therandomtexan
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Holy Brainstorming!
Francis Menton, the Manhattan Contrarian, has been kicking around a idea so radical it might actually work: giving Manhattan public housing units to their residents to kickstart them out of poverty. What really caught my attention was this: Well, what happened to the idea of making it possible for the poor to get out of Read more
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Rating a Published Clinical Trial…
…can be done in 10 minutes or less, using the Jadad score. There’s a full explanation in the original paper, but suffice it to say, it’s pretty easy to identify sketchy studies using this method. Aaron Carroll, writing in the New York Times, shows how this affects the credibility of nutrition research. For those who Read more
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You Crosstalk too much
I s-o-o-o wanted to enjoy Connie Willis’ latest book, Crosstalk, and I settled down in great anticipation to read her latest screwball comedy. The characters and situations are familiar to Willis fans who liked To Say Nothing of the Dog, “Blue Moon”, or the underappreciated Bellwether. There’s even one of Willis’ hilarious lists, this time Read more
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Do you have King Salmon in a can?
At last, we tinned fish eaters will have our day! Aaron Gilbreath pens an Ode to Canned Fish, and it’s a treat. Just a few minutes with Bing found some great suggestions from the Chowhound. What’s not to like? I’ve just ordered McIntosh’s Tin Fish Gourmet, and I’ll post recommendations as I try recipes. Tip Read more
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Frackin’ A’
THIS is the sh1t. Actually, I think these results are pretty dodgy. I know far too many profane folks who are as dumb as a rock. Read more
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The 2016 Election, Summarized
The domestic issues of the recent election, summed up in one photo: Tip from American Digest. Read more
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The Fate of the “Fountain”
Richard Bledsoe isn’t impressed with Conceptual Art A certain segment of the glitterati like to flaunt their ability to see shit as sophisticated art as a badge of honor, for some reason. and tells a delightful story about its early critics (“It broke!”). I have to agree, and now I’m off to learn more about Read more
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Bob Dylan and the Nobel Prize
Everybody’s got an opinion on this one, and here’s a doozy: The Nobel Prize is in fact the ultimate example of bad faith: A small group of Swedish critics pretend to be the voice of God, and the public pretends that the Nobel winner is Literature incarnate. … Mr. Dylan may yet accept the prize, Read more
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I guess it depends on who’s asking…
If I asked this question of any of my students, I’d be tagged as a stone-cold racist. But the US Census Bureau is going to ask each an every one of us. Tip from newgeography, where they have the full skinny. Read more
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Glamour from the 20th Century
Recently finished Virginia Postrel’s The Power of Glamour, and finally understood what all the fuss has been about. Although people often equate them, glamour is not the same as beauty, sylishness, luxury, celebrity, or sex appeal….Glamour is, rather, a form of nonverbal rhetoric, which moves and persuades not through words but through images, concepts, and Read more
The Random Texan 