February 2010
40 posts
Health care reform around the country →
It was hard to miss: The White House confab this week with the warring sides in Congress meeting over the heated issue of health care reform. National shows and local stations each weighed creative…
The Mr. Rogers Guide to Blogging from the Heart |... →
love this. credit for finding goes to @jdcoffman
The Truth About Ruth - KCRW →
An Eater’s Guide To LA - Saveur.com →
Chopinomics →
Frederic Chopin, 1849/Credit: Wikimedia Commons
How much would you pay to take a piano lesson from Frederic Chopin? In his time, adjusted for inflation, the price tag on a piano…
Freakonomics: Great Scott! →
from NYT:
Quotes Uncovered: Great Scott and Book Burners
Each week, I’ve been inviting readers to submit quotations whose origins they want me to try to trace, using my book, The Yale Book of Quotations, and my more recent research. Here is the latest round.
Trading up →
Everyone has a skill they can share. That’s the theory behind the new OurGoods trade school in New York City, a space where artists and performers share each other’s abilities and help each other…
Recalling the recall →
Lawmakers in Washington are hearing from Toyota executives and auto industry experts this week to determine why some models have uncontrollable acceleration problems and whether Toyota tried to…
Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah! | Lady Gaga at MOCA →
From NY Times/T Magazine:
Francesco Vezzoli’s black-tie-soiree-as-performance-art, “Ballets Russes Italian Style (The Shortest Musical You Will Never See Again),” featuring Lady Gaga and Prada-clad dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet, was undoubtedly one of the highlight’s on last year’s contemporary-art calendar. If you missed the spectacle of spectacles, created for MOCA’s 30th anniversary gala,...
Understanding PhRMA →
The Sunlight Foundation digs deep into the new White House health care proposal and how it may anger the powerful drug lobby, PhRMA.
Just last week, former Louisiana Senator Billy Tauzin…
Google - Moscow-Vladivostok: virtual journey on... →
Google Russia and Russia Railways partnered to create a mashup video/map project of the Trans-Siberian, even including what to read and listen to along the way. Amazing! Still high on my list of trips to take, but you get a pretty great sense just by sitting at your desk.
Fighting for firefighters →
Some of the most vital jobs in local communities are being threatened daily by budget cutbacks and the struggling economy – including firefighters and police officers. While the White House says the…
The gold standard →
Alexandre Bilodeau’s Gold Medal/ Credit Flickr user: thelastminute
All these medals floating around with the Olympics this week have me thinking, “What’s a gold medal really worth?”…
A year of recovery →
This morning, President Obama marked a year since signing the Economic Recovery Act. So has the stimulus package worked? Here are just a few examples from EconomyStory’s partners examining the…
Food Boners and F-Bombs: Anthony Bourdain →
From SF Weekly: Bourdain told HuffPo’s J.M. Hirsch the show would feature a segment devoted to food porn: Bourdain and Ripert both quoting egregious examples of what Hirsch called “the excessively sumptuous and sometimes sexualized words and photography often used in food media.” We asked Bourdain to elaborate on his notion of food porn, and shamelessly begged for additional...
Prizes galore →
Grammys, Golden Globes, Oscars. It’s awards season in Hollywood, but entertainment isn’t the only industry getting in on the act.
The newly established Dynamite Prize is an effort to be to the…
Hate Mail from Third Graders: NOVA →
“It’s not easy being a public enemy,” writes Neil deGrasse Tyson in his book The Pluto Files. When Neil’s museum grouped Pluto not among the planets but rather with icy comets in an obscure region called the Kuiper Belt, he heard from thousands of outraged Pluto defenders. It’s tough being called a heartless Pluto-hater, particularly by a dismayed eight-year-old. In...
A lethal business model targets Middle America -... →
Really scary, totally fascinating piece from LA Times:
“Sugar cane farmers from a tiny Mexican county use savvy marketing and low prices to push black-tar heroin in the United States.”
Interview: Olympics economics →
Olympic Torch / Credit: Flickr user kk+
The opening ceremonies kick off the Winter Olympics in Vancouver tonight, but the lead up to the games has been fraught with concerns over cost…
LEH4 recommended an article : Author, 17, Says... →
Helene Hegemann in Berlin.
Domains - Christiane Amanpour - War Rooms -... →
This is amazing. Love her.
“1. Most Amiable Dictator: Slobodan Milosevic. He would slap you on the back, offer you a drink. He tried to be charming. But many of them do. You have to be on your guard.”
Why Can't Women Ski Jump in the Olympics? - Yahoo!... →
Lindsey Van holds the record - among both men and women - for the longest jump off of Whistler, B.C.’s normal ski jump, built for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. … But when games kick off on Feb. 12, the 2009 women’s ski jumping world champion will be nowhere in sight. That’s because women aren’t allowed to ski jump in the Olympics.
To buy or not to buy →
Condo for sale signs/ Credit: Flickr user Sean Drielinger
Is the housing crisis over? While it may appear that prices have hit bottom, for those caught in the mortgage crisis, the…
L.A. sees big jump in bike thefts, prompting some... →
Although crime across L.A. is dropping, there is one glaring exception: bicycle thefts, which rose 29% last year. Nearly 2,000 bikes were reported stolen last year – and authorities believe the actual number of thefts was much higher because so many people don’t report stolen bikes.
Snow slammed →
The east coast got a one-two punch of snow this week – but can they afford to? Snow removal budgets have been blown away, and with schools, the federal government, and most businesses shut…
How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America - The... →
“The Great Recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably just beginning. Before it ends, it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar men. It could cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. It may already be plunging many inner cities into a despair not seen for...
A billboard miss-tery →
Billboard on I-35 in Minnesota/Credit: MPR
Business owners in Minnesota who are frustrated with Washington are apparently behind what was thought might be an internet hoax. Minnesota…
EconomyBeat: Reality check →
Who says reality TV shows are out of touch? Miss Pink Slip is a “34-year old formerly unemployed girl in Atlanta,” who writes about reality TV, the Super Bowl, Oscar nominations — pretty much anything in the entertainment world — and finds a way to connect it to the econom
Monday quarterbacking →
Last night’s Super Bowl may do wonders for the New Orleans economy after the Saints win, and it was also a big night for some unusual businesses and advertisers.
WWNO commentator Andre Perry …
“Ayaan is gorgeous, but it’s tricky with a fatwa to find guys”
– Friend of Hirsi Ali, mistress of economist and author Niall Ferguson. http://tinyurl.com/ybyxvo5 (via paddyhirsch)
Leftover Cuties →
Awesome music discovery of the week. You’re welcome!
Tavis Smiley and Wyclef Jean on Haiti recovery →
Earlier this week, Tavis Smiley interviewed musician Wyclef Jean, whose organization Yele has raised over $1 million for Haitian earthquake relief. Smiley compares coverage of Hurricane Katrina…
The pricey (and icy) road to Vancouver →
Olympic Torch relay/ Credit: Flickr user jp1958
It’ll cost a lot to host the Winter Olympics — over $6 billion CDN, to be exact. Will the Olympics pay off for Vancouver? The World’s Jason…
Musical notes →
You wouldn’t know there was a recession by watching last night’s Grammy Awards – the chorus of Beyonce’s winning song, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” has echoes of “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best…
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