Turns out about 80% of the horseshit produced by Malcom Gladwell is concentrated in about 20% of his output, a large chunk of which pads the Feb. 20 issue. This second of his two-parter on profiling is an extended rumination on examples of the 80/20 rule (which Gladwell pretends not to have heard of, in favor of the more blogosphere-friendly "power law.") Lots of detail here on phenomena that he inexplicably thinks will surprise: Most of the costs of homelessness are incurred by a small percentage of the homeless; most auto pollution is caused by a small number of cars.

The 20% of this piece representing 80% of the original thinking delves into why public policy solutions to 80/20 social problems are hard to come by.
Posted by ssflanders at 21:23 GMT - 1 comment

Not that I approve of shortcuts, but here's how you win the Caption Contest every time.
Posted by ssflanders at 01:07 GMT - 1 comment

In the March 18, 1974 issue, Pauline Kael considers a couple of first-time efforts, Steven Spielberg's Sugarland Express ("one of the most phenomenal debut films in the history of movies") and Terence Malick's Badlands ("I don't like it.").

In a "Talk" piece in the same issue, a Village nightclub's open-mike night draws the young acress Diane Keaton, who sings "three slow numbers and three up-tempo ones." Afterwards she tells your correspondent "When I'm up there on that platform I feel like a -- Oh, I feel like a...fool." But you look like a scene in Annie Hall! More on this nightclub appearance in a 1974 LA Times piece.
Posted by ssflanders at 01:05 GMT - 2 comments