Author: jbenton

Very interesting rebuttal of New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell.
I’m an avowed Gladwell fan, but the criticism here — that his “intellectual tap dance” oversimplifies and avoids contradictory evidence — isn’t easily dismissed. And while I haven’t had time to read it yet, the article being attacked — on “face reading” in criminal justice — does seem a bit off.

Yep, that’s my cousin. Way to uphold the family reputation, Elton.
(Side note: the article’s writer, Richard Burgess, is also sometime guitarist for the Red Stick Ramblers, mentioned here before.)

Fellow Metroplex enthusiasts of the rock and roll music: check the upcoming performance calendars of your favorite local establishments. Some great shows coming up in the next few weeks, including Spoon, Luna, Blackalicious, Sleater-Kinney, Wilco, Interpol, Doves, Girls Against Boys, and DJ Shadow.
If anyone’s interested in going to the Spoon show in Denton with me tomorrow night, let me know. What better way to ring in Sept. 11 than with the rock?

Hey, crabwalk.com readers! You may soon get to see my desk every single day on ESPN! The poobahs at the DMN are building a TV set all of five feet from my desk so ESPN can tape a daily talk show in our newsroom. No word yet on camera placement, but if the camera ever pans left, you might catch my ugly mug. I’m nationwide, damn it, nationwide!

Here’s my story from Sunday’s front page, on an inner city school in Dallas that’s produced some amazing results with poor kids. If you’re one of those people who claim we reporters only write about bad news, you may want to read this.

A truly great story about America’s dominant spelling bee clan. It’s the Royal Tenenbaums come to freakish life. (This one’s for you, Kelly.)

The Dallas Morning News launches a one-man Googlebomb!

I loved this album as a kid. “On top of spaghetti….”

News item: 1,000 people show up for a major league baseball game in Montreal, Quebec.
News item: 10,000 people show up for a minor league baseball game in Toledo, Ohio.

Molly (who you may remember) has written her first column of the school year, about her summer internship at my old newspaper and her yearnings to return to alma mater this fall.
While her editors still haven’t updated her column mug, which records a hairstyle from many moons ago, the piece does feature a few bits on her brother Danny, one of my favorite recurring characters in literature. He could become her Slats Grobnik.
“The Real World will eat you alive,” warned my 18-year-old brother, who spent this summer working three hours per week at the local video rental place and laboring on his autobiographical novel.
“My book is about destruction of the illusion of man’s natural rights,” he explained. “The main character realizes he can take whatever he wants — steal other guys’ women, whatever — as long as he has the power. That’s how the world works, Molly.”
If anyone knows a publisher who might be interested in Danny’s novel, please let him know. He has three months to get autographed hardback editions in the mail to college admissions officers.