What I Learned Today

George Lois Tells the Stories Behind His Twelve Favorite...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:38:00 -0500

George Lois Tells the Stories Behind His Twelve Favorite Classic Esquire Covers in NYMag

Andy Warhol Drowning, May 1969

“This was hot shit. The article was basically a caustic review about what was going on in the arts in America at the time, and without even reading it, I knew I wanted Andy Warhol drowning in his own soup. I just had the image in my head. And I called him, and said, ‘Andy I want you on the cover of Esquire.’ And he said, ‘Wait a minute, George, you always have an idea on the cover, what’s the idea?’ And I told him, and he said, ‘I love it!’ When Andy saw it, he lost his mind. He kept saying he wanted to trade me for the original art, he’d give me some Brillo boxes, a Campbell Soup painting. He was after me a month before he died, he was still trying to trade me. I told him I don’t want to trade, ‘cause someday that’s going to hang in the MoMA.’ And he said, ‘Oh, I’d love to see it there! Me hanging in the Museum of Modern Art!’ Which is so funny, because now there’s twenty goddamn Warhols in the Museum of Modern Art.”

Check out Obama’s 2011 Budget Proposal in an NYT...

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:39:00 -0500

Check out Obama’s 2011 Budget Proposal in an NYT interactive map.

MackeyCare Begins

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:16:49 -0500

Remember MackeyCare, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey’s steps to improve healthcare, which he outlined in a WSJ op ed last summer? Well now it’s taking shape, as the company introduces a new approach to encourage its 51,000 employees to lead healthy lifestyles.

Whole Foods will offer up to a 10% discount (on top of the 20% discount employees are already given at the market) to employees who

don’t smoke
have low blood pressure below 110/70
have low cholesterol below 150, and
have a BMI less than 24

It’s a voluntary program, and those who sign on receive free health screenings.

I quite like the idea. Apparently, so does Safeway, Kellogg, Dell, J&J, who all do something pretty similar. But not everyone does, as demonstrated by the outlash from groups like NAAFA who call the program discriminatory and urge a boycott of the stores.

Isn't it ironic..

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:05:29 -0500

Isn’t it a little ironic that the same law that the Democrats changed in 2004 is what lost them the Massachusetts Senate seat in such a dire time?

(The Democrats, fearing Mitt Romney would appoint a Republican Senator if Kerry were to win the presidential election and vacate his Senate seat in 2004, submitted a bill to change the law to require a special election within 145-160 days after a Senate seat becomes vacant. Even more ironic is that Kennedy was instrumental in that change. Even more ironic is that they’d still hold that seat if the previous law was upheld.)

A WSJ study shows that an average football game has only 11...

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 19:33:32 -0500

A WSJ study shows that an average football game has only 11 minutes of actual play.

Portraits of Power - New Yorker staff photographer, Platon, set...

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:17:46 -0500

Portraits of Power - New Yorker staff photographer, Platon, set up a tiny studio at the UN meeting this September and captured portraits of over 100 world leaders. It’s an interactive audio portfolio, and his account of each portrait is so interesting.

This is why we don’t mess with nature.

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:35:48 -0500

This is why we don’t mess with nature.

Spirits and Spirit

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:33:00 -0500

I hosted a “Spirits and Spirit” party a couple weeks ago where some friends and I convened to drink spiritual/religiously themed spirits, watch the film Baraka, and see where the conversation would take us.

It may sound a bit cheesy, but it really was a great night. We had Chimay, He-Brew beer, “Seven Deadly Zins” Zinfandel, and Chateauneuf du Pape, a papal wine.

We watched Baraka, a film by Ron Fricke that is about everything and everyone. It’s just footage, shot in 70mm, of nature, rituals, places of worship, and people from over 152 locations throughout the world. We stopped the film throughout to comment and discuss - themes, editing, location, everything. If you haven’t seen the film, I recommend it. It is kind of mind blowing. This part especially.

This video makes me pause. And not a lot does. (best viewed in...

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:07:00 -0400

This video makes me pause. And not a lot does. (best viewed in full screen)

"Perhaps Abraham Lincoln made a mistake.

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:39:00 -0400

When some Americans believe the current president is a communist cult leader trying to brainwash the nation’s schoolchildren, and other Americans want the last president to be dragged off his ranch in handcuffs, it is time to reassess the state of our union. So may I make a modest proposal. There is a way to end the bitter bickering over health care, affirmative action, abortion, religion in the public square, taxation, torture, and the proper role of government. It is called secession. Yes, I know: Splitting the U.S. into two nations is a bit extreme. But extremism in the defense of America is no vice. And since we’re already segregating ourselves by what we watch, listen, and read, why not go all the way?

Think of the possibilities. In a new nation fashioned out of the current red states-call it, for the sake of argument, Limbaughland-the federal tax rate would be cut to 10%, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security would be abolished, abortion would be illegal, gays would be closeted again, and Christianity would be the official state religion. Anyone could buy any kind of gun, no questions asked. In the current blue states, which we will call ObamaNation, the federal tax rate would top out at 90%; all employers would institute quota systems for minorities, women and less-abled persons; and you’d get your health care form a single-payer system like Canada’s. Fast food and guns would be banned, while gay marriage and marijuana would be legal. Voila! No more rancor, leaving only one remaining problem: What would we all feel so aggrieved about?”

-William Falk, editor of The Week

Best Article I Read Today

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:43:00 -0400

Big Food vs. Big Insurance - Michael Pollan

Actually it was yesterday. Great article. He mentions research done on foodsheds, a term with which I was heretofore unfamiliar. I wanted to learn more, so I did..

A foodshed is the region between where food is produced and where it is consumed. Our foodshed is basically the entire world, as the food we consume is from all over. The foodshed to which Pollan refers, however, describes local farmland surrounding a city. The goal is to utilize a city’s regional foodshed to provide as much food to feed its inhabitants. This helps

the environment - by decreasing transportation costs
public health - as food is fresher, less processed, less subject to pesticides
the local economy - by creating local employment opportunities

Interestingly, about a third of all of America’s farms are located near a metropolitan area. Yet you stroll through a typical city market, and all you see is produce from elsewhere in the country and world. A perfect example of this disconnect - New York is the second largest apple producing state in the US with about 700 growers producing 25 million bushels each year. But 75% of the apples consumed by New Yorkers are imported from the West Coast or overseas. Why is that?

Beyond foodsheds, the recent marketing campaign against soda, and the mandate for displaying calories at chain restaurants, there are some great ideas out there for fixing that disconnect in New York. More on those later.

Roubini offered cameo in Oliver Stone's upcoming Wall Street sequel

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:55:00 -0400

Roubini offered cameo in Oliver Stone's upcoming Wall Street sequel

spending money just got easier

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 10:24:00 -0400

spending money just got easier:

My friends launched this new iPhone shopping app called Tote. So cool to see a vision realized.

gnarly so cal wildfire timelapse. via mitch

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 11:51:00 -0400

gnarly so cal wildfire timelapse. via mitch

Best Article I Read Today

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:21:00 -0400

Best Article I Read Today:

“Still Crazy After All These Years” via the Economist. I do love a good conspiracy theory.

The Week

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:38:00 -0400

Per Nick’s recommendation, I just subscribed to The Week. It’s a magazine that aggregates columns and opinions on current issues from various news outlets. It provides a glimpse of all viewpoints, which I really value.

Go Bears! AB’s new Bud Light Fan Cans stir up some...

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:27:00 -0400

Go Bears! AB’s new Bud Light Fan Cans stir up some controversy. Colleges are enraged, but I think it’s a pretty good campaign.

San Francisco Plays Candyland via Flavorwire

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:56:00 -0400

San Francisco Plays Candyland via Flavorwire

Cash for ___________ [insert floundering industry here]

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:56:00 -0400

The cash for clunkers program ended last night and I have to say, I’m not quite sure what I think about it. In one way, it’s very strategic – which I like. When something needs a boost, you offer a promotion. A “timely, targeted and temporary” as well as “speedy, substantial and sustained” incentive, as Larry Summers so alliteratively put it. It certainly helped the automakers - they just about doubled production from the second quarter. Not to mention the dealers, scrapyards, and other auto industry constituents. For now, at least.

On the other hand, it’s very manipulative – which I don’t like. It plays upon “behavioral economics,” that is, the straying from rational economic behavior. The government is like a car salesman in those cheesy commercials, but on the grandest scale. (Aside: Has anyone made a spoof with Obama, a car salesman, on the lot yelling, “Our first rebates were used in a week, so we decided to do it again!! Buy now and get a $3,500 voucher! Get yours before these rebates go OUT THE DOOR!!”) And, as any good sales promotion would, it worked. In fact, it turns out that potentially 40% of the 635,186 cars sold were to people that did not initially WANT a new car and wouldn’t have purchased one this calendar year, but just fell into the trap. That’s per the National Automobile Dealers Association economist Paul Taylor. Talk about irrational behavior. Even more interesting is the promotion attracted those that didn’t even qualify for the rebate, but bought cars anyway. GM spokesperson John McDonald says GM estimates 30% of its sales fall into this category.

Anyway, the program appears to have worked to bring a short term stimulus to the auto industry. What that will mean for future auto demand, for used car dealerships, and for the budget balancing of the 635,186 Americans that participated in the program, I do not know. Next up: cash for appliances.

Okay, Big Brother

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:43:18 -0400

“If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.”