Exceptionalism or Tribalism

I've never been a fan of Exceptionalism, the notion that the U.S. is favored by God and is exempt from historical forces that have affected other countries. I've believed those who hold this notion to be guilty of, at best, hubris and at worst, preposterousness.

Even though I can't subscribe to (capital "E") Exceptionalism, I do believe that American history is (small "e") exceptional. I used to think the difference between (capital "E") Exceptionalism and (small "e") exceptional was a difference of degree, not kind. But something Paul Krugman said recently has changed my mind.

Review: 1493

Amazon

From 1493, by Charles C. Mann:

What happened after Columbus, this new research says, was nothing less than the forming of a single new world from the collision of two old worlds -- three, if one counts Africa as separate from Eurasia. Born in the sixteenth century from European desires to join the thriving Asian trade sphere, the economic system for exchange ended up transforming the globe into a single ecological system by the nineteenth century -- almost instantly, in biological terms."

After the jump, my review.

Winter's Tale (2014)

IMDB

Winter's Tale (2014): Fantasy romance between thief and consumptive heiress. Magic horse. Devil. Miracles. Too many WTF elements to work. D+

The Hangover Part III (2013)

IMDB

The Hangover Part III (2013): Surprisingly smart and entertaining, pretty much free of sex and drugs. Nothing filling, just fun escapism. C+

Science vs the World

According to surveys, there's a gap between what the public thinks and what scientists know.

The surveys found broad support for government to spend money on science, but that doesn’t mean the public supports the conclusions that scientists draw.

The biggest gap between scientists and the public came on issues that may elicit fear: the safety of genetically modified (or GMO) foods (37 percent of the public said GMOs were safe, compared to 88 percent of scientists) and the use of pesticides in agriculture (28 percent of the public said foods grown with pesticides were safe to eat, versus 68 percent of scientists). There was also disagreement over the cause of climate change (50 percent of the public said it is mostly due to human activity, compared to 87 percent of scientists).

Source: FiveThirtyEight.

I found myself in disagreement with scientists on only one issue.

Paul Krugman Has Me Pegged

Paul Krugman has me pegged. In the following excerpt from his blog, he's referring to someone else, but I see me all over it.

There's a big difference between just being clever in general and being a guy who really knows what he's talking about...
What matters is a large investment of time and hard thinking -- and also a lot of reading of what other smart people have said, not to mention economic history. Sorry, but just being a clever, facile writer doesn't cut it -- and imagining that you can just brazen it out in this arena is a recipe for serious embarrassment.

Source: Paul Krugman.

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

IMDB

Edge of Tomorrow (2014): D-Day meets Groundhog Day meets Alien vampire spiders. Not bad. Film 10 min, loop for 90. Clever cost reduction. B-

Coherence (2014)

IMDB

Coherence (2014): Dinner party. Comet. Parallel universes. Low budget movie cares about story, not special effects. Sci-fi at its best. B+

It Sounds Mixed-Use and Transit-Oriented

I'm always getting my hopes up, I know. But this news about a planned development at US 75 and the Bush Turnpike sounds promising.

Apartment builder Trammell Crow Residential will start construction next month of the first phase of a 1,250-unit rental community located just west of the DART station. The first, 351-unit apartment block will be five stories with ground-floor retail and a parking garage. "We wanted an urban look to the project," which was designed by Good Fulton & Farrell Architects, Altemore said. "Trammell Crow Residential is delivering the product we wanted for the site."

Source: Dallas Morning News.

Review: Station Eleven

Amazon

From Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel:

Jeevan was crushed by a sudden certainty that this was it, that this illness Hua was describing was going to be the divide between a before and an after, a line drawn through his life."

After the jump, my review.