We'll Always Have Paris

This and That

Along the Goethewanderweg - Weimar, May 2, 2009
Album of the day: She & Him - Volume One
Video of the day: Neil Young - Helpless

Link of the Day

Columbia Law School Graduation 2009: 2009 LL.M. Nemuun Gal's Address + Video (0:41:20 deerees ehlene)

Thanks to Indra for the pointer

A Lesson To Learn (From a High School Student)

Odoo bodood baihad Mongold 10 jildee heregguy zuil uzej ih tsag urdeg baij. Toonii hicheeliin ehnii 10 minutad bagsh "za ene neg iimerhuu theorem baidag yum" geshiigeed unguruh bol uldsen 30 minutiig ter theorem-toy holbootoy bodlogiig zogsoo zaiguy bodohod zartsuulna. Yunii tuhai bodlogo bodood baigaagaa sain medehguy bolovch herhen bodoh argiig ni tseejeeree medne. Niigem Sudlaliin hicheel ch mun yalgaaguy. Yu ni medegdehguy baahan yumiig dotroo tud tud huvaagdana geed l tseejluuleed baina, yag ter ni yagaad tegj huvaagdaj baigaa yum, bodot amidral deer yamar jisheen deer garch irj baigaa yum gedeg talaar bagsh neg ch ug helehguy, suragchid ni tiim asuult baih yostoy ch gej medehguy.

Uneniig helehed bi 10 jilee Mongold tugschihuud gadaadiin college-d orohod ehnii 2 jilee lav tolgoid bugshsan baisan ter olon heregguy medeelluudiig tseverleh, deerees ni nemeed asuudald herhen shuumjleltey handah tuhai surch unguruusun. Negent zuv arga barilaa olooguy, yaj medeelliig bolovsruulahaa medehguy bol shine medleg olj avaad ch heregguy yum bilee (gehdee natural science chigleleer surch baigaa humuust ene uur baidag baih l daa, bi bol liberal arts talaas ni bichij baina). Uuruur helbel Mongoliin 10 jil nadad dan gants hotsrogdson medeelel olgood zogsohguy, tsaashdaa amjilttay suraltsahad maani oyun sanaanii huvid ch, tsag hugatsaanii huvid ch asar tom "shavar haasan" yum.

Tegeed zarimdaa uund gutrahaaraa hervee bi baruunii private high school-d sursan bol odoo jinhene budaa bolgoj baigaa daa gej "muruuddug" yum :P Gehdee nuguu talaasaa jishee ni baruunii private high school-uud yugaaraa davuu ve? Resource saitaygaas uur yamar davuu chanar baina? Tsaashlaval, manai surguuliud tednii zeregt hurehed yu hiih shaardlagatay ve? gesen asuultuud zui yosoos bosch irne. Yag uund shuud hariult ugch baigaa esehiig ni medehguy yum. Gehdee minii huvid yag goliig ni olood helsen neg niitleliig uchigdur IHT deerees oroin hoolnii uyer unshiv. Zohiogch ni Boston Latin School-iin 11-r angiin suragch buguud ene niitlelee uuriin Hyatadiin dund surguulid unguruusun neg jil deeree tulguurlan bichjee.

Neg talaaraa manai dund surguuliud Hyatadiinhtay adil test-iig amjilttay davahad chiglesen bodlogotoy, asuudliig zadlaj oilgohod bus tseejlehed anhaarlaa tuvleruuldeg tul ene niitlel bidend sain surgamj boloh uchirtay. Nuguu talaaraa 15, 16-tay huuhed yamar mundag tsegtstey, asuudliig gyarhai ajiglaj bichsen baigaagaas ni ta baruunii shildeg dund surguuliudiin olgodog bolovsroliin tuvshingiin bagtsaag avna baih. Buten niitlel - "Teen's lessons from China" by Annie Osborn

But what does surprise me is that, despite the barely controlled chaos that simmers just below the surface during my classes at Boston Latin School, I feel as though I have learned much, much more under the tutelage of Latin's teachers than I ever could at a place like Yanqing Middle School [...]

Students spend their days memorizing and doing individual, silent written drills or oral drills in total unison. Their entire education is geared toward memorizing every single bit of information that could possibly materialize on, first, their high school entrance exams, and next, their college entrance exams. This makes sense, because admission to public high schools and universities in China is based entirely on test scores.

And yet, to an American student used to the freedom of debate during history or English class, to free discussion of possible methods for solving different math problems, the work seems hollow and too directed.[...]

It's more that there is very little room to maneuver: There is one good way to solve a math problem, or one way to program a computer, or one good way to do homework. Every class has the same homework, a worksheet printed on wafer paper, and essays are rare. Novels are not taught in class, and teachers encourage outside reading of histories rather than fiction. The only fiction texts read in class are excerpts from the four classics (Imperial texts that are not considered novels) and Imperial poetry. The point of class is to cram as much information into the students in as little time as possible, all in preparation for entrance exams.

Students lack the opportunity to discuss and digest what they learn. Most rarely participate in political discussions outside class. [...] Chinese schools have many strengths, but they do not foster many broadly philosophical thinkers.

Aan tiim, hervee sonirhvol edgeer asuudluudiig mash mundagaar hundsun "The History Boys", "Paper Chase" gesen hoyor kinog uzehiig sanal bolgoyo.

Antilibrary

The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with "Wow! Signore professore dottore Eco, what a library you have! How many of these books have you read?" and the others -- a very small minority -- who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allow you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary.

From the introduction of Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan
(via Kottke)

It’s Sonia Sotomayor, being raised by a determined, hard-working widow (for whom a $400 encyclopedia must have represented a tremendous financial sacrifice) reading the Britannica in a neighborhood where few if any other people valued it as much as her mother did.

“The Britannica was a physical embodiment of the existence of a serious world where there was a lot to be learned beyond one’s own experience,” Randall Stross, author of the books “The Microsoft Way” and “Planet Google”, said in a telephone conversation. “Just having it on the shelf was a way to remind kids of the importance of education, and it was a counterweight to all the trivial and even dangerous pursuits that surrounded them.”

There’s More to Moving Up Than Books Alone by Richard Bernstein



Private house on beachside plot in Cahuita, Costa Rica by Gianni Botsford Architects - A bloody beautiful library. I wanna have exactly the same one when I grow old :)

Mongolization

Gurav durvun jiliin umnu Wikipedia-g Mongolchloh gej neleed idevhiilen suudag baij bilee. Harin aajimdaa negent internet deh guitsegdehguy ih medeelliig Mongol ruu orchuulj barahguy tul orond ni Angli heliig niiteeree ezemshvel iluu hyalbar gesen dugnelted huren ali boloh orchuulgaas zailshiideg bolson yum. Gehdee bi internet deerh Mongol content-iig uguysgej baigaa yum bish; harin Angli hel deerh zuilsiig Mongolchloh gej tsag aldahiin orond Mongol hel deerh Mongol medeelliig ulam iheer digitize bolgoh tal deer anhaaraasay gej husch yavdag negen.

Saya harin yaruu nairagch Tu Fu-giin Li Bai-d zoriulj bichsen shulgiig unshij baigaad savaaguyteed Wikipedia deer "Ли Бай" gej haital shuud Mongol hel deer medeelel ni garch irj baina. So cool. Dan gants yaruu nairagchiin namtar tudiiguy (medeej ene tal deer Angli huudas ni hamaaguy iluu) hamgiin chuhal ni tuunii shulguudiig Mongolchilson baihiig olj bolno.

Endees harahad yuruusuu Angli hel deeree amarhan oldoh medeelliig Mongol hel ruu orchuulah gej tsag alddaggaa boliyo. Harin uur haanaas ch oldohguy Mongol hel deerh medeelluudiig tsahim helbert hurvuuleh ajild bugdeeree sain duraaraa idevhiilen oroltsotsgooyo. Yur ni tsaashdaa Mongol hel deerh hovor nom soning uregdej alga bolohoos ni umnu huulbarlaj avah, zohiogchiin erhiin hugatsaa ni duussan olon zuun buteeluudiig uneguygeer internet hereglegchdiin hurteel bolgoh ajluudiig dariu ehluuleh shaardlagatay.

Harin Mongol Wikipedia-giin huvid heden jiliin umnuhuu bodvol ih goyo boljee. Yalanguya URL hayag ni cyrillic-eer gardag bolson ni mash chuhal alham bolj (umnu ni baahan ereeljilsen too usegnuud baidag baisan yum). Tsaashlaad sonirhood uzvel neleed heden ertnii taniluud maani tend zav chuluuguuruu huvi nemree oruulj baigaa yum baina. Zorigt, Bambuush, Gavana, Batzorig nar lav terguun egneend ni davhij yavdag bololtoy :P Harin deerh Li Bai-giin shulguudiin huvid oruulsan ezen ni VIMO deerh tanil Dolugen yum baina. Ta nart bayarlalaa!

Addendum: Hyatadiin yaruu nairgiig oilgoyo gesen humuus baival negen gaihamshigtay nomiig sanal bolgoyo - A Little Primer of Tu Fu by David Fawkes. Ta Hyatad hel medeh shaardlaga baihguy, gehdee jinhene eh hel deer ni unshij baigaa met medremjiig avna.

PostScriptum: Setgegdel uldeesen humuust talarhlaa.

Chomsky on Human Nature

From "Human Nature: Justice versus Power" Noam Chomsky debate with Michel Foucault:

[...] if it is correct, as I believe it is, that a fundamental element of human nature is the need for creative work, for creative inquiry, for free creation without the arbitrary limiting effect of coercive institutions, then, of course, it will follow that a decent society should maximise the possibilities for this fundamental human characteristic to be realised. That means trying to overcome the elements of repression and oppression and destruction and coercion that exist in any existing society, ours for example, as a historical residue.

Video excerpt of Chomsky-Foucault Debate

A Lesson to Learn (from Chile)

Uls turchduus odoogiin Mongoliin ediin zasgiin hyamrald chuham hen buruutayg asuuh tsag negent bolson baimaar. Medeej end gadaad huchin zuil mash tom uureg guitsetgesen ni yalt ch uguy unen. Gehdee ene ni bid hyamraliig odoogiinhoos hamaaguy hohirol bagataygaar surj zogsoh bolomj baigaaguy gesen ug bish ee. Harin ch esregeeree, hervee zesiin uniin usultuus orj irsen iheehen hemjeenii mungiig zuv zohistoygoor zohitsuulsan bol odoo udiid baidal ogt ondoo baih bailaa. Haramsaltay l baina.

Ungursun baasan garagt bidend mash surgamjtay baij medeheer Chile-iin turshlagiin talaar Bloomberg deer niitlel garch. Tovchhondoo bol niitlel deer Chile-iin sangiin said Andres Velasco zesiin une undur tsagt uls turiin shahaltiin esreg herhen zorigtoygoor zogson DNB-iin 30%-tay tentseh mungiig tsaash ni avch hadgalsan ni odoo Chile-iin ediin zasgiin amind ni orj dan gants hyamraliig ersdel bagataygaar davan tuulah bolomjiig olgood zogsohguy ediin zasgiin eyreg uzuuleltuudiig bas avchirch bui tuhai duridjee:

The Chilean peso has risen almost 10 percent against the dollar this year to become the best-performing currency among emerging markets. The country’s economy is expected to grow 0.1 percent in 2009, as the region contracts 1.5 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund. [...]When Velasco joined Bachelet’s new cabinet in March 2006, the price of copper had risen by more than half in 12 months to $2.25 a pound. Taxes and profits from state-owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, provide about 15 percent of government revenue. Bachelet, 57, Chile’s second consecutive socialist president, came under almost immediate pressure to start spending the revenue. Students went on strike in May of that year, demanding more money for education. More than 800,000 people protested at high schools and universities, and police with water cannons and tear gas arrested more than 1,000. Velasco reiterated his commitment to “prudent fiscal policies” as politicians from the governing coalition demanded he resign.

Mungu l oldoj baival baruun solgoiguy tsatsah uchirtay gej oilgodog manaihand Chile-iin ene turshlaga mash tom surgamj boloh uchirtay.

Nuguu talaasaa enehuu surgamj ni uls turchdud ch bas ashigtay yum. Harvard-iin Dani Rodrick blog deeree Velasco-giin talaar ingej bichij:

And does good economics pay off politically? Eventually, yes. Five months after being burned in effigy, Velasco is currently President Bachelet's most popular minister.

Yag odoo yurunhiilugchiin songuulid ner devshigchdees tusviin iluudel mungiig uls turiin zorilgoor haa hamaaguy tsatssan humuust herhen arga hemjee avah talaar asuulga tavij muriin hutulburt ni tusguulah heregtey. Yadaj ene udaad tedgeer humuustey tootsoo boddogguy yum aa gehed daraagiin udaad iim yavdal dahin garguulahguy baih undsiig ni battay tavij uguh ni mash chuhal.

Addendum: The Global Downturn Lands With a Zud on Mongolia's Nomads - WSJ report on Mongolia (via Dulguun)

The Waste Land

APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.

T.S. Eliot himself reading The Waste Land

Articles of the Day

First, Use Plain English: The author of On Writing Well recalls how he taught Yale students to cut through the clutter.
Visions and Revisions: Writing On Writing Well and keeping it up-to-date for 35 years

The new, post-print literary media are certainly amenable to brevity. The blog post and the tweet may be ephemeral rather than lapidary, but the culture in which they thrive is fed by a craving for more narrative and a demand for pith. And just as the iPod has killed the album, so the Kindle might, in time, spur a revival of the short story. If you can buy a single song for a dollar, why wouldn’t you spend that much on a handy, compact package of character, incident and linguistic invention? Why wouldn’t you collect dozens, or hundreds, into a personal anthology, a playlist of humor, pathos, mystery and surprise?
The death of the novel is yesterday’s news. The death of print may be tomorrow’s headline. But the great American short story is still being written, and awaits its readers.

In Praise of the American Short Story - A.O.Scott on American short story

PAPER TIGERS: What media moguls make

HONEST, DECENT, WRONG: The invention of George Orwell by Louis Menand
Notes on Nationalism by George Orwell
Books vs. Cigarettes by George Orwell
A Nice Cup of Tea by George Orwell

I keep saying the sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians. People think I’m joking, but who would’ve guessed that computer engineers would’ve been the sexy job of the 1990s? The ability to take data—to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it—that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades, not only at the professional level but even at the educational level for elementary school kids, for high school kids, for college kids. Because now we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the complimentary scarce factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it.

Hal Varian on how the Web challenges managers

Living in Berlin

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