Blog Profile / Montclair SocioBlog
| URL : | http://montclairsoci.blogspot.com/ | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Academics / Sociology | |
| Posts on Regator: | 983 | |
| Posts / Week: | 3.6 | |
| Archived Since: | March 13, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
The Wi-Fi Nazi
February 7, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston (This post has no sociological commentary or content.)I can’t remember where this was – probably an airport – but I was looking for free Wi-Fi. When I clicked on the icon to search for networks, these were the results: No net for me, but at least a smile.
More College Grads? Not Here.
February 6, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston You may have seen this chart already – Paul Krugman and others have posted it – originally posted by Jared Bernstein nearly a year ago. It’s from OECD data comparing college graduation rates across a generation. Show More Summary
America’s Team Is Not in the Superbowl
February 3, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston Six years ago, I blogged (here) that the Pittsburgh Steelers had become “America’s Team,” a title once claimed, perhaps legitimately, by the Dallas Cowboys. Now Ben Blatt at The Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective concludes that it’s still the Cowboys. Show More Summary
Bye-bye Hilary
February 1, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston I’m generally skeptical about claims that names in the media have a big impact on parents’ choices of what to name the baby (see this earlier post on “Twilight” names). But Hilary Parker http://hilaryparker.com/2013/01/30/hilary-the-most-poisoned-baby-name-in-us-history/...Show More Summary
Endowment for the Amenities
January 29, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston When we did the college tours with my son, I was always impressed by the luxury of the facilities – the athletic center (certainly not the “gym”) that rivals the most expensive private clubs,...Show More Summary
Cautionary Tale Update – Crime in the UK
January 26, 2013Posted by Jay LivingstonShortly after the Newtown massacre the Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed claiming that Britain and Australia provided “Two Cautionary Tales of Gun Control.” In 1998, the UK passed a very strict gun law. Show More Summary
Wall St. to Middle Class: You’ve Got It Made
January 25, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston The Wall Street Journal had an op-ed yesterday by Donald Boudreaux and Mark Perry claiming that things are great for the middle class. Here’s why:No single measure of well-being is more informative or important than life expectancy. Show More Summary
And You Will Be Happy Too
January 23, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston Giving money away makes you happier. Michael Norton has done research that shows that money, even small amounts, can indeed buy happiness... if you spend it on others rather than on yourself....Show More Summary
Facing Off on Fascism
January 19, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston Whole Foods CEO John Mackey got himself in the news by calling Obamacare “fascism.” NPR asked him about his earlier view that it was socialism.Technically speaking, it's more like fascism. Socialism is where the government owns the means of production. Show More Summary
More Guns, Less Data
January 17, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston As part of his new policy on guns, President Obama signed a directive allowing more research on gun violence and death. For nearly twenty years, the gun lobby has shut down federally funded research on their favorite objects. Show More Summary
Butt Rising
January 16, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston “I nipped that in the butt.” “Don’t you mean bud?”“I’ve been saying butt my whole life.”A friend posted that conversation with her husband on her Facebook page. The original metaphor is clear - you nip the bud before the problem can grow any larger. Show More Summary
“This is 40" – Guilty Pleasures
January 14, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston In “This is 40,” the recent Judd Apatow movie, Pete and Debbie (Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann) run off to a luxury hotel in Laguna for a romantic weekend. Stoned a marijuana-laced cookie, they have room service bring them, among other things, a tableful of pastries. Show More Summary
Where Are the Sociology Music Videos?
January 8, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston Why should the economists have all the good music videos?Sociologists do have a sense of humor, don’t they? At least some do. But it’s the economists who dominate the supply side of social science music videos. Show More Summary
Good News, Bad News, Same News
January 5, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston The headlines in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have the same fact – the first Friday jobs report and the unemployment rate. They both mention “worry.” The WSJ headline frames the story as bad news. Show More Summary
Pre-requisites
January 4, 2013 Posted by Jay Livingston What kind of pre-requisites do we need for sociology courses? I’ve been wondering about that because the administration here has told us to stick pre-requisites on all our courses except entry-level courses. Show More Summary
Chillin’ With Lenny, Yo
December 31, 2012 Posted by Jay Livingston Tonight the Cathedral of St. John the Divine will offer its annual New Year’s Eve Peace Concert. The announcement notes that “The late Maestro [Leonard] Bernstein inaugurated the annual New Year's Eve Concert for Peace more than a quarter century ago.” More precisely, it was in 1983. Show More Summary
Gun Laws and Crime in Other English-Speaking Countries
December 29, 2012 Posted by Jay Livingston Great Britain and Australia, according to the title of an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, provide “Two Cautionary Tales of Gun Control.” In both countries, the government responded to a massacre by passing more stringent gun laws. Show More Summary
What Would You Do?
December 27, 2012 Posted by Jay Livingston When you ask a “what if” question, can you take people’s responses at face value?A student sent me a link to a study that asked whether Americans or Turks were more likely to act on principles...Show More Summary
“Hyde Park” Speaks to the Future
December 24, 2012 Posted by Jay Livingston “Hyde Park on Hudson” has one jarring anachronism. I’m sure the art design crew and the costume people worked hard to make everything authentically 1939. The room decor, the clothing, that 1939 copy of Collier’s, the photographer’s cameras and hats, the cigarettes, and of course the cars. Show More Summary
Compete Your Way to Mental Health . . . and Everything Else
December 23, 2012 Posted by Jay Livingston “Silver Linings Playbook,” the new David O. Russell movie, starts off by making the audience uncomfortable. We want to like Pat (Bradley Cooper). We root for him to overcome the internal demons that landed him in a mental hospital for eight months. Show More Summary