There are clearly recognisable traits in the story of the Grebulons who observed the Earth before approaching Tricia Macmillan in the fifth Hitchhiker book “Mostly Harmless”…Īlthough Douglas clearly drew the line at some of his sillier ideas…īy the mid-90s Douglas was finally working with the title, “Starship Titanic”.Īnd, finally, in videos for the original CD-Rom game Douglas Adams himself played the character Leovinus, creator of the ship. Here, from the files, is the germ of a film idea called “The Too Slow Starship” also noted elsewhere as a “The Too Slow Warship”. Clearly the Golgafrinchams and their ‘B’ Ark in Hitchhiker were a prototype, but some pages from around 1990 suggest the notion continued percolating through Douglas’ remarkable mind for years. John’s Library, Cambridge, I came across some early jottings by the author concerning ‘generation starships’. Series composer Philip Pope (as the journalist) with Nicholas Boulton (as the Starship’s creator Leovinus). These photos show Dirk with some of the cast at work recently, in Studio 2 at that facility, on the 2021 “Starship Titanic” radio drama.ĭirk Maggs directing and posing with Rebecca Yeo (as Lucy). The Soundhouse in West London became the recording studio of choice for all of Dirk Magg’s radio adaptations of the later Hitchhiker and Dirk Gently novels. It also brought Douglas and I back together as he recorded the voices at The Soundhouse studios, where I was regularly making ‘audio movies’ for BBC Radio, and it re-stoked the idea of bringing Hitchhikers back to its original home.” Teaching computer language is the best way to learn more about it ourselves."ĭirk Maggs comments, “Douglas’s venture into video games with Robbie Stamp and the Digital Village team was typically genre-busting, ambitious and funny. They have the power to talk to us in any way that our intelligence can instruct them. "It isn't a question of people becoming more computer literate, it's a question of computers becoming more human literate. A handwritten note in Douglas’ personal archive confirms his ideas about getting computers to really talk to us… It's a pity Douglas didn’t live to see how computers are now used every day for translations and speech recognition. I remember the beauty of the artwork and given where we are now with AI and language parsing, just how crazily beautiful and ambitious our ‘Spookitalk’ engine was!”ĭouglas Adams working at The Digital Village, picture courtesy of Robbie Stamp All these years later, I still just marvel at what an extraordinary team of people worked with Douglas to make it happen. In the late 1990s Douglas’ business partner and CEO of The Digital Village was Robbie Stamp, who says, “Creating Starship Titanic was one of the most exciting (and scary!) projects I have ever worked on. Michael Palin, photo courtesy of Dave Morley. The title has now evolved once more, into a new BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama directed by Dirk Maggs and starring another Python, Michael Palin. The job of adapting that game into the 1997 novel (and audiobook) fell to Douglas’ friend and former Python, Terry Jones. The ship came into its own some 16 years later as the title of an elaborate 3-disc CD Rom game from his short-lived multi-media company, The Digital Village. The legend of the Starship Titanic barely merited a passing paragraph in Douglas Adams’ 1982 novel “Life, The Universe and Everything”, the third in the Hitchhiker saga.
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If you like a mystery, this is a great one set at Cambridge University in England with lots of ties to Greek Mythology.Ītomic Habits by James Clear– Caroyln suggested this book for me since we’ve been talking a lot about all the tiny (atomic) changes in my diet and lifestyle that add up to make me feel so much healthier and happier. I’m still totally available for comments and questions either via Instagram or email! WHAT I’M READING & WATCHINGīooks – The Maidens by Alex Michaelides– My dad and sister recommended this murder mystery and it’s perfectly dark with lots of good twists and turns. This is one of the many changes I’m making to the way I run my blog and social media to protect my mental health. This decision makes me feel a big weight off of my shoulders and I’m so glad that I made it. My readership numbers speak for themselves so I’m hoping it doesn’t change anything income-wise. This happens rarely but when it does, it shakes me up and I’ve realized it’s not worth it to be worrying about that going forward.īlog comments used to be a metric that brands looked at for partnerships but I’ve realized it matters less and less. Because blog comments can be 100% anonymous, it’s an easy place to be especially mean. Once in a while I get a really scathing message from someone. Most people read my posts via IG and then just DM me questions and comments which seems like the easiest way for you guys to be in touch with me. On the blog front, I’ve decided to disable comments for a few reasons: 1. We were bracing ourselves for a week of no sleep, but he crushed it! Proud of my little guy. Over the long weekend, we weened him off of sleeping with a swaddle which was really challenging with Amalia but he took to the change in only a day. He’s so chill and happy, it’s kind of unreal. I need to do a longer Luca update soon but the main gist is that he’s incredible, I adore him, and having a second baby has been infinitely easier than the first. Wild to think about! He’s such an important part of our family, and Anel and I say every single day that we can’t believe we ever lived without him. It’s hard to believe that the last time I wrote one of these, Luca was still in my body. I haven’t posted a 5 random things list since March and it feels good to bring it back today, a casual 5 months later. Db2 for i (originally known as DB2/400).Db2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows (informally known as Db2 LUW).In addition, this may be a duplicate of other issues as reported by the vendor. NOTE: due to the delayed disclosure of details for this issue, this candidate may be SPLIT in the future. Unknown "high risk" vulnerability in DB2 Universal Database 8.1 and earlier has unknown impact and attack vectors. Stack-based buffer overflow in IBM DB2 Universal Data Base 7.2 for Windows, before Fixpak 10a, allows attackers with "Connect" privileges to execute arbitrary code via the INVOKE command. IBM DB2 Universal Database 7 before FixPak 12 creates certain DMS directories with insecure permissions (777), which allows local users to modify or delete certain DB2 files. IBM DB2 7.1 and 8.1 allow the bin user to gain root privileges by modifying the shared libraries that are used in setuid root programs. Multiple stack-based buffer overflows in IBM DB2 7.x and 8.1 allow local users to execute arbitrary code via (1) a long third argument to the rec2xml function or (2) a long filename argument to the generate_distfile procedure.ĭB2 8.1 remote command server (DB2RCMD.EXE) executes the db2rcmdc.exe program as the db2admin administrator, which allows local users to gain privileges via the DB2REMOTECMD named pipe.īuffer overflow in db2dart in IBM DB2 Universal Data Base 7.2 before Fixpak 10 allows local users to gain root privileges via a long command line argument. Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in IBM DB2 Universal Database (UDB) before 8.1 FixPak 12 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a (1) "long column list" in the (a) REPLACE INTO and (b) INSERT INTO portions of the LOAD command or a (2) large number of values in an IN clause, possibly related to a buffer overflow. Stack-based buffer overflow in call in IBM DB2 7.x and 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long libname. Stack-based buffer overflow in JDBC Applet Server in IBM DB2 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary by connecting and sending a long username, then disconnecting gracefully and reconnecting and sending a short username and an unexpected db2java.zip version, which causes a null terminator to be removed and leads to the overflow. Stack-based buffer overflow in the SATENCRYPT function in IBM DB2 8.1, when Satellite Administration (SATADMIN) is enabled, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long parameter. Stack-based buffer overflow in db2fmp in IBM DB2 7.x and 8.1 allows local users to execute arbitrary code via a long parameter. Stack-based buffer overflow in libdb2.so in IBM DB2 7.x and 8.1 allows local users to execute arbitrary code via a long DB2LPORT environment variable. NOTE: this issue is probably related to CVE-2007-1089, but this is uncertain due to lack of details. IBM DB2 UDB 8 before Fixpak 15 does not properly check authorization, which allows remote authenticated users with a certain SELECT privilege to have an unknown impact via unspecified vectors. IBM DB2 UDB 8 before Fixpak 15 and 9.1 before Fixpak 3 does not properly revoke privileges on methods, which allows remote authenticated users to execute a method after revocation until the routine auth cache is flushed. Stack-based buffer overflow in IBM DB2 UDB 8 before Fixpak 15 and 9.1 before Fixpak 3 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a long DASPROF and possibly other environment variables, which are copied into the buildDasPaths buffer. Multiple untrusted search path vulnerabilities in IBM DB2 UDB 8 before Fixpak 15 and 9.1 before Fixpak 3 allow local users to gain privileges via certain vectors related to (1) DB2 instance or FMP startup on Linux and Solaris (2) exec of executables while running as root on non-Windows systems, as demonstrated by AIX and unspecified vectors involving (3) db2licm and (4) db2pd. IBM DB2 UDB 8 before Fixpak 15 and 9.1 before Fixpak 3 allows local users to create arbitrary directories and execute arbitrary code via a "crafted localized message file" that enables a format string attack, possibly involving the (1) OSSEMEMDBG or (2) TRC_LOG_FILE environment variable in db2licd (db2licm). Multiple vulnerabilities in IBM DB2 UDB 8 before Fixpak 15 and 9.1 before Fixpak 3 allow local users to create arbitrary files via (1) unspecified vectors where an attacker's umask is honored, (2) /etc/ld.so.preload, (3) certain "cron data file locations", and other unspecified vectors possibly involving the (4) OSSEMEMDBG or (5) TRC_LOG_FILE environment variable in db2licd (db2licm). Multiple race conditions in IBM DB2 UDB 8 before Fixpak 15 and 9.1 before Fixpak 3 allow local users to gain root privileges via a symlink attack on certain files. We offer diverse styles from classic to modern in an array of colors and sizes to suit your space. Whether you prefer classic wall art or enjoy more whimsical designs, we have options that reflect your personality and blend effortlessly with existing wall displays in your living room, bedroom and hallway. Enhance your wall decor with canvas art from At Home. Canvas art emblazoned with superheroes and cartoon characters makes a great addition to kids' rooms. HOMCOM Hand-Painted Canvas Wall Art for Living Room Bedroom, Painting Gold. Word art options designed for use in specific rooms simplify decorating in more utilitarian areas, while funny canvas wall art featuring pets adds an element of humor to your day-to-day life for a quick pick-me-up. Shop Target for living room wall art you will love at great low prices. artwork collection is mounted and framed with gallery-quality materials that not only elevate the presentation of the artwork. Choose a modern cityscape to display beside memorabilia from your latest urban adventure, or pick stylized still-lifes to accentuate a silk bouquet on your entryway table. Painting Print Decor American Public Enemy Modern Artwork for Living Room Unframed. From traditional florals and moody forests to colorful abstracts and motivational words, our selection of canvas art offers a versatile way to spice up your home or office decor. Famous Gangsters Canvas Wall Art,Gangsters Wall Art,The Godfather Art. Tools, Gadgets & Kitchen Utensils Shop Allīeautify your space with canvas art from At Home in styles, colors and sizes that meld seamlessly with virtually any taste. He started performing as a teenager under the name Zev Love X as part of the hip-hop group KMD, which he started with his younger brother DJ Subroc. You inspired us all and always will.”ĭumile was born in London in 1971 and moved to Long Island, NY with his family early in his childhood. Thank you for keeping it weird and raw always. Grateful I got to know you a little, king. MF DOOM!! crushing news…,” Q-Tip tweeted, while El-P wrote, “He was a writer’s writer. His son, King Malachi Dumile, died in 2017.“RIP to another Giant your favorite MC’s MC. His last full album as Doom (having since dropped the MF) was released in 2009 - titled “Born Like This,” it featured production from Madlib as well as the late J Dilla, and saw Dumile break into the album charts for the first time as a solo artist. Rarely seen in public without his metal mask, Dumile became notorious for sometimes sending masked impostors to lip-sync in his stead at concerts asked about this habit by Rolling Stone, he explained, “everything we do is villain-style.” The following year, Dumile returned to the charts - this time breaking into the top 50 - via a collaboration with producer Danger Mouse, dubbed “The Mouse and the Mask.” Dumile’s subsequent recording output was characteristically erratic he kept busy with plenty of unexpected projects (including repeat work with Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim) and one-offs, while other long-rumored collaborations (particularly a joint album with the Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah) failed to materialize. (Rolling Stone would later include “Madvillany” on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.) The album saw Dumile enter the lower rungs of the Billboard top 200 album chart, and brought with it substantial press attention and praise from some of the biggest names in hip-hop. Featuring turns that were cerebral and goofy, drugged-out and lucid, the album offered heady, jagged-edged collages of jazz samples and obscure film dialogue, while Doom’s rhymes were as absurd, inventive, hilarious and endlessly quotable as ever. Released via the Highland Park indie Stones Throw, “Madvillainy” united Dumile with idiosyncratic California producer Madlib, and the two established an uncanny chemistry. He aligned with the influential Minneapolis label Rhymesayers for his second album as Doom, “Mm…Food,” in late 2004, but it was another project from earlier that year that truly established him among the uppermost ranks of independent hip-hop figures. Featuring Dumile’s signature plainspoken flow and head-spinning volleys of intricate internal rhymes, off-the-wall cultural references and non-sequiturs, the album gained him a sizable cult following.ĭumile’s career was anything but straightforward, and he followed up on the notoriety gained through “Doomsday” with a flurry of collaborations, instrumental releases and projects under the alternate alias Viktor Vaughn. Produced by Dumile himself under the pseudonym Metal Fingers, the album couldn’t have been more willingly out of step with hip-hop’s mainstream. Now calling himself MF Doom and wearing a metal mask inspired by the Marvel Comics villain Doctor Doom, Dumile released his solo debut “Operation: Doomsday” in 1999. After Subroc was killed in a car accident in 1993, the group disbanded, and Dumile retreated from public view, only to reemerge toward the end of the decade with a new name and an extravagant new persona. alongside his brother DJ Subroc, and the group had a minor hit in the early 1990s. He began his music career under the name Zev Lov X as part of the trio K.M.D. of the most celebrated, unpredictable and enigmatic figures in independent hip-hop, Dumile was born in London, but relocated to New York City as a child. If the above steps doesn't work for you, try the following: Tap on it and then choose 'Allow from this source'.Find your browser for example Firefox or Chrome. You should be presented with a list of apps.Scroll down and find 'install from unknown apps'.In order to install the APK file you have to perform the following steps on your Android phone. From our web site Ī version of the Android app is available as an APK file in download section of our web site. Updating the Android app: Once we publish a newer version of the Android app, it will be automatically installed on your mobile device within the following days. You can install the Android app from the Google Play Store. Installation on Android From Google Play The distribution variant can be simply re-installed over the last available version. You don't have to worry about your tag library and locations since they are persisted in the users home folder. Updating the Linux version: For the tar.gz-package, just exchange the content of your current installation, with the content from the tar.gz-file of a newer release. Some users are reporting issues with unpacking the app with some 3th-party zip utils.Īnd then it can be just started with a double click. Then you have to double click the downloaded zip file in Finder to unpack it properly. Just in case you need this, the profile folder under Windows is located here: C:\Users\Your_User_Name\AppData\Roaming\TagSpaces Installation on macOS įor macOS you have to download 64bit versions of the application for Intel or Apple Silicon(arm) based processor. Updating the Windows version: Just exchange the content of your current installation, with the content from the zip-file of a newer release. Here you can see that the installation program is created by TagSpaces UG (haftungsbeschränkt), which is the company behind TagSpaces. The following screenshot shows the certificate in action during the installation under Windows. The installer program for Windows is signed with modern software certificates. In the unpacked folder you will find a file called tagspaces.exe, which can be executed with double click. The last have be to unzipped in a folder somewhere on your system. The Windows version of TagSpaces is distributed as a exe-installer, which can be directly executed to start the installation and a zip-archive file. If you do not want TagSpaces to check automatically for the new versions, disable this functionality in the settings. He zipped one to Metchie for a 13-yard score, drove the Tide into position for Will Reichard’s 33-yard field goal, and capped off his brilliant quarter by running 13 yards for a TD with just 26 seconds left in the half. The quarterback set an SEC championship game record for first-half passing yards with 286, sparked by a 67-yard touchdown pass to Williams - the longest play the Bulldogs have given up this season. Young set the tone during a dominant second quarter, guiding four straight scoring drives - three of them for touchdowns - to give the Tide a 24-17 lead at the break. Metchie had six catches for 97 yards and a TD before his injury. Jameson Williams more than picked up the slack for his injured teammate, finishing with 184 yards on seven receptions and two touchdowns. Not even a knee injury that knocked top receiver John Metchie out of the game just before halftime - and likely ended his season - could sidetrack the Tide. “We’ve got a lot to work on.”Īfter falling into a 10-0 hole on the first play of the second quarter, Alabama outscored the Bulldogs 41-14 the rest of the way. “We didn’t play our best game,” linebacker Nakobe Dean said. This one will be remembered for Alabama’s dismantling of the Georgia defense, which had not allowed more than 17 points in a game during the perfect regular season. Freshman Brock Bowers made 10 catches for 139 yards. Georgia’s Stetson Bennett threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns, but he also had two crucial picks. The Tide’s defense wasn’t too shabby, either, essentially sealing the victory with Jordan Battle’s 42-yard interception return to the end zone with about 12 minutes remaining. 3 CFP) had six offensive scoring drives - five covering at least 75 yards, the other 62 - and finished with a staggering 536 yards against a team that was giving up just under 231 per game. The playoff field will be announced Sunday, with the semifinals set for the Orange and Cotton bowls on Dec. “He buys time with his mobility and makes plays downfield. “He’s soooo good at avoiding the rush,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. Young made that vaunted defense look like a scout team, earning game MVP honors, bolstering his Heisman Trophy chances and moving on to an even bigger game on the final day of 2021. Nick Saban and Bryce Young celebrate after Alabama’s SEC title win. The Bulldogs boasted a fearsome defensive unit that had allowed only 6.9 points a game. 1 CFP) cruised through the regular season, barely challenged and a unanimous choice as the nation’s No. They’ve shown tremendous ability to overcome adversity all year long.” “Winning the game as we did last week, playing a game today to a level that most people probably didn’t expect, I’m really proud of this bunch. “The resiliency they’ve shown all year makes this so special,” Saban said. The reigning national champions gave Saban a chance to add to his record seven titles - six of them coming since he arrived in Tuscaloosa in 2007 to lead a storied program that has become perhaps the greatest dynasty in college football history. “He’s played great for us all year long.”Ĭoming off a surprisingly difficult, four-overtime win over Auburn and already saddled with a loss, the Tide knew they needed a victory to ensure a return to the playoff. No one lapped it up more than Young, who set SEC championship records with 421 yards passing and 461 yards total offense. But the rat poison you put out there this week was yummy.” Bryce Young USA TODAY Sports “The rat poison you usually give us is fatal. “You guys gave us a lot of positive rat poison,” the coach quipped to reporters. Saban made sure his players heard all the skeptics. The stunning result will likely send both powerhouse programs to the four-team College Football Playoff.įor Alabama, it would be the seventh appearance in the eight-year history of this postseason format, but this might the most unlikely one of all given the way the Tide struggled late in the regular season. 1 Georgia 41-24 in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday. Now, Nick Saban’s team is in a much more familiar position: getting ready to play for another national title.īryce Young carved up the nation’s top-rated defense, throwing for three touchdowns and running for another as the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide rolled over No. Turns out, it suits the Crimson Tide just fine. Texas makes early statement with big road win over AlabamaĪrch Manning trolled by ‘College GameDay’ fans ahead of Texas-Alabama clashĬollege football predictions: Take a shot on three underdogsĪTLANTA - Underdog is an unusual role for Alabama. Radio streams, videos, Soundcloud links, etc. The bot can be operated via chat commands or using the web interface. The TS3 Musicbot is an incredible software that makes it possible to play music on a Teamspeak server. Absent users can be reached by opening a pop-up window on their computer. TeamSpeak 3 uses advanced technology to deliver high quality voice. Plugin Stream Deck Plugin for TeamSpeak 5. TeamSpeak 3 is an application that allows people to use voice to communicate with each other. It is possible to send channel- and server-wide chats as well as chatting directly with one person.īy poking in TS3 it is possible to make yourself noticed. Low microphone volume while whispering, but only if other sounds are there too. With this mode, communication is restricted to selected users. In addition to the regular conversation by voice, users can also use the "whisper" feature. TS3 : Tools > Options > Playback or Capture. Try to select your device directly and not default under. Especially for Windows 8.1 and newer > Check your default Communication devices. It is lightweight and fast and offers you more control since you can. Check your default Capture and Playback devices. There are certain advantages to each which you should consider before deciding on what option suits your situation better. Headsets (headphones including microphone) are required for this. TeamSpeak is cross-platform voice chat software used by gamers, teams, and schools. If you are new to TeamSpeak and would like to setup your own TeamSpeak 3 non-commercial server you have two options: 1) Setting up your own TeamSpeak 3 server. Users can talk to each other while in-game - this provides the core functionality of the TS3 software. This makes it easier for users to follow the conversations. In addition, during conferences, the participants can be placed in a virtual room (front/back area or left/right side). Advantages of setting up your own TS3 server: No cost solution, 100 FREE to non-profit entities. The software supports reading entered texts out loud. 1) Setting up your own TeamSpeak 3 server. The first beta version of the latest version of Teamspeak 3 was released at the end of 2009, the finished program was released in mid 2011. At Nitrado, users not only get one channel, but a completely individual server with full admin rights. During use, players are connected to a server or Game Server, which in turn can be divided into several channels. Teamspeak was primarily developed for use in online gaming. Teamspeak (abbreviated as "TS") is the top notch voice conferencing software which allows users to communicate with each other via the world wide web using voice and text as well as exchanging files. Voice conferencing software Teamspeak 3 (TS3) engineers bore some resemblance to the Apple TV+ drama “Severance,” in that each morning they entered a milieu with its own customs and camaraderie-one sealed off from the rest of their lives. “We were kind of known as the social branch,” another O.S.B. A dozen or so people clocked in every day. There was a bullpen of cubicle workstations. was, in other respects, just like any office. (With a few exceptions, this piece refers to agency employees by pseudonyms or by their first names.)īut, while these jobs were cutting edge and-at least vicariously-dangerous, the O.S.B. “That branch was really good at taking ideas and prototypes and turning them into tools that could be used in the mission, very quickly.” According to the man who supervised the O.S.B., Sean, the unit could be “a high-stress environment,” because it was supporting life-or-death operations. “built quick-reaction tools,” Anthony Leonis, the chief of another cyberintelligence unit of the C.I.A., said. exploited a software vulnerability that turned it into a listening device. “It often was somebody who was willing to plug a thumb drive into the machine.” In this manner, human spies, armed with the secret digital payloads designed by the Operations Support Branch, have been able to compromise smartphones, laptops, tablets, and even TVs: when Samsung developed a set that responded to voice commands, the wizards at the O.S.B. “It could be somebody who was willing to type on a keyboard for us,” Weber said. officer or an asset recruited to work secretly for the agency-a courier for the terrorist the finance minister’s personal chef-must surreptitiously implant the malware by hand. Such operations are incredibly dangerous: a C.I.A. Sometimes a foreign terrorist or a finance minister is too sophisticated to be hacked remotely, and so the agency is obliged to seek “physical access” to that person’s devices. These are hacks, or “exploits,” designed for individual targets. This is not dragnet mass surveillance of the kind more often associated with the National Security Agency. was focussed on what we referred to as ‘physical-access operations,’ ” a senior developer from the unit, Jeremy Weber-a pseudonym-explained. It is the agency’s secret hacker unit, in which a cadre of élite engineers create cyberweapons. office with an ostentatiously bland name: the Operations Support Branch. Inside, on the ninth floor, through another door that requires badge access, is a C.I.A. When employees enter the building, they must badge in and pass through a full-body turnstile. The facility is surrounded by a high fence and monitored by guards armed with military-grade weapons. One of these buildings, at an address that is itself a secret, houses the cyberintelligence division of the Central Intelligence Agency. In fact, they hold Top Secret clearances and work in defense and intelligence. To the casual observer, they resemble anonymous corporate drones. Employees in civilian dress get out of their cars, clutching their Starbucks, and disappear into the buildings. Nestled west of Washington, D.C., amid the bland northern Virginia suburbs, are generic-looking office parks that hide secret government installations in plain sight. How? By making and keeping what Brooks calls “the Four Commitments” - to a spouse/family to a faith/philosophy to a true calling/cause as the primary outlet for expending one’s heart, mind, and soul horsepower and to a community.įulfilling each commitment requires someone to rotate 180 degrees from the mirror and concentrate all his energy on serving others. All is vanity…There is nothing new under the sun.”Īn enlightened few among those living Plan A on the First Mountain at some point smell the coffee and move to Plan B on the Second Mountain, where long-term, authentic joy can actually be found. Pursuing Plan A on the First Mountain leaves two sets of victims: the “unsuccessful” inhabitants depressed over their inability to obtain mass quantities of money, power, success, etc., and the “successful” ones, who ultimately find themselves in sync with Ecclesiastes: “Vanity of vanities. And even when a person thinks he’s achieved his goals, he can look in the mirror, see himself transform into bleached-blonde, smoky-voiced Peggy Lee, and start singing her classic song, “Is That All There Is?” Such secular aspirations are, of course, fueled by the selfish ego. Daily living on life’s First Mountain entails always keeping score (i.e., making comparisons to others) in the never-ending pursuit of money, power, success, and Instagram happiness. What’s the Second Mountain? That begins with knowing what the First Mountain is. With this theme, Brooks could well have titled his new book The Road to Joy, though that would lack the mysterious imagery of the chosen title. Making such a selfless community-enhancing decision, Brooks concludes, is the only means of creating a life spent in a stream of joy. Rather, it should be to look outside himself and commit to the ongoing responsibility of elevating the station of others. Whereas The Road to Character was paved by the premise that a person could morally elevate himself into exhibiting “eulogy virtues” (as opposed to “résumé virtues”) by steeling himself to live every day in a mode of high integrity, sometime after 2013, the downcast walking-in-the-wilderness author determined that a person’s ultimate life goal should not be merely to engage in consistent altruistic behavior. In Brooks’ case, after his bestselling book The Road to Character came out in 2013, he was traumatized first by his divorce (after a 28-year marriage) and then by seeing his moderate conservative editorial slant get skewered by the Tea Party and the Trump revolution.Īs is often the case when a person’s life jumps the tracks, Brooks’ nosedive into the depths of his emotional valley produced a life-changing epiphany. No major league thinker takes on the herculean task of addressing “the quest for a moral life” without being triggered by a major stimulus. In his new book, Brooks elevates this assemblage/distillation process to new heights as he gleans the most important thoughts from some of history’s leading philosophers and theologians, and combines them with lessons learned from his own life, resulting in 300+ pages that will likely cause legions of readers to reassess how they want to spend the rest of their days. He’s previously described his process for creating each op-ed as follows: Collect roughly 200 pages of potentially useful research, lay it all out on his floor, organize it into piles, turn his imagination loose, and meld the best parts into a tight essay. The esteemed author’s day job for the last 16 years has been writing 800-word columns twice a week for the New York Times on subjects ranging from politics to sociology to faith. In this chaotic state of affairs, a desperate voice cries out from the mountaintop, “Would some smart person please sift through this vast crop of data, separate the cream, and then blend it together in a way that enhances our understanding of the human condition?”ĭavid Brooks now answers that call with The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life. We live in a world with too much information and too little synthesizing of it. |
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