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A couple of months back, Malcolm Gladwell wrote an excellent story for the New Yorker about the full-court press, a basketball strategy wherein the defense hassles the offense—that is, presses—across the entire length of the court.

Because it takes a tremendous amount of energy and discipline to employ the press, few teams do. Players hate it because it’s exhausting. The strategy doesn’t allow for time off. It substitutes effort for talent and—this is Gladwell’s point—it often beats talent. Read on…

Seems it never rains in Southern California
Seems I've often heard
that kind of talk before
It never rains in California
But, girl, don't they warn ya
It pours, man, it pours.
- Albert Hammond, “It Never Rains In
Southern California,” 1972

It’s true, it seems it never does rain in Southern California, or at least not in the past four years during which we’ve seen a record-breaking dry spell. It’s been so dry that during one year-long stretch, from July 1, 2006, to June 30, 2007, it rained only 2.43 inches in Los Angeles. It’s been so bad that Governor Schwarzenegger (and it’s a sign I’ve been here too long that I don’t have to look up how to spell his name) recently declared a state of emergency over the ongoing drought. Read on...

Evolution is considered a fundamental concept within the biological sciences. However, controversy has led to high-spirited arguments as to whether to teach creationism alongside evolution and with equal time in science classes. Creationists propose creationism (aka creation science or intelligent design) as a pseudoscientific alternative to evolution. Nevertheless, support for evolution within academic and scientific groups—particularly within nuclear physics, astronomy, biology, genetics and geology—is predominantly undisputed. Creationism or intelligent design does not belong in a science curriculum. Read on...

The Indians of the Great Plains, I recently learned while reading Ian Frazier’s excellent and appropriately titled, Great Plains, didn’t often know their ages.

“They,” writes Frazier, “measured time in days, moons, and winters, but they had no weeks, months or minutes.” Read on…

A few years ago at the so-called “Green Oscars,” celebrities were showing up in hybrid cars, talking much talk about going carbon neutral, recycling their lives and all the rest. And truly, they looked Hollywood fabulous as they did so.

On the night in question, Naomi Watts wore a Chopard 85-carat triple-strand diamond necklace, 12-carat diamond earrings and a 16-carat sapphire and diamond cocktail ring while later telling reporters, “I opted not to go for a limousine. The hybrids are just what it’s all about and we’re just doing what we can to try and change the environment.” Read on…