Long-Lost Descartes Letter Discovered Using Google

“A letter by French philosopher René Descartes, stolen more than 150 years ago, has been located at a small college in the U.S. Dutch scholar Erik-Jan Bos discovered on a Google search that the 1641 letter was mentioned as part of a description of the Charles Roberts Collection at the Haverford College Library, located just outside Philadelphia.”

Chicago Symphony Begins Muti Era

“In America they use the word ‘vision’ a lot,” the Neapolitan maestro, 68, observed dryly at a press conference, streamed live from Symphony Center over the Internet, in which he commented about the CSO’s 2010-11 schedule. “What is vision? I do not see myself as St. Francis, offering Chicago my beatific visions. Rather, in my first season, I see myself giving, together with this great orchestra, a panoramic view of the history of music..”

Damn Those Celebrity Books!

“In a time when good books are finding it increasingly hard to reach publication, it’s irritating that someone momentarily famous for having a high-profile job, or making an arse of themselves on a reality show, or for having an especially distressing private life, is then encouraged to heave out a novel. Maybe they do have a book in them, – but it’s very unlikely they’ll flourish under those circumstances.”