Tag: 03.11.08

Does Your Name Define You?

“Studies showed that children with odd names got worse grades and were less popular than other classmates in elementary school. In college they were more likely to flunk out or become “psychoneurotic.” Prospective bosses spurned their résumés. They were overrepresented among emotionally disturbed children and psychiatric patients.”

Museum Wants To Sell Rembrandt (But Buyer Doesn’t Get To Keep It)

“Stockholm’s Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts is seeking a benefactor who will buy its most famous painting and leave it hanging in the National Museum. The academy is offering Rembrandt’s The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis for 300 million kronor ($48.7 million Cdn), a discount from the $120-million estimated value of the painting.”

Corporate Entertainment Steps Up Fight Against Net Neutrality

“The issue is essentially a debate over whether government should regulate Internet traffic in a way that guarantees an open — or neutral — Web over which users and content providers have continued, unfettered access. Net neutrality proponents have claimed that, with a relatively few number of large ISPs, the potential ability to discriminate against particular kinds of Web traffic must be restrained by some sort of government intervention.”

Autobiographies Of Which We Have No Conventional Expectations Of Veracity

How “true,” are real autobiographies, written by real people, describing real events? “Beyond “setting the record straight,” none of these books was ever intended to have deeper literary or historical significance. They don’t do careful self-analysis, but neither do they add much to the bigger picture. They don’t necessarily lie, but they are intended to shape public perceptions of the author.”