Rated R Articles on Sex and Choosing

Arbitrary Social Norms Influence Sex Differences in Romantic Selectivity, Eli Finkel & Paul Eastwick
Psychological Science, October 2009, Pages 1290-1295

Abstract:
Men tend to be less selective than women when evaluating and pursuing potential romantic partners. The present experiment employed speed-dating procedures to test a novel explanation for this sex difference: The mere act of physically approaching a potential romantic partner (vs. being approached), a behavior that is more characteristic of men than of women, increases one's attraction to that partner. This hypothesis was supported in a sample of speed daters (N= 350) who attended a heterosexual event where either men (eight events) or women (seven events) rotated from one partner to the next while members of the other sex remained seated. Rotators were significantly less selective than were sitters, which meant that the tendency for men to be less selective than women at events where men rotated disappeared at events where women rotated. These effects were mediated by increased self-confidence among rotators relative to sitters.
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“Anything From Making Out to Having Sex”: Men's Negotiations of Hooking Up and Friends With Benefits Scripts

Marina Epstein, Jerel Calzo, Andrew Smiler & Monique Ward
Journal of Sex Research, September 2009, Pages 414-424

Abstract:
Popular media and academic literature often portray men as happy beneficiaries of nonrelational or casual sex — a view that is consistent with traditional notions of masculinity. This study examined the validity of this notion, using semistructured interviews to explore ways that 19 college-age men defined and enacted “hooking up” and “friends with benefits” scripts. Men's definitions reflected both standard and alternate conceptions of these scripts, and their experiences indicated variability in intentions and outcomes. Whereas a few men embraced the no-strings-attached nonrelational scripts, most rejected the script or enacted an amended version that allowed for greater relational connection. Further, their experiences were not all positive and were not all devoid of emotional connection. These alternative enactments challenge the pro-masculine, universally positive conceptualization of nonrelational sex portrayed in the media and in some empirical research.

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Marriage and the City: Search Frictions and Sorting of Singles

Pieter Gautier, Michael Svarer & Coen Teulings
Journal of Urban Economics, forthcoming

Abstract:
This paper develops and tests a model where cities play an important role as marriage markets. The idea is simple. Cities are dense areas where singles can meet more potential partners than in rural areas. To enjoy those benefits, they are willing to pay a premium in terms of higher housing prices. Once married, the benefits from meeting more potential partners vanish and married couples move out of the city. Attractive singles benefit most from a dense market and are therefore more likely to move to the city. Those predictions are tested and confirmed with a unique Danish dataset.

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The Sexual Double Standard and Adolescent Peer Acceptance

Derek Kreager & Jeremy Staff
Social Psychology Quarterly, June 2009, Pages 143-164

Abstract:
The belief that women and men are held to different standards of sexual conduct is pervasive in contemporary American society. According to the sexual double standard, boys and men are rewarded and praised for heterosexual sexual contacts, whereas girls and women are derogated and stigmatized for similar behaviors. Although widely held by the general public, research findings on the sexual double standard remain equivocal, with qualitative studies and early attitudinal surveys generally finding evidence of the double standard and more recent experimental vignette designs often failing to find similar results. In this study, we extend prior research by directly measuring the social status of sexually permissive youth. We use data collected from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to relate adolescents' self-reported numbers of sexual partners to a network measure of peer acceptance. Results suggest that the association between lifetime sexual partnerships and peer status varies significantly by gender, such that greater numbers of sexual partners are positively correlated with boys' peer acceptance, but negatively correlated with girls' peer acceptance. Moreover, the relationship between boys' sexual behaviors and peer acceptance is moderated by socioeconomic origins; sexually permissive boys from disadvantaged backgrounds are predicted to have more friendships than permissive boys from more advantaged backgrounds. Our results thus support the existence of an adolescent sexual double standard and suggest that sexual norms vary by both gender and socioeconomic origins.

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How Willing Are You to Accept Sexual Requests from Slightly Unattractive to Exceptionally Attractive Imagined Requestors?

Achim Schützwohl, Amrei Fuchs, William McKibbin & Todd Shackelford
Human Nature, September 2009, Pages 282-293

Abstract:
In their classic study of differences in mating strategies, Clark and Hatfield (1989, Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 2, 39–54) found that men and women demonstrated a striking difference in interest in casual sex. The current study examined the role of an imagined requestor’s physical attractiveness (slightly unattractive, moderately attractive, and exceptionally attractive) on men’s and women’s willingness to accept three different requests (go out, come to apartment, go to bed) as reflected in answers to a questionnaire. We tested two hypotheses with a sample of 427 men and 443 women from three countries. Hypothesis 1 states that men, relative to women, will demonstrate a greater willingness to accept the “come to apartment” and “go to bed” requests but not the “go out” request for all three levels of requestor attractiveness. This hypothesis reflects Clark and Hatfield’s main findings. Hypothesis 2 states that the physical attractiveness of a potential partner will have a greater effect on women’s than on men’s willingness to accept all three requests, and particularly for the explicit request for casual sex. The results partially supported Hypothesis 1 and fully supported Hypothesis 2. The discussion highlights limitations of the current research and presents directions for future research.

(Nod to Kevin L, whom EVERYONE finds attractive)

I think they were off by two

According to Money Magazine, I have the 3rd best job in America: College Professor.

They kind of jumble up two very different kinds of jobs into one entry though:

3. College Professor

Median salary (experienced): $70,400
Top pay: $115,000
Job growth (10-year forecast): 23%
Sector: Education

What they do: Teach and grade papers, of course. But profs also spend about half their time doing research and writing articles and books about their field.

Why it's great: For starters, major scheduling freedom. "Besides teaching and office hours, I get to decide where, when, and how I get my work done," says Daniel Beckman, a biology professor at Missouri State University. And that doesn't even take into account ample time off for holidays and a reduced workload in the summer. Competition for tenure track positions at four-year institutions is intense, but you'll find lots of available positions at community colleges and professional programs, where you can enter the professoriate as an adjunct faculty member or non-tenure track instructor without a doctorate degree. That's particularly true during economic downturns, when laid-off workers often head back to school for additional training. More valuable perks: reduced or free tuition for family members and free access to college gyms and libraries.

Drawbacks: Low starting pay and a big 50% salary gap between faculty at universities and community colleges. If the position is at a four-year university, you'll probably have to relocate, and you'll be under pressure to constantly publish new work to sustain career momentum.

How to get it: For a tenure track position, you'll need a Ph.D. But all colleges want at least a master's degree and prefer plenty of teaching experience.

People, I would wax so bold as to assert that tenured professor at a research university is actually the greatest job in the world!

Synchronicity

Dannny D finds a sign of the impending apocalypse...

Simon on Williamson

Organizations and Markets, Herbert Simon
Journal of Economic Perspectives, Spring 1991, Pages 25-44

"In classical and neoclassical economic theory, markets are at the center of the stage...The economic world of the neoclassical textbooks is a world of transactions ...The description of the parties who participate in these transactions is minimal. However, as soon as firms are elaborated to become more than simple nodes in a network of transactions, to be producers - transformers of 'factors' into products - difficult and important questions arise for the theory. A large part of the behavior of the system now takes place inside the skins of firms, and does not consist just of market exchanges...This raises the question of why there are firms at all...These
questions about the scope of activity and operation of firms have spawned a vigorous cottage industry, a branch of which is sometimes called 'the new institutional economics,' which tries to explain when activities will be carried out through the market and when they will be carried out within the skins of firms, and tries to explain also how it is possible for firms to operate efficiently. In the literature of the new institutional economics, two ideas that play a major role in the explanations are 'transaction costs' and 'opportunism' (for example, Williamson 1975, 1985)...

(Nod to Kevin L)

Could be worse.....

I posted before about the EYM getting a tat: "Gogol" in a symmetric ambigram on his leg.

Fortunately, the LMM got an email lately that helped her put things in perspective. Here is what she sent to me:

Just got email from college roommate, [name]. Had told her about [EYM's] tattoo. She sent message that she just found out her [son] had a tatoo last Thanksgiving when he was wrestling with his older brother on the floor and his shirt pulled up. Think her [son] is a year or so older than [EYM]. His tattoo says "Budweiser."

Something like this, perhaps? Hopefully NOTHING like this (NWS)

Ostrom/Williamson

Econ Nobel. Yippee! Lin is a WONDERFUL person. I have to admit that Bob Tollison actually predicted Lin winning as a possibility, on Saturday night, at Cowboy Ciao in Phoenix. Good one, Bob.

Congrats to Williamson, too. But on a personal level I am so happy for Lin.

Lagniappe: Read the idiots who are posting here. Several are proud that they have never heard of Ostrom or Williamson. Why in the world be proud of ignorance? Though, I guess we all want to do what we are best at. (I enjoyed reading the pain in this thread. Does that make me a bad person?) I did also enjoy the "Well, they had to give it to a woman." Geez. Lin is a fantastic scholar, and has builts a real intellectual powerhouse there at the Workshop at IU.

UPDATE: A person on the Econ thread posted this:

google scholar: citations for most cited work:
Arrow has 8300 citations Stiglitz gets 5958
Krugman gets 5005 phelps 1624
prescott 4129...... and ostrom: 7299

So you ("Who the fuck are these idiots? Never heard of them... ever. ") can argue about whether she should have got the Nobel prize but one thing that's unarguable is your ignorance.
(Here are Lin's cites, btw: Notice that the 7,299 refer to ONE BOOK, this one. What have YOU done today?)

(Full disclosure: I study transactions cost political economy, and have often used Lin's work in class. And, she is certainly a friend. I have been to her house, and had lots of dinners with her. So I may be biased in her favor. Still, the data above show that the bias is not entirely unjustified.)

I do not think it means what you think it means

Word for the day: mentor

As in this quote from the AP:

Hickson, whom (Lebron) James has mentored during the offseason, had 15 points and six rebounds and was the only Cleveland starter playing in the final minutes as the Cavaliers held off several Bobcats runs.

Hickson followed James around all summer, working out whenever they could find the time and hanging out with James’ family.

Nice, eh? Way to go Lebron? Well, not really. Check out King James' version of mentoring:

“I see the potential in him. If he just had a good work ethic, that could help him,” James said. “He learned more about being a man also, growing up, being around me and my family and things like that—I think it helped him.”

Well if JJ Hickson has learned anything about being a "man", he pretty much has to go up and punch LBJ right between the eyes, doesn't he?

"My name is JJ Hickson.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die!"

And then he'll get traded to the J-E-T-S JETS!

Cross Dressers? Not So Much. CAGE FIGHTERS IN DRAG

You just can't make this stuff up. I thought it was a little surprising that the guy in the black dress, here, just totally dropped the skinny punk with one punch.

In fact, given that both of the men in drag were professional cage fighters, the skinny punk is lucky he is still alive. Not sure that it is really right to bring charges only against the punks. Sure, punks had something coming. But that kind of punch, when the guy is not even looking, from a professional fighter? Assault, in my book.

Not that it's not fun to watch, mind you. Have to look the way the guy stands up, and then does the "I'm not feeling so good" dance.

(Nod to Tommy the Wannabe Cage Fighter)

Saturday Link Roundup!

Did he get the interview? (Idiot steals rings) (Nod to Anonyman)

Regulatory collusion Canadian-style: If you're eating organic turkey this weekend [for Canadian Thanksgiving], savour it, because by next Thanksgiving it may be easier to buy crack cocaine in Ontario than a drug-free bird. Why? While the turkey industry marketing board tells growers to confine their turkeys indoors to reduce the chance of transmission of viruses from wild birds, new organics standards administered by the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency mandate raising organic birds outdoors. (Nod to RL)

Ambiguous headline...(More Gas!) (Nod to Anonyman)

Sean Connery on slapping... (Nod to SZ)

McLovin GETS slapped....

Encouragement

I offered some "encouragement" to a grad student a while back. Same grad student made a poster. It is reproduced, verbatim, below.... Perhaps I should work on my "gradside manner..."

I hope this doesn't hop across the pond

Dress codes for college professors? Say it ain't so!

Here is the situation in Birmingham England:

It is normally students who are sent home for inappropriate attire, but one English college is threatening to send lecturers home for violating a dress code, which includes a ban on jeans.

Their union has accused Birmingham Metropolitan College of "acting like the fashion police."

The newly re-issued dress code requires lecturers to wear a "business suit; smart jacket and co-ordinating trousers or skirt; smart shirt/top/blouse or smart dress."

Scruffy trousers, jeans, ostentatious jewelry and outrageous hair styles and colors are strictly banned.

Earrings must not be excessive and are the only form of jewelry allowed in visible piercings. The policy also states that tattoos must be covered.

Nick Varney of the local University and College Union (UCU) branch said the policy "harks back to Victorian times." He told Reuters he has never seen staff so angry.
"They are absolutely fuming. It's about their professionalism and the notion that they haven't got a clue about what to wear when they are teaching," Varney said.

The guidelines are a far cry from the stereotypical image of a college lecturer as a slightly scruffy, chalk-dusted individual wearing corduroy jackets with torn leather elbow pads.

In the policy, the college says: "The College is a professional and business-like organization and staff have a responsibility to uphold and promote these values in their dress and appearance."

There are several funny things here. 

(1) Where in this world are college students sent home for inappropriate attire? At my University, standard female dress is Ugg boots and micro-short-shorts. 

(2) What does "smart" mean when describing clothing? That is has embedded microchips?

(3) I will stipulate to being slightly scruffy and frequently chalk dusted, but  I don't own any corduroy jackets nor do any of my jackets have elbow pads.  

(4) Any organization that has to SAY it is professional and business like probably actually ISN'T professional and business like.

(5) Who in the world would ever consider a college/university to be professional and businesslike. We are all here explicitly to AVOID being at least one of those two things.

Yankee Carpetbaggers and EYEtalians

Pretty cute ad.

Y'all Yankees just got back on I-95 northbound, okay? We got no use for youse...

(nod to Anonyman, capiche?)

The Public Option in "Action"

1st Year Grad Student Wins Nobel In Econ!

First year grad student wins Nobel in Economics!

Made "several excellent presentations in class," and gave other students hope that they might understand the complex math in journal articles. (They don't yet understand it, but the NP winner gave them hope that they might, by telling them, "Yes, you can!")

(Greg M thought of it first. Darn)

A Prize we can believe in

Does this make it easier or harder for BHO to put more "boots on the ground" in Afghanistan?

What I like the best about the story is that President O had only been in office for TWO WEEKS when the nomination deadline for the Peace Prize arrived.

I also like Lech Walesa's take on the subject:

"So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is still at an early stage. He is only beginning to act," said former Polish President Lech Walesa, a 1983 Nobel Peace laureate.

"This is probably an encouragement for him to act. Let's see if he perseveres. Let's give him time to act," Walesa said.

and by act he means???

Well as the article soberly informs us:

Still, the U.S. remains at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Congress has yet to pass a law reducing carbon emissions and there has been little significant reduction in global nuclear stockpiles since Obama took office.

Wow, who knew Norwegians were so darn wily??

Anonin Scalia goes Beat

Yes, everyone's favorite Supreme is channeling his inner Alan Ginsberg:

Well, you know, two chiefs ago, Chief Justice Burger, used to complain about the low quality of counsel. I used to have just the opposite reaction. I used to be disappointed that so many of the best minds in the country were being devoted to this enterprise.

I mean there’d be a, you know, a defense or public defender from Podunk, you know, and this woman is really brilliant, you know. Why isn’t she out inventing the automobile or, you know, doing something productive for this society?

I mean lawyers, after all, don’t produce anything. They enable other people to produce and to go on with their lives efficiently and in an atmosphere of freedom. That’s important, but it doesn’t put food on the table and there have to be other people who are doing that. And I worry that we are devoting too many of our very best minds to this enterprise.

And they appear here in the Court, I mean, even the ones who will only argue here once and will never come again. I’m usually impressed with how good they are. Sometimes you get one who’s not so good. But, no, by and large I don’t have any complaint about the quality of counsel, except maybe we’re wasting some of our best minds.


I mean really, people, is that any different than this?

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night...

"Dr. No" wants to say no to Political "Science"

Yes, Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn wants to ban the NSF from funding political science projects. And yes he put quotes around the word Science in his argument which can be found here.

Tom is not amused by the studies NSF has been funding and he names names:

 $188,206 to ask the question, “Why do political candidates make vague
statements, and what are the consequences?” “In addition to advancing
our understanding of politics, the project will have several broader impacts,” according to NSF, including “practical lessons for candidates, advisors, and citizens who are involved in political campaigns;”

 $152,253 to examine ―Political Discussion in the Workplace‖ to
examine “practical insights into how the workplace might be utilized better as a context for promoting the goals of both broader and deeper public discourse;”

 $11,825 to study “Prime Time Politics: Television News and the Visual
Framing of War;

 $91,601 to conduct a survey to determine why people are for or against
American military conflicts;

 $130,525 to conduct a survey on the impact of Medicare reform on
senior citizens’ political views and participation. This research
examines whether or not changes to the program enacted by the Medicare
Modernization Act of 2003 is influencing seniors‟ “orientations toward
government, vote choice, and regard for the two political parties.”
According to NSF, “this project not only presents a significant advance for
the scholarly literature on policy feedback effects, but it will also contribute to future debates on one of the largest public programs in the United States. By examining how senior citizens have fared under this highly consequential reform of Medicare, this study will help lawmakers and other policy actors as they continue to reform the program and address the needs of this vulnerable population.”

 $143,254 to evaluate whip counts by party leaders in the United States Congress to determine the impact of party leaders in the legislative process and how successful party leaders are at mobilizing support for party programs;

 $50,000 to hold a conference on the effect of youtube.com on the 2008
election;

 $8,992 to study campaign finance reform, with the stated intent of
providing “a basis for assessing future proposed changes to campaign
finance regulations;

 $70,731 to examine the ―costs of voting, such as the time associated
with locating the voting place, waiting in line to vote, traveling to and from a polling place and “learning enough about the ballot choices to make one's vote minimally informed;”

He then lists some results of the NSF funding "real" science:

 NSF researchers developed new, promising solutions to use
robotics to help individuals with severe disabilities;

 NSF-supported engineers created a bone that blends into
tendons, which mimics the ability of natural bone, and provides
better integration with the body and can handle weight more
successfully;

 NSF-supported researchers used synthetic biology technology to
engineer the next generation of biofuels;

 NSF-supported researchers developed a powerful new microchip-
sized fan for use as a silent, ultra-thin, low-power and low-
maintenance cooling system for laptop computers and other
electronic devices;

 NSF-supported researchers at the University of Michigan designed a
new type of fiber-reinforced concrete that bends without
cracking—300-500 times more resistant to cracking and 40
percent lighter in weight.

Given that the NSF Economics program is much larger than the NSF Polysci program, and given that us economists haven't been making microchips or artificial bones, it is amazing to me that Tom gives us a pass and only goes after polysci.

Hey, Dude! You Are Losing a Dell (Plant)!

If you are from North Carolina, you recall all the hull, and the aballoo, about the mighty Dell plant in Winston-Salem.

Well, after sucking down enormous tax subsidies from the city, and cash subsidies, from the state, the plant is closing. It was only here four years, but it burned through tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.

I have to give my fellow Poli Sci prof., and state rep., Paul Luebke credit: He voted no from the outset. Paul and I agree on more than you might think, even though he is a liberal Dem. Or, maybe BECAUSE he is.

All the other "Will Lay Down For Money" prostitutes in the NC Legislature, including a whole lot of Repubs, voted yes.

Look, as I said repeatedly during the campaign: If a company will come here for money they will leave for money. We don't want Dell, or Google, to throw us crumbs. We want a business and tax environment such that the NEXT Dell, or Google, STARTS here in NC!

From Cross to Really Pissed Off

Two male cross dressers get hassled in Swansea, that enlightened part of enlightened old England.

And the "cross" dressers prove to be not just cross, but downright pissed off. (The black-haired guy, who looks like a weightlifter, sucker punches the shirtless guy at about 1:15 in the video; just nails him. And kicks him, with those pointed pumps).
Sure, hard to defend the violence, or the sucker punch. But why go up and grab the other guy in the first place? Once you grab someone, and start screaming drunkenly in his face, you may get the right "cross" dresser.
(Nod to UEC)

Finally some good news out of Washingon!

Congress-people are not exactly sudando la gota gorda:

"After taking control of the House in 2006 — and again when President Barack Obama was elected president in 2008 — Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) boasted that lawmakers would work four or five days a week to bring change to America.

But midway through Obama’s first year in office, Hoyer’s House has settled into a more leisurely routine. Members usually arrive for the first vote of the week as the sun sets on Tuesdays, and they’re usually headed back home before it goes down again on Thursdays."

Ah, you say, Angus! don't be so cynical. Having such a short work week is a bad thing, not a good thing!

ORLY???

"Since the House returned for its fall session on Sept. 8, it has stuck around to vote on a Friday just once: to approve a 5.8 percent increase in Congress’s own budget."


I rest my case! The full story is here.

Munger Announces: He Will Seek Governorship!

You can get the full story here.

He has "a plan."

Buy American, Bud!

Or is that, "Buy American bud"?

Nick G has the dope on it.

Real Bills Doctrine

Which bills are in circulation, in what proportions?

I did not know this..... I would have guessed $20s and $100s were about the same. I would have been wrong. So, I did not know this.

But Craig did.

UPDATE: In comments, Mr. Thacker points out a rather obvious error that was NOT obvious to me!

No Country for Old Women

Patrick provides some useful info on the Nanny State GB.

Tommy, be careful, honey. Your mouth is going to get you in trouble over there....

I am a Humean Being

David Brooks makes some nice points. Perhaps he isn't a sniveling Obama toady after all.

In fact, reading it again, that is FANTASTIC article. A hard point to get across, but Mr. Brooks does it very well.

Even if he does look just like Brian Roberts.

Raleigh-Durham is smarter than you are!

The Triangle is the "SMARTEST" metro area in the U.S. Because we are so smart, of course, we knew that already.

But it is important for the rest of you pusillanimous poltroons to overcome your unexpurgated nescience, and worship us as your divine daddies! Complete list here....but for the top five:

1. Raleigh-Durham, NC....2. San Franciso-Bay Area, CA
3. Boston, MA............4. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
5. Denver, CO

Two factors worked in Ral-Dur's favor, I think. (Well, three, since Raldur sounds like the name of one of the Elvish lords in Lothlorien).

1. Raleigh-Durham is less than half the size of the other areas in the top five. Since the ranking is done "per capita," this is a big help. Not clear WHY it is per capita, but there you are. On the other hand, this Forbes story used percentages, which is even sillier than an indexed per capita measure. The Triangle was only 14th in the Forbes ranking, well behind that metropolis of intellect situated at (wait for it...) Columbia, MO. Columbia came in at #11. (If you could see me, you would see my, "I don't THINK so!" face right now.)
2. The ranking appears to have been conducted back when Angus and Ms. Angus* were living in Raleigh-Durham. An enormous advantage to ANY metro area to have that kind of brain power. It's like we were cheating, bringing in ringers.

I do have to give a big KPC shout-out to #55, the worst metro area in the U.S.: Fresno. Here is the description....

#55, FRESNO (CA.) Metro Area Population: 1,335,429
Daily Beast IQ Score: 3
The race to the bottom wasn’t even close. The largest city in California’s San Joaquin breadbasket, Fresno, had deficiencies across the board. College education (less than 20 percent of the local population have four-year degrees), graduate studies, academic institutions (not much besides Fresno State), book purchases, voter engagement—it ranked in the worst 5 percent in almost all of our categories. Problems with gangs and crystal meth tend to deter the best and brightest.

*(And also Mr. Tootie, of course)

Has it really come to this?

Are things so desperate in our Republic that mothers are willing to sacrifice their children for ........ CARDBOARD??

In Alabama they are:

An Alabama woman has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child after police say she let her daughter ride in a cardboard box on top of their van. Albertville Police spokesman Sgt. Jamie Smith said the 37-year-old woman was arrested Sunday after police received a call about a minivan on a state highway with a child riding on top.

Smith said the woman told police the box was too big to go inside the van, and that her daughter was inside the box to hold it down.

No Mom could be that callous, could they? There surely must be some mitigating circumstance, some justification. What's that Maam?

Smith said the mother told officers it was safe because she had the box secured to the van with a clothes hanger.

See, I told you!

Best Methods Question Ever

I read PSJR once a week, and it rarely fails to amuse. This week, there was a gem of a question hiding in the rocks:

I'm doing a logit estimation in Stata and want to generate predicted values afterward. The problem I'm finding is that my dataset includes cases that are blank values for the dependent variable -- and when I enter the "predict" command, Stata imputes predicted values for those blank cases. I don't want this, but can't figure out a way to tell Stata to just generate predicted values for cases in which there's a value for the dependent variable. Any thoughts?

A helpful person was able to think of an answer, after long (I assume) deliberation:

Delete the cases with missing values on the dependent variable before you estimate the model.

This is, I submit, sound advice. Of course, another later commenter also has good advice:

Become a qually. It's not too late yet.

Again, on the mark. For quallies, confused obscurantism passes for profundity.

We Get Letters!

KPC friend Mark P writes....

Water Taxi Fiasco
Here’s a great example of how our government works:
This weekend, I visited family on the North Carolina coast near the Cape Lookout National Seashore. Cape Lookout is among several barrier islands that are uninhabited and accessible only by boat. The area is a popular recreational destination for locals and tourists. There is a thriving cottage industry here that provides water taxi service to the islands. About ten different businesses run small water taxis that carry patrons to the lighthouse and the nearby islands. Each has their own docking facilities on the mainland, scattered over a broad area. The destinations are virtually anywhere on the islands. Their schedules are flexible and fees reasonable. All of them are family owned and operated. Many have grown to multiple boat operations that employ local citizens.

Well, the National Park Service has discovered that private enterprise has found a profitable niche. The Park Service is now preparing to explore a single source provider to replace the small operators. The plan appears to be to contract with one firm to use larger ferries that have only one or two departure points, thus accessibility will be reduced. Landing will also be limited to only two islands, one dock on each. The schedules would of necessity have to be rigid and the fees will be regulated. As with many other national park services the bidding process is likely to result in a contract with a large corporation rather than the smaller businesses currently providing services as well as employment to local citizens. Adding insult to injury the consolidated operation will result in greater congestion at the departure and arrival sites and severely reduce the flexibility of services that are currently available to those wishing to visit the park areas. This action will effectively shut down all the local water taxi services that are currently available year-round.

The results will be less access, less flexibility, no competition, local families out of business and numerous unemployed local workers. Such is the wisdom of our federal government.

My question for Mark, and for all, is: Why is this so hard to understand? Mark's description pretty much contains all the essential elements of an economic explanation of government failure. Anyone reading this, it seems to me, should be persuaded. (An example of an existing "water taxi"/ferry service)

And yet we are going to do the wrong thing. Now, these boats operate at a profit. The "new" service is going to require a subsidy, at least in the form of building dock facilities. Ooooooh, I could just SPIT.

Zombieland

Went to see Zombieland. Many other reviews have been written, and so I will just hit some high spots. Remember, I have stated my standards in advance, so don't blame me for being consistent.

Downsides: 1. Electricity? Really? I don't think so.
2. There is a claim that wearing zombie make-up, to look like a zombie, will protect you, because "zombies don't really mess with each other." Wrong! And the reason is....
3. These are not zombies, because they are not dead. They suffer from a virus that makes their brains swell, and makes them crazy. Thus, they would also go after each other, and anything else that moved....leading me to.....
4. They are FAST, so they are not zombies. If they were dead, and slow, then sure the make-up thing might work, because zombies only want to bite the living. These creatures are simply deranged, smelly, poorly dressed, back-biting ammoral humans, like you might find in Duke's Literature Department. Sure, they are scary, but they are NOT zombies. So, instead of a zombie movie, "Zombieland" is really more like "28 Days Later" or the "Modern Language Association Meetings." Terrifying and blatantly anti-intellectual, sure.

Upsides: 1. Woody Harrelson. I have tried to think if anyone else could have played this as well. I think not.
2. The not-zombies did at least play by the "chase and bite only" rule. They did not use weapons, and they did not coordinate. They simply keep on coming in infinite numbers. Well done by the director, Rubin Fleischer.
3. Woody Harrelson is at one point on a roller coaster with an Uzi. Now, for the rest of my life, I want to take an Uzi onto a roller coaster. Each of those things is really fun. Together, unbelievable. Add zombies to kill....well.
4. The movie carries the premise through pretty well. Extremely gross, but once you get used to that, very funny. Very, very funny.
5. The "rules" that the kid used to survive were a nice touch. But the director seemed to get bored with them, and they nearly disappeared. Likewise the kid's "irritable bowel" problem: important at the outset, seems to get cured halfway through, and never mentioned again. Still, the rules were a nice touch, and to be fair the rules do come up again twice in the final "Playland" scene.
6. The two female characters are good. Everyone knows that the older girl is the smartest of the whole group, and they just accept that. It did seem natural. Less posturing in a world with with survival on the line; go with the smart person to lead. The older girl (Wichita) also offered the boy (Columbus) an "intentional walk" to first base, but the kid got picked off. To be fair, the girl had a really deceptive move.
7. 80 minutes long. Not one of these over-blown, when-will-this-ever-end, epics of ego. Lots of noise, lots of gunfire, boy meets girl, girl becomes murderous zombie, boy smashes girl's skull with ceramic toilet cover (double tap), boy meets new girl, some adventures...and we're done. Heartwarming.

Overall: B+. And it's only not an A because the zombies are alive, and fast.

LAGNIAPPE: Two quotes from the WikiPedia page....

1. The zombies in Zombieland have been described by the casting director as:

"Ferocious, infected people that move erratically. They are diseased, as opposed to undead. These are not the lumbering walking dead of Romero’s zombie movies, but instead the super jacked up 28 Days Later/Dawn of the Dead zombies. They are scary and gnarly and gross."

2. Shortly after finishing the filming of Zombieland, Woody Harrelson had an altercation with a TMZ photographer at New York City's La Guardia Airport. His defense was that he was still in character and thought the cameraman was a zombie.

Gogol West, Young Man

My older son (the EYM, now a sophomore at UNC) just showed me his new tatoo.

Gogol. A Gogol ambigram.
Yes, the Russian writer. On his leg (my son's, not the writer's), in 2 inch tall letters that read as an ambigram.

Who tatoos "Gogol" on their leg?

The LMM is NOT amused.

Not My Job....

The "not my job" award candidate.... Not at ALL clear that this is legit, of course. No documentation that I could find that this comes from a real source. And that looks like a possum. Are there possums in AZ?

UPDATE: A commenter notes, "The picture has been around for more than a decade." Well, I think that is not exactly big news. If the white text is correct, it has "been around" for nearly two and half decades. Clearly, I am not claiming to have taken this picture myself, recently, since the date on the thing says "85"...

Two Articles by Peter Berkowitz

Catching up after being away so long, I have finally read to articles on my "to-do" list. Both are by Peter Berkowitz.

And both are worth reading. The first is "Conservatism and the Curriculum," from the WSJ. I might quibble with his omission of Duke's courses on "The History of Conservative Thought," and other courses in the Gerst/American Values curriculum, but basically he makes good points.

The second is "Constitutional Conservatism," in Policy Review. Some points he makes on the "way forward":

A constitutional conservatism provides a framework for developing a distinctive agenda for today’s challenges to which social conservatives and libertarian conservatives can both, in good conscience, subscribe. Leading that agenda should be:
• An economic program, health care and social security reform, energy policy, and protection for the environment grounded in fiscally sound, growth-oriented, market-based solutions.
• A national security policy that maintains American military preeminence because it is indispensable to the defense of freedom at home and to the discharge of global responsibilities abroad, and which, in its commitment to defending the nation against the new threats of megaterror, is as passionate about individual liberty as it is about security and is prepared, based on constitutional principles, to responsibly fashion the inevitable, painful tradeoffs.
• A foreign policy that builds on the Truman Doctrine, the Reagan Doctrine, and the Bush Doctrine by recognizing America’s vital national security interest in advancing liberty and democracy abroad while realistically calibrating undertakings — military, diplomatic, and developmental— to the nation’s limited knowledge and restricted resources.
• An orientation toward international relations that promotes free trade, respects international law and institutions while protecting the legitimate prerogatives of national sovereignty, and seeks alliances and opportunities to operate within multilateral frameworks but, particularly where vital national security interests are at stake, is prepared to act alone.
• A focus on reducing the number of abortions and increasing the number of adoptions.
• Efforts to keep the question of same-sex marriage out of the federal courts and subject to consideration by each state’s democratic process.
• Measures to combat illegal immigration that are emphatically pro-border security and pro-lawful immigrant.
• A case for school choice as an option that enhances individual freedom while giving low-income, inner-city parents opportunities to place their children in classrooms where they can obtain a decent education.
• A demand that public universities abolish speech codes and vigorously protect liberty of thought and discussion on campus.
• The appointment of judges who understand that their duty is to interpret the Constitution and not make policy, who bring to their task a presumption in favor of vindicating constitutional principles and protecting individual liberty, and who, where the Constitution is most vague, recognize the strongest obligation to defer to the results of the democratic process.

I should point out that these plausible proposals have NOT risen to the forefront of the Republican agenda. (Yes, even these proposals are pretty tepid, and would hardly satisfy a Libertarian, but I am thinking in directional terms here: The Rs are still going fast in the wrong direction!) And so I am still most definitely not a Republican. You folks who send emails proposing that I am "really" a Republican need to realize that the Repubs are "really" full of goose dung.

The British Driving Test

The test to secure a full driver's license in G Britain is notoriously difficult. It takes less than "the Knowledge," but it's still pretty hard.

And, rather strangely anachronistic. Here are two examples of questions from the actual test:

Which THREE should you do when passing sheep on the road?
a) Go very slowly b) Be ready to stop
c) Allow plenty of room d) Pass quickly but quietly
e) Briefly sound your horn (correct answers are a, b, and c)

A person herding sheep asks you to stop. You should

1 ignore them as they have no authority... 2 stop and switch off your engine
3 continue on but drive slowly... 4 try and get past quickly
(correct answer is #2, though of course #1 is clearly the Angus/Mungowitz approach to this, and to ALL other of life's great questions)

Tommy the Englishman notes, in an email: AND I mocked the North Carolina test for asking questions about travelling with passengers in the back of your pickup!

Aye, Tommy: That'll DO, sheep!

UPDATE: I want to add my own favorite topic from the test, having looked at the questions here....The problem involves riding a horse on the road (really, it does):

Before you take a horse on to a road, you should

-ensure all tack fits well and is in good condition
-make sure you can control the horse
-Always ride with other, less nervous horses if you think that your horse will be nervous of traffic. Never ride a horse without both a saddle and bridle.

Now, if *I* obey the command to ride only with other "less nervous" horses, it simply must be true that at least one, and strictly speaking ALL, of my companions are breaking the rules. If their horses are less nervous than mine, then mine must be MORE nervous than theirs. Blimey!

The book also suggests that one should make the horse wear a "fluorescent/reflective tail guard." I'm not sure, but I think that Angus and I once went to a club in New Orleans where the dancers were wearing those, at least at the start of their dance.

Old wine in less old bottles

And by wine I mean the Kadane brothers, Matt and Bubba.  Bedhead was one of my favorite bands in the 1990s. I highly recommend them and was sad when they quit putting out music. 

However, I somehow missed the memo that the Kadane's re-formed, calling themselves The New Year. I just found this out and got two of their recordings, "The End is Near", and "Newness Ends". Both are very good, with The End is Near being my favorite and borderline fantastic. It still seems like Bedhead, but with a bit more variety and a bit faster paced.

By the way, my favorite Bedhead albums are "Transaction de Nova" and "Macha Loved Bedhead".

More Zombie Cartoons from Bizarro

(Credit: Bizarro!)

I'm really quite sick, feeling terrible.

So, I am going to go see "Zombieland," which will cheer me greatly.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

There is a very clever and interesting article in the inaugural issue of the AEJ: Macroeconomics by Raghuram Rajan (ungated version here) called "Rent Preservation and the Persistence of Underdevelopment" about why basic reforms are delayed in many countries, even those holding elections.

The core of his argument is that:

When citizens in a poor constrained society are very unequally endowed, they are likely to 

find it hard to agree on reforms, even though the status quo hurts them collectively. Each 

citizen group or constituency prefers reforms that expand its opportunities, but in an unequal 

society, this will typically hurt another constituency’s rents. Competitive rent preservation 

ensures no comprehensive reform path may command broad support. The roots of 

underdevelopment may therefore lie in the natural tendency towards rent preservation in a 

divided society.  

P.S. Dan Sutter and I took a crack at why reforms are delayed a while ago (paper is here).

Here we go again

Why do so many people think that economic progress is some kind of zero sum game?

Here is a recent NY Times article about the size of the Japanese and Chinese economies.

The headline is "Chinese economic juggernaut is gaining on Japan" and the first sentence reads: "For years, Japan as been readying itself for the day that it is eclipsed economically by China."

Here is some more:

 ..many economists expect Japan to cede its rank as the world’s second-largest economy sometime next year, as much as five years earlier than previously forecast.

At stake are more than regional bragging rights: the reversal of fortune will bring an end to a global economic order that has prevailed for 40 years, with ramifications across arenas from trade and diplomacy to, potentially, military power.

China’s rise could accelerate Japan’s economic decline ...

From there it gets downright funny:

China has also surpassed Japan in having the biggest trade surplus and foreign currency reserves, as well as the highest steel production. And next year, China could overtake Japan as the largest automobile producer.

To be fair, there is a flash of sanity near the end of the piece:

Some economists say Japan does not need to fear its neighbor. China became Japan’s largest trading partner in 2006, and China-bound exports were among the first to show signs of recovery in the recent slump. As the global auto market stagnates, carmakers like Toyota and Nissan are making a renewed play for the Chinese market.

Indeed.

People, the UK, France and Germany all seem to have survived being "surpassed" by China.  They probably didn't even notice. 

Further, even if China doubled its current GDP, where would you rather live, in Japan or in China? For me that is a no-brainer. Japan would still be massively richer than a doubled GDP China, have better infrastructure, less pollution, and more freedom. 

China's rise is undeniable, but it is still a very poor country with a long way to go. And the mere fact that China is rising does not mean that others have to be falling.

A Fine Zombie Cartoon From Bizarro

The Lovely Ms. Mungowitz saved this for me, in the funnies. And now I share it with YOU.


And this is not a bad followup, by the way.

Dumbest Ads--College Edition

Here are some pretty amazing, and unintenionally funny, ads I have received via email in the last couple of weeks....

1. Don't miss a remarkable opportunity taking place in Raleigh, North Carolina in April, 2010. Hundreds of educators across disciplines will come together at the 2010 On Course National Conference (http://www.oncourseworkshop.com/Conference.htm) offered on April 8-10, 2010. Featured keynote speaker Ann Hermann (CEO of Hermann International) will present an invigorating opening session on brain-based thinking and learning styles.

Brain-based thinking? Really? That WILL be invigorating....

2. The Department of Politics and Geography at Coastal Carolina University is accepting applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Associate Professor. Appointment effective August 16, 2010. Successful candidate must be able to create, implement, and direct a new B.A. in Intelligence and National Security. Ph.D. is preferred, but an M.A. or J.D. with relevant experience will be considered.

So, they would prefer a PhD to be in charge of a program on intelligence, but they'll also consider a lawyer. (Nod to RL)

3. Seton Hill University seeks Assistant Professor of Political Science for tenure-track position starting August 2010. The faculty member will teach a range of courses throughout the discipline, including Comparative Politics and International Relations, as well as methodology and other courses in undergraduate Political Science. Ph.D. required. Background or teaching experience in genocide and/or Non-Western area studies desirable.

Background in genocide??!?! (And, yes, there is a "Seton Hill U") (Nod to RL)

Newsflash: Lula + Pele >> Obama + Oprah

In a stunner, Chicago was the first of the final four cities to eliminated from hosting the 2016 Olympics despite the presence of President O and mega-entrepeneur O (Oprah). The winner was Rio, championed by Brazil's President Lula and soccer immortal Pele.

Ouch.

Earlier in the week, Pele called out Michael Jordan for not going with the US delegation to lobby for Chicago and maybe he was right?

In the byzantine world of Olympic politics, Obama is somehow being faulted for not have spent enough time on task:

Chicago had long been seen as a front-runner and got the highest possible level of support — from President Barack Obama himself. But he only spent a few hours in the Danish capital where the vote was held and left before the result was announced. Former IOC member Kai Holm said that the brevity of his appearance may have counted against him.

The short stopover was "too business-like," Holm said. "It can be that some IOC members see it as a lack of respect."

That's funny, because, if anything, I would fault him for going and doing this in the first place.

Roamin' Polanski

Ken presents an argument from Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques, which I found appalling, amusing, and not surprising.

Ken does a fine job discussing the merits, and assumptions, of the Société.

And, as we should all see clearly, this is an excellent opportunity. All we need now is persuade Dick Cheney to make a trip to Switzerland. I know! The SACD can offer to give him an award.....

Angus plays games

Wow! We just got the Wii motion plus thingie and EA sports Grand Slam Tennis. It is way cool. The EA game with motion plus completely destroys the tennis game that came in the original Wii sports package. I haven't figured out how to serve fast, but you can come to net, put spin on the ball and really place your shots on the court with a precision and realism that was lacking in the original Wii tennis game. 

I am hacked though because Chris F. Evert beat me in a tie-breaker on my maiden match with the EA game!

Just comparing original tennis to the new tennis with motion plus, it is an entirely different game and experience. Way way better. A huge upgrade.

Close to you, part two

Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?




Why do stars fall down from the sky, every time you walk by?





Just like me, they long to be, close to you.




On the day that you were born, the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true....

Cool Beans

One of the greatest American bands, Spoon, are releasing their first four albums for digital downloading in multiple formats ("premium" MP3, FLAC, Apple Lossless) with extra stuff included. Albums are available individually or in increasingly grandiose packages. If you don't have these works, or only have crappy MP3s of these works, I highly recommend getting them. Note that they do cost money though!

Besides being great musical artists, the band apparently are savvy bidnessmen as well. This download stuff is coming from spoontheband.com, so I guess they have gotten control of their own back catalog.

Here is an earlier KPC post about Spoon.

TMIMITW

The Most Interesting Man in the World.... "He's been known to cure narcolepsy just by walking into a room. His organ donation card also lists his beard. He's a lover, not a fighter, but he's also a fighter, so don't get any ideas."

Craig Newmark links to this amusing roundup.

47% Pay No Federal Taxes!

From CNN....47% of American pay ZERO federal taxes.

A number of people have emailed me asking if this makes me mad.

Answer: No, not really. But I think this benefit of zero taxes ought to be extended to the other 53%. THEN you're talking. For now, here is the breakdown....
Percent AGI / Percent of total fed tax revenues
Top 1% 40.42
Top 5% 60.63
Top 10% 71.22
Top 25% 86.59

So, 15 million Americans (including Angus and me) are paying for 61% of all the foreign misadventures and cluster firetrucks of our government. You are welcome, all you deadbeats!

Part of the problem is that all the government programs, ALL of them, are being paid for by a small number of productive people. But the bigger problem is many of the "government programs" involve using my money to go kill civilians and poor people in other countries.

Stop doing that, Mr. Obama. Just stop it. (Yes, we complained about Mr. Bush, also...so shut up)

Is Thomas Friedman "the stupidest man alive" ?

Well he certainly has stiff competition (most notably Donald Luskin (see here and here), but this NY Times column puts Sir Thomas directly in the running.

His argument is that "Red China has decided to become Green China" and since (according to him) going green is a zero sum game, they are going to bury stupid dumb corrupt America under a green on red avalanche:

Unfortunately, we’re still not racing. It’s like Sputnik went up and we think it’s just a shooting star. Instead of a strategic response, too many of our politicians are still trapped in their own dumb-as-we-wanna-be bubble, where we’re always No. 1...

There are, as you might imagine, a few problems with his argument. First off, he has no evidence that China has actually decided to go green. He mentions exactly two things. (1) An American "solar equipment maker" has opened a research center in China, and (2) A Chinese solar panel manufacturer told him that the party secretary of the town where the company is located told the Chinese business man that he wanted the party to support the business.

Oh my!


Even dumber than the notion that China, the world's biggest polluter, has gone green is the notion that going green is a zero sum competition. Friedman doesn't even try to argue for this point, he simply assumes it as self evident.

Friedman does find another idiot to quote here:

“If they invest in 21st-century technologies and we invest in 20th-century technologies, they’ll win,” says David Sandalow, the assistant secretary of energy for policy.

Oh my!

He then concludes, in classic stupidest man fashion, by completely undercutting his argument:

Of course, China will continue to grow with cheap, dirty coal, to arrest over-eager environmentalists and to strip African forests for wood and minerals. Have no doubt about that. But have no doubt either that, without declaring it, China is embarking on a new, parallel path of clean power deployment and innovation. It is the Sputnik of our day. We ignore it at our peril.

My conclusion: Thomas Friedman is a prime challenger for the position of stupidest man alive. We ignore him at our comedic peril.

Jaa-Jaa

People, I have been asleep at the switch, out of the loop, up the proverbial creek. Did you know that there has been an Ong Bak II out for a while now? 

Me neither.

It is going to be released in some theatres in the States on October 23rd according to Yahoo Movies.

Even better, Ong Bak III is supposedly in production now too.

Tony Jaa is an amazing martial artist. I loved the original Ong Bak, even though it made little to no sense.

There is an awesome sequence in the Ong Bak II trailer (viewable from the Yahoo Movie link above) where Jaa runs up the front of an elephant, does a back flip and kicks the bejesus out of a bad guy on his way down.

Sweet!

The unholy trinity of health care reform

I actually think we are going to get a reform that is both worse than the status quo and worse than a pure single payer system. 

Kudos to our Congress!

As I understand it, insurance companies will not be able to refuse to cover some one, nor will they be able to charge high risk people a premium that reflects their risk. The price won't be uniform, but the maximum variation will be well below what it would take to correctly price the variation in risks.

As I noted before, this will make premiums for healthy people extra high. And as the WSJ pointed out yesterday, at least on the margin, it will make healthy people want to hold off from getting any insurance until they are actually sick. 

Problem solved, you say?

Ahh, but now it appears that the third leg of the trinity will be rule that it will be illegal to not have insurance!

So young healthy people will be forced to buy way overpriced (relative to their risk) insurance. Plus if said young healthy people make good money, they can look forward to paying more taxes to subsidize the purchase of said insurance by others.

Guaranteed Issue, Community Rating, Individual Mandate.  They sound so reasonable and innocuous, but they are freakin' lethal.

Caplan's Libertarian Quiz: Redux

So, some time ago I took Bryan C's "Libertarian Purity Quiz." (to paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy, if you care more about testing purity than about actually affecting policy in the world....you MIGHT be a Libertarian). As I noted then, I got a 54.

Took the test again. This time, 66. George Bush, you did this to me. I have jumped up more than 10 "purity percentiles" in a little less than four years.

Germany to the Left: NaNaNAHNa, Hey-Hey-Hey--Goodbye!

Wow. The German electorate spanked the parties of the left in the election yesterday.

Here was the final poll, not quite two weeks ago: And now for the actual results:
CDU--34%
SPD--23%
FDP--15%
Green--10%
Linke (Left)--12%
(Other--5%)

Some interesting things:

1. D-land's next foreign minister will likely be FDP head Guido Westerwelle. This may be the highest world office ever held by an openly gay person. And that's part of the reason I like the FDP, even if they are sort of fuddy-duddy. They are pro-market, want to cut spending, and actually walk the walk when it comes to libertarian principles on sexual freedom.

2. That pompous ass Steinmeier got reamed. SPD should fire him. But SPD should fire a lot of people. They got smashed. Just smashed.

3. Oskar Lafontaine, with his ridiculous move to Der (correction: Die) Linke in 1999.... what now, dude?

4. Germany: A fundamental realignment? Will the US go the same way in 2010? Perhaps Obama really IS the best cure for what is wrong with the Repubs, by reminding us what nut jobs the Lefty Dems are?

5. Turnout in this race was historically low, just over 70%. That's way, way down. Fact is, nobody cares very much. That's how Angus and I like it: if politics becomes boring, because we all know that ALL the parties are corrupt, and government is incapable of doing anything but harm, the world would be a better place.

One more thing, though: Much of the "promise," such as it was, that got the CDU/CSU /FDP coalition into power is "We are going to cut taxes." Folks, deficits are future taxes, it's just that simple. If you don't cut spending, then tax cuts are actually tax increases on the future. If the new German government does not come to grips with the "gimme other peoples' money" mentality that has come to dominate German society, then the tax cut approach (already discredited by the Busholistas) will be disastrous.

Zombie Movies: An Appreciation of Slow

Had dinner Friday night l'etoile, here in Charlottesville. (Yes, I had the sweetmeats. Yum....lamb balls). Since Loren Lomasky was paying, we all did serious work in terms of wine and food. (Thanks Loren! And, to be fair, your "work" was more serious than any of ours. Well done, grabbing the full wine bottle from the waiter's hand and hugging to yourself, so it became, as you shrieked, "Mine! My baby. Mine.")

Anyway, at dinner we had the sort of excellent analytic conversation that often happens when you get academics and terrific wine together. I happened to be sitting across from Garrett Fagan, a truly capital fellow, a classicist from Ireland, now at Penn State. Kudos also to Ben P and Rachana K, though I won't "out" them completely.

Here is the question: what makes for a great zombie movie? What are the classes of zombie movies, and how are they distinguished from other similar, but non-zombie, movies? Dr. Fagan was clearly the smartest person at the table, since his knowledge of zombies revealed a deeply troubled mind, but the classification scheme we all came up with is important enough to share.

1. Most movies where baddie status is irrevocably conferred by being bitten by a baddie are NOT zombie movies. Obviously, this is true for vampire and werewolf movies (if a vampire bites you, you become a vampire, not a zombie), but it is even true for "almost zombie" movies like "28 Days Later." The point is that 28 Days Later, though a scary movie where the baddies all want to bite the remaining people, is simply not a zombie movie. Nonetheless, any true zombie movies must have biting-baddies. Necessary but not sufficient. That's the conclusion of the assembled worthies.

2. All true zombie movies require putrefaction, and severe mutilation of the zombie bodies. The advantage of this, in addition to be being visually horrifying, is that it introduces idiosyncratic locomotion and gestures. One zombie might be pulling himself along, because his legs are gone. Another limps and shuffles in a rotation way, because all the flesh is gone from one leg, and the opposite shoulder has been torn off, so that he has trouble keeping balance. Further character differentiation occurs because, though putrefaction occurs at a constant rate, the start time for putrefaction is the "death" of the human the zombie used to be. Thus, some zombies are relatively fresh and only slightly sour-smelling. Others are truly rotten, with pieces falling off just because the worms have crawled in, the worms have crawled out, the worms have played pinochle in his snout.

3. In all true zombie movies, the zombies are slow. No, don't argue, you are wrong. ZOMBIES. ARE. SLOW. There are scary, putrid sickness-acquired-by- biting-afflicted things in movies that are not zombies, because they are fast. Saying "I like fast zombies" is like saying "Zima is my favorite beer." Now, you are welcome to like Zima.^1 But Zima is not beer. Our table-jury was split on the question of whether slow thinking was sufficient. Garrett and I held out for the pure "slow means slow!" position, based on #2 above. How could something with no flesh below the knee be fast? Please. And, of course, since my authority is limited on these questions of...well, authority, I appeal to a real authority, none other than Simon Pegg, of "Shaun of the Dead" fame, who wrote this.

4. In the best zombie movies (and, yes, Day of the Dead, the 1985 Romero version, is THE best zombie movie, and if you don't think so you are likely not enough of a zombie fan to have read this far in the first place) actually teach you something about zombies.
a. What do they want? (they want to bite and eat human flesh)
b. Will other kinds of flesh satisfy, or at least distract them? (no. dead animals, pieces of dead humans, or even live animals will not distract zombies in the least. They want living human flesh, and they are drawn irresistably, though slowly, to human flesh.)
c. Does human flesh somehow sustain, or strengthen, zombies? In the strictest sense, no. Zombies do not digest, or derive satisfaction, or even really notice, human flesh. Zombies simply MUST draw close and bite. That's how they roll. Or shuffle.

5. Edged weapons, rocks, even physical blows....all of these are NOT part of the true zombie arsenal, though many of these will be used by the doomed human defenders. A real zombie movie is absolutely obliged to restrict its horror to exactly one kind of attack: overwhelming (in fact, limitless) numbers of slow-moving, silent, putrefying zombies shuffle toward the victim. The victim kills thousands, using every weapon, garden shears, or table leg that is close to hand. But ultimately the victim is overwhelmed, and is consumed or becomes a zombie (either outcome, after a spirited discussion at table, was deemed acceptable.)

An excellent review of some more serious literature on zombie movies here.

FURTHER READING, for newbies:
Pretend We’re Dead: Capitalist Monsters in American Pop Culture, by Annalee Newitz, Durham: Duke University Press, 183 pages, $21.95
Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema, by Jamie Russell, Surrey: FAB Press, 309 pages, $29.95
The Dominion of the Dead, by Robert Pogue Harrison, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 159 pages, $14
World War Z, by Max Brooks, New York: Random House, $14.95
Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks, New York: Random House, $17.00 (to be published in early October!)

LAGNIAPPE: Red Dawn is NOT a zombie movie. It is one of the most unintentionally hilarious movies ever made, and it was Patrick Swayze's second movie (1 was "Outsiders"). But the band of renegade teenagers are MUCH too stupid to be real zombies. And zombies cannot shout, "WOLVERINES!" (WOW! Jennifer Grey, or "Baby" from Dirty Dancing, was also in Red Dawn. I did not know that...And, yes, Dirty Dancing WAS in fact a zombie movie.)

^1: I lied. No, you aren't.

UPDATE: Thanks to the commenter for pointing out I am an idiot, and linked Zima when I said "Day of the Dead." But, I submit that "Zimaroll" has considerable potential, now that "Rickrolling" is such a tired cliche. (No, I will not link a Rickroll)

UPDATE II: This, in commments, from Alex Zarley: An excellent new zombie movie, although it is in Greek (doesnt really take anything away from movie because dialogue isnt that essential in them), is to kako (the evil). The sequel, Evil in the time of heroes, a zombie movie that takes place in ancient greece starring billy zane, is due for release in Greece October 1. Alex: You are SO RIGHT! So, watch for To Kako II.

redefining excellence

The Cards have clinched and A-poo has locked up the MVP. Life is good for me and Mungowitz.  We went to a lot of Cardinal games during our grad school summers, sitting in the uber-cheap left field bleachers, smoking cigars and chanting bad things about the people in the right field bleachers, all the while wondering if we would pass our exams, finish our theses, and obtain gainful employment (depending on the year).

This NY Times article proposes changing the definition of what it means to win the triple crown and talks about what a great year Prince Albert is having:

"If the Triple Crown tips a cap to the singular season, then attention must be paid to Pujols, who entered Saturday leading the National League home run race (with 47); third in R.B.I. (129); and first in OBP (.447). His .331 batting average was second to Hanley Ramirez’s .351."

Stir Crazy

Meanwhile, back in Honduras, deposed president Marvelous Mel Zelaya remains hunkered down in the Brazilian embassy, some measure of calm seems to be returning to the capital, and the two sides can't even agree on what to talk about if they ever do talk. 

Basically, the current regime is about 65% of the way to successfully filibustering its way to the new elections.

Living in the embassy under tough conditions seems to be taking its toll on Mel as he is claiming that "Israeli mercenaries" are attacking him with radiation and toxic gasses!

Given earlier reports that Mel's crew was subsisting on rice and beans and had no AC or running water, I think those toxic gasses might not have been Israeli in origin.

A dedicated follower of fashion

Or, every girl crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man.

Or in this case, a weirdly dressed billionaire.

People, Warren Buffet is endorsing men's clothing. Successfully. Yikes!!

Take a gander, as they say in Iowa, of this picture of Warren with a homeless man:

Hard to believe that an endorsement by him would cause a Chinese clothing firm's stock to go up by 70%, it less than a month, but it did according to this story.

Everyone thinks Warren is such a great guy, but there he goes sabotaging America by increasing our trade deficit.

Nice Try, Ed

Friend of Humanity Edward Prescott of Arizona State University sez:

"I don't know why Obama said all economists agree on [the need for a stimulus bill]. They don't. If you go down to the third-tier schools, yes, but they're not the people advancing the science..."

Now this is pretty funny. I guess Ed said "third-tier" strategically to get the idea of "places below him" across, but heck, I'll just put it out there, ASU is a "third-tier school" in Economics unless tiers are amazingly thick (and yes that probably makes OU a 4th tier one).

Plus, there are obviously a lot of economists at better schools than ASU who endorsed the stimulus. For example, is Princeton worse than ASU?

To modify an old expression, people who live below the Penthouse shouldn't throw stones!

And, no I was not in favor of a stimulus, which is amazing given what a low-tier, no advancing of the science job I have!

close to you

Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?



Why do stars fall down from the sky, every time you walk by?



Just like me, they long to be, close to you




Full story here.

Happy B-Day to Me, and Sadness

So, I'm 51 today. Hard to believe. Now I have been in a bad mood for 51 years.

Also, I'm a bit sad. I have meant to blog about this Danish tourism ad:
Okay, now of course, that is an actress. They are advertising that if young American come to Denmark they can get...well, you know what they can get.

The sad part? I watched that commercial intently, several times. And I have clearly passed some kind of age threshold, because I have zero interest in the pretty blonde girl. I just want to hold that cute baby. That is a GREAT baby. If I go to Denmark, can I hold that little baby? If so, I may go.

UPDATE: They pulled the ad! How can I ever find that baby now?