I blogged earlier about the ever-more famous “What White People Like” blog. The popularity of the blog (and the impending book based on the same idea) has created considerable discussion/debate. Is the site a critique of Whiteness or a veiled celebration of it? Among the more entertaining (to me) and pointed comments is from theContinueContinue reading “What White People DON’T Like”
Author Archives: David Yamane
Stuff White People Like
I came across this site recently: Stuff White People Like. It is HILARIOUS. Just as an example, here is an excerpt from #91 San Francisco (close to my heart being from the Bay Area): Much in the way that white people in Brooklyn feel a strong and unfounded connection with The Notorious BIG, white peopleContinueContinue reading “Stuff White People Like”
Title IX, Properly Understood
As a sort of follow-up to my previous entry on college athletics, a few thoughts on the infamous and badly misunderstood “Title IX.” (1) “Title IX” is actually part of the Education Amendments of 1972 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It specifies, quite uncontroversially, I hope: “No person in the United States shall,ContinueContinue reading “Title IX, Properly Understood”
College Sports — Yay or Nay?
The New York Times last week ran an excellent series of articles on the chase for N.C.A.A. scholarships, the scarcity of athletic aid, and the challenges facing coaches and scholarship athletes The articles confirmed my uneasiness about “big time college sports.” On the one hand, I am an avid fan of many college sports andContinueContinue reading “College Sports — Yay or Nay?”
Facebook, R.I.P.
A.J. Jacobs, in Esquire magazine, has once again published his year end obituaries. Among the sad deaths he notes for 2007: The Street Cred of Facebook, at 4 The street cred of Facebook, a popular social-networking site, died Wednesday in St. Louis. It was four years old. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2004, Facebook gainedContinueContinue reading “Facebook, R.I.P.”
Inequity in College Sports
Wake Forest football coach Jim Grobe could have left the university for the University of Arkansas and gotten PAID handsomely for abandoning his players. Any Wake Forest football player who wanted to do the same, however, would have been PENALIZED by the NCAA — forced to sit out one season. Frank Deford comments on theContinueContinue reading “Inequity in College Sports”
No reading, bad writing
Everyone I know who is a good writer is also a good reader. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, then, helps to explain why so many of the students I teach are (to put it bluntly) bad writers. The article reports on a study released by the National Endowment for the ArtsContinueContinue reading “No reading, bad writing”
INjustice in the legal system
In class the other day, a student made a presentation on his desire to become a lawyer in order to ensure greater justice in the legal system. Among other things, we talked about people convicted of crimes they did not commit. Coincidentally, the New York Times ran a cover story over the weekend presenting theirContinueContinue reading “INjustice in the legal system”
Spare Prose PLEASE!!!
Somewhere along the way, probably in high school, college students learn that “good” writing means long sentences and big words. But in my experience, most students don’t have the linguistic dexterity to pull this off. It just becomes an overwrought jumble of words and punctuation. Not that I can do much better myself, but IContinueContinue reading “Spare Prose PLEASE!!!”
Lower-Back Tattoo, R.I.P.
I saw recently, in the May 2007 issue of Esquire magazine, a story called “Obits of 2007” by A.J. Jacobs. I was interested, though not sorry, to read of the passing of the lower-back tattoo:Lower-Back Tattoo, 13, Is Dead The trend of getting a tattoo on the lower back as an erotic decoration died FebruaryContinueContinue reading “Lower-Back Tattoo, R.I.P.”