Inequality

I have previously touched on some of the research Roland Fryer is accomplishing. His work is also cited in the book Freakonomics.

He now has a new web page that details his research. There is a bunch of fascinating research available there, and I'm excited to see what more will come. Definitely check out the American Inequality Lab. What findings outlined are most interesting to you?

Math

What you know about it?

Sidewalks

As some of you know, I tend towards being pretty urban-centric. One of my biggest reasons for enjoying city life is the fact that it is a very walkable community. That's because there are sidewalks on every block. I enjoy being able to walk to the drugstore, the grocery, or a restaurant.

One of the biggest problems with many suburban subdivisions, in my estimation, is their lack of sidewalks. I think it cuts down on community connectivity and is detrimental to health. Studies have shown that suburban residents tend to be more obese.

Never did I think, though, that suburbanites were actually opposed to sidewalks. I always figured that they weren't there due to poor planning by villages or cheap developers who didn't want to foot the extra cost. Turns out I was wrong.

Says Northbrook resident Hubert Frank,

We came here for the green grass, we came here for the suburban environment and for the schools. I think we have a beautiful street, and sidewalks would take away that beauty.

The kids in the neighborhood walk to school via the street. Safety first, you know. The article notes,

Some say sidewalks could disturb trees and landscaping, and others fear who might come sauntering through their neighborhoods.

Sidewalks, it seems, represent some of the things people move to more rural-feeling subdivisions to escape: Foot traffic. Noise. Concrete. Taxes.

Yes, the miscreants that sidewalks inherently bring are insidious...

Divorce

What more needs to be said about the state of marriage in our country? The consumer's 'pursuit of happiness' knows not the boundaries that would bring it.

In the real world...

...getting bit by a spider doesn't give you super powers.

Or does it?

The Art of Parenting

What will mean success for our children? So many in America today tie their own success to their children's. What if your kids are not able to go to the prestigious university you set out for them to?

Would it matter?

The NFL Draft Twilight Zone

So I just got back to my apartment and went online to check the NFL draft thus far. At the moment, I see that Brady Quinn is still undrafted and Miami just took Ted Ginn, Jr. with the 9th overall pick. (For all of you who predicted that the Lions would pass on Ginn but he would still be picked before Quinn, please comment below.)

I think the NFL draft is the most interesting among the major sports. It's deeper than the NBA draft, but not as overwhelming as the MLB draft. (Do the NHL or NASCAR even have drafts?)

Another thing I like about the NFL draft is that one player does not a franchise make, even though some GM's keep acting otherwise. History has repeatedly shown us that when a team starts trading away multiple assets to move up in the draft, it usually backfires:

• Would you rather have Mike Vick or both Drew Brees AND LaDainlian Tomlinson? (Nice one, Falcons.)
• How about trading Shawne Merriman and Philip Rivers for Eli Manning? (The Giants essentially did.)
• Mortgage your franchise's future just for the rights to Ricky Williams? (Da Coach should not have also been Da GM.)
• Nor is it an historically good idea to trade away multiple draft picks for an established star. (Don't click here, Westy.)

The last point actually brings me to my next point, which is the constant over-valuing of running backs. No matter who you are and no matter which NFL team you root for, if I were to become the general manager of that team then I would NEVER draft a running back in the first round. (Unless, of course, you are the owner of that team and would require that I do so, which in that case I probably would just to keep my job.)

But seriously, at running back you don't need a great player. You just need a player who can do "The 4 Basics":

• Be durable
• Follow your blockers
• Hang onto the football
• Pick up the blitz

Sure, it might be a nice bonus if they can catch the ball too, but let's not get greedy.

The thing about any one running back is that they don't make that big of a difference in playoff games when they're up against real defenses. And they get hurt. That's why RB's drafted in the first round often hold out for every last dollar during signing bonus money negotiations. History says that it will be the only "big" NFL pay day that they get.

When Reggie Bush started to "go off" last year and put up some big numbers, people started mocking the Houston Texans for passing up on him for defensive end Mario Williams. However, let's see how things play out over a 10-year span. With Williams, the Texans were making a relatively safe pick--getting a guy who was nearly a lock to be an above average DE for a decade. If things go well, he might become a great DE for a decade. With Bush, even if he is the best running back who ever lived, it is unlikely he could consistently remain an "elite" RB for a decade.

Oh well. I'm sure teams will keep taking RB's in the first round and doing other odd things like packaging five draft picks for "that one guy who can change everything." But I really shouldn't complain about this--it makes things interesting.

Wanna get away?

Stop Snitchin'?

Earlier this month, Don Imus embarrassed himself by referring to the relatively high achieving Rutgers women's basketball team as a bunch of "nappy-headed hos". Eight days later, he was fired.

Snoop Dogg, when asked to compare his own use of similar lyrics with Mr. Imus', explained,

It's a completely different scenario. [Rappers] are not talking about no collegiate basketball girls who have made it to the next level in education and sports. We're talking about hos that's in the 'hood that ain't doing s***, that's trying to get a n**** for his money. These are two separate things. First of all, we ain't no old-ass white men that sit up on MSNBC going hard on black girls. We are rappers that have these songs coming from our minds and our souls that are relevant to what we feel. I will not let them mutha*****s say we in the same league as him.

Mr. Broadus thus argues it is ok to refer to actual hos as hos in the service of artistic expression.

In working with young boys from the inner city, though, I know all too well the impact that gangster rap and hip hop music has on them. When women are treated as objects and materialism glorified in every famous singer you see, its influence cannot be ignored.

Then, yesterday on CBS' 60 Minutes, the rapper Cam'ron said there is no way he would cooperate with police. He says,

Because with the type of business I'm in, it would definitely hurt my business. And the way that I was raised, I just don't do that. I was raised differently, not to tell. It's about business but it's still also a code of ethics. ...There's nothing really to talk about with the police, I mean, for what? ...If I knew the serial killer was living next door to me? No, I wouldn't call and tell anybody on him. But I'd probably move… But I'm not gonna call and be like, you know, 'The serial killer's in 4E.'

Cam'ron notes that it is important he maintain his 'street cred'. And street cred is not maintained by helping the po-po.

60 Minutes describes how over the last decade the fascination with being anti-police has grown and now represents the mainstream of thought in inner city America. "Stop snitchin'" has become a catchy hip-hop slogan that embodies and encourages this attitude. T-shirts with this slogan are bestsellers. Carmelo Anthony participated with drug dealers in making a DVD passing this message on. More than ever, the level of cooperation between inner city residents and police is at a low. And it's a self perpetuating cycle. As residents become less cooperative, police become more defensive, and sometimes harsher. As police become harsher and more physical, residents become less cooperative. And it goes on...

There is no doubt that the 'cool' factor in being above and outside the law bred in rap of the '90s has contributed to this slide. But since when is it more credible to hide the identity of a serial killer next door than cooperate with the police?

There is thus no doubt in my mind that rappers need to be held to a higher standard. Their influence seems obvious. In a recent summit, rap executives have begun to call for the removal of certain volatile elements within their productions. At the same time, though, artists have chafed at this 'censorship'. Some of them claim, as Snoop did, that they are only reflecting and singing about true life.

The question is, does art imitate life or does life begin to imitate art?

The fight for life

The 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography.

The Chase

"Why are these guys so fast? Everybody says the same thing. You know what the tale is?"
-- Bobby Bowden

Drive out there. Get off the interstate, put Palm Beach, Orlando or Miami in your rearview and keep going until the road ends at the horizon and the telephone poles sag like old cypress trees. Roll down the windows. Listen to the eerie silence of the Everglades, a seemingly endless run of fields landmarked only by the railroad tracks, the dike along Lake Okeechobee and the state penitentiary. Race past sugarcane field after sugarcane field until it feels like you're not moving at all. Then stop at the gas station with no gas by the convenience store with no name. Don't worry, you can't miss it -- there at the crossroads of the place they call Muck City...

I highly recommend this article on the art of the rabbit chase. Earlier this spring, my wife and I found ourselves driving through central southern Florida. In stark contrast to the beaches not so far away, there are not many poorer places in the country.

Sports are often seen as a way out for children from the street or the swamp. While statistically they're often aiming for poor goals, we forget how sports stars are born "out of hunger, and courage, and desperation, and community, and hope. And how sometimes they're played in spite of everything else."

How far have we come?

Photojournalist David Turnley took a six-week trip, over 8,000 miles, through the back roads of Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, to photograph life in the South, the better to grasp and to try to show how far the United States has come 40 years after the high-water mark of the civil rights movement...

How far have we come? How far do we have to go?

Stressed Priorities

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

-- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies

So, a coyote walks into a...

No, it's not the beginning of a "the bartender says..." joke. Yesterday a coyote walked into a sandwich shop down the street from my office. Yes, into a Quizno's in downtown Chicago.
We certainly aren't used to thinking that wildlife more typically found in the country might still inhabit the city. The coyote was an easygoing fellow and proceeded to lounge in the drinks cooler while the customers finished up their sandwiches. Sadly, he didn't find what he was looking for.


Apparently in the spring when it's mating season, the male coyotes are prone to wander around a bit in search of that special someone. Anyone observing partiers at spring break probably would note that the coyote isn't the only species prone to such desperate efforts.

Black exodus?

In today's Chicago Tribune, a side article on the feature story about the typical migration from city to suburb to exurb had a bit of interesting information.

You may or may not have heard that recently the Census Bureau released data saying that Cook County lost the third most population in the first five years of the decade (behind New Orleans' and Detroit's counties). But as it turns out, this is not white flight from the city. In actuality,

African-Americans, once constricted by racism to certain areas within the city, now are leaving Chicago for the suburbs and beyond, in numbers double those of whites.

Is this a positive sign? Are suburbs becoming more welcoming to minorities? According to the authors, it would seem so. They note,

African-Americans are accepted today in many more suburbs than in the past.

They do observe, though, that continued change is needed.

But not everywhere. When...settlement patterns [are mapped] across the region...about a third of all suburbs have fewer than 25 African-American households each -- and, in some cases, none at all.

"Things aren't as bad as they used to be," notes Northwestern University geographer John C. Hudson. The authors conclude,

However, the remaining effects of racism, less overt than they once were but present nonetheless, continue to limit African-American housing choices. As a result, blacks, particularly working-class and low-income families, still don't have the same freedom of movement as whites.

Burger Bests

If you know me, you know I love burgers. A movie I want to see is the documentary by George Motz called Hamburger America. To be honest, I would be happy eating a burger almost every time I go out to eat. That being the case, my wife and I when eating out are almost always on an unofficial quest to experience Chicago's best burgers. And Chicago has a lot of good options.

Now Time Out Chicago has helped us along in that process by releasing their list of Chicago's 55 best burgers: It's patty time!

And wouldn't you know it, I guess I'm too late, because someone's already made it their goal to eat all 55. Where's your favorite burger found?

March Madness Prediction

I think I have a love-hate relationship with politics. On one hand, I undoubtedly hate the bad side of politics. But on the other hand, I do enjoy watching the execution of clever campaign strategies, consolidation of power, mud-slinging, betrayal, and promises of a better tomorrow play out before my very eyes in the media. In truth, national politics is my favorite bloodsport.

This time around, the race for president is historic in the sense that it's the first time in 80 years that neither an incumbent president nor vice president is seeking the office. So in that sense, the race is wide open.

However, for the purposes of this post, I'm going to focus on the Democratic Party. (I might analyze the Republican field later in the year.)

For the Dems, the field really only has two serious candidates at the moment: Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

For Hillary, her biggest positive is that she's got the best political machine in place. In fact, one of her key strategies is to give the sense of "inevitability" that she will win the nomination. Her fundraising so far has been stellar, and no Democrat will come close to raising as much money as she will this year. When you have the most powerful contacts and are raising the most money and lead in the national polls, people tend to start falling in line. For a politician, that's a good place to be.

However, money isn't quite everything in politics. People, to some degree, care about where you stand on the issues. For Hillary, many Democrats aren't happy that she voted for the Iraq War Resolution in 2002. In reality, that vote is one of the biggest obstacles she has to winning the Democratic nomination.

Enter Barack Obama. He's youthful, smart, and charismatic. For people who want a fresh start, he's "the next big thing." He's drawing crowds, raising money, and gaining momentum. In contrast to Hillary, he will argue that his view on Iraq has never waivered. Furthermore, being from Illinos, he will challenge Hillary on turf that she had hoped to claim as her own.

But Obama has a big hill to climb. His resume is thin, and he's up against an establishment political machine that will eat him for lunch if it has to. I think his best chance is to keep the race close through December and January and hope things break his way when people actually start casting votes in the primaries.

I do think Obama would have an edge in the debates with Hillary, but that point could be moot. Hillary will at least do one debate before Iowa, but it's hard to say if there will be any others. If she gets through that debate okay and maintains a safe lead, then why debate further? (Remember, Jimmy Carter strongly considered not debating Ronald Reagan at all. In the end, Carter agreed to one debate--and it resulted in Reagan leap-frogging him in the polls and into the White House.)

Some of you reading this might be wondering how much longer I can type on this subject without mentioning "The Bill Factor." Well, wonder no further. Honestly, I think Bill Clinton was a Catch-22 for Al Gore in 2000, but he will be a positive for Hillary in 2008 if he wants to be. My theory here is one that you probably haven't heard bef0re--I call it "The Grandpa Clinton Theory." In short, I think enough time has passed that people's view of Bill has changed to where he's not quite as polarizing. He's older, had major heart surgery, and reminds many Democrats of a simpler time. If he chooses to campaign hard for Hillary, he'll be an asset in the primaries.

As for John Edwards, I've always viewed him as a long shot in this race. His only hope was (and still is) to win Iowa and catch fire from there.

And then there's Al Gore. Will he or won't he run? Well, in some ways, I think that he's already running. He's gotten great publicity for winning an Oscar earlier this year, and he has a new book about his current political views coming out in May. My guess is that his people are constantly doing internal polling and if Gore thinks there's any chance of him competing for the nomination, he'll jump in the ring.

So what if Gore officially runs? What then? Well, I think Hillary's path to the nomination would become a tougher row to hoe. After all, if Gore's internal polling shows that he would make it easier for her to win by him jumping in the race, then he's not going to do it. (Remember, back in 1993 Hillary took Al's White House office for her own. There's a lot of bad blood between those two.)

My gut tells me that Hillary will effectively minimize the political damage of her 2002 Iraq vote and hang on to win the nomination by emphasizing past achievements of which she's proud and the ideas she has for the future. For her V.P. choice, she won't pick anyone who challenged her in the primaries, so you can forget Obama and Edwards. I'd bet on New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson--he's a trusted Clinton person who would balance out the ticket geographically and demographically quite well.

Racial Relations

This spring, I have the opportunity to participate in a class called BUILD (Breakthrough Urban Institute of Leadership Development) offered by Breakthrough Urban Ministries in Chicago. A majority of the class is based on discussion of topics facing urban areas today on which we read. Obviously much of the discussion touches on the challenges of seeking racial reconciliation and looking at the systemic injustices contained within the city. One of the great things about the class is that the members are truly racially and economically very diverse and therefore the discussion is rich.

As a result of taking part in this class, my antennae have been tuned even more than usual towards interesting items covered by the media that directly or indirectly focus on these issues of social injustice. So, partly in order to help myself keep track of them, I thought I'd plan on sharing some of these as I come across them. I hope you also find them fascinating.

the story of Mary Smith: On March 10, a blaze on the north side of Chicago killed three young men and a woman who was the mother of a 4-year-old boy. It was set by Mary Smith, a homeless woman. How did her life unravel to the point she caused the deaths of these young people? Which system failed her?

Black immigrants: Which ethnic immigrant group do you think average the highest educational attainment? African-Americans.

Answering the Big Questions

A fascinating online feature from Wired magazine asks and attempts to answer some of the "big questions" buzzing around the world today.

Have you ever wondered why we sleep or whether mathematicians can solve the Riemann hypothesis? If so, go no further.

The Achievement Gap

Why aren't African-Americans achieving all that they could? American blacks are twice as likely to be in poverty as non-blacks, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and they make nearly $5,000 a year less, on average. What exactly is standing in their way?

Thus begins a fascinating article by Tim Harford, auther of The Undercover Economist. Delving into research by Roland Fryer on 'acting white', some very interesting tidbits are contained.

What do you think is to blame? Lack of education? Lack of personal responsibility? Discrimination?

The Benefits of an Urban Life

Say one empty-nester couple who find urban life an improvement over their former suburban one:

This has had a profound effect on how we interact with people. We realize now that the cocoons of our cars kept us well insulated from the people around us. Our genuine interactions were with family and coworkers, the only people who saw us stripped of the metal that clothed and protected us. Our neighbors, we discovered, were virtually strangers. Now, we stand face-to-face with people in our building's elevators, at our corner hangouts, and on the sidewalks. We chitchat and pet our neighbors' dogs. We exchange 'good mornings' with the people we pass everyday on our way to work. We've developed friendships with several proprietors and servers at our favorite restaurants.

Granted, I'm biased--and of course, your relational networks are somewhat what you make them--but I have to agree that my impression is that urban life fosters increased interaction.

(ht: Kottke)

Link of the Day - The Town The Law Forgot

From "Boss" Tweed to Al Capone to today, the days of cities being run by gangs are undoubtedly far from over.

For a fascinating description of the chaos that results, I'd point you towards this column from the LA Weekly.

Why are Vladimir Putin’s opponents dying?

Having studied abroad in Russia during college, I have continued to pay attention to the politics in Russia. In the last five years, there is no doubt that control of the nation is being tightened within the Kremlin.
What Putin's plans are for next year after he is supposed to leave office are a mystery. But for now, this fascinating article called Kremlin, Inc. does a great job of running down the status of Russian politics. Worldwide consequences based on the leadership of that nation are certainly at stake.

The Black KKK?

Multiple people have pointed out that this past weekend's NBA All-Star game was surrounded by a chaotic scene in Las Vegas. More and more in recent years, it has become almost as big an excuse for celebrities of all sorts to gather and party as is the Super Bowl. This year, it was noted that police simply seemed 'overwhelmed'. Bill Simmons described it as the "Hip-Hop Woodstock".

Reaction to the presence of this criminal element has brought about an interesting article by sportswriter Jason Whitlock. In a piece entitled Time to Stop Looking Past Black KKK: Denial Only Empowers Negative Forces in Community he writes the following:

We have a problem in the black community, and it didn't make its debut at All-Star Weekend Vegas. What was impossible to ignore in Vegas was on display in Houston, Atlanta and previous All-Star locations.

With the exception of Louis Farrakhan's 1995 Million Man March, it's been on display nearly every time we've gathered in large groups to socialize in the past 15 or so years.

The Black Ku Klux Klan shows up in full force and does its best to ruin our good time. Instead of wearing white robes and white hoods, the new KKK has now taken to wearing white Ts and calling themselves gangsta rappers, gangbangers and posse members.

Just like the White KKK of the 1940s and '50s, we fear them, keep our eyes lowered, shut our mouths and pray they don't bother us.

Our fear makes them stronger. Our silence empowers them. Our lack of courage lets them define who we are. Our excuse-making for their behavior increases their influence and enables them to recruit more freely.

We sing their racist songs, gleefully call ourselves the N-word, hype their celebrity and get upset when white people whisper concerns about our sanity.

And whenever someone publicly states that the Black KKK is terrorizing black people, black neighborhoods, black social events and glorifying a negative, self-destructive lifestyle, we deny and blame the Man.

I don't want to do it anymore.

We can immediately observe that this is an article that will no doubt be controversial. In the same vein as Bill Cosby and Juan Williams, Whitlock will likely face outrage from within even his own friends.

He raises a valid question, however. What is the answer to the violence that has become ingrained within inner-city black culture?

On being an engineer...

Do you have 'the knack'?

Interstates Simplified

Chris Yates has created a fantastic map version of the American interstate system.

You may buy print versions here.

Decision Time

Okay, so I've heard a lot of talk about the Chicago Bulls possibly trading for Pau Gasol. At first I didn't know how serious the rumors were, but now it seems that Bulls' GM John Paxson is seriously considering a deal. Here's a passage from a Sam Smith article that sums up the dilemma:

Drew in Chicago asks, "Could you give me your list of Bulls, among Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, Andres Nocioni and Tyrus Thomas, whom you would trade?"

This is a great question I'm sure John Paxson is asking as well now that there's talk the Bulls could get Pau Gasol. Ben Gordon is invaluable with his scoring, but doesn't do that much else. He doesn't really run the offense, pass or defend. But they do count the points at the end of the game and no one on the Bulls does it better. Hinrich isn't quite the scorer, but is a better defender but probably doesn't quite have the point guard mentality of Duhon. Deng is the most consistent, able to do a little bit of everything. I know I still haven't answered. Nocioni is a nice specialist, tough guy and good shooter and Thomas is the best athlete of all but a bit away in skills.

I'd put Hinrich, Gordon and Deng together at the top and find them almost inseparable in value. If I had to I'd probably keep Gordon because of his unique scoring ability and Hinrich because he defends the best and can play point and score, though he's more an old-time guard like Danny Ainge. Good guards are harder to come by than good small forwards, which makes it tough because Deng might have a higher ceiling than Hinrich and Gordon and could improve the most...

Personally, I think the Bulls absolutely have to hang onto Luol Deng. He can do a little bit of everything and is fast improving... we really don't know what type of player he'll be in two years. There's a chance the Bulls could package Deng with another player and a first round draft pick for Gasol, only to find out that Deng was the best player in the whole deal.

Of course, if Chicago's goal is to be a serious championship contender in 2008, then I don't like the idea of parting with Hinrich or Gordon either. It's a tough call though because they need to add somebody like Gasol to even have a chance at getting to that next level. Right now I think the Bulls could squeak into the NBA Finals, but then they'd be roadkill for whichever Western Conference team they faced (barring injury).

John Paxson has a tough decision to make. We'll see what happens.

Seeing the forest for the tree

the Swedish picture of the year 2006

Hoop Dreams

For a mere $25,000 a night, you can stay at the Hardwood Suite in the Palms' new Fantasy Tower. Now, you might ask, "Where's that?"

Only in Vegas.

You think Rex had a rough day at the office?

Well, at least it wasn't as rough as this guy's...

Inequality

Gregg Easterbrook cites research showing that, "Among native-born...African-Americans...family median incomes are currently rising twice as fast as family median income for the United States as a whole." He goes on to show via many more statistics that "typical Americans have become steadily better-off [than their parents]."

Despite that, Easterbrook later notes, "To say that most aspects of American...life are getting better for most people should not be misunderstood as claim that all is well... Deep, structural faults exist exist in...the United States, and the persistence of deep faults in a wealthy, successful nation like America deserves the world's opprobrium." He goes on to note, "One person in six poor, in the most affluent nation in world history, would be a shocking indictment of American society. It is America's current condition." He summarizes, "The United States...possesses sufficient wealth and power as to have no excuse for not addressing its faults. History may judge America harshly if its extraordinary combination of affluence and freedom is frittered away..."

Last Friday, ABC's 20/20 gave us a glimpse of some of the inequality in our own society. They follow a group of three children for a year and a half in Camden, NJ, which is called America's poorest and most dangerous city, asking, "What's it like to grow up in poverty and fear in the richest country in the world?" I would encourage you to watch this video (really, watch all the videos from the segment available). I cannot imagine seeing these stories and remaining unmoved. I challenge all of us to begin to reach out to bridge the gaps in our society.

Urbanism

Who said this:

I’m not interested in the suburbs. The suburbs bore me.

I can only imagine...

I found it worthwhile to read this article. It was unbelievable (yet true).

Lucky

A man hit the guardrail and barrier and then flipped end-over-end over this culvert.

This is one lucky dude.

Fads

From bell-bottoms to slap bracelets to JibJab, fads are an American phenomenon. Here is a great list of 37 that swept the nation.

What fad has been your favorite?

Well worth watching

The '4 generations' water buffalo movie.

Isn't it ironic?

Yesterday, Illinois senator Barack Obama announced he is forming a presidential exploratory committee. As the Chicago Tribune notes, this...

...would make him the most formidable African-American candidate ever.

His candidacy should be marked by the African-American community as a high point. Interestingly though,

Civil rights leaders who have dominated black politics for much of the past two decades have pointedly failed to embrace the 45-year-old Illinois senator who is considering a bid to become America’s first black president.

Hmm. Why is this? Notes this Times article,

HE is a media darling, a paparazzi target and a source of inspiration for millions of Democrats who dream of retaking the White House in 2008. But Senator Barack Obama, the charismatic African-American who is shaking up the presidential primary race, has not impressed some of America’s most powerful black activists.

How about these rousing endorsements:
Jesse Jackson: "Our focus right now is not on who’s running, because there are a number of allies running."
Harry Belafonte: "We don’t know what he’s truly about...He’s a young man in many ways to be admired. Obviously very bright, speaks very well, cuts a handsome figure. But all of that is just the king’s clothes. Who’s the king?”
Al Sharpton: "Right now we’re hearing a lot of media razzle-dazzle. I’m not hearing a lot of meat, or a lot of content. I think when the meat hits the fire, we’ll find out if it’s just fat, or if there’s some real meat there."

Obama, the son of a Kenyan farmer and a white Kansan mother... wait a second, could that be it? Yep. Says one strategist,

They are basically jealous. They’ve been toiling in the trenches for decades, and along comes this son of a Kenyan farmer and suddenly he’s measuring the drapes in the Oval Office.

A Sign of the Times

I've always enjoyed news items that are referred to as "signs of the time" we are living in; subtly implying they are examples of disintegrating society. Regardless of whether they indicate that, they are usually enjoyable and they do often tend to point to problematic trends in our society today.

Today I'll point you towards one which pointed something new out to me. If you ride public transit like I do, you are familiar with the all-too-frequent "This train is being delayed due to a medical situation..." on some train ahead. I have noticed it happens more frequently in the morning, but never put 2 and 2 together until reading this. It seems that our country's obsession with skinniness is delaying our morning commutes:

In all, Nelson treated five women that morning, all of who fainted or reported feeling weak.

An average of 395 delays per month are caused by sick customers. Only track work and signal troubles triggered more delays.

While flu-symptoms, anxiety attacks, hangovers and heat exhaustion also strike passengers, Nelson said, they pale in comparison to fainting caused by missed meals.

Who knew. Is this a "sign of the times"?

Where in the world was...?

Inspired by uber-blogger Jason Kottke, here's where I was in 2006:

Chicago, IL *
Los Angeles, CA
San Diego, CA
New York City, NY
Manitowoc, WI
Greenville, IL *
Berlin, Germany
Prague, Czech Republic
Vienna, Austria
St. Paul, MN

Where were you?

Criteria = One or more nights spent in each place. Those cities marked with an * were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

Situs Inversus

I learned something new yesterday. So it turns out there is a rare congenital condition called "situs inversus" in which your heart and other internal organs are reversed -- a mirror image of the ordinary body. I had never heard of it, and frankly, it's kind of mind-bending.

Here's the kicker -- a person with this condition usually functions normally! It's kind of crazy. So basically, the portions of the body that are not normally mirrored about the body's center are all transposed, but the body goes about its business anyway. It doesn't know any different. I wonder, would a right-handed person with situs inversus actually originally be left-handed?

The reason I discovered this condition is because it turns out that Minnesota Timberwolves rookie, Randy Foye, has the condition. How unbelievable is the human body that in an instance when everything internally is backwards from the way it's supposed to be, an individual can still perform at the highest level possible athletically?

Quick, what's the most common noun?

If you had to guess the most commonly used noun in the English language, what would it be? See the comments section below for Oxford dictionary's answer.

A Sad Reminder

I don't mean to continue to harp incessantly on the topic, but numbers this stark can serve as a reminder that as we enjoy this holiday season, we must remember and continue to speak for those who will not ever be able to.

As the year ends, many year-end statistics, sometimes from the year prior, are becoming available and this one speaks for itself:

[In 2005] 122,725 babies were born in New York City.

.

The number of reported abortions in the city was ... 88,891 in 2005.

What more can be said? What more could the future of New York City offer with the added influx of human capital provided by nearly 100,000 more residents each year?

By way of comparison, since the war in Iraq began, 2,979 American soldiers and up to 57,368 Iraqis have been killed. These lives lost are just as frustrating and worthwhile as those lost here in the States, but the numbers themselves do pale compared to the grim statistics reported above.

A Double Standard?

So there was a fight in an NBA game over the weekend. Needless to say, the reaction was swift and stern. Involved players were suspended a combined 47 games, including 15 games for Carmelo Anthony, who threw a punch.

Some have pointed out that in light of fighting in other sports like baseball and hockey, where reactions are much more muted, this punishment was too severe.

Might the hubbub even be racist? Bill Simmons points out in his chat on the topic,

Chris, Seattle: The fact that everyone makes such a big deal about an NBA brawl and not so much about a MLB brawl smacks of racism, I don't care what people say.

Bill Simmons: Couldn't agree more. Everyone involved in this fight was black, so the players are now "out of control" and the whole thing is "a disgrace." But when a white baseball player charges a white pitcher, it's all in good fun. It's a little weird.

Do we hold a double standard when it comes to black athletes fighting?

Surprising Truths

Recently, I've been reading a book by Gregg Easterbrook called "The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse". It's filled with facts that challenge our perceptions, and just for that reason, I'd recommend it. Many of us enjoy being a contrarian, but in this case reality backs Mr. Easterbrook up, and so I'm sure I'll be using a few of his points.
Did you know, for instance, that,

Environmental trends for Western Europe are also almost entirely positive, though Europe trails America in most categories of improvement. Despite the common perception that Europe is environmentally advanced compared to the United States, U.S. environmental rules are stricter than European Union rules--Paris has worse smog than Houston [who are the worst in the U.S.], for example, and the Mississippi is far cleaner than the Marne. Generally, Europe lags about ten years behind the United States in ecological cleanup...

Surprised?

Skyscrapers

the proposed Chicago Spire (graphic from the Chicago Tribune)

On the heels of a redesign to the proposed Chicago Spire (I prefer the original), it is worth looking at the state of the world's skyscrapers.
As luck would have it, Wired has done a great job of running it down for us:

The world's cities are getting taller – and fast. Between 2001 and 2012, almost as many skyscrapers will be constructed as were built in the entire 20th century. While vertical metropolises like Hong Kong and New York continue to mint monoliths, the most dramatic changes are happening in lower-profile places. Thanks to globalization and the steady migration of people to urban cores, cities that once had only a few high-rises are morphing into mini-Manhattans. Miami, for example, had only five skyscrapers (buildings more than 150 meters, or 492 feet, tall) in 1999 but will have 71 by 2012. Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, will soar from two in 1999 to 90 by 2012. Here's a snapshot of the world's fastest-changing skylines...

Be sure to check out the pictures showing what will be a progression of world's tallest buildings until 2012.

Link Dropping

Rather than just one link of the day, I'm gonna drop a whole smorgasbord. I hope you enjoy. Let me know which is your favorite.

Without any further ado, here's a look at some of the articles I've been reading online this past week:

Absolute Must-Reads:
What It Takes to Make a Student
Three Things You Don't Know About Aids in Africa

Worth a look-see:
A Free-for-All on Science and Religion
The Leastern Conference
The God Who Lives and Works and Plays in Russia
A man who hated government
The Gospel According to Jim Wallis

Peculiar and interesting:
A Russian skyscraper plan
The last cargo cult

The Way Things Go

In 1987, Peter Fischli and David Weiss made a film called The Way Things Go. In 2003, Honda made a car commercial. Certainly any similarities were purely coincidental. Regardless, both were breathtaking.

This film took 606 takes. On the first 605 takes, something, usually very minor, didn't work and they would then have to set the whole thing up again. The crew spent weeks shooting night and day. It took three months to complete and cost six million dollars. Everything you see in the film (aside from the walls, floor, ramp, and complete Honda Accord) is parts from two disassembled Honda Accords.

When the ad was shown to Honda executives, they liked it and commented on how amazing computer graphics have gotten. They were surprised when they found out it was for real.

In 2003, Fischli and Weiss threatened legal action against Honda.

(HT: Arloa)

Why Marry?

That is exactly the question that Europeans seem to be asking themselves as marriage rates decline across Europe. This article notes that it is especially the case in one particular country:

In France, the country that evokes more images of romance than perhaps any other, marriage has increasingly fallen out of favor.

Growing numbers of couples are choosing to raise children, buy homes and build family lives without religious or civil approval of their partnerships. In the past generation, the French marriage rate has plunged more than 30 percent, even as population and birthrates have been rising.

"Marriage doesn't have the same importance as it used to," said France Prioux, who directs research on changing social trends for France's National Institute of Demographic Studies. "It will never become as frequent as it once was."

Marriage is in decline across much of northern Europe, from Scandinavia to France, a pattern some sociologists describe as a "soft revolution" in European society--a generational shift away from Old World traditions and institutions toward a greater emphasis on personal independence.

But French couples are abandoning the formality of marriage faster than most of their European neighbors and far more rapidly than their American counterparts: French marriage rates are 45 percent below U.S. figures.

As noted, many couples are instead opting for civil partnerships or no formal arrangements at all, while still raising children and functioning as a household.

The increase in out-of-wedlock birthrates is even more dramatic: Last year, 59 percent of all first-born French children were born to unwed parents, most by choice, not chance. The numbers were not driven by single mothers, teenage mothers or poor mothers but by couples from all social and economic backgrounds who chose parenthood in the absence of marriage vows.

The question is, what ramifications for society does this trend hold?

Did You Know?

Domesticated turkeys can easily drown when it rains because they tend to look up to see what's hitting them and their tiny, oval-shaped nostrils are "perfect funnels" for falling rain.

I thought you should.

Compassion

A buzz-phrase of six years ago was 'compassionate conservativism'. Is it even possible, though? Many liberals voiced the underlying perception that liberals are more generous to those less fortunate, and thus compassionate, than conservatives. They went so far as saying that there was no such thing as a compassionate conservative.

While it can continue to be debated whether liberal, moderate, or conservative political policies are more 'compassionate' or effective in pursuing social justice, now we are able to see which type of person is more generous.

Arthur C. Brooks, a professor at Syracuse University whose work involves public policy and philanthropy, has written a new book called Who Really Cares: America’s Charity Divide: Who Gives, Who Doesn’t, and Why It Matters. His boldface conclusion? As summarized in this interesting article, Brooks found that “religious conservatives donate far more money than secular liberals to all sorts of charitable activities, irrespective of income.”

Wanted: Man to Save Earth in 2036

Yes, it's true.

Astronomers have for awhile now known that there is the potential for an asteroid to collide with Earth and wreak havoc on our planet. They know it has happened before. Now, a smallish asteroid called Apophis has been identified as a possible threat to Earth in 2036. While it likely will miss Earth, further refinements to the modeling being done are necessary to determine for sure.

This is where science fiction meets science, however.

[NASA] is drawing up plans to land an astronaut on an asteroid hurtling through space at more than 30,000 mph. It wants to know whether humans could master techniques needed to deflect such a doomsday object when it is eventually identified. The proposals are at an early stage, and a spacecraft needed just to send an astronaut that far into space exists only on the drawing board, but they are deadly serious.

Bruce Willis, are you available?

The Game

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Michigan Wolverines.
Scarlet and Gray. Maize and Blue.
The Horseshoe. The Big House.
Script Ohio. Winged helmets.
Woody and Bo.
Hang on Sloopy. Hail to the Victors.
Are you ready for this?

Getting Bigger

It is estimated that on October 17 of this year, the population of the United States reached 300 million people. That's a lot of people, but our country is geographically big enough that it still makes us only the 172nd most dense country in the world, which is also less dense than the world is.

Still though, it begs the question, where do all these people live? Now we can see:

On being a single-issue voter

John Piper says,

Being a single-issue [voter] does not mean that only one issue matters. It means that some issues may matter enough to [disqualify someone].

For him, being a one issue voter is not an issue. And so it is in my political views. As we watch returns come in on this election eve, I thought it was worth reflecting on my own political viewpoints.

There is no doubt that one issue is by far most important to me when it comes to my personal political position. Abortion. Since 1973, when Roe vs. Wade was decided in our country, 47,282,923 abortions have occurred. Currently, approximately 1.3 million lives are ended via abortion each year in our country. Any issue that costs lives is extremely important. However, when it's an issue that literally is costing millions and millions of lives, it is of utmost vital importance. Can you imagine our country with almost 50 million more children over the last three decades filled with the potential to do great things?

Globally, it is estimated that 1,225,000 abortions occur each month. In about the last 75 years, it is estimated that 945,000,000 total abortions have occurred globally. So in less than four years, we will have reached the point when more than a BILLION babies have been killed on our planet. No other issue comes even close to affecting the same number of lives. It is the genocide of our age, and ending it is the single most important issue facing us today.

With that understood, it is difficult to cast a ballot for any candidate who does not endorse ending this travesty in our country no matter the other issues. This one issue is my litmus test. That being said, I am not beholden to any one party or ignoring other issues. If good candidates who are pro-life run, I will seriously consider their credentials. I cannot in good faith consider pro-abortion candidates in the same way.

It is, therefore, pretty straightforward for me. I, being pro-life, look at the candidates before me and vote for the pro-life candidate. If they both are pro-life, other very important issues such as global poverty and hunger, fair wages, Third World corruption, Darfur, earthly stewardship, and fiscal responsibility must be examined. But for this era, so long as pro-abortion policies continue, I will remain a single-issue voter.

The End of an Era

I remember waking up each morning I stayed at my Grandma's house (as we didn't have our own TV) in the summers and watching The Price Is Right with my siblings. It was a tradition that brings back fond memories. Now the show will be different.

This coming summer, the longtime host of The Price Is Right, Bob Barker, is retiring. He has hosted the show since September 4, 1972, making it the longest-running daytime game show in television history.

Will the show seem the same without Bob?

Twins?

Yep.

Does TV cause autism?

Among the diseases that have increased in the last few decades, autism is one of the most commonly mentioned.

The alarming rise in autism rates in the U.S. and some other developed nations is one of the most anguishing mysteries of modern medicine — and the source of much desperate speculation by parents. In 1970, its incidence was thought to be just 1 in 2,500; today about 1 in 170 kids born in the U.S. fall somewhere on the autism spectrum.

The problem is, nobody can say for sure what has caused that increase. Some say that it is the mercury-based preservative in vaccines and others say it has only increased due to broader definitions and better detection, not actual incidence.

Now, however, a study has been released that seems to show a correlation between TV watching prior to age 3 and autism. Causation seems to be a little trickier to nail down, but the study is certainly intriguing. The hypothesis does seem to make sense. Gregg Easterbrook pondered approximately a month ago (prior to the study's release),

The autism rise began around 1980, about the same time cable television and VCRs became common, allowing children to watch television aimed at them any time. Since the brain is organizing during the first years of life and since human beings evolved responding to three-dimensional stimuli, I wondered if exposing toddlers to lots of colorful two-dimensional stimulation could be harmful to brain development.

Now, he notes,

Cornell University researchers are reporting what appears to be a statistically significant relationship between autism rates and television watching...The Cornell study represents a potential bombshell in the autism debate.

Needless to say, not all reaction to the study has been positive. Further research will tell whether a new piece of evidence has indeed been found in puzzling together the mystery of autism.

But could our proclivity to babysit via video be damaging our children? It is worth wondering.

Hot Zones

I thought this was interesting. Planners here in Chicago have used special satellite images to show which Chicago neighborhoods are the hottest. Literally, the hottest. Urban areas create a 'heat island' effect due to the black tar roofs and asphalt parking lots abundant in the city, which release hot blasts back into the surrounding environment. Vegetation, on the other hand, holds down temps by creating shade and evaporating water.

As it turns out, the study shows that tree cover is linked to lower temps, which makes sense. Those areas with the fewest trees and vegetation also were the most likely to exhibit the 'heat island' effect. The treeless (and hotter) areas were mapped and identified.

Using this, the planners are able to plan tree planting and development of vegetation-covered 'green roofs,' hopefully alleviating some of the heat in these neighborhoods. Pretty cool, I thought.

A Wild Finish in the Chicago Marathon

Whoah, talk about a wild finish to a marathon! Today's winner, Robert Cheruiyot slipped and fell backwards, landing flat on his back and hitting his head, as he crossed the finish line. I was watching the race live as it happened (see video here), and he literally slipped under the finish banner, never touching it. Cheruiyot had just finished holding off Daniel Njenga in a push to the finish, but for a moment there was question as to whether he had officially crossed the finish line. He was ruled the winner, however, as most of his body crossed the line as he slipped. Said official race referee, Pat Savage,

He just slipped. Luckily for him, he slipped...forward. The finish line is right at the beginning of the mat, and he ended up sliding right across it. ... There is no doubt about it; he's the winner.

Undoubtedly feeling somewhat better because he is the winner, Cheruiyot is recovering overnight at a local hospital after suffering some external and internal bleeding in his head.

How ironic that he had just successfully won a 26.2 mile race only to be felled by the finish line.

Celebrity Adoptions

Last week, Madonna caused quite a stir by swooping into Africa and choosing a little boy from an orphanage for adoption. She was criticized because she sidestepped certain rules in order to make the adoption happen quickly. The question is, who benefits from celebrity adoptions? Does the child? Or does the celebrity just gain positive press? Often these children will end up in situations entirely different than what their home was.

CNN asks,

A mother or a motherland?
What a choice to make: a heritage or a home. African orphans need and want parents. Well-known White Americans -- Angelina Jolie and Madonna -- are looking to adopt. But the way those celebrities are adding to their families raises an interesting question: Is it OK for white families to raise African children? And if it is, at what cost to those orphans' identities?

Is it okay for any person wealthy enough to adopt to do so? The alternative often is very bleak.

Personally, I think that a good home for all these children is the hope. Unfortunately, when celebrities begin doing this for their own publicity or to make themselves feel better, I'm not sure it's best.

Adoption is one of the most vital things a stable family can offer to the world. Kids the world over need loving homes, and at the very least, if Ms. Jolie and Madonna have inspired some such families to action, that is a good thing.

The University of Illinois -- A Millionaire Factory?

Congratulations have to go out this week to a couple classmates of mine at the University of Illinois. Former U of I students Jawed Karim and Steve Chen are two of the three co-founders (along with Chad Hurley) of YouTube. As I have mentioned previously, YouTube is a free web-based video sharing site.

Founded in February 2005, this week it was purchased by Google. For $1.65 billion. Yeah, that's a lot. So it seems that my former classmates are now amongst the wealthiest people in the world my age. Wow.

As it turns out, Jawed, who attended high school in Minnesota, lived across the hall in the dorms from another one of my former classmates, who is now one of my co-workers, at Allan Hall. He and Steve, who graduated from high school in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, both initially didn't finish school as they went to work with Illinois alum Max Levchin at the company he co-founded, Paypal. During that time, Jawed continued coursework and got his B.S. and so he's a fellow U of I alum. He currently is a grad student at Stanford and of course now has a little more cash.

What this points to of course is the quality of students Illinois is attracting, especially in engineering. When you look at the list of accomplished alumni, it truly is amazing. The University of Illinois continues to prove itself as one of the premier universities in the country. Just in the last 15 years alone, graduates have included the founders of Netscape, Paypal, and YouTube. Other famous companies formed by Illinois alums include Oracle, AMD, Lotus, W.W. Grainger, and BET. Jerry Colangelo, Roger Ebert, and Jack Welch are all alums.

Its history seems to suggest it is as likely as any place in the country to produce future millionaires. I probably won't be one of them, however.

A Tale of Survival

New York Times reporter Joe Sharkey was on a freelance assignment last Friday in Brazil, flying over the Amazon. What follows is his firsthand account of what would become an incredible tale of survival.

It had been an uneventful, comfortable flight...

The Blind Side

I definitely recommend reading this recent NYT article, called The Ballad of Big Mike, on inner city lost child turned NFL prospect Michael Oher.

It's an excerpt from the new book called The Blind Side by Michael Lewis (yes, of Moneyball fame). To me, it was fascinating because it reminded me of how many people similar to Michael Oher who maybe don't make it. What do you think as you read the article? Has anyone read the book yet? Malcom Gladwell has his review here.

Now news comes that it's being made into a movie. Before that comes out, you had better make sure you read the book.

Achievement

As Rocket in the Bocket pointed out yesterday, the status of education in our state is frustrating. The inequality between highly funded districts and underfunded ones is puzzling. It notes,

A great example is education and its systemic effects can be seen right here in Chicagoland. Take for instance the college success rate of students from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, versus public schools in the Chicago Public School system. Fascinatingly, it is as hard to fail at New Trier as it is to succeed in the Chicago Public Schools. At New Trier, approximately 95% of students go on to a four-year bachelor program. Another 3% go to two-year colleges. (see New Trier Profile). Contrastingly, at the Chicago Public Schools, only 6% of students (only 3% for African-Americans and Latinos) will go on to earn a college bachelor’s degree by the age of 25. (see Chicago Tribune). 27% of Chicago Public School students will go to a four-year college, but the majority of them will fail.

The need for a tax swap such that schools are funded via sales or income tax evenly distributed across the state rather than property tax by district is overwhelming. I cannot understand why this initiative has continued to fail to gain momentum.

Could it be that the continuing achievement gaps and especially the expanding plight of the young African-American male are largely linked to inequitable funding? Or are other factors the root cause?

Win Twins Win

Let the baseball theme continue as today congratulations go out to the AL Central champions, the Minnesota Twins!

For the first time in major league history, a team won their division and only led it one day all year--the last. What a comeback by the Twins.

This will be the third year in the last four that the Twins are in the playoffs, and my hope is this will be the furthest they go. Let's make it two years in a row the AL Central is home to the World Series champions. Much credit is due the Twins management in keeping their current run going. GM Terry Ryan is the best in the business. The NYT had a great piece this weekend detailing some of his success. They cite Mr. Ryan as the brains behind what (especially compared to the Yankees) is a low-budget success.

Congratulations Minnesota Twins. And good luck.

MLB Batting Champion Joe Mauer celebrates with Twins fans after they won the division. (Eric Miller/Reuters)