Newmark's Door

"Sorkinisms - A Supercut"

Nobody I know of writes dialogue--especially expository dialogue--better. (Even if the video shows he repeats himself somewhat.)

"100 Years/100 Shots, Official Selection of Tribeca 2016"

Some of the shots--at a few seconds per--aren't all that dramatic, but they can remind you of the very fine films they were a part of.

"Baby koala mistakes dog for his mother"

The koala might be OK with it, but the dog doesn't seem to be.

That's one *heck* of a cabbage.

Supposedly 67 pounds.

"Somebody to Love"

Jefferson Airplane, live on the Dick Cavett Show.

"The 50 Biggest Box Office Flops of All Time"

A bit of evidence if favor of William Goldman, who once famously wrote that in Hollywood, "Nobody knows anything."

See also "25 Biggest Box Office Bombs".

"The real size of Africa"

Some Redditors hate on the Mercator Projection.

"Useful Biases"

There has been a lot research and discussion on harmful cognitive biases. While I would quibble that these four points are "biases" in the same sense, the discussion is an interesting defense of some common instincts.

"How the Universe Stopped Making Sense"

Still more weirdness from modern astrophysics.

"This road-tripping family travels in massive mansion on wheels"

"Some people buy mansions. Some prefer to spend their cash on travel. One Australian family decided to combine both by building a $1.35 million ($2 million AUD) home — on wheels."

"An Ancestral Genome of The Plague Has Been Traced Back to Russia"

Dang Russkies.

"Administrative Bloat and the Attack on Free Speech"

To paraphrase Shakespeare: The first thing we do, let's hang all the administrators.

"Unicorns and the Societal Benefits of Short Selling"

Coyote Blog argues convincingly that one benefit of short selling is nicely illustrated by what happened to WeWork.

"The Nighttime Worries of Americans in 2019"

Not every American, but this seems right for a great many.

"States are cutting university budgets. Taxpayers aren't interested in funding campus kooks"

Glenn Reynolds:

Whom the gods would destroy, they first make crazy. And higher education has become objectively crazy. It’s not a shock that taxpayers think their money might be better spent elsewhere than on subsidizing enclaves of insanity. It’s especially true when universities spend so much of their time attacking so many of the Americans who pay taxes to support them, from Trump voters, to Christians, to gun owners and businesspeople. It takes a lot of chutzpah to slap someone in the face and then put your hand out for money, but that’s what universities have been doing for decades and with special force over the past few years.

Nominee for tweet of the month

"It wasn't a desire to do drugs or vice that turned me into a libertarian but the increasing realization that people who want to run the world have absolutely no fucking idea what they're talking about and don't care."

"California Is Becoming Unlivable"

I didn't write the headline. This is from The Atlantic [!]L

California’s housing crisis has exacerbated its wildfire crisis, and its wildfire crisis has exacerbated its housing crisis. That vicious cycle is nowhere near ending.

Related: "California has difficult choices to make. Its politicians keep avoiding reality." (To be fair, there's a lot of that going around these days.) And "Blade Runner intro but actually Los Angeles, November 2019".

"The McRib Effect: Why Understanding Causality is So Difficult"

Alas, given that it's now McRib season again, the return of the famous sandwich does not--shockingly!--mean that the stock market will necessarily go up.

"Thomas Edison’s Greatest Invention"

Guess. Go ahead, guess. (You're wrong.)

"Don’t Use These Free-Speech Arguments Ever Again"

"Most speech, hateful or not, is protected by the Constitution. To pretend otherwise is foolhardy."

"Sustainability Is Baked Right Into the Heart of Capitalism"

Yes, indeed. The price system is not perfect, but it is far better than whatever is in second place.

"The Real Heroes Are Dead: A Love Story"

For Veterans Day, a 2/3/02 New Yorker story about Rick Rescorla.

"Who pays more taxes"

John Cochrane contributes to the debate over the recent Saez-Zucman finding that the U.S. rich pay a lower tax rate. (Spoiler: he sharply questions it.)

Nine on Ms. Warren's health care plan

Devastating.

"The math for Warren’s health-care plan adds up if you accept its ludicrous premise". (Megan McArdle)

"Bernie Sanders’s and Elizabeth Warren’s health-care plans sound too good to be true. They are." (Washington Post[!] editorial)

"Thin Lizzie's Wedge".

"Warren Is the WeWork Candidate".

"Elizabeth Warren’s Health-Care Chimera".

"The Magical Thinking Behind Warren’s Medicare for All Plan".

"Elizabeth Warren Thinks Voters Are Stupid".

"Stick a fork in Liz Warren, Medicare-for-All has cooked her".

"Warren’s ‘Medicare for All’ Plan Hit by Left, Right & Center".

"Time for sharing data to become routine: the seven excuses for not doing so are all invalid"

Nice analysis. but the author left out a couple of the reasons I, personally, was given: 1) "The data are in my attic and I don't want to go look for them, and 2) "My co-author has the data and he's in Japan now." [Far, far beyond the reach of modern communications.]

"Study Puts Standard Narrative on Opioid Crisis in Doubt"

Scummy drug dealers, yes; big evil companies, not so much.

"On 'Real' Socialism"

Very fine two sentences:

But I want to make a different point. Socialists who play the “not real socialism” card when real-world regimes fail to produce a worker’s paradise are thereby deprived of their right to criticize fascism.

(Read the piece for the argument in support.)

"How Washington's Food Subsidies Have Helped Make Americans Fat And Sick"

True:

In the age of digital media, it has never been easier for the average person to learn what they need to know about feeding themselves and their family in the most healthy way possible. Government subsidies are not required for this and, as we have shown, have very much the opposite impact on public health.

"The Greatest Calls in Sports History"

Some absolutely top-notch moments here. (11 minute video.)

"The slipper still fits!! Holy cow!"

"Do you believe in miracles?"

And more.