I wonder if this article about children’s language acquisition would have any relevance for teaching.

Timothy Noah says that advertising on the Superbowl is a waste of money. This is true, but only because advertising in general is a waste of money. Everyone already knows about Doritos. People don’t eat chips because they are hip, and aren’t going to suddenly buy more because a sexy woman ate some. Perhaps some will, but enough to offset the tens of millions of dollars spent? No.

However, Noah is wrong about the Superbowl being worse than others. The equation he cites is flawed because he forgets to factor in all the free advertising the company receives through discussion of the ads online, with one’s friends, at work, etc.

So while advertising in general is a huge waste of money (unless you aren’t already known), the Superbowl is no more of a waste than anything else.

Have any of you heard of DJ Shadow? He makes kind of slow, dreamy, whimsical techno. It is wonderful stuff. One of my favorite songs is, What Does Your Soul Look Like (Part 2) from Preemptive Strike. DJ Shadow is probably the best thing to come with having lived with Duro.

From an email Papa sent me:

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

The confusing nature of prepositions is make clear by my students learning English as their second language.
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Slate learns how to play his name on a Piano.

Man, when I wrote that comment earlier, I did not realize it was going to become such a mini-scandal (I should have known better)! Anyway, the almighty Slate gives its opinion:

“[T]he best signal to send to talented girls and boys is that science isn’t about respecting sensitivities. It’s about respecting facts. The only people who don’t belong in science, male or female, are those who would rather close their eyes—and yours—than see what’s there.”

I couldn’t agree more. It reminds me of the facts Davis High (didn’t) teach me about HIV and AIDS.
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I love The New Republic. Why? Because they make up the thinking left. This (subscriber-only) article details some statements made by some Harvard dude (Larry Summers) about the possibility that innate biological differences explain the disparity in the divergence of test scores between men and women (men have more high and low scores). They mock the reaction of Nancy Hopkins:

“When he started talking about innate differences in aptitude between men and women, I just couldn’t breathe because this kind of bias makes me physically ill. Let’s not forget that people used to say that women couldn’t drive an automobile.”

It is sad that Ms. Hopkins so hates the conclusion that since men and women are innately physically different, they might also be mentally different, that she is unwilling to even contemplate the idea without hyperventilating. It is great that more open-minded individuals are able to understand that we can recognize the difference of individuals while still granting their fundamental, moral equality.

Speaking of sexual differences, I would like to make you aware of some incredible cultural differences. The Incredibles is called Mr. Incredible (or rather ???????????) here in Japan. Furthermore, in Japanese advertising, Elastigirl is merely referred to as “Incredible Wife.”

Is it moving? I assure you it is not.

Remember to use the number 1.

The only flight to successfully avert becoming a weapon was the one with the least amount of people. You can read the amazing 9-11 commission’s report here for free. I implore you to do so.