Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 230 entries, all of them here in full.
December 17, 2008 · 361 words
How Corrupt Are We Exactly?
The indictment of Gov. Blagojevich has folks wondering if Illinois indeed is as corrupt as its mythographers would have us believe. So the New York Times commissioned a study on which states have the most corruption, and why. And despite the best efforts of Philip Danforth Armour, Carter Harrison, the Richards Daley, C
Read entry →December 13, 2008 · 475 words
Kill the Media
How did Detroit get into this mess? Why is publishing such a disaster? Why don’t people make good movies anymore? Why does television suck?Tina Brown tells you.” . . . it would be marginally consoling if the pink slips were going to those who contributed so vigorously to their companies’ accelerating demise—the feckles
Read entry →December 13, 2008 · 691 words
Ex Detroit
You’ve seen this picture from Buffalobeast everywhere else, and now you’re seeing it here. Which brings us to today’s head-scratcher. So we had this hideously awful auto bailout package, which suffered most obviously from the fact that (a) the Big Three still have no real plan of how they’re going to spend the money, a
Read entry →December 13, 2008 · 373 words
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Or, Who watches the watchmen? (Note how I am cleverly getting you to read a financial article by making you think it’s about the upcoming Watchmen film.)A few weeks ago I recommended an article by Michael Lewis about the meltdown, and who knew it was coming, and who profited by knowing. One of the heroes […]
Read entry →December 10, 2008 · 46 words
Separated at Birth?
Has anyone else noticed the strong resemblance, not only in looks but in speech and mannerisms, between indicted Illinois governor Rod R. Blagojevich and newly-elected Maryland governor Tommy Carcetti? Here’s a video of one. Here’s the other. This can’t be a coincidence. Can it?
Read entry →December 10, 2008 · 117 words
Spitting Droid = Missile Deterrent
The Defense Missile Agency has released a video of the hover test of Lockheed’s new Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV-L), a device intended to swat down a swarm of incoming missiles and accompanying decoys by firing multiple kinetic projectiles— knocking them down with big bullets, essentially.The MKV would have to hove
Read entry →December 9, 2008 · 55 words
B-l-a-j-o-g-e-v-c-h B-l-e-g-o-j–v-i-c-h B-r-a-j-e-g-v-i-t-c-h Felon #39473
Wow. A new low even for Illinois! This is a scandal so unsavory that it’s worthy of New Mexico or Louisiana! Governor Unspellable was planning on selling Barack Obama’s seat! (No word on whether it was still attached to Obama at the time.) Naturally, someone promptly put the seat up for auction on eBay.
Read entry →December 8, 2008 · 70 words
Show Your Spirit!
I’m pleased to report that This Is Not a Game will be the March Hardcover Pick for Spirit Magazine, the official magazine of Southwest Airlines. Bored passengers throughout the nation will listlessly browse through the review as a desperate alternative to listening to the screeching infant in the seat behind.Now if onl
Read entry →December 6, 2008 · 120 words
Return of the Calendar
We’ve done it again. Created a calendar, featuring photos from our 2009 trips. Which were all in the Rocky Mountain areas, so there are many pictures of pointy things. The calendar is 13.5″ x 19″, printed on glossy stock, and includes astronomical data as well as holidays for the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. (
Read entry →December 6, 2008 · 333 words
Note to Detroit . . .
What with the Detroit Three lobbying Congress for a bailout and promising all sorts of new, fuel efficient cars for as long as they continue to need tax dollars— hey, promises have no fuel consumption at all!— anyway, in order to avoid repeating the errors of the past, perhaps the Big Three ought to check [
Read entry →