Something I've been meaning to ask, and it just came up again in response to a discussion of the apparent rioting in Oakland. Backstory here and here.Setting aside the white hipster/anarchist element here ( Read more... )

I know it's been slow around here and there are more urgent things to discuss, but I just had to share this:

Real words, and what ends up in the dictionary

A nice reference for discussions of vernacular and What the Almighty Dictionary Says.

Some highlights:

TNC: If a word isn't in the OED, does that mean it isn't actually a word ( Read more... )

I'm really not trying to be lazy here, but my Googling skills seem to be on the fritz ( Read more... )

Overheard in DC ( Read more... )

...but this sure feels sweet.

Has anyone seen Tropic Thuder??
what do you think of it?

On this Friday's episode of Dr. Phil, they're having:

"The N-Word Debate ( Read more... )

Vogue’s Fashion Photos Spark Debate in IndiaThe New York Times ( Read more... )

via BFP

Please forward widely, especially to those you know in Mississippi!!!!!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, August 22, 2008

TO: Editor/News Director

Contact: Patricia Ice-office 601-354-9355

Bill Chandler-office 601-968-5182

JACKSON, MS-A series of preparations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on the Gulf Coast has ( Read more... )

The Plight of Mixed-Race Children

By Steven D. Levitt

What’s it like to grow up with one parent who is black and another who is white?

In a recent paper I co-authored with Roland Fryer, Lisa Kahn, and Jorg Spenkuch, we look at data to try to answer that question. Here is what we find ( Read more... )