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[jfb]

In the Sunday Styles section, conscientious objectors to "the Dating-Industrial Complex".

Every region has its tourist attractions, and what L.A. visitors want to see is disaster.

The good news was that our particular stretch of the Hollywood Hills was built on solid granite, putting it in the safest zone possible in the event of earthquake - the safest zone in Southern California, that is, which is kind of like saying it's the highest point in Atlantis.

Meanwhile, The Lord of the Rings has given (non-indigenous) New Zealanders a new sense of their land.

Charles Murray, co-author of The Bell Curve, constructs a "hall of fame of unintended outcomes," great ideas with undesirable consequences. Elsewhere is a review of his new book, which attempts to quantify genius by counting encyclopedia column-inches. Guess what--Western civilization wins! ("I think it would be a very good idea.")

Speaking of bad ideas, a look back at CIA-sponsored coups in 1950s Iran and Guatemala.

"Lies, damned lies and statistics." What's missing from productivity and unemployment measures.

Comments

[greyaenigma.livejournal.com]

She spent hours trolling online dating sites, sending e-mail messages to potential mates and creating "a real connection," which would invariably sour into deep disappointment within the first five minutes of an actual date. At which point she would return to the sites, send more e-mail, make another connection and suffer another snap disappointment.

I like the phrase "snap disappointment".

Hey, it's the quirkyalone lady.