The strike may be over, but the conflict at stake still remain. I pretty much agree with Bob at Blue Mass, but also wonder if something bigger is being left out of the picture. People on the left side of the blogosphere are huffing that we need to stick up for unions, but isn’t the […]
Derek of Third Decade had guardedly positive things to say about Brokeback Mountain. I, however, am not that nice. I hated it. The movie was pretty cheesy, a soft porn/melodrama hybrid that’s sold as a commentary on masculinity, but in fact has little critical distance on the gendered fantasies it draws on.
In fact, it’s striking […]
Dan Kennedy catches Ted Kennedy blundering through an op-ed. Indeed, the Communist Manifesto was not written by Mao, the book supposed requested by the UMass student was Mao’s little red book. But I’m wondering how that slipped by because a) certainly Ted Kennedy doesn’t actually write his own op-eds, instead likely farming them off to […]
Tim Burke has more on images of Africa:
Africa is the place where it’s ok to capaciously envision grand projects of various kinds with little concern for the specific humanity of specific African individuals or communities, where you treat them as generic, faceless objects to be saved, remade, to be waved about as totemic proof of […]
I’m wondering why almost all the clientele for Haymarket Pizza are men.
Discr
Lots of great stuff today in my RSS reader:
Tim Burke discusses the Africa beat for journalists:
Hardly anybody likes the mass media. Everybody likes to beat up on them, use them as an alibi for their own intellectual or political shortcomings. Academics have a particular form of that aversion: journalism appears to many of them relentlessly […]
Quote of the day, from Matt Yglesias:
the same conservatives who think all this is no big deal seem to regard the EPA as an intolerable sign of creeping totalitarianism.
He’s speaking, of course, of the executive usurpation of power in its liberal reading of war powers legislation. As Mark Shields said last night, with not too […]
Jay Fitzgerald discusses the degree mill scandal swirling around Bill Weld. He’s probably right that the big story here is the dampening effect on Weld’s NY gubernatorial run. But I find intriguing the larger ramifications about educational credentials. Jay writes,
Spare me the argument that this proves the pitfalls of for-profit education. Student-loans have become […]
I tend to avoid wading into the Wal-Mart Wars, just because the aesthetic issues are so wound up with the economic ones that I find them hard to dissociate. Fortunately, Brad DeLong weighs offers up this useful guideline:
I suggest a convergence on a simple position: efficient production and distribution, good; using local monopoly power […]
Diana gives an excellent list of recommended holiday films, including my favorite, Christmas in Conneticut. I’ve yet to see horror flick You Better Watch Out (a.k.a Christmas Evil), but sadly, Netflix doesn’t carry it.
Any favorites you’d add?
Who knew that December was high politics season in Massachusetts? The statewide races are heating up, particularly given Romney’s announcement yesterday that he will not run. Lots of great political coverage, particularly at Blue Mass Group, which is following the races brewing for Lt. Governor and Middlesex DA with particular thoroughness.
Then there’s the governor’s race, […]
Ned Ward points me to a new food blog that’s up and running for Boston called Eat and Destroy. Posts are still sparse (they promise more starting January), but it looks promising.
In other food news, the New York Times provides a public service for this holiday season by rating champagnes under 30 bucks.
Bos
Be A Design Group points out a website of a collector of soft drink cans. They’re right, it’s a treasure for those interested in the history of design. My favorite are the Fresca cans from the 60s and 70s:
Source: USA Soda.com
What’s changed of course is that strong graphic elements no longer are used to pitch […]
John Keith does a great job debunking the notion that housing costs are the primary cause of Massacusetts’ loss of young professionals.
The [Center for Urban and Regional Policy] lecturers spoke at length on two subjects. First, their research has led them to the conclusion that 20-34 year old residents of Massachusetts are moving out-of-state […]
The Globe Magazine had a great cover story this weekend about the rising costs of UMass Amherst. I was impressed by its bridging of anecdote and politics/policy analysis:
What began as an affordable ticket to a higher standard of living for anyone who was willing to work hard enough is now, according to a recent USA […]