Via the invaluable Manolo.

B.J. Harrison’s The Classic Tales podcast just started doing Right Ho, Jeeves in an eight part, weekly series.  The program is free, but only if you get it fresh.  After two weeks, it is only available for a fee.  So subscribe forthwith.

Stephen Fry’s endorsement: “The masterly episode where Gussie Fink-Nottle presents the prizes at Market Snodsbury grammar school is frequently included in collections of great comic literature and has often been described as the single funniest piece of sustained writing in the language. I would urge you, however, to head straight for a library or bookshop and get hold of the complete novel Right Ho, Jeeves, where you will encounter it fully in context and find that it leaps even more magnificently to life.”

From James Taranto:

• “Instead of joining us on the right side of history, all Republicans can come up with is this: Slow down. Stop everything. Let’s start over. If you think you have heard these same excuses before, you are right. When this country belatedly recognized the wrongs of slavery, there were those who dug in their heels and said: Slow down. It is too early. Let’s wait. Things aren’t bad enough.”–Sen. Harry Reid on ObamaCare, Dec. 7
• “Democrat Reid Says ‘No Rush’ on Health Bill”–headline, Reuters, Jan. 26

From Philip Cala-Lazar, K9PL, in the excellent K9YA Telegraph newsletter (.pdf; free subscription required), we get a wonderful report on the amateur radio aspects of this off-road romp across Asia in French half-tracks. 

No word yet on whether any chess was involved.

I’m waiting to see whether this qualifies for the California Continuing Legal Education credit that I need before I register.

On the recommendation of Mike Lief, I visited the web site The Art of Manliness.  I was particularly interested to note the article 45 Manly Hobbies. 

#1: Chess.  #2: Ham radio.  #12 Camping. 

This was particularly interesting to me because about a year ago I started the Society for the Establishment of Competitive Off-Road Radio Chess Camping.  (Join the Facebook group!)  In doing so I apparently created the manliest hobby in the history of man.  You’re welcome.

You may recall earlier Mormon blog forays into the issue of Brother Marriott’s porn-mongering, and his “corporate fidiciary duty” justification of it.  It was a spectacular blow-up that lead to this deletion, retraction, and apology:  “We particularly regret that J.W. Marriott became the target of personal insult.”  The particular insult, if I recall correctly, was “pimp.”

Anyhow, Julie Smith took a second run at it a little later.  I got pretty worked up on that thread, mostly fulminating against the legal argument that Marriott Corp. owed a fiduciary duty to its shareholders to continue to offer Logjammin’ on pay-per-view.  Here’s where the argument was initially made on that thread, and my rebuttals here, here, here, here, and here.  (Like I said, I got worked up.)

All that was brought to mind when reading my latest copy of California Lawyer magazine and coming across this piece about the movement to introduce a form of incorporation called the H-Corp.  ”[A] California H-Corporation—a hybrid nonprofit/for-profit entity—would specify in its articles of incorporation that management and its board of directors can work for social or environmental objectives as well as pursue the company’s financial goals.” 

So if this catches on, doesn’t Marriott become an H-Corp and get out of the porn business?  If they don’t, isn’t Marriott’s fiduciary duty justification shown to be a sham?

(To reiterate my earlier argument, I don’t believe that abandoning porn now is inconsistent with their fiduciary duties in their current business form.)

After a long hiatus, I’m pleased to note that it is back.  He is truly one of the pathbreaking thinkers and chroniclers of the advance of robotics, AI, and related fields.  Highly recommended.

[Thanks to James.]

Sister Blah2 kindly alerted me to this item, in which Daniel Peterson announces his project of putting up a web site containing the testimonies of LDS gospel scholars.  He suggests similar ventures in other fields: “I think there ought to be similar on-line collections of testimonies from athletes, executives, farmers, housewives, morticians, retirees, chess players, stamp collectors, everybody.”

Unfortunately, I am not aware of any LDS professional chess players.  If I’m wrong, and you’re an LDS top grandmaster, please post your testimony in the comments.

(more…)

Reportedly, that’s something an American corporate recruiter said to the veteran battlefield leader.  That tidbit from an interview with a writer attempting to answer the question of why the Israelis continue to clean up in the tech sector.  A partial answer is that  they value military experience.

An interesting thesis, though the author does strike a ridiculous note at the end:

“This does not mean that other countries need the military conscription model that Israel has been forced to take to become entrepreneurial. Other frameworks, such as national service programs, could also provide the management and maturation experience that Israelis get, but in a civilian context. Finally, the Israeli experience shows that countries that want to be more entrepreneurial should welcome immigrants as a great resource for rebooting their economies.”

First, maybe AmeriCorps is great, but leading troops in battle it ain’t.

Second, if you’re counting on immigrants to reboot your economy, it helps if the immigrants are skilled diaspora Jews from places like Russia.

Via Atlas Obscura and the Long Now Foundation.

WFB endorses one of my favorite writers.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDU5MTc3MzBhZTA5ZDIwODdmYzA5NjA3ZTY1Njc5YTE=

I spent the day profitably, reading Borges. It struck me that the story “Unworthy” is of a piece with the David Mamet picture “Homicide.” Borges’ Santiago Fischbein, Argentine bookstore proprietor and former street tough, tracks to Mamet’s detective Bobby Gold.

Both are recommended.