Yardcrastinating

More nuisance trees and household chores are calling, and after goofing off a bit, resting up after the trip, I guess I should make an effort.

I didn't finish the previously mentioned Well-Educated Mind by Bauer, but I did find two proofing & editing errors:

• On page 47, it refers to Thomas Jefferson writing to John Adams in 1841; both died on July 4, 1826.
• On page 153 it refers to Gandhi '...returning to India in the middle of post-World War II unrest...' when it meant post-World War I unrest.

Movies I've watched recently include Word Wars, about the world of competive Scrabble; Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, in which the noted metal band hires a group therapist to talk them through their creative differences; and The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, which I liked a lot even though almost no one else I know who saw it did. I recommend the first two to everyone, and the last only to moderate-to-heavy Wes Anderson fans.

Virginia Postrel talks about her ringtones. She and I have the Clash in common ringtone-wise (although I have "Should I Stay or Should I Go"), and I also have "Back in Black," "Dirty Deeds," "Tom Sawyer," and the Imperial March from "Star Wars."

This is a good (reg. req.) NYT column by Tom Friedman. I like him a lot, and am quite optimistic and enthusiastic about the globalization phenomenon of recent years and decades. (Sorry, Greens.) An excerpt:

It was extremely revealing traveling from Europe to India as French voters (and now Dutch ones) were rejecting the E.U. constitution - in one giant snub to President Jacques Chirac, European integration, immigration, Turkish membership in the E.U. and all the forces of globalization eating away at Europe's welfare states. It is interesting because French voters are trying to preserve a 35-hour work week in a world where Indian engineers are ready to work a 35-hour day. Good luck.

Speaking of work, chores await. (Though I might look into a 35-minute work day today.)