Al Gore has written a new book. Go buy it.

What do you mean, “What’s it about”? Go buy it.

Okay, if you insist. He describes it himself on his blog:

When George Bush launched his preemptive war in Iraq, more than 70% of Americans believed Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorists who caused 9-11. After the 2004 election, when asked what stuck in their minds about the campaign, voters in Ohio named two ads playing to the fears of terrorism paid for by the Bush Campaign. One pattern that has held true since 2001 is that this White House is less interested in openness and truth than any previous administration.

We are facing so many long-term challenges, from the climate crisis and the war in Iraq to health care and social welfare. To solve these problems and move forward we need to reverse the damage done to our democracy. We have little time to waste.

My goal in The Assault on Reason is to explore why our public forum now welcomes the enemies of reason. More importantly, the book focuses on what we can do together, individually and collectively, to restore the rule of reason to our democracy.

Is that enough? Okay, now go buy it.

By the way, how cool is it that Al Gore has a blog? From all appearances, it’s really his blog, and not written by staff members.

While we’re here, I’m going to throw in a prediction: Al Gore will eventually throw his hat in the ring for President in the 2008 election. I still think he’d have a good chance of winning, and he’d almost certainly have the endorsement of ShakespeareTeacher.com. I think he’ll do it.

If he really wants to fight for the causes that are so important to him, how can he possibly walk away from a chance at the position where he’d have the most power to enact the changes he wants to see in the world?

How do they calculate the digits of pi?

I mean, they’ve calculated the number out to billions of places. When they get a billion digits out, how do they know they’re right? Just think about how incredibly precise that is. A quark’s diameter can be described in 18 decimal places, so surely a billion places is far beyond the realm of any practical scientific purpose or authentic human experience.

From a purely mathematical standpoint, pi is defined as the ratio between a circle’s circumference and its diameter. But the only way we have of measuring such things mathematically is by using pi.

Wikipedia has this article on the subject, but I doubt you’ll be surprised when I tell you it is not helpful to me. We could ask Daniel Tammet but he’d probably just tell us what the algorithm tastes like.

Anyway, if all this math stuff is boring to you, check out this discussion thread putting a more philosophical spin on the digits of pi:

“Somewhere inside the digits of pi is a representation for all of us — the atomic coordinates of all our atoms, our genetic code, all our thoughts, all our memories. Given this fact, all of us are alive, and hopefully happy, in pi. Pi makes us live forever. We all lead virtual lives in pi. We are immortal.” – Cliff Pickover

This means that we exist in pi, as if in a Matrix. This means that romance is never dead. Somewhere you are running through fields of wheat, holding hands with someone you love, as the sun sets — all in the digits of pi. You are happy. You will live forever.

Silly, perhaps, but technically true. And somewhere in the digits of pi, there’s a version of the Shakespeare Teacher who understands how they calculate the digits of pi.

I wouldn’t call myself a huge fan of Lost, but I find myself watching it faithfully each week. Every now and then there’s an episode that makes me glad I do. Last week’s episdode, “Greatest Hits,” was such an episode.

A character was planning a suicide mission in order to save the rest of the castaways. Throughout the episode he was making a list of the five best moments of his life. As he added each item to the list, we flashed back to that moment in his life. He called it his “Greatest Hits” list. What a wonderful thing to do.

I’d like to invite you to make your own Greatest Hits list. What you come up with will probably be too personal to post here, but I offer you the exercise all the same.

What five moments in your life would make your Greatest Hits list?

The eighth episode of The Tudors airs tonight on Showtime and will be replayed throughout the week. You can also view the episode On Demand.

Use the comments section of this post to discuss the episode. Any comments I may have will be posted in the comments section as well.

WARNING: Comments may contain further discussion of the show, including potential spoilers. Click through only after viewing the episode. Commenters may discuss this episode as freely as they like, but are asked not to spoil future episodes.

By the way, did you know that after Edward VI’s death, Lady Jane Grey was the uncrowned Queen of England for nine days? She was the granddaughter of Princess Mary and Charles Brandon. That’s hot.

Via News on the Rialto:

The results are in for the 2007 National Shakespeare Competition for high-school students:

16,000 students and 2,000 teachers from across the United States participated in a curriculum-based program designed to help high school students develop their communications skills and appreciation of language and literature, through the study, interpretation and performance of Shakespeare’s monologues and sonnets.

The winner was Adam Brown (17) from the Youth Performing Arts School in Kentucky. He performed Sonnet 130, a Shylock speech from The Merchant of Venice, and a cold reading of a Berowne speech from Love’s Labour’s Lost. And thanks to the magic of the Internet, we can watch his winning performance.

You can see videos and read interviews for all of the finalists at the New Globe website. Man, sometimes I love the Internet.

First, read the rules of the game.

This week’s challenge is disgraced former head of the World Bank Paul Wolfowitz.

I was able to link Paul Wolfowitz to Sir Francis Bacon in six degrees or fewer, though that shouldn’t stop you from posting a longer response, or looking for a shorter one. Entries will be accepted until midnight on Thursday, May 24.

Good luck!

And congratulations to Kenneth W. Davis for winning last week’s challenge by linking Ken Jennings to Sir Francis Bacon in three degrees:

Ken Jennings > King Henry VIII > Queen Elizabeth I > Sir Francis Bacon

Ken Jennings was eliminated from Last Man Standing by incorrectly answering King Henry VIII, who was the father of Queen Elizabeth I, who reigned during the time of Sir Francis Bacon.

I’m relaxing at home; I’m a musical pause;
When a lawyer is finished defending his cause;
The Professor and Mary Ann’s common applause;
And I’m featured, with motion, in Newton’s three laws.

Who am I?

UPDATE: Riddle solved by Brian. See comments for answer.

Is Paul Wolfowitz real life or parody? Sometimes, I can’t tell the difference anymore. That’s when it’s time for the Headline Game.

Two of the headlines below are from the Washington Post, and are about why Paul Wolfowitz should resign. The other two are from the Guardian Unlimited, and are about why Paul Wolfowitz should resign. Can you spot which are the American headlines about why Paul Wolfowitz should resign, and which are the British?

1. Angry Wolfowitz in four-letter tirade
2. Bank may vote no confidence in Wolfowitz
3. Bank rebukes Wolfowitz on ethics
4. Europe calls for Wolfowitz to quit

Note: Capitalization on the Post headlines changed to match the style of the Guardian.

Answers: Story 1, Story 2, Story 3, Story 4

How did you do?

Most crossword puzzles are two-dimensional. They have across and down clues.

This puzzle is one-dimensional. It has forward and backward clues. And all of the answers have to do with Shakespeare.

There’s not much space here, but imagine a horizontal row of 39 squares.

There are no black squares. All answers should be run together one after another with no spaces.

Post whatever you come up with. Feel free to use the comments section of this post to collaborate. The final answer will be a string of 39 letters that can be read in both directions.

Enjoy!

Forward (Left to Right)

1 – 8: Hamlet’s home

9 – 12: Briefly betrothed to Edward IV

13 – 16: The smallest fairy?

17 – 20: “A Lover’s Complaint”

21 – 26: Speaker of “If music be the food of love, play on”

27 – 32: Does Macbeth see one before him?

33 – 39: Twelfth Night‘s Antonio once wore one (2 words)

Backward (Right to Left)

39 – 38: Scotland setting in Macbeth-like film

37 – 32: He is as constant as the northern star

31 – 29: Lear’s Fool will give you two crowns for one of these

28 – 23: The love of Venus

22 – 18: He loved Rosaline first

17 – 14: Companion to Hal and Falstaff at the Boar’s Head

13 – 11: What a piece of work it is!

10 – 5: He knows a bank where the wild thyme blows

4 – 1: Tempest setting

UPDATE: See comments for a big hint by Duane.

UPDATE II: Puzzle solved by Neel Mehta. See comments for answer.

Since we’ve been talking about Ken Jennings and Jeopardy, I’ve been thinking about the Cheers episode “What is…Cliff Clavin?” in which Cliff Clavin, a postal carrier who lives with his mother, goes on Jeopardy. As a bar know-it-all, Cliff’s reputation and self-image are on the line. Guest star Alex Trebek reads off the categories:

CIVIL SERVANTS
STAMPS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
MOTHERS AND SONS
BEER
BAR TRIVIA
CELIBACY

And then Cliff knows this is his game. This is his dream board.

What’s your dream board on Jeopardy? You could answer this question in two different ways. You could either choose the six categories you’re strongest in, and that you would most like to see if you were an actual contenstant on Jeopardy. (I’m pretty good with questions about Shakespeare.) Or, as in the example above, you could create a mini-autobiography by choosing six categories that sum up your personality and interests. Or maybe that’s the same list.

What categories would be on your “dream board”?