Month: May 2013

America 3.0: Rave Amazon Reviews!

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America 3.0: Rebooting American Prosperity in the 21st Century-Why America’s Greatest Days Are Yet to Come has started shipping, earlier than originally stated by our awesome publisher, Encounter Books.

We have started to get some great reviews on Amazon:
 
From Peter St. Andre:

Understanding America
 
“… Bennett and Lotus amass an impressive amount of evidence from history, anthropology, and allied disciplines to carefully explain where we’ve come from, where we are, and where we’re going.”

Links to Peter’s writings are here

From Jeff Carter:

To Understand America, Where it has been and where it could go, you must read this
 
“As a Venture Capitalist, I try to extrapolate into the future a lot. Science fiction and books like this really help with that vision. Don’t miss this book.”

Jeff runs the Points and Figures blog which I heartily comment to your attention.

And from Leif Smith:

Well reasoned optimism about America
 
“It proposes a way forward in which realism and idealism strongly support each other. … I regard this book as important reading.”

Leif’s website for his Explorers Foundation contains much fascinating material, especially his collection of glyphs, which are educational and inspiring for all lovers of freedom.

If you find these reviews helpful, please click yes where it asks: “Was this review helpful to you?”

Thanks to Dan from Madison, Whitehall, WiTexan, Grurray and MikeK for being early purchasers! Gentlemen, I hope you will like the book. If you do, please put up an Amazon review with your thoughts. That will be greatly appreciated.

RERUN–The Perfect Enemy

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(Originally posted in February 2009. I was reminded of it by recent events in London and Sweden)

Suppose you wanted to create a perfect enemy. An enemy so vile that its evil would be recognized by almost everyone. An enemy that would inspire people to come together in order to ensure its defeat.

To be more specific: suppose you were a screenwriter with the assignment of creating a suitable villain-organization for a major motion picture. The marketing plan for this movie suggests that it will be marketed primarily to a certain demographic and that, hence, your villain-organization should be particularly appalling to members of that demographic. The demographic in question consists of people who are affluent, highly educated (college with at least some postgraduate education), not particularly religious, and who consider themselves politically liberal or “progressive.” The plot of the movie demands that the audience must see the necessity for Americans–of many beliefs, occupations, and social backgrounds–to come together in order to defeat the enemy.

Oh, and one other thing. The year in which you are given this assignment is 1999.

You will clearly want your enemy to share many of the characteristics of the Nazis–disrespect for human life, wanton cruelty, a love of apocalyptic violence. But to make the enemy particuarly awful from the standpoint of your target demographic, you will want to emphasize certain aspects of its belief system.

Members of your demographic usually have strong beliefs about women’s rights. So, your enemy must have a particularly disrespectful belief set, and a violent behavior pattern, towards women. Similarly, your demographic is generally favorable toward gay rights…so the enemy must advocate and practice the suppression, torture, and killing of gays. Your demographic is generally nonreligious and often hostile toward religion…so, make sure the enemy includes a large element of religious fanaticism. Members of your demographic talk a lot about “the children”–so make sure your enemy uses children in particularly cruel ways.

Had you created such an enemy for your screenplay in 1999, you would have surely felt justified in assuming that it would achieve its intended reaction with your target demographic.

It didn’t work out that way, though.

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London Dining and Drinking

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Some years ago Britain had a reputation for lousy food. Today, it may be the food capital of the world, with restaurants of every type as well as fresh seafood and other locally grown ingredients. I also think London has popularized the idea of “healthy” fast food with outlets like Pret a Manger which was the first franchise that I saw that prominently displayed calories and had excellent choices in ingredients and reasonable portions.

This photo of mushrooms was taken at a market on the South Bank where they had every kind of food imaginable. There were butchers, cheesemongers, beer and wine, and everything else. I was able to get a great pulled pork sandwich for 4 pounds there, so it seems that they are even borrowing good culinary ideas from the US south.

This photo makes me a bit sad. At Selfridges they have the “Foods of America” section with our insanely colored and artificial breakfast foods as well as pop tarts. I wanted to put a piece of tape over that title but it was certainly sad and true that we invented this dreck.

In London you need to drink faster because beer comes in a pint glass – which according to wikipedia is 20 ounces for the British unlike our 16 ounce pint in the US. Most US drinks come in 12 ounce sizes. Dan and I often trade photos of “beer synchronicity” where the glass and beer are in synch and here is a Kronenbourg 1664 (a French beer) in English pint size on a sunny afternoon on a picnic bench outside a pub. That’s the way to do it.

Cross posted at LITGM

Maybe That Day Has Come

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A day may come when the courage of men fails,
when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day.
An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down,
but it is not this day!
This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, Men of the West! – Aragorn’s speech, before the Black Gates

It always comes back to Tolkien, doesn’t it? A man who lived through the hell of the WWI trenches, who recalled from first hand a time when you could use the term ‘Great Britain’ without ironical quotes around it, a time when there were very real social issues and pathologies to criticize and to try and deal fairly with – but also a time when the common people took enormous pride and confidence in what they were, in their country, in themselves, in their institutions – and in turn, the various institutions looked toward the general welfare of the commonality. I like the 19th century for that very reason, both the British and American versions. It’s a kind of mental refuge to me, these days. For all its pathologies and shortcomings – citizens of both countries had cultural self-confidence. In the main, a self-confidence based on real accomplishment is a hell of a lot more attractive than a pitiful, helpless and apologetic bleating about ones’ societal and cultural shortcomings.

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London Transport

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Recently I had the opportunity to travel in London. This post covers some observations about transport from the perspective of a Chicago resident.

The Heathrow Express is a high speed train that whisks you from Heathrow Airport (the main international terminal for arriving visitors) into Paddington Station in downtown London in fifteen minutes, with no stops. The train leaves every 15 minutes during normal airport hours and is fast, clean and has free wi-fi. The downside is that it costs over thirty pounds for a round trip (about $45). Compared to the “Blue Line” in Chicago, which takes an hour to get to the airport with about 20 stops, the Heathrow Express is a royal way to travel. In the past I have taken the “tube” or subway from Heathrow to downtown which also works and costs far less, although it probably takes 45 minutes or so.

For the first time in London I took one of the ubiquitous traditional red buses that ply the city streets. Unlike the “Tube” which is relatively easy to navigate and follow, you need to do some research to figure out where the buses are going although they now have apps for everything, as well. It is great fun if you have some time on your hands to sit at the front of the top of the bus and watch the driver navigate through narrow streets incredibly crowded with traffic and pedestrians. You can use your “Oyster” card when you get on the bus and refill it at any Underground station.

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