NYTimes -- Well:Talk Deeply, Be Happy?

NYTimes -- Well:Talk Deeply, Be Happy?

Three notes does not make a dies mirabilis, but I couldn't resist posting a link to a NYTimes article on the value of deep conversations. The researchers seem to think along similar lines to Frankl, that, for humans, meaning is a "primary motivation in his life and not a secondary rationalization of instinctual drives." (Man's Search for Meaning, 99).

From the Times article, it's not clear whether the can conclude definitively that substantive conversations make one happy -- it could be only that frivolous conversations makes one unhappy. An unquantified and vague anecdote with obvious confounding variables (my life) indicates that my unhappiness grew along with my attempts to get better at "networking" in the Ivy League.

(Then again, Data has a good time schmoozing with "Hutch" until aliens start shooting people.)

I don't believe brevity is not equivalent to vacuousness; after all, I am the grandson of a haiku poet. But I've seen precious little to coax me back to Twitter.

Does anyone know an astronomer at Griffith Park Observatory?

I'm trying to set up a tour of GPO for my cousin Nathan. My cousin Sally mentioned at the concert tonight that little Nathan loves Star Wars. I thought it would be exciting for him to be exposed to some real astronomy.

I'm hoping that one of the wonderful astronomers I've been privileged to meet, and whom I might even presume to call "friend", could help me get in touch with someone at GPO.

You might be able to say no to me, but I'm pretty sure you'll find it hard to say no to this guy:

Truth or Consequences, Healthcare Edition

I'm curious what, if any, retaliatory action will be taken against Democrats who voted no on health care. I'm thinking back to heavy primary challenges of moderate Republicans over the last few years -- think senators Arlen Specter and Lincoln Chafee", who both ended up leaving the party, and Florida governor Charlie Crist, who, despite being quite popular among his constituents, has come under attack from his own party. This process, of course, hit a new high of sorts with the heavily contested, closely watched three-ring circus that was the NY-23 Congressional special election.

If there were particularly ruthless and cunning individuals holding the positions of whip, majority leader, or Speaker of the House, I could envision some sort of Godfather/Elizabeth movie denounement that involved the political "execution" of the unloyal and unfaithful. But I'm not sure Pelosi's leadership is that secure, or Hoyer has that type of temperament. I know less about Jim Clyburn, but a quick search did not reveal anything indicating a particularly vindictive or ruthless streak. I'm not sure Howard Dean would take that approach, either.

Maybe the Democratic party will remain a big tent. Maybe a lot of these reps are toast in 2010 without help from Rahmbo. I do not know whether to hope for a leaner, meaner party and its unintended consequences or not. I'll watch, and maybe learn.

Some very early thoughts on "Man's Search for Meaning"

Some of the problems I have had with the more self-centered approach to Christianity I'd participated in during my adolescence might be resolved by emphasizing on responsibility than on salvation.

I think I've tried adopting a "nothingbutness" philosophy from 2005 onward. That's worked out terribly. It might've been a product of a hyperquantitative and largely atheistic community in grad school, or it might've been a natural outgrowth of the courses that preoccupied my mind (notably, behavioral econ), OR it might've been a period of nihilisitic selfishness that sought to avoid a true assessment and action on my readiness for my program, as well as the existential struggle that had begun senior year of college.

Please join "If 1,000,000 people join this group, it will have 1,000,000 people in it".

My fellow e-mericans,

Not long ago, I made a digital campaign for a position I had no intention of filling at a time past the point of eligible candidacy. Then, as now, I promise that my lack of legitimate credentials or redeemable qualities will not stop me from appealing to you, the noble, vacillating, marginally hygienic masses to join me in the greatest cause since our valiant but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to ban the mentioning of Heidi Montag from the California public school curriculum.

Consider

Consider: You are the current manifestation of the lusts and dreams of a hundred thousand generations of humans. And yet, you are also a single lifeboat in a vast historical tempest, surrounded by the hostility of stretches of space, a mote on a mote on a mote of dust that universal historians long forgot.

Should we feel pride or despair?

Perhaps, if we are wise, we will embrace both.