tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40242592011-07-14T16:32:43.570-05:00The world according to the Baudes (and others):Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comBlogger12241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1162788194741175192006-11-05T23:42:00.000-05:002006-11-05T23:43:14.746-05:00

Crescat Sententia can now be found at crescatsententia.net. Details are here.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064850945124509032003-09-29T10:55:00.000-05:002006-11-05T23:42:04.596-05:00

At long last, Crescat Sententia has made its way to movable type. [This sentence deleted.]

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064587763784677732003-09-26T09:45:00.000-05:002003-09-26T09:49:56.570-05:00

This from the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar's mailing list (no, it's generally not a very interesting list, but they don't email things very often, so it's fine). What I want to know is, how often does this happen (and how easy is it for the dead to vote)?California To Allow Its Citizens Overseas to Return Absentee Ballots by Fax Due to the short time frame for the October 7th Statewide Special

Amanda Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01610096892219534643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064556224660679052003-09-26T01:03:00.000-05:002003-09-26T01:03:44.786-05:00

In response to what he terms my "Libertarian yawp" Russell Arben Fox counters with a communitarian/authoritarian yawp of his own. Interestingly enough, even though our political views seem to be "near perfect opposites," we share a lot of agreement: There is perhaps no crazier presumption out there than the "conservative" one which holds that the statement "economic laissez faire is good" and

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064533473593937302003-09-25T18:44:00.000-05:002003-09-25T18:44:33.160-05:00

And while I'm math-blogging . . . those of you in the Chicago area should try to spot Gwenyth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins as they make a film of David Auburn's wonderful play Proof (which is wonderful even for those who aren't math-lovers). The movie is being filmed in Hyde Park. Paltrow already played the same role in a production of the play in London last year, which I was very sad to miss.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064532460789608472003-09-25T18:27:00.000-05:002003-09-26T00:39:12.240-05:00

(Via Ed Cohn) Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler are both really really smart U of C profs, so when they write something together, I know it's worth reading, even if it's a review of a book I've never read. As it happens, they might actually induce me to go out and read the book-- Michael Lewis's Moneyball, which has gotten plenty of blogosphere coverage. It's a great blow for stat-addicts and

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064531448678646062003-09-25T18:10:00.000-05:002003-09-25T18:10:48.720-05:00

(Via How Appealling) One of literalism's brightest foes, Richard Posner, is at it again, in a decision on whether cash is "tangible" or "intangible" for purposes of a bankruptcy exemption: Oakley makes much of the fact that currency is tangible in the literal sense: it can be touched (also tasted, felt, sniffed, etc.), unlike a bank account. Although the amount of money in a person’s bank account

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064530272671428532003-09-25T17:51:00.000-05:002003-09-25T17:51:12.140-05:00

A New York Appellate Court has ruled that: A woman born with birth defects can sue IBM and chemical manufacturers for fraud even though she was not even born when the semiconductor manufacturer allegedly lied to her mother about workplace safety, a divided appeals court has found. The majority of a 3-2 panel of the New York Appellate Division, 2nd Department, said it did not matter that the

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064526591778376652003-09-25T16:49:00.000-05:002003-09-25T16:49:51.436-05:00

The new Lemony Snicket book, The Slippery Slope is available in my Barnes & Noble. Lovers of this series of children's books (like yours truly) can rejoice.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064526428428300242003-09-25T16:47:00.000-05:002003-09-25T16:47:08.126-05:00

We're one of the top ten google hits for "'group blog'." Thanks to whatever reader found us by said search.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064470653722085302003-09-25T01:17:00.000-05:002003-09-25T01:17:33.660-05:00

Oh it's the old dilemma. On the one hand, you don't think an author's sex life has anything to do with the quality of his work, and he's made plain that he doesn't want his sex life to have anything to do with his work either. On the other hand, you're blogging, and the guy's already made the news, and indeed decided to pre-empt the scoop. (Why let them do what you can do yourself?) In other

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064469737954129472003-09-25T01:02:00.000-05:002003-09-26T01:05:23.160-05:00

Steve at Begging to Differ has a post that's mostly devoted to making fun of liberals, but it has an intro that could be a (contentious) post in itself. Steve writes: I am frequently confronted with a person who claims to be neither liberal nor conservative. While I understand the reluctance to take on a label that does not fit, I think the American political class divides itself into two large

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064466797742661122003-09-25T00:13:00.000-05:002003-09-25T00:13:17.726-05:00

Got a Jane Austen fix? Want to combine it with your blogging fix? You have two choices. You can visit Austentatious (now blogrolled), the blog devoted entirely to Jane Austen, or you can wait for my sister, who will be adding such things (I suspect) to the broad tent of this blog.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064466245302893082003-09-25T00:04:00.000-05:002003-09-25T00:04:05.420-05:00

Lawrence Solum is at it again, with the latest must-read post for all law nerds interested in the California recall. Read his post on Standards of Review and Transsubtantive Procedure.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064450636744871432003-09-24T19:43:00.000-05:002003-09-24T19:43:56.340-05:00

Sorry for recent blogging silence. This is the aforementioned catch-as-catch-can blogging. Just wanted to pat ourselves on the back for having been admitted to Oxblog's blogroll. We're "Alexis de Tocqueville," and in very good company. Apologies, incidentally, for the trouble blogger's been giving our permalinks lately. But we have a scheme that should fix that.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064443161294939442003-09-24T17:39:00.000-05:002003-09-24T17:45:11.803-05:00

Oi... Chicago's fixing to start up again on Monday. Clumps of 1Ls in orientation have been asking me if I'm the comp tech guy; how many student run journals are on campus; if I'm on any of them; and if I know who designed the law school (no; 4; no; Eero Saarinen). Somehow I've managed to duck the new College students, though. In honor of the summer ending and Will heading off, here's what WFMT

Amanda Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01610096892219534643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064346315811719022003-09-23T14:45:00.000-05:002003-09-23T14:46:45.326-05:00

Don't bother reading the 9th Circuit en banc panel's Per Curiam decision reinstating the recall election. Lawrence Solum tells you everything you ever wanted to know. (And Rick Hasen also has valuable thoughts).

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064345833937561222003-09-23T14:37:00.000-05:002003-09-23T14:39:55.283-05:00

Pablo Neruda, 1971 Nobel Prize Winner and brilliant poet, has been dead thirty years to the day. If you speak Spanish, here's a section of La Tercera, a Chilean newspaper, devoted to Neruda with all the relevant links you could want. I've always had a fondness for Neruda, even though he was a rabid socialist. I never found his political poetry particularly appealling, but his love poetry,

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064293435863357622003-09-23T00:03:00.000-05:002003-09-23T00:03:55.960-05:00

Much to my shock, I've just learned that the term "Confirmed Bachelor," is supposed to refer to gentlemen who are homosexual (though they may well be non-practicing). I say this is a shock because I've always loved the phrase, and use it all the time, but never having been aware of the connotations the term bore.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064276539592639992003-09-22T19:22:00.000-05:002003-09-22T19:22:19.473-05:00

The University of Chicago has begun to offer minors, but currently only in Germanic Studies, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Romance Languages and Literatures, and Slavic Languages and Literature (see p. 8 of the pdf avaliable under I. Liberal Education at Chicago: The Curriculum). Some concentrations offer minors to students in other fields of study. (Requirements will be avaliable

Amanda Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01610096892219534643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064275786859428172003-09-22T19:09:00.000-05:002003-09-22T19:09:46.920-05:00

Well I'm currently watching the streaming video of the 9th Circuit Recall Oral Arguments. You can join me and watch them here. You can also read Lawrence Solum's thoughts on the claim-preclusion here. You can also read Dahlia Lithwick's Slate essay here.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064275255978534112003-09-22T19:00:00.000-05:002003-09-22T19:00:56.163-05:00

Template hounds will note that we have a new blogger, my sister Leora Baude who will be posting soon, and also that Lileks has been added to my (and Amy's) blogroll. His post today is after my own heart: I’ve never understood why nations with great cheese don’t have better armies. Right now to my left I have a plate that contains six chunks of Stravecchoio Grana Padano, each wrapped in a

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064206811498807102003-09-22T00:00:00.000-05:002003-09-22T00:00:11.660-05:00

An interesting post by Steve Dunn over at Begging to Differ about super-precocious kids, including a discussion of the youngest blogger. He notes several people who have been blogging since birth. He misses, though Maximus Stefanescu, who Kate Duree (who I met this summer in the Koch program) calls "The First Fetus with a Blog!!!". I haven't found any other blogging fetuses yet, and I can't

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064206150161132402003-09-21T23:49:00.000-05:002003-09-21T23:51:17.790-05:00

This week brings yet another installment in our now quite recurrent feature-- 20 Questions. This week we've asked questions of Brian Weatherson at Brown University, who blogs both at Crooked Timber and at his own blog: Thoughts, Arguments, Rants. Below he answers questions about The Matrix, getting into graduate school, comments, the Boston Red Sox, and much much more. Enjoy. 1: What made you

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064204888091622062003-09-21T23:28:00.000-05:002003-09-21T23:28:07.856-05:00

A fair warning to readers that blogging will be catch-as-catch can (at least from me) over the next week or so. I'll be hosting a friend from out of town, then making a trip to Chicago and flying from there to England for the year. I suspect that blogging will continue at my usual sporadic pace, but just in case a random weekday passes by, you'll know what's going on. I spent today learning to

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064201073403409492003-09-21T22:14:00.000-05:002003-09-21T23:28:31.370-05:00

Apparently, Northern Virginia/DC is still having problems getting things back together post-Isabel. 500,000 still without power; Fairfax County's recommendation to boil water before drinking has only now been lifted; 700 traffic lights, primarily in the district, still down. That wouldn't be a bad record, had they faced a hurricane, but this damage was wreaked by winds of 30 mph with gusts to

Amanda Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01610096892219534643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064129905187564512003-09-21T02:38:00.000-05:002003-09-21T02:45:04.976-05:00

Number 2 Pencil has a post about the rather unusual doings of a 13-year-old girl on her class field trip. The girl performed oral sex on one of her classmates on the bus, and her mother is now fighting the girl's expulsion on the grounds that the school wasn't clear enough in its policies that oral sex was not allowed. This prompted Nick Blesch to retort with a pretty strongly-worded post called

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064125801715640802003-09-21T01:30:00.000-05:002003-09-21T01:35:39.593-05:00

Okay, so this Andrew Sullivan post probably doesn't really need much refuting: To my mind, the most important thing about Clark is that he was a Rhodes Scholar. Almost to a man and woman, they are mega-losers, curriculum-vitae fetishists, with huge ambition and no concept of what to do with it. But just in case you found that vaguely persuasive... here are just a few men and women who are

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064124086109301462003-09-21T01:01:00.000-05:002003-09-21T01:01:26.260-05:00

So one of the great ironies of my anti-comment post yesterday is that I found a long retort (to me) in somebody else's comments. Your guess is as good as mine as to why the commenter, Beldar, didn't send me an email with these thoughts. Anyway, I reproduce them: Thank you, I believe I will! Will's more than just a little bit elistist, he's actually being very close-minded. I've been blogging

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064023226039852282003-09-19T21:00:00.000-05:002003-09-19T21:00:26.240-05:00

(Via Oxblog): If I actually read The Corner on a regular basis, I would think about boycotting it just for these pro-Wonderbread comments. Wonderbread is simply not "an often overlooked treat." I have no objection to people who eat it because it's cheap or easily available or useful for blowing one's nose, but this is one of those small areas of taste where there is a right answer.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064022658224287752003-09-19T20:50:00.000-05:002003-09-19T20:50:57.730-05:00

The New York Times, on copynorms.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1064020921485168702003-09-19T20:22:00.000-05:002003-09-19T20:47:59.280-05:00

[Warning. The tone of this post is just a wee bit less judicious than the tone the author usually tries to adopt. He apologizes in advance.] All right already. I'm a little bit loathe to resurrect the comments war, but here's a recap for the blessedly benighted. Comments are those little links at the bottom of some people's posts (not on this blog) that let a whole bunch of people post their

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063958426046585022003-09-19T03:00:00.000-05:002003-09-19T03:05:19.803-05:00

Kathleen Moriarty blogs on memorization. Kathleen's basic question-- Memorisation of poetry is something that sort of went out with the druids. In our written world, is memorisation still necessary? And her answer: Maybe. For poetry, I think it can be easier to say it from memory rather than reading it. It makes it easier to ge tthe rhythm right when you don't have to think about saying it. "

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063956797781618312003-09-19T02:33:00.000-05:002003-09-19T02:33:17.500-05:00

Cryptic Elliptic Susan Ferrari has ditched her comments. A small victory for the forces of good and light.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063955082066125242003-09-19T02:04:00.000-05:002003-09-19T02:04:42.196-05:00

I've just finished Darlington's Fall (mentioned below), and I thought it was extremely good-- though I can't quite decide to classify it as one of my favorite poems or one of my favorite books, because I can't quite tell whether I like it more for its language or its story. In any case, as usual a bunch of my favorite quotes from the book are here (including the last stanza, which I think is

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063953800908311942003-09-19T01:43:00.000-05:002003-09-19T01:43:20.476-05:00

Venkat Balasubramani poses an interesting question for those of us (like me!) hotly interested in the intersection of blogging and etiquette. How private are emails, especially emails to bloggers? (Go to Balasubramani's blog for the controversy that sparks the original question). As my loyal readers might expect, I turn to Miss Manners for guidance on this. As it happens, I think the

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063952548582630192003-09-19T01:22:00.000-05:002003-09-19T01:22:28.460-05:00

Though the permalinks are broken, Southern Appeal has up excerpts from a recent speech by Alabama Attorney General and Filibustered Appellate Court Nominee William Pryor. Now, I disagree with pretty much everything in the speech myself-- I don't "consider the Ten Commandments to be the cornerstone of law for Western civilization," (only three of which, at my last quick count, were currently

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063922236959775912003-09-18T16:57:00.000-05:002003-09-18T23:21:30.913-05:00

Incidentally, I apologize for the slower-than-usual posting rate the past couple of days. I've been reading a book I just ordered off of Amazon-- no, I haven't gotten a pre-release copy of Quicksilver-- called Darlington's Fall. It's really really good, but it's a little strange. I mean, how do you tell people (with a straight face) that you're reading this fascinating verse novel about a

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063912531843247972003-09-18T14:15:00.000-05:002003-09-18T17:13:35.283-05:00

The online interviewing fad continues. Another Rice Grad has an interview with the CEO of Trupoker.com. Definitely worth reading for anybody interested in the game. (Incidentally for interviews with famous bloggers look to the 20 Questions sidebar on the right. For links to Howard Bashman's interviews with various judges, click here. Also, don't miss Kevin Drum's Paul Krugman interview.)

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063910349843438752003-09-18T13:39:00.000-05:002003-09-18T13:58:45.286-05:00

So a few weeks ago, Dear Prudence egregiously suggested that wedding hosts could demand money from their guests. This is wrong, not only because wedding hosts shouldn't be asking for gifts (of any sort) from their guests (presents are supposed to be "emotionally motivated") but also because wedding hosts shouldn't be presuming the existence of these gifts at all. Luckily, Prudie recognized the

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063904866976650832003-09-18T12:07:00.000-05:002003-09-18T12:07:47.080-05:00

Open call to readers. What drug policy blogs do you know about, or bloggers who blog about drug policy a decent fraction of the time? Please send me anything you can think of. P.S. . . Keep your eyes peeled for an exciting entry into the blogosphere. That's all I can say for now.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063828358210860642003-09-17T14:52:00.000-05:002003-09-17T14:53:19.456-05:00

From Judge Alex Kozinski's opinion in United States v. Bonas: (T)his is not a Harry Potter novel; there is no charm for making a defendant’s constitutional rights disappear.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063812727922717812003-09-17T10:32:00.000-05:002003-09-17T10:32:07.673-05:00

A few interesting thoughts about sex (based on a movie I haven't seen-- The Man From Elysian Fields)from Alina Stefanecu: the charm of a one-night-stand or purely physical sex lies in its unintelligibility. We overestimate the extent to which ascribing meaning to all human interactions is a positive good. Some things are best left devoid of meaning. Perhaps this is because meaning adds aftertaste

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063778961489484912003-09-17T01:09:00.000-05:002003-09-17T01:09:21.550-05:00

I troll pretty regularly (i.e., obsessively) using sitemeter and technorati to keep track of other blogs or websites that link to this site, but each of these sources is unreliable in its own way. If you write a post linking to any of my posts (or any of my co-bloggers' posts) and have the time to drop me an email letting me know, please do.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063775496659905462003-09-17T00:11:00.000-05:002003-09-17T00:11:36.673-05:00

Much as I sympathize with Half The Sins of Mankind about the virtues of "Y'all" (a logism that's been creeping into my speech despite being born, raised, and educated in the midwest), I have to quarrel with two points in her latest post: 1: "Y'all" is a brilliant solution to the problem of the English language's loss of a second-person plural. Spanish has ustedes; French has vous; American

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063773469707146272003-09-16T23:37:00.000-05:002003-09-16T23:37:49.356-05:00

Incidentally, it's about time somebody combined A.O.Scott (Bill Murray's Art of Losing) with Elizabeth Bishop (One Art, below): The art of losing isn't hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster. Lose something every day. Accept the fluster of lost door keys, the hour badly spent. The art of losing isn't hard to master. Then practice

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063771719274941102003-09-16T23:08:00.000-05:002003-09-16T23:08:39.313-05:00

Rdany Btreant is aezamd. Kaiern Haley is mcuh mroe stackipel. Check it out.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063766981555183422003-09-16T21:49:00.000-05:002003-09-16T21:49:41.450-05:00

Okay, I'll read it.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063737648915982422003-09-16T13:40:00.000-05:002003-09-16T13:40:48.590-05:00

So much for the Dean-Clark ticket . . .

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063692580793090822003-09-16T01:09:00.000-05:002003-09-16T01:17:37.600-05:00

Warning. I'm about to link to Clayton Cramer's weblog. Clayton Cramer has an interesting post about somebody he knew once who decided to boycott the carrying of 20 dollar bills. I wonder if I could find a way to manage doing the same. (Andrew Jackson, for those who don't know, is my personal pick for most evil American president in history, though he does have some stiff competition.) Starting

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063691231189565202003-09-16T00:47:00.000-05:002003-09-16T00:55:07.433-05:00

"Using simple linear regression, we find that about half of the variation in Quality is a function of Easiness and Sexiness." And here's the context.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13798243561975043156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063690387675123242003-09-16T00:33:00.000-05:002003-09-16T00:41:03.806-05:00

If, like most of the rest of us, you didn't feel like slogging through the 66-page decision from the 9th circuit today that enjoined the California recall (previous post here), you probably missed a rather entertaining paragraph about how Democracy in Iraq affects the election for governor in California: In addition to the public interest factors we have discussed, we would be remiss if we did

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063690265831539782003-09-16T00:31:00.000-05:002003-09-16T00:44:09.443-05:00

In the wake of this weekend's Republican convention, newspapers are rife with speculation on whether or not Tom McClintock will step down to clear the field for Arnold. However, despite the fact that McClintock's withdrawal would probably ensure a republican victory, such a move is, I think, highly unlikely. For the conservative core of the Republican party--the Bible-thumping moralists who

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13798243561975043156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063685983355870022003-09-15T23:19:00.000-05:002003-09-15T23:33:57.746-05:00

Eric Muller wishes that Instapundit hadn't posted a picture of the WTC "Jumper" leaping to his death (other posts here and here). Mulller was rather upset and shaken by seeing the picture, and now he's swearing off of Instapundit, at least for a while. Interestingly, he's taken an incredibly quantity of flak from his commenters over this, much of which has devolved into pretty un-helpful

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063663403922437332003-09-15T17:03:00.000-05:002003-09-15T21:31:27.616-05:00

What word in the singular refers to a collection of people as a whole, but in the plural refers to the individuals within a group? The Answer. (Via my sister)

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063663095162911572003-09-15T16:58:00.000-05:002003-09-15T16:58:15.000-05:00

Can somebody please explain this?: The increasingly bitter tone of the Ontario campaign took a surreal turn Friday when a press release from the Tory election machine labelled Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty a pet-eating alien. The bizarre insult, contained in a statement e-mailed to media representatives shortly before lunchtime, immediately deflected attention from the health-care agenda that

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063662823771489032003-09-15T16:53:00.000-05:002003-09-15T17:01:35.970-05:00

...with a to-be-continued post on the analogies between aesthetic argument and political argument. To illustrate why thinking about politics in line with the ways we think about art makes sense, let me offer a parable. A man and a woman sit down to argue. They argue first about American television in the late 1970s. The man begins with his assertions. Taxi? Overrated. All in the Family?

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063652526151220262003-09-15T14:02:00.000-05:002003-09-15T21:43:03.080-05:00

The Ninth Circuit has delayed California's Recall Vote. Summary here. Ruling here. Links via the inimitable Howard Bashman. UPDATE: Rick Hasen has thoughts here.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063649467803433032003-09-15T13:11:00.000-05:002003-09-16T23:04:08.426-05:00

Ampersand is still on the record-label case. Much to my relief, he now seems to be writing that a lot of what's wrong with my opinion of the record industry is what's wrong with libertarianism generally. This is good because here I'm on much surer ground. If all that Ampersand is complaining about is that some people have access to a very very valuable service (the ability to reach and sway

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063647678306468632003-09-15T12:41:00.000-05:002003-09-15T12:41:18.203-05:00

One of my favorite bumper stickers is one that I picked up years ago at a gaming convention in Milwaukee. It says "If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?" I guess I shouldn't have asked.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063647394953678772003-09-15T12:36:00.000-05:002003-09-15T12:38:34.973-05:00

Are you going to be in Chicago, Columbus, Auburn Hills, St. Paul, San Jose, Anaheim, or Los Angeles in the next few months? (curses, I'm not!) Then go see Simon and Garfunkel. And somehow I'm reminded of my sister's comment on Beowulf: The poem--which seems just indiscriminately ancient to us--is written by a Christian poet about a pre-Christian world--and it's about a hero whose last, great

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063617379023998722003-09-15T04:16:00.000-05:002003-09-15T04:16:19.020-05:00

Incidentally, not all bloggers think highly of the Begging to Differ Sunday Comics. J.H. Huebert pronounces them "just as unfunny as the ones in your local paper".

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063616683253041122003-09-15T04:04:00.000-05:002003-09-15T04:04:43.163-05:00

Jeremy Reff is posting again at Refference after a 3.5 month hiatus. He reaffirms that: Ada is still the best book ever written by an American. Communism was still the worst idea ever. My mom's chocolate chip cookies are still the best in the world. My two sets of roomies are still awesome. Just in case you were wondering.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063603128493655592003-09-15T00:18:00.000-05:002003-09-15T00:42:06.810-05:00

Why is it that I'm more surprised to hear that people believe in Ann Coulter than to hear that they believe in Santa Claus?

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063602915418142162003-09-15T00:15:00.000-05:002003-09-15T00:15:15.403-05:00

"Arafat can no longer be a factor in what happens here," the vice prime minister, Ehud Olmert, told the Israel radio. "The question is: How are we going to do it? Expulsion is certainly one of the options, and killing is also one of the options."

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063601403409214662003-09-14T23:50:00.000-05:002003-09-14T23:50:03.243-05:00

Dave Kaiser has some thoughts on the presidential election that's coming in 14 months and its connection to the war on terrorism. Namely, he believes (surprise, surprise) that "as long as Americans are concerned about terrorism, the Democrats have no chance of winning the Presidency or Congress." Color me unconvinced. Long-time blog readers know I'm no strong ally of either established party,

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063566692297357202003-09-14T14:11:00.000-05:002003-09-14T14:11:32.306-05:00

Begging to Differ has Sunday Comics. Read them.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063566216362183712003-09-14T14:03:00.000-05:002003-09-14T14:03:36.250-05:00

The Curmudgeonly Clerk has relocated. Please change your bookmarks accordingly.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063532325626499212003-09-14T04:38:00.000-05:002003-09-14T14:08:01.463-05:00

A little poker arithmetic: Suppose that three players are playing a game of Texas Hold'em (two cards are dealt to each player, they bet, then five community cards are gradually dealt. Players make the best five card hand). Suppose also that after a series of bets and reraises, all three of them end up going all-in. Now suppose that when they lay down their hands that one player has two Kings

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063483192721743882003-09-13T14:59:00.000-05:002003-09-13T14:59:52.526-05:00

The New York Times has a book review of Judge Richard Posner's Law, Pragmatism, and Democracy. It's worth reading, though like all book reviews of it's sort you're struck by the feeling that . . . well, you've just read more of an Op-ed than a book review.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063482742542872692003-09-13T14:52:00.000-05:002003-09-15T13:12:17.553-05:00

I have no idea. I've always had a sort of inner inkling that creators get themselves screwed over (I read the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay). Ampersand has a long list of ways we should reform the system of contracts into which artists and their promoters are permitted to enter. Now, I know very little about the economics of the music industry, and Ampersand doesn't provide a lot in

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063460166341528492003-09-13T08:29:00.000-05:002003-09-13T08:36:06.270-05:00

New York City schools have begun to offer a free breakfast to every child, rich or poor, in the hope that a good meal first thing in the morning will help students concentrate and learn. Even with the size of the place, it's only expected to cost an additional $500,000 a year to the city (the fed gov't is strongly behind such initiatives). But really, for me this brings back happy memories of

Amanda Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01610096892219534643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063433559615014652003-09-13T01:44:00.000-05:002003-09-13T01:44:16.250-05:00

Sara Butler recently commented on this article by Jennifer Roback Morse criticizing the hook-up mentality. The author's main point: The major premise of the sexual revolution is that sex is nothing more than a pastime. But the presence of date rape crisis centers demonstrates that no one really believes this. If sex were really just harmless fun, then being talked into it shouldn’t be any

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13798243561975043156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063431509613100322003-09-13T00:38:00.000-05:002003-09-13T00:38:29.510-05:00

Ted Barlow's post on Amazon reviews reminded me that I needed to visit the always-amusing Amazon World blog, where one can find a graphic demonstration of why classics do not recieve five star ratings. Hint: Bitter, barely literate high school English students seem to make up a significant portion of the reviewing demographic.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13798243561975043156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063402572624930132003-09-12T16:36:00.000-05:002003-09-12T16:42:32.356-05:00

Advance warning: Long post to follow. Skip it unless you really care about the topic. For those in the know, Lawrence Solum's Download of the Week was Philip Pettit's "Akrasia: Collective and Individual," presented at NYU's Colloquium in Law, Philosophy, and Political Theory. As it happens, I'm sitting in on that Colloquium this semester, and so I've decided to report on each week's

Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384735205752435616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063397079262181652003-09-12T15:04:00.000-05:002003-09-12T15:23:02.356-05:00

Sarah McLachlan fans rejoice. Her first live album in over six years is due out in November. If anybody knows where I can (legally, legally!) hear any of the singles that have been released, please let me know. Otherwise I might just have to start listening to our local radio station. UPDATE: For a free registration, you can listen to "Fallen" here. Now back to our regularly scheduled

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063396687077566502003-09-12T14:58:00.000-05:002003-09-12T14:58:41.376-05:00

Judge Alex Kozinski rules in favor of this proposition: "The same lawyer should represent both sides on appeal."

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063388142930607052003-09-12T12:35:00.000-05:002003-09-12T12:35:42.833-05:00

You are Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice.You're pretty arrogant, but that pride stemsfrom the deep-seated knowledge that you aregenerally the most superior creature in anygiven room. The good news is that you aredeeply loyal to your family, and you have agenerous and charitable streak, even thoughmost people don't notice because you are toobusy practicing a large vocabulary of sternlooks.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063335163140925812003-09-11T21:52:00.000-05:002003-09-11T21:54:58.766-05:00

I found this Esquire article on the "jumpers" particularly visceral because I've had this picture up on my wall since the disaster. . . .

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063324760850234522003-09-11T18:59:00.000-05:002003-09-11T18:59:20.700-05:00

Last year on this day I wrote the following piece about the anniversary of September 11th. 9/11/02: The American economy is said to be so immense, so elastic, that you can slam a sledgehammer into it without making a dent. Raise the minimum wage, impose steel tariffs, no ruin will follow; after a few local adjustments the behemoth keeps rolling on in its indefeasible, heedless way.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063323910925317652003-09-11T18:45:00.000-05:002003-09-11T18:45:10.826-05:00

It's not often that a politician opposes safe-sex but supports polygamy. David Kaiser has the details. But then this is the guy who wanted Russia to invade Alaska.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063308104049783132003-09-11T14:21:00.000-05:002003-09-11T14:21:44.076-05:00

Having egged Sara Butler on, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that she's succumbed to temptation and now has another post attacking the private/public distinction, as it were. I'm not that eager to discard the public/private distinction. It seems to me that it evolved to solve a very difficult social/political problem - the wars of religion that tore Europe apart after the Reformation - and,

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063306785111207392003-09-11T13:59:00.000-05:002003-09-11T14:00:04.243-05:00

Well, since it's September 11th and all, and some bloggers are treading trodden trails, I thought I'd offer this recycled reading. It's the 2001 Aims of Education speech by Professor Danielle Allen here at the University of Chicago. What I Would Have Said By early last week; we had drafted my Aims of Education address. It was light-hearted, jocular. Its central subject was humor and the good of

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063295087673014202003-09-11T10:44:00.000-05:002003-09-11T10:45:28.130-05:00

I blogged earlier about a very good op-ed by Professor Douglas Lichtman in the Wall Street Journal, which provoked an also very good response from Lawrence Solum. I've now gotten permission to post the op-ed on this site, so here it is. Enjoy. KaZaA and Punishment The federal courts have over the past two years struggled to understand why Grokster, KaZaA, and related Internet entities should be

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063265699602382002003-09-11T02:34:00.000-05:002003-09-11T02:34:59.596-05:00

Surely the website Amy cites below isn't real, is it? Could anybody really believe such gems as: Another way we can see the rational Truth in Christianity is by considering how many of the things that the Lord teaches against are actually zero-sum games where one gains at the expense of another. For instance, all gambling games - which the Lord considers to be a form of the sin of covetousness -

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063264666345020612003-09-11T02:17:00.000-05:002003-09-11T02:17:46.350-05:00

And while we're on the subject of stupid people... As someone who wants to advance the cause of human knowledge, reading a website like this (link via Oxblog) is enough to make me want to go out and shoot myself. How can I possibly make any difference in the world when people continue to believe sincerely that projects such as "My Uncle Is A Man Named Steve (Not A Monkey)", "Women Were Designed

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13798243561975043156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063263360027376442003-09-11T01:56:00.000-05:002003-09-11T01:56:00.033-05:00

A certain blogger, who may at this point be glad he is anonymous, linked approvingly to this Washington Post article, which makes the following claim: With $166 billion spent or requested, Bush's war spending in 2003 and 2004 already exceeds the inflation-adjusted costs of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War and the Persian Gulf War

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13798243561975043156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063245507595988622003-09-10T20:57:00.000-05:002003-09-10T20:58:27.606-05:00

It was Friday afternoon, and what did I chose to read to relax with for a few hours? Robert Penn Warren's Segregation: The Inner Conflict in the South. He wrote it in 1956, shortly after Brown came down, traveling to parts in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana; trying his best to slip back into the voice he learned growing up in Guthrie, KY so he wouldn't be taken as a

Amanda Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01610096892219534643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063224997280496502003-09-10T15:16:00.000-05:002003-09-10T15:16:37.310-05:00

PG at Half the Sins of Mankind is applying to about half-a-bajillion law schools. I'm not applying to nearly as many, but if any law professor (or anybody else) reading this wants to offer advice on how to get into law school, it's welcome.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063223475855836242003-09-10T14:51:00.000-05:002003-09-10T14:51:15.880-05:00

(Via Patrick Belton): Remember the London hunger-artist that we blogged about earlier? Well he's being even less well-received than Kafka's: Since the showman began his stunt Friday, people have attempted to dislodge him by throwing eggs at his transparent box -- measuring 7ft deep, 7ft long and 3ft wide. Blaine, a self-styled modern-day Houdini, has also been taunted by the smell of fish and

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063221648863347832003-09-10T14:20:00.000-05:002003-09-13T14:53:42.080-05:00

Ampersand says that the RIAA is a pot calling the kettle black. As anybody who uses the internet already knows, the RIAA is suing run-of-the-mill copyright infringers by the hundreds, and offering only a very restrictive amnesty agreement. [Those seeking amensty have to not only promise to forever cease and desist but also delete all illegally acquired files. And as Kathleen Moriarty reminds

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063220632365682412003-09-10T14:03:00.000-05:002003-09-10T14:03:52.370-05:00

Barnes and Noble finally acquired copies of Virginia Postrel's The Substance of Style. More on which as I read it.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063179172694645022003-09-10T02:32:00.000-05:002003-09-10T02:32:52.636-05:00

If you've got four hours to kill, you could always listen to Monday's oral arguments on BCRA. I figure if I listen to it while going to sleep, I'll absorb all I really want to.

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063179002587250402003-09-10T02:30:00.000-05:002003-09-10T14:55:27.480-05:00

The RIAA has gone on the warpath, suing 261 individual copyright infringers and offering amnesty to others only if they agree to stop downloading illegal music and abandon all music illicitly obtained. Personally, I wonder why the RIAA is demanding so much in its amnesty agreements-- why not offer amnesty to anybody who agrees to stop downloading any further illegal music and let what's already

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063151821701787162003-09-09T18:57:00.000-05:002003-09-09T18:57:01.680-05:00

I know it's rarely fair to pick on the letters to the editor in one's hometown newspaper, but, Compare and Contrast the following. This letter by Stan White on why secularism is flawed. ...The Constitution bars relations between church and state. The Constitution (written by devoutly religious men) said nothing about the separation between religion and state.... with the text of the First

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063143528533567382003-09-09T16:38:00.000-05:002003-09-11T14:23:09.760-05:00

Is the personal political? Sara Butler thinks not, or not quite: I do think all actions and attitudes have political significance and impact society. All "society" is anyway is just the sum total of individuals' actions. Our "personal" lives create our "society." Our "private" actions are not deemed such because they actually take place in some sort of bubble, affecting only ourselves, but

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063131401358160372003-09-09T13:16:00.000-05:002003-09-09T13:16:41.346-05:00

I've just received some thoughts on movie theater pricing from Kathleen Moriarty who has plenty of first-hand knowledge about the inner workings of movie theaters. She offers, among other things, the following observations: Just for the record, theaters have nothing to do with the prices for movies. Those are set by contract with the distributors of the movies. The distributors also receive

Willhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04276067195509421938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063109373885509062003-09-09T07:09:00.000-05:002003-09-09T07:09:33.890-05:00

If you haven't read all 300-plus pages of the legislation by now, you should. If you can't, in the following four-part series, Slate has attempted to summarize and synthesize the most controversial portions of the act so you can decide for yourself whether you want Patriot, and the Patriots that may follow, to be a part of your world. Part 1 tackles Section 215, the law dealing with private

Amanda Butlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01610096892219534643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063090185518654632003-09-09T01:49:00.000-05:002003-09-09T01:59:30.153-05:00

Much has been said about David Bernstein's original post regarding lack of efficient price discrimination by movie theaters. Of the cities in which I've spent significant amounts of time, Paris was the one that had what seems to be the most efficient price discrimination policy. As in many U.S. cities, the first showing of the day is quite cheap (at the going rate of exchange when I was there

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13798243561975043156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4024259.post-1063086698703584682003-09-09T00:51:00.000-05:002003-09-09T00:51:38.710-05:00

Slate's Dahlia Lithwick is back in fine form with her coverage of the arguments in the campaign finance reform case currently before the Supreme Court. But what we really want to know from her is when we get to see the pictures. The baby pictures, of course. Not pictures of the interesting goings-on in the first floor women's restroom.

Amyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13798243561975043156noreply@blogger.com