Not that there's anything wrong with it

Between endorsing this (hit tip to TrueHoop) and Smith calling him a man's man, I have some questions for MJ.

The protests in one sentence

You mean we'll have to work to get paid???

Not sure what to make of this

Apparently, Ben Stiller directed a pilot a few years back starring Jack Black as an astronaut on the run and Owen Wilson as his talking motorcycle. It has some funny parts, but is definitely odd. I think I have to be in favor of it; any show that has Ron Silver play Ron Silver as a major character is okay by me.

The most anal Jew ever?

Kobe Bryant discusses Judaism. Reminder of what happened with him in Eagle County Colorado.

Back in Action

Back from vaca in Vegas,








and interview in NYC.





Both went well.

Should have noted this Tuesday

Posting will be sporadic for the next few days.

Patently Absurd

Not an original title, but, I'm pretty sure it doesn't break the law like Crichton.

John and Lew

A nice little history of John Wooden and UCLA making the NCAA's what they are today. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a great player in the NBA, but he was no Lew Alcindor.

Special Treatment

Penn (of Penn & Teller) is harassed at the airport, and fights back. Right on. The amusing/sad part is how security backed down and kept trying to shut him up rather than deal with the issue.

Smooth

I can't figure out how this didn't work out for the guy. Maybe she's gay? It's the only reasonable explanation I can think of.

The best kind of gossip

Completely unsubstantiated, most of it probaby untrue, and involving a fairly wide swath of celebs (via TrueHoop).

Bayes, Self, Truth

Wilkinson on how we should and shouldn't incorporate more Bayesian thinking into our lives. This kind of reminds of Efficient Markets. If it's true, there is no point in analyzing stocks, but that analysis is required to have it be true. So, basically, the lesson is to try to only use it where it would clearly be useful, but not to overuse it. This ties in somewhat with this recent post. Hope this was helpful....

Extreme Housing Prices

The NY Times on Glaeser (via Freakonomics).

Heuristics vs. Judgement

Gladwell, meet Hedge Fund Guy. Hedge Fund Guy, meet Gladwell. Or should I say, meet Zeke, the best argument (even better than Bush I think, though of course Bush's mistakes are far more important) for removing as much indivudual judgement from the decision-making process as possible.

This looks pretty cool

But I think I'd need a parachute.

P&T BS

'Punk'd' homeland security employees.

More Friday video

A smallish woman body slams a thief. Awesome.

Storytelling Friday

Kevin Smith tells us about his experiences trying to get Superman made. I don't always like his movies (hated Dogma), but the man can tell a story. Well worth your 20 minutes.

Colbert's Influence

Krugman embraces truthiness.
One definition: What I say is right, and [nothing] anyone else says could possibly be true.

A little embarassed

I have a hard time believing I used to think Gladwell was a good writer with insight. Anyone who can write "effort plays a much larger role in athletic performance than we care to admit" as if it is a huge revelation, cannot be taken seriously. Wow! Effort? Really? Tell me, does being tall help in basketball? Is intelligence helpful in playing quarterback? Does a strong wind blowing out increase the home run rate? Tell me more.

Think Like Einstein

I'm no Super Genius. Or are I? With these techniques, maybe me can be.