Of Personal Interest

First: Michael Pollan's recent piece for the NY Times magazine. It's an open letter of sorts, to the next president, advising him on food policy. I think that it is true to form for Pollan in that it is insightful, timely, and rather dry. He illustrates, convincingly, the environmental and health problems resulting from our rather anti-free-market agricultural system. If, like me, you have in interest in the absurdity of the US food system and policy related to it, this article is definitely worth a look. I think it's going to be tough for any politician to substantially fix our farming/ food system, because ending the subsidies that keep it afloat would be tantamount to political suicide. Even though the main beneficiaries of the current policies are giants like ADM and Cargill, changing/ ending farm subsidies can always be spun to seem like a politician is crushing the non-existent Jeffersonian ideal of an American farmer. What's more, truly "fixing" our food system as Pollan has suggested here, would take more than just a change in government policy. What he recommends could take many years, and would involve a shift in Americans' dietary habits, which are a big part of our culture. What will be necessary and unavoidable is weaning American agriculture off of petroleum products. Expect changes.

Second: I read an article in last week's Economist about the money that the music industry has been making from music based video games like Guitar Hero and others. I figured some money was going to the artists and record companies for these games, but I had no idea how much. Apparently, I underestimated the games' popularity, as the article mentions that: "Aerosmith have made more money from “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith”... than from any of their albums." To me, that's just incredible.

That's all I got.

Interesting China article

One of my favorite China-based writers, James Fallows, has written an excellent piece for The Atlantic, entitled "How the West Was Wired". It is an incredibly interesting read for anyone with an interest (even passing) in or link to China. I won't go into to much detail about its content, but Fallows explains the philanthropic efforts of two Taiwainese businessmen in China's vast and underdeveloped West.

I feel that it's important to write and read about such things for American and Western audiences, as the western regions are often overlooked in our mainstream media coverage. Looking beyond the financial, manufacturing, and political might of the leading cities Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing, respectfully, often gives us the best impression of what challenges China continues to face. It is especially heartening to see novel approaches to surmounting these problems, like that of the Taiwanese businessmen mentioned in the article.