Interesting thread over at Askmefi: “Where did the phrase “It’s ____, stupid!” come from & what was originally in the blank?”
Turns out that it is derived from the Clinton campaign of 1992, where “It’s the economy, stupid” was coined by Democratic Party strategist James Carville, who possibly lend it from the K.I.S.S. principle or this movie.
Skilling stood stoically, his hands clasped before him, as presiding Judge Sim Lake handed down his sentence. His wife Rebecca, however, sobbed quietly in her seat as victims of Enron’s collapse watched the proceedings stone-faced.
Tragic, but well-deserved. Read the whole story over at CNN.
Best friends are a dying species. According to researchers:
longer hours in competitive workplaces and the rise of the internet society have led to a generation of young men almost bereft of close friends.
The research is mentioned in an article in The Sunday Times today.
The researchers find close friendship has been replaced by a multitude of “semidetached” work colleagues and “chatroom chums” met on the internet. What I found particularly interesting is the fact that:
The most lonely include twentysomething men who have lost touch with school or university friends and found nobody to replace them.
I’m 33 and have quite some people I consider friends, of whom a few really close. The level of friendships amongst twentysomethings is declining and future generations will possibly be without friends altogether. When visiting birthdays and such, I notice that the younger members of my family are often completely occupied by their Nintendo’s. They are often just virtual representations of kids, seemingly not much different from autistic people. I sometimes wonder how they will ever be able to grow any relationships.
The future is lonely.
ivarzantinge.com is a personal 