Woody Allen Versus The Coens

Lileks describes:

Woody Allen has put more wood in the mouth of his characters than the guy who invented the disposable tongue depressor. Perhaps it’s this: Allen is a nihilist whose characters search for meaning; the Coen Brothers are romantics whose characters confront reality. The former example is grounded in the futility of it all; the latter is a caution against finding too much meaning in the swells and peaks and troughs of life. Not to say you shouldn’t look: that’s what art is for, as “Finding” clearly suggests. Something makes him sing like that. But in the end it’s not art that redeems him. The idea seems ridiculous, a sophomoric conceit.

RTWT.

Commercial Supersonic Flight

What NASA’s up to:

“There are three barriers particular to civil supersonic flight; sonic boom, high altitude emissions and airport noise. Of the three, boom is the most significant problem,” said Peter Coen, manager of NASA’s High Speed Project with the agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate’s Fundamental Aeronautics Program.

There’s a fourth barrier not mentioned: the low L/D, which restricts range and makes for high fuel costs. If that problem doesn’t get solved, it will never become a huge market, and will mostly be restricted to business jets.

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!