A very interesting article about Colin Powell which appears at GQ, of all places. It’s a bit of the gossipy, Vanity Fair style, but I still read quite a lot of truth in it based on everything else we know about the current administration. I’ve admired CP for a long time. I can’t even bear to imagine what the current administration would be without him. We might have to move to Canada. [via IP]

At a reception that I went to this week, I was given a copy of Mindfulness by Ellen Langer. (Incidentally, the cover no longer looks like the late 1980s masterpiece shown on Amazon; it has been updated a bit.) I thought it was quite appropriate given my recent ponderings on the subject. Langer takes a detailed look at mindfulness and its evil twin mindlessness from a psychologist’s point of view. She paints a strictly secular view of mindfulness and is very careful to distinguish it from similar concepts in Eastern thought. She reveals reams of fascinating research into the subject, too.

I’m only about halfway through, but so far it is very interesting.

After my entry on Letterman, Jason told me that they had gotten their TiVo for $99 through a deal with DirecTV. Further investigation revealed that (1) the deal was still on, and would continue through the end of 2004, and (2) I could almost save enough over our current cable service by switching to DirecTV to pay for the TiVo in the one-year contract period required. So, it’s a done deal. Installation is scheduled for Thursday afternoon. I am pretty darn excited.

Joe Wilson sums up the current state of the Republican party. I haven’t gotten his book yet, but I am planning on reading it soon. Salon has a good interview with him today.

If you’re fiscally responsible, this is not your party. If you believe in a moderate foreign policy characterized by alliances, free trade and the ability to operate in an international environment, this is not your party. If you believe in limited federal government, this is not your party. If you believe that the government should stay out of your bedroom, this is very definitely not your party. In fact, I would argue that unless you believe in the American imperium, imposed on the world by force, or unless you believe in the literal interpretation of the Book of Revelations, this is not your party.

[via Medley]

All of this stuff about Americans torturing behaving in a morally depraved way towards Iraqi captives is really, really sickening. It turns my stomach so much that I can barely comment on it. Now, too, it looks like the Pentagon is trying to pin it on a scapegoat. A woman, at that, go figure.

When I was in college, I loved to watch David Letterman. During some periods, I watched him at least 2-3 times a week. Of course, it helped that I was living in the Central Time Zone where Letterman comes on at the civilized time of 10:30 p.m.

At this point, Letterman is high on my list of reasons to get a TiVo. No, I certainly won’t have time to watch the whole show every day, but at least I can watch the monologue.

Anyway, it sounds like Letterman has GWB figured out. [via LaDiDa]