November 2013 Harper's Index

Date on which John Kerry called the crisis in Syria “our Munich moment” : 9/7/2013

On which Lyndon Johnson said that what “we learned . . . at Munich” committed us to intervention in Vietnam : 7/28/1965

Number of times the NSA violated court orders or internal rules on surveillance in 2011 : 2,776

Minimum amount venture-capital firms have invested in cybersecurity start-ups in the past two years : $1,600,000,000

Amount raised in March by Endgame, a company developing surveillance technology for private use : $23,000,000

October 2013 Harper's Index

Rank of “Jesus” and “Mohammed,” respectively, among the Wikipedia articles with the most editorial changes : 8,3

Rank of “George W. Bush” : 1

Projected height, in feet, of a Saudi skyscraper, financed by the bin Laden family, that will be the tallest in the world : 3,281

Cost of a U.S. command center completed last November in Afghanistan’s Helmand province : $34,000,000

Number of days it has been used : 0

Catching up on Breaking Bad

vulture.com

If you haven't watched Breaking Bad but want to know what everyone is talking about, here are twenty things you should know about the series.

Taste Test, Junot Diaz

newyorker.com

Working on a retreat for this weekend, I find myself wanting to talk about Junot Diaz' short story, "The Cheater's Guide to Love."  (I'm circling around themes involving Jung, mid life crises, lower back pain, and happiness . . . perhaps more later).  It's a short story in Diaz' new collection, This is How You Lose Her.

The Brief Life of Oscar Wao is the first thing I read from Diaz, a beautiful, aching novel.  And if you want a taste test to see whether Diaz is worth reading, try this interview in the New Yorker.  There were about three different places in the interview where I thought, "I should take fifteen minutes to really absorb the richness of this."

New Businesses Want Downtown Lofts, Not Office Parks with Parking Lots

Fickr/David Basulto

This is Pinterest's new headquarters in San Fran.  Richard Florida explains here why lots of new businesses are moving to loft spaces like this, in dense, pedestrian neighborhoods like this.

If great loft space is what a business needs, and would trade "densely populated area with amazing night life" for . . . "cheap" - then I've got some buildings I want to show you in downtown Fort Scott, KS.

Why "Confidence" Isn't a Good Leadership Indicator

hbr.org

If you've ever had to deal with a confident but incompetent male leader, this post explains why it happens so often.  Plus, this article makes interesting use of both Freud and Sheryl Sanders.  Bonus.

So Much for Progress: Anti-Science Bias Remains Strong As Ever

NASA/Getty Images

About thirty years ago, just under half of all American adults believed Genesis requires a rejection of evolutionary theory.  Today, the number is . . . basically the same.  Here's the lament from a disappointed scientist.

And here's a follow up round table about why "creationism" is so controversial.

Baseball Prospectus Give the Royals a 4.1% Chance of Making the Playoffs

John Sleezer/KC Star

Contrary to Sam Mellinger's piece in the KC Star, winning a few more games than usual does not make this Royals season a success.  This isn't rec-league softball where the goal is just getting out there and having a good time.  It's Major League Baseball.  And so, yes, the relevant metric is: Are the Royals going to make the playoffs?

Proposal for New $1.2 Billion KCI Airport

HNTB

Yes, please yes, build a new airport, Kansas City.  One that looks slightly less cement bunker-ish than our current one.  And while we're at it, those of us who live south of Kansas City would like it moved to THIS side, away from its current location near Nebraska.

Reason No. 843 Why You Should Drink Craft Beer Instead of Cheap Beer

Tony Cenicola/NYTimes

In a stunning finding, those who drink large quantities of cheap, crappy beer or malt liquor are more likely to wind up in emergency rooms.  The beers most likely to land you in the ER:

Budweiser
Steel Reserve
Colt 45
Bud Ice
Bud Light

A forthcoming study also suggests that people who regularly close down a bar have an increased rate of fist fight participation relative to the adult population.

A Woman Writes Earnestly About Love at 22 (But Shouldn't Have)

Brian Rea

This will likely be the dumbest thing you read this week.  On love.  By a 22 year old.  Whose boyfriend has a beard, dabbles in Buddhism, and traveled in Southeast Asia.  This has to be the least illuminating piece ever written on love.

Is the Price of Farm Land About to Crash?

Ed Zurga/NYTimes

Even though commodity prices are down sharply, good farm land is still selling at historically high prices.  Is this sustainable or are we in for a real estate crash in farm land?

Scientist Predict Mass Exodus from Coastal Cities to the Kansas Prairie

Tim Wimborne/Reuters

Climate scientists predict that sea levels will rise somewhere between 10 inches and three feet over the next century.

Living in Kansas, long an alleged sign of bassackwardness, changed over night into a sign of being an early adopter.

Housing prices today remain stable.  But check Zillow tomorrow for possible upsurges due to this report.

Kansas City Royals' Miguel Tejada Suspended for 105 Games

John Sleezer/KC Star

Say it isn't so!  Not in salt-of-the-earth, heart-of-the-breadbasket Kansas City!  Alas, there are PED's on the prairie.  How could we ever have guessed?  Perhaps a 39 year old performing at high levels in professional sports was a clue.  Nevertheless, the KC Star has the story here.

Catwoman (Catwomen?) Ranked

buzzfeed.com

Ever wondered how the various depictions of Catwoman stack up?  Probably not.  But just in case you did, buzzfeed is here to help.

What Does Detroit's Bankruptcy Mean?

The old Ford Headquarters in Highland Park/Misty Keasler

Detroit's demise means something.  We all know that.  But there are varying interpretations of what it really "means."  What kind of story are we to tell about Detroit?  Is it a bankruptcy story?  A story of manufacturing's decline in the post-industrial economy?  A story about racism and white flight?

And most important - is Detroit's failure a one-off thing?  Or is it a prophetic call of what's coming for the rest of us?

There will be more to come, but let's start with a lovely, surprising, and artful 2007 Harper's piece by Rebecca Solnit, and an analysis of that piece by Jennifer McDonald.

September 2013 Harper's Index

The September 2013 Harper's Index:

Number of refugees and internally displaced people in the world last year : 45,200,000

Last year in which there were as many : 1994

Number of hours Chinese workers held the head of a U.S. company hostage in June during a labor dispute : 162

Amount the company paid to secure his release : $300,000

Percentage of all luxury-goods consumers in 1995 who were Chinese : 2

Who are today : 25

Royals Sweep Double-Header Against First Place Detroit

Duane Burlson/AP

By winning two games against Detroit on Friday, the Royals pulls to within 6 1/2 games of the Tigers in the AL Central, and within 4 1/2 of the Oakland A's for the final AL Wildcard spot.

While they'll likely miss the playoffs, at least they're close enough that we're watching the games.  Let's hope the Chiefs are this competitive.

Chiefs Lose Second Preseason Game, Fans Start Thinking About Throwing in the Towel

Jeff Sleezer/KC Star

The KC Star channels Chiefs fans overreacting to last nights second preseason loss.  Of course, after going 2-14 last year, a little negativity is understandable.

Move Over, Yankee Candle and Other Crappy Stores . . . Cerner to Replace Defunct Bannister Mall

Kansas City Star

Health care giant Cerner plans to build an office park on the site of the former Bannister Mall.  This campus will surpass the Sprint complex as the largest office development in KC.  The Cerner development will eventually house 15,000 employees in a whopping 4.5 million square foot campus.

It is not known at this time whether Cerner's campus will include an Orange Julius, a Waldenbook's, and a Montgomery Wards.