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Science
June 17, 2008
Something Plus Nets
The New York Times recently noted the trend of donating money towards anti-malaria mosquito nets. Such nets are an important tool in fighting malaria, and have received attention from the likes of the NBA, American Idol, and ESPN (formerly Sports Illustrated) columnist Rick Reilly. The Times piece, however, prompted a letter from Richard Tren, Director of Africa Fighting Malaria, noting that "malaria control is more than just nets." So what is malaria control? And what impact does the focus on nets have on fighting the disease? Gelf contacted Tren, who responded (after the jump).
Media
June 17, 2008
To Be Sure, of Course
Writing a fluffy trend piece for the New York Times? You’d do well to remember the following rules: your subject can be as asinine as you want to it to be, provided that a) it appeals to people with money, and b) somewhere, you employ the phrase "to be sure" or "of course" to acknowledge the silliness of that which you are writing about.
Politics
June 16, 2008
How Bad is Bush?
In an essay in the Washington Post last week, columnist Dan Eggen discusses the legacy of President Bush in a historical context. Like most other evaluations of Bush's presidency, Eggen's relies on the opinion of the majority of historians and the general public: that Bush will ultimately be remembered in a negative light, and possibly as the worst president ever. While this may be true, thanks to the president's colossal failure in Iraq and with the US economy, some possible outcomes would completely flip the perception of the President's tenure in office.
Full article » | by Jake Rake
Sports
June 13, 2008
Say My Name!
Quickly—where do the Boston Celtics play their home games? No, it's not called the Boston Garden anymore. Don't know off the top of your head? Neither did we, until we heard that TD Bank CEO Ed Clark sent an email to ESPN's Bill Simmons asking that Simmons stop referring to TD Banknorth Garden as "Whatever The Hell The Garden Is Called"—except, of course, that he didn't.
Media
June 12, 2008
Putin's Propaganda in the Times
In Russia, freedom of speech doesn't really exist. Dissidents are kept from public view and the press corps has been cowed by a spate of mysterious murders. The New York Times recently ran an article on the situation, which apparently now involves the eerily Soviet practice of airbrushing people from TV shows. To put it bluntly, this is some fucked up shit; and while it's hardly surprising, it's certainly worth calling attention to. What the Times did next is a bit odd, however.
Politics
June 11, 2008
Is Voting "Present" a Cop Out?
A new attack ad—paid for by the RNC—shows an animated and paper-thin resume of Barack Obama's past experience. Over music lifted from the soundtrack of an America's Most Wanted reenactment, a narrator lists Obama's lack of accomplishments. When she gets up to the candidate's time in the Illinois State Senate she says, "In the legislature, he avoids tough votes on abortion, crime and guns by voting present instead of yes or no." This seems a little familiar, and not just because the voice-actress sounds like she should be saying, "Ask your doctor if Lipozene is right for you."
Internet
June 9, 2008
Celebrity Baby Blog 1, Economist 0
Last week, People.com acquired Celebrity Baby Blog, an internet hub for the all-important topic of famous people's children. As TechCrunch pointed out, the deal makes sense seeing as People "knows that stories about pregnant celebrities and their babies sell." Actually, they sell quite a lot—Celebrity Baby Blog registered nearly seven million page views in April alone, according to comScore.
Media
June 6, 2008
You Say Hello, I Say Hello
Tell us if you've heard this one before: A journalist, or writer, or academic is caught plagiarizing. He or she comes up with some half-hearted excuse, explains that the offense was minor, and is fired, anyway. A few months pass, rinse, then repeat. It happens so often that every plagiarism story seems almost, well, plagiarized.
Sports
June 6, 2008
Impossibly High Standards
Joe Dumars, the Detroit Pistons' President of Basketball Operations fired coach Flip Saunders this week, after his team lost to the Celtics in the NBA's Eastern Conference Finals. Saunders guided the team to professional basketball's Final Four in all three of his years with the team. Over that span, the team posted a regular season record of 176-70. If his years with Detroit were his only record as an NBA coach, Saunders would have the highest career winning percentage (.715) of any coach in NBA history, 15 points ahead of Phil Jackson.
Media
June 5, 2008
Call of Booty
Salon editor—and somewhat of an oversharer—Sarah Hepola recently bemoaned the ease of the late night text message booty call, writing "My drunk self really doesn't need new and improved ways to stay out later, to get into more trouble, to do things I will ultimately regret. Maybe it shouldn't be so easy to get into someone's bedroom at 2 a.m." Though she compares herself to Andy Rooney, she is not, however, a complete Luddite. Hepola has a unique understanding of the place of the SMS come-on in our society. She compares it to the art of the long-form love letter, which allowed earlier generations to "be their better selves, the clever/unflappable/devastating people we all want to be in the calamitous first throes of love." Well, who doesn’t want to be devastating?
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