These days I am up for another TV show, so I tried Lost. The plane crashes between LA and Sydney, and before episode one is over they have encountered a polar bear (sound familiar?). So far I like it. Real rates of return appear to be negative, a virtual prerequisite for good tragedy. Next on my list is 24, but it will take a few months for me to get there.
In the meantime, suggest another topic for blogging. Three separate mentions are required for the topic, and again I rule out the libelous, the obscene, and the physically impossible. Mulch I already have covered. I will return to the topic of "advice" (thank you for the kind words), so no need to mention that either. Comments, of course, are open.
Addendum: Here are more Cheney jokes, do follow the link to the WSJ page.
Second addendum: Ladies and gentleman, "exercise" is the winner but I will take ideas from further suggestions in the comments, so keep on adding topics if you wish.
suggested topic: trends and forecasts of body art and body modification in modern Western society.
An economist explains why, how, and how much to exercise.
suggested topic: Spanish civil war (also mentioned several times in the previous take)
topic: the oeuvre of britney spears
Video games
Suggested topic: Why are opera fans mostly old people?
Reliability, capacity, accuracy–choosing between the revolver and the auto pistol (e.g.–Glock) as a personal protection sidearm.
Why are Russians’ souls so mysterious?
Reliability, capacity, accuracy–choosing between the revolver and the auto pistol (e.g.–Glock) as a personal protection sidearm.
I’ll second a discussion of epistemology
I’ll cast my vote for exercise.
In India the woman’s family pays the man to marry her. Lots. So much so that there is female infanticide.
In the United Arab Emirates it’s the other way around. Again, we’re talking big bucks here. So much so that many women never get married because their families won’t accept a “low price” for them.
Why?
Why is botteled water more expensive than botteled soft drinks?
Spanish civil war
Guns or Drugs. Thus making a third for “choosing between the revolver and the auto pistol”. Alas, looks like “exercise” beat us to the checkered flag.
Re 24: my wife and I have greatly enjoyed seasons 1, 3, and 5 (so far). We were horribly disappointed with seasons 2 and 4. Explaining why we continued watching season 4 week after week would be an interesting exercise in behavioral economics. Imagine a weekly appointment with a masseuse who simply poked at you for an hour with wooden spoons. “That was awful!” “See you next week?” “Yeah, sure, I guess so…”
OH! Facebook. That’s a great one. Can I change mine to facebook?
You write about art and food, why not architecture and apparel?
Yes, I’ll second the architecture and apparel. Especially the apparel. What makes a great fashion show? How do the winners of Project Runway actually get chosen? lots of the designers I like don’t get picked. why is my taste so bad and Heidi Klum’s so sophisticated? What made Isaac Mizrahi so famous? other designers? New designs tend to be based on older designs. Coverage of fashion week highlighted how many items looked like they were from the 80s. Why is there less creativity in such a creative field?
I’d like to fourth (I think) exercise.
The Spanish Civil War.
Looking at how the war played out on the soccer field would be interesting too.
bh — re how the winners on Project Runway are chosen: Make sure you read the fine print that flashes on the screen at the end of each episode. It discloses that the producers have a say in who gets chosen and cut.
Conflict Diamonds: Considering the structure of the diamond market, is it feasible to establish and enforce an effective classification system that would eliminate or severely reduce the presence of conflict diamonds in legitimate consumer markets?
I think my video game vote should carry over from the last group of votes. That means video games is the true winner; I demand a recount!
eBay eats GDP: Welfare effects of peer-to-peer selling of second-hand stuff and the implications for traditional welfare and activity measures. Sorry if this has been discussed ad nauseam before, but a local search for eBay brought up so many hits, I couldn’t tell.
I’ll add a vote for video games, as well as a vote for professional sports in general. I’m somewhat interested because the Sonics (my home NBA team) are currently trying to extort a better stadium out of Seattle. Plus, MLB is also trying to do the same to D.C., so it should have some local interest.
Cheney jokes are pretty lame. Can comics start trying to be funny again instead of making political points?
Most overrated classic litteray work.
video games
As for 24, it’s crack on television. Make sure you know what you’re getting into when you decide to watch it.
Tyler, I strongly endorse keeping up with “Lost.” There’s a reason it’s won awards as best TV drama. While they focus mostly on character drama and some science fiction, you may find some of the episodes interesting in an economic sense. E.g.:
* how does a group of strangers divvy up a food cache fairly?
* what is the best location for a settlement: to be near food or near water?
* does public or private policing/firearms use increase safety or increase accidents (or both)?
http://www.oceanic-air.com is a fun “Lost”-created site relating to the plane crash, with hidden clues.
I want to read you blog about any correlation between marriage rates, obesity rates and rates of attractiveness, particulary across countries, and concerning any rural v. urban dynamic. I think about my time in Europe, where the women are generally thinner, more attractive, and I think less likely to be married or to have married at a young age vs. rural Maine, where I’m from, where women marry young and tend to be larger.
I get the feeling that marriage provides a disincentive to stay attractive. I’m interested in knowing what you guys think and whether there is any scholarship on the subject.
I second John B Chilton’s suggestion on the direction of dowry payments.
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