Abnegate (Dictionary.com's Word of the Day)

1.To refuse or deny oneself; to reject; to renounce.
2. To give up (rights, claims, etc.); to surrender; to relinquish.
Quotes:
An exaggerated veneration for an exceptional individual will allow worshippers "to abnegate responsibility, looking to the great man for salvation or for fulfilment" that we should work out for ourselves.
-- Christina Hardyment, "The intoxicating allure of great men" review of Heroes: Saviors Traitors and Supermen by Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Independent , October 19, 2004
Adrift and divided, lacking intelligent leadership from the White House, the members of Congress have chosen to abnegate their constitutional responsibility in the hope that the blunt, crude mechanism of Gramm-Rudman will compensate for the failure of political will.
-- Evan Thomas, "Look Ma! No hands!'", Time , December 23, 1985
Feed no more blossoms
to the wind, abnegate the constellations,
negate the sea and what is left
of your world? What is left then?
-- Alessandra Lynch, "Excommunication", American Poetry Review , July/August 2003

Read the full entry here. See also: Cleopatra: Histories, Dreams and Distortions, Heroes: A History of Hero Worship, Cleopatra: The First Woman of Power

The Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Charlie Rose Conversation with Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell discusses his latest book "What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures" CHARLIE ROSE: Malcolm Gladwell is here. He is the bestselling author of "The Tipping Point," "Blink," and "Outliers." After starting his career at the "American Prospect" at "The Washington Post" he moved to "The New Yorker" magazine in 1996. Since then, his unique blend of analysis and storytelling has been widely emulated. Now he has compiled 19 of his favorite "New Yorker" pieces into this single volume. It is called -- what a great title -- "What the Dog Saw." I’m pleased to have him here at the table again. Welcome. MALCOLM GLADWELL: Thank you, Charlie.

See that full interview here. See also: Outliers: The Story of Success, What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

"Street style from The Sartorialist" from PRI's The Sound of Young America

Photographs from the popular street fashion photography blog, The Sartorialist, now published in a new book. One of America's most popular fashion bloggers, Scott Schuman is the creator of the street fashion photography blog, The Sartorialist. His new book of the same name collects some of his favorite photos from the blog. His subjects range from Hasidim on the streets of New York to garment industry insiders in Milan. Schuman worked in the fashion industry for some time before picking up a camera. He owned a showroom that sold fashion collections into major department stores. By the time he was a teenager, Schuman knew he wanted to work in fashion, and while he was limited by geography, he was able to pursue his passion through the retail side of the business. "Where I grew up in Indiana, there was no fashion business, there really was no fashion. So, the romantic idea of that world was great. I loved the romance of that kind of idea. I didn't know any designers growing up. I didn't know what that lifestyle was like.

Download The Sound of Young America podcast here. Of course, all of the fashion blogs are ablaze and giddy over the book. For example, the Fashion Bomb blog, blogged this:

So any of my friends will tell you that I have a serious weakness for fashion and literature. My shelves and drawers are overflowing with clothes and tons and tons of books on anything from art and history to fantasy. Whilst perusing the selection at W.H. Smith, a local English bookstore, I was of course driven to distraction by all the amazing offerings in the fashion section. I’ve been a fan of the Sartorialist‘s blog for a long time, and see Scott Schuman at every fashion week. Though I could just as easily look at all his hottest street looks online, I decided to pick up his book…and couldn’t put it down.

Check that post out, here. See also: FASHION BLOGS, Characterising Successful Fashion Blogs and Their Evaluation Metrics, Photo Fashion Book - Rosemount Australian by Fashion Media, Blogs: Slashdot, Blog, Bloggingheads.tv, Xanga, Digg, Gucci Gang controversy, Sousveillance, Fashion blog, EPIC FU, History of blogging

The Twitter Book from Slashdot: Book Reviews by samzenpus

stoolpigeon writes "Microblogging service Twitter has undeniably been a hit, with growth rates that were at times in excess of 1400%. The growth was rapid enough that the site became well known for its periodic, and, at times, extensive downtime. Even with these issues, the service continued to grow rapidly, and with celebrities getting into the mix Twitter was quickly on the radar of mainstream media. The ubiquity of Twitter and ever-increasing coverage of 'tweets' has also brought the inevitable backlash. As with anything that gains high-profile popularity, there are plenty of Twitter haters out there, though the role Twitter has played in the recent Iranian elections seems to have brought more legitimacy to Twitter in the eyes of many. With popularity come books, and quite a few are already out there about and for Twitter, but my favorite so far is The Twitter Book by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein."

Read the rest of JR's review here.

NYT: Book Review for 10/09/2009 from NYT Book Review

This week, a conversation with Maureen Dowd about Dan Brown's new novel, "The Lost Symbol"; Motoko Rich has notes from the field; Times business reporter Peter Goodman talks about the state of the economy; and Jennifer Schuessler has best-seller news. Sam Tanenhaus is the host.

Download the podcast here. See also: The Lost Symbol, Deception Point

The Wednesday, October 28, 2009 Charlie Rose Conversation with Sam Tanenhaus

CHARLIE ROSE: Sam Tanenhaus is here. He is editor of both the "New
York Times Book Review" and the "Weekend Review" section of the newspaper.
When he is not appraising books, he writes some of his own. His biography
of Whitaker Chambers was a finalist for the National Nook Award and the
Pulitzer Prize.

His latest book is called "The Death of Conservatism." In it he argues
that today’s Republicans have lost their way and need to return to their
intellectual roots. I am pleased to have him back at this table. Welcome.

SAM TANENHAUS, AUTHOR: Great to be here, Charlie.

CHARLIE ROSE: And did this grow out of that "New Republic" piece that
you wrote?

SAM TANENHAUS: It did. I wrote a story, an essay during the first
month of the Obama administration, and the Republicans and the conservative
intellectuals, because the book is really about both, seemed totally lost.

And also it builds on a lot of thinking and writing I’ve done ever
since I started writing about conservatism some 20 years ago.

Read the rest of that transcript here.

Charlie Rose's Tuesday, October 20, 2009 conversation with Madeleine Albright - Former secretary of state Madeline Albright discusses her book "Read My Pins" - Current Affairs, Books

CHARLIE ROSE: Madeleine Albright is here. She became the first woman
to serve as secretary of state. She served in that position during the
Clinton administration. During the 2008 presidential campaign she was an
advisor to Hillary Clinton, who is now secretary of state.

Her latest book is called "Read my Pin, Stories from a Diplomat’s
Jewel Box." I am pleased to have her back at this table, and she will
understand that that we will spend not much time talking about jewelry.

But here’s the cover of the book. And just give me the idea behind
this.

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: The idea was that I was at the U.N. as secretary
of state. I like pins, and they give signals. And it all began because
Saddam Hussein called me an "unparalleled serpent" and I had a snake pin.
And I thought, this is fun.

So -- but mostly, Charlie, it gives me an opportunity to talk about
foreign policy.

SEE: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10680. SEE ALSO: Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership, The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs, Madam Secretary: A Memoir

Comparing Education in China to the U.S. (The Brian Lehrer Show: Monday, 12 October 2009) from WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show by listenerservices@wnyc.org (WNYC, New York Public Radio)

Creativity versus Test-taking? Yong Zhao, professor at the College of Education at Michigan State University compares the Chinese and American education systems with his new book Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization.

Listen to the podcast show here, download the podcast show here.

"Farmers: What Do You Think Of Pollan's Ideas?" - from NPR's Talk of the Nation

Writer Michael Pollan famously advises eat food, not too much, mostly plants. And don't buy food you've seen advertised on TV. And that's just the kernel of his ideas about the American food industry and American agriculture in his enormously popular books, including his latest, "In Defense of Food." Last month the University of Wisconsin-Madison gave that book to all incoming freshman and urged professors to discuss it in class, which as you might suspect set off a Donnybrook in a heavily agricultural state.

The full transcript from the show, including the podcast can be found here. See also: The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World, Second Nature: A Gardener's EducationA Place of My Own: The Architecture of Daydreams, The Omnivore's Dilemma for Kids: The Secrets Behind What You Eat, A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder, Hope Beneath Our Feet: Restoring Our Place in the Natural World (Io Series)

The Wednesday, October 7, 2009 Charlie Rose Conversation with Max Cleland

Vietnam Veteran, Former U.S. Senator and former head of the Veterans Administration, Max Cleland, shares his views on Afghanistan

CHARLIE ROSE: Max Cleland is here. He is, as you know, a decorated
Vietnam War veteran and a former Democratic senator from the great state of
Georgia.

He was head of the Veterans Administration under President Jimmy
Carter. In June, President Obama appointed him secretary of the American
Battle Monuments Commission. It manages all overseas memorials to American
soldiers.

He has a new book out, and it’s called "Heart of a Patriot: How I
found courage to survive Vietnam, Walter Reed, and Karl Rove."

(LAUGHTER)

I am pleased to have Max Cleland at this table. Welcome.

MAX CLELAND: I’m glad to be here.

CHARLIE ROSE: Tell me why you decided to write this.

MAX CLELAND: I did it for me to come to terms with my life.

See the show here, in its entirety.