May 2012
6 posts
Carrie Schneider built 15 houses over 2 years. She burned them all down, taking pictures in the snow, through the dark, under a spring sky filled with smoke.
“[Obama] was very critical of his predecessor for the debts his predecessor put...”
– Mitt Romney today, evidently coached never to say GEORGE or W or BUSH.
“Lovers who touch…have lower cortisol levels – they are less stressed. People in loving relationships have a higher pain threshold. Laughter shared between friends is so powerful that three letters in a text message – LOL – can make us happy. Evidence really does seem to show that people trust their family more than…their friends, and that they will make sacrifices for their...
I’m willing to forgive Mitt Romney for a school age incident over which he may (or may not) feel remorse. I teased others growing up and regret it, though I never pulled out a pair of scissors to use on anyone. I think focusing on mistakes in one’s youth is silly, unless patterns emerge. There’s a certain amount of “presentism” in the critique that misses the...
April 2012
1 post
Watchohheybill:
I have found the worst 28 seconds in the history of music.
March 2012
8 posts
everything's a movie screen
From the Hirshhorn Museum in DC:
To Thailand’s floating Archipelago Cinema:
As Romney - a candidate who thinks Russia is the biggest threat to America - readies himself to challenge a successful foreign policy President on just that topic, Foreign Affairs publishes two articles that call into question the trope that the world is an ever more dangerous place.
As China dials back its agressive posture in the South China Sea, Zenko and Cohen believe America to be much more...
If you don’t read John Sides’ post on “Mascotology” for the brilliant ranking system he applies to college mascots, at least read it for the interesting origin stories of familiar mascots like Billikens, Jayhawks, and Tarheels.
Who knew the Duke Blue Devils were French?
anti-government beneficiaries
I wish it surprised me to read that most Americans who recieve “transparently delivered” federal benefits (like food stamps) are more likely to believe the government positively impacts lives than those who recieve more opaque benefits (like mortgage interest reductions).
What’s worse, these “invisible handouts” may undermine the government’s ability to...
“I’m running away because you think I farted when I didn’t.”
– Distressing Letters from Children. Don’t miss the weird satanic pentagram with “Be a Good Boy” written in it; easily one of the more creepy things I’ve seen.
It’s hard to say if my father enjoyed Sherlock Holmes as much as I enjoy storytelling in general. Probably not, though he did get a kick out of Arthur Conan Doyle.
Fortunately, Michael Dirda has written a book about both, held together by the thread of Conan Doyle himself: a tireless writer and promoter of social justice.
As Calvin said to Hobbes: “When you’re actually confronted with the stillness of nature, its kind of startling. This is making me nervous, let’s go in.” Timothy Egan highlights the catabolic campaigns of the Republican contenders: ignorant of the values of stillness, and a far cry from Teddy Roosevelt.
February 2012
16 posts
Food On My Dog
As the United States continues its sanctions against Iran, India sees a trading partner and kindred nuclear spirit. Similar experiences with the West are bringing them closer together, argues Ayoob, and strategic and economic considerations are uniting them.
Does being rich change you?
Via the Boston Globe: “Psychology has now found ways to test that narrative, however, and basic decency is not coming out on top. There are two ways to gauge the difference between how wealthy and nonwealthy people think: You can make people temporarily feel rich (or prompt them to think about money) and see if that creates changes, or you can sample rich and...
Biggest photo of the night sky, ever.
“Wealth without Work, Pleasure without Conscience, Knowledge without Character,...”
– Gandhi’s Seven Blunders, via Lists of Note
“Only connect,” said E. M. Forster, but Sleigh Bells asks you to do that while “overwhelming the senses” - embracing the limits of human perception and empathy. Don’t even bother trying to get out of your own head.
It’s a great album. Buy it on iTunes.
Working class whites aren’t voting more reliably Republican, southerners are.
From Larry Bartels: “Democratic presidential vote share has declined by almost 20 percentage points among Southern whites without college degrees. Among non-Southern whites without college degrees it has declined by one percentage point. That’s it. Fourteen elections, 52 years, one percentage...
“So, apparently, it takes as long to complete an AJ Burnett trade as it takes for...”
Valentine’s Day seems as good as any for talking about deception. Read this crazy stuff about ski slopes exaggerating amounts of fresh powder and colleges gaming US News and World Report rankings through some pretty clever elaborations.
From the second article: “…the law school hired as adjunct professors local alumni who already had careers (thereby increasing the...
“We are not auditioning for fearless leader… Pick a Republican with enough...”
– Grover Norquist, at the 2012 CPAC
Non-violence is a scary thing. In response to (ridiculous) suggestions that those opposed to the Assad regime should arm the Free Syrian Army, others have championed the idea of a non-violent response to the regime. The trouble, as with any non-violent movement, is that “the objective is not simply to destroy the current dictatorship but to emplace a democratic system. A grand strategy that...
what does syria mean?
The UN Security Council split over action in Syria is more than the facts presented in the WP Metro Express, though I’ve had a hard time unpacking just what the deeper lessons are.
Could Russia’s vote be interpreted as payback for international (see: U.S.) heavy-handiness in Libya? Or is Putin just trying to look tough in the face of the Russian domestic politics in an election...
March 2011
9 posts
opening day
And one win in the books. Sabathia struck out the first batter he saw, Granderson dove in the grass to down the second, and later he and Teixiera went yard.
Say what you will about the Yankees’ bloated salaries and propensity for chasing marquee players (I won’t deny it), but don’t forget my favorites. I cheer for the low-key guys like Nick Swisher, who sacrificed himself in a...
dog stalker monday
With the running of the Iditarod Race, the international dog sledding season comes to a close. Reminds me of this great scene from The Simpsons Movie.
steep and cheap
I don’t normally encourage commodity, but this site is too helpful not to pass along. Steep and Cheap offers one sale item at a time related to the outdoors, until its gone.
This is so cool. Congrats to my alma mater.
Without the care of folks like Shelby Foote, Ken Burns, and my own dad, I doubt I’d marvel so much at the tragedy of the Civil War. I can’t count how many times I’ve veered off a booming interstate just to visit some tiny place tangentially related to that great story, much to the boredom of fellow travelers. Battlefields like...
accounting & war
I haven’t said much about our military involvement with Libya, though for the most part I agree with the way it has been handled (with the support of regional groups like the Arab League and with real leadership from some international allies), albeit somewhat slowly. It’s worth noting the shell game we’re playing in “handing things off to NATO,” the military arm of...
dog stalker monday
Woodrow belongs to my buddy Gabe, and is currently featured in Garden & Gun’s “Dogs Being Dogs” photo contest. If you like dogs - or the south - you owe it to yourself to check it out. Having met this dog, I can say I have no idea how they got it to sit still or wear such a ridiculous raincoat.
“All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come.”
– Victor Hugo, obviously a constructivist when it came to International Relations.
WatchNational Geographic shows us the most typical face in the world. Things are changing fast on the geo-political stage, though. Within two decades, the face will be Indian.
February 2011
5 posts
WatchThere’s science in art, I often forget. Using a scene from the wonderful There Will Be Blood, this essay comments on how movie-watchers view a film, by cataloguing where the eye gazes, and for how long. In other words, it measures perceptions of art.
“Now when we hear something that sounds like a fart, we have to blame it on you...”
– Nolan to his father, after the family dog died.
Bill Maher: “100 million Americans will watch the Super Bowl - 40 million more than go to church on Christmas and 85 million more than watched the last game of the World Series. In that is an economic lesson. Football is built on a model of opportunity, and baseball is built where the rich always win and the poor have no chance. To put it another way, football is more like Democratic...
what does egypt mean?
Does it mean that, despite a beneficial relationship with the regime in power, the US recognizes the need for reform? Or does the administration’s “neutrality” signal complicity?
Or is it a third thing all together? A lesson in leadership as a younger generation takes its protest world-wide by internet, commands a thoughtful strategy, and demands free elections from a...
January 2011
15 posts
three-peat, as coined by pat riley
Awesomesauce roared back with a full roster and a 9-point win at trivia last night. For those counting, it means three in a row and an undefeated 2011. There were clutch performances all around, too, with Kim the only one of us to correctly list past Super Bowl winners, Jeff naming the last astronaut to walk on the moon, Ben nailing references to Camus and The Black Keys, and John making Martin...
beauty in restraint
This week (on my favorite Yankees Blog of all places), I ran across an article appreciative of “negative space in writing,” that is, the very fine art of economy of words. In it, the author references Chris Jones, who says: ”we’re taught to believe that words have a value, a power, a weight. Logically, then, the more words, the better the story.”
One reason I...
“If you wanna talk to me…then shut your f**kin’ mouth!”
– Raymond Huffman, recording arguing with his roommates by his neighbors. This very strange story has been turned into an underground world of comics, videos, and now even a documentary at the just-completed Sundance Film Festival. For background and some clips, visit Slashfilm here.
saturday's playlist
Why Is It So Hard - Charles Bradley
Rum Hee - Shugo Tokumaru
Rain Song - Bambi Soundtrack
Halloweenhead - Ryan Adams
Apple Valley - The Red River
Bummer - Best Coast / Jeff The Brotherhood
Backin’ Up Song (feat. Diana) - The Gregory Brothers
South Dakota pt. II: Chicago & Minnesota - Cousin Dud
When I Go - Slow Club
Really Realize - Lab Coast
Walk On The Ocean - Toad The Wet...
