December 2010
66 posts
1 tag
(Sort of) Top Posts of 2010
With 2010 on its way out the door tonight, it’s time to post the Top 5 Running Chicken blog posts of 2010, in terms of unique pageviews. Here they are:
1. So you want to be a political scientist?
A short video that lampoons the world of academic political science; I asked what a version designed specifically with political theory in mind might look like.
2. Dinner at Topolobampo
A...
2 tags
1 tag
(Sort of) Top Posts of 2010
With 2010 on its way out the door tonight, it’s time to post the Top 5 Running Chicken blog posts of 2010, in terms of unique pageviews. Here they are:
1. So you want to be a political scientist?
A short video that lampoons the world of academic political science; I asked what a version designed specifically with political theory in mind might look like.
2. Dinner at Topolobampo
A...
1 tag
2 tags
2011
Since it’s the first day of a new year, I thought I’d ask:
What are your plans — big or small — for 2011?
4 tags
Snooki, the Gift that Keeps on Giving →
In case you aren’t already excited enough about the upcoming third season of MTV’s “Jersey Shore”:
MTV’s original plans had called for Ms. Polizzi to be placed inside a ball that would have been lowered in Times Square before the official countdown to 2011 on Friday night. (In an interview with USA Today, Ms. Polizzi compared herself to a “hamster,” using some colorful, Snooki-esque modifiers.)
...
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Snooki, the Gift that Keeps on Giving →
In case you aren’t already excited enough about the upcoming third season of MTV’s “Jersey Shore”:
MTV’s original plans had called for Ms. Polizzi to be placed inside a ball that would have been lowered in Times Square before the official countdown to 2011 on Friday night. (In an interview with USA Today, Ms. Polizzi compared herself to a “hamster,” using some colorful, Snooki-esque modifiers.)
...
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Twitter to the Rescue, Holiday Snowstorm Travel... →
“This is still the domain of elite activist customers.”
It seems that some people have finally realized that a) the internet can be useful, b) knowing something that not everyone else knows can be advantageous, and c) not knowing something that other people know might lead to a disadvantage.
To wit, Twitter and disrupted holiday air travel:
People who could not send a Twitter...
4 tags
Twitter to the Rescue, Holiday Snowstorm Travel... →
“This is still the domain of elite activist customers.”
It seems that some people have finally realized that a) the internet can be useful, b) knowing something that not everyone else knows can be advantageous, and c) not knowing something that other people know might lead to a disadvantage.
To wit, Twitter and disrupted holiday air travel:
People who could not send a Twitter...
4 tags
"Opposing Anything Obama Says" Sweepstakes
It’s not clear whether Tucker Carlson can actually hear himself talk. Most recently, he said that Michael Vick should have been executed for his role in a dogfighting ring.
While I personally believe Vick’s actions to be heinous and while I don’t root for him on the football field, it’s definitely heartening to me to know that Carlson clearly doesn’t mean what he said; it’s just one more entry...
4 tags
"Opposing Anything Obama Says" Sweepstakes
It’s not clear whether Tucker Carlson can actually hear himself talk. Most recently, he said that Michael Vick should have been executed for his role in a dogfighting ring.
While I personally believe Vick’s actions to be heinous and while I don’t root for him on the football field, it’s definitely heartening to me to know that Carlson clearly doesn’t mean what he said; it’s just one more entry...
2 tags
Good, Evocative Writing
Take note:
A police car went by with its siren going, a rotary slurping noise, it sounded like the blender in their kitchen—she made fruit shakes compulsively that they felt morally bound to drink.
Don DeLillo can make me smile with just one sentence.
If you have even a passing interest in baseball, waste management, art, architecture, or great American fiction, read Underworld....
2 tags
Good, Evocative Writing
Take note:
A police car went by with its siren going, a rotary slurping noise, it sounded like the blender in their kitchen—she made fruit shakes compulsively that they felt morally bound to drink.
Don DeLillo can make me smile with just one sentence.
If you have even a passing interest in baseball, waste management, art, architecture, or great American fiction, read Underworld....
3 tags
The Imminent Return of the Dreaded "Death Panels" →
Grandparents everywhere hide under their hand-crocheted afghans; the “death panels” are back, baby!
The final version of the health care legislation, signed into law by President Obama in March, authorized Medicare coverage of yearly physical examinations, or wellness visits. The new rule says Medicare will cover “voluntary advance care planning,” to discuss end-of-life treatment, as part of the...
3 tags
The Imminent Return of the Dreaded "Death Panels" →
Grandparents everywhere hide under their hand-crocheted afghans; the “death panels” are back, baby!
The final version of the health care legislation, signed into law by President Obama in March, authorized Medicare coverage of yearly physical examinations, or wellness visits. The new rule says Medicare will cover “voluntary advance care planning,” to discuss end-of-life treatment, as part of the...
5 tags
A Merry Christmas?
When I read this story in the New York Times this morning, I couldn’t help thinking to myself that someone misunderstood the whole “Spirit of Christmas” thing.
In brief, Michigan’s outgoing governor, Jennifer Granholm, was prepared to commute the life sentence of 43-year-old Matthew Makowski, who “was the mastermind of the robbery gone bad [of Pietro Puma, in 1988], but was not present at the...
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A Merry Christmas?
When I read this story in the New York Times this morning, I couldn’t help thinking to myself that someone misunderstood the whole “Spirit of Christmas” thing.
In brief, Michigan’s outgoing governor, Jennifer Granholm, was prepared to commute the life sentence of 43-year-old Matthew Makowski, who “was the mastermind of the robbery gone bad [of Pietro Puma, in 1988], but was not present at the...
4 tags
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The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Football: A...
The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the social dynamics surrounding the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football program on the community at large. The following research questions helped guide the research study: 1. What are the sociological effects of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football on the community? and 2. How is commitment displayed to University of Nebraska...
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The Absence of Transitional Justice in Brazil →
Undoubtedly one of the most interesting questions for scholars who study transitional justice considers its absence. In other words, why do transitional justice initiatives not occur in some of the places where we might expect them?
The case of Brazil is at the top of the list when it comes to expected transitional justice initiatives that simply never materialize. We know why perpetrators of...
3 tags
The Absence of Transitional Justice in Brazil →
Undoubtedly one of the most interesting questions for scholars who study transitional justice considers its absence. In other words, why do transitional justice initiatives not occur in some of the places where we might expect them?
The case of Brazil is at the top of the list when it comes to expected transitional justice initiatives that simply never materialize. We know why perpetrators of...
3 tags
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Football: A...
The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the social dynamics surrounding the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football program on the community at large. The following research questions helped guide the research study: 1. What are the sociological effects of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln football on the community? and 2. How is commitment displayed to University of Nebraska...
3 tags
A Greek Bishop's Anti-Semitic Tirade →
This tirade has some of the good old-fashioned “Jewish banking conspiracy” anti-Semitism, but also some interesting new stuff too.
For example:
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that the bishop “said that there is a conspiracy to enslave Greece and Christian Orthodoxy. He also accused international Zionism of trying to destroy the family unit by promoting one-parent families and same-sex...
3 tags
A Greek Bishop's Anti-Semitic Tirade →
This tirade has some of the good old-fashioned “Jewish banking conspiracy” anti-Semitism, but also some interesting new stuff too.
For example:
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that the bishop “said that there is a conspiracy to enslave Greece and Christian Orthodoxy. He also accused international Zionism of trying to destroy the family unit by promoting one-parent families and same-sex...
3 tags
Human Rights Utopianism →
In a recent review of Samuel Moyn’s new book on the history of human rights, John Gray attempts to set out the problem with the way that the global North views the topic. In doing so, he pretty much sets all of the world’s problems squarely at the feet of John Rawls. Or at least his version of John Rawls, the 20th Century’s most nefarious super-villain/philosopher. I’ve...
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Law and the Multiverse Blog Mixes Lawyers and... →
Is Superman’s heat vision a weapon? If so, would the Second Amendment protect his right to melt pistols and cook hamburgers with it?
…
“What if someone is convicted for murder, and then the victim comes back to life?”
If these sorts of questions are of interest to you, then you should probably be a regular reader of Law and the Multiverse.
There are some really terrific post titles...
2 tags
Law and the Multiverse Blog Mixes Lawyers and... →
Is Superman’s heat vision a weapon? If so, would the Second Amendment protect his right to melt pistols and cook hamburgers with it?
…
“What if someone is convicted for murder, and then the victim comes back to life?”
If these sorts of questions are of interest to you, then you should probably be a regular reader of Law and the Multiverse.
There are some really terrific post titles...
6 tags
First use of animal sedative on death row →
I’ve been writing about the problems faced by lethal injection enthusiasts for quite some time now, the most pressing of which is a general lack of drugs to actually poison someone to death properly (see here, here, and here).
But now they’ve got it all figured out:
Animal tranquilizers!
Just in case you weren’t sure whether or not human beings in the United States can be...
3 tags
First use of animal sedative on death row →
I’ve been writing about the problems faced by lethal injection enthusiasts for quite some time now, the most pressing of which is a general lack of drugs to actually poison someone to death properly (see here, here, and here).
But now they’ve got it all figured out:
Animal tranquilizers!
Just in case you weren’t sure whether or not human beings in the United States can be...
3 tags
A Festivus Miracle!
Locked up in a California jail, Malcolm Alarmo King wanted healthier meals. In an argument apparently made to a friendly court, he won a ruling from Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson that he should be fed double-portion kosher meals.
Battling to keep its food costs down, the sheriff’s department argued that King himself admitted “healthism” was the so-called religion...
3 tags
A Festivus Miracle!
Locked up in a California jail, Malcolm Alarmo King wanted healthier meals. In an argument apparently made to a friendly court, he won a ruling from Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson that he should be fed double-portion kosher meals.
Battling to keep its food costs down, the sheriff’s department argued that King himself admitted “healthism” was the so-called religion...
4 tags
Paying College Athletes
For several years, my friend Michael Tofias has harrangued me about my love of collegiate athletics. It’s the same complaint every time: as someone who thinks seriously about human rights, I should be ashamed of myself for enjoying sporting contests that showcase the talent of amateur athletes who don’t have the option of making money from their abilities (unless they are willing to go...
3 tags
Paying College Athletes
For several years, my friend Michael Tofias has harrangued me about my love of collegiate athletics. It’s the same complaint every time: as someone who thinks seriously about human rights, I should be ashamed of myself for enjoying sporting contests that showcase the talent of amateur athletes who don’t have the option of making money from their abilities (unless they are willing to go...
3 tags
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Winona Forever →
Winona Ryder has this problem, and as problems go it’s pretty solidly in the first-world category, she knows, but it’s a problem, still: She’ll be having a conversation with somebody—an interesting conversation, the kind two regular people have when they discover a mutual admiration for, like, Philip Roth’s American Pastoral or something. And then suddenly the person she’s having the...
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Winona Forever →
Winona Ryder has this problem, and as problems go it’s pretty solidly in the first-world category, she knows, but it’s a problem, still: She’ll be having a conversation with somebody—an interesting conversation, the kind two regular people have when they discover a mutual admiration for, like, Philip Roth’s American Pastoral or something. And then suddenly the person she’s having the...
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WatchThe most recent Bloggingheads diavlog features Cornel West and Robert George talking — in this relatively short clip — about the origins of human dignity, which they both seem to ground in self-respect and religion. If you listen to the whole thing, they also proceed to discuss greed, abortion, education, and democracy … and more religion.
It can feel a little, well, preachy at...
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“Everything is happening all the time … every googleplexth of a second!”
– Thus spake Thelonious Monk.
Now, I like jazz and, of all the jazz that I like, I like Thelonious Monk best of all. So I was excited to read Scott Saul’s long, thoroughly engrossing book review of the new biography of Monk by Robin D. G. Kelley.
The following paragraph outlines pretty nicely...
2 tags
“Everything is happening all the time … every googleplexth of a second!”
– Thus spake Thelonious Monk.
Now, I like jazz and, of all the jazz that I like, I like Thelonious Monk best of all. So I was excited to read Scott Saul’s long, thoroughly engrossing book review of the new biography of Monk by Robin D. G. Kelley.
The following paragraph outlines pretty nicely...
2 tags
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The Hero Project →
Phil Zimbardo is an interesting guy.
He’s undoubtedly best known for the Stanford prison experiment, which taught us a harsh lesson about our internal darkness, but his current research focuses on quite the opposite: teaching heroism.
Zimbardo and I have a mutual friend, Matt Langdon, who is also hard at work on the project of building heroes with his Hero Construction Company. Thanks to...
4 tags
The Hero Project →
Phil Zimbardo is an interesting guy.
He’s undoubtedly best known for the Stanford prison experiment, which taught us a harsh lesson about our internal darkness, but his current research focuses on quite the opposite: teaching heroism.
Zimbardo and I have a mutual friend, Matt Langdon, who is also hard at work on the project of building heroes with his Hero Construction Company. Thanks to...
4 tags
New Rwandan genocide archive opens →
The new Rwandan genocide archive is open.
With “1,500 audiovisual recordings and more than 20,000 documents and photographs from genocide survivors and perpetrators both at the facility and online,” the archive should serve as an excellent resource for Rwandans and non-Rwandans alike.
Somewhat strangely, though, the director of both the archive focuses less on how it might honor the...
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Nixon Didn't Love Jews?!
I’m sure this will come as a surprise to many … but apparently RIchard Nixon didn’t have many nice things to say about Jews. The New York Times chronicles many of the unpleasant offerings here.
But don’t worry: Henry Kissinger wasn’t all that concerned about Jews either:
“The emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union is not an objective of American foreign policy,”...
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Close Collaboration
In the same government report from which I quoted yesterday, there’s also a whole lot of information that connects Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, quite closely to the Nazis and that connects Nazis to post-war anti-Israel activities in the Middle East. This shouldn’t be much of a surprise to many, but a lot of history texts really gloss over al-Husseini’s...
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Advancing U.S. Interests, Helping War Criminals →
After World War II, American counterintelligence recruited former Gestapo officers, SS veterans and Nazi collaborators to an even greater extent than had been previously disclosed and helped many of them avoid prosecution or looked the other way when they escaped, according to thousands of newly declassified documents.
Nothing says “Never Again” quite like “Now Hiring: War...
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Watch“I am going to get a PhD in analytic philosophy.”
<sound of crickets chirping>
“Why?”
“Exactly.”