2 Magazines

The December National Geographic was a fascinating mix of the exploration of the galaxy, and the brutality that continues on our own world. The article "Are We Alone" searches the cosmos for earth like planets. And the search is getting more and more precise and instuments get more finely tuned. I do believe that we will find a few earth like planets in my lifetime, and maybe even sign of life on another world. It is not science fiction, it is statistics, the laws of probability and science. But we have much still to learn on our own world, as "The Other Tibet" illustrates. The repression in Tibet by China shows that mankind is probably not ready for the discovery that we are not a unique planet, the other forms of life do exist. We will probably find that another reason to commit atrocities against each other. And the article on the Hazda people, modern day hunter-gatherers, really shows the despite our progress in many areas, we still lack a serenity that these "primitive" people seem to have mastered.

The December issue of Playboy had some good articles. The interview with James Cameron, that I read before the debut of Avatar was especially revealing...he had little doubt that it would be a huge success, and he was VERY correct. I have to admit, Chelsea Handler makes me laugh, and she is HOT! Her guide to surviving the holidays with family made me laugh out loud. With advise like "An inebriated guest is an entertaining guest--an abundance of booze makes everybody a little less critical of the terrible food they are being served." I LIKE her! And while I personally am not a fan of Vladimir Nabokov, I recognize that he is one of the literary giants of the 20th century, and for Playboy to get an exclusive preview of his last novel, that has been in a vault for many years, is a testament to how literary this magazine is. It has, and continues, to publish short fiction from some of the greatest writers around.