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Assorted links
1. Via Craig Newmark, a short class on behavioral economics (are the speakers or the audience more impressive?)
2. List of very good contemporary TV shows
3. Diasyrmus
4. The first Haitian opera (to buy it, right click on "shop" and then click on the Dutch phrase at the bottom of the page)
5. Nursing home reform I can favor.
6. Which three Senators receive the most Fannie Mae money?
Posted by Tyler Cowen on September 10, 2008 at 10:57 AM in Web/Tech | Permalink
Comments
30 Rock really is the best show on TV.
Arrested Development on the other hand is so awful I don't even have words for it.
Posted by: Noah Yetter at Sep 10, 2008 11:21:47 AM
Just goes to show taste is individual, yet again. I love both 30 Rock and Arrested Development.
Posted by: Greg at Sep 10, 2008 11:38:58 AM
Good list, but Real Time with Bill Maher should have been there as well!
Posted by: Christoph Burmester, Denmark at Sep 10, 2008 11:46:42 AM
I'll definitely go with Arrested Development as one of if not the best comedies ever on TV. I understand that people might disagree, but I imagine such people and I would not choose to spend much time together (reminds me of a discussion with an old girlfriend in the early 90's about whether one could actually date someone who didn't find the Simpsons funny).
Posted by: wugong at Sep 10, 2008 12:23:21 PM
+1 for Arrested Development. Canceling it was sadly appropriate--in the same way Howard Roark (The Fountainhead) bombed his own construction site: too many folks not appreciating brilliance.
Posted by: Scott at Sep 10, 2008 12:35:26 PM
Not a bad list, overall, but I'm surprised that a few shows, like Prison Break, Dexter and House, were excluded. Curiously, there doesn't seem to be a medical drama on that list at all. Has ER soured the entire genre?
As a comparison, here is the list of top shows according to TV.com.
Posted by: Sundeep at Sep 10, 2008 12:38:17 PM
I sure wish Firefly was on that list. But that was five years ago.
Posted by: Nate at Sep 10, 2008 12:56:53 PM
Aren't some of those shows (Arrested Development and The Sopranos) no longer running? What about a current list?
Posted by: d.cous. at Sep 10, 2008 1:29:34 PM
No love for Rescue Me?
Posted by: efp at Sep 10, 2008 1:57:47 PM
Good shows on TV - is that an oxymoron?
Posted by: jorod at Sep 10, 2008 1:58:31 PM
i like #3.
Posted by: samson at Sep 10, 2008 2:41:52 PM
NYtimes did a story today (sept. 10) on how much McCain and Obama got from Frannie during their 2008 campaigns: 169k and 16k respectively.
Posted by: Alex at Sep 10, 2008 2:46:27 PM
For the record, I think Deadwood may have been the best show to ever
appear on the small screen. Where else would you find a dispicable anti-hero
delivering a soliloquy in iambic pentameter to a box containing the head of
a dead chief? The writing, the acting, the production, all brilliant.
As for Arrested Development: Among the top two or three funniest shows ever.
That said, brilliant writing on all of the shows listed.
Posted by: Jarndyce at Sep 10, 2008 3:00:27 PM
Best sentence I've read today: "temptation is a regressive tax."
(from 'short class on behavioral economics' link. In addition to MR, The Edge is another great example of Interesting Ideas on the Internet.)
Posted by: George at Sep 10, 2008 4:57:39 PM
Obama was #3 over the timeframe 1989-2007? He was only there for the last bit. Adjusting for his tenure, I wonder if he takes top honors.
Posted by: tdp at Sep 10, 2008 5:38:45 PM
studio 60? really? the rest are shows i've seen widely praised, but who liked studio 60 that much?
Posted by: at Sep 10, 2008 7:55:32 PM
where's The Office?
Posted by: thehova at Sep 10, 2008 7:56:56 PM
Nursing homes seem to be one of the most glaring examples of a market defect. The revenue is fantastic, yet the quality of care is often poor, and the staff pay mediocre. Many so called nursing homes do not have a registered nurse present. Why couldn't a group of nurses form a cooperative arrangement and start independent/non-corporate nursing facilities? The nurses would easily garner a six figure income, and the care could be much better. I think I know the reason why this will not happen. What do you think?
Posted by: Quandary at Sep 10, 2008 9:22:51 PM
Please square your claim with a link from the paper, Alex. Yesterday's New York Times disagrees with that assertion (as does the cited link, though they differ). See, for example http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/10/us/politics/10fannie.html?_r=1&scp=1
Posted by: rluser at Sep 11, 2008 1:27:24 AM
I've recently (this past Saturday, while cooped up in the house due to Hanna) begun watching Mad Men. I really like it, but I can't put my finger on why I like it.
Posted by: Christina at Sep 11, 2008 1:19:32 PM
