And also in further data-crunching, this analysis of the New Yorker's fiction section. "Just 10 writers account for 82 (or 23%) of the 358 stories to appear over the last seven years. Just 18 writers account for 124 (or 35%) of the stories." That is almost okay, since there were 12 Alice Munro stories published in the last six years. (Which serves to assist in getting their lady-boy ratio up to 36.6%.) @3:48 PM 7
The End of the 00s: Me Me Me, By the Numbers, by Logan Sachon @2:00 PM
I started this decade out as a 15-year-old kid, and now I'm a 25-year-old adult. I've gained 20 pounds and about 30 gray hairs. I've grown one bra size and two dress sizes. I've gained an unquantifiable amount of self-esteem.
I've lived in five cities, in twelve houses, and had 24 roommates. I've had nine paying jobs and three non-paying ones. I've written for free for seven publications, and been paid to write for two. I've had three cars, four bikes, and six pairs of running shoes. I've had seven cell phones, four iPods, five blogs, and eight email addresses. I've been in three car accidents, gotten one speeding ticket, and accumulated 16 parking tickets (Los Angeles). READ MORE 14
Nation Loses Just 190,000 Jobs in One Month! @9:20 AM
Well, we beat the forecast for October: we were only supposed to lose 175,000 jobs last month, and we did 190,000! Which really isn't very much. 190,000 people is the entire population of Little Rock, Arkansas (which is the 118th largest city in the United States!), or Mobile, Alabama. 190,000 is just slightly more than the entire population of Salt Lake City. Hmm. If every person that was laid off in October were a penny, it would be a stack of pennies almost a thousand feet high—as high as the tallest building in California, the US Bank Tower in Los Angeles. If everyone laid off in October were a page in the King James Bible, that'd be a stack of 624 Bibles, a stack standing 90 feet high. If they were all following you on Twitter, you'd be the 382nd most popular person, right between Richard Branson and John Hodgman. If they—well, you get the point. 7
New York City: Is It Always Getting Poorer? Or Just Getting Poorer Now? @3:14 PM
So this new study by the Empire Center for New York State Policy is totally fascinating. Their agenda is anti-tax, so their framing for the exodus of 1.5 million New York residents from 2000 to 2008 is about tax burdens. So their point is mostly that rich people are leaving and poor foreign people are coming in. In real fact, the population of New York state grew 2.7% from 2000 to 2008; Manhattan's migration zeroed out in that time period (someone's always ready to take your apartment!), although New York City overall had 1.1 million people leave. (Is this atypical? No idea!) And also notably, departures from New York state for other states slowed radically in 2007 and 2008. But! Here is the most captivating thing. READ MORE 11
We Will Soon Be Eaten By Our Televisions @10:44 AM
"There are now more TV sets than people in the US. How scary is that?" The New York Post reports on a recent Nielsen study that says there are nearly 115 million TV-having homes in the US. And that each of these homes averages 2.86 TV sets: "That computes to nearly 329 million TV sets-more than the entire US population, estimated at 307 million by the US Census Bureau." This brings to mind the pleasant image of three or four television sets gathered in the living room after dinner, watching their human being. And the less pleasant image of what happens when the TVs decide to turn us off. 3
'NYT' Second Quarter: Ad Revenue Down 30% Over Last Year @9:22 AM
Well. Today's New York Times announcement of 2nd quarter revenues had some weirdness! For one thing, CEO Janet Robinson & friends trumpet their 1.5% climb in circulation income, because of their raised price. Um, they raised the price three times in the last two years, including in May, the middle of this second quarter, and that last was a 33% price increase to the weekday paper. I do not believe that this 1.5% increase in newsstand and subscriber income "shows the value our newspapers provide day in, day out to our readers." I think it shows that the price raise barely offset the loss of a lot of subscribers and newsstand sales. READ MORE 7
What Happens When The Bunnies Run Out? @10:44 AM
I just realized my maybe-favorite movie of the year, Knowing, is now out on DVD! This movie is like being hit on the head repeatedly with a velvet hammer of awesome/ridiculous, as it is about a girl who maps out the evil of the future. And for once, the future is now! First, is there anything more special than a Nic Cage movie? No there is not. He cares, and he does not at all care. Second: there are bunnies. Third: I am going to watch it again, TWO TIMES. 14
