Friedrich --

* David Sucher visited Louis Kahn's Salk Institute and wasn't impressed (here). I visited the Salk myself about a decade ago and hereby second David's reaction.

* Polly Frost saw "Mystic River" and found it anything but thrilling, here.

* Aaron Haspel saw "Kill Bill," and, hoo-boy, was he ever not buying whatever it is Tarantino's selling, here.

* Yahmdallah chooses the "second suckiest song ever composed and recorded," here.

* Katie Hafner writes one of those it's-about-time-someone-noticed pieces about how common it is for electronic gadgets to be bought, used once, and then never used again, here.

* Steve Sailer talks sense about the ladies' pro golf tour (here), as well as about why Cruz Bustamente did so badly in the California recall vote (here).

* Tyler Cowen wonders why Persian carpet dealers always seem to be liquidating their stock, or at least having a sale, here.

* Alex Tabarrok, Tyler's co-blogger at Marginal Revolution, has a short and enlightening op-ed here on why neither major party is the party for those who prefer smaller, more modest government.

* Helmut Newton, S&M-fashion photographer par excellence, has lived a naughty life indeed, here.

* Patrick Newley remembers the day he met Warren Beatty, here.

* I notice that Denis Dutton is putting more of his writing up on his website (here). I'm currently enjoying and getting a lot out of this brilliant essay here about tribal art that he wrote for the Oxford Enclyclopedia of Aesthetics.

* Fact of the day: a letter to the editor in the WSJournal points out something interesting about Cuba. Almost 2/3 of the Cuban population is now of African descent -- but "the top power elite around Castro is 97% white." Time to parachute in a few diversity consultants?

Best,

Michael

Even better factoid: Companies that do business in Cuba are required to pay the government, and the government then pays the workers. But the (all-white) government is paid in dollars, while the (mostly African) workers are paid in worthless Cuban currency.

Ah, Castro -- the man who brought slavery back to Cuba.

Posted by: Tim Hulsey on October 15, 2003 2:55 PM

As someone who wanders the corridors of politics, looking for a place to call home (not likely to be found in the precincts of either major party)I was amused by Alex Tabarrok's comment:

Today it is evident that we have two political parties: the Tax and Spenders and the No-Tax and Spenders. Neither party is fiscally conservative. Is there no room at the inn for an honest conservative?

You go, Alex. The piece is a pretty devastating critique of the Bush tax "shifts."

Posted by: Friedrich von Blowhard on October 16, 2003 11:33 AM

I was feeling about as bad as it is possible to feel today, until I read Yahmdallah's opinion about the second suckiest song ever written. I've laughed on and off for about 15 minutes. Thanks!

And Steve Sailer's comments about Cruz Bustamente are quite enlightening.

Posted by: annette on October 16, 2003 2:56 PM

Why is it that whenever I read someone's actual real-life encounter with a celebrity performer, like the article about meeting Warren Beatty, I'm always dismayed (I guess I keep hoping for something else) by what selfish, childish, disorganized assholes they are, always seeming to lead a disorganized life. Talk about stripping away the glamour. Note to self: Believe whatever you wish politically, but never, NEVER believe it coz a Hollywood star does.

Posted by: annette on October 16, 2003 3:05 PM






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