Monday, May 06, 2013

Monday's Child is Full of Links

1.  What if they didn't have a prom, and everybody came? 

2.  An American success story.  Hotness!  Maybe if we just relied on foreigners, instead of lazy Americans, we'd have more American success stories.  Let's trade California for Vietnam, and call it even.

3.  You are not allowed to use your money to affect public opinion...if your opinions differ from mine. Otherwise, it's cool.

4.  On Dr. Sowell, and what's "possible."

5.  Anonyman claims he IS, in fact a hipster, sort of, if you squint and have had several drinks and it's near closing time.  As evidence he reminds us on the Simpsons episode on artisanal donuts...and power.   He's got a point:  Anonyman is a LOT like that cop who asks twice a day, "What have I become?"




6. Speaking of Artisanal Nuclear Power...

7.  Google Translate is good.  But it's not great.

8.  You probably saw this.  My rule is that there should be some tolerance for racism/sexism/bigotry if (a) the person is clearly trying to be funny and (b) if the person succeeds and it IS funny.  (I am paraphrasing the Camille Paglia rule of humor, by the way).  I don't think he was trying to be funny, and it wasn't funny.

9.  Anonyman may be going through a phase.  He may go into "affinity marketing" and move to Williamsburg.  (The one Brooklyn, not the colonial one.  Not near enough irony in the colonial one.  Ick.)  As for me, I could never be a hipster, no matter how much I tried.  I wore work boots...to work.  They had to be steel-toed, because I worked in a lumber yard.  Hipsters shower before work (if at all).  I had to shower after work.  Not really sure why pretending to be working class is cool.  I do know that lots of working class folks would be happy to have a hipster's trust fund, and trade places.  How's THAT for irony?

10.  Renan sends this map:  Developing/industrializing nations with a constitutional guarantee of a "free market."  Hard to see a pattern.

11.  I do feel bad for poor Reese Witherspoon.  She tried that whole "I'm an American citizen" thing, and it didn't go well for her.  You actually do have to do what the police tell you, ma'am.  The only reason you didn't know that is that you are not poor, and rarely have to deal with the pointy end of the spear.

12.  Slaves to the algorithm...

13.  Frampton comes again...suing for back pay, even though he was in jail.  I'm afraid I don't see this turning out well for him.  It may be that he did not get normal due process.  But if you are in jail on a felony conviction, in another country, the university has every right to suspend you without pay.

14.  What caused colony collapse?  No one really knows.  What saved us from colony collapse?  Capitalism.  I wrote about this once.  It's an interesting problem:  should beekeepers pay owners of nectar, or should owners of plants that need to be pollinated pay beekepers?  The answer....depends, but it's not what you think...

15.  Carbon democracy (!)

16.  The U.S. is not a democracy, and shouldn't be.  It's a constitutional republic.  Even when it comes to guns.  And Barry Snell has some thoughts on that.  Phone call for Prof. Joel Rosch...








2 comments:

Tununak said...

Number 7: Clearly due to the Polish Translation Book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWhVLaGy0NU

Joel said...


#16 looks like i have a lot more to read before I teach
a course on this in the fall.

Joel Rosch