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Jerry Seinfeld and the Olympics
In the spirit of the 2024 Paris Olympics, I want to share where the Olympics and my love for comedy converge.
This unique confluence takes the form of Jerry Seinfeld’s standup album, “I’m Telling You for the Last Time.”
This was the first standup album I ever listened to—all 21 tracks on CD—in 1999 (the year it came out) during a long family road trip.
When I say" “listened,” I mean laughed until I cried—inevitably—spitting out half-eaten McDonald’s onto the seats and floormats of the car (sorry Mom and Dad).
From “Air Travel” to “Doctors,” every track is a knee-slapping banger. But, I must draw attention to track 12, “Olympics,” in honor of Paris 2024. I don’t want to give away too many spoilers…other than the quote below.
The Olympics is really my favorite sporting event. Although, I think I have a problem with that silver medal…If you think about it, you win the gold - you feel good, you win the bronze - you think, "Well, at least I got something". But when you win that silver it's like, "Congratulations, you almost won.
Olympics and the Silver Medal - Jerry Seinfeld
If you haven’t listened for your first time to “I’m Telling Your for the Last Time,” I highly recommend doing so while not eating any food or drinking any beverages.
ACADEMIC MUSING
For-profit academic journals
Arash Abizadeh knows a lot about academic publishing—in particular the for-profit versus non-profit models.
That’s why in his Guardian article, he enlightens readers about the astounding profit margin enjoyed by the top 5 for-profit publishers—Elsevier, Wiley, Taylor & Francis, and Spring Nature (to whom > 90% of university library subscription fees go to)—which comes in at > 40%.
How did this dramatic consolidation of academic publishing by for-profit publishers take place? Does a single paywalled article really cost $30 to $40? How are for-profit publishers taking advantage of offering an “open access” article option? If these few questions pique your interest and you are ready to have your eyes opened to the seedy underbelly of academic publishing, you should read Abizadeh’s full article.
Thank you for reading and have a fulfilling weekend!
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