Paul Romer: A Theory of History, with an Application - "His economic theory of history explains phenomena such as the constant improvement of the human standard of living by looking primarily at just two forms of innovative ideas: technology and rules." (previously, via) BONUS: UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY - What cities have in common [1,2,3,4,5] - Great structures? [1,2,3,4,5] - The new institutionalism [1,2,3,4,5] - Norms and deliberative rationality

The web’s response to the passing of music legend Michael Jackson has been staggering. Social media was pounded with tributes last Thursday after the news broke, but next Tuesday could be a huge test for the entire infrastructure of the web, when the memorial for Michael Jackson will take place. The tribute and remembrance of the late King of Pop occurs next Tuesday (July 7th) at 10:00 AM PT at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Beyond th
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Break out those tattered jeans and torn up flannel, because Guitar Hero: World Tour is getting a new DLC pack for the punk in all of us. Dubbed the Epitaph Punk-O-Rama Track Pack, the download features three tunes from three separate well-known Epitaph artists. It may be a bit more on the mainstream side of punk, but they're good tracks nonetheless.Here's what you'll get (440 XBL / $5.49 PSN): "21st Century Digital Boy" by Bad Religion ($1.
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"Working on the Nintendo Wii was a pretty exciting thing for us. We were excited about the unique controls and what they brought to the gamer," explains Steve Papoutsis in this new dev diary. Extraction, the Wii-exclusive prequel to Dead Space, as with many Wii games, takes advantage of multiple control modes, depending on whether you use the Wii Remote or Zapper. Either way, the game utilizes some clever Wii-specific tricks, like switching to
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UH OH: Colin Powell Airs Doubts on Obama Agenda. “Colin Powell, one of President Obama’s most prominent Republican supporters, expressed concern Friday that the president’s ambitious blitz of costly initiatives may be enlarging the size of government and the federal debt too much.”

The announcement stirs speculation that she will focus on a 2012 bid for the Republican nomination for president.

Welcome back, Buzz Book Club readers! We're deep into Summer reading season, and that makes me even more excited about my selection for July: Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume. See, Judy Blume is the epitome of Summer reading for me. In my pre-teen years, I spent long Summer afternoons by the pool poring over Deenie or Superfudge or whichever Blume classic I'd grabbed from the library most recently. I still
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Reuters - After a record-breaking chart week, the late Michael Jackson will shake up next week's charts, too.

Reuters - Michael Jackson went from being Gary, Ind.'s most talented kid to one of the most recognizable human beings on the planet. While his worldwide album sales were astounding, that wasn't the sole reason for his fame. His ascendancy went far beyond the cash register -- he inspired dance moves, dictated fashion trends and raised awareness for social causes around the globe.

Filed under: Hook-Ups, Paparazzi Photo Former "CSI" star Gary Dourdan nearly sucked the life out of his girlfriend Maria del Alamo in Ibiza, Spain the other day. The Ugly Truth: She's not pressing charges. See Also Gary Dourdan Has the Last Laugh Blunt Throws Dourdan a Bone at Naked ...Permalink

Filed under: Paparazzi Photo, Beauty, Zac Efron The Rachel for men is dead.Zac Efron has finally cut his wispy, banged, accidentally/on purpose messy, gelled man-shag.That noise you hear is the sound of millions of tween girls (and some boys) screaming in the streets. See Also Zac Efron's ...Permalink

It ranges from the slippage of her political standing to an upcoming book and even to her need to raise funds for a potential 2012 presidential campaign

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App ReviewWhen the fireworks stop and the smoke clears, it would be a great weekend to look at our beautiful summer skies. Pocket Universe [App Store] is a US$2.99 app that has been updated to make star finding easier for those that have a new iPhone 3GS. The app uses the position sensors and the compass to orient your phone to match the real sky. As you turn or tilt the phone, the sky map changes to gi
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Two children, including a 3-week-old baby, were killed and some 30 people had to be rescued when fire ripped through a high-rise apartment building in London on Friday, emergency services said.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday she is resigning from office at the end of the month, raising speculation that she would focus on a run for the White House in the 2012 race.

In the fight of pachyderms vs. people - the pachyderms now have the upper trunk.

Millions of mosquito eggs laid across southern Texas after Hurricane Ike hit the coast last summer are waiting for the little bit of rain and hot summer days they need to hatch. That's got the man whose job it is to fight the bugs worried - he's already running out of money.

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