Letters to the Editor
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Published Letters: 34 Editor's Choice: 8
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"Pack" is not inappropriate
[Read the article: Campus cruelties]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Some letter-writers seem offended at words like "pack" and the notion that people might behave like animals. We ignore at our peril that people are animals, albeit reasoning ones: the vast majority of our DNA is chimp DNA.
For those who can't quite believe we are also animals, there are many good places to start. In "Demonic Males", Richard Wrangham, a Havard professor of biology and antrhopology makes it clear that heritage includes a male propensity toward violence. In "Good Natured", Franz de Waal, a primatologist, explores the biological roots of our moral sense. Although we still have much to learn, they and many other researchers make it impossible to argue that we have transcended our biological history.
Our further evolution from chimpanzees allows us to choose, and to shape the culture that influences our choices. But choose we must, and accepting and understanding how our animal heritage may lead us astray is vital to making an informed choice.
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"Stupid Girls" video
[Read the article: Return of the brainless hussies]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You can find the fantastic "Stupid Girls" video at YouTube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=L43jCRDgBlk
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We have a whole theater
[Read the article: "Snakes on a Plane"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Somebody was asking if anybody was really anticipating this. I promise, the answer's yes. We, a group of San Franciscan professionals in our 20s and 30s, rented out a 350-seat theater, hired a catered open bar, and sold tickets at cost to our friends. We sold out in three days, and ended up with a 100-person waitlist before we closed it three days after that.
We are not expecting this movie to be good. We have some hopes that it will be in the so-bad-its-good category. But we are mainly going because the title and Samuel Jackson are an unbeatable combination, at least as a pitch. At this point, we have wound ourselves and our guests up so much that this will be fun no matter what. Some people have been working on costumes for weeks. People have bought hundreds, perhaps thousands of rubber snakes. Some people are even bringing live snakes.
To the extent that the movie is good, we'll enjoy it. When it's bad, we'll razz it exuberantly. And if it's neither, it doesn't matter: with 350 amped-up, drunken loudmouths, we'll make our own fun. The movie doesn't really matter; it's what we and others made out of it, mainly via the internet.
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Great!
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A very enjoyable little tale. Thanks for posting it!
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My advice
[Read the article: I was fired because I was the fall guy. What do I say in interviews?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If somebody turns up in an interview with unresolved issues poking out all over, I'd be much less likely to hire them. I'd suggest you be brief but honest about what mistakes you made, and what you learned.
Perhaps your mistake was that you accepted something that it turns out couldn't be done. Perhaps you went against your instincts or your better judgement. Perhaps you kept quiet when you should have spoken up. Perhaps you took a job that didn't provide the support and mentorship that you now know you need. Perhaps it's something entirely.
Regardless, talk mainly about you, not them. Because in the end, that's what you can control, and that's what a sane employer will be looking for you to focus on.
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Movies on cellphones -- an aside
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]For what it's worth, I have watched a few full movies on my cellphone, a Treo 700. I've only done it on planes and trains, as the screen is small and you have to hold the thing up for a couple of hours. You can think of it as a very tiny version of one of those handheld DVD players. It's neat, but of very limited utility, and will be of negligible impact to the movie business.
Not that the Hollywood folks aren't going to have plenty of change to worry about. The shift of power away from them and to smaller players and consumers will leave them gasping and flopping like a netted fish. But movies on cellphones won't be a problem.
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I've tried it both ways
[Read the article: Empty thine in-box]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The problem with a giant inbox is that you can't use it as an effective to-do list. Stuff disappears except when you remember to go hunting for it. And the hunting can take quite a while.
For years, I had a giant inbox. Now I empty it a couple of times a day. Stuff I'm keeping but done with goes in "Old". That includes the things in my inbox that I deal with right away. Stuff I want to do something with shortly goes in "Action". Stuff I'll be referring to soon (like my latest travel booking) goes in "Reference". And for things that sit too long in "Action", I move them to "Backlog" for a rainy Sunday.
I still accept that email has neither beginning nor end. I still accept that I'll keep stuff forever, just in case. And I still accept that I'll always want to do more than I can.
It's just that keeping an empty inbox and a small active to-do list encourages me to deal with the simple things and the crap immediately. That gives me more time to focus on the stuff that I really care about. And when I want to know whether or not I've left something undone, I just look at my to-do list. That's lot less worry when I pack up for the day.