Nothing but Flowers
Friday, April 30, 2004
First, happy birthday to Jon.
Second, a bitch: iTunes crashed while upgrading itself this morning, and it lost all memory of ever having had a library or playlists. So this morning I had it re-find my mp3s. I'm a little sad about the missing playlists, but at least I have the opportunity to recreate my "25 most listened to" auto-list. Perhaps this time it won't have any REALLY EMBARRASSING songs in it.
Third, a whine. Well, not really a whine, per se, maybe more a comment that could be construed as either a whine or a statement of fact. In the past week I have been referred to by the college students as, variously:
-Good cop (to, presumably, my boss' bad cop)
-the empathetic one
-the one "most like us"
-the "least intimidating"
and one other that I can't remember, but also implied that I'm the pushover. And perhaps also (though perhaps not) the least respected. All these comments were unsolicited and on different days, which is why it's particularly amusing.
Yesterday in class an acquaintance of mine who is on the board of a theater company here in Chicago asked if I'd given any thought to joining the board. I said I hadn't been asked, she said "hmmmmmmmm". She then asked me about my ultimate career ambitions, and we talked about that for a while. And then she asked if I'd like to be the executive director of her theater some day. I had this moment of "um, yeah. Of COU-rse."
It can be fun to dream. Also a little disconcerting if within three years I go from "second techie from the left" to "board member". Pipe dreams, but hey.
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Concoct Investor Relations: News Release
Comcast announces that it isn't interested in Disney after all Probably a good decision for all concerned, but it wastes a good case study in the making.
It's a show set in a boarding school so how can I not want to see it? The review says it wants to be Rent, but is closer to Hair (without good music). The review also proves the danger of trying to applaud the designs--you end up with closing lines like "It's amazing what you can do with footwear."
The first really nice day temperature-wise this year (mid-70's and sunny. It has been hotter than that, but when I was out of town, so it didn't happen). However, it is ruined by the "severe wind advisory". Sometimes the whole 'windy-city' thing seems apt, even though I know it has nothing to do with the weather. So, from now until 9pm tonight we are advised "PEOPLE IN TRUCKS, RVS AND OTHER HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES SHOULD TRAVEL WITH CAUTION. LOOSE OBJECTS SUCH AS TRASH CANS AND LAWN FURNITURE SHOULD BE SECURED...."
The importance of Grammar...or not
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
The new Official Website of Manny Ramiez FOR the record, I'm not the one who made the spelling error--the intro page (a rather artsy flash intro, because it's not for the fame, it's love of the game) leaves out the "r" in Ramirez and I auto-linked from there. But I'm amused, so I'm not correcting it.
Long sentence for something so stupid. Anyway, when the Globe said Manny had a new website, I had to check it out myself. Non Red Sox fans will need to understand that this man never, ever, liked to talk to the media before this season. Heck, he didn't even run out ground balls. Now, after an off season where the sox blatantly tried to get rid of him in any way possible, he's Mr. Friendly with the cool website and happy-go-lucky personality. Or maybe just better handlers.
The Passion' puts some believers on the outside The image of a 60 year old woman getting a doctor's note to avoid the movie is on the one hand hysterical and on the other quite sad.
The Hamster says that comparing the war record of Bush vs Kerry is more embarrassing than the Yankees against the Red Sox this past weekend. Hee!
Maybe I just didn't read the sources, but I've heard way more about Sunday's march on Washington from blogs than "legit" news sources. I think when you look for things that preach to the choir, you find them.
Monday, April 26, 2004
I have to write--as I do for many classes--a short weekly paper for class tomorrow. No more then 600 words, on a pre-assigned topic. This week we are talking about frames. (No, not what you put pictures in). One option is to find a quote in the news that is badly framed and re-write it, explaining why your version is better framed. My initial thought was to re-write Bush's original justification for war in Iraq, but I got over that since it would involve supporting something I deeply oppose. I think I've settled on re-writing Gore's misunderstood claim to have invented the internet (which is really not what he said, but certainly a fair interpretation thereof).
Anyway, point is, business school is not always about accounting or pricing. Sometimes it's about how to bend the consumer to your will.
For my pricing class (the one on Thursday) I get to do a case analysis of Marlboro.
Have I mentioned my fondness for procrastination? I once thought it disappeared in grad school, but no.
But I need to get cracking. I've done all the readings I need to do, but that isn't quite enough. And my sleep habits are catching up to me...Going to bed at 12:30 or 1 and waking up at 7 is a perfectly good option on any given night, but when that's the nightly routine it eventually catches up with you. I think it's a sign of my pathetic social life that I generally go to bed earlier on the weekends than I do during the week...But I'll quit the self-pity now. For at least a few minutes.
Forgot to include this earlier--more celebrities behaving badly, shock me shock me. Billy Joel crashes car into house
TheStar.com - How theatre saved Chicago. Should I give Mayor Daley credit for everything? Is he somehow responsible for Mark Prior too? Heck, if Toronto wants their mayor to be more like Daley, well let's just hope they aren't too fond of their airport. Or un-corrupt government where the biggest contracts and deals aren't routinely given to people with "friends" in high places.
Teaching P. Diddy how to act. You know, if it actually works, I know of a lot of hollywood stars who could use some acting lessons...
Truth or elaborate marketing game? Even if you don't read the article you should visit it's interior link, Subservient chicken.com
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Red Sox fan heaven
Not only did my red sox sweep the Yankees, but they did it without Nomar and Trot. Now, a skeptic will say that's because the Yankees' All-Star team is struggling, but I'd like to say it's because this year's Red Sox might just be the team I've always thought they were. The season is way too young to dismiss the Yankees or make assumptions about the standings in October, but I'm hopeful, maybe even gleeful. Heck, I'll stop criticizing Damon's lack of grooming (the Globe is even calling Damon disciples to send in pictures).
As an update to my earlier post, I gave up filing and sorting paper in favor of throwing out old cosmetics. I found really odd shades of lipstick dating back to the mid-90's, and various other items that expired years ago. All trashed now. I also reorganized my jewelry, which involved throwing out / putting aside to give away faux-silver studs shaped like giraffes and similarly tween-aged earrings. Can someone go back in time and tell me that I didn't need to pack & move the cheap Claire's jewelry I bought for $10 in 1995?
Now if I'd done some homework today I'd really be ahead of the game...
Jon already linked this, but just in case you haven't figured it out yet, JohnKerryIsADoucheBagButImVotingForHimAnyway
I'm feeling a lot better about life then I have in a while. Why, you may ask? Well, because I spent the day yesterday, as my boyfriend would put it, going through the archives of my museum and deciding what needs some restoration and what should just be trashed or given away.
In other words, I dug through my closets and shelves and have collected three large garbage bags full of clothing I will never ever wear again to be given away. I also threw out 2 pairs of paint-splattered-hole-filled shoes, a FAVORITE blue shirt from the late 90's that has two holes and is shredding at the sleeves, jeans with holes throughout in un-cool places, and a sweater that was apparently designed for neither warmth nor style and is coming apart at the bottom.
I also have a huge amount of stuff to be dry cleaned--shirts that had fallen to the closet floor and used as pillows by the cat, pants thrown into a heap in the back about a year ago, etc. Finally, I did 4 loads of laundry (first time I've done laundry since I went to Bali--it was odd, a couple of the things I was washing still smelled like Bali and even felt humid).
I have to say that perhaps the most shocking part of this is that my enormous walk-in closet is still full, as are my dresser, two storage bins (one with sweaters one just switched from short-sleeve to long-sleeve shirts), a plastic cube set-up that acts as a second dresser, and a large storage bin full of socks. I had hoped to reduce my places to put clothing by at least one 3'x2'x2' bin, but somehow that didn't happen. To be fair, the floor is now empty of clothing, and the bins are less over-stuffed, but it's still a little ridiculous.
The agenda for today is filing old bills and paperwork, and then doing homework.
It's an exciting life I live.
Congrats to those readers who last night demonstrated that even someone who HATES Mamet can find a staged reading compelling. And good luck to those who will be around for this evening's zaniness.
I'm sure bill-sorting will drive me to distraction (and hence more blogging) later in the day. 'Till then, enjoy.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
I posted a sign on the bathroom door at work yesterday. It goes something like this:
"You can't use the sink in this bathroom because it causes leaks downstairs. This begs the question: do you really want to use the bathroom, knowing that everyone around you knows you can't use the sink?"
For a shocking number of people, the answer is "yes".
I'm not shaking hands with any of them anytime soon. I'm not particularly germ-phobic, but for some reason this creeps me out.
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Since, as my office-mate says, we have to get used to the idea, we might as well know What's Right With Kerry
Monday, April 19, 2004
I promise that this Christian Science Monitor article,The art of pricing is about art, not pricing. Or both, which is another validation of my current class choices.
600 Macs, 4,000 Lines, One Giant Leap for DVD's
It's amazing how exhausting two days can be when they are emotionally charged.
The ceremony was beautiful and amazing. There was, predictably, a lot of patriotic propoganda, but all for good. What partisanship there was during the actual ceremony was limited to appeals for more boat-building in Maine. Which is good: my grandfather was always very nonpartisan, it would have seriously annoyed me if things had gone off in that direction.
and, you know, those boats are really big. And we got a tour, which was amazing (and made me confirm--not that I ever doubted this--that I could not live on a ship. Ever). It was perfect weather, 60 degrees and sunny, which in maine is a veritable miracle.
Off to work--maybe more later.
Sunday, April 18, 2004
(In case I forgot to explain where I was this weekend) Destroyer's 97-year-old namesake enjoys christening
I dunno how to react to this: Wolfowitz: U.S. at Crossroads, But Signs Say 'We Will Win'
Or much of the rest of the weekend. More later.
Friday, April 16, 2004
Broadway Producers want touring actors to get paid less. Well, duh. Of course they want that. but now they've written a letter about it too.
I understand that if it's a break-even question, or a close-to-breakeven question, then going non-eq or cutting salaries to make a tour possible is better then eliminating the opportunity for people to see Broadway theater. But if it's just about making profit margins larger...Well, there are other ways to do that. Preferably without pissing off the actors and musicians.
Sharman (i.e. Kazaa's parent) Networks hires new lawyers
Want to be a Producer? Of course, the fee for a 3 day conference is nearly $400. You know, the fee for another theater conference, a 5 day one, is $420. So it must be fair.
Dimwitticisims
Thursday, April 15, 2004
The New York Times > Technology > Profit at Apple Almost Triples on a Sharp Rise in iPod Sales
Profit at Apple Almost Triples on a Sharp Rise in iPod Sales
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
(re)designing Chicago's lakefront for the 21st century
Had an excellent class last night, though we spent a little too much time talking about the Yankees for my taste. True, a fair amount of that time was spent criticizing George STeinbrenner, but then more of it was spent praising Joe Torre. It is, after all, a decision-making course.
You picks your battles and you fights 'em.
In class we also watched a couple videos that made us all doubt a lot of things. In the first, six people are passing a ball around, and we were asked to count how many times the ball was tossed. About half the people in the room didn't notice a person in a gorilla suit walk into the middle of the ball-throwing, do a little dance, and exit. I only noticed because I heard a laugh and wanted to know why. In the next videos, of which we saw several, something even more bizarre happens. Opening shot: Man giving directions to younger man. Young man is holding campus map (it looks like professor-prospective student, or something), looking confused, professor type is pointing. Then two men carrying a large sheet of plywood walk directly through this interaction. One of the plywood carriers and the asking directions man switch (the plywood blocks the prof from seeing this). The direction giving continues, no pause, no startle at the change. We saw a couple different versions of this, with different extremes of differences (though always from one white man to another). Apparently more than half of the innocent direction-givers didn't notice. And as the prof said (after joking that this means we never have bad hair days), what about eyewitness testimony?
Another fascinating thing from class was the result of an online poll of all 3 sections of this class (about 200 people). 27% said they were likely to vote for Bush, 52% for Kerry, the rest undecided. We were also asked what we thought our classmates would vote--and that was split, 46-42.
First, I'm shocked that a group of baby-businesspeople is so supportive of Kerry. Perhaps the numbers are influenced by international students? That's about 25%, which still doesn't explain it all (especially if one assumes that more international students were "undecided", though I'm not sure that is a reasonable assumption).
It makes me feel a little better about the world if only 27% of the future leaders of tomorrow want Bush to be reelected. Sure, people grow more conservative as the get older, but at least they aren't starting right and moving extreme right.
And maybe, just maybe, there's hope after all. (My professor would rip apart that argument. Sample Size! he'd scream. Underlying bias! No control! But still, it gives me hope).
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
What's What at the Humana festival(courtesy of the Seattle Times, via ArtsJournal)
two magazines, one America
The Sinfonia debate is just getting started
It's funny, in I instinctively take the side of the musicians in this fight, but only somewhat hypocritically. You see, I've studied unions in a couple of classes. Technological change always brings about worker angst, as the people displaced by the new technology are not the same ones who benefit. This has been true in manufacturing for hundreds of years. Okay, a hundred and fifty years. But the point is, there's always this conflict between technology and the worker. Becuase, as I learned last quarter, technological change is not ethically neutral.
But I'm still on the musician's side.
Monday, April 12, 2004
Played hooky from work today to watch the Cubs get decimated by the Pirates in freezing weather. I was wearing full winter regalia--leg warmers and all--and sitting under a warm blanket, but even so 4 hours later I'm still cold.
On the upside, Bill Murray threw out the first pitch (over the net and into the stands behind home plate) and sang "take me out to the ball game", which was great. he also walked about 20 feet in front and a half-level above us as he was escorted from a luxury box to the press booth to sing. He smiled (!) and waved at us. 2 innings later a similar appearance by Governor Blagojevich (presumably avoiding the cold weather) drew a less enthusiastic greeting from the crowd.
I think the cold would have been more bearable if the Cubs hadn't been so awful. Not that the Pirates were so great either--they had 5 errors and left 16 men on base. Course, they also scored 13 runs and had 16 hits, to the cubs 2 runs on 3 hits.
The family sitting next to us left after the 2nd. It was that cold.
Links today!
Season Planning at Arena an interesting article about how Arena Stage picks its season
Stalin and Shostakovich
Why Barenboim is leaving the CSO
More about Bob Edwards
Saturday, April 10, 2004
This brief interruption from a lame Saturday night of homework brought to you by the cultural leaps in understanding and acceptance of the last 30 years.
An article I'm reading for class on Tuesday was originally published in 1971, based on work from the 60's. The part I've read so far is about the validity of various psychological tests, and how the biases of the clinician administering the test often affect the results. But then there's this sentence "If 50 percent of homosexual persons draw figures in a certain way, and only 25 percent of other persons draw figures that way, the drawing characteristic may still be considered a valid diagnostic sign, since in the long run it may contribute information toward a diagnosis of homosexuality" (Chapman and Chapman, Psychology Today, November 1971).
It's one of those "oh-my-god-of-course-it-is-time-appropriate-but-that-sentence-just-seems-so-absolutely-out-of-comprehension. Or something.
On another note, I heard Ruben Studdard, American Idol, for the first time today (yes, I live under a pop-music-culture rock). The surprising part is that I heard him on NPR, on All Things Considered (weekend version). They were doing a segment on American Idol and the music industry.
This is very different from an apparent format lapse last week when, according to someone (but I don't remember whom) Chicago Public Radio played all of Britney's "Toxic" in between eight-forty-eight and Fresh Air. My reaction was amusement, whoever told me was appalled, but I imagine Jon would have been thrilled to hear it: Terry Gross and Madonna, within 5 minutes and without changing the dial!
It's been a lame weekend. I've had opportunities to be less lame, but have either ignored them or felt too "I can't do anything social because then I'll remember it's Easter and I'm not with my family" to do anything.
Oh, also on NPR this morning: Garrison Keilor said something like "right now people are busily preparing for Easter. Dressing the ham, boiling eggs, going on the internet to find directions to the church". That amused me a lot. I flirted with the idea of going on line to find my local Episcopal church to please my mom, but then I remembered that I drive past one on my way to work every single day, a mere mile and a half from my apartment. It's pretty on the outside.
Got a notice in the mail today saying my April rent was seriously overdue and I owed a fine. You know that feeling when you are SO convinced you've done something that it never occurs to you you haven't? Yeah, that one.
Okay, back to my reading.
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Learning to Expect the Unexpected (this is similar to what I'm studying in my decision making class)
Friday, April 09, 2004
Nothing in my training has prepared me to order food for 50 people who've just completed (or are about to start) long hard projects at the theater when a) it's Passover and b) half of the rest are on the Atkins diet or vegan.
Someone suggested just lots of meat.
I think it'll actually be pizza (the usual solution) and many boxes of matzoh, let the no-carbs people and the vegans (a smaller number) fend for themselves.
One of my partners for the my pricing class has done some consulting work at the professional theater on campus. Kind of makes me feel slightly less out of place.
Thursday, April 08, 2004
NLRB rules on musicians cs. sinfonia
Do you get the sense this article reflects the author's displeasure at how few pulitzers his paper won? maybe not, maybe wriitng about cars really isn't highbrow enough for an award.
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
My cat has a new favorite toy: iPod earbuds. And really, I can think of no better use for the ill-fitting and extremely painful low-sound-quality POSs then that.
I just finished my first homework assignment for Pricing. The honor code dictates that I not discuss my results with anyone until everyone has handed theirs in, and probably I shouldn't talk about any answers online as that could facilitate other people's attempts to violate the honor code. Or something.
Anyway, I was warned (as I believe I mentioned before) that this would be a highly quantitative course. I decided that I needed to get over 16 years of "girls don't do math" indoctrination (my age minus 3 years of "girls should do all the math and science and sportscasting in the world" indoctrination in 7th-9th grade at Winsor minus 6 years of friendship with math-teacher-in-training Kesa). I also realized that I've taken enough micro at this point to blow away my belief that I should take only fuzzy-behavioral-psych based management courses.
However, it's not the math that gets me. No, it's the combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. If I'm thinking math, I'm thinking math (this extends to simple word problems, including basic demand determinations, utility values and market sizes). If I'm analyzing a case, I'm doing it qualitatively--except for with the actual charts. (NB, this has gotten me into trouble in the past. Plus, I'm overstating it a little for effect).
The hard part is reading text and translating that into numbers.
The case analysis that was half of my homework tonight was 3 qualitative questions about market size, demand, consumer preference, etc. The rest asked me to come up with the EVC price for the product. No surprise, this is a pricing class. But that involved more complex equations than I've dealt with since first year college "hitchhikers guide to calculus" and more statistics than either Mith Marthall or Prof. Abreveya ever prepared me for. Actually, I should rephrase: more than I retained, not more then they prepared me for. The class I'm in, after all, has no prereqs other than intro marketing (which has only intro micro as a prereq).
I think my biggest stumbling block was that the next-best-alternative product was priced at $2, and I kept coming up with prices of over $150. This actually makes sense, given that the new product never needs to be replaced and saves 20% on labor costs, but at the time it was disconcerting.
So, I may have just proved why I don't belong in B-School. But at least I got to break out a smidgen of pricing theory at the ut committee meeting last week.
On another note, I had long ago decided that the only way to fight the inevitable Easter-blues (I'm sure I'll write more about this later this week) was to immerse myself in homework, go out with friends, and generally ignore hyde park and thinking about my family (usual sources of the blues).
Course, that didn't allow for having to be in hyde park all day Saturday, my family's insistence that I call them on Easter, mid-day Sunday plans that prevent homework, or most of my friends being busy/out of town and therefore unable to distract me.
On the upside, I may not be able to go home for the most important holiday in my religion of upbringing and family tradition, but I'll be traveling AGAIN next weekend. Surrounded by family to boot. I'm sure that after that I'll be glad to retreat back to sweet home Chicago.
Which reminds me. Last weekend, in Boston for my aunt's 70th birthday, my brother was VERY amused (and comforted) to hear my boyfriend whine that I'm never free to do anything. Apparently my family thought I was making up being busy and really just avoided them all the time. I was not amused. I was even less amused when an email to friends explaining that I was cell-less and therefore would love their phone numbers elicited 6 (yes, 6) emails that included some variation on "not that you have any need for my phone number since you never call".
I'd like to repeat that I miss all my friends, that I do feel isolated and alone when I'm stuck at work late or doing homework all Friday night, but I made this choice when I went to grad school. I hope that it won't irrevocably harm friendships, and I do like everyone as much as I did before I started. There are only 3 people who hear from me on any sort of regular basis, and that doesn't even include my mother.
Now I'm just avoiding going to asleep. Or perhaps looking for another (excuse to use parentheses).
ooh-here's one. My new phone arrived yesterday. It is far more phone than I need. The color screen is nicer then my computer's, and every icon animates itself when appropriate. The wallpaper is changeable, and all animated (which, frankly, is a little distracting). It's my first flip phone (welcoming me to the future, I suppose) and weighs about half as much as my next-lightest phone (which was not exactly heavy). It's less than half the size of my iPod and weighs about 1/10 as much. It's far more technology then I need, even though I elected not to activate the camera feature or internet/email stuff. But it's damn cool. And it only cost $32.16 (including shipping costs, rebates, and upgrade deals). But how long until I lose it? I hope long enough to earn another upgrade...at the rate of technological change I expect my next phone to scramble eggs.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Mostly links this AM, I'm running a little behind.
Like she needs it: J.Lo's mom wins $2.4 mil jackpot
The NYT finally realizes that-maybe-file sharing isn't so evil after all.
Where Plays Escape the Curse of the Unseen. I like this article because it quotes three people I know (not like they're friends, but I do know them).
Debbie Voight on being called fat. I saw her Ariadne in Boston several years ago, and it was absolutely mesmerizing, even for someone like me who has very limited musical sense. So it's really too bad that she's getting all this attention focused on her size instead of her voice(though she is distractingly enormous on stage).
Zadie Smith on where it all 'went wrong'
ok, off to work (and probably late)
Monday, April 05, 2004
Sunday, April 04, 2004
I have bad luck with cell phones. Or else I'm just a forgetful ditz. You judge.
Phone #1: giant Mitsubishi humpback whale phone. Purchased sometime in 2000. got to the point where it would only hold a charge for 5 minutes or so
Phone #2: really great, lovely Panasonic phone. Purchased for $100 and additional 2 year agreement in mid 2001. Antenna was broken sometime after a few months of ownership. Replaced under warranty
Phone #3: identical to #2. left in cab.
Phone #4: identical to #2 and #3. Subjected to water damage in an embarrassing 2002 incident involving a glass of water left in my purse.
Phone #5: one model lower than #2 & 3. Purchased as a replacement for the water damaged one for $50 with one-year extension. I think I lost it, but I can't quite remember the circumstances.
Phone #6: A nice Nokia with a color screen. Purchased for $30 with two-year extension. An upgrade in that it had a color screen and games. a downgrade in that it was bigger then the tiny Panasonic.
Phone #7: A Samsung X426 (Color Display). Purchased on line about 5 minutes ago for $30 (and two-year contract extension include $250 instant rebate for internet purchase/upgrade). Replaces Phone #6 which appears to have been left on American Airlines flight 1130 from Boston or at the airport shuttle ticket-buying counter. My first flip-phone.
Yeah, I think irresponsible ditz wins too. On the other hand, I've only had 3 palm pilots since 1999.
I'm not sure that's something to be proud of.
$30/month is still getting me 1000 anytime and unlimited nights and weekends and free long distance, but I'll still be saddled with the obnoxious 40cents/minute roaming charges subjected on all ATTWS customers.
I was really hoping to hold out for the cingular deal to change things.
Sigh.
Saturday, April 03, 2004
Friday, April 02, 2004
America's Best Graduate Schools 2005: Business: Part-Time M.B.A.
We're number 2!.
The salient part is that we ranked above Kellogg. hee.
The full time program is 6th, predictably behind HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Sloan and Kellogg.
Further indicating that rankings are bogus. These schools are all great, and have totally different methodologies. Comparing Harvard to Chicago is actually apples to oranges--cases to quantitative analysis. Marketing at Harvard is about making things feel right (I oversimplify perhaps), at Chicago its about making the numbers work. It's not quite that black and white--I have a course this quarter that involves no economics at all (and came with a warning. "this is as much a psych class as a management class. you will never see a number in this class. be warned". I rejoiced.); I'm sure HBS makes their students take some quantitative classes.
So, right, the rankings are BS. My brother likes to say that ranking schools is like ranking religious denominations--nothing is right for everybody.
but the competitive part of me is still happy about being second.
Breaking news--mistrial in the Tyco case. Sigh.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Sweet Jesus I hate Bill O'Reily perhaps the best URL ever.
Martha wants a new trial
Air America went live on AM 950 here in Chicago. I still haven't listened (too much of an NPR junkie to remember to change the channel), but I am excited. I'll show you liberal bias in the media...
FASB wants companies to report stock options as expenses My accounting prof will be so proud.
Gypsy actors hit the TKTS line
More union issues for actors. My friend would say the AEA actors are screwing over the tour producers (he is, you see, a tour producer; he's responsible for minor-market tours of cats, millie, seussical, mamma mia, etc.etc.). He would also argue that the producers have to keep tickets prices high to cover high costs, and that they barely scrape by, what with unions gouging them and all. He laments that the press always talks about the poor put-upon actors and never mentions how hard it is for the producing side. As you can imagine, we have lots of arguments about this.
noisy audiences
It being my car, nothing is easy. My tires are discontinued, an equivalent one will have to be special ordered. I'm okay to drive on the spare (though I've driven on it many many times), as long as I'm careful and avoid highways. Which means I get to work--how? At least I'm out of town this weekend.
Margo corrects me to say my first flat tire was not while looking for apartments, it was while other friends had borrowed the car and they kept driving it. I then got Margo and SMH to change it at the gas station on 53rd, while I fluttered my hands and said helpful things like "my poor little car"!
This may be true. In which case I may have gotten 5 flats instead of 4 in the first year, since there was also one while looking for apartments. hmmmmmmmm...Maybe Toyota owes me more money.
