Nudging, Traffic, and Other Stuff With Which to Become Distracted

Just what I need: yet another distraction. But this is worth it. First, this from last Sunday's Times, to which I'd been meaning to post a link. And today was reminded to do so by this from Alan Jacobs, one of my favorite bloggers. (Make sure to click through to the Wired story and Vanderbilt's site.)

And all of that reminds of me of the remarkable work of E. O. Wilson . (I had a chance to hear him speak a few years ago. Amazing.)

Sunday Gospel: Louis Armstrong and Johnny Cash

It's Sunday. Get close to god. (By the way, there's now a dvd Cash's televsion program; it contains the Armstrong segment and lots of other god-invoking goodies.) Tip o' the mug to Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution.

Historical Tidbit, Indeed: "Online" Newspapers, 1981

This is fascinating. Indeed, at first I thought it was an elaborate parody, but no, it's a real newsclip. (And if you're under the age of 40, you'll be astounded by all the weird technology of daily life in 1981. Yes, we used dial phones back then.) Tip o' the mug to Moody's Pen.

Best Commentary Yet On Twitter

This is so funny, and SO well-written. (What I wouldn't give to be able to crank out something as witty...) Mind you, I'm still not convinced about the Twitter thing, but at least I can now kind of, sort of, maybe see the point. (Being an even older dinosaur than Jeff, well, there's probably not a lotta hope for me.)

And Speaking of Drinking and Recession and Whatever . . .

A few days back, I mentioned that Jeff Alworth at Beervana had asked his readers how the recession had affected their drinking habits. His final results are here.

But then Jeff started wondering about the price of beer (it's what we like about Jeff; his mind never stops...) and that led to this and this. Make sure to read the comments.

And then Patrick Emerson, our man-on-the-economics-beat, weighed in with this. (I'm still hoping Patrick will re-think the black background....) Fascinating, all of it.

Aretha's Hat (aka My Last Comment on the Inauguration, I Promise)

I loved Aretha Franklin's hat. Fabulous. Fabulous. Fabulous.

But I was surprised by how much inane chatter followed in its wake -- until I realized:

Most white Americans (especially northerners) probably don't know about black women and their "crowns." So to them, Aretha's hat may have seemed, um, over the top. (No pun intended.)

My introduction to "crowns" came in the 1990s, when I lived in Mobile, Alabama. Hands down, the best part of that six-years-in-hell was this: every Sunday about 11 am, I'd go to a grocery store so I could see the parade of hats worn by women who'd just come from church. Their crowns caused me to gasp, sometimes reduced me to tears, and inspired thoughts of thievery.

Anyway, Aretha's hat was in keeping with an old African-American tradition. For a magnificent collection of photographs of black women and their hats, see one of my favorite books, Michael Cunningham's Crowns. Here's his website, with more photos. And here's an appreciative review of the book.