To go with this weekend’s Globe Article about million dollar homes (note that the URL ends with the directory “/would_you_pay_a_million_dollars_for_this/”), we have a New York Times feature on million-dollar studio apartments.
This points both to the overheated nature of the real estate market and, perhaps, the increasing cooperation between the Globe and NYT now that they’ve been owned by the same company for awhile now.
Here’s an event for John Fleck or one of the other sports fans out there: it’s like a triathalon, but with extra running and swimming and running and swimming and running. And you have to carry your shoes with you in the water. No prizes.
Actually, that’s bullshit. The person who said that suffered from a horrible tragedy, and it’s natural that he should want to feel safe. But the right to feel safe? Your reactionary statements don’t do anything to help mentally ill kids. One of the two kids who shot you was on antidepressants. The other wasn’t. What does this prove? Nothing.
I know that these studies are flawed, that Big Pharma has over-promoted the drugs, that sometimes they are used improperly and that sometimes they are ineffective or, yes, dangerous. Medication has risks and we should know them, but your bad outcome doesn’t prove that the risks of treating depression outweigh the risks of leaving it untreated.
Americans, please vote this time. Are you registered? Voter registration forms are online here. Print ’em and mail ’em. One vote per person, please. There are a number of important non-presidential contests going on as well, so be sure to check Vote-Smart to read up on who’s running for what in your area.
Boston-area voters should know that the Suffolk County Sherriff’s election is really tight right now. That Tuesday the 14th is the Democratic Primary election aroud here and that Sciortino is probably a better choice over Rep. Vincent Ciampa in the Somerville and Medford area. Incumbent Ciampa is anti-gay-marriage, but Somerville has a big gay population so this is a good chance to tilt Beacon Hill toward justice. You could do worse than to look at the virulent bigot’s guide to anti-judicial-review candidates, and vote the opposite of what they suggest.
Also, it’s not too late to donate to the MoveOn Voter Fund or the MoveOn PAC.
I’m all in favor of snark and sarcsam, but have you ever said a sincere thing in your life?
Consumer picks of the moment: t-shirts at threadless.com and a funny political one at goats.com. Graduated from Urban Outfitters but not quite to the Crate and Barrell level of bourgeois conformity? Try CB2, the hipper, cheaper version.
I recently bought a copy of Cargo, the boy’s version of Lucky, which is to say, a consumer’s guide without the boring objectivity or ratings of Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports may tell you if a car is safe and reliable, and may even offer notes on whether it looks good and handles well, but only Cargo will give you a two-page spread about the various iPod cases on the market.
Yes, this is obviously the shirt for me. Mmmm, brains and money.
Every year they publish another story about how college kids drink too much. Wow. Were these study-conducting people never in college? I suppose they were, but weren’t at the parties, because they were in the library doing statistics homework that has enabled them to go back years later and conduct studies measuring the average number of drinks a partying college boy can toss back in an evening.
I know I was holed up in my room, periodically calling security at 2am because someone was setting off fireworks in the parking lot or throwing up in the bushes. But I also know that kids drank to excess. Most of them at one point or another. Five drinks in a sitting? Five drinks (a.k.a. five twelve ounce cups of watery beer) is a baseline, although it was more than I could do by about two drinks. Ten is what the men would drink. Then there’s shots of Jaeger, throwing up, and more beer. The trick is to throw up before you get too drunk, apparently, to breathe.
The ultimate goal is inebriation sufficient to forget that you’re in a position of absolute irrelevance in the world, that you’re wasting your parents’ money and more importantly your life and privilege and youth.
Learn from the news about: getting the attention of nerds.
The best and worst methods of euthanizing puppies (apparently it’s illegal to kill them yourself– you have to have someone else do it for you. Plus if you try to do it yourself they might fight back.)
Sample MP3 CocoRosie: Good Friday from Touch and Go Records. Check additional samples at Insound and CocoRosie reviews at Pitchfork.
The music has an off-kilter sweetness to it that I can’t quite describe. There are definite processing effects on the acoustic guitars and seductive, almost reedy vocals. But on the other hand it seems a little lo-fi… anyway, really good. Reminds me of Sparklehorse, some of the tracks from Tom Waits’ “Mule Variations,” and of September 67.
I have a profound and growing distaste for the phrase “… in the enterprise,” used to mean “in big businesses.” Just say “in large business environments” or something like that. There’s a million ways to say it.
Besides, “enterprise,” like “professional” is suffering from inflation. Last weekend I saw a review of a giant multifunction remote control which comes in two editions, basic and “Pro.” Do they really mean to suggest that this is a remote control suitable for professional channel surfers? That it is aimed at the lucrative professional television reviewer or censor? Same with the Roomba, which comes in a “Pro” edition. No professional cleaning outfit would use a roomba. Call it deluxe, max, super, extra, ultra, plus, elite, or even (ugh) extreme, but what you have there is very much a device for the consumer market and calling it “professional” will only confuse your marketing and that of everyone carrying anything that actually is aimed at the professional space.
Think before you name a product ,folks. What does this word MEAN?
Secretly Ironic 