When inefficiency is praised
When most people talk about “efficiency,” they talk about it in one of two ways. For some people, it’s an unabashed good thing, a goal in and of itself. For other people, it may be a good thing but is often used as an excuse to bring bad things — firing employees, or replacing traditional tasks with soulless machines, or the like.
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The paradox of red state Democratic success
In South Dakota, history suggests national Democratic victories are actually devastating for the party's hopes of winning local elections.
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My research on Egypt
I’ve been watching the political tumult in the Middle East with interest since before the “Arab Spring” first broke out in late 2010. After writing a research paper on the political economy of the United Arab Emirates for one college class, I decided to keep my research focused in the Arab world for my next class, on the “Diffusion of Democracy,” in the spring of 2008. I wrote a case study of three different Arab countries in different situations — oil-rich monarchy Kuwait, impoverished monarchy Jordan, and massive then-dictatorship Egypt.
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Interesting words, part 2
A continuing series. From The Reformation: A History, by Diarmaid MacCulloch, page 334:
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The real lesson of 'Jurassic Park'
“Jurassic Park,” the 1993 film*, is so misunderstood even the film’s writers (including source material author Michael Crichton) and director Steven Spielberg got messed up.
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Idle, belated thoughts on 'The Great Stagnation'
Has America eaten all its "low-hanging fruit"? A look at technology and the economic slowdown.
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Moral derpitude
In which overthinking helps me come to grips with a word to which I have a visceral dislike.
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The philosophy of taxation
How ancient perspectives on what kind of taxes were appropriate for free people to pay continue to shape 21st Century government.
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'Star Trek Into Darkness': To boldly disappoint
J.J. Abrams’ new film Star Trek Into Darkness has just enough thoughts floating around its unexceptional script to make the viewer conscious of what could have been, but not enough to make it interesting. Its visuals are flashy enough to entertain but not dynamic enough to transfix. It is a profoundly disappointing movie.
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'The show makes me feel inadequate': Differing degrees of fandom
The shifting nature of TV has helped redefine the level of commitment required to be a true "fan."
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Where I've been and where I ain't
I’ve traveled reasonably broadly, though far from thoroughly. As I plan how I’m going to use my vacation time this year, it occurred to me that there’s one vast region of the country I haven’t even touched: the South.
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Confession time: hipster edition
This is mildly embarrassing, but also amusing, so I thought I would share:
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Advice for reporters
Several years ago, then-ABC News reporter (and current CNN host) Jake Tapper tweeted out 13 pieces of advice for reporters — particularly young reporters covering campaigns.
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Shifting frontiers of adulthood
Fellow Sioux Falls journalist Kristi Eaton is writing a blog about “quarterlife crises” — the pressure and problems 20-somethings can feel as they grow into full adulthood. Her most recent post contained a passing anecdote that struck me:
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A Cumberbatch Canon
A little audio editing turns a haunting dirge into an even more haunting round.
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What if a single state actually did secede?
Back when secession petitions were dominating the public eye after the 2012 election, I moved past the Civil War references and political disputes to take a look at what to me was a much more interesting question: if a U.S. state did legally secede from the Union, what would be the impact? My analysis looked at currency, trade, immigration, budgets, taxes and Internet domain names.
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A different set of states
A look at how different state boundaries might change politics and everyday life.
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Interesting words, part 1
A continuing series. From The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity, by Richard Fletcher, p. 209:
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On the eve of 'The Hobbit'
Late tonight, I’ll be sacrificing my sleep along with some friends and coworkers at the midnight opening of Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.” It’s a film I’ve been anticipating for some time and have written about at length twice on this site.
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'On The Run': A mixtape
A themed mixtape uses assembled songs to tell the story of a tragic life.
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Blake's back?
This week, the network formerly known as SciFi announced it was developing a remake of the 1970s space opera “Blake’s 7.” A year ago or so, this would have meant nothing to me. But since then, as part of my periodic cultural catchup project, I watched the entire run of Terry Nation’s show.
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Simple decency in 'Downton Abbey'
Here follows a listing of the characters in season one of “Downton Abbey,” arranged in ascending order of fundamental human decency:
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More on taking ideas seriously
After publishing my prior post, a friend sent me a great long video of a discussion between astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and an out-of-character Stephen Colbert. One exchange in particular resonated in light of what I had just written. That’s embedded below, set to start at this exchange (rewind to 6:15 for the start of the interview). The part I bolded below gets at the core of what I posted earlier today:
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Words to live by
I've tried to boil down what matters to me into a few key maxims.
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Do not take us for consumers of cheap tricks
Look, Peter Jackson. I was skeptical at first about “The Hobbit,” but you won me over by unveiling characters that showed you understood and cared about J.R.R. Tolkien’s work (if not in the original spirit of the bedtime-story “Hobbit.”)
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Magic as plot and magic as system
Whenever a work of fiction creates a world that doesn’t abide by our familiar rules, there’s a choice: how much do the creators constrain themselves by writing the new rules?
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Stupid airplane tricks
Having just gotten back from a trip in which I took four plane flights in under a week, I thought I would briefly post links to two old reports underlying how much of the hassle travelers undergo these days is entirely pointless and doesn’t accomplish the stated reasons.
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Designated hooey
The Designated Hitter rule in baseball may make the game more exciting. It’s still a travesty.
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SMBC on why Kant was right and Mill was wrong
That may or may not be what Zach Weiner was intending to get at here, but this is definitely a blow for deontology and against consequentialism:
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"Last Resort": ABC is trying to tempt me back to TV
A new drama from ABC promises to combine two of my favorite concepts: civilization-building, and submarines.