Airport Blogging

You write from Heathrow, soon I'll be in Tucson International. We lead a wandering life, my friend!

The "movements" I was referring to was the "charismatic" movement within the Christian faith. I'm not sure I have a good definition of it, but it's a movement that believes that the manifestation of the Spirit through outward gifts such as "speaking in tongues" is their preferred method of worship. The Pentecostal Church falls into this camp. There may be others. As I mentioned, this is clearly not me.

I have no proof that Ms. Jolie is truly under the influence of the devil ... my comment really stems from two things: some very weird behavior on her part when she was married to Billy Bob Thornton (exchanging viles of each others' blood, for instance) and this almost hypnotic charm she seems to have over men who fall prey to her wiles. It may just be a stronger sense of sexual confidence ... who knows?

Do genetics play a role in success? Your example of the 100 meter hurdles points to an obvious example ... I will never, never, ever run a 4-minute mile. It doesn't matter how much I train. I will never, never, ever be able to dunk a basketball on a 10-foot rim. (I used to be able to touch the rim, but not even that any more!) But it's not limited to physical activities -- not everyone can be a mathematical genius; not everyone can counter deep.thought's frickin' pawn gambit thing he does! :-)

What about business? There's a bit more gray there, don't you think? For instance, I think Bill Gates was as much "in the right place at the right time" as he was business savvy. If one could wipe from everyone's memory Bill Gates' success at Microsoft, could he repeat it today, not relying on his current name and reputation? Maybe. Maybe not.