Penn St.

A scathing article about the Penn St situation. Hat tip, Mom.

Penn State has never been an “outlaw program.” It’s what every school aspires to become. Think about that. Every school aspires to be the kind of place where football is so valuable that children can become collateral damage. If the allegations are true, if the school in fact knew this was going on, then the program should be shut down. If the allegations are true, Joe Paterno should be instructed to take his forty-six years and 409 wins and leave in disgrace. It’s tragic that it’s come to this for a legend like Paterno. But it’s even more tragic that protecting his legend mattered more than stopping a child-rapist in their midst. Damn Sandusky. Damn Paterno. Damn Penn State. But above all, damn the fact that the billion-dollar logic of big-time college football leads to decisions as venal as those made in Happy Valley.

Coupled with the big Atlantic article about the shame of college sports -- something is very problematic in this big time college sport culture.

Meritocracy

A couple articles are asking whether it is a good thing.

The basic point is that if you are born into the bottom 1/5 of society in 1970, you had only a 17% chance of getting to the top 2/5 as an adult. And the scariest thing is that is doesn't necessarily have to do with pull or corruption, but merely "merit" and "hard work," as upper 2/5 parents impart these skills to their kids at a better rate than the lower 1/5. Point is - is meritocracy ruining opportunity?

But as I think Ross is saying, this overlooks a more important question, which is why the system went wrong. Don't tell me it got hostage to the wrong ideology--tell me why all those professors we paid millions of dollars to study economics couldn't provide a convincing rebuttal to that ideology in advance of the crash. Don't tell me that regulators were stupid or bankers got greedy until you first explain to me why tens of thousands of very well educated people, most of them graduates of colleges and professional schools that had aggressively winnowed them based on intelligence, barely outperformed a bunch of upstart micks, third-generation coupon-clipping WASP dimwits, and central bankers who still worshipped the barbarous relic of the gold standard?

Yeah, does anyone think the Tracy Flick's (Election) of the world should be running it? I don't.

It's Tough

A 22-year old grad who started the BofA debit protest online laments being underemployed and making only $400 a week.

I'd like to point out, similar job options were available to me and my peers after we finished film school several years ago. It sucks very much. The element that can make all the difference, however, is the future opportunities available. In the film biz, people take these ridiculously low paying jobs with the promise of learning skills, jumping around, and finding ways to get ahead. I don't know about the non-profit sector or whatever the heck she is working in, but I doubt there is a similar promise of future riches.

Depressing

Wall Street profits soar.

....A recent study by two professors at the University of Michigan found that banks, instead of significantly increasing lending after being bailed out, used taxpayer money to invest in risky securities to profit from short-term price movements. The study found that bailed-out banks increased their returns by nearly 10 percent as a result.

Should this really be surprising?

Logging

TV: More Twin Peaks

I've never heard Tarantino talk about Twin Peaks, but it is clearly something he watched, admired, and copied from.

The News

I'd just like to point out three stories on Levine Breaking News:

TEXAS JUDGE CAUGHT BEATING DAUGHTER :This is one viral video that won’t put a smile on your face. A 23-year-old Texas girl with cerebral palsy uploaded a video to YouTube that shows her father—a family law judge—beating her with a leather belt. The video, which was taken in 2004, quickly spread on Twitter and Reddit. She was allegedly attacked after being caught downloading music to her computer. She said that she videotaped the event because it “had happened before and had been escalating.” Police are investigating the judge.

BIEBER FANS THREATEN ‘BABY MAMA’:Beware the Beliebers. Mariah Yeater found herself bombarded with death threats on Twitter after the Star magazine reported she had filed a paternity suit against Justin Bieber. “Dear Mariah Yeater, Roses are red, violets are blue, stay away from Bieber or Beliebers will kill you,” wrote one person. Yeater claims in her lawsuit that she had sex with Bieber backstage at one of his shows last year. Bieber denies the allegations. Yeater shouldn’t be surprised at the violent reaction of the Bieber fans. Last year Kim Kardashian got death threats after she met Bieber at the White House Correspondent’s dinner. Selena Gomez, the singer’s current girlfriend, has also received threats.

83-YEAR-OLD MAN ARRESTED FOR PROSTITUTION: Police in Iowa have arrested on charges of prostitution an 83-year-old man running for city council. Ben Clifford Dawson allegedly volunteered to perform sex acts on a woman in exchange for repayment of a loan. When she turned him down, he then is accused of grabbing her and kissing her neck anyway. He now faces two aggravated misdemeanor charges: prostitution and intent to commit sexual abuse.

I'd like some clarification on the last story. Did the man owe a woman money and offer to repay her by giving her sexual pleasure? Although I suppose that is illegal, he won my vote.

Amazon

Unveils the Netflix for books - Kindle Library.

This is pretty frigging awesome.

UPDATE: I could envision a next iteration where you rent books. Why not? You could even price them differently. And really - why do we buy books anyway? The vast majority, after you read them, you don't go back. Rare are the books really worth owning. Such a system would be more accurate to the actual value of books. Of course, you could still buy the good ones.

US/UK

Planning an attack on Iran?

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TV: Twin Peaks, Pilot and Ep. 2

Wow. What a show. I don't know what to say. It's part mystery, part melodrama, part dark comedy. The genre twisting alone is fantastic, but it's combined with hilarity, cinematic use of the camera, and some very creepy moments. I'm jazzed. I should save this comment until the end of the season, but did the folks making The Killing even watch Twin Peaks? I mean, every scene in this show, I have no frigging clue what's going to happen and I can't stop watching. This was on frigging CBS?

Watching the first couple episodes only confirms my suspicion that mystery is the hardest and most noble of all the cinematic genres.

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Film: Topkapi

It is rare these days when I'm blown away by a performance. But Peter Ustinov in the film steals nearly every scene. He seems way ahead of his time. His expressions and line delivery are amazing comic performances. Beyond a ridiculous opening sequence, this is a thoroughly enjoyable film. Dassin really knows how to build tension in heist sequences.

Dull and Incoherent

Salon drafts a new declaration of independence. I stopped reading. Why is it self styled "progressives" are always so long winded? Some of the ideas aren't half bad, but they do themselves a disservice by not focusing on the best ones and making them concise as opposed to throwing everything and the kitchen sink into their plans, essentially making them unreadable. I just zone out when these people start.

Reason has a response.

I think Reason is too kind. My advice: grow up. Life isn't fair. Stop expecting it to be. My policy suggestion: college should be cheaper.*

*detailed ideas to follow

Them Too?

You know who else isn't happy about charging for grocery bags? These guys:

The alleged plot by four senior citizens in north Georgia to produce and spread ricin and botulinium toxin in Atlanta and Washington, DC, in order to kill millions of people and "save the Constitution." (Because that's not strange enough, the plot was hatched at a Waffle House.)

The whole plot is pretty ridiculous, but what's also interesting is the men behind it. The affidavit names four individuals, Samuel Crump, Frederick Roberts, Ray Adams, and Dan Roberts. According to his Facebook page, Crump is a big fan of a number of conservative grassroots and astroturf organizations, including Americans for Prosperity. He's also interested in "anything about guns," and he's really offended by the concept of paying a 5 cent tax on plastic grocery bags:

Well, at least I'm not the only one upset about the grocery bag charging.

Greek Debt Crisis

A good, concise interview that explains the Greek debt crisis.

All I can say: ouch.

Cain on China

Que? My problem with normally astute libertarian writers is they start to make strange justifications for incompetence.

"..concludes that Cain could not possibly have not known that China is a nuclear power. I say “wastes more time” because that’s what it is. Cain needs to learn to speak more clearly and authoritatively on foreign policy questions than he has so far. No one would have given a second look at that China quote if he hadn’t already shown a disturbing tendency to not know how to answer even the most basic questions about 101-level issues."

Dude - the guy didn't know China had nukes. I'm more qualified in the field of foreign policy than Herm Cain. That makes him a laughably bad candidate to be President. I suppose it is fun to support this type of candidate to have something to talk about, but please, people.

Santa Monica Plastic Bags

You cannot get a plastic bag anymore at the grocery store in Santa Monica. The city government has banned them. I wrote about this earlier as a dumb idea. It continues to be a dumb idea. The entire premise is stupid. If people want to reuse grocery bags, they can. No one is stopping them. But why force everyone to reuse grocery bags. People won't remember because for the most part, people don't think about grocery bags. I don't. There are a million things worse for the environment that are routinely used than grocery bags. Take out containers. Disposable diapers. Not recycling (Santa Monica is frustratingly bad at recycling). Not to mention, this policy just increases the number of reusable bags they get put out into the environment and which will be eventually thrown away as well. I might even write a letter, this is such a dumb policy.

Being Bullied?

Teachers advise: act less gay.

Hat tip, Phil.

A Look Into Romney

An interesting profile and history.

Doesn't make me like the guy.

Logging

Film: In Time

This is a bad movie, but exactly the type of bad movie the studios ought to be making. It is an original, heady concept in the form of an action/chase movie. Basically, the same model that worked for the Matrix. The problem is with execution and Justin Timberlake. This guy is horrible to watch on the big screen. He seems like a little boy. He possesses zero charisma and zero masculinity. He isn't a good actor. The writing is really lame. Andrew Niccol seems to have skill as a producer and about 1/2 skill as a director and very little skill as a writer.

Nevertheless, the studios ought to make more movies like these. If they fail, they might as well fail trying to make movies rather than brands. And while this is a bad movie, at least it is one.

Character

Interesting stat:

Niners note: San Francisco has not allowed a 100-yard rusher since November 2009. Teams that both can run and can stop the run can be hard to deal with -- witness the 6-1 Forty Niners.

Although many people like to point out the Niners play in the lowly NFC West, this is not the reason for their good record. In fact, they haven't even played Arizona or St. Louis yet. Of their 6 wins, 4 have come against above-average or even strong teams: Lions, Tampa, Cincinnati, Eagles. Also, the only loss was in overtime against Dallas in a game that easily could have gone our way.

Forget all the stats, etc. I think the Niners are good because they formed an identity. It is the first time they've been successful in the post-Bill Walsh era with a new kind of identity. It took us a long time. Joe Montana-Steve Young-Jeff Garcia, we were a west-coast offense, pass first kind of team. In our a good years, we had a sneaky good defense, but that was never our identity. Now, we are a stop-the-run team. We beat other teams up with our front 7. That is our identity. We minimize mistakes on offense, that is our identity. We run straight forward schemes to develop mismatches on offense and don't ask Alex Smith to do too much. You can see it in the type of players who succeed on the team - Patrick Willis, Frank Gore - these guys are our key guys. We don't key on Alex Smith or Vernon Davis or Crabtree - although there are arguments we could do so. We used to key on Joe Montana and then Young and then Terrell Owens. We play to our strengths and are benefitting from fewer elite NFL teams this year.

Those following the Niners ought to be inspired. Think of the odds. Last year, we were absolutely terrible. But with the simple addition of Harbaugh, we were able to turn things around rapidly. Anyone who has ever been down in life or feeling bad out to take heart - it can inspire one to think maybe they aren't too far off if they are able to make some simple conceptual changes, just be a little more disciplined, focus on executing just a little better, emphasizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses, doing the little things right and getting a bit of luck and things can turn around quick. I dunno - makes me think a lot of things are possible, even getting out of this lame recession and all that.