Twilight, cont.

Well said. Thanks Eric for the link.

Twilight

I think I've probably mentioned on here at some point that I read Twilight to see what the buzz was about. I probably also mentioned that I didn't like it and haven't read any of the subsequent books. I may have mentioned that I didn't mind the story, but the fawning weakness of the protagonist was like a five hour car drive with a love-struck 14 year old girl. Cool if you're 14 and her best friend, agonizing if you're 14 and male, worth running into pylon at full-speed if you're old and jaded.

You can probably guess that I didn't go to the midnight showing last night. Apparently many did. Apparently I'm not alone in my opinions of Bella.

I looked up the stats on imdb and they are pretty incredible. I realize there are probably a lot of shill votes tainting the picture. Nonetheless, the votes currently look like this:

64.2% rate it a 10
22.6% rate it a 1
That means that almost 90% of people either love it or hate it absolutely. No other vote got even 3%. Wicked bimodality. (Jaded, old and geeky)

Men rate it a 4.7 with little variation by age.
Women rate it 7.8, with women under 18 rating it 8.6
Whew, I'm not alone.

But that means ~50% of men LOVE it. Not just like it. Not just went to be nice to their significant other. Holy shamoley. I'd continue, but speculating on who these guys would be is just going to get me in trouble.

Suffice it to say I don't think any of the men reading my blog will be in the 10 column. In fact, I'm pretty sure they'd put me in the 10 column for even having read the book. Sorry Ty.

This website analyzes blogs to see what the Meyers-Briggs type is of the writer. This is what it says about my wonderful wife:

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves.

They enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

This is what it says about mine:

ESTJ - The Guardians

The organizing and efficient type. They are especially attuned to setting goals and managing available resources to get the job done. Once they´ve made up their mind on something, it can be quite difficult to convince otherwise. They listen to hard facts and can have a hard time accepting new or innovative ways of doing things.

The Guardians are often happy working in highly structured work environments where everyone knows the rules of the job. They respect authority and are loyal team players.

When I took the test I was actually ISTP - so this isn't perfect, but not bad either.

The New Immaculate Reception

I never get to watch football anymore, but caught this on ESPN. Unbelievable catch.

Downside of populism

Nice editorial at Newsweek on historical consequences of policies that will sound familiar.

I find it interesting that we generally look back fondly at FDR, yet his economic policies seem to be a large part of why the Great Depression is not known as the late 20s recession.

Things we know about the Great Depression:
* Spawned by stock market declines driven down by heavy borrowing (check)
* Accelerated by worsened consumer confidence and bank failures (which created liquidity and credit crises) (check)
* Driven deeper through government policies of protectionism, regulation, labor control, increased tax rates on capital gains and high income brackets (please don't check)

Huxley by a furlong

I heard another tired, misused allusion to Brave New World in a business setting today. When people use that phrase they seem to be using it in an Ariel from Disney fashion (even though that's a Whole New World, not a Brave New World), not an Aldous Huxley way. I don't think that's intentional though. No one alludes to The Circle of Life or To Infinity and Beyond for inspiration. Brave New World sounds good because it has a ring of the literary to it. The problem is the brave new world Huxley described was not what a business leader is generally envisioning (i.e., a drug-induced societal orgy). I think people should read the book before they allude to it. Either that or they should quote all Disney movies equally - it's more progressive that way.

Anyway...

Made me look up this great summary by Neil Postman comparing the totalitarian futures envisioned in 1984 and Brave New World. I think Huxley's left poor Orwell in the dust as far as where western culture is headed. Here it is:

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we desire will ruin us.

Please don't title a presentation "Brave New World" ever again unless you are head of marketing for Soma.

SLC feels a long way off today

Too close to Fort Worth, too far from Rice-Eccles. November 22 is also a long way off.

It's the Economy, Stupid, Part II

Interesting factoid of the day. Obama won all but two of the states whose median home prices have fallen (those two were Arizona and Alaska). McCain won 18 of 27 states whose prices went up.

Let Redistribution Reign

Intrade says Obama has this in the bag.

Wasatch Back 09

Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Wasatch Back team. Just need a name. And few training miles.

Note: Will is only included in the pictures because he will be driving Van A. Not sure why Dean's picture came out as Gigantor - will have to edit later.