Those people

And this is perhaps the main problem with the BlackLivesMatter Movement and Hillary Clinton's campaign: "you don't tell black people what we need to do." The movement has the presumptive Democratic nominee for President listening and they are more interested in putting her in her place than getting results. Also, Hillary might not be getting the votes for these slackers. also see.

"The promise of forgiveness is “the only reason I would have ever considered” amassing so much debt to attend Tulane University Law School."  Ooh people will probably realize this is e a bad idea in a few years.... 

do you believe in these stereotypes?


I assume this is what our 2Gold kitchen will look like, right?

I don't know what to do with this (really non)information but I had to read it anyway.

just reading about what mike isabella has planned is exhausting.

starbucks' new dinner menu is basically our party menu

Responses
1. I mean, it treats men and women differently based on their sex, so I guess that's sexist? I actually totally believe that on average women are worse drivers than men but I'm not sure they are worse parkers.

2. I got distracted by this line: "Kylie Jenner has a new rabbit named "Bruce." Yeah, I don't care about this family either but a human interest bunny story>?!?@!? I could report on that all day.

3. Ooh I've always wanted to copy down my mother's recipes but was too bored to do it. This blog could solve that! Also yes! Chicken & Dumpling was a massive success but we'd need contributions from Bear to sustain it...

4. I'd rather go to a restaurant more focused on food....Too much stimulation would make me go crazy.

5. I thought the problem with gunantanamo was the practices not the actual prison. Shouldn't we release the people who are being held without charges and not moving them to a supermax prison elsewhere?
6. ugh electric car owners. Expensive and conspicuous environmentalism is one of my top pet peeves. Electric cars are only green after 1. walking; 2. biking; 3. public transportation; 4. carpooling; 5. driving less even in a gas guzzler; and 5. driving less in the car you already own. Yet we have to subsidize the electric car owners!! I'm livid!! I still haven't gotten over hybrids using the hov lane. It also makes me wonder - is climate change sponsored by Tesla? 

7. I will never forget the bears! even if they're not the sexy killers we thought they were! (sexy yes, killer, rarely). But these statistics raise so many questions. Like what happened between the hiker and the goat that did him in? Why do so many Germans die in national parks? Do parks have lifeguards?

8. I don't really like the rolls. they look ugly. (It doesn't help that they're brown instead of pretty-colored). I liked the ribbons of snocream.

9. japan should never stop apologizing for what they did!!

jk, it's over. they can stop. they should stop. I think the economist has a special report on it though in the latest edition. lest we forget.

R2R

3. What second story was a bad one? The donation of the house to the neighbor? The donation to the girl with cerebral palsy?

R2R2R
2. Yeah, I have to say it seems cruel to hunt lions for sport but I'm not necessarily for banning it, particularly if it actually saves the other lions and keeps lions on their game.

3. So I guess you say switch to the new plan? Any other downsides?

R2R2R2
5. These are the kinds of questions our education department and politicians should be considering - but I guess they're not.

Burning Questions

Is this sexist? The subject: parking lots.

Is the tide finally start to shift against the Kardashians?

Is it time to revive Chicken and Dumpling?

Would you ever want to go to the world's most expensive restaurant?

Where should we put all those dangerous prisoners currently being held at Guantanamo Bay?

How do you feel like subsidizing electric car owners through increases in your power bill?

Can we finally stop blaming bears for the world's ills (but don't forget us!)?

Do you think this looks delicious?

Is it maybe time to stop apologizing?

Responses:

1. It's like the 15th-best story I've ever read about Chick-fil-A, but still better than any story I've ready about any other large restaurant chain.

2. This approach requires a fair amount of trust, and the need to build trust is a fundamental obstacle in human relations all the time. Think dating, meeting new people, etc. This is why we have a song-and-dance ritual. If people were generally more trustworthy and honest, though... that would change everything. I do like the attitude, though.

3. "Below are seven lottery stories that prove winning the lottery can be a blessing, not a curse!" The fact that they found seven non-horrible stories out of thousands of lottery winners proves that just as much as the fact that there are thousands of lottery winners out of millions and millions of participants proves that the lottery is a good investment. Also, for the people who gave the money to future generations, we have no idea whether that is a good outcome because being born into money has its own pitfalls. Also, the second story is definitely a bad outcome.

4. I don't really have any thoughts on any of this except that I still don't like gangsta rap.

R2R:

2. Much of the outrage is around hunting lions generally, not just illegally hunting them. Some people want any hunting of lions to be illegal, and while I have no opinion about the nature and scope of specific hunting regulations, I note that the article cited some early overreactions already. I am not the biggest fan of hunting for sport, but we as a society seem to be short on viable ideas for preserving animal habitats and short on funds for the few viable ideas there are.

3. By my rough calculations, the new plan would cost $110/month, while our current plan (once we drop the international plan and go back up to 6 GB) would cost $160/month. Assuming that we stick with iPhone and you get the base model while I get the slightly larger HD one, the 24-month cost of the old plan is $4,338 while the 24-month cost of the new plan is $4,038. (Note: I did not remember whether the 6-GB plan under the More Everything Plan was $60 or $70, but the internet seems to think it's $70. If we use $60, though, then the 24-month cost of the old plan drops to $4098, which is still more expensive than the new plan by $60.)

I think there is a $20/month fee for the remainder of your plan for switching to the new plan for the life of your current contract, but even if they charged us $20 per phone (at least until December), our new bill would still be $10 cheaper per month and would drop by $20/month each time a contract expired.

We should obviously verify all of this before switching.

R2R2R:

5. I just wonder whether combining the various goals currently served by college (i.e. vocational learning, liberal arts learning, personal growth, learning to be an adult, etc.) into one kind of institution is beneficial to students or these goals. Maybe the solution is grade schools that do a better job of educating, so that smarter kids are joining the workforce after graduating from high school. And if you still want to go to college because you enjoy learning, then colleges can focus on those kinds of students. Perhaps that in turn would allow students to attain some of the educational benefits of graduate school earlier (because colleges would be more focused) and reduce the demand for graduate degrees. It's just a thought.

B

Sweet and sour stories

ahh that sweet Chikfila

I kinda like the ethos but I feel there are some holes to this method

it's surprising that so few people seem to do ok after winning the lottery and that they seem to have to give it away in order to have their happy ending. i distinctly remember a lotto winner from earlier this year - she said she was going to buy "everything she ever wanted." I checked up on her.

everything i know about N.W.A. is from chuck klosterman. but maybe that could change. this is just weird now - the producers are the original members and the police are, well, policing the event because of Ferguson. I don't have any coherent thoughts about what this would mean if it were a big hit.

because it's cute. and i like posting cute things.

responses

1. oh dear. but where would bunny sleep? and how would she peel bear off the wall?

2. Well I think the problem is that Cecil was killed illegally (whatever that means). Also, somehow, he's a beloved lion (I've never seen him in anything myself but maybe he saved some children from a burning house?). So I don't think the killing of Cecil the Lion has more nuance. It's bad all around. I do understand that illegal and legal hunting shouldn't be conflated though and that legal hunting.is a necessary evil until we can figure out what kind of handicrafts lions can sell to earn their keep. =P It still strikes me as pretty mean but I guess the liberal lion government isn't talking about how to stop killing humans for sport.

3. I can't tell for sure but it seems like the old plan would be better if there's a $20/phone fee + data + pay full price for the phone? I guess unless you buy a phone for cheaper.

4. Ugh these prosecutors, this judge and that jury. And those grandparents! I think a fitting punishment is community service. Now the government has to spend $50k and we have weakened the meaning of sex offender. I feel like judges and prosecutors should be  held accountable for how many people they put in jail. like maybe there should be a budget. then they could think, well I'd rather put that rapist in jail but this guy had sex on the beach....decisions, decisions. jail shouldn't be some bottomless pit.

R2R
1. Yeah and I don't know how it's supposed to be such a great insult either. Like your money isn't worthy of our publication but everyone else can pay for it. I guess it could be insulting if it were a unique good (or if they couldn't buy it off the stands) but it reeks of "I'm trying to make myself look important.

2. I LOVE AUGUST!

4. I realized it was gimmicky but I kept thinking about it days later so I had to post it. I read a lot of stuff and very little of it sticks with me.

5. I would like to see shortening college as a possibility for reducing the cost of college. with so many people going to grad school, what's the point in having these kids in school for so long? That said, I think "patrons" would quickly become sugar daddies, if it hasn't already.

R2R2R
1. Death by lack of a/c seems cruel and (hopefully) unusual.

3. i think there's money to be made there. I feel like a lot of jobs these days have divored high pay from prestige. that's why CEO, doctor and lawyer still have such a draw they are the few where you can have both. but videogame coach probably has the added benefit of money + fun.

9. only the kids who grew up in fairly affluent households will be set up for retirement (and even then, that's only if they're using their money wisely while living at home, which i never seem to see that often in stories from people living at home) so i'm pretty sure this won't stop whining.

R2R2R2R

3. This is like the rape activist thing all over again. If #blacklivesmatter, everyone should be doing everything they can to alleviate the problem - including black people. That's more important than demonizing one side.

5. Was it everyone loves raymond? because that's kinda not their style....

6. Why the second alarm? do you fall back asleep because you're so tired after shaking?

R2R2R2R2R
3. Fair. If Sabato didn't love UVA so much, he would have left for better pay nearly anywhere else.(though he probably also has a lot of power).

Back to Work (for me)!

If the wake n shake app doesn't work, this is the next step.

Maybe this Cecil the Lion story is more complicated than it first appeared.

Our cellphone plan is changing again, if we want it to.

Do you think this is fair?

Responses:

1. I saw this and agree. The idea that taking money/business from bad or vile people is wrong strikes me as confused and ridiculous. The main argument you hear is that boycotting will make people change their minds, but in this case it makes no sense. Perhaps more images, not fewer, of interracial couples in front of those bigoted people will make them less bigoted.

2. I thought lots of people took vacations in August (maybe more in Europe, but definitely some in the U.S.). My only thought is that the heat, once welcome in May and June as new and the beginning of pool/beach season, has worn out its welcome. It's kinda like Februrary/March, when all that snow and cold is just old hat by then. I like August, though, because work slows down. Also, there's a certain birthday in August...

3. Wow. That's all I can say. Wow.

4. I don't like the martyrdom of these "experiments." I appreciate the info, but 1) it's not a repeatable experiment if we take ethics seriously, and 2) it uses scare tactics. That said, I will be reducing my added sugar consumption immediately.

5. I wonder whether the solution to this is shortening college by one year and strongly encouraging students to work for one year before going back to school. Business schools typically won't take you if you haven't gotten at least two years of work experience (unless you are an all-star). Law schools and graduate schools could do this too. Or maybe graduate students should have to find patrons, as in the 19th century and before.

R2R:

1. I remember reading about that. I am not going out like that!

3. When the professional video game players start driving Ferraris and getting the girls and pricing me out of the Manhattan real estate market (as the bankers have done), we can revisit this. That day may be closer than I realized.

5. True, but it's better than nothing.

9. If Millennials don't have to worry as much about retirement savings, that's a win. Otherwise in thirty years we'll be hearing complaining about how needing to save for retirement is racist and the word "retire" will be associated with trigger warnings and all sorts of other bs.

R2R2R:

3. It goes both ways, which is why 1) more stories of police officers helping people should be published and 2) everyone needs to calm down. This means police demilitarization and the metaphorical demilitarization of the Black Lives Matter activists.

5. I saw it on a TV show. :)

6. I like it, but I should probably set two alarms...

R2R2R2R:

3. UVA is probably not the best example, as it has a long track record of letting amazing and successful professors leave for more money elsewhere (Ronald Coase comes to mind).

B

Love me, August says

Yes, the subscribers were wrong and vile. But I don't understand how cancelling subscriptions solves anything.

Why don't people love August?

this is pretty darn cute

The new supersize me

Y'know, in my mind, adjuncts should just quit while they're ahead. This article makes the situation seem much more dire.

Responses

1. Just show those Europeans this.

2. That headline was so stupid The Onion was probably appalled.

3. Eh, it seems like the clients are Asian - makes sense. Though honestly, the answer is clearly practice, practice, practice. (Also, you can win real money playing these games so I guess it isn't as stupid as getting better at video games in order to impress girls. =P)

4. I guess the main problem is that people tend to be so blinded by hatred that they don't even care whom they hurt. I mean, I don't think this dentist will be practicing for much longer so this is moot for him but there are other dentists in the practice. It's not their fault and yet they're the ones to suffer.

5. That's a long time from now....

6. Ugh I hate Roger Goodell for making us stand up for the Patriots and Tom Brady....

7. I guess that makes sense. Although there was that article I sent you about Trump being a mole.

8. I think I've only split the check a few times in my life. So many places are ok with doing separate checks or people bring cash. I think the people I dine out with don't seek to take advantage. And for that I'm grateful.

9. I feel this is making the playing field uneven again. I mean, in our parents' day you all had to move out and fend for yourselves. Now, people can save on rend for years and build a cushion that others can't afford.

r2r

3. I also saw an article that said something like 70% of black people think they've been mistreated by the police. Now, I don't know if they've actually been mistreated but I'm sure the odds increase that a police officer is going to mistreat you when you have the attitude that you have been or are going to be mistreated. Such a bizarre way to think - your beliefs don't have to be rooted in reality but what you believe will become reality.

5. The story you told was way too detailed....

6. how's the new app going?

r2r2r

2. yes, it was conscionable. i mean, i don't know what kinds of people were in the car but they seemed unprepared and scared and the guy with the knife was probably terrifying. conscionable.

3. It never seemed to me that professors were getting paid that much. Larry Sabato was our highest paid professor but he brought in more than enough money to cover his salary. Then again, it takes quite a lot of $40k students to pay off dozens of six-figure professors.

r2r2r2r2r2
5. That's lame. I don't think people had enough time or interest to apply for so many schools in my day.

Movie Survey

Here are my responses:

1. What’s the most depressing movie you’ve ever watched? Babel
2. What’s the most disturbing movie you’ve ever watched? Saw
3. An actor/actress you’ve seen in more than 8 movies ? Name the movies. Will Smith - Bad Boys, Independence Day, Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West, I, Robot, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, Hancock, Focus; Bruce Willis - Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard with a Vengeance, The Fifth Element, Armageddon, The Sixth Sense, The Whole Nine Yards, Unbreakable, Sin City, Over the Hedge, Live Free or Die Hard, Red, A Good Day to Die Hard, Red 2; Samuel L. Jackson - Jungle Fever, Pulp Fiction, Die Hard with a Vengeance, A Time to Kill, Jackie Brown, Star Wars Episode I, Unbreakable, Changing Lanes, Star Wars Episode II, xXx, Kill Bill Volume 2, The Incredibles, Star Wars Episode III, Snakes on a Plane, Black Snake Moan, Inglorious Basterds, The Avengers, Django Unchained; Uma Thurman - Pulp Fiction, Batman & Robin, Gattaca, Kill Bill Volume 1, Paycheck, Kill Bill Volume 2, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Nymphomaniac; The Rock - The Mummy Returns, The Rundown, Walking Tall, Doom, The Game Plan, Get Smart, Tooth Fairy, Faster, Snitch, Pain & Gain
4. A film you could watch on repeat for the rest of your life? Pulp Fiction
5. What’s the very first film you remember watching? Free Willy
6. A film you wish you hadn’t watched? Nine
7. A film you wish had a sequel? Interstellar
8. Which book would you like to see adapted into a film? The Circle (and I'm in luck!)
9. The most aesthetically pleasing movie you’ve ever watched? The Matrix
10. Who’s your favourite movie director? Quentin Tarantino
11. Your favourite movie genre? comedy with action (or action with comedy)
12. A movie that holds a special place in your heart? Chef
13. Your favourite comedy film? Hot Fuzz
14. A music video you would love to see developed into a film? Garbage - Special
15. A film everyone loves but you hate? The Graduate
16. A film you love but everyone else hates? The Matrix: Reloaded
17. Which cinematic universe would you like to live in? Interstellar (at the end anyway)
18. What’s your favourite biopic? A Beautiful Mind
19. Mainstream movies or indie movies? mainstream
20. Old movies or contemporary movies? contemporary
21. A film with an amazing soundtrack? Interstellar (can you tell I just watched Interstellar?)

Double Album

Actually, Europe: you're stupid.

This is the dumbest thing of all time.

That said, this comes pretty close.

This is the part of the internet I really don't like. Sure, some guy killing a beloved lion isn't very nice, but this is the virtual equivalent of going to his place of business and burning it down.

In four years (give or take the usual delays), LaGuardia is going to become a real airport.

This sums up my feelings on DeflateGate.

Why is Donald Trump doing so well anyway?

Here is a data-driven, economics-influenced look at splitting the check.

Millennials aren't moving out, even though they have jobs.

Responses:

1. Can we just get that dog?

2. Or the dog in the first picture?

3. It's amazing how much you can talk yourself into believing things, although it makes sense given how much confidence is said to lead to success, whether you are asking for a raise or you are the entire banking industry (which is one big confidence game).

4. You have fun with those... I hate side planks (4 and 5).

5. "...it's good to aim high..." This is why I think the most important part of being married is being able to solve problems together. But I don't fault those who announce high hopes for being the greatest of all time in their wedding vows. In addition to setting the bar too low, how depressing of a wedding would it be if they announced during the vows how they would eventually come back after storming out of the house during an epic two-day fight and spending the night at a bar while chatting with some woman, only to remember that he's married before taking things too far, driving drunk back home, and apologizing before finishing the fight the next day? You always plan to go undefeated. That's why I thought it was funny and charming that Jamitto changed his vow to "for richer and for richer." All this said, I enjoyed the take because it does show the enduring love despite problems.

6. I'm going to download that when I get home.

R2R:

1. The women's team will be good for a while. I think what they really need is a more enduring presence in the form of a successful league. That will be more difficult.

2. Do you still think that the way the fellow passengers acted was unconscionable?

3. It goes to paying professors (whose salaries are quite generous if they are tenured), building lavish dorms, hiring administrative personnel for any number of niche concerns, and paying professors again. Ivy League-type schools have robust endowments that make them impervious to recessions and the like, but it's the private schools that aren't so great that don't have good endowments and thus rely on tuition payments far more heavily on an annual budget basis. But speaking of endowments, a few years ago there was a bit of a push to get schools like Harvard to spend a minimum percentage of their endowment every year, the concern being that Harvard was essentially living off the annual return plus tuition and hoarding cash while happily accepting government assistance in the form of government loans and grants to students.

R2R2R2R:

5. Hoarding acceptances is when, as someone at the top of your class with amazing grades, rather than do a careful search of which college would be a good fit for you, you instead apply to all of the Ivy League schools plus MIT, Caltech, Stanford, and maybe some of the elite liberal arts colleges (e.g. Williams, Wesleyan, etc.), and then just bask in the glow of university admissions officers begging you to come to their school via acceptance letters. You brag about it to your classmates, and you maybe even compete with some of them to get the most elite acceptances of all. It obviously makes sense to cast a wide-enough net, but it's clear that these students are deriving a fair amount of self-worth from the process, and this is what leads to that TJ student (or the Toronto student who took out a hit on her parents) when that acceptance (and those acceptances letters) is not received.

B