Social Mobility in America: Repairing the rungs on the ladder
“It is, of course, good that money flows to talent rather than connections, and that people invest in their children’s education. But the clever rich are turning themselves into an entrenched elite. This phenomenon—call it the paradox of virtuous meritocracy—undermines equality of opportunity.”
Source: economist.com
Immigration reform: Let them stay, let them in
“In their plans, both the senators and Mr Obama have met the first test for a reform worth having: offering a path to citizenship to most of the 11m. Critics will excoriate this “amnesty” as capitulating to criminals, but it is far better than forcing generally law-abiding people to live in a persistent and incurable state of lawlessness. And the amnesty would not be unconditional: the illegals would have to pay a hefty fine and wait a good while for their citizenship to come through. But in the meantime they would be immune from deportation, and be able to work (and to pay their taxes) legally.”
Source: economist.com
Graffiti in my neighborhood, Lincoln Square. It doesn’t help that the ‘hood’s demographic is heavily German. Sadly, this has been there for over two weeks. I’m starting to think that the establishment marked up their own window…
The Russian Government Once Funded a Scientist’s Quest To Make an Ape-Human Hybrid
They just don’t teach these things in science or history class… maybe that’s why our education ranks in the low 20s compared to the rest of the world.
“In 1926, less than a decade after the Russian revolution, Russia’s Bolshevik party—which went on to become the Communist Part of the Soviet Union—was seeking to stamp out religion, a perceived threat to the party’s power. And famed Russian zoologist Ilia Ivanov, an expert in artificial insemination and a man “hell-bent on breeding a creature that was half man, half ape,” knew how to take advantage of that political push, Stephanie Pain wrote in New Scientist a few years ago. Ivanov pitched his pet project to the Russian Academy of Sciences as a way to ‘prove Darwin right’ and “strike a blow against religion.” Supported and financed by the Bolshevik government, Ivanov set off for Africa to catch some chimpanzees and orangutans and, he hoped, to use one to artificially inseminate a human woman.”
Source: blogs.smithsonianmag.com
I came across this signed jersey in the Adidas story in Istanbul.
The Data-Driven Parent: Will statistical analytics make for healthier, happier babies—or more-anxious adults?
“At their most basic, these first-generation baby-data apps offer tech-savvy parents a substitute for handwritten diaper-change and feeding logs. The apps’ greater innovation, however, has been in charting and analyzing children’s data, in the process making parenthood a more quantifiable, science-based endeavor. Forthcoming versions of baby-data apps are poised to bring even more dramatic change, allowing parents to compare their child with other children in great detail. In place of sidelong glances on the playground and calls to the pediatrician, mothers and fathers will have a new and more definitive way of answering an old question: Is my child normal? What remains to be seen is whether this new trove of information will reduce the anxieties of early parenthood or, by allowing constant, nervous comparisons, bring them into sharper relief.”
Well, considering that I already log what jackets I wear in what temperature to evaluate in which I’m most comfortable (among dozens of other aspects of my daily life), I’m confident that I’ll be one of these parents.
Source: The Atlantic
I see these adverts on my train rides. Overall, I’m a fan of Chicago’s NPR station’s advertising, even if the gay coalition finds it anti-gay. Although, I don’t support that it uses a Facebook platform.
Source: gomakebabies.com
Teeing off on kickers
“This is why I have long proposed a change that will never, ever happen because it makes too much sense. Give place-kicking the boot.
That’s right, eliminate it. Force supremely talented offensive players to keep doing what they do best: Make first downs. Fourth-and-5 at the opponent’s 25? You have to GO FOR IT. And you keep going for it until you score six points or you’re stopped. If you score a touchdown, you always go for the far more exciting two-point conversion.”
I’m posting not becuase I agree but becuase I like ideas and different perspectives. How many of us considered playing professional football like we did in junior high? I didn’t, I actually didn’t even know that people could hate kickers as a position (I understand hating actual kickers). Getting rid of kickers? That equals radical in my world of consistent status quo maintenance.
Source: ESPN
We’re Better at Remembering Facebook Statuses Than Book Lines
How depressing this is for me to read:
“One of your friends hates her job, another is excited for a concert, and a third just had some really, really delicious pancakes. You know this because they told you on Facebook. If asked how those friends were doing, you’d probably remember those statuses pretty easily. But do you remember a single line of Moby Dick? Probably not. Turns out, the average person is far more likely to remember a Facebook status than they are a painstakingly edited sentence from a book.”
Source: blogs.smithsonianmg.com
One of my top five favorite views of the city can be found at the Shedd.
What It Feels Like To Be Photographed In A Moment Of Grief
“”I sat there in a moment of devastation with my hands in prayer pose asking for peace and healing in the hearts of men,” she recalls. “I was having such a strong moment and my heart was open, and I started to cry.”Her mood changed abruptly, she says, when “all of a sudden I hear ‘clickclickclickclickclick’ all over the place. And there are people in the bushes, all around me, and they are photographing me, and now I’m pissed. I felt like a zoo animal.”“
Source: NPR
This is a blog for family and friends so they know what I'm doing with my life.
