The Browser - States, Films, Wars, Nerves, Tumblr

Civilisation States

Shashi Tharoor | Noema | 2nd February 2023 | U

A useful contribution to the central geopolitical debate of our time: Is the essential and enduring unit of society the nation-state, a legal concept; or the civilisation, a cultural concept? Tharoor, contemplating a Hindu revanche in India, argues for the nation-state. His notional opponent here is the equally liberal Bruno Macaes. If I were Macaes I would demand a right of reply (1,800 words)

The Most Profitable Movie of All Time

David McCandless et al | Information Is Beautiful | 2nd February 2023 | U

It's Avatar, right? Up to a point. Avatar (2009) recorded history's biggest gross, at $2.9 billion. When you adjust for inflation, Avatar is neck-and-neck with Titanic (1997) and Star Wars (1977) at around $4 billion apiece in current dollars. And when you look at return on investment, things start to get weird. Would you believe My Big Fat Greek Wedding? The Gallows? The Devil Inside?  (615 words)

Explanations End Somewhere

Charles Crawford | Israel Journal Of Foreign Affairs | 22nd December 2022 | U

You can try to see the world from Russia's point of view. You can make allowances for Russian history, Russian interests, Russian beliefs, Russian illusions. You can find fault with Ukraine. But going to war, as Russia has done, is a crime for which no mitigation is admissible. In attacking Ukraine, Russia is attacking the laws and principles which stand between an ordered world and anarchy (3,700 words)

The Crack-Up

F. Scott Fitzgerald | Esquire | 1936 | U

This classic account of what we might now call a nervous breakdown hovers between fact and fiction, pride and self-pity. Fitzgerald blames his depression on physical and psychological exhaustion while denying in passing his alcoholism. He cannot understand why his success feels so much like failure. As autobiography, The Crack-Up is a bit of a mess. As writing, it is wonderful (6,300 words)

From The Browser Eleven Years Ago

Tumbling On Success

Tom Cheshire | Wired | 2nd February 2012 | B

Does Tumblr ring any bells? Here's how it looked at its peak when everything seemed possible. "If Facebook is the social network for online identification and authentication, and Twitter is for communication, Tumblr fulfils a different role: self-expression". According to one user: "My understanding was that it was an image-sharing platform. I was vaguely aware that it was hipsterish" (4,500 words)

Audio: A Restaurant Critic Reflects | The Daily. New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells explains how he sees his work: "No one hands you a list of the rules of restaurant criticism, but I thought the job was to help readers figure out what was worth the money" (43m 43s)

Video: Flying Sailor | New Yorker | YouTube | 7m 55s

"On a December morning in 1917, Charlie Mayers was on board the cargo ship Middleham Castle when the SS Imo and the SS Mont-Blanc collided in Halifax harbour, setting off an explosion that would kill thousands of people. He lived to tell his story, which is reimagined in Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby’s animation, The Flying Sailor" — Rob Munday

Afterthought:
"First get your facts, then distort them at your leisure"
— Mark Twain

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