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Category Archives: Pop Culture
Getting elected – what Google can do for you (or to you)
Want to get elected? Get the power of Google behind you – just ask Scott Brown of Massachusetts. As elections become increasingly web dependent, Google is poised to be a power player and offers some compelling advantages given its top spot in the search engine marketplace. See more on this on Madisonian.net blog. Want more? Check out the Google Policy Blog’s top 5 strategies for political campaigns: Continue reading
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Posted in Data, Jeff, Policy, politics, Pop Culture, Uncategorized
Can the economic crises permanently affect behaviors and prospects?
Of course it can … one need only consult parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents who came up during the Great Depression to witness such enduring behaviors. A recent study detailed in The Atlantic provides more systemic evidence:
But in fact a whole generation of young adults is likely to see its life chances permanently diminished by this recession. Lisa Kahn, an economist at Yale, has studied the impact of recessions on the lifetime earnings of young workers. In one recent study, she followed the career paths of white men who graduated from college between 1979 and 1989. She found that, all else equal, for every one-percentage-point increase in the national unemployment rate, the starting income of new graduates fell by as much as 7 percent; the unluckiest graduates of the decade, who emerged into the teeth of the 1981–82 recession, made roughly 25 percent less in their first year than graduates who stepped into boom times. Continue reading
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Posted in Jeff, Policy, Pop Culture
What lessons Lady Ga Ga and Britney Spears can teach you to improve your troubled marriage on Valentine’s Day and why Barack Obama and Sara Palin are both to blame
Of course, nothing in the title of this post makes any sense – unless you’re trying to get readers to email your post to their friends — or so you might think. However, the New York Times reports on a recent study which suggests that internet readers may have more refined tendencies when it comes to what they email to their friends and colleagues: Continue reading
Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture
A good criminal law exam question?
The Quest Team
The Neuroethics & Law Blog posts on a recently published article by Guglielmo Tamburrini titled “Brain to Computer Communication: Ethical Perspectives on Interaction Models”. The abstract is pasted below the fold, but it brings to mind and interesting question – at least to me – in criminal law. Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) allow one to control robotic devices via brain activity alone – there is no physical action, at least as far as it is traditionally considered. If a crime (say, battery) is committed via BCIs, then the mens rea (guilty mind or intent) is pretty clear, but is there actus reus (guilty act)? At first blush it strikes me that actus reus is fulfilled in this situation, but I don’t have a formal definition of the term in front of me at the moment. Would the brain activity which “trips” the BCI to take action be enough? This all reminds me of a “Jonny Quest” show bad guy named Jeremiah Surd – he had no physical motor functions but wreaked a lot of havoc with his mind and robots. (Sorry, I couldn’t find a good Surd pic).
Update: I’m liking this format – I provide a silly picture and a vague legal question and blog commenters provide thoughtful and detailed answers. Am I unreasonable in hoping that this is a sustainable model of blogging? ;-)
Posted in Academia, Jeff, Law, Pop Culture
A Very Special Thanksgiving “Old Ads”
Circa 1930s Ad for Camel Cigarettes
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Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture
Facebook Dilemma — Should we be “friends” with colleagues?
OK, so I’m a pre-tenure professor lucky to have lots of friends and acquaintances from multiple phases of life including high school, college and grad school. I also have several academic colleagues who I consider friends – we discuss pop culture along with more serious matter at conferences. Inevitably this leads to looking for easy ways to stay in touch – I actually joined Facebook to see some conference photos a colleague posted after we were all back at our respective institutions. Every now and again I get a “friend” request from a colleague I don’t know that well – I almost always accept these. I don’t use different “groups” on Facebook. It may not be the most professional choice – but I figure if you want to be my friend — you should get to see all of it – the good and the bad, the intellectual postings and the less formal ones that lead to jabs with my oldest and dearest friends. I should also say that I have also enjoyed learning more about the colleagues who I am friends with in this manner — what they are interested in, what they are doing at any given time.
I’m sure others have more cautionary tales…. But I, for one, enjoy getting to stay in touch with colleagues in this manner in this brave new world. Other opinions?
Lesson plans on Ebay?
A NYT article indicates that there is indeed a market for teachers’ lesson plans. Should teachers be allowed to sell lesson plans? Should the schools get a cut? Judging from the number of hits on my webpages to classes I am not currently teaching (I know, I know, I should clean that up and delete them – get off my back), people like to “borrow” powerpoint presentations and lesson plans, etc..
In a way, how is selling lesson plans so different from writing a textbook or course supplement? All are presumably done on employer time and both yield $$ (albeit not much) to the author. Check out some of Althouse’s thoughts on this below the fold.
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Posted in Academia, Jeff, Pop Culture
Protecting insurance companies ‘PSA’
A good ‘public service announcement’ from the folks at “Funny or Die” with a lot of TV faces you might recognize. Somehow it’s kind of funny to see ad executive Don Draper taking a poke at insurance executives – still works though – but doesn’t everything John Hamm seem just a little better? [hat tip Rorie Spill Solberg on FB]
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Posted in Jeff, Law, Policy, politics, Pop Culture, Presidency
Apparently things aren’t *too* bad at some state universities
In the midst of furloughs and massive cut backs at many state schools, the University of Alabama’s announcement of Nick Saban’s 42.35 million dollar coaching contract is almost humorous … almost. The Faculty Lounge details the announcement here. But college sports pay for everything else at the university, right? As you may recall we already dealt with this question.
Posted in Academia, Jeff, Policy, Pop Culture, Uncategorized
Holding narratives accountable
Professor Linda Edwards (UNLV Law) has recently posted “Once Upon a Time in Law: Myth, Metaphor, and Authority” on SSRN. In the paper, she evaluates the use of narratives in legal authority and suggests that narratives are pervasive in the law and that we should learn to recognize their presence and hold them accountable by probing and questioning their factual accuracy, appropriateness, and utility. It is likely that her basic approach would provide useful leverage in analyzing domestic policy making, international politics, and even interpersonal relationships — all environments in which the use of narratives are plentiful — and perhaps sometimes questionable. [hat tip to Legal Theory Blog] The abstract is provided below the fold.
Nine habits to stop now
Tim “Four Hour Work Week” Ferris has a classic post on some bad habits that you need to stop. Below the fold I’ve listed the first four. You’ll have to check out the link to get the rest (and his explanations). Of course, I don’t follow these rules nearly as well as I should.
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Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture
A “grass” roots movement for marijuana legalization?
David Simon comments on the growing movement on Prawfs Blawg. Perhaps most interesting is his observation that since the medical marijuana laws require ailments for which almost everyone over 45 qualifies, marijuana could soon become an old person’s drug. Maybe this movement needs to start holding town hall meetings on legalization. They could be held at the same time as the healthcare policy town hall meetings – side by side. At the end of the day, we’d have no healthcare policy, but no one would care and they’d all be a little hungry and giggly.
Posted in Jeff, Law, Policy, politics, Pop Culture
iPhone Apps for Lawyers
It’s official. The iPhone has come into its own in the legal world. It took a little time, and lawyers are notorious Luddites (you can pry the WordPerfect out of their cold, dead hands) but they do like Bright Shiny Objects, and nothing fills the lapel pocket like an iPhone.
I bet Yates still uses Wordperfect when nobody’s looking.
Posted in Andy, Law, Pop Culture
Go Madmen yourself :-)
Madison Avenue Ad Agency - circa 1961
Not a lot of people know that I actually got my start in the advertisement business back in the early 1960s … when I smoked … and was more fit …. and was much cooler and better looking than I am now. (By the way, that’s me with the cigarette and coffee). I suppose everything was pretty different back then. But isn’t that what the theme of AMC’s “MadMen” show is – making yourself into something your not? You can make your alternate reality icon on the “madmen yourself” site. By the way, season three of “Madmen” premieres on August 16th – don’t miss it.
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Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture
Lesser Known Texas Musicians
As we head into the weekend, I thought I would share a post discussing one of my favorite passions: music. The State of Texas has produced a wide range of high-profile musicians: Waylon Jennings, Buddy Holly, Lyle Lovett, Roy Orbison, Townes Van Zandt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, ZZ Top, to name but a few. While these musicians have certainly earned their places in the canons of Texas music history, below I discuss some lesser known Texas artists who have excited me in recent years.
The Gourds. Almost impossible to categorize, The Gourds represent a blend of music that ranges from county to rock to zydeco, with some bluegrass thrown in for good measure. They achieved some notoriety in the late 1990s with their cover of Snoop Dog’s “Gin and Juice.” The Gourds have a well deserved reputation for incredible live performances. Recommended album: Heavy Ornamentals
James McMurtry. One of my absolute favorite songwriters. He is the son of Pulitzer Prize winner Larry McMurtry and he certainly inherited his father’s storytelling chops. James McMurtry’s songs range from outrageous accounts of family reunions (“Choctaw Bingo”) to sublime tales of weathering a hurricane (“Hurricane Party”). Recommended album: Just Us Kids
Okkervil River. Okkervil River is one of the bands that I have been most excited about of late. I suppose one would categorize them as indie-rock (although I’m not sure what that means as a genre). I’d make a favorable comparison to Wilco. Okkervil River is defined by phenomenal songwriting (“John Allyn Smith Sails”) and occasionally abstract musicianship (“Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe”). Recommended album: The Stage Names
Old 97s. One of the pioneers of the alt-country scene, along with the likes of Uncle Tupelo and Whiskeytown. Rhett Miller and company’s tunes reflect the careful combination of country music and punk rock, although they have been known to write the occasional sentimental ballad (“Question”). Another great live act. Recommended album: Wreck Your Life
RTB2: Denton boys done good. Two dudes playing straight ahead blues rock on a guitar and drum kit. Ryan Thomas Becker writes moody, rocking tales of everyday life (“The Spilling Blood Child”). RTB2 have become local critical darlings of late, so I am expecting big things. Recommended album: The Both of It
See also: Hayes Carll, Alejandro Escovedo, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Opie Hendrix, The Meat Purveryors, Midlake, Slobberbone
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Posted in Paul Collins, Pop Culture
America’s most trusted newscaster?
Personally, I was pulling for Ted Baxter, but:
hat tip Buzzfeed. Don’t get too happy Stewart, I don’t think Fox News was considered in this Time Magazine online poll.
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Posted in Jeff, politics, Pop Culture
Things to Read
So, while I was away last week in beautiful Bermuda, I had some time to catch up on some leisure reading. My two major non-academic hobbies are baseball and our Brussels Griffon, Boss. Those of you who have similar interests would enjoy reading:
The Yankee Years, by Joe Torre and Tom Verducci.
One Nation Under Dog, by Michael Schaffer
A book I read earlier this summer, which I cannot recommend enough to baseball fans is:
As They Seem ‘Em, by Bruce Weber.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the best book of the summer: In Defense of Judicial Elections.
Posted in Chris Bonneau, Other, Pop Culture
Ten people who almost became president
This is a very interesting piece on some close, but no cigar stories on the presidency. Here’s a taste:
Thomas Riley Marshall
Marshall was Vice President under Woodrow Wilson, and he probably had a legitimate reason to become president. In 1919 Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke which left him unable to carry out his duties as president. Marshall, though, had one major obstacle standing in his way to the presidency. This obstacle was the president’s wife, Edith Wilson. She was going to make sure that her husband finished his term in office, and did so by taking on many of the executive duties herself. She also kept the knowledge of Wilson’s condition a secret. Marshall reportedly never found out the true extent of the president’s stroke until his last day in office. Many go so far as to say that Edith Wilson was the first woman president, but no matter what her real standing was she was certainly closer to the office than Marshall.
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Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture, Presidency
Bruno-mania
Last Friday, I received a phone call from a reporter with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She was in the process of writing a story regarding Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie, Bruno. The story centered on an effort by Movieguide, which is published by the pro-family values interest group Christian Film & Television Commission, to convince local government officials to injunct screening the movie on the grounds that it offends contemporary community standards. The Movieguide press release contains a laundry list of reasons as to why the group feels the movie is obscene.
A few things struck me as particularly interesting about this effort. First, the Motion Picture of Association of America, a rather conservative organization in its own right, gave the film an R rating. It seems to me that convincing local officials to screen an R rated movie and determine that it is obscene is a largely fruitless endeavor. Second, I wonder whether this effort might have a boomerang effect by convincing those who otherwise might not see the movie to view it, something that apparently occurred when explicit lyrics warning labels were placed on albums in the 1980s. Lastly, I wonder if this was largely an opportunity for Movieguide to generate some nice press for itself. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram story alone was picked up by more than 20 other newspapers, ranging from the Modesto Bee to the Charlotte Observer. So, perhaps the effort was more about generating publicity for organizational maintenance purposes than genuinely trying to convince local communities to prohibit the screening of Bruno.
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Posted in Law, Other, Paul Collins, Pop Culture
The Place of Women on the Court
In today’s New York Times Magazine, Emily Bazelon has a very interesting interview with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg – a small sample below the fold:
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Posted in Courts, Jeff, Law, Policy, politics, Pop Culture, Presidency
Cool baseball graphics
In keeping with the current baseball theme, I present some cool baseball graphics from flipflopflyball.com.
Here’s one on teams breaking the racial barrier.
Here’s one showing the relative height of Boston’s Green Monster:
And, finally, one that shows Major League Baseball relocations:
hat tip to buzzfeed
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Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture
The Joy of Minor League Baseball
Following up on Chris’ excellent post regarding Mariano Rivera’s 500th save, I thought I’d share a quick post encouraging readers to check out a minor league baseball game.
Why?
1) They are cheap. While it’s easy to spend upwards of $75 a ticket on a major league baseball game, one can typically get great seats at a minor league game for less than $10. During the week, most franchises have specials that cut this even further. When I was in graduate school, the Binghamton Mets (AA) had a two for Tuesday special (that continues to this day). With a student ID, I could get seats on the third base line for about $4 and enjoy 2 for 1 Yuengling lagers.
2) They have tons of local color. Almost all minor league franchises have something unique to offer, especially regarding ballpark drink and fare. The Binghamton Mets sell speedies, marinated meat served on a hotdog roll. The Fort Worth Cats (Independent) feature beer from Rahr, a local brewery. The Quad Cities River Bandits (A) are holding a “Van Down by the River” contest at every game this season, giving fans the chance to take in a game from—you guessed it—a van down by the river.
3) You get to see the future stars of major league baseball. The most exciting part of minor league baseball is the opportunity to see the future stars of the game. While I was growing up, I had the opportunity to see Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Deion Sanders, Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera play for the now defunct Albany-Colonie Yankees (AA). Rob Guidry even made a rehab start with the team. In graduate school, I remember watching David Wright and Jose Reyes play on the same team. There was no doubt those kids were going somewhere.
Posted in Other, Paul Collins, Pop Culture
Rivera’s Historic (?) 500th Save?
One of the things that is great about sports is that every game you have the chance of seeing something you have never seen before. In that sense, it is the ultimate reality TV. The other night, while watching the Yankees-Mets game (apologies to Mets fan Bob Howard), we witnessed such a moment. With the Yankees leading by a run, they put in the best closer of all-time, Mariano Rivera. He got the last out of the bottom of the 8th. In the top of the 9th, with the bases loaded and 2 outs, Rivera’s turn to bat came up. This was only the third time in his career (since 1995) that he batted in a major league game. The Mets closer, Francisco Rodriguez (no slouch himself), fell behind 2-0. Rivera worked the count to 3-2, and then Rodriguez delivered ball 4. Not only had Rivera walked, but he got credit for a run batted in, since the runner from 3rd scored on the walk.
This got me wondering…has a closer ever earned an RBI in an MLB game. A quick google search yielded….nothing. My hunch is that the issue is “no.” Closers generally enter the game in the 9th inning (or later) and if/when their time to bat comes up, they are generally pinch-hit for since the game is tight and ABs are valuable. Moreover, there was no such thing as a “closer” until the 1970s–it is a modern development of the game. Certainly, pitchers who have served as both starters and closers have RBIs (Derek Lowe, Ryan Dempster, etc.) But….has a pitcher serving as a closer ever received an RBI?
If not, then Rivera’s Hall of Fame career just got even better.
Posted in Chris Bonneau, Other, Pop Culture
Can Ray break this?
… something light and fun to get you through the rest of the week – video of a guy named Ray attempting to break various items while wearing a strong man suit. The circus music and chimpanzee sounds are an especially nice touch. Thank goodness for the serious and thoughtful posting activity of our guest blogger program or you’d probably just get silly stuff like this from me during the summer.
For those of you who are frequent Adam Carolla podcast listeners and know Ray’s backstories, this will be especially fun. But even if you have no idea who he is, it’s still somewhat mindlessly entertaining.
A word of caution: it’s all fairly wholesome fun, but there is some course language when Ray gets frustrated. For what it’s worth, the link (above) works better than the embedded video below, which requires more manual labor to get the videos to all run one after the other.
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Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture, Uncategorized
Interrupting questions during a presentation …
The topic of unnecessary interrupting questions during a presentation (as opposed to clarification questions), eye rolling, loud sighs of exasperation, one upmanship, and generally preferring the mellifluous sound of your own voice to everyone else’s – all five year old child/ pathetic jerk behavior masquerading as evidence of intellectual rigor or academic norms – is discussed on Crooked Timber here. The comments are especially interesting.
UPDATE: Michael Dorf’s blog takes on this topic here.
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Posted in Academia, Pop Culture
Potential criminal procedure lessons with perhaps the most awesome geek ever
I’m still working on figuring out what constitutional lessons I can glean from the interaction documented in the video below, but I’ll find something for a future criminal procedure class somehow.
I’m not exactly sure what this geek did to get an arrest warrant – maybe he cheated at Dungeons & Dragons or stole something from a hobbit in the Shire – but he is one defiant nerd. Stick around until the end of the video where he gets tazed, yet somehow manages to escape – perhaps to fight another epic battle in a kingdom, far, far away. (hat tip to buzzfeed)
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Posted in Jeff, Law, Pop Culture
Jack Donaghy on Detroit
On the Huffington Post, Jack “30 Rock” Donaghy (ok, actually it’s just Alec Baldwin) goes off on Detroit automakers and Congress. It’s quite informative and entertaining. Here’s a taste:
The heads of these corporations did not spend the last thirty years lying in bed each night, sleepless. They did not turn their spouses in the wee hours and say, “How do I serve the automotive needs of the American public and better protect their health and safety AND help them conserve energy?” They never said that.
Instead, they spent billions of dollars attempting to bribe the Congress to avoid putting in seat belts and air bags, installing catalytic converters and reaching more ambitious fuel efficiency standards. For the most part, they succeeded. Congress approached those issues with the same combination of sentiment, fealty and fear that Detroit’s customers accepted. It was said to be “bad for Detroit.” Little did we know that falling for that bull for so long was what was bad for Detroit. Now, the American automotive industry, once the industrial pride of this country and a source of so many great paying jobs that changed the economic fortunes of millions of Americans in assembly, parts, dealerships and service, is about to go away.
But what would Kenneth do?
In the interest of balanced media I present Kim Jong-il’s view of Mr. Baldwin:
But I must give Baldwin the chance to respond (look for it at about 1:25 into the clip):
[hat tip to Law and Letters Blog]
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Posted in Jeff, Policy, politics, Pop Culture
On elite education, Supreme Court appointments, and meritocracy
Following up on our last post on elite education and academic careers, we now look into the role of elite education and Supreme Court appointments – specifically, President Obama’s upcoming appointment to the Court. On the pol sci Law and Courts discussion listserve participants have debated the role of elite education in considering candidates for the Court.
Some argue that nominees must either have an elite JD degree or a darn good reason for why they do not have one. Others argue that an elite education isn’t so crucial and that the president should be more concerned with the potential nominee’s present abilities and their achievements over the entire life span rather than an admission decision that was made when the nominee was 22 years of age and in most situations was based primarily on their parents’ socio-economic status. Perhaps providing some insight on the relative utility of an elite degree is Walter Kern, whose new book “Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever” details his experience at Princeton. Here’s some ad copy from the book’s website:
“Percentile is destiny in America.”
So says Walter Kirn, a peerless observer and interpreter of American life, in this whip-smart memoir of his own long strange trip through American education. Working his way up the ladder of standardized tests, extracurricular activities, and class rankings, Kirn launched himself eastward from his rural Minnesota hometown to the ivy-covered campus of Princeton University. There he found himself not in a temple of higher learning so much as an arena for gamesmanship, snobbery, social climbing, ass-kissing, and recreational drug use, where the point of literature classes was to mirror the instructor’s critical theories and actual reading of the books under consideration was optional. Just on the other side of the “bell curve’s leading edge” loomed a complete psychic collapse.
LOST IN THE MERITOCRACY reckons up the costs of a system where the point is simply to keep accumulating points and never to look back—or within. It’s a remarkable book that suggests the first step toward intellectual fulfillment is getting off the treadmill that is the American meritocracy. Every American who has spent years of his or her life there will experience many shocks of recognition while reading Walter Kirn’s sharp, rueful, and often funny book—and likely a sense of liberation at its end.
You might also check out his recent interview on the Colbert Report. Uh oh, I hope that this doesn’t upset the elites. And what if Obama picks a non-elite nominee? What will we do? How will we live? Quick, play me off, Keyboard Cat!
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Posted in Academia, Courts, Jeff, Law, politics, Pop Culture, Presidency
In Alien v. Predator – who would you be? Or, why breaking into legal academia is like purgatory for some people
I love great matchups – Alien v. Predator, Ali v. Frazier, Laverne v. Shirley (no, wait that’s a friendship, although I always saw them more as sort of ‘frenemies’). Recently, we have witnessed a small flurry of blogging on the difficulties that non-elite school graduates face in attempting to break into legal academia. Posts on this are available on the Faculty Lounge, Prawfsblawg, and Concurring Opinions among others. Indeed, one non-eltite grad commentator likens breaking into legal academia without an elite degree to being in purgatory.
So, if this were the great matchup of Alien v. Predator what camp would the elite grads and the non elite grads fall into? Somehow I see the non elites as Alien and the elites as Predator – it’s just a feeling.
Recently, the Aliens (non-elites) have struck back at the Predators (elites) for years of snubbing and bias by denying one of the elites a coveted honor. President Barack Obama (a Harvard grad and former University of Chicago professor of law) was denied the traditional honorary doctorate when he gave the commencement speech at Arizona State University. So, Aliens = 1, Predators = 0. Although, as the Daily Show reports it, maybe not so much….
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Posted in Academia, Jeff, Law, Pop Culture, Presidency
The world of unusual book titles
It seems like Andy and I have gone through endless alternative titles for our book (no, it is not the one pictured above) which should be out this summer on Johns Hopkins Press. However, I’m really glad that none of our tentative titles really rivals (in terms of oddness) any of the titles you will find in Oddee’s collection of strange book titles. You’ll note that one of the books is written by a famous academic. Another one, “Foreskin’s Lament” I have actually read, or more accurately, listened to on Itunes. It’s very funny and you might recognize the author, Shalom Auslander, from his guest appearances on Chicago Public Radio’s program “This American Life.”
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Posted in Academia, Jeff, Pop Culture, Presidency, Uncategorized
Lighten up: The Carolla Podcast
You may know Adam Carolla from television, radio, or movies, but he also has a very successful podcast. You can check it out for free here. It’s also available free on ITunes.
I’ve listened to several podcast and can tell you that it is entertaining, informative (sort of), and sometimes even enlightening. However, it is also pretty bawdy and not for those who are easily offended. I imagine that it sounds much like what would come out of my mouth if I didn’t self edit so carefully; except that mine wouldn’t be quite as funny. Then again, I’m not getting people like Aisha Tyler, Seth McFarlane, Danica Patrick, and Jimmy Kimmel to talk with me in my living room.
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Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture
Why I’m not on Facebook
A lot of political scientists and other academics are on Facebook, but I find it to be entirely too complicated. I mean, there are so many intricate social rules and mores – as the PSA below demonstrates.
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Posted in Academia, Jeff, Pop Culture
Your brain on the War on Drugs
This is a really funny cartoon attached to an interesting post on the ACS Blog. To be fair, I think that you could insert just about any government policy you wanted in the second panel of the cartoon and it would be just as funny.
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Posted in Jeff, Policy, Pop Culture, Presidency
News of the obvious: Wall Street bonuses down this year
So sayeth (or reporteth) the estimable Gawker Blog. Of course, this will have detrimental ripple effects for the citizens of New York. But, on the other hand, they’ll gain the psychic benefits of watching Wall Street millionaires lose their ridiculous lifestyles. Not to dampen the schadenfreude party, but let’s keep this in context – the bonus size is still pretty darn big.
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Posted in Jeff, Policy, Pop Culture
‘Right’ said who? Academic hotness rankings
The iconic early nineties musical act “Right Said Fred” proclaimed that “I”m too sexy” for various things in their spoof of the fashion industry (or were they totally serious? Who knows.)
But who is the hottest academic discipline? And, what are they too sexy for? Recent blog posts on the esteemed The Monkey Cage and Crooked Timber blogs bring empirical analysis to bear on this important question. Now, a gratuitous video of the previously mentioned band.
Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture
Great moments in presidential rhetoric – the Bush years
Posted in Jeff, politics, Pop Culture, Presidency
Props to the puppies!
Last night, Mickey Roarke won the Golden Globe for best actor for his work in “The Wrestler.” While people may have conflicting views of what kind of guy he is off screen, he won big points with me by paying tribute to man’s best friend in his acceptance speech.
“I’d like to thank my dogs. The ones that are here and the one’s that aren’t here. Because sometimes when a man’s alone all you got is your dog …and they meant the world to me.”
Posted in Jeff, Pop Culture
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