More about Green-Wood Cemetery

Here is an article in the New York Times about trying to find new plots in Green-Wood.

Also, check out my article about Green-Wood earlier this year.

More Rain, Less Murder?

According to an article in today’s New York Times, their research shows that in the summer, when there is more rain there are less homicides. I think it is an interesting idea, but, as they say in the article, the nature of most homicides in the United States makes this conclusion only valid for New York City and not for the nation as a whole. They also make the point that the rain-homicide correlation only applies to the summer months, bad weather is not a deterrent in the fall or winter.

In Honor of National Poetry Month:

Memorizing poetry seems tedious but Jim Holt makes it sound quite entertaining. I might start memorizing some just to see how it goes.

Essay – The Case for Memorizing Poetry – NYTimes.com.

An Editorial in the New York Times Today:

The New York Times wrote an editorial about the Nebraska child welfare system. Its exciting to me that the New York Times has decided to discuss the issue. However, I don’t think that they appropriately address it. The editorial focuses on the Nebraska child welfare system based on the issues which arose from the Safe Haven Law, but many of the children dropped off in Nebraska were not from Nebraska. They were driven across the country by desparate parents from all over the country. So maybe the focus should be on child welfare as a national issue? Just my thought. Check it out for your self.

Democratic Voting Trends

According to a New York Times graphic published today, counties in Nebraska voted more Democratically during this presidential election than in the 2004 presidential election. Although they don’t discuss this specifically in the accompanying article, I think it is a very interesting observation about the state. Nebraska has been one of the reddest states in the country for the last 40 and more years. It is especially interesting to consider when looking at the map that there was only one section of the country that voted more Republican this election than in 2004. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in the coming years or if this has been a unique situation. It would also be interesting to compare the voting patterns outlined in the graphic to voting patterns in 2000 or 1996.