"Low-income urban students know they attend substandard, second-tier schools that lack the technology, resources and extracurricular programs commonplace in schools of more affluent communities. And yet we continue to expect these students to prioritize education when budgetary and funding inequities demonstrate that urban education is neither a local, state, or national priority."
Will Okun, Chicago high school teacher

Okun's columns (which run roughly biweekly on Nick Kristof's New York Times blog) are some of the best you'll find on teaching, urban issues, and life in general.

My goodness, I can't even write. Clause after dependent clause, strung together by commas. I better watch some TV to dull the pain for a while.]]> http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/31/20_20_25.html http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/31/20_20_25.html animadversor Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:20:25 -0500 Most mornings, I wake up with a cup of coffee, check e-mail and my RSS feeder, maybe listen to some good music, peruse the New York Times online, and generally get a nice blend of news and general interest information to start my day. Overall, I can't really complain; it's pretty nice.

Today was a bit distressing, though. First came a link to this story in the Wall Street Journal. That's about as disheartening a story as you'll hear. I don't claim to know what would be the best way for getting healthcare to Americans, but clearly a system like the current one isn't the way to do it. "Institutional evil" is the best phrase I know of to describe it.

From there, we move on to institutional incompetence so great that it masks whatever institutional evil may also be going on. Destroying the evidence? Seriously? Have you never heard of government employees getting into more trouble for the cover-up than for the nastiness beforehand?

Top that off with a bit of personal nastiness so great, it reminds you that creativity in the service of an evil intent can be just as shocking as what people do collectively, especially when it draws out the worst in others as well.

Perhaps I need to find a less depressing way to start my mornings.

See more at Indexed. Link via More Than 95 Theses.]]> http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/26/09_53_13.html http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/26/09_53_13.html animadversor Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:53:13 -0500 I go to Yale, too," but then I remembered I was at Yale, so this fact would be of no particular interest to the poor person in a blue sweatshirt.]]> http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/25/19_32_47.html http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/25/19_32_47.html animadversor Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:32:47 -0500 Here's an article about a new treaty that is opening up flights between the US and Europe. Near the end of the article, this paragraph appears:

Besides saving time, the new competition should put pressure on airlines to reduce fares. A 2002 study by the Brattle Group, a consulting firm, estimated that an open-skies agreement between the United States and the European Union would generate a 10 percent increase in passenger traffic in formerly restricted markets, which could reduce fares 4 to 10 percent.

So the increased passenger traffic must come from there being more flights between two airports. I guess the idea is, if both Continental and Northwest are flying between Brussels and Boston instead of just Continental, then the free market dictates that the fares on both will have to be lower. I suppose so, but I suspect this overestimates the degree to which one company cares about the prices set by another company. (Do you think Wal-Mart cares if it sells its widgets for less than Target on anything other than doorbusters? I'm sure they know, but they don't care. I suspect this competitive lowering happens only in areas where there is a decent amount of widespread price-comparisons by consumers, like on electronics and cars. And, I must admit, air fares.)

Now, the fare decrease is most likely to happen in the markets that are currently underserved. New York to London probably won't change much, since these markets are well served, and may see a decrease in traffic as people won't need to use London (or Amsterdam or Zurich) as a connector for flights they can now get directly. Since the new flights will be opening up primarily in markets that are currently underserved, I can see how it will probably be cheaper to fly to those places. So is the 4-10% decrease to be attributed primarily to this subset of all the flights? Or will *all* flights supposedly go down in price? Because *that* I don't get. Is it because, with fewer people connecting through London, there will be more open seats on those planes, so the fares will go down?

The situation, it seems to me, will be that opening up these markets will allow for a fare decrease due to competition in a couple areas, with no change in others. And this is a good thing. I'm not complaining. But if that's what's happening, it's not very well expressed by saying that there will be a 4-10% decrease in fares. If tuna goes on sale at the supermarket, but I only buy peanut butter, that price decrease won't mean much. ("Supermarket prices now 1% lower!") Same if I fly NY-London: knowing I can save 7% on a flight to Brussels doesn't mean much.

A search of The Brattle Group website was supremely unhelpful. So I don't know whether I should be expecting a price drop on all flights to Europe or just a select few. The internet has failed my armchair economics yet again.]]> http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/25/07_08_49.html http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/25/07_08_49.html sapiens Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:08:49 -0500 It's almost like I've got a real job.

My theory about why Obama attends Wright's church, which I've been cultivating for a while, is that Obama finds Wright to be a healthy counter-point to his own optimism. Like many intellectually curious and reflective adults, Obama would likely want to keep a dissenting voice in his ear. It's the best way to be intellectually responsible and optimistic. Otherwise, optimism descends into naivety. Perhaps, then, conversely, Wright has a nugget of optimism buried in his diligent criticisms, and Obama serves as his best chance to see his deep-set pessimism fail. What pessimist doesn't secretly want his or her pessimism to fail at the end of the day?]]> http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/24/07_30_12.html http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/24/07_30_12.html civis Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:30:12 -0500 I've seriously gone to create a new entry at least six times in the last two days, and then blanked.]]> http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/23/19_29_59.html http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/23/19_29_59.html ratiocinator Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:29:59 -0500 criticisms I can't quite fathom, I was very moved by Obama's "race speech" yesterday. (Text here. Video here.) [Disclaimer: I watched the first 10 minutes on video yesterday, but had to read the prepared text for the rest since a full video wasn't up.]

A lot of the talk about how this speech was a failure seemed to doom Obama to failure just for giving this speech. The argument is that now Obama is no longer the candidate who transcends race, but is "the race candidate." I hope the flaws in that thinking are obvious. If you demand a candidate give a speech on race, you can't then groan about that candidate giving a speech on race. Apart from the irrelevance of this attack on policy issues, it gets at something that is central to Obama's campaign. A lot of people see Obama as a new sort of politican: a uniting figure, not mired in "politics as usual" or the stalemates of those who came of age in the Sixties. That may or may not be true. Frankly, I think that puts a bizarrely huge and unfair burden on a candidate. Not, would this person make a good president, but will this person fix everything that is wrong with this country? The standard becomes political messiah instead of best candidate for president.

Whatever other qualifications Obama has for president, it does seem relevant to many people that he is not white. To this extent, Geraldine Ferraro's comments are not out of keeping with many Obama supporters. To many Obama supporters (and a few critics), part of Obama's appeal is his mixed racial heritage and his time overseas as a child. It represents something they see as a positive for a candidate, both in what it represents about America and in how it would improve America's image overseas. Even if you don't feel that way, though, I think that many Obama supporters hope that his candidacy represents a new kind of politics and a new kind of political discourse. I think these hopes are largely misplaced, but I'd rather see people with these hopes than with apathy, antipathy, cynicism, and distrust towards their politicians - although I think all of these can be healthy in moderate doses.

This is creepy. Anthropology was never so close to home.]]> http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/18/11_36_59.html http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/18/11_36_59.html animadversor Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:36:59 -0500 Last week Harrison Ford was on the covers of Entertainment Weekly and National Geographic Adventure. Now, if only he had been on Real Simple, he would have completed the Yenter Household Trifecta - a much coveted, though never awarded prize. http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/15/08_59_31.html http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/15/08_59_31.html animadversor Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:59:31 -0500 Top Tier – Go Buy These Right Now

(1) Boxer, The National
Beautifully crafted sonic atmospheres create spaces for reflection, regret, and recommitment. The lyrics are strong, walking the delicate line of alliteration, while the melodies sneak up on you and stay stuck in your. There is no bad song on this album. Simply wonderful.

(2) Challengers, The New Pornographers
This is how you build an album. The song order is perfect, squeezing the most out of each moment. A lot less pop than their previous efforts, these songs meander at their own pace to places both common and profound. Except for the weak final track, this is simply great songwriting.

(3) Neon Bible, Arcade Fire
A less personal, more political follow-up to their acclaimed debut. The sound is exquisitely muddied as the band crams in as many instruments as fit into their recording studio/church. A rich blend of spiritual, political, and topical themes are buttressed by claustrophobic, exhausting instrumentation. “Antichrist Television Blues” is the most forceful statement of the band’s themes and sounds to date.

(4) The Broken String, Bishop Allen
Matthew Sweet’s playful lyricism joined with Sufjan Stevens’ playful orchestral pop. Not as good as either of these at their best, but a wonderful indie pop album.

(5) America, Romantica
A local Minnesota act that draws on the best of the new wave of rootsy alt-country and traditional folk music. It’s singer-songwriter music for those who find the genre boring. Lyrical complexity enhanced by smooth crooning and precise guitar playing.

(6) Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destoyer?, Of Montreal
Heady, noisy, art-pop that delicately blend lyrics of dread and loneliness with party music. Some of the most complex pop music being written today.

(7) La Radiolina, Manu Chao
Political, world-spanning, genre-hopping album with plenty of punk, Afro-Cuban, and reggae influences blended together in a frenetic 21-track opus that doubles back on itself, repeating guitar riffs and ideas without falling into the trap of a “concept” album. Seven tracks shorter, and this would have challenged for album of the year.

(8) The Trumpet Child, Over the Rhine
Nobody blends American musical traditions – jazz, folk, country, blues, gospel – better than Over the Rhine. At first I was disappointed that the melancholia of Drunkard’s Prayer was gone, but this experiment in joy really grew on me. Here are some great songs that stand well on their own, but not an especially cohesive album.

(9) Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon
Spoon continues their recent trend toward stripped down production and shoving more intriguing guitar riffs into an album than most bands muster in their career. “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case” is great, but nothing on par with “The Way We Get By.” Still, a very good listen.

(10) The Reminder, Feist
A vocalist who is all about the melodies, but I would like to see more structure to these songs. A great singer-songwriter with pop chops, who could use a great backing band.]]> http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/13/09_50_21.html http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/13/09_50_21.html spectator Thu, 13 Mar 2008 09:50:21 -0500 However, not long ago, Nicole and I had the opportunity to see Singin' in the Rain on a beautiful print in a packed auditorium. I hadn't seen the movie in at least 15 years (which is really saying something for someone under 30), and I had the pleasure of anticipating all my favorite parts while seeing the whole picture in a whole new light. (I now see it as one of the most cunning, insightful portrayals of celebrity ever put on film.) And since Nicole had never seen it before, I had the added enjoyment of getting to watch her see the film with fresh eyes. The movie so playfully bounds from scene to scene, it's the perfect marriage of staged musicals and virtuoso filmmaking.

Afterwards, I decided I would share with everyone one of my favorite moments. (I have too many favorite moments in this movie to name it my very favorite, but it might be that.) So here's my first embedded video. I'm including one of my favorite scenes to quote from when I was a kid, which comes just before the great song-and-dance number with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor.

And since we've now broken the video barrier, I'll throw in two more. The first is a clip of the Nicholas Brothers, performing what Fred Astaire reportedly called the greatest dance number ever put on film. (It was also apparently done in one take, even though it is not a continuous shot.) I've included the lead-in with the fabulous Cab Calloway. Then comes a clip that is very different, yet equally incredible in its physical prowess. (That one ends at 5:30, the rest is just clapping.) Enjoy.

]]> http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/13/08_26_22.html http://www.inessentials.com/blog/archive/2008/03/13/08_26_22.html ratiocinator Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:26:22 -0500