Other business owners were able to open BBB accounts for Hamas and the white supremacist website Stormfront with “A” grades by paying membership fees. To be fair, those organizations are top-notch at providing customer service, so long as the service you are looking for is getting murdered or reviled based on your race.
—Ken @ Popehat. Context here.
So let me see if I understand this NYT article correctly:
The “SoHo” district of NYC has a rule that allows people to live in lofts in SoHo, provided that they are “artists”.
Saying that you’re an “artist” isn’t good enough: there’s actually a city certification process for artists. For example, Jon Bon Jovi is a city certified artist.
Up until recently, the “artist” requirement seems to have been honored on a “wink and a nudge” basis. But now, banks, co-op boards, and the city have started cracking down.
And the process for become a NYC certified artist is somewhat mysterious:
…
…
Am I missing something?
There are two things I generally avoid.
I do think there’s been a handful of sane voices in the debate: I was really impressed with David Goldhill’s “How American Health Care Killed My Father“, for example.
That being said, Lawrence sent me over to that territory I usually don’t tread in (for this link about what TV shows are popular among Republicans and Democrats) and I stumbled across another Atlantic article there: “God Help You. You’re on Dialysis.”
I’m having trouble finding my way into writing about that, because there’s still some raw emotions involved. Also, what I saw involves the lives of some other people, who may not want their personal business spread all over the Internets.
That being said, much of what’s in that article rings a giant freaking bell. Infection control issues? Yes. “When patients do take on the system, they can pay a heavy price.” Oh, my, yes. Clinics pushing medication that they could charge Medicare for? You betcha. “The expanding grip of DaVita and Fresenius.” Yes, though to be fair, what else would you expect? If the Government is paying 100% of the cost for dialysis, they have an incentive to drive costs down as much as possible. If they drive down costs, the people who can even afford to provide the service in the first place are the ones who can cut costs and consolidate operations.
While I was composing this post, Instapundit linked to the article as well. The comments from the person who works in the industry are particularly interesting, I think.
Noted film producer Dino De Laurentiis has passed away.
In his honor, let’s look back at one of the high points of his career:
The LAT has a piece on the “Small Gift Los Angeles” exhibition in Santa Monica.
The link is worth checking out, especially for the included pictures. I find “Hello Topiary” a little scary, to be honest, but “Fishy Greetings” is kind of nifty.
Rotating 180 degrees away from Sanrio, the Guardian has an article on an exhibition in Berlin of sculptures confiscated by the Nazis. The sculptures in question were considered lost after the war, but were recently dug up during excavation for a new building.
These particular sculptures were apparently part of the Nazi campaign against “degenerate art”, and were included in the infamous “Entartete Kunst” exhibition. I’ve been fascinated by that exhibition since I first read about it in (of all places) Charles Willeford’s The Burnt Orange Heresy
I don’t really like just throwing up links to other people’s posts, at least without adding some commentary here.
But Matt G.’s post on the concept of “The Thin Blue Line” deserves highlighting, and I really can’t add anything to it except: this!
The NYT – our nation’s national newspaper of record – sees fit to run an article about…wait for it…The Onion‘s Joe Biden parody articles.
I am not making this up.
I would mock this some more, but the article’s actually worth reading, if only for the caption associated with this photo.
Continuing the ongoing saga of Officer Quintana:
He was arrested yesterday and charged with four misdemeanors related to the alleged domestic violence incident. Yes, the one he was fired over. Yes, the one that happened over a year ago.
Look, I’m not in favor of cops thumping on their women, or thumping on other folks for that matter. But something stinks about this story; either the Leander PD covered for Quintana, or someone put pressure on them to press charges over a year after the fact, and in spite of the victim’s initial statement that no assault had occurred. (And, yes, I’m aware that’s not uncommon in domestic violence situations, and probably even more common when the perp is a police officer. On the other hand, the victim is a police officer, too.)
…to the United States Marine Corps.
I would tell my favorite Marine joke, but Tam beat me to it.
And I guess I should acknowledge the 35th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, as well. Sadly, I’m not in the distribution area covered by the Great Lakes Brewing Company, but if you are, I highly recommend the Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. (Actually, I recommend all of Great Lakes’ beers. And they’re nice people, too.)
The LAT quotes an internal Department of Justice report: Project Gunrunner, the BATFE’s “ambitious” (LAT description) effort to stop gunrunning to Mexico, isn’t working.
The report states that part of the problem is the program’s focus on “small gun dealers” instead of “large-scale smuggling rings”. Also, the report states that BATFE doesn’t share information with other agencies, including ICE and the DEA.
The BATFE’s response? “We need more funding.”
..that “Linotype: The Film” isn’t scheduled for release until next year.
When it does come out on DVD, I want to do a double bill with it and “Helvetica
The University of Colorado (the one at Boulder) has fired football coach Dan Hawkins.
Hawkins was hired in 2006. His record? 2-10 in 2006, 6-7 in 2007, 5-7 in 2008, 3-9 in 2009, and 3-6 before he was fired this year.
Ever think about just packing it in, guys?
(Hattip: FARK.)
The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art opened in Biloxi, Mississippi on Monday.
Here’s a nice photo of the museum. Can you guess who designed it?
Looking over Wikipedia’s list of completed Gehry buildings, I don’t see a lot of post-1997 that were designed with that intent. The only two I really see as being possible tourist attractions are the Experience Music Project and the Walt Disney Concert Hall; everything else seems to be corporate, college campus, or medical. That just seems like a pointless shot by the NYT.
The University of Texas has acquired Spalding Gray’s archives. I know that Mike the Musicologist is going “squee” with delight at this news.
I also know some folks who tried to go to the “Gypsy Picnic Food Trailer Festival” on Saturday. Their experience was very much like John Kelso’s.
That’s an actual headline in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (or, as we like to call it around here, the Startle Gram).
Other coverage: Dallas Morning News. ESPN. NFL.com.
I’d love to see Tony Dungy take the job, and interviewing him would be Rooney Rule complaint, but I suspect he’s too happy in his current gig.
How about Brad Childress?
And what will Wade do? Well, I suspect there’s an opportunity opening up in Buffalo soon, and hiring a former Cowboys coach isn’t unprecedented…
Sorry this is late. I wanted to hold off until this morning so I could work in the NBA loser update as well. Tragically, everyone at this point has won at least one game (yes, even the Rockets and Clippers).
So, NFL teams that still have a chance to go 0-16:
Buffalo
In other news, do you hear that noise? The noise of drums? The constant drumbeat, pounding, pounding? “Fire Wade!” “Fire Brad!” “Fire Wade!” “Fire Brad!” The natives are restless.
Edited to add: Breaking! The natives have apparently gotten a sacrifice! More on this as it develops!