A recent New York Times article discussed how Google has decided to close its “First Click Free” program, which allowed users to view portions of news sites without paying the usual subscription required to view articles. The company has now decided to limit users to five articles per day [...]
The architect of the Lester H. Swanlund Administration Building- Unteed, Scaggs, Fritch, Nelson, Ltd- did an excellent job in creating a space that fits its occupants. Its Brutalist architecture and black tinted windows complement the behaviors of our institution’s elusive administrators.
An average UI undergraduate student sees the Chancellor twice in [...]
I recently read in a Chicago Tribune article that the word “Unfriend” has been voted New Oxford American Dictionary’s 2009 Word of the Year. For the few of you that might be unaware of its definition, the term is used in social networking sites, such as Facebook, for the [...]
Rumors of a GEO strike have swept in and out of the Urbana campus for quite some time. Ever since the advent of this issue, I have been somewhat confused as to what side I fall under. It seems to have multiple arguments as well as an end result that [...]
Ahoy mates, today be International Talk Like A Pirate Day!
T’ help you sail through t’ day, your buckos at Urbanagora wanted t’ link t’ some booty. Click here. And here. Garrrrr, here be an English t’ Pirate translator. And, here be a funny picture o’ [...]
Much has been said about healthcare in the last few months. It seems there is nothing more to talk about. I mean come one we’re headed towards National Socialism or Communism (interesting how one policy can lead to wildly divergent political outcomes eh?), we’re going to kill grandma, we’re going [...]
Omitted from all the furor of the brownshirt behavior of the right, the rabble, and the Rush is the more important governmental philosophical perspective that Obama made explicit in his quotation from Sen. Kennedy’s letter and his invocation of national character. The prime distinction between the FDR-LBJ era to the [...]
None of my 9am classes never really leave me feeling engaged or excited to learn. That’s why much of the time I have my head down after walking out of lecture, and am lucky enough to see some of the many chalk and stencil markings that line the quad.
I learn [...]
How would you define power, in a political sense? Like my last few posts, this one is inspired by Professor Larry Klugman. On the first day of his political science course he defined Power with the following formula:
Power = Access + Process
[...]Governor Quinn has named four new members to the BoT, all of whom are U of I alumni.
The new members are:
Former Springfield Mayor Karen Hasara Timothy Koritz, a staff anesthesiologist at Rockford Memorial Hospital Pamela Strobel, retired executive vice president and chief administrative office of Exelon Carlos Tortolero, the president of the [...]This post was also inspired by Professor Larry Klugman. He picked up a digital “20 Questions” game at Walmart for a few dollars to play around with it. He figured it would contain many commonly picked items, but thought its range would be somewhat limited. Klugman reports that it successfully [...]
This blog has become one forum for Ira Carmenites to discuss how much they thought of him. I have had the benefit of taking courses with many extraordinary professors over the years, and in Political Science two stand above the rest. One is Carmen, and the other is a community [...]
As the U of I community debates whether or not Chancellor Herman and President White should be fired or forced to resign from their positions, some have argued that if would pose a huge continuity problem for the University of Illinois if the two top dogs had to be replaced [...]
I appreciate Emily’s response (http://bit.ly/3inYm) to my letter in the Daily Illini (http://bit.ly/1uZudn) , but I’d love to know— what vested interest does she have in defending Housing’s utterly pitiful response to Thursday’s flood?
She’s not a housing resident (as she mentioned in her letter) and lives in a house. Frank [...]
(with apologize to Sweeny Todd and Stephen Sondheim–this was written for a well known annual parody show, but is not being used and I didn’t want it to go to waste):
Attend the tale of Patrick Quinn
His job was tough, but his talent thin
He sent his plan to the gentlemen
But his [...]
This is an open “thank you letter” to Professor Fireman, of the Statistics Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:
Dear Professor Fireman,
I’m currently enrolled in your Stat 100 class at UIUC. Thank you for your policy on textbooks. When I entered your lecture on the first day, I had [...]
The Bitch Is Back
One of the wonderful things about being a futurist and writer is that all you have to do is wait a couple of years and, if you’re any good, the folks who called you a lunatic will squirm and make excuses about the correct predictions you’ve made. [...]
It’s 1:32 AM and I presume most of my friends are hitting up Sammy, ZBT, and AEPi… I got back from an enjoyable evening at Hillel and Chabad and…alas… the situation in my hall hasn’t changed. The “carpet dryers” are still stationed in the same places, the carpet is soaking [...]
The scene in ground south soon after the waters began rushing in
Hi! I’m a political science major living in Allen Hall (and am a freshman). I look forward to blogging about what I think is right [...]
Anyone interested in the George Ryan story should watch the clip of Carol Marin’s interview w/ Scott Fawell and his squeeze from tonite’s Chicago Tonite: http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=42,8,8&vid=082609y
This brings back all the questions of what is politics and what is government and where are the lines. That discussion has been lost w/ [...]
I worked the Kennedy ‘80 campaign in Champaign-Urbana (I’ve forgotten what Congressional district that was then) and co-organized a campus campaign visit. The campaign was rough and the visit was rougher as the Senator was stuck in Chicago by weather and a firemen’s strike. He was almost two hours late [...]
I found an article from the New York Times about a recent study conducted by Cornell University. The study browsed through over 1.6 million news sites and blogs looking for common phrases; these phrases, named in the article as “genetic signatures”, researchers said were the basis for story ideas [...]
Last night I had a lengthy debate with my very intelligent friend Robert after a concert. Our debate swirled around whether humans are making progress or whether we are creating a greater probability that we will destroy ourselves and our planet. I am a naive, heedless optimist and he is [...]
A new-found friend of mine created the videos below. Kate Hathaway is a local musician who has mastered the Peruvian charango. Kate and her brother create music under the band name Hathaways. The first video features Kate the musician and the second features Kate the documentarist.
The documentary [...]
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The following is my final product from Prof. Leon Dash’s Immersion Journalism class. Prof. Dash is a two time Pulitzer Prize winner, author of Rosa Lee and a great professor. Immersion Journalism allows journalists to conduct extensive, personal, in-depth [...]
The US House of Representatives held a moment of silence for Michael Jackson! There is so much wrong with this I just don’t know where to begin. A washed up, perverted, butthole surfing, child molester, 400 million in debt, main claim to fame is his ability to moon walk while [...]
The Chicago Tribune recently reported Obama’s stance on US involvement in Iran, where currently many innocent civilians are being beaten or even killed for protesting an obviously unfair election. Many have questioned the president’s stance, saying that he has taken too neutral of an approach in dealing [...]
Recently, the New York Times wrote an article that discussed how many smaller news-gathering groups and freelancers are at a huge disadvantage covering events overseas in comparison to larger news corporations. The most recent example of this was the detainment of Laura Ling and Euna Lee in North [...]
At the risk of inflaming the Rainbow Panther brigade, Brian Pierce should simmer down about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, (”DADT”) at least for a little while. Even the most strident gay rights advocate should be able to see that the progressive cause is facing more pressing national priorities right now, [...]
The Supreme Court today refused to hear a case challenging the Pentagon’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. There’s been an enormous amount of frustration in the gay community over the White House dragging its feet on this issue, and it certainly doesn’t help that the Obama administration was urging [...]
Recently, the Chicago Tribune featured an article questioning Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s objectivity in regards to minority issues. Sotomayor, president Obama’s nomination for the Supreme Court, has caused many Americans concern due to her previous conduct in relation to issues dealing with race; many believe she is [...]
So beloved leader is starting another Hate America tour, kissing the butts of our enemies and fair weather friends in the middle east while alienating our only true alliance. great! meanwhile, have you noticed gas is creeping back up, 2.70 per gallon in town today. And we have drilled exactly [...]
Today the Trib printed a damaging expose titled “clout goes to college” on the practice of trading on clout to admit unqualified students to the University of Illinois. I encourage anyone who loves the University of Illinois to read the story and take a look at the exhibits.
A Tribune [...]
Hey Urbanagora! My name is Rosie Powers, I’m a sophomore at U of I, and an aspiring journalist. I’m currently on staff with the Daily Illini, and I was linked into Urbanagora thanks to the deep intellectual insight of Billy Joe and Josh.
University of Chicago student starts “Men in Power” [...]
The blessed crowd retells his stories
But without the same grin and flare
The Marines born decades after him
Play trumpet taps for my grandfather
As his bride cries and leaves roses
For the man who made her laugh
It is rare to see my father cry
But my eyes [...]
A few days ago the University of Illinois lost one of its greatest leaders and legends, former Chancellor, Dean and Professor John Cribbet. Generations of Illinois College of Law alumni treasured Professor Cribbet, and Former U of I President Stan Ikenberry said, “John will be remembered as the most beloved [...]
I traveled to Italy from March 20th through April 4th. I was fortunate enough to be hosted by four great friends: Giovanni Fiore, Miriam Sciascia, Jake Pepper & Alisha Young Leverette. I would not have learned as much or enjoyed my days in Italy to the degree that I did [...]
Thanks to Kiyoshi for alerting me to tonight’s debut of Wolfram|Alpha, a new way of searching and organizing data that will change our (Internet) lives. Wolfram|Alpha can compute a nearly infinite number of data requests. I love data, so perhaps I am exaggerating the importance of Wolfram|Alpha, but I don’t [...]
In recent weeks, Native American art exhibits have been vandalized multiple times at the University of Illinois. The art exhibit was named “Beyond the Chief.” Students and faculty responded by protesting and starting an online petition. The text of the petition is pasted below. At this moment, [...]
The following essay is my submission for the 2009 Nick Kristof Win-a-Trip Contest. Every year Kristof takes a student with him to Africa on a reporting trip. Of course, I lost the contest. This 105 pound pimple beat me. I did not expect to win, but I have delusions [...]
I have not yet read David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. I am not a well-read person. I am trying to change this and I have succeeded in recent months. I will read Infinite Jest soon. Wallace killed himself in September of 2008. Laura Miller wrote a beautiful tribute to [...]
Joe Pug is a fantastic songwriter/musician from Chicago, and he’s only 23. He reminds many people, including me, of a young Bob Dylan. Here’s the video of the first track from his debut album.
Thanks to One Jones Brother for telling me to check him out.
[...]
The new Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie, Illinois opened today. I won a ticket lottery for the chance to witness their opening ceremonies. I was really happy to be a part of the dedication ceremony and in the last few days I read up [...]
This is the official public announcement of Jimmy Prescott’s 27th birthday. Yes, he is only 27 despite his general level of knowledge and his fatherly good looks. His bold jaw line carves love into the hearts of every woman who dares his vicinity.
The photo below is the only known photo [...]
It’s being reported that Sacha Baron Cohen’s highly anticipated “Bruno” movie - his follow-up to Borat centering around Cohen’s flamboyantly gay Austrian fashionista - has been slapped with an “NC-17″ rating after its first submission to the Motion Picture Association of America. Because Hollywood studios almost never release NC-17 [...]
While on vacation in Florida, I spotted this casket company truck and found its note of caution curiously self-defeating. Maybe it’s a testament to the strength of the Batesville Casket Company: “Go ahead, take your time. We can wait.” Maybe their Florida customer base is so old [...]
I’m not sure how many of you in the Agora are following the card check legislation, also known as the Employee Free Choice Act. This is an epic battle between labor unions and business. The EFCA would simplify the process of forming a union by allowing a majority of [...]
It is an axiom that Illinois politics and politicians are dirty, corrupt, factious and belligerent. Indicted governors, crooked mayors, a budget so broke even MacGyver couldn’t salvage it into anything helpful — to study IL politics is to long for a return to blissful ignorance. Not even Obama in all [...]
Some people produce incredible resources on the Internet. Two interrelated resources pay attention to the economic development of impoverished countries: TED and Gapminder.
Andrew Mwenda, a journalist in Uganda, has an aggressive and unique view of financial aid that flows into Africa. Mwenda created the Ugandan newspaper [...]
The economic slump got you down? With recent economic news, it’s awful hard to see how much worse things can get. Taxes are going up, spending is down, revenue is down, employment is down, unemployment is up. Is there any bright spot in all this? Yes indeedie doo there is!
Well, [...]
Eric Freyfogle is a law professor at the Univ. of Illinois. He teaches environmental law and land use and a smattering of other subjects. I have the good fortune, along with Brandon Ruiz, of having him as a professor this semester. He recently circulated an address [...]
Mythos. A mythos is a system or body of myths, folklore, legends that constitute a self-contained system which explains the nature of the world and humanity. At its heart a mythos is a constellation of first principles which serves as the foundation for morality, normative judgment, and explanations for how [...]
This is an Irregular Word of the Week post both because the word itself is irregular and because I irregularly post words of the week, which makes the title of “Word of the Week” a lie.
Today I learned the phrase “Ganser Syndrome” from a cynical 1957 Time Magazine review [...]
Paul Krugman recently suggested that the root of current economic woes is a glut of investment cash with nothing real to invest in. This leaves us with a purely bubble-driven economy. Now, Thomas Friedman submits that this indicates a fundamental flaw in our entire economic model. I [...]
Just stopping by on my way to Las Vegas and Biloxi to invite all of my fellow Urbanagora correspondents as well as our Blog’s gentle readers to our annual weekend houseparty, Kittencon.
It’s always a blast. Over the past decade, we’ve had a Tasmanian, an Internet porn actress from Montreal, [...]
Andrew Mwenda is incredible. Sometime in the middle of his talk you will hear Bono speak out. It makes me not like Bono. The TEDBlog covers the feud between Bono and Mwenda.
One of the best economists out there, William Easterly, has a short blog post on Mwenda. Mwenda [...]
This is my first post on Urbanagora, so here is your brief how do and hello before I get right into it. Politically, I am probably most accurately described as a left/libertarian. I was a big (though growing ever more disillusioned) Obama supporter. I am increasingly convinced of the basic correctness of [...]
I’m hardly the first person to rant against the Chicago Tribune’s idiotic new format, but one thing in particular got my blood a-boilin’ this morning.
You see, each section of the Sunday Trib now has a pithy name: real estate is Homes, the auto section is Rides, etc. But then there’s [...]
The economic crisis is pushing nations in two directions: first, inward toward protectionist or isolationist policies; second, toward developing an international system that can respond to and prevent these crises. How we handle these pressures will affect our economy, our security, and the way we think about the world.
These issues [...]
Entertainment Weekly recently came out with a list of its “25 Greatest Active Film Directors.” It’s a horrible list. The ordering, the omissions - it’s borderline offensive. As a public service, I have both corrected EW’s list and expanded it to the top 50. Seriously, no need to thank me.
You [...]
I’m quite literally dropping a very short policy paper on the balance between individual transportation and mass transit alternatives.
Introduction
Urban transportation involves highly complex and interrelated systems which people use as a means to accomplish a variety of ends. Transportation in urban areas can take the form of pedestrian traffic, [...]
If you watch CNBC, you know Rick Santelli. He reports from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. I love his fire. The polemicist goes nuts in the video below about the recent bailout bill and its socialist implications. He proposes a Chicago Tea Party and the idea has some [...]
The conservative New York Post published the above cartoon depicting police officers shooting a monkey dead and then implying that the monkey authored the stimulus bill. It is not a large logical leap to assume that the cartoon’s author used the monkey as a symbol [...]
When I first wrote for Urbanagora, I had full administrative privileges, including the ability to delete comments. In one of my first articles someone posted a completely off-topic troll response and I deleted it. I remember someone coming to me and explaining to me the benefits of not doing such [...]
The conservative New York Post published the above cartoon depicting police officers shooting a monkey dead and then implying that the monkey authored the stimulus bill. It is not a large logical leap to assume that the cartoon’s author used the monkey as a symbol [...]
In my previous post on Afghanistan I argued in support of lowering our expectations there and focusing our strategy on eliminating the safe haven for Al Qaeda on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, rather than turning Afghanistan into a prosperous democracy. I also suggested - and there seems to be a general [...]
In a discussion of the political impact of Tracy Flick and the movie Election, the New Republic reports:
Alexander Payne, the film’s director, said that President Obama has told him on two separate occasions that it’s his favorite political movie.
I just got a thrill up my leg.
The Associated Press reported that a referendum removing term limits for elected officials in Venezuela passed 54 to 46 today. This means that along with Cuba, Bolivia, and Nicaragua, we’re going to be seeing a lot of the same faces in Venezuela for the [...]
Second only perhaps to Halloween, Valentine’s Day is a great day for watching movies. Whether you’re in a relationship or not, who wants to brave the crowds of couples paying for expensive dinners when you can stay in, have a home-cooked meal, and pop in a movie? Here now, two [...]
A president once said that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. He was wrong. Fear can be good. Fear, so long as it does not dictate our actions, can be a moderating influence.
Right now, a lot of people are scared, and there are plenty of reasons why. The [...]
The final tally of Israel’s elections are not in yet, but the basic outline looks clear. Either the center-left Kadima will peel off an ultra-right-wing party to form a weak majority incapable of credibly negotiating for peace, or Kadima will fail and a right-wing government will form and be unwilling [...]
The Obama administration has begun a 60-day review of Afghanistan-Pakistan strategy, and the outlines of a debate over how to win there are beginning to emerge. At its heart is a familiar question: how do we define success?
Yesterday President Obama tapped Bruce Riedel, a retired CIA official now at [...]
Below I have pasted the lyrics to a song I’ve been working on for a couple of months. I recorded an embarrassingly rough version of it that features my sub-par voice and amateur acoustic guitar work. Eventually, I will post a recorded version of this song that I have more [...]
News broke yesterday that the California Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments in March on a challenge the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the “amendment” to California’s constitution prohibiting same-sex marriage. I put the word “amendment” in quotes because whether Prop 8 actually constitutes an amendment is a big [...]
The New York Times ran an interesting story yesterday about how the Supreme Court is inching closer and closer to repealing the exclusionary rule, a principle in criminal procedure in which any evidence that is improperly obtained by the state is automatically inadmissible in court. The story talks about [...]
Every time I check the New York Times, I confront an advertisement for animal rights. There are two rotating ads–one with a bear whose teeth have been ripped out and is attacked by vicious dogs for the excitement of the people who put bets on which animals will win. The [...]
Click the jump to see a pictures of a two headed turtle named Frik and Frak. I took these pictures at the Renn Faire in Maryland a few months ago. These turtles were born in 2001, and if you’re wondering, they each have separate stomachs which is why they have [...]
Thursday was the 36th Annual March for Life in Washington DC. Something like 200,000 people came, gathered from every corner of our nation, drawn year after year to the juncture where activist judges met the lies of the pro-choice leading to the legal murder of an estimated 50 [...]
What’s the most American movie you can think of? We’re doing movie nights here where each country screens a film. This past week the Brazilians chose City of God, a fantastic movie directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener, Blindness) about crime in Rio de Janeiro. I’ve heard that [...]
I watched the Inauguration here in London with the other students in my program, a group of mostly non-Americans happy about Obama’s election and ready to join in the celebration. The experience was not particularly different from what it would have been like to watch with a group of friends [...]
So I was watching the evening news last night (the local news not the network cult of Obama-worship propaganda machine) and there were three stories associated with our university that I found so paradoxical that; well you guys be the judge. Does this make sense to anyone?
First story: The [...]
Oscar nominations were announced today, with some fairly surprising inclusions and omissions in a few categories. Of particular note is that the Dark Knight was not nominated for best picture, because the Academy apparently wants to make itself as irrelevant and boring as humanly possible. Anyway, I’ve already given [...]
Hit the jump for the full text of the speech. Please post your thoughts on his speech on this thread.
Full transcript as prepared for delivery of President Barack Obama’s inaugural remarks on Jan. 20, 2009, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled [...]
My grandfather observed a truth about Bobby Knight’s Indiana teams, they typically made more free throws than their opponents attempted. Our Illini, at least in big games, tend to shoot fewer free throws than their opponents make.
Tonight our Fighting Illini lost by 6 to #10 Michigan State. They were up [...]
1) Obama will go with a short speech, powerful, memorable, quotable speech which will be under 20 minutes long. JFK’s inaugural was 12 minutes long, and there is a connection. Ted Sorenson who wrote much of the Kennedy inaugural address, and who advises Obama, had help with his memoirs from [...]
Ah the postwar boom. America’s Golden Era . . .
Several years ago I learned that the United States government carried out a program of forced sterilization on Puerto Rican women during the post-World War II era. Initially, I was shocked and appalled. Why would the government of Puerto Rico with [...]
originally posted at Grumblebear
Mencken famously noted that “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.” As I recall, at the time he was writing about the advertising industry, but current events confirm its general applicability. Or maybe it’s not intelligence but ignorance that’s the problem.
The [...]
A big Happy Birthday to Urbanagora author JayBandit. He’s a happy, intelligent guy and beloved by all who don’t know him. He is a drummer and an avid music fan. He loves the Cubs and Bears as a crack addicted clown would do. He has [...]
…in honor of my first 24 hours in my new home, from best to worst (note that this is London-exclusive, not all of the UK):
Honorable mentions: Elvis Costello, the Kinks, Bloc Party, the Who
[...]So I arrived last night in London, where I will be staying this semester as part of the Center for Transnational Legal Studies, which is a study-abroad program Georgetown organizes where students and professors from 11 countries around the world come together to study international law-related stuff. I’ll be taking [...]
Or, how I became a paranoid who spends his time knocking down walls of his house and collecting assault rifles.
My daughter is 16 and a half. Yesterday I grudgingly agreed to let her ride in a friend’s car to go to a matinee movie. The thought scares me to [...]
We all love human interest stories during the holidays, and we have a great one playing out on the floor of the Assembly Hall this year. No, I am not talking about our many fine young players starting to come into their own (which I could), or the excitement of [...]
