Eulogy for Robert F Kennedy, delivered by Edward Kennedy

Consistently ranked as one of the finest speeches in American politics, the eulogy Ted Kennedy gave for his brother, Robert, is worth reading, and worth hearing. I may have more to write about Ted Kennedy later, but I encourage everyone to give this speech a listen.

Eulogy for Robert F Kennedy

Yamada Nagamasa

On a narcissistic impulse, I decided to do a search for famous Yamadas. There appears to be a modest mix of names, especially given that it's the 13th most common surname in Japan. I found a retainer for the Shimazu clan, a comedian/governor of Osaka prefecture later disgraced by a sexual harassment conviction, some pop stars and models, and one general from Imperial Japan.

Yamada Nagamasa caught my eye because he was listed as an "adventurer; ruler of a province of Thailand".

Science Friday - Food security and Science in America

I've had a head cold all week. It's terrible, and entering into the achy, can't-drive-so-I'll-nap-and-drink-coffee-at-Starbucks-in-Virginia-because-I-needed-to-get-out-of-the-house-but-underestimated-my-fatigue phase. I should at least be no longer contagious by the time Mom stops by on Sunday, giving me a chance to acquire whatever contagions she picked up flying through O'Hare.

One good thing came of this trip. (It wasn't the Mexican food in Leesburg - what the hell was I thinking?) I listened to parts of both hours of Science Friday, hosted by Ira Flatow. Ann, it's taken me four years to actually getting around to sampling the program. And I can safely say that your enthusiasm for the show wasn't just your characteristic enthusiasm for life in general. It's an excellent program that discusses substantive issues in an easy-to-understand way.

A letter to myself

Dear Ryan,

I'm writing this letter because you seem to be adrift, lost, in desperate need of some encouragement, advice, chastisement, and even, more fundamentally, company. You seem unsatisfied with the words and actions of others, and so, since I have some unique insight and stake in the matter, I will give it a try.

It's time for you to speak plainly, and be spoken plainly to.

Here is where you are: you are with your back to your wall, emotionally, intellectually, physically, professionally, socially, and financially. There is nowhere to run, no more lies to tell yourself or others. You have failed to run from life, and now life has come to find you.

The Worst Mistake

The Worst Mistake

I made a lot of mistakes when I was at Cornell. I didn't seek out help when I felt myself hitting intellectual walls. I wasn't organized with my time, both academically and personally, as I needed to be.

But the worst mistake? I let myself get intimidated.

Even after I decided to leave, even after I knew, at some level, that the individuals in my department, or at the university, would have at best a modest professional impact on my future, I was still intimidated, to the point of being scared. I was intimidated by my boss. I was intimidated by my mentors. I was intimidated by the place, by the damn history and brand of the Ivy League.