Full Spectrum Culture » Self Redeemed

Quirky

Ben — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 16:36:44 +0000

Individually-sparked, collectively developed innovation.

In West Wing: Grueling Schedules, Bleary Eyes — Michael D. Shear, Washington Post

Ben — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:22:48 +0000

Adrenaline-junkie behavior is rampant in the current occupant of the White House and his staff:

“…Behind the scenes, it was even worse. The night before Obama announced the administration’s housing plan on Feb. 18 in Arizona, Sperling e-mailed the final documents at 3 a.m. and asked for comments. Five people responded immediately.

Martin Moore-Ede, a former Harvard University professor, calls it the “iron man” syndrome and says the American political workplace is one of the few that still resists a mechanism for ensuring people get rest.

One study conducted for the British Parliament found that “mental fatigue affects cognitive performance, leading to errors of judgement, microsleeps (lasting for seconds or minutes), mood swings and poor motivation.” The effect, it found, is equal to a blood alcohol level of .10 percent — above the legal limit to drive in the United States.

Obama administration officials, and their predecessors, shrug off such warnings, citing the adrenaline rush. They insist that their bodies have grown strangely accustomed to the rhythms of the job. But they acknowledge that the routine in the White House is more grueling than most had anticipated.

The staff is beginning to take a few breaks. One deputy press secretary found time to get away to Hawaii for a few days. Gibbs went to his high school reunion in Alabama, the first weekend away that he can remember.

But, he says, it is not enough.

“You go down to the mess. You have your coffee at five in the afternoon, and it just doesn’t do anything,” Gibbs lamented. “Because you realize you’re so far behind [in sleep] that a jolt — you don’t even feel it.”

The thing with Junkies is that they either hit bottom and seek help, or they continue to spiral down to the point of self-destruction. Not being able to acknowledge any power higher than themselves will doom them to the latter. When that happens, they will not be able to believe how lightning-fast everything for which they are working will come crashing down on their heads.

Conscience Protection Update: What Might Happen Next and Why You Should Care — Catherina Favazza

Ben — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:19:52 +0000

Deception at Core of Obama Plans — Charles Krauthammer, RealClearPolitics

Ben — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:07:51 +0000

100 Interview Questions You Should Be Prepared to Answer — Thad Peterson, Monster Staff Writer, InsideTech

Ben — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 22:05:58 +0000

Anger Is Crowds Overarching Emotion at McCain Rally — Michael D. Shear and Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post

Ben — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:21:34 +0000

Can’t say that I blame them.

The 50 Richest Members of Congress — Roll Call

Ben — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:12:18 +0000

“Everything that you are about to read might be wrong.
Roll Call’s annual attempt to rank the riches of Members of Congress is hampered by one fundamental flaw: It is based on the lawmakers’ financial disclosure forms, which are extraordinarily unreliable sources of information…”

Why Martin Luther King Was Republican — Frances Rice, Human Events

Ben — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 01:04:50 +0000

Of course this only makes sense given the history of the Civil War, but for some reason reading this took me aback. Some residual public school/media conditioning still held some slight sway, I guess. With this, there’s less now than there was yesterday.

‘Basic Instinct’ author writes book about faith — Toledo Blade

Ben — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:03:46 +0000

Boxer Bullies Senate’s Birth Doc — Debra Saunders, RealClearPolitics

Ben — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:06:30 +0000

Babs Boxer is harassing one of the precious few non-lawyers in our supposedly representative government [Last time I checked, though, our society was not made up of 97% lawyers, thank God]. How is discouraging a doctor from delivering babies of poor families at no cost not the behavior of a de facto eugenicist?

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination — J.K. Rowling, Harvard Magazine.

Ben — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:07:00 +0000

Stolen Laptop Helps Turn Tables on Suspects — Lisa W. Foderaro, New York Times

Ben — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:42:15 +0000

This is a fun one. Check it out.

Man Finds God, And It’s Not ‘Doctor Who’ — Michael Hinman, SyFy Portal

Ben — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 17:06:45 +0000

Donkey Kong and Me — DadHacker

Ben — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:31:10 +0000

Geek Wins Copyright Lawsuit Against Corporation — kdawson, Slashdot

Ben — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:31:25 +0000

Sentenced to death: Afghan who dared to read about women’s rights — Kim Sengupta, UK Independent

Ben — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:18:37 +0000

Sorry, but no one is going to win, check out the delegate math — Thunder, Redstate

Ben — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:35:34 +0000

The last testament of Flashman’s creator: How Britain has destroyed itself — George Macdonald Fraser, the Daily Mail

Ben — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 23:52:31 +0000

I originally happened upon Mr. Fraser’s work while searching for another author’s work entirely. Rest in peace, sir.

George MacDonald Fraser, R.I.P. — Scott Johnson, Powerline
George MacDonald Fraser, R.I.P. — Sam Munson, The Horizon on Commentary Magazine
To Fraser (And Flashman)! — Max Boot, The Horizon on Commentary Magazine.

Huckacide: A shiny Christmas present for the Democrats. — Rich Lowry, National Review Online

Ben — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 12:19:26 +0000

Recording Nets Charges for NY Detective — Tom Hays, AP on Breitbart

Ben — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:20:25 +0000

24 hour comic: Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Crohn’s Disease) — Tom Humberstone, Vented Spleen

Ben — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:28:25 +0000

This one is spot on. All I can say is thank God for Remicade.

Luther’s 95 Theses, Introduction

History — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 02:36:40 +0000

Out of love and concern for the truth, and with the object of eliciting it, the following heads will be the subject of a public discussion at Wittenberg under the presidency of the reverend father, Martin Luther, Augustinian, Master of Arts and Sacred Theology, and duly appointed Lecturer on these subjects in that place. He requests that whoever cannot be present personally to debate the matter orally will do so in absence in writing.

Behind Enemy Lines With a Suburban Counterterrorist — Jack Hitt, Wired Magazine

Ben — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:47:47 +0000

LA-GOV: Dems attack Jindal’s religious writings — Vladimir, Redstate

Ben — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 22:27:18 +0000

On Federalism — Fred Thompson, The Friends of Fred Thompson Blog

Ben — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 22:01:40 +0000

I’ve been listening to the Federalist Papers recently, and what Fred Thompson has to say here is almost Hamiltonian in its rhetoric and succinctness. Please, read the whole thing.