Hi there,

There is something very satisfying and memorable about lists of three, such as the heading of this newsletter (adapted from the original but less economical list of four in the Book of Common Prayer: "read, mark, learn and inwardly digest..."). Perhaps that accounts in part for the popularity of Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love; three things somehow seems manageable, whereas if she had added a fourth, say, Work or Take the kids to sport, the good life might have begun to look too demanding. In any case Gilbert's title lends itself rather nicely to parody. Earlier today a MercatorNet friend in Canada sent me a link to a to an amusing review of the movie Eat, Pray etc, which stars Julia Roberts in the lead role of New York divorcee in search of herself. (As if I needed to tell you that!) Pete McMartin’s “Bleat, flay loathe … one man’s search for God on a Cineplex screen” takes the mickey out of Gilbert’s story of self-discovery (funded by a generous advance from her publisher) in Dave Barry style. He leaves the theatre a changed man. “I totally got the message of the movie, which was: ‘To find spiritual fulfilment and love, if you don't like where you are, be somewhere else, and bring travellers cheques.’” The consequences, alas, are disastrous for him…

From snippets I have read about Eat etc satire seems to be the right response, but if anyone out there has seen/read it and found substance in it, please send a comment. I guess anything with “pray” in the title is worth a second look. And now to weightier matters.

The big story of the week -- and it’s a positive one -- is the legal spanner thrown in the works of the United States embryonic stem cell research project. As Michael Cook explains, a district court judge has found that federal funding of such research that has taken place under both the George W Bush and Barack Obama administrations was in violation of US law. Amazing. Read the article and find out who brought the lawsuit; you will be encouraged.

In other articles Thomas Reeves and Kevin Ryan, who both have a lot of experience in tertiary education, raise questions about the cost, the goals and the achievements of the American college system; Michael Kirke finds the Irish media dedicated to the sensational; and George Friedman prepares us for the next round of Middle East talks.

Finally, another word about our new book blog. Three experts on the subject are posting great little reviews each week and it really is becoming an invaluable resource. Do pass the word around to your friends who have young children or teach them, post links on your Facebook page, whatever… And send your feedback, please.

Cheers,

Carolyn Moynihan,
Deputy Editor,
MercatorNet