An Afternoon Ride

Photo courtesy of Narka

A late-afternoon ride in Prenzlauer Berg with Narka

Waltz of the Day

Манжуурын Толгод via Tyler Cowen

Энэ вальс төрсөн түүхийг Гүндэгээгийн бичсан нийтлэлээс дууны үгийн орчуулгын хамтаар уншаарай + a must see scene from Mikhalkov's Urga

Parag Khanna on (ahem...) Mine-Golia

Ireh Purev garagt suuliin uyed shuugiulaad baigaa "wunderwonk" Parag Khanna end lekts unshih yum baina. Gants gem ni namaig sign up hiih gej uhantsaar baital suudal ni duurchihej; deerees ni lektsiig zohion baiguulj bui American Academy haa baisan hotiin nuguu zahad tul tiisheegee zuglehees "zalhuurav" (daraagiin Baasan garagt boloh Robert Shiller-iin lekts bas duurchihsen gene). Yutay ch negent ene nuhriin tuhai bodol bolson tul interneteer lektsiig ni sonsoj horhoigoo darahaar shiidvey. Sanasniig bodvol ovoo muu gar baina: Charlie Rose deer yariltslaga ugsnuus gadna bur TED deer hurtel yaria hiij. Yurunhiiduu bol minii deehne blog deeree profile hiisen Robert Kaplan-arhuu nuhur yum uu daa (medeej arai iluu academic - minii sonssonoor bol odoo LSE-d PhD hiij baigaa yum baih). Khanna-giin yariltslagaas harahad Kaplan-ii negen adilaar sudlaachdiin tudii l toodogguy bolovch manaih shig "chuhal" ornuudad ooriin bieer ochij, humuustey uulzaj, baidliig gazar deer ni medehiig chuhalchildag bololtoy. Gehdee Mongoliig yag her tuhtay sudalsan yum bol buu med. Yamartay ch TED deer hiisen yaria deeree Mongoliig ingej tailbarlaj baih yum (04:00 deerees ehlene):

[...] Mongolia, or as some call it, Mine-Golia. Why do they call it that? Because in Mine-Golia, Chinese firms operate and own most of the mines - copper, zinc, gold - and the truck the resources south and east into mainland China. China isn't conquering Mongolia. It's buying it. Colonies were once conquered. Today countries are bought. [...] That's what I call globalization Chinese style.

Yag hen unshihaas deerh quote-iig uur uuruur huleej avna baih l daa. Gehdee nadad lav zarim heseg deeree asuudliig het hyalbarchilj harsan yum shig sanagdlaa. Nuhduud yu gej bodoj baina?

Addendum: Mungutey bolhooroo The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order nomiig ni olj avahaas... :P + Parag Khanna: Embrace the Post-American Age + The foreign policy specialist—who has provided expert opinion to Barack Obama's campaign—talks with Andrew Coyne

A Letter to the Editor of the FT

Ungursun buten sainii FT-iin dugaar deerees iim zahidal olov :P

From Mr Paul Surtees.

Sir, Your correspondent Dietmar Klein (Letters, October 24) commented on the necessity to take barrow-loads of banknotes to be weighed at pre-war German banks.

Only a few years ago, I had a similar experience when living in Ulan Bator in Mongolia. Changing a few hundred pounds into the local currency, tugrik, I was astonished to be given two large plastic bags to contain the Mongolian currency. The bank only had notes of small denomination.

To make it the more disconcerting, these bags that I carried on to the street were transparent! On the other hand, the driver of a taxi that I hastily caught was very pleased to accept a single US dollar as the fare.

I see that a million tugrik are now worth about *425, so it seems that their inflation, sadly, continues apace.

Paul Surtees,
Hong Kong

Making a splash in Ulan Bator

Quote of The Day

Монголчууд бид өнгөрсөн түүхээ харсан ч, өнөөгийн амьдралаа бодсон ч өнгөтэй, өөдтэй бүхний маань эх ундрага ариун цэнгэг нэг л булаг дээр тулж очдог. Энэ бол монголчууд бид хамтрахаас өөр зам үгүйг ухаарах ухаарал, энэ ухаарлынхаа үндсэн нэгдэх, хамтрах, хамтарсан тэмүүллээр урагшлах чадвар хоёр юм [...]

Tиймээс хамтрах, нэгдэх энэ ухаан, энэ чадвараа ямар ч тохиолдолд хадгалж үлдэх нь амин чухал байнаа. Ээлж халаатай Ерөнхий сайд байхад, эвдэрч хазайдаггүй эвийн бат суурьтай үлдэх нь монгол төрийн оршихуйн үндэс мөнөөс мөн.

С.Баярын УИХ-ын чуулганы нэгдсэн хуралдаан дээр хэлсэн үг

Bayar bol Mongoliin uls turd garsan tsoo shine phenomenon bailaa. Daraa daraagiin yurunhii said nar tuuntey egnegt haritsuulagdah huvi tavilantay baih ni damjigguy.

P.S: Some people might miss his green tie more than anything...

This and That

Цаг заваа үр бүтээлтэйгээр үрэхийг хүссэн хүмүүст:



Michael Sandel-iin Harvard-d zaadag aldart Justice hicheeliig PBS-iinhen uneguygeer online tavij baigaa yum baina. Neg talaaraa enehuu hicheeluud baruunii tom surguuliudad hicheel yaj ordogiig (yalanguya Socratic Method-iig herhen heregledgiig) taniltsuulah bol nuguu talaaraa Socrates-aas ehleed hun turulhtnii huvid munhiin asuudal baisaar irsen justice hemeeh uhagdahuuniig (Mongoloor shudraga yos gechihvel utga ni dutuu buugaad baih shig) iluu gunzgii oilgohod duhum uzuulne. Tovchhondoo bol ene hicheel alivaa yos zuin asuudald herhen zuv shiidver gargah, chingehed yamar yamar songoltuud baij bolohiig bidend taniulah yum - Justice: A Journey in Moral Reasoning with Michael Sandel

+ The Reith Lectures 2009: A New Citizenship + Ethics and Politics Podcast by Marianne Talbot from Oxford Faculty of Philosophy Podcasts

George Soros-iin CEU-d yag odoo (Oct 26-30) unshij bui tsuvral lektsuud. Yur ni nas neleed yavsanaas ch bolson uu ih setgeliihee ugaas yarisan mundag lektsuud baina. "Reflexivity", financial markets, open society, politics, economics, capitalism, ter baitugay Hyatadiin tsaashdiin delhiid ezleh bair suuri geed tuund yur ni hunduuguy chuhal sedev alga - Soros Lectures on Financial Times

Deehne Bill Gates-iin Cornell University-gees erhiig ni avsan Richard Feynman-ii lektsuud. Leuffi-giin heldgeer Feynman-ii physics-iig iim hyalbar, sonirholtoygoor tailbarlasnii daraa dund surguuliin bagshdaa uur ch hureh shig... Project Tuva: The Character of Physical Law lectures by Richard Feynman

Bas neg suuliin uyed zav zaigaaraa uzehiig oroldoj bui hicheel: The American Novel Since 1945 with Amy Hungerford. Uran zohioliig iluu gunzgii oilgohiig hussen humuusiin zaaval uzeh yostoy lekts! Yalanguya Pynchon, McCarthy, Kerouac-iin tuhai lektsuud bol jinhene Amerikiig oilgoh gaihamshigtay tulhuur.

This and That

What is considered normal for a person to feel in any place at any point is liable to be an abbreviated version of what is in fact normal, so that the experiences of fictional characters afford us a hugely expanded picture of human behavior, and thereby a confirmation of the essential normality of thoughts or feelings unmentioned in our immediate environment.

from Alain de Botton's How Proust Can Change Your Life--a highly recommended book for those who want to uncover the pleasures--and sorrows--of the Proustian world.

Yur ni bolomj oldvol de Botton-ii nomuudiig zaaval olj unshaaray. Yalanguya Architecture of Happiness bol classic! Architecture-iin jinhene amtiig endees l avna (hervee sanaj baigaa bol ene nom 500 Days of Summer deer gol inspiration source boldog). Deer ni nemeed sayhan garsan The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work neleed sain review avsan. Daan ch nimgen turiivchtey minii bie nomiin delguurt heden huudsiig ni erguulj uzsenees tsaashguy. Hervee zavtay bol Monocle deer garsan video excerpt hiigeed de Botton-ii Tyler Brule-tey hiisen Q&A-iig uzeerey + an hour long podcast. Tegeed bur horhoi chini hurvel "philosophy of everyday life"-iin talaar bichigdsen busad nomuudiinh ni talaar website-aas ni olj unshina biz dee.

Current film: L'Heure d'été: Deer Larry Kasdan-ii lecture deer suuj baihad ene kinonii talaar yarij baisan. Haij yavsaar uchigdur shunu olj uzev. What a brilliant movie! Generation hoorondiin yalgaa, adil tal; yuruusuu amidral herhen uragshildag talaarh asar mundag ergetsuulel!

Current album(s): Ryan Adams-iin Ludwigshafen-d togloson concert-iin bichleg. Endees uneguy tataj avaaray (Magnolia Mountain!).
Stars - Heart: The album just spoke to me--and Life Effect as the culmination of the whole experience.

Addendum: Compare the abovementioned quote of de Botton to Nabokov's passage from Good Readers and Good Writers:

So what is the authentic instrument to be used by the reader? It is impersonal imagination and artistic delight. What should be established, I think, is an artistic harmonious balance between the reader’s mind and the author’s mind. We ought to remain a little aloof and take pleasure in this aloofness while at the same time we keenly enjoy—passionately enjoy, enjoy with tears and shivers—the inner weave of a given masterpiece. To be quite objective in these matters is of course impossible. Everything that is worthwhile is to some extent subjective. For instance, you sitting there may be merely my dream, and I may be your nightmare. But what I mean is that the reader must know when and where to curb his imagination and this he does by trying to get clear the specific world the author places at his disposal. We must see things and hear things, we must visualize the rooms, the clothes, the manners of an author’s people. The color of Fanny Price’s eyes in Mansfield Park and the furnishing of her cold little room are important.

Some Rarities

Нөхдүүдэд сонирхолтой байж магадгүй гээд энэ зун найзаасаа олж авсан ховор бичлэгүүдээс ганц хоёрыг нь тавихаар шийдлээ. Эхнийх нь Халимагийн Окна Цаhан Замын хайлсан Жангар тууль. Ер нь манай Баруун Монголын соёлын энэ том өвийг манайхан ердөө тууль чигээр нь авч үзээд цааш судлаж олны хүртээл болгодоггүй нь жаахан харамсалтай (хэрвээ Барууны Great Books маягийн хичээлд хамрагдаж үзсэн бол Илиад, Одиссэйг ямар их цаг, анхаарал зарцуулж уншдагийг мэднэ байх). Юутай ч миний мэдэхийн хүн зоноосоо хамаарч Жангарыг газар бүр өөр өөрөөр дуулдаг. Гэхдээ тэдгээрийн дундаас Цагаан Замын дуулсан хувилбар бол яах аргагүй хамгийн мундаг нь. Өөр илүү гарах--ялангуяа амьд--хувилбарыг нь сонсож үзсэн хүмүүс байвал өөрсдийнхөө сэтгэгдэлээс хуваалцаарай.

Харамсалтай нь энэ бичлэг ердөө нэгхэн цагийн урттай. Миний сонссоноор бүтэн эхийг нь хайлбал хэдэн өдөр болдог юм гэсэн. Мэдээж эхэлж сонсч байгаа мань мэтэд энэ ямар хамаа байхав. Хамгийн эхлээд ямаршуухан зүйл байдгийг нь мэдээд авах л чухал.

Хэрвээ Жангарын бүтэн эхийг нь сонирхож байвал эндээс уншаарай (Халимаг дээр, гэхдээ хичээх юм бол утга нь бүрэн ойлгогдоно; даан ч Цагаан Зам яг хаанаас нь эхлээд хаана дуусаад байгааг олж чадсангүй). Үүний дээр Монголын Радиогийн сэтгүүлч Д. Чулуунцэцэгийн Бээжингээс бэлтгэсэн "Жангар хийгээд жангарчид..." нэвтрүүлгийг сонсч үзэхийг зөвлөе (энэ дээр дарж сонсоорой). Энэ нэвтрүүлэгт Халимаг, Торгууд хоёр залуу Жангарыг хайлахаас гадна төгсгөлд нь Цагаан Замын дээр дурьдсан хувилбар явна. Сонирхож байвал бас энэ Шинжааны Ойрад Монголчуудын хувилбарыг сонсоорой.

Окна Цаhан Зам - Җанhр (энэ rapidshare линкийг хэн нэгэн нь mirror хийх боломж байна уу?)



Хоёр дахь нь Тувагийн алдарт хөөмийч Ойдупаа Владимир Ойуны урьд өмнө нь хаана ч тавигдаж байгаагүй хувийн бичлэг (Англиар бол Bootleg recording юм уу даа). Түүнтэй нөхөрлөж байсан андын маань хэлснээр бол мань эр жинхэнэ "Mensch" гэж байгаа :P Харин Хашаагийн тодорхойлсноор бол "Tувадаа Ж.Ф.Кеннеди, Майкл Жордан, Элвис Преслиг нийлүүлсэн дайтай лут эр" Конгар-ол Ондараас мундаг нөхөр :))

Энэ бичлэг дээр Ойдупаа яг юу хийгээд байгааг нь нарийн мэдэхгүй юм. Миний ойлгосноор бол хөгжмийнхөө утсан дээгүүр Америкийн bluesman-ууд шиг төмөр гулсуулаад байх шиг байгаа юм--өөр ямар ч хөгжимчин тэгдэггүй гэнэ.

Үүний дээр хэрвээ сонирхож байвал түүний Divine Music From a Jail цомгийг upload хийж болж байна (мөн түүнчлэн Hun-Huur-Tu, Chirgilchin, Gennadi Tumat, Igor Koshkendey, Kongor-ol Ondar, Kaigal-ol Kovalyg гэх мэт олон хөөмийчдийн цомгууд бий).

Ойдупаа Владимир Ойун - Bootleg recording

Addendum: Journeyman Pictures on Tuvan Throat Singers

Photo of the Day

Ерөнхийлөгч Ц.Элбэгдорж Томас Фрийдманыг хүлээн авч уулзлаа

Music of the Day: Haydn Concerto No.1 C Major - Slava's superb, but I still think du Pré's version is unparalleled.

A Perfect Gift

A surprise gift from a very special person. It was one of the most beautiful and inspiring books I've ever seen. Thanks a lot!
(Been very very busy lately, and going back to school in a week)

Addendum: The Sartorialist + "Step-By-Step Guide To Getting Shot By The Sartorialist" + My personal favourite

Poem of the Day

From William Blake's Auguries of Innocence:

A dog starv'd at his Master's Gate
Predicts the ruin of the State.
A Horse misus'd upon the Road
Calls to Heaven for Human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted Hare
A fibre from the Brain does tear.

Bishirmeer. 20-r zuunii tuuhiig Blake ter chigeer ni zugnuud harchihsan met--an augury?. Tovchhondoo bol:

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.

yum daa...

Blake-iig sonirhoj baigaa humuus baival Songs of Innocense and of Experience-ees ehelsen ni zuv baih (bolj ugvul Blake-iin uuriih ni engrave hiisen plate-tey edition-g olj avaaray). Tegeed hervee bur literary criticism ene terd horhoisdog bol Harold Bloom-iin commentary-g unshihiig zuvluyu--yalanguya Tyger deer hiisen tailbar ni lut.

Addendum: Harold Bloom's advice for college freshmen - Get Lost. In Books. (if you have time, read the entire series)

There is general agreement on the indispensable canon: Homer, Plato, the Bible, Virgil, Dante, Chaucer, Cervantes, Shakespeare, Montaigne, Milton. From the 19th century until now, keeping only to English and American authors, a slightly more arbitrary selection might include Blake, Wordsworth, Austen, Dickens, George Eliot, Hardy, Yeats and Joyce in England and Ireland. Among the Americans would certainly be Emerson, Thoreau, Melville, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Hawthorne; and in the 20th century, Faulkner and the major poets: Robert Frost, Wallace Stevens, T. S. Eliot, Hart Crane.

Photo of the Day

Дмитрий Анатольевич Монгол хүүхдүүдийг алаг үзэв :Д

Addendum: The reason why America didn't object Russia's effort to take control of Mongolian uranium mines:

Outside of Iran, the Russian business is supported by the United States as a productive use of Soviet legacy uranium enrichment plants in Russia. In Iran, the United States opposed the power plant’s construction but approved the Russian fuel shipments. By encouraging the commercial availability of Russian enrichment services, the United States deprives other countries of the rationale to have enrichment programs of their own.

Russian Power Company to Mine Uranium in Mongolia

Yaponii Shine Zamnal?

Yaponii shine yurunhii said Yukio Hatoyama-giin NYTimes-d hevluulsen mash sonirholtoy op-ed - A New Path for Japan. Hervee oiriin ireeduin Yaponiig yurunhii saidiinh ni helj bui shig barimjaalah yum bol neleed sonirholtoy dur zurag garch ireh ni. Uuntey uyaldaad manaih ch gesen gadaad bodlogodoo neleed uurchlult oruulah shaardlagatay boloh ni gartsaaguy.

On economy:

Our responsibility as politicians is to refocus our attention on those non-economic values that have been thrown aside by the march of globalism. We must work on policies that regenerate the ties that bring people together, that take greater account of nature and the environment, that rebuild welfare and medical systems, that provide better education and child-rearing support, and that address wealth disparities.

On Japan's new regional role:

[...] we must not forget our identity as a nation located in Asia. I believe that the East Asian region, which is showing increasing vitality, must be recognized as Japan’s basic sphere of being. So we must continue to build frameworks for stable economic cooperation and security across the region.

I believe that regional integration and collective security is the path we should follow toward realizing the principles of pacifism and multilateral cooperation advocated by the Japanese Constitution. It is also the appropriate path for protecting Japan’s political and economic independence and pursuing our interests in our position between the United States and China.

On new world order:

How should Japan maintain its political and economic independence and protect its national interest when caught between the United States, which is fighting to retain its position as the world’s dominant power, and China, which is seeking ways to become dominant?

This is a question of concern not only to Japan but also to the small and medium-sized nations in Asia. They want the military power of the U.S. to function effectively for the stability of the region but want to restrain U.S. political and economic excesses. They also want to reduce the military threat posed by our neighbor China while ensuring that China’s expanding economy develops in an orderly fashion. These are major factors accelerating regional integration.

The last passage reminds me of Baabar's latest article.

Tovchhondoo bol Hatoyama-giin Yapon neleed anti-capitalist handlagatay, bus nutgiin integration-g manlailahiig oroldson uls boloh ni. Harin uunii ur dagavar biden deer yaj tusah ve? Any opinions?

So Long, Teddy

Barag jil garangiin speculation-ii etsest Ted Kennedy urjigdar shunu nasan etseslev. Dan gants New England geltguy ulaan tsenher, har tsagaan Amerik dayaraa gashuudaj buig bodvol olon hunii amidrald ontsgoi nuluu uzuulsen hun baisan ni ilt. Gehdee ene olon tumnii hair tuund amarhan oldooguy. Uuriin aldaa hiigeed ger buliihniihee emgenelt huvi zaya deerees anhaaraltay suraltsaj asar ih tevcheer, hudulmur zutgel gargasnii ur dun yum. Nuguu talaasaa bidend tuunii bolon ah nariinh ni shudraga yos, erh tegsh baidliin tuluuh tsutsashguy temtslees ni suraltsah hiigeed uuriimshuuleh zuils ih bii.

Since I was a boy, I have known the joy of sailing the waters off Cape Cod. And for all my years in public life, I have believed that America must sail toward the shores of liberty and justice for all. There is no end to that journey, only the next great voyage. We know the future will outlast all of us, but I believe that all of us will live on in the future we make.

Remarks of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy during Harvard honors convocation

And always remember:

The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality.

JFK's favourite quote from Dante (Baabar uuniig neg heseg uuruu Divine Comedy unshij baigaad olson yum shig l baahan ishilsen)

Update: Michiko Kakutani's brilliant review of Ted Kennedy's new memoir

At the end of his deeply affecting memoir, the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy writes about his grandson “Little Teddy” — the son of his son “Medium Teddy” who delivered such a heartbreaking eulogy at the senator’s funeral on Saturday — and his difficulties mastering the family tradition of sailing. The senator told the 10-year-old “we might not be the best,” but “we can work harder than anyone,” and Little Teddy stayed with it, grew eager to learn and started winning races. That, the senator writes, “is the greatest lesson anyone can learn”: that if you “stick with it,” that if, as the title of his book suggests, you keep a “true compass” and do your best, you will eventually “get there.”

An Analogy

[Cuparaque, Brazil] has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in remittances from abroad, making it a living example of one of the most talked-about development tools of recent years. But while private dollars have improved private lives, fundamental infrastructure is still badly lacking: Cuparaque, with a population of 4,300, doesn’t yet have a hospital, the drinking water system is faulty and the only way into town is a half-hour drive down a dirt road that becomes impassable in rain. And the influx of money brought few new jobs beyond house construction. Sueli Siqueira, a ­Brazilian ­sociologist who studies return migration to the region, has found that money earned by emigrants abroad has rarely generated ­sustainable employment opportunities.

How migration transformed Martha's Vineyard

Some Call Ships...

Some call ships, infantry and horsemen
The greatest beauty can offer;
I say it is whatever a person
Most lusts after.

Showing you all will be no trouble:
Helen surpassed all humankind
In looks but left the world's most noble
Husband behind.

Coasting off to Troy where she
Thought nothing of her loving parent
And only child but, led astray...

...and I think of Anaktoria
Far away...

And I would rather watch her body
Sway, her glistening face flash dalliance
Than Lydian war cars at the ready
And armed battalions.

by Sappho, translated by Aaron Poochigian; from Stung with Love

Addendum: Aaron Poochigian, Smartish Pace Poetry Reading

A Reason Why America is a Great Country

This morning my boss left this note at work:

Good Morning! The registers have been reprogrammed overnight to add the additional 1.25% sales tax the State passed into law effective Sat. 8/1. The prices for all of our goods have NOT changed; the additional $ is the additional sales tax ONLY.

Unhappy customers should call the Governor's office, Rep. Tim Madden, or Senator Robert O'Leary.

LOL!

Addendum:

GETTING ANGRY In 1786, poor farmers in Massachusetts rebelled when creditors came calling.

The Love Song

LET us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherised upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question …
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”
Let us go and make our visit

T.S. Eliot - The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Epiphany

Giotto's Crucifix (1290) in Basilica Santa Maria Novella, Firenze.
Nuutsaar avsan bolhoor jaahan muu garchihaj. Endees tomoor ni uzeerey.

This following passage was the first thing came to my mind when I was gazing at this beautiful work of art:

[T]he Jew forthwith replied:--"I think God owes them all an evil recompense: I tell thee, so far as I was able to carry my investigations, holiness, devotion, good works or exemplary living in any kind was nowhere to be found in any clerk; but only lewdness, avarice, gluttony, and the like, and worse, if worse may be, appeared to be held in such honour of all, that (to my thinking) the place is a centre of diabolical rather than of divine activities. To the best of my judgment, your Pastor, and by consequence all that are about him devote all their zeal and ingenuity and subtlety to devise how best and most speedily they may bring the Christian religion to nought and banish it from the world. And because I see that what they so zealously endeavour does not come to pass, but that on the contrary your religion continually grows, and shines more and more clear, therein I seem to discern a very evident token that it, rather than any other, as being more true and holy than any other, has the Holy Spirit for its foundation and support. For which cause, whereas I met your exhortations in a harsh and obdurate temper, and would not become a Christian, now I frankly tell you that I would on no account omit to become such. Go we then to the church, and there according to the traditional rite of your holy faith let me receive baptism."

Boccaccio's The Decameron: First Day, Second Novel

This and That

Video of the day (for one very special person):

Hard ideas define a culture — that of serious reading, an institution vital to democracy itself. In a recent article, Stephen L. Carter, Yale law professor and novelist, underscores "the importance of reading books that are difficult. Long books. Hard books. Books with which we have to struggle. The hard work of serious reading mirrors the hard work of serious governing — and, in a democracy, governing is a responsibility all citizens share." The challenge for university presses is to better turn our penchant for hard ideas to greater purpose.

A Manifesto for Scholarly Publishing

In its crudest form—the idea that economics as a whole is discredited—the current backlash has gone far too far. If ignorance allowed investors and politicians to exaggerate the virtues of economics, it now blinds them to its benefits. Economics is less a slavish creed than a prism through which to understand the world. It is a broad canon, stretching from theories to explain how prices are determined to how economies grow. Much of that body of knowledge has no link to the financial crisis and remains as useful as ever.

And if economics as a broad discipline deserves a robust defence, so does the free-market paradigm. Too many people, especially in Europe, equate mistakes made by economists with a failure of economic liberalism. Their logic seems to be that if economists got things wrong, then politicians will do better. That is a false—and dangerous—conclusion.

What went wrong with economics

Design touches all sectors of our daily life, and increasing awareness of that reality can result in tremendous benefit for all. Is design about aesthetics? Of course it is, but that’s just one of its many facets. Design can save time, money and one’s sanity. It can simplify use, enhance enjoyment, and keep us safe and well.

Designs on Policy + Currency Exchange (the world’s best and worst banknote designs) + uul ni mungutey baisan bol Tufte-giin course-d suuh l bailaa :(

Q. What’s the most important leadership lesson you’ve learned?

A.[..]I think two leadership lessons really stand out for me. He forced me to think about doing things that I did not think were possible. Challenging individuals by setting goals and then letting them use their ingenuity to accomplish them is something that I hope I can pass on as part of my leadership style. If you set a common vision and then get really scary-smart people, they do things that amaze you.

The other aspect of being a good manager has always been getting gratification from what others do, because the higher you get in management, frankly, the less you do yourself.

Shantanu Narayen: Connecting the Dots Isn’t Enough + "Corner Office" column: "talks with top executives about the challenges of leading and managing"

Skidelsky's interview on Keynes
Seven hours of Feynman lectures online (props to Bill Gates)

Recommended books:

Wolf Totem - Jiang Rong (reading at the moment - unuu Mongolchuudiin talaar bichsen geed baahan shuugian tariad baisan nom, so far so good)
Renegade: The Making of a President - Richard Wolffe (Obama's constant reinvention of himself à la Malcolm X! Endees Charlie Rose-tey hiisen yariltslagiig sonsooroy. Gesnees mani er Bush-iin ailchlaliig survaljlahaar Mongold irj baisan. Audiobook ni bur davguy.)
The Beach - Alex Garland (savaaguy, bas backpack hiih durtay humuus zaaval unshaaray)
The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga (Absolutely brilliant! Unuugiin Enethegiig oilgohod mash tus duhum bolno. Gants gem ni ADD-tey Baruunii audience-d zoriulj bichlegiin hevee tohiruulsan yum uu daa)
Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt (Haramsaltay medee: uchigdur Frank McCourt nas barjee. Hervee ene nomiig unshaaguy bol zaaval olj avaaray. Hamgiin haramsaltay ni ene nom deer durseldeg shig baga nas manaid haa saiguy baidag ni emgenel yum daa)

Recommended films:

Saint Ralph - cute movie, very Kierkegaardian (seriously, I bet the movie was partially inspired by Fear and Trembling)
Bottle Rocket - Wes Anderson's debut
Gallipoli - Australia's loss of innocence and the beginning of "manhood"! Bonus: Mel Gibson's Aussie accent :P
Little Fish - Oird iim mundag kino uzeeguy. Brilliant performance!
Shattered Glass - Journalism sonirhdog humuust highly recommended! (along with Good Night and Good Luck, and All The President's Men)
Entre Les Murs - Brilliant! Bagshiin deed tugsch baigaa hun bolgond ene kinog uzuuleh heregtey
The Hurt Locker - One of the best actions movies I've seen
Welcome to Sarajevo - Winterbottom rocks!
Rogue Trader - Recommended for finance majors
Whatever Works - Woody Allen's latest work. Most of the ideas are too familiar - or is it perhaps the culmination of all of his previous works?

Recommended albums:

Jorge Drexler - Eco (Motorcycle Diaries-d durtay humuus mani eriin duulsan soundtrack-iig andahguy baih aa)
Jacqueline du Pré - The Concerto Collection (as one "wise man" said: "du Pré shat on Rostropovich's head" :P Jacqueline du Pré is arguably the best cellist ever! Gesnees Bach-iin Cello Suites-iig toglosniig ni olj avah yumsan)
Julieta Venegas - MTV Unplugged (I wish I could understand what she's singing about)
Au Revoir Simone - The Bird of Music (David Lynch's favourite band! haha)
American Analog Set - Set Free (really nice melodies)