In an article publshed in 1975, Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski, who observed that the experience of Communism had shown that "the only universal medicine (Marxists) have for social evils-State ownerswhip of the means of production-is not only perfectly compatible with all the disasters of the capitalist world-with exploitation, imperialism, pollution, misery, economic waste, nationalhatred, and national oppression, but it adds to them a series of disasters of its own: inefficiency, lack of economic incentives and above all the unrestricted rule of the omnipresent bureaucracy, a concentration of power never before known in human history."

Movies recently viewed:
Downfall - about the last days of Hitler. Produced, directed, and acted by Germans and very well done. Hitler is depicted (rightly so) as an evil monster who has lost his mind.

The Station Agent - about a midget whose only friend has died and willed him an abandoned railroad station house in rural New Jersey. An excellent movie examining relationships. Very entertaining and a welcome relief from car chases, CD, murder, etc. Highly recommended.

Books read this week:
Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben - not bad but not his best, can't recommend it.

Small Vices by Robert B. Parker - a typically good "Spenser" novel, I'll always recommend Parker.

Julie just showed me a letter in the Wall Street Journal from Grorge Ball, chairman of the W. Atlee Burpee (seed) Co., from which I took the following, "[I]n this world of iPhones, PCs, Twitter, 200 cable channels, and over the top home entertainment centers, the garden suddenly appears as something new and delightful: a multidimensional, interactive realm of flavor, nourishment, fragrance, pleasure, beauty, recreation, sanctuary and self-realization."

I'm considering terminating my website, kentnotes.com, and just using this blog for my thoughts, etc. I just checked the Usage Statistics for my site and figure that I was responsible for most of the visits. My visits usually involve adding the latest books I've read and the Netflix movies I've seen, nothing that can't be done on a blog. I'll post this on the website and see if I get any comments.