OK, so I just updated my Facebook status to read, “Vincent is feeling Old World” and I need to explain the thinking behind the status: I just finished watching Emanuele’s Crialese’s The Golden Door and it was truly magnificent.  Crialese tells the story of a Sicilian’s family voyage to the US in the early 20th century.  The film is simplistic […]

I recently read Mayle’s A Year In Provence while laying on the beach.  The book is a fantastic read and it especially motivates the reader to eat and live well. The eating and living well philosophy has been mostly foreign to the American lifestyle, but with the green and organic movements in full swing attitudes towards the “good life” have […]

I’ve been reading David Brooks since the publication of “Bobos in the Paradise” and I’ve been thoroughly impressed with how he describes American society and our “unique” way of living. Brooks appears on PBS’ Newshour and is also a NY Times Op Ed Columnist.  His latest column is entitled, “Lord of the Memes” and is a must read; here’s an excerpt: But on […]

Given a recent conversation on “where would you live in the world” I dug up some info on 1., standard of living and 2., human development index.  Here are some fun facts to consider next time someone asks the “where should you live” question:   The United States ranks 4th in GDP (or gross domestic product), but 92nd in terms of distribution of […]

The American Scholar recently ran an article on why a Harvard or Yale education may not be the best decision for most high school or post graduate students.  The article is very compelling and argues that the Ivies are creating careers and not minds – an important distinction in higher education.

I’m convinced that your average American citizen has the financial IQ of a cockroach.  After all, where else in the Western world is the savings rate less than 1 percent (the instinct in the US is to spend rather than save and that’s a problem)!  Read the latest on America‘s financial disaster (consumer debt and the mortgage crisis).

You can always count on HBO to experiment with new series and this summer is no exception with the premier of Generation Kill. Generation Kill is based on Evan Wright’s book which follows the Marines of the First Recon Battalion through the first forty days of the Iraq War. The series is nicely done, including a great performance by the […]

The writer Chrisopher Hitchins participated in a water boarding session to truly understand the techniques used by the American government at Guantánamo and elsewhere.  You can view the video here, courtesy of Vanity Fair magazine. If you’ve spent any time in New York City then you’re probably well aware of the NY / NJ Port Authority; they run the Hudson […]

The NY Times ran a profile piece on co-Facebook creator, Chris Hughes this morning, including his new position with the Obama campaign as “online organizing guru.” Hughes set up Obama’ web site, which is a social networking wet dream, including tons of interaction points focused on email, text messaging, donate, and the ubiquitous Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, etc. calls to action. Obama […]