Worth Reading for December 2008

12/28 When absurdist humor is almost real: Dave Barry’s 2008 year in review.

12/23 A collection of photographs of beautiful, beautiful libraries from around the world.

12/19 Jeff Jacoby on the vast increase in financial regulation during the Bush II years.

12/17 Noah Brier reflects on the human capacity for evil: For example, was Hitler “abnormal”, or was he a person with normal capacities who chose an evil path? And speaking of evil: a report on the trafficking in young Nepalese girls for the sex trade in India.(Via ifeminists.)

12/15 A fine pair of quotations from Robert Heinlein and Thomas Macauley on the win-win relationship between economics and natural beauty. On the other hand, let this be a warning to beavers about breaking environmental laws.

12/13 Is the art market in a classic bubble state? And what’s up with big money being thrown at sharks in formaldehyde and other oddities? Reason‘s Nick Gillespie looks at the curious economics of contemporary art. (Thanks to Bob H. for the link.)

12/12 Now that the semester is over, time for some amusement: Here is a very thorough video review of the Ford Fiesta:

(Thanks to Karen for the link.) And what about cross-cultural matches made in heaven? The Onion‘s take on American women and European men.

12/11 What label best captures the new, younger generation – “Millennials”? “The Net Generation”? Grant McCracken explores some possibilities and two of his commentators suggest that technology and social diversity have moved us into an era of expansionary individualism. As one commentator put it, “The idea of being associated with a group of people because we happen to be the same age seems more ridiculous than ever in the face of this truth.”

12/10 Gotta love Illinois politics. Our last governor, George Ryan, went to prison for corruption. In living memory, two other former governors went to prison, Otto Kerner in the 1970s and Dan Walker in the 1980s. And now this one:
Rod Blagojevich may be on his way. Of course, that’s just Springfield. I’m sure things are much cleaner in Chicago.

12/9 Which college degrees pay the best? An up-to-date table of data in The Wall Street Journal: income and one’s college major. Interesting that Philosophy ties Math for the biggest jump – up 103.5% – from starting salary to mid-career salary.

12/8 Enjoy some excellent photography at Stuck in Customs.

12/5 ‘Tis the season … for students unhappy with the grades they have received. So here’s a useful tool for professors: the Universal Grade Change Form. (Via EclectEcon.)

12/4 Gene Holloway has a lively, philosophical blog – This is Not the Matrix – with a recent post entitled Kant and the Mindless Sheeple (Thanks for the plug, Gene). Following the links takes us to Roderick Long and Paul Fine’s classic “The Kant Song”. And speaking of Kant and The Matrix, don’t you just wish your philosophy class could be this interesting?

12/3 The Agriculture Department as a role model for unnecessary bailouts: ridiculous farm subsidies. And Charles Anderson has a surprising chart with commentary illustrating how much land the government owns.

12/2 Integrity in resisting racism in sports in 1958.

12/1 Peter Schiff as Cassandra on the financial crisis:

(Via E pur si muove!) And while we look back to the 1930s for let’s-not-repeat-history lessons, perhaps a better comparison is the 1970s.

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