the world (Aljazeera) – video
How to draw… dragons (Guardian) – absolutely brilliant! (click on thumbnail below to see photo series)
Europe
Germany in Europe: Christmas Presents from Merkozy (Social Europe Journal)
Can Italy survive the Financial Storm? (Social Europe Journal)
Egypt
Alaa al-Aswany: ‘Overthrowing Mubarak was too good to be true’ (Independent)
Underneath (Rantings of a Sandmonkey) – very discouraged local blogger. (Saw this link on Antony Loewenstein’s blog)
Planet earth
Major victory as Russia bans trade in harp seal skins (International Fund for Animal Welfare)
Odds and Ends
The Meme that Refuses to Die: Government Debt Must Be Paid Back (Angry Bear) (Saw link on Naked Capitalism)
Some Facts About Carrier IQ (Electronic Frontier Foundation) – lots of info here
And just because she’s so beautiful – my dog Amica (photo by Tarcisio Arzuffi)
Links you may have missed (Dec 17, 2011)
Some joys
Rejected Ginger Seal Pup Finds A Home, Gets Webcam (Huffington Post) – related story and photos here.
A Workplace with Dogs – Advertising Agency in Nebraska let their employees bring their dogs to work (Dogwork.com) – Awesome!
Architect Reveals The Simple Genius Behind Pasta Shapes (Fast Company’s Co.Design)
Italian style
Is There Such A Thing As ‘Pure’ Chocolate? Italy Bitter Over European Ruling (WorldCrunch) – Bravo Italy!!
The Shard’s bleeding edge: anatomy of a 21st century skyscraper (ars technica) – click on screenshot below for related video
Some politics
Why the Euro Isn’t Finished (New Yorker) – an unusual optimism from across the sea
Anarchist Anthropology (New York Times) – piece about guiding theorist for OWS movement
Serious matters
Who Knows What Youhavedownloaded.com? (KrebsonSecurity)
A New Revisionist History of Railroads in the U.S. (books&ideas.net) — more evidence that the so-called virtue of the free market is a crock!
Explaining our addiction to risk: Naomi Klein
Brilliant, brave, funny and fiercely committed. In a recent talk, Naomi Klein analyzes why we as a society are addicted to risk, and why this is creating so much destruction all around us.
Click on screenshot above to see video. Link here also.
Links you may have missed (Dec 5, 2011)
Some joys
Wine Tasting May Be An Art, But There Is Science In The Swirl (Worldcrunch)
Il giro del mondo in 30 colazioni (dissapore) – photo series - breakfast anyone?
Indottrinamento al cioccolato: esegue Gianluca Franzoni di Domori (dissapore)
Some things political, economic…
Is Germany’s future still European? (Eurozine)
The curious case of German leadership (Centre For European Reform)
Jean Pisani-Ferry video interview on eurobonds (Bruegel TV)
Jacques Delors interview: Euro would still be strong if it had been built to my plan (The Telegraph) – interview with architect of the eurozone
In Translation: Ahmed al-Sawy on the elections – “This isn’t the final bout” (The Arabist)
Some of the thinkers…
Umberto Eco: ‘People are tired of simple things. They want to be challenged’ (Guardian)
‘We’re blind to our blindness. We have very little idea of how little we know. We’re not designed to’ (Independent) – Nobel Prize winner for Economics analyzes how we make decisions — I’m going to buy his book.
What does seven billion look like? (Fathom) - – graphic illustration (saw this on fastcodesign.com)
Good to know
Attempted Malvertising on KrebsOnSecurity.com (KrebsOnSecurity)
One of the heroes
A Video Message from Carlo Petrini (Slow Food) – Italian w/English subtitles – click on screenshot below to see video
