punctuative!

“When you have a deficit, it’s really a tax...

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:02:53 -0400

“When you have a deficit, it’s really a tax increase; it’s just a tax increase on future generations.” This week we heard that the federal budget deficit is projected to register at a whopping 153% increase over last year (fiscal year ending Sept 30). Not to be brushed aside. Feed your thoughts with some Summers (quoted here) and Rubin. [via]

“The Office of the Alumni Association is offering you the...

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:59:25 -0400

“The Office of the Alumni Association is offering you the opportunity to be a student again - at great savings. For just $20, members of the classes 2003-2008 are invited to join your fellow alumni for a seven-week course, The Brain: A User’s Guide - a condensed version of the popular undergraduate course by the same name. …you can participate from anywhere in the world!”

Received this email on Monday and am so glad to see the continuing ed space evolving. I remember thinking the Princeton-based retirees who audited classes at the university had it made.

"Let me explain the roundabout way it came to me, the discovery that the praise of contemporary..."

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:53:29 -0400

“Let me explain the roundabout way it came to me, the discovery that the praise of contemporary poetry, either in blurbs or reviews, is itself a neglected form of poetry, meta-poetry. Even if it comes from the most corrupt and sordid favor-trading, grant-grubbing, academic back-scratching sources, it’s clear that those who are good at it are so very good at it that their work rises above its origins and deserves special recognition. It is not some degraded adjunct of contemporary poetry but perhaps its very apotheosis. It would be a tragedy to lose the poetry, of course, but to lose the even more brilliant blurbs! Sometimes I wonder whether in fact the poetry being praised even exists or has been dreamed up to provide the rationale for the praise.”

- Ron Rosenbaum, “In Praise of the Praise of Poetry,” Slate.

"Other prerogatives/ of a paycheck include sleeping in on a Sunday."

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:16:01 -0400

“Other prerogatives/ of a paycheck include sleeping in on a Sunday.”

- Susan Wheeler, “Hand, Mouth, Market” in Ledger.

Context lends the above a certain sarcasm and sadness. Susan’s poems are accessible and this one cuts to the quick of suburban consumerism and debt.

The Clash - Rock the Casbah “Now over at the temple/ Oh!...

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:57:14 -0400

The Clash - Rock the Casbah

“Now over at the temple/ Oh! they really pack em in/ The in crowd say its cool/ To dig this chanting thing/ But as the wind changed direction/ The temple band took five/ The crowd caught a wiff/ Of that crazy casbah jive”

Invesco was a rockin’ Casbah tonight. Monumental.

"I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the..."

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:33:21 -0400

“I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.”

- Obama, Democratic Convention Acceptance Speech

So cool to see Digitalsmiths getting the recognition it deserves...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:32:53 -0400

So cool to see Digitalsmiths getting the recognition it deserves today with the launch of theWB.com. I can’t believe how much Ben, Matt, Bill, and crew have accomplished in the last year; what a standout bunch.

Latyrx - Lady Don’t Tek No A Shazam discovery from...

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:08:00 -0400

Latyrx - Lady Don’t Tek No

A Shazam discovery from Entourage.

“We tried to sing your name in latin baby.”

Made up words

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:01:35 -0400

These come from my hair “maven,” Kimberly, who deserves a Newbery or something like it for her novel lingo:

Aquadextrous: capable of turning off the bath faucet with one’s toes.

Frust: the final, frustrating bit of detritus that refuses to allow itself into the dust pan.

Accordionated: capable of folding a map back into its original form.

Pupcous: the mucous left by dogs’ noses on car windows and front door screens.

CONOR OBERST - CAPE CANAVERAL “You told me victory’s...

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:16:00 -0400

CONOR OBERST - CAPE CANAVERAL

“You told me victory’s sweet/ Even deep in the cheap seats.”

Listen for “brother totem pole,” “sister Socrates,” and “mother interstate.” The song’s directed at father Cape, though.

Looks like I made the top ten list for World iPhone Paddleball...

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:16:00 -0400

Looks like I made the top ten list for World iPhone Paddleball Champions with 1099 hits, earning the much-sought “purple ball” option. This after a prior high of 15. Pure luck.

Phelps can swim 100M of butterfly in 51 seconds and I - well, I can tap a virtual ball with a virtual paddle, repetitiously. Awesome.

Veep Pick Biden emerges. My guess turned out to be right, not...

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 08:58:00 -0400

Veep Pick

Biden emerges. My guess turned out to be right, not about the pick but about the distribution - an announcement in the hush of night when the youth contingent would have a few unruly weekend hours of knowledge on the rest of the country.

Through three Kentucky Derbies, I’ve never seen headwear...

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 23:04:22 -0400

Through three Kentucky Derbies, I’ve never seen headwear so outlandish. Leave it to the fall fashion issue. Is this Karin from “You’ve Got the Look”?

Rest in peace, PDA. No real surprise, but looks like this term...

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:24:00 -0400

Rest in peace, PDA. No real surprise, but looks like this term for all-in-ones has almost gone the way of the dodo (if Google searches are any indicator). Phones are the new digital assistants and have been for some time.

Recently discovered someecards via the indefatigable outbox...

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:24:00 -0400

Recently discovered someecards via the indefatigable outbox of Rachel Syme. Hilarious. This one needs an alternate for jet setters: “Please make yourself available to talk when I have nothing to do while boarding.”

“There will always be an audience that hungers for a...

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:54:00 -0400

“There will always be an audience that hungers for a certain kind of Woody Allen movie, but it’s a relief that he has moved away from the safety and provincialism of his New York.” [via]

Count me amongst the hungry. Still, can’t wait to catch this new Allen movie (“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”) and its purported Euro-drama.

The NYTimes calls it ”personal…though not claustrophobic, another cloyingly needy dispatch from a ravenous id.”

By the way, anyone know what the going rate is for product placement in the midst of an artsy Allen menage a trois? (See Evian above.)

Gloom and doom advertising has arrived.

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:33:14 -0400

Gloom and doom advertising has arrived.

Any song with “palindromes” and...

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:48:43 -0400

Any song with “palindromes” and “mitosis” deserves a listen.

“Why do they congregate in groups of four
Scatter like a billion spores
And let the wind just carry them away
How can kids be so mean
Our famous doctor tried to glean”

-Andrew Bird’s “Imitosis” from Armchair Apocrypha

“Do you have good supplemental health insurance? What...

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:29:00 -0400

“Do you have good supplemental health insurance? What about estate planning, car insurance? Dents are easy to fix, but liability’s a nightmare!” The kid schtick is a little tired but still tickles, probably because it feels like this kind of conversation grows closer to reality every day. Not prodigies, but kids with context. Reminds me of Kids Say the Darndest Things.

Triplecast Nostalgia

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 16:53:18 -0400

I miss the NBC/Cablevision Olympics Triplecast, with its Red, White, and Blue all-olympics, all-the-time channels. Too bad it was a flop.

President of NBC Cable at the time RE diminished subscription hopes in the face of few early sign-ups: “We’re hoping to do more than the 1.6 million who bought the Holyfield-Foreman fight.” [via]

Cost of content creation > total market demand = a loser, sadly.