Month: July 2003

California in the Economist

There's an interesting article about California's current political and fiscal crisis in this week's The Economist, California in Crisis: Is the Golden State governable?

Both the recall and the budget can be partly explained away as special problems. The budget crisis is a delayed reaction to the dotcom bust (and the collapse in tax revenues)…and the recall is essentially a political ruse by the Republicans to take advantage of that…[y]et both the recall and the budget are also symptoms of a more profound malaise in the state…

The real flaw in California is not a mechanical one to do with how smoothly the machinery of government is working (though it plainly isn't doing very well). The real problem is that politicians have become divorced from the changing nature of their state.

Guh, I'm glad I moved. Not that New York doesn't have its own problems, and lots of them.

Dear Abby tackles blogging issues

Dear Abby addresses weblogs in today's column. And you can guess the issue — because it's one we've all faced — writing about your friends on your blog.

I am a 14-year-old girl about to start my freshman year in high school. Most of my friends (including myself) have Web logs — or "blogs."… I have several friends who have stopped speaking to each other after reading not-so-nice things about themselves in the blogs.

Too funny!

A very NYC 4th of July

2003 NYC fireworksYesterday was a perfect 4th of July here in New York City: hot, hazy, and full of stuff to do. Because of the hot dog eating contest, and the fact that I'd never been there, we headed to Coney Island with some friends. It sure was fun. After some rest, we headed back out to see the amazing Macy's fireworks along the East River. Wow oh wow, but they were incredible. Best I've ever seen, by far. I want to see more fireworks right now! I've posted some pictures of the crowd-filled day: Coney Island and fireworks.

Happy 4th of July

Go Red Sox, kick Yankee butt! What to do today in New York City. Don't eat potato salad if it's been left too long in the sun. Keep all you digits when playing with fireworks. And remember:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

So enjoy Life today (sunny summer, yay!), be thankful for your Liberty (no work, woo hoo!), and most of all, pursuit your Happiness (picnic? ball game? fire works?). I'm off to Coney Island for beachside fun and Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest.

The New Yorker on cost disease

From The Talk of the Town's Financial Page in this week's The New Yorker comes What Ails Us by James Surowiecki, a really interesting look at deflation, productivity, and Baumol's cost disease.

There are really two American economies: one that's getting more productive and one that's not. In the first — the economy of Dell, Toyota, and Wal-Mart — consumers have grown accustomed to paying less for more. In the second — the economy of Harvard, the Yankees, and Bob's Body Shop — they pay more for the same.

Yup, I really think I'd be a happy economist. Related: View: Why College Costs So Much from the New York Times, April 8, 2001.

New at the Whitney

The Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC opens an exhibit today called The American Effect that I really want to check out.

The American Effect explores a wide range of global perceptions of the United States. With forty-seven artists and filmmakers and three collaboratives selected from thirty countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South and North America, the show surveys works made since 1990 in a wide variety of media, including drawing, photography, film, installation, painting, sculpture, video, and Internet art.

It runs until October 12, 2003 in the Emily Fisher Landau Galleries, Floor 4.

Free opera tonight in Central Park

When I last posted about free opera in the Park, I urged you to go because it was the last performance this summer by the Met. But little did I realize (as you probably did, you opera aficionado you,) that the New York Grand Opera would be performing only a few weeks later. Tonight they are presenting a fully-staged production of Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème in the East Meadow at 7:30 PM. No tickets required. It's free. Enter at Fifth Ave @ 97th Street.

Site problems

Something went kaput with the web server yesterday while those who were able to reboot it were unavailable, hence no megnut. But I'm thinking about moving the site to a more substantial server whose uptime should be more reliable. Hopefully at some point in the next month or two I'll find the time.

Bread salad season

It's that time of year again, yes, it's Bread Salad Season! I made my first batch last night with my very own basil from my fire escape garden and it was yummy! It will be even better in the coming weeks with fresh tomatoes from my plant and the local farmer's market. Still, nothing beats it after a long day at the office. I may attempt to subsist entirely on bread salad this summer.