Something tells me Florence King, whose work I've enjoyed since high school, won't like this NRO ad for her new book, STET:
The ad is animated, rotating among three books, so you may have to wait to see the ad for King's book. (I pulled the graphic from the page for David Frum's Diary.)
For those still unsure about the point of this post, here's another hint, courtesy of the book's description page:
By the way, as to the book's title, our favorite Misanthrope explains that "STET" is "Latin for 'let it stand,' a proofreading term that means 'Don't change the author's wording,'" while "Damnit" is one of Miss King's "milder expressions when dealing with proofreaders."
Take another look at the ad. Maybe it's the proofreaders' revenge.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 11, 2003 • Comments
Citing yours truly on why California members of Congress almost never make it to higher office, Rick Henderson suggests that David Dreier has found away around the problem:
Dreier has been all over the airwaves throughout the recall campaign. He's telegenic and funny. The intense statewide interest in the recall may have boosted his recognition factor enough to make him a credible challenger to Boxer in '04.
Dreier really is all over the screen. His website features a popup touting five different TV appearances this weekend alone.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 10, 2003 • Comments
Via Volokh, here's another report on that anti-Wi-Fi suit in Illinois. Of particular interest is this passage:
"We've been trying to raise the issue with the school district for almost two years," said Ron Baiman, whose children are among the plaintiffs. "We aren't seeking any monetary awards; we're seeking a moratorium until use of the technology has been proven to be safe."
Until use of the technology has been proven to be safe. Until they prove a negative--something that literally can never happen.
First the schools, then the coffee shops and hotels.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 10, 2003 • Comments
A San Francisco Chronicle investigation finds suspicious results in UC-Berkley admissions:
More than 400 students -- nearly 90 percent of them minorities -- were admitted to UC Berkeley in 2001 with below average SAT scores under an admissions policy that was to have ended racial preferences at state universities, The Chronicle found in an analysis of admissions data.
UC Berkeley officials developed the policy, which considers grades and SAT scores but includes other factors, such as socioeconomic status, after voters approved Proposition 209 in 1996 to ban affirmative action in admissions.
But the analysis of the data shows that of the 422 among the bottom tier of admitted students, 378 were minorities. Seventeen were of unknown race and 27 were white.
Read the whole thing.
Growing up in South Carolina, I knew some brilliant students who posted relatively low SAT scores because they came from uneducated families. But those scores tended to be massively lopsided--350 verbal, 700 math (you learn math in school, language intuition from your family)--and even then they were well over what passes for qualified at Berkeley. Plus that was 25 years ago, long before the SATs were renormed.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 10, 2003 • Comments
Jeff Jarvis doesn't call his blog BuzzMachine for nothing. Today he has a post, keying off my NYT column, on the role of blogs in capturing and extending buzz.
I'll be on CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo & Tyler Mathisen" today around 4:50 p.m. ET, discussing the buzz column.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 10, 2003 • Comments
Confounding the Vatican's buzz, the Nobel Peace Prize Iranian activist wins peace Nobel has gone to Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights activist. From the MSNBC report:
"AS A LAWYER, judge, lecturer, writer and activist, she has spoken out clearly and strongly in her country, Iran, far beyond its borders," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in its citation.
It said she has stood up as a "sound professional, a courageous person, and has never heeded the threat to her own safety."
"She sees no contradiction between Islam and fundamental human rights," the head of the committee Ole Danbold Mjoes said in the prize citations.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 10, 2003 • Comments
I keep meaning to get a flu shot, lest I fall ill in the middle of one of my many trips over the next few months. Michael Fumento's latest column is another reminder.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 09, 2003 • Comments
Will Wilkinson unmasks the hilariously in-group sourcing of Noah Shachtman's credulously received American Prospect article on the alleged libertarian disillusionment with Republicans. Will writes:
If all libertarians are blogging, Dean-leaning, Washington, DC libertarians, who at one point or another were Koch Fellows and/or have worked at the Cato Institute, then that might really throw a wrench in an election. Way to dig, Noah!
The libertarians who matter to the Republican party are mostly people you've never heard of--or really famous people like George Shultz. They aren't a few college pals hanging around Cato and IHS. And judging from the mass email I got inviting Dallasites to this Cato event, even Cato is still warily friendly with the GOP: "Our keynote speaker will be Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). Jeff will discuss the prospects for the 108th Congress and what can be done to bring limited government principles back to the Republican Party." Real Dean voters don't like Jeff Flake. (I do.)
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 09, 2003 • Comments
Here's an interesting MSNBC article on the success of cars with "extreme styling" that many people find ugly but others love. "It's better to polarize some shoppers than to generate mass apathy," Chris Denove, a partner at J.D. Power, tells MSNBC's Martin Wolk.
On average, such love-it-or-hate it models moved off the lot four days faster and carried a profit margin that was $609 higher than cars that ignited little passion over styling, according to the J.D. Power survey.
"Extreme styling, when it is successful, will allow the manufacturer to charge a price premium and more importantly avoid costly incentives," Denove said. The finding"not only helps explain the growth of extreme styling vehicles, it suggests we've only just seen the tip of the iceberg," he said.
Today's aesthetic imperative doesn't mean the world is adopting Virginia Postrel's good taste. It means more people have opportunities to find pleasure and meaning in the look and feel of their persons, places, and things.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 09, 2003 • Comments
With one major reservation, energy economist Lynne Kiesling is optimistic about Arnold's electricity policy. And she has a cool new (non-election related) job.
Posted by Virginia Postrel on October 08, 2003 • Comments