Jacob Christensen

No, wait. According to VoxEU, there is one type of academic:

Never mind: VoxEU is a must-read for social scientists but if you want surveys, you should probably enlist the help of sociologists or political scientists

• Astrid Krag (SF) – �starbejdere: Vi skal ikke gentage fortidens fejl
  (tags: denmark politics immigration)
• PolySigh: Character Traits and Race
  Respondents were given “a seven-point scale on which the characteristics of the people in a group can be rated.” … These are simply astonishing numbers and indicate significant (and probably deep-seated) racist stereotyping.
  (tags: usa elections sociology)
• Rising Inequality Has Not Been Offset by Mobility � Consider the Evidence
  The fact that all three data sources suggest the same conclusion doesn�t necessarily mean it�s correct, … Rising income and earnings inequality in the United States does not appear to have been offset by increased mobility.
  (tags: usa economics economicpolicy inequality statistics)

From Laura McKenna:

You spend half your life saving up to buy a house. Then you spend the rest of your life working to keeping the house from falling down.

I’ll be moving from one rented apartment to another. Remind me why I’m happy.

Just continuing the iPhone coverage here.

HT: Travors.

Or rather the DVD-player.

The Darjeeling Limited

Perhaps not everybody’s idea of an entertainment but The Darjeeling Limited has lots of style and even more character. The India in the film is very much an imagined place but it affects the protagonists in a very real way. I loved every second of it.

Bizarre bonus information: With all the bandages on his head, Owen Wilson reminded me of Marty Feldman in Silent Movie. I’m not sure this was the intention, but still…

Okay, the Luftwaffe joke is old and tired.

The House of the Flying Daggers

Storywise so-so – undercover agent follows beautiful girl (not that hard to understand: Mei (Zhang Ziyi) is not exactly ugly and playing an action role only enhances her attractiveness), undercover agent falls in love with beautiful girl, etc, etc. – and don’t go back to the beginning after finishing the film. A westerner probably misses the point about the blind fighter which I am told is an integral part of Chinese mythology.

Cinematographically just stunning. The Echo Duel must be one of the most wonderful scenes this side of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, and no: I’m not being ironic here. Just park your logic somewhere else and enjoy the pictures in this scene and the rest of the film.

Dear Wendy

Oh, dear.

Why did I buy this DVD? Because the film had been savaged by Danish critics as far as I remember.

They were right: The cinematographic style has something about it, but the story is implausible as it is presented and the voice-over almost makes most of the film feel like a bad radio-play. Yawn.

Lars von Trier is fond of constructed screenplays but he has made much better ones. Perhaps he ought to stay away from his imagined US?