Leonard

07Nov09

I wish I could take the emotional energy (and time) to tell you about the Leonard Cohen show. Maybe soon. For now, just a picture.

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Making the meme

04Nov09

Big tipping in Peter’s direction, who broke this, but you have to see it, hook or crook:

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Today in numbers

04Nov09

I know you’re expecting I’ll write about voting returns in New York, but this is about InStyle Magazine. I looked up the information the magazine provides to potential advertisers, and here’s what I saw:

See anything fishy?

Both gender and age have per category values in the final column (“% composition”). However, the household income lists the total percentage of readers with incomes under $50,000, but then lists all subscribers above the remainder of the income categories. As you can see, 71% of readers earn more than $50,000, and 62% earn over $60,000. But you have to do the math to figure out that 9% earn between $50-60,000. Although technically correct, these numbers must produce a lot of confusion because of how they are reported.

This isn’t a revelation or anything, but it is what I did between 9:30 and 9:45 this morning.

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Shameless self promotion

03Nov09

Here’s a nice piece in the current Vanderbilt View on our Creative Campus program. A forthcoming publication by yours truly is mentioned near the top. Bravo Steven, Elizabeth, and Bill!

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Calling out

29Oct09

As you may know, Vanderbilt has a new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation program in health and health policy.  Could you take a few minutes and send me the names of any faculty members at other schools who are working with undergraduate students interested in graduate study in medical sociology, health, and health policy? We especially need to identify faculty members who may know students of color interested in these areas of sociology. Please put these in the comments, or send me an email. Gracias.

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Internuts

28Oct09

I wish I could share these videos of kindergarteners at my mother’s school but they’re password protected because, well, they’re kids. And there are people who are nuts about kids.

Other than a video of them dancing around like crackerjacks, what you’d see (if you were allowed) includes a series of interviews with every little girl about her “hopes and dreams” for the school year. Most of them want to learn to read, or learn to write; one of them wants to paint a sunset, and another wants to learn to use a vacuum. But here’s the best by far:

Q: What’s your name?

A: [redacted. she's a kid.]

Q: What are your hopes and dreams for school this year?

A: I’d like to collect nature.

Q: What would you like to find?

A: Nuts.

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Please stop

27Oct09

Please stop emailing me with requests like this one:

I am currently writing a research paper on the History of hip hop for African American History. I was wondering if you would be able to recommend me some resources that would be beneficial to me in writing this paper. Also any ideas for specific thesis statements would be nice. I was thinking about writing about the cause and effect of the origins of Hip-hop culture.

While I’m happy to support the efforts of young scholars interested in musical history and African American history, I am not in the business of sending out my intellectual property gratis, just because you can use the internet. Also, your paper idea is really stupid.

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Blogonote

26Oct09

I love Iconic Photos.

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Lurking internet danger.

20Oct09

The Latin American Herald Tribune reports that human traffickers are using social networking sites to lure kids into slavery, in Peru. That’s what’s “on my mind.”

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Talking head, pointing finger.

20Oct09

A colleague forwarded to me the link to this “college tour” service. If you bother watching the Vandy video, I appear for a few seconds, waggling my finger. I have, by the way, no memory of this happening.

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