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Andrei Codrescu
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Andrei Codrescu

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Monday

Opinion

Google Backs A New Digital World, But What About The Real New World?

As Google invests in a startup called Improbable, a digital simulation of real cities, economies and biological systems, commentator Andrei Codrescu thinks of Communism and that dream of a new world.

Google Backs A New Digital World, But What About The Real New World?

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Tuesday

The Kaypro II: An Early Computer With A Writer's Heart

British science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke using a Kaypro II in 1985. AP/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists hide caption

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AP/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists

Opinion

All Tech Considered

The Kaypro II: An Early Computer With A Writer's Heart

Commentator Andrei Codrescu remembers the first word processor he had — the Kaypro II in the 1980s. Its inventor, Andrew Kay, died Aug. 28, at the age of 95.

The Kaypro II: An Early Computer With A Writer's Heart

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Monday

Opinion

When The TV Set Goes Dark, One Soundtrack Replaces Another

When commentator Andrei Codrescu finally gives up TV, he starts to hear what he first thinks is silence — but soon, nature and quiet sounds penetrate his life.

When The TV Set Goes Dark, One Soundtrack Replaces Another

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Monday

Opinion

Despite Guinness And Google, Some Barroom Questions Go Unanswered

Commentator Andrei Codrescu says Google — and earlier, the Guinness Book of Records — has reduced the number of barroom brawls by clearing up matters of fact. But even as more and more of our factual debates find concrete answers, unanswerable questions will always rise up to take their place.

Despite Guinness And Google, Some Barroom Questions Go Unanswered

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Thursday

Opinion

To Buy Or Not To Buy A Bookstore, And Some Considerations

Commentator Andrei Codrescu gets an offer to buy the Stein Bookstore in Jerusalem. It is the most distinguished bookstore in a city where books play an important role, and a place where great author once came.

To Buy Or Not To Buy A Bookstore, And Some Considerations

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Friday

Opinion

Is There Any Meaning In Poet Seamus Heaney's Last Text?

Commentator Andrei Codrescu reflects on the text message written by poet Seamus Heaney just before he died. In Latin he wrote to his wife "do not be afraid." The 74-year-old Heaney died in a Dublin hospital last week. Codrescu says no great meaning should be implied — it was just a personal message to his wife.

Is There Any Meaning In Poet Seamus Heaney's Last Text?

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Wednesday

Opinion

What's Behind Romania's Church Building Spree?

Commentator Andrei Codrescu notes the complicity of the Romanian Orthodox Church in both World War II and Communist-era wrongs. Now the church is giving big new construction projects to politically connected contractors.

What's Behind Romania's Church Building Spree?

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Friday

Opinion

The Future Is Here! Is It 1950?

Commentator Andrei Codrescu says he knew the future was back when he saw a headline in Smithsonian Magazine. In his mind he imagines a sinister-something that does everything we want for us. He has been against this faux device since he was born.

The Future Is Here! Is It 1950?

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Tuesday

Opinion

An Argument For Living The Inner Life Without Your Own Thoughts

Commentator Andrei Codrescu now lives in the Ozarks where he chops a lot of wood. He says that since the blogosphere is full of other people thinking, he no longer needs to think.

An Argument For Living The Inner Life Without Your Own Thoughts

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Tuesday

Middle East

Qatari Poet Sentenced To Life In Prison For Writing

Commentator Andrei Codrescu slams the Emir of Qatar for sentencing a poet to life imprisonment for a poem that triumphs the Arab Spring and criticizes Qatar.

Qatari Poet Sentenced To Life In Prison For Writing

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Tuesday

Obituaries

Remembering A Great Literary Translator

Michael Henry Heim was an internationally-known translator who created highly-praised English versions of such masterpieces as "Death in Venice" and "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," has died. He was 69. Heim taught Slavic languages and literature at the University of California, Los Angeles for 40 years. He died from complications of melanoma.

Remembering A Great Literary Translator

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Wednesday

Opinion

Dusty Pretzels A Relic Of Romania's 'Folk Capitalism'

Commentator Andrei Codrescu found a reminder of the so-called Romanian revolution of 1989 in his study. It was a box of chocolates wrapped in the miniature covers of one of his poetry books, and a bag of petrified pretzels. He brought them back from Romania in the 80s and meant to give them to friends as proof of the country's newly-born capitalism. Unfortunately, mice ate the goods and, metaphorically, time ate the revolution.

Dusty Pretzels A Relic Of Romania's 'Folk Capitalism'

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Tuesday

Opinion

50 Years Later, New Dog Replaces A Long-Lost Friend

Commentator Andrei Codrescu has finally found a dog that, in his mind, replaces the dog his mean stepfather sold when Codrescu was 5 years old.

50 Years Later, New Dog Replaces A Long-Lost Friend

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Wednesday

Business

A Look Back At MSNBC's Heady Early Days

Commentator Andrei Codrescu takes note of Microsoft and NBC parting ways at MSNBC. He was at the Microsoft campus when things were going the other way in 1995. Back then, Microsoft thought it was going to be the next big thing in entertainment.

A Look Back At MSNBC's Heady Early Days

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Thursday

Friday

Tuesday

Opinion

High-Tech Cars Smother Their Drivers

Commentator Andrei Codrescu adds his own predictive hyperbole to promises of a car he heard advertised. He says the new features that do everything for you will smother us with ease — and reduce us to actual cars.

High-Tech Cars Smother Their Drivers

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Monday

Opinion

Do This Summer's Disasters Hail Impending Doom?

Commentator Andrei Codrescu reflects on the disasters and disaster coverage of the summer. He observes that it was a tough season, and we don't know what lies ahead: Will it be a return to normal or a further time of trouble? He wants a new drug to sort it all out.

Do This Summer's Disasters Hail Impending Doom?

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Friday

Tuesday

Opinion

A Look At Positive Reinforcement

Commentator Andrei Codrescu describes getting praise for something he wrote from a bum on a street corner holding a sign saying "Will listen to poetry for free." Codrescu muses on the phrase "That's amazing!"

A Look At Positive Reinforcement

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Wednesday

Friday

Opinion

Egypt And Romania: Comparing Revolutions

Commentator Andrei Codrescu watches the street protests in Arab nations with a memory of what happened in 1989 in his native Romania and surrounding countries as they threw off communism. He sees the vast differences more than direct comparisons.

Egypt And Romania: Comparing Revolutions

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Monday

Books

A Dark Vision Of 'Paris In The 20th Century'

Commentator Andrei Codrescu has been thinking about how the writer Jules Verne shaped his vision of the future. But reading Paris in the 20th Century -- written in 1863 and published only in 1994 -- he gets a darker vision from Verne, where humans are being replaced by robots. He knows why Verne waited a hundred years to publish this view.

A Dark Vision Of 'Paris In The 20th Century'

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Tuesday

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