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STUFF FROM HARPERS
June 22, 2006

I learned during this morning's sitdown that Art Garfunkel has read 948 books since 1968.

Also that the ratio of energy expended to produce ethenol to that produced when it is burned is 1:1

The ratio for gasoline is 6:5

Love that Harper's Index.

When you begin to methodically think about the above cocktail party factoids (the second two, that is) you discover many tangled tendrils — the energy business, agribusiness, globalism, conservation, environmentalism, gentetic engeneering — and the picture becomes more complex the more you delve into it. (Sort of like the famous painting, Dogs Playing Poker.)

This complexity has been well illustrated in an earlier Harper's piece, an essay entitled The Oil We Eat by Richard Manning. If you haven't read it yet, I strongly suggest you do so.
 


There are 2 Comments for STUFF FROM HARPERS

How in the world does Artie know exactly how many books he's read since 1968? What kind of strange compulsion is that?

I like the pitchers. But don't take my word for it -- someone once told me that I'm "visually impaired".
from Masha Bolkonskaya over 2 years ago
Artie was once an architecture major and a mathematician... maybe that explains something. They said that this info came from his website. I'll have to go there and see if there's some explanation of this weird compulsion.

That's the problem with the Harpers Index, they drop these little fun nuggets and they're sometimes just too sketchy.

I pity you for your hideous infirmity. Now we say "visually challenged", though. Or "differently abled" when speaking in general terms.
from Beefer over 2 years ago

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