There was a piece in the New York Times yesterday in which the author defended his decision to default on his student loans.  It’s not fair, he said: Years later [after graduation from a private college], I found myself confronted with a choice that too many people have had to and will have to face. I could give up what had become my vocation (in my case, being a writer) and take a job that I didn’t want in order... Read more

Let’s start with the old Detroit Institute of Arts commercial I remember from my childhood, here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc7dbwzPeKA Yeah, back in the days when art was meant to be be enjoyed. . . Anyway: You’ve likely heard about Mattress Girl’s latest attempt to extend her 15 minutes of fame, a porn video with what she imagines to be compelling, thought-provoking commentary. See here, from the National Review, among other sources, for details.  And if you’re wholly unfamiliar with Sulkowicz’s “art,” see... Read more

You guys have heard about this, right?  A woman wearing a headscarf claims discrimination because she wasn’t given an unopened can of pop on a United flight, and starts a twitter campaign for re-education for UAL staff.  The flight attendant in question has not been fired per se, but according to UAL, “she will no longer serve United customers.” Here’s the latest: a link to The Gateway Pundit (don’t read the comments), as linked to by Elizabeth Price Foley at instapundit, both of... Read more

Yeah, I came across this old ad for the local news crew in Detroit, from 1984. Takes you back, if you were there in the first place, and is a sad reminder that Detroit boosters have been, well, trying to boost Detroit, for a long time now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLDECtanlp0 Read more

This is an Illinois thing. Here’s a link to a site promoting it; this is a bill before the Illinois legislature which would provide for the following: Up to $250 nonrefundable teacher tax credit for the purchase of classroom supplies. Dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit up to 75 percent of an individual or corporation’s tax liability based on the previous year’s tax filing if they donate to: o Public or charter schools for education technology, music, arts, and sports programs; ○... Read more

Per The Economist, in a preview of their upcoming issue, as tweeted by them, “Made to measure; A robotic sewing machine could throw garment workers in low-cost countries out of a job.”  I suspect this is paywalled, but what’s being reported is that an Atlanta textile-equipment manufacturer, SoftWear Automation, believes it has made great strides in solving the puzzle of automation of garment-sewing. There have been many attempts to automate sewing. Some processes can now be carried out autonomously: the... Read more

Yeah, everyone at Patheos Catholic — or many of us, anyway — are writing on this topic. but I’m afraid that I don’t have an inspirational story to tell you. Sure, I could tell you the story of how I came to be Catholic in the first place.  But that’s not the topic.  The question is more on of:  at whatever crisis of faith you’ve experienced, be it sexual abuse scandals or indifference of those around you, or whatever else... Read more

Not this. That is a link to the Vanity Fair article, with image, of the revealed “new” Caitlyn Jenner, in which Bruce Jenner has apparently transitioned to a 30 year old woman, both in terms of the fact the “facial feminization” surgery referred to in the article apparently included a heavy dose of reshaping Jenner’s face as a young woman, and the chosen new name, too — does anyone above the age of 30 have the name Caitlyn? But look:... Read more

Here’s something I typed up shortly after LA increased their minimum wage, and am now revisiting and editing: The minimum wage in both Los Angeles and Seattle is now on its way to $15/hour, with unknown economic effects.  Backers tend to believe this’ll just equalize wages because companies will have to reduce the pay of their highest earners in order to fund the pay increases at the bottom, and, in a version of the government spending “multiplier,” these higher wages... Read more