Brain Recharge: Haitian History, Terrorist Psychology, Moscow’s Stray Dogs, The End of America, & More…
BRAIN: So, last week you mentioned something called Snooki.
YOU: Ah, yes.
BRAIN: I consulted my dictionary, and the only thing I could find was a Snook, a ‘large vigorous bony fish of coastal and brackish waters that is an important food and sport fish’. It looks like this:
YOU: Um…no. This is Snooki:
BRAIN: WHAT THE – ?
YOU: I thought you might be confused, so I found an article for you to read – it’s from Psychology Today, and it puts the characters from MTV’s “Jersey Shore” under a microscope and psychoanalyzes them from an academic perspective. Here’s Part 1 & Part 2.
BRAIN: Very thoughtful. How about this…I’ll read it as long as you read the articles I picked out.
YOU: Deal. Have fun getting Snooki-punched!!!
BRAIN: What?
YOU: Never mind…
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* The humanitarian disaster in Haiti is just the latest tragedy in a long line of misfortunes over the past few decades, including military coups, evil dictators, floods, riots, and hurricanes. – Foreign Policy (Don’t forget to text “HAITI” to 90999 and donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti)
* The ominous theme of the “End of America” has been gaining momentum over the past few years. Author James Fallows thinks the cycle of crisis and renewal has always been a fundamental part of our ethos. But for renewal to come again, we need to fix our seriously broken government…easier said than done. – The Atlantic
* As more and more terrorists have been captured since 9/11, criminologists and psychologists have been able to interview and analyze a larger pool of ‘patients’. They’ve started to paint an interesting picture of what makes a terrorist tick. – NY Times
* Shockingly, 35,000 stray dogs wander around Moscow (that’s 84 dogs per square mile). Andrei Poyarkov, a biologist who specializes in wolves, has devoted himself to finding out where these dogs come from, what types of behavior they exhibit, and how they interact with the culture of Moscow. (They’ve learned how to get on and off the subway like polite commuters!) – Financial Times
