November 2009
35 posts
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How Aaron Swartz Hires Programmers →
Pretty much how academic hiring works, at least in political science (via DF).
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“It’s not setting policy, it’s raising money.”
– Ed Rollins on the roll of parties, speaking on CNN’s Face the Nation 11/29/2009
One of the greatest moments in the history of... →
Merlin Mann correctly identifies “one of the greatest moments in the history of television.” I remember watching this episode. I thought that South Park had finally surpassed The Simpson’s.
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Here’s a man that makes me then takes me
And delivers me to a destiny, to infinity and beyond
Pull me into your arms, say I’m the one you own
If you don’t, you’ll be alone
And like a ghost Ill be gone
— “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” from Beyoncé (via Pomplamoose)
So much for the empowerment theme.
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“This may sound Jedi-mind-trick-ish, but never create a blog or a Twitter feed...”
– Jeffrey Zeldman On Self-Promotion via DF
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“I think that it would be ideal to live in a world where race was recognized as a...”
– Kyp Malone (of the bands TV On The Radio and Rain Machine) on All Songs Considered
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“A successful party of the right must continue to recruit from the center and...”
– British Prime Minister Harold McMillan
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“Political competition is better than autocracy, but its benefits are not well...”
– Tyler Cowen in defense of a two-party system
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“Forget your fears, relax, and enjoy it. It doesn’t have to be perfect to be...”
– Mark Bittman on cooking for Thanksgiving
Killing people instead of educating children →
Keens Steak House (4/5) on Yelp →
Get the short rib salad. Not healthy, just very tasty. Has a cave like atmosphere, but in a good way.
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Cocoalicious →
I don’t know a great way to back up Delicious bookmarks. But an okay way would be to download Cocoalicious and then use iCal to launch it in the middle of the night. Then your bookmarks will be backed up in your Application Support folder.
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Satire you are my favorite truth →
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“And so we’ve grown used to a world with one dominant search engine, one dominant...”
– The War For the Web - O’Reilly Radar (via Instapaper)
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Why does every Nashville-bred female country singer have to have that little spiky black-haired emo/straight-edge/idiot guitarist in their band? Did every corporate music suit get some report of micro-targeted research from Mark Penn on soccer moms and their daughters who love vampires and surmise that the emaciated dirty (but not too too dirty) boy was the best way to sell that sickly sweet...
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“There’s only so much time in the day, and only so many days in our lives....”
– Marco (via Instapaper)
An SNL sketch gone on for 3 too many minutes →
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On Not Doing Evil
Ari:
We can insist that corporations not do evil and that they avoid assisting those who do evil. Trying to do nothing when evil is happening - the position of not taking a position, like Cisco and Microsoft when it comes to Chinese repression - is insufficient. Even if it’s not actively doing evil, it clearly lends support to those who do.
What does insist mean? Are you boycotting Chinese...
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Mark Udall – Great American Hero →
And so is Scott Adler. Have you looked at his data page?
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“And then, if you are a not a Yankees fan, you will want to throw up. If you are...”
– Joe Posnanski on The Yankees Payroll
The problem with natural disaster movies is that there’s no bad guy to hate. Baseball has solved that part of the drama. I don’t know about you all, but I like having a villain to hate and I’m not sure I care if Kansas City ever wins another...
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“My name’s a verb now.”
– Dede Scozzafava
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This American Social Media Life →
Ari keeps posting the interesting stuff. So I’ll keep riffing on it. Today a cartooned narrative from This American Life’s Showtime series. He wants to use this story in his ongoing campaign against bystanders.
I suggest watching the video and considering it as a critique against Twitter, blogging, and citizen journalism and social media more broadly.
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When not Doing Evil isn't Enough →
Ari posts some pictures of the US and German Google home pages for today and writes:
In Germany, Google celebrates der Mauerfall; in the U.S., Google celebrates the Count.
Presumably, Ari’s disappointed in Google or maybe Google’s perception of what Americans want to see today. But why? Is Google responsible for commemorating every important historical event on their homepage?...
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You Are What You Choose →
Damn. It looks like I have some reading to do:
Duke University professors Scott de Marchi and James T. Hamilton present a bold new theory about how we decide. Based on a groundbreaking survey of more than thirty thousand subjects, their research shows that each of us possesses six core traits that shape every decision, from what to have for lunch to whether to lie on a tax return.
De Marchi is...
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Beatles Reissues to Be Released on Apple-Shaped... →
Pitchfork:
This marks the first time you can buy the Beatles catalogue on digital files separate from the physical artifacts, and you can just imagine how pissed Steve Jobs is about that.
No it doesn’t. They’re still only selling the files attached to a physical dongle that doesn’t have anything to do with the music. Is shipping a CD that has to be ripped that much different...
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On the importance of bacon and family →
Munger on shit his dad said. Highly recommended.
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“The first lesson is that competitive primaries are generally a good thing. To...”
– Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman, via KD
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Major League Wikipedia Page →
I had no idea that the movie Major League was filmed almost entirely in Milwaukee. Cool.
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“The U.S. Supreme Court Database has not just helped fill gaps in our knowledge....”
– The Supreme Court Database