In Paris, Romancing the Deal: "Paris appears to be a more solid investment than, say, gold. In the third quarter of 2000 the average apartment in the Sixth Arrondissement was 460 euros a square foot, in contrast to the 655 four years later."
Investing in Paris is a much better strategy to invest my retirement funds than my current habit of playing blackjack on my phone. Apparently, I do not when to hold them OR when to fold them.
Court Watchers Assess Term's Impact on Rehnquist Legacy: "Solicitor General Paul Clement says he's noticed a new trend in the wardrobe of Supreme Court advocates. More and more men who argue before the Court are wearing bow ties, a tribute to the trademark neckwear of Justice John Paul Stevens -- and to his power."
The best part of the Grokster decision is how Souter memorializes Modest Mouse into case law:
"Users seeking Top 40 songs, for example, or the latest release by Modest Mouse, are certain to be far more numerous than those seeking a free Decameron, and Grokster and StreamCast translated that demand into dollars."
Also, I'm so sure there are plenty of haXor kids who download both Modest Mouse and the Decameron.
People don't see that when they say 'life' they mean two different things. They can mean simply existence, with its physiological implications of growth and organic change. They can't escape that—even by death, but because that's inevitable they think the other idea of life is too—the scrambling and excitement and bumps and the effort to get to the middle. And when we do get to the middle, it's just as if we never started. It's so odd.
The Star Maker of the Semipopular: "If ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' had a Friendster page, its ''Favorite Music'' section would also include Massive Attack, Radiohead, Zero 7, Bjork, Moby, Air, Tom Waits, the Blue Nile, Jeff Buckley, Juana Molina, Rufus Wainwright, the Eels, Aimee Mann, My Bloody Valentine, Caetano Veloso, DJ Shadow, the Trash Can Sinatras and Petra Haden."
To market to younger readers, all newspaper articles should include a Friendster analogy. For instance, if Iran had a Friendster page, its "Hobbies and Interests" section would include "nuclear power, global influence, avoiding invasion from USA j/k". Maybe.
The end for the tie?: "As Britain has shifted into a far more meritocratic social era than anyone could ever have predicted a decade ago, the phrase 'old-school tie' has acquired a musty, almost decrepit sense of yesteryear. But when Sir Andrew Turnbull, the outgoing Cabinet Secretary, stands up, as he did this week, to welcome a tieless era and hint that the grey-suited armies of civil servants will soon be open-necked, free of the costliest 12 inches of fabric that most people ever purchase in their lives, it is a moment to take note."
I neglected to mention my birthday last week. It happened--I am older! I don't like it so far--27 is too pointy and sharp. Look at the 7, just waiting to cut you. 28 will at least be all soft and round. Nearly all my gifts were extremely practical, which is my favorite kind. These range from a falafel sandwich to a Metrocard to a coffee travel mug. Things got a little crazy with the cribbage set though. Wild cribbage fun shall be had all summer long.
Lions Rescue, Guard Beaten Ethiopian Girl: "A 12-year-old girl who was abducted and beaten by men trying to force her into a marriage was found being guarded by three lions who apparently had chased off her captors, a policeman said Tuesday...
She had been guarded by the lions for about half a day, he said. 'They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest,' Wondimu said...
'A young girl whimpering could be mistaken for the mewing sound from a lion cub, which in turn could explain why they didn't eat her,' Williams said."
I think this could be the source for a children's story book, perhaps to be sold in the UN bookshop. I, for one, would have liked to have been rescued by lions; the marriage part, however, is just plain wrong.
University library dumps rare books: "The Octagon library at Queen Mary, University of London, in Mile End, east London, is in the process of refurbishment and decided that it would have to dispose of its surplus books.
These have now been dumped in skips outside the library, to the outrage of staff and students who were clambering through them yesterday to find what they described as literary gems.
'This is a crass display of philistinism,' said one staff member. 'There are books dating back to the 18th century, there are first editions, there are copies of Voltaire.'"
I want to work "This is a crass display of philistinism" into my daily language.
Gay or Straight? Hard to Tell: "The new convergence of gay-vague style is not to be confused with metrosexuality, which steered straight men to a handful of feminine perks like pedicures, scented candles and prettily striped dress shirts. Gay vagueness affects both straight and gay men. It involves more than grooming and clothes. It notably includes an attitude of indifference to having one's sexual orientation misread; hence the breakdown of many people's formerly reliable gaydar."
Actually, it seems to be exactly the same thing as "metrosexuality" but the Styles section can certainly pretend otherwise (half of the section's articles are devoted to the topic). According to the handy chart, I am somewhere between "gay" and "gay vague". The crucial factor is that just the other day I was telling Brian that I would like both a French bulldog and an Italian greyhound because their opposite body types lend themselves better to different tasks around the house. For example, the greyhound can reach behind the fridge while the bulldog can be a footstool. A Jack Russel terrier's shape, however, is no good around the house.
She Wrote the Book(s) on Do-It-Yourself Finance: "On the CNBC show, the least scripted of her television adventures, Mr. Orman manages to integrate a range of idioms, from the impressively technical (don't hold a tax-deferred investment in a tax-deferred vehicle) to the vaguely spiritual (credit-card debt is proof of a broken heart)."
Mr. Orman? She's always been a bit coy about her past.
Art sleuth uncovers clue to secret Raphael marriage: "For centuries it has been thought that the woman, Margherita Luti, a baker's daughter from Siena, was the artist's mistress... However, a new study by an Italian art historian, Maurizio Bernardelli Curuz, suggests that Raphael and Luti had already married in a clandestine ceremony, and that - fearful of a scandal - the artist took the secret to his grave.
Officially, he died a bachelor at the age of 37. 'It was an impossible love affair,' said Mr Bernardelli Curuz. 'It is hard to overstate Raphael's status in Rome. He was a superstar. The distance separating them was like that which today would separate George Clooney and his cleaner.'"
I always say that I am zeitgeist. Case in point: ever since being in Boston last month, I have been chattering about silversmith apprentice Johnny Tremain and Sunday's Family Guy featured Peter reading aloud from that classic of YA literature. (Sadly, the reference was not noted). Yes, zeitgeist.
Cubist Slugs: "'I well remember at the beginning of the war,' Gertrude Stein wrote in 1938, 'being with Picasso on the Boulevard Raspail when the first camouflaged truck passed. It was at night, we had heard of camouflage but we had not seen it and Picasso, amazed, looked at it and then cried out, yes it is we who made it, that is Cubism.' Stein went on to suggest that the entire First World War had been an exercise in Cubism."
N.J. gay couples lose marriage battle: "A divided state appeals court yesterday upheld New Jersey's ban on gay marriage, rejecting contentions by seven same-sex couples that their right to wed is guaranteed by the state constitution. But the emotionally charged case, which has drawn national attention, ultimately will be decided by the state Supreme Court because one of the three appeals court judges dissented. "
The good fight--I recall seeing the seven couples bringing this suit speak nearly two years ago.
'Ice-pick that killed Trotsky' found in Mexico: "One of the most notorious murder weapons in modern history, the ice-pick that killed Leon Trotsky, appears to have been found, 65 years after it was apparently stolen from the Mexican police. The daughter of a former secret service agent claims she has the steel mountaineering instrument, which is stained with the blood of the Russian revolutionary...
Now Ana Alicia Salas says her father, Commander Alfredo Salas, stole the pick because he wanted to preserve it for posterity... But she said: 'I am looking for some financial benefit. I think something as historically important at this should be worth something, no?' "
A New Romance: "Say amen, Dorothy. This Oz is the brave new world of the gay male romance novel, a world where there are never cowards, only condoms; each of the heroes has a brain, even if it takes until the end of the story for one of them to use it; and the abs, if not tin, most likely resemble iron."
Blah, blah. I'm just sort of annoyed because last night I had the great idea to write gay romance novels and now the Times has beaten me to the punch. Which also means that I am like two months behind the curve, or I am just zeitgeist enough. Perhaps a niche of the niche market has yet to be exploited for bookish gay nerd romance novels.
Club class: "[Rachel] Stevens occasionally gets a little bit tangled up in her own defence, providing a glimpse of a chink in the armour. 'Of course it's fantastic to have bands formed in garages, but there is a market for other types of music,' she says. 'I mean, think of all the great bands from the past who didn't write their own music, like the Beatles.' A slight pause. 'Well, actually, the Beatles did write their own music, didn't they? But loads of others.'"
In Fiction, a Long History of Fixation on the Social Gap: "Celebrities, in fact, have inherited much of the glamour and sexiness that used to attach itself to the aristocracy. If Gatsby were to come back today, he would come back as Donald Trump and would want a date not with Daisy but with Britney. And if Edith Wharton were still writing, how could she not include a heavily blinged hip-hop mogul?"
Don't go the American way [says Morgan Spurlock]: "The UK is turning into Kansas. It looks like America in every way. In fact, from what I see, I think the UK is only about five to 10 years behind America in terms of clone penetration. But, to be honest, everywhere I go in the world it feels like this. The question we all need to ask ourselves is, do we really want the world to look, feel and taste just like America?"
He also goes on to mention the 21st century Johnny Appleseed, Jamie Oliver. You've come a long way, Fat Tongue!
Steve, Steve, Steve (can I call you Steve?)... I am in the market for a new laptop, but now I am wondering if I should wait. I would hate to left out of the Intel chip party (presumably, a wild party).
On the other hand, since I can not close my iBook lid with the guarantee that the screen will work without several start ups and "gentle coaxing", I may have to jump in anyway.
In the meantime, I have been sporting a HipsterPDA to keep track of tings during my commute. The thing is amazing! No data back up problems, no synching problems... I am still working out my favorite mods, but I just got a new calendar program to help me organize all my dates.
Loose pony has police buffaloed: "The Boscawen police are trying to solve the mystery of a loose pony that's been seen twice in town in the past week... 'I went up there, and lo and behold, there was a pony who was in seventh heaven with all the green grass in the world and no ropes or fences,' he said.
Croft approached the pony, but it shied away, and he had no luck trying to rope it. He got an apple from a neighbor, which he thought would do the trick. 'He decided to go at a full gallop out into the woods,' Croft said...
Nobody in town has reported a missing pony... The pony is an average size, Croft said. It still has some of its winter coat, and it's a mixture of black, brown and white."
Oldies suddenly a thing of past in WCBS shift:"Oldies radio is dead in New York City. After more than three decades as the top oldies station in the country, WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) abruptly scrapped its format yesterday for a concept called Jack.
As Frank Sinatra's 'Summer Wind' trailed off at 5 p.m., a voice intoned: 'Why don't we play what we want? There's a whole world of songs out there.' The first song under the new format was the Beastie Boys' 'Fight for Your Right.'"
I am shaking my fist at the youngsters! My second favorite car radio station is now playing the great poker game in the sky. And the Beastie Boys? Insult to injury.
The headline "Gay Man Seeks AG Job in NY" is interesting enough, and even more interesting considering the couple. They were featured in the New York Times last year for their home stylin' skills and one half (the non-AG half) regularly appears in Country Living magazine (which I do like to read).
Royksopp: 'We're mere rookies': "[Royksopp] have developed their own theories regarding songcraft: the Seven Stages of Songwriting Enlightenment. It has an impressive name, and comes with an impressive caveat. 'It's probably going to take up a lot of space to explain,' cautions Brundtland. 'You may need to call your editor and ask if he can clear a few pages.' 'And we are only ourselves on level three, out of seven,' Berge frowns.'We're mere rookies. We haven't had complete enlightenment yet.'
Highlights:
'Stage one is very easy. You are at a party, trying to impress a girl, and you get out a pen or pencil. You write something and you look very poetic. Perhaps you can boost this a little bit by smoking a cigarette, a Gitane perhaps if you want to go the French way, like Serge Gainsbourg.'And,' he adds, 'you need to have a very loose wrist when you strum the guitar.' His partner vigorously agrees. 'Yes, you are not just plucking' - he pronounces the word 'plooking' - 'on the strings. So that's stage one.
Stage two is when you learn to steal properly. You must take three totally useless books, let's say, a cookbook, a book about human anatomy and . . . ' He thinks for a moment. 'And a porno magazine. If you can use at least three words combined from each, and paste them together into your own thing, you are invited to level two.''
Then there is stage three. First of all, obviously, there is the hair and the beard.' Berge gestures towards his head, which is indeed considerably more hirsute now than when the duo first emerged three years ago.'Also, it is important to be able to name-drop the big singer-songwriters and say you're into Costello and Dylan, and obviously Leonard Cohen, and also to be in touch with themes such as religion and politics, in a subtle way.'"
