Pulled From Elsewhere: July 2009

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The New Yorker on Healthcare Reform

Last month, the New Yorker published an incredible piece about healthcare reform, and it's up online for you to read for free! Atul Gawande really dives deep into the system with a few case analyses, looking at both ends of the healthcare spectrum. Without being obnoxious about value judgments, Gawnade is able to paint an amazing picture of the current state of healthcare in the US, as well as the problems associated with the economic incentives created by the system in place.

He's got some really interesting tidbits, like this one (FTA):

Providing health care is like building a house. The task requires experts, expensive equipment and materials, and a huge amount of coordination. Imagine that, instead of paying a contractor to pull a team together and keep them on track, you paid an electrician for every outlet he recommends, a plumber for every faucet, and a carpenter for every cabinet. Would you be surprised if you got a house with a thousand outlets, faucets, and cabinets, at three times the cost you expected, and the whole thing fell apart a couple of years later? Getting the country’s best electrician on the job (he trained at Harvard, somebody tells you) isn’t going to solve this problem. Nor will changing the person who writes him the check

It's a long read, but definitely block off some time and check it out. It's on the New Yorker's online page, but even so, this article almost makes me want to resubscribe...

via the New Yorker

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Dance off with the Star Wars Stars

Literally everything about this video makes me happy.

From Chewie in Kanye shades (more about those later) to Vader busting out to MC Hammer to Stormtrooper backup dancers to Asoka and the gals doing the single ladies dance... It's PERFECT!

Definitely watch this one the whole way through

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Modeling the hip-hop ecosystem on IR theory

NPR has a great story by Mark Lynch linking hip-hop drama to international diplomacy and intrigue. The short version linked above really doesn't do the intricacies of the argument justice, take a look at the full article from NPR's foreign policy opinion section. FTA (block quote warning!):

See, Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) is the closest thing to a hegemon which the rap world has known for a long time. He's #1 on the Forbes list of the top earning rappers. He has an unimpeachable reputation, both artistic and commercial, and has produced some of the all-time best (and best-selling) hip hop albums including standouts Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint and the Black Album. He spent several successful years as the CEO of Def Jam Records before buying out his contract a few months ago to release his new album on his own label. And he's got Beyonce. Nobody, but nobody, in the hip hop world has his combination of hard power and soft power. If there be hegemony, then this is it. Heck, when he tried to retire after the Black Album, he found himself dragged back into the game (shades of America's inward turn during the Clinton years?).

And again:

The changes in Jay-Z's approach over the years suggest that he recognizes the realist and liberal logic... but is sorely tempted by the neo-conservative impulse. Back when he was younger, Jay-Z was a merciless, ruthless killer in the "beefs" which define hip hop politics. He never would have gotten to the top without that. But since then he's changed his style and has instead largely chosen to stand above the fray. As Jay-Z got older and more powerful, the marginal benefits of such battles declined and the costs increased even as the number of would-be rivals escalated. Just as the U.S. attracts resentment and rhetorical anti-Americanism simply by virtue of being on top, so did Jay-Z attract a disproportionate number of attackers.

And more specifically, regarding Jay-Z's feud with Nas:

Nas opted to settle the beef, reconcile, and sign on with Def Jam Records — where he became one of Jay's leading and most valuable artists. In a world of unipolarity, both win through co-optation, reconciliation between enemies, and the demonstration that the gains of cooperation outweigh the gains of resistance.

The analysis is really incredible, and it brings out a side of the rap world that we don't usually get to see. I love to see articles bringing out the smarter side of the entertainment world- that it's not just a bunch of self-absorbed, insipid shells of people making noises pretending to be music up in the limelight selling millions of albums. I like to think that these people are much smarter than they seem, and that their personas are carefully composed, from Lady Gaga to Jay-Z.

Check the article out-
Foreign Policy: Jay-Z Schools Us In U.S. Hegemony- NPR