Williams makes the New York Times

I saw this on Marginal Revolution, and thought it was truly brillant.

...you ask why we Americans work more hours than do Europeans. But perhaps we don’t. While the data do show that Americans work more hours AT FORMAL JOBS, it doesn’t follow that Americans work more hours in total. The reason is that, compared to Europeans, Americans have more ( Read more... )

On http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/ you can find translations of English philosophical texts into... modern English ( Read more... )

State of the Union, tonight at 9.

On the agenda: cutting the deficit, immigration liberalization, social security reform.

Lillian graciously identified the inner-me (as demonstrated by my icon): Domo-kun. Domo-kun is the mascot of Japanese TV channel NHK.

Character description from Domomode:
DOMO is a strange creature born from an egg. One day he fell into Usajii's house, the old rabbit likes TV. After that he began to love watching TV. He is gentle and strong. When ( Read more... )

I read economist blogs for fun; they're always full of interesting stuff. Today's posting on Marginal Revolution was particularly exciting:

In a new paper, Gary Becker and graduate student Julio Elias estimate that for a price of $15,000 the shortage of kidneys could be eliminated from live donors. The risk of death to a live donor is no more ( Read more... )

Got a new icon: it expresses my inner-me. Thanks to Gianna!

http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?bid=1&pid=2039

The Nation makes this point: It is also bizarrely hypocritical. After all, the same NBC network that found the UCC ad "too controversial" airs programs such as "Will & Grace" that feature gay and ( Read more... )

The CBS and NBC television networks are refusing to run a 30-second television ad from the United Church of Christ because its all-inclusive welcome has been deemed "too controversial." ... According to a written explanation from CBS, the United Church of Christ is being denied network access because its ad implies acceptance of gay and lesbian ( Read more... )

This Friday Night, the Arlington-Belmont Chamber Chorus, which I'm in, is giving its winter concert ( Read more... )