Links posted on March 31, 2008
Nationals Stadium opens. In other baseball news, my hometown Nats moved into their new digs Saturday night -- with great acclaim for every aspect but the guy who threw the first pitch. Fan reaction is largely positive, and it's safe to say that dean of baseball columnists Tom Boswell is on board. The Nats have followed the storybook ending of their opener with another win, giving them the best record in baseball. [more inside]
Joltin' Joe Dimaggio's 56-game hit streak, re-examined - I've heard it said several times that DiMaggio's 56-game hit streak was the most unlikely, and one of the most unbreakable, records in baseball. That claim has always rung false (or at least, unexamined) to me. Samuel Arbesman (a grad student from Steven Strogatz' group) actually sat down with the numbers and wrote a nifty little article for the NYT. [more inside]
Ask Languagelog: How much of our language do we use? - the answer is an unsatisfying "well, we can't even reasonably define what that question means, let alone answer it", but the exploration is fascinating.
Comparison of British and American Political Beliefs - surprising how much we disagree (and how much more I agree with them). See especially their detailed breakdown of specific political questions, or browse the whole thing.
NYT has an interactive gallery of Al Jaffee's MAD Magazine fold-in covers which is highly entertaining. There is also an article about his creative process. (via waxy)