Driving Blind: Austerity, Street Art, and Books
Let’s get right down to business.
Paul Krugman comes out swinging in the New York Review of Books with a piece of extended economic criticism that will surely draw much ire, but push an important debate back into the the public consciousness.
On the Verge returns today, and with one of my favorite scientists: Brian Greene.
Erick Erickson loses a lot of street-cred as “the reasonable conservative” after promoting biology as the reason why income inequality among men and women isn’t the problem we think it is.
Paul Jarvis gives advice on how to get paid when a client welches.
Street art always makes me happy–see for yourself.
Chris Cabin on how After Earth demonstrates the fear at the heart of M. Night’s film making.
But how does the millenial take a shit?
Kelly McMasters explores what makes individual readers tick.
Bill Morris on the things he’ll ban when he’s elected mayor, like bookstore closings for instance.
Claire Kelley compares how the French and the Italians think of books.
Malcolm Gladwell attacks the plans to renovate NYC’s Central Library, suggesting condos be built there instead. Should the library’s history trump its mission, or can the one save the other?
Are lower prices more important than higher wages, or on a reconsideration of big, bad inflation.
Any “Conservative Reform” movement will need to reconcile its espoused values with its proposed policies. Most of the “reformers” though still seem too timid.
All you need to know about conservatives is that Erick Erikson, the guy who called Justice Souter a goat-fishing child molester, was considered one of the reasonable ones.Report
Pretty much….Report
Souter and Kaus should hang out.Report
Kaus isn’t into sharing.Report
What’s interesting about the Italian bookstore article is the mention that France (and possibly Italy) think culture is worth saving and are willing to use law and government to save it. I imagine a Matt Y and the neo-liberal brigade tut-tutting against this and praising Amazon and tisk tisking about the end of retail.
Because god forbid that anything be more important than economics!Report
the thing i like about that bill morris piece is that he’ll raise taxes in some areas for bookstores of all things but then essentially ban tourism because something something something? has he ever lived here? i know it’s a tongue in cheek not really grrr thing but c’mon. that’s as silly as presuming people barricade themselves in their apartments because of tourists. we hate them, but it’s a thing you gotta live with, like mosquitoes or locavore martinis.Report
I think the Bill Morris piece was largely sarcastic. I was commenting on the Charles Kelly piece anyway.Report
Pretty sure it’s a joke. Though the one about bookstores is disturbingly difficult to distinguish from actual left-wing proposals. The only real giveaway is the low rate of the proposed tax.Report
i know it’s a “joke” but it’s not really a joke. like the locovore martini, it is something that is both too silly to be true yet entirely real.
after all, mr. dealer is no doubt serious about propping up bookstores – aka typeset welfare queens – with public funds. as are the french, obviously. it’s just plain weird.
people genuinely think like that. i think i married one of them. it causes me, if not consternation, perhaps unease? i do not know, but i’ll check my phone’s kindle library later for the answer.Report
All you need to know about leftists is that Matt Yglesias got excommunicated for reading an econ textbook.Report
All you need to know about libertarians is that they think Matt Y is an expert and authority for taking econ 101 as an undergrad. And probably getting a B-.Report
How dare you insult Libertarians by this statement. MY is a fool and doesn’t even understand economic.
Krugman, by the way, is a tool.Report
Indeed–like a hammer crushing poor economic arguments.Report
all i need to know about both of you is that you need to get a room. a room filled with dumb arguments.
and perhaps smooches!Report
Very grateful for This is Colossal. The steel-ribbon sculptures a few posts below are a wonder.
It’s up there with Brain Picking, a blog on graphic arts.Report
those ribbon sculptures are flippin’ amazing!Report
I want one of these for my living room.Report
You are not alone in coveting.
And a few posts below, the sound sculpture. I could spend hours and hours in a space like that, making crooning, cawing, croaking, clapping, clicking.Report
If you enjoy ThisIsColossal, you might enjoy ButDoesItFloat. It’s my sunny little corner of the Forty Acre Wood.Report
Awesome, BlaiseP. Thank you.
The Faberge Fracals are very helpful; I’ve been trying to design knit fractal, a hat would be a good start, and some clarity of process comes with seeing those. I’m beholden.Report
ahem. Fractals, not fracals.Report
RE: Not getting paid: never, ever threaten a client with legal action. Just do it. No warnings. No promises. Just slap them so fast and so hard they never knew what hit them. Been consulting a longlong time. Never make a threat. Just act.
That whole article sucks wind. Attempting to ruin some via social media doesn’t work: everyone knows a griefer’s review can hurt a business and will be Exhibit A in the lawsuit to follow.Report