Seven Stories Press (2012), Edition: Original, Paperback, 304 pages
Author: eggplant
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The Real Referendum – NYTimes.com
Yet there is a sense in which the election is indeed a referendum, but of a different kind. Voters are, in effect, being asked to deliver a verdict on the legacy of the New Deal and the Great Society, on Social Security, Medicare and, yes, Obamacare, which represents an extension of that legacy. Will they vote for politicians who want to replace Medicare with Vouchercare, who denounce Social Security as “collectivist” (as Paul Ryan once did), who dismiss those who turn to social insurance programs as people unwilling to take responsibility for their lives?
If the polls are any indication, the result of that referendum will be a clear reassertion of support for the safety net, and a clear rejection of politicians who want to return us to the Gilded Age. But here’s the question: Will that election result be honored?
Do You Work for a Fee, or for Free? | Small Agency Diary – Advertising Age
Is it me, or is there a growing trend in people seeking free ideas from those of us in the business? I’m not referring to spec pitches; I’m speaking about a phrase that I hear more and more: “I’d like to pick your brain.” Am I right? Have you been getting the same request?
For whatever reason, in my world, there are more brain pickers out there than ever before. My assistant even has a code for it when people call and ask to meet me for coffee to run something past me: “Another ‘Brain Picker,’ Marc. Want to take the call?” So who are these people, what do they really want? How can we make them pay for what we do for a living?
Brain Pickers come in all shapes and sizes. They are relatives. Friends of relatives. Close friends. Friends of friends. Relatives of clients. Friends of clients. Industry veterans. And industry rookies. Some want an hour of your time. Others just a quick call.
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Do You Work for a Fee, or for Free? | Small Agency Diary – Advertising Age
Fender Aims to Stay Plugged In Amid Changing Music Trends – NYTimes.com
IN 1948, a radio repairman named Leo Fender took a piece of ash, bolted on a length of maple and attached an electronic transducer.
You know the rest, even if you don’t know you know the rest.You’ve heard it — in the guitar riffs of Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Bruce Springsteen, Mark Knopfler, Kurt Cobain and on and on.
It’s the sound of a Fender electric guitar. Mr. Fender’s company, now known as the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, is the world’s largest maker of guitars. Its Stratocaster, which made its debut in 1954, is still a top seller. For many, the Strat’s cutting tone and sexy, double-cutaway curves mean rock ’n’ roll.
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Fender Aims to Stay Plugged In Amid Changing Music Trends – NYTimes.com
Compassion « The Big Blue Mess
I am frustrated by how people who suffer from mental illness, chronic illness and who are intellectually deficient are treated. I am frustrated by: How they are ignored, ostracized and made to feel that the burdens they bear are deserved, assuming they’re even acknowledged in the first place. It’s as if we’ve forgotten that we as a people are social creatures who need to be touched by family, by friends, and by the people who we interact with daily.
iPad left at airport checkpoint ends up at TSA inspector’s house – Boing Boing
ABC News ran a sting against dirty TSA inspectors by leaving behind iPads (with tracking spyware) at ten airport checkpoints known for theft and following them electronically. One iPad, left at an Orlando checkpoint, moved 30 miles to the home of Andy Ramirez, a TSA inspector at the airport. Initially, he denied stealing the iPad, then he blamed his wife…Republicans have promised to fix this problem by firing the unionized federal workers and replacing them with private contractors. Because private contractors — not directly accountable to the government, insulated by layers of contractor/subcontractor relationships — would never, ever abuse their authority. Which is why mall security guards are the pinnacle of policing efficiency.
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iPad left at airport checkpoint ends up at TSA inspector’s house – Boing Boing
TV Stations Accept Political Ad Cash — and Leave Viewers in the Dark | Free Press
Media analysts project that campaigns, Super PACs and “social welfare” groups will spend a record-breaking $3.3 billion on political ads by Election Day.
…
And let’s consider these stations — are they offering any local news coverage to debunk the lies in these ads? Are they exposing the deep-pocketed interests behind the groups buying ad time?…Free Press took a deeper look at local news coverage in five of the cities — Charlotte, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Milwaukee and Tampa — where ad spending has been highest.
We inspected the political files of stations in these markets, identified the groups most actively placing political ads and pored over hundreds of hours of local news transcripts. In all five of these markets, we found that local newscasts were lacking when it came to covering the ads that dominated their stations.
In other words, they provided no local stories exposing the special interests behind these ads, and only one station among the 20 surveyed devoted eve
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TV Stations Accept Political Ad Cash — and Leave Viewers in the Dark | Free Press
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down | MetaFilter
Johnny Cash once called 1968 the happiest year of his life. It was the year his masterpiece At Folsom Prison came out, the year he was named the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year, and the year he married the love of his life, June Carter. So it was a fortunate time for a young filmmaker named Robert Elfstrom to meet up with Cash for the making of a documentary. Elfstrom traveled with Cash for several months in late 1968 and early 1969. The resulting film, Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music, is a revealing look at Cash, his creative process and his ties to family.
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I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down | MetaFilter
New Tracking Frontier: Your License Plates – WSJ.com
For more than two years, the police in San Leandro, Calif., photographed Mike Katz-Lacabe’s Toyota Tercel almost weekly. They have shots of it cruising along Estudillo Avenue near the library, parked at his friend’s house and near a coffee shop he likes. In one case, they snapped a photo of him and his two daughters getting out of a car in his driveway.
Mr. Katz-Lacabe isn’t charged with, or suspected of, any crime. Local police are tracking his vehicle automatically, using cameras mounted on a patrol car that record every nearby vehicle—license plate, time and location.
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Click to read more of New Tracking Frontier: Your License Plates – WSJ.com
Can anyone save the GOP? – Salon.com
Could the Republican Party face an impossible Catch-22 when it comes to excising the crazy from their party? This is a party, after all, that has numerous candidates who are running for office on a platform of ending the direct election of senators. It’s a party whose most prominent voice in the media goes around calling women “sluts,” and one with a Senate candidate who talks nonsense about the biology of rape. Most notably, it’s a party with a presidential candidate who simply parrots back the party’s conventional wisdom (47 percent!) — and who sounds totally out of touch and not a little insulting to most voters. So what’s next?
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Click to read more of Can anyone save the GOP? – Salon.com
The Satanic Verses: A Novel by Salman Rushdie
Random House Trade Paperbacks (2008), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 576 pages
How Music Works by David Byrne
McSweeney’s (2012), Hardcover, 352 pages
Threadless helps West Loop make great
from Chicago Journal RSS west-loop-wanderings
West Loop businesses played a big part in the action. For out-of-town attendees, the Crowne Plaza held a block of rooms. Bottom Lounge hosted the dance, and Butterfly Sushi, Twisted Spoke, Alhambra Palace, Jupiter Outpost and Beer Bistro among others were all suggested restaurants.
Before they opened their doors, neighbors were concerned about Threadless taking over the location formerly utilized as a distribution center by FedEx. I tweeted reassurances to our community, but Threadless did even better and proved right away they were going to make good neighbors. Its been a year now, and the property looks fantastic.
West Loop Target breaks ground Saturday
starred items / from Chicago Journal RSS west-loop-wanderings http://chicagojournal.com
The West Loop Target store is breaking ground Saturday at the corner of Jackson Boulevard and Aberdeen Street, according to a release from Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd).
The store is scheduled to open in a year, with its grand opening in July 2012.
September 13, 2011 at 10:30PM swanksalot
Poster for “Brute Force (Jules Dassin; 1947)” http://t.co/0mITKNA http://twitter.com/swanksalot/status/113741473568141312