I will write up my memories of the Arianna Huffington speech one of these days. I really will This, in the meantime, in the only photo I snapped of her that evening. Its not too good. I took it without a flash so as not to bother her, so the shutter stayed open for a long time. As a result, its kind of blurry. Sorry.
The small standing man is in love with the man who is looking for his contact lens, but all that he can think about is the crying, rolling man. Such is the way with love.
Its cold, but edible. I hope that you enjoy it: Jon Stewart makes a damn funny crack on the awarding of government contracts to Dick Cheneys old company, Halliburton. (I got this from BoingBoing) Dave writes in to let everyone know that our government has apparently just legislated mandatory prayer, finally bringing an end to that onerous separation of church and state thing thats been holding our country back for centuries The New York Times had a good piece last week about online privacy and what tools we have at our disposal to increase it. You should read it If youre interested in privacy issues, you might also want to check out the materials they have available at Privacy.net A former Iraqi scientist talks of hiding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq over 20 years ago Apparently, it just came out that our President announced, “Fuck Saddam. We’re taking him out,” over a year ago, in a meeting attended by Condi Rice and three senators. I guess that diplomacy never was a consideration You can now visit Ashcroft online
It turns out that Natalie, one of our young readers in New York, is quite precocious. Heres her most recent letter to MM.com:
right now i’m reading a book about lovesickness in the middle ages and its treatment as a medical condition. the disease shared many characteristics with that of melancholy, and some called it love-melancholy. the author has included portions of medical guides from the period. here is a french doctor’s recommended treatment (circa 1180):
“This disease cannot be perfectly cured without intercourse and the permission of law and faith. For then the faculties and the body return to their natural disposition. Before it is established, therefore, consider there may be burning of humor; if there is, purge it. Then administer lengthy sleep, humectation, and good nourishment, and freshwater baths. Occupy the patients with various things, so that they are distracted from what they love. In this, moreover, the counsel of old women is very useful, who may relate many disparagements and the stinking dispositions of the desired thing. Also useful is consorting with and embracing girls,
sleeping with them repeatedly, and switching various ones. Hunting and various types of games also help.”doctors don’t recommend “therapeutic intercourse” or purges anymore, they prescribe serotonin re-uptake inhibitors instead, which are not nearly as
diverting.
How would you like to get a prescription with, “Also useful is consorting with and embracing girls, sleeping with them repeatedly, and switching various ones,” written on it? I know that 1180 must have been pretty bad otherwise, but something like this might make up for the thirty-year lifespan and the plague. (Im wondering if the medical profession would still be churning out theories like this it were still an all-male occupation.)
