Tuesday, September 30, 2003


Luck and Economics
Friedrich -- You probably won't want to miss this piece here in the Boston Globe by Matthew Miller. (Tyler Cowen... posted by Michael at September 30, 2003 | perma-link | (20) comments

Monday, September 29, 2003


Broken Windows
Michael: I have often wondered how educators (and the politicians they report to) think learning is going to take place... posted by Friedrich at September 29, 2003 | perma-link | (15) comments

Sunday, September 28, 2003


Genetic Algorithms and Their Uses
Michael: Do you ever feel like an “analogue-era” Moses, stuck on this side of the River Jordan, able to glimpse... posted by Friedrich at September 28, 2003 | perma-link | (21) comments

I'm Exhausting
Friedrich -- You know that multipart posting I put up a few back? The one here, where everyone's now pitching... posted by Michael at September 28, 2003 | perma-link | (4) comments

Saturday, September 27, 2003


David Milne
Friedrich -- Your megafab posting on the Canadian painters known as the Group of Seven (here) reminded me of one... posted by Michael at September 27, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Friday, September 26, 2003


Another Oakeshott Quote
Friedrich -- Oh, am I in a quoting mood this evening. Here's a passage I love from Michael Oakeshott's The... posted by Michael at September 26, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

Rybczynski on What's Architecture
Friedrich -- Just to mess with all our minds for a few seconds, I want to pass along this passage... posted by Michael at September 26, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

Morning Musings
Friedrich -- My head this morning is a-swim with half-formed ideas and observations, none of which seem to want to... posted by Michael at September 26, 2003 | perma-link | (57) comments

Thursday, September 25, 2003


Elsewhere
Friedrich -- * Tim Hulsey gives Wesley Clark a little -- no, make that a lot of -- what-for, here.... posted by Michael at September 25, 2003 | perma-link | (4) comments

Snapshot of the Times -- Kodak
Friedrich -- Fascinating to read the piece about Kodak in today's WSJ by James Bandler. Did you have a chance... posted by Michael at September 25, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments

Virtues of Localism: Group of Seven
Michael: As you hopefully remember, I wrote here about how misleading the notion has been that Modern Art has been... posted by Friedrich at September 25, 2003 | perma-link | (8) comments

Wednesday, September 24, 2003


Guest Posting -- Adrian Hyland
Friedrich -- I've written briefly before about my enthusiasm for the work of the young New Zealand film critic Adrian... posted by Michael at September 24, 2003 | perma-link | (10) comments

Inequality and the Rich
Friedrich -- Some interesting postings on the topic of economic inequality from Daniel Drezner (here) and Jane Galt (here) have... posted by Michael at September 24, 2003 | perma-link | (36) comments

The Forest and the Trees
Michael: We’ve discussed a few times why kids seem to get out of school these days having worked like galley... posted by Friedrich at September 24, 2003 | perma-link | (14) comments

Tuesday, September 23, 2003


Story Structure
Michael: On a few occasions you've given me the impression that you’ve sought out training in how to structure stories.... posted by Friedrich at September 23, 2003 | perma-link | (15) comments

Monday, September 22, 2003


"Mobtown"
Friedrich -- I remember you as a grumpy undergrad at our Lousy Ivy University, hating the profs and their stuffy... posted by Michael at September 22, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Saturday, September 20, 2003


Gina on Gal vs. Guy Groupies
Friedrich -- The actress Gina Gershon is a looker and a hot number. And, because she's starred in such films... posted by Michael at September 20, 2003 | perma-link | (16) comments

Friday, September 19, 2003


Criticism and Me
Friedrich -- A visitor writes to ask why I don't use this blog to do more criticism and reviewing. Well,... posted by Michael at September 19, 2003 | perma-link | (19) comments

True Art School Tales
A new installment in John Leavitt's ongoing True Art School Tales, an irregular, illustrated diary about life as an art-school... posted by Michael at September 19, 2003 | perma-link | (4) comments

Sexy Words
Friedrich -- I'm on my way to work this morning, listening (as always) to an audiobook, my mind half on... posted by Michael at September 19, 2003 | perma-link | (30) comments

Thursday, September 18, 2003


Down on Digital
Friedrich -- On the oft-returned-to topic of digital progress and the movies, I'm going to play Mr. Doom and Gloom... posted by Michael at September 18, 2003 | perma-link | (16) comments

Digital Crack
Friedrich -- Have you caught the lead article in the WSJournal's "Marketplace" section today? It isn't online, unfortunately. Geoffrey Fowler... posted by Michael at September 18, 2003 | perma-link | (1) comments

Evo-Bio of Music
Michael: You’re a lot more musical than I, so maybe you remember this differently, but when I was first introduced... posted by Friedrich at September 18, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Sculpture and the Inner Child
Michael: My feelings about sculpture seem tied up with my inner child. The other day a little boy came over... posted by Friedrich at September 18, 2003 | perma-link | (4) comments

Wednesday, September 17, 2003


Lesy on Rich Kids, Publishing
Friedrich -- Remember being amazed by how "entitled" yet how touchy so many kids at our Lousy Ivy University seemed... posted by Michael at September 17, 2003 | perma-link | (8) comments

Exercise Web Humor
Friedrich -- I do love the way email enables people to forward jokes around. Here's a set I found funny,... posted by Michael at September 17, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments

Elsewhere
Friedrich -- * Thanks to Laurence Aurbach for pointing out this superb New Urbanist manifesto by New-Urb ayatollah Andres Duany... posted by Michael at September 17, 2003 | perma-link | (6) comments

Life's Cruel Ironies
Friedrich -- Given the we-always-smarten-up-about-it-too-late nature of life, as well as the way the cruelties and ironies keep on accumulating... posted by Michael at September 17, 2003 | perma-link | (12) comments

And The Nominees Are...
Michael: A week ago I asked you (and our readers) to nominate favorite female nudes, choosing among the products of... posted by Friedrich at September 17, 2003 | perma-link | (13) comments

Tuesday, September 16, 2003


Elsewhere
Friedrich -- My theme this time: Some Boss Chick Blogs. * Glad to see that Polly Frost is blogging once... posted by Michael at September 16, 2003 | perma-link | (0) comments

Sharp as a Tack
Michael: Is there some requirement that success in the fashion industry requires a certain, er, morally flexible attitude and, um,... posted by Friedrich at September 16, 2003 | perma-link | (10) comments

Monday, September 15, 2003


Plot Summaries
Friedrich -- Are you as amazed as I am at the amount of space movie and book reviewers these days... posted by Michael at September 15, 2003 | perma-link | (21) comments

More Adventures in Vedanta-land
Friedrich -- A busy day on the M.-Blowhard-goes-Indian front, what with a morning spent at a Bikram yoga class (here's... posted by Michael at September 15, 2003 | perma-link | (14) comments

Slang Watch
Friedrich -- "Comparing dick sizes." "Pissing contests." A new term for the ego wars so many men seem drawn to:... posted by Michael at September 15, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments

Sunday, September 14, 2003


Posting #1001
A Brief Dialogue Michael & Friedrich Friedrich: We are entering a new world-historical era. With my Picasso posting, we have... posted by Friedrich at September 14, 2003 | perma-link | (16) comments

Friday, September 12, 2003


Religion, Mud Wrestling and Art
Michael: If the French in the first decade of the 20th century could create Modern Art that accurately mirrored their... posted by Friedrich at September 12, 2003 | perma-link | (16) comments

The (Indirect) Costs of Crummy Schools
Michael: There’s a curious divide I cross every day going to work. As I drive from Ventura County, where I... posted by Friedrich at September 12, 2003 | perma-link | (13) comments

Tacit Knowledge -- Digital Film Editing
Friedrich -- How do ideas (and perceptions, observations and such) come to you? Can you bring them into being at... posted by Michael at September 12, 2003 | perma-link | (4) comments

Thursday, September 11, 2003


Frank Lloyd Wright Redux
Friedrich -- It's been fun to watch the Frank Lloyd Wright discussion make its rounds through the blogosphere. Culturegab --... posted by Michael at September 11, 2003 | perma-link | (30) comments

Milwaukee Art Museum
Friedrich -- Bilbao on Lake Michigan? Ever since Frank Gehry put Bilbao on the art-tourist map, small cities have dreamed... posted by Michael at September 11, 2003 | perma-link | (8) comments

Pic of the Day -- Romare Bearden
Friedrich -- Reading the NYTimes' arts section over lunch. Step one: groaning through another piece of Herbert Muschamp's high-falutin' nonsense-poetry... posted by Michael at September 11, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

Policy Break--Securities Fraud and Its Enablers
Michael: So, did you hear about Ben Glisan Jr., the ex-Enron executive who—after diligently helping to defraud investors of billions... posted by Friedrich at September 11, 2003 | perma-link | (13) comments

Wednesday, September 10, 2003


True Art School Tales
Friedrich -- With this posting, we're pleased to kick off a new feature, True Art School Tales, an irregular, ongoing... posted by Michael at September 10, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Elsewhere
Friedrich -- * The imaginative and entertaining economist Tyler Cowen has caught the blogging bug bad. Good for him, and... posted by Michael at September 10, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments

Tuesday, September 9, 2003


Pic of the Day
Michael: Choosing solely among the products of HFOP (i.e., High-Falutin' Oil Painting), what would you choose as your favorite female... posted by Friedrich at September 9, 2003 | perma-link | (21) comments

Monday, September 8, 2003


"Touchez Pas Au Grisbi"
Friedrich -- As you know, I'm no longer the repertory-house-haunting film-history buff I once was. Hey, it occurs to me... posted by Michael at September 8, 2003 | perma-link | (1) comments

Can We Just Take a Do-Over?
Michael: As you know, I’ve been doing a lot of reading in French history and trying to link it up... posted by Friedrich at September 8, 2003 | perma-link | (10) comments

Saturday, September 6, 2003


Magic Eye
Friedrich -- I recently picked up (at B&N, on sale, for next to nothing) one of those Magic Eye books.... posted by Michael at September 6, 2003 | perma-link | (17) comments

Elsewhere
Friedrich -- * I've got the worst batting-average imaginable when it comes to predicting the next hot "issue," but it's... posted by Michael at September 6, 2003 | perma-link | (6) comments

Jargon Update
Friedrich -- Remember that recent posting (here) where I spent some time marveling at how sexed-up girls are these days,... posted by Michael at September 6, 2003 | perma-link | (1) comments

Read Mike Snider!
Friedrich -- Do you suppose there are visitors to 2Blowhards who haven't yet read our q&a with the poet and... posted by Michael at September 6, 2003 | perma-link | (0) comments

Friday, September 5, 2003


Weekend Movie Tips
Friedrich -- I've been seeing more current movies than usual, and have even been enjoying a few. So, herewith, M.... posted by Michael at September 5, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

Tacit Knowledge -- Thugs
Friedrich -- I was talking with a friend about gangsters and movies, and I was no doubt unwittingly putting on... posted by Michael at September 5, 2003 | perma-link | (9) comments

Interview With Mike Snider, Part 2
Friedrich -- Continuing our interview with the poet and blogger Mike Snider. Part One can be seen here. Mike's own... posted by Michael at September 5, 2003 | perma-link | (1) comments

10 Things I Like About Being a Parent #3--Tools
Michael: One of the things I like about being a parent has been the chance to rediscover the magic of... posted by Friedrich at September 5, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

Thursday, September 4, 2003


Interview With Mike Snider, Part One
Friedrich -- I don't know about you, but I'm left in the dust by the work of most contempo poets... posted by Michael at September 4, 2003 | perma-link | (4) comments

More on Sidewalks and Waistlines
Friedrich -- A few days ago I cited a study linking urban sprawl to obesity and high blood pressure. Bradford... posted by Michael at September 4, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

CD Prices
Friedrich -- I was thrilled to read this morning that Universal is cutting music-CD prices by 30%. The dam may... posted by Michael at September 4, 2003 | perma-link | (10) comments

Art Joke
Friedrich -- Q. What's the difference between a fine artist and a commercial artist? A. One of them has to... posted by Michael at September 4, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments

Wednesday, September 3, 2003


Elsewhere
Friedrich -- * Florence Fabricant reports (in the NYTimes, here) that enrollment at professional culinary programs has jumped 20-100 percent... posted by Michael at September 3, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

Did I Mention the 12.3% Rate of Return?
Michael: Psssst. Let me give you a little investment advice. Forget stocks and bonds: go with art. According to a... posted by Friedrich at September 3, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Tuesday, September 2, 2003


Elsewhere
Friedrich -- Good god but it's hard to keep up with what's wonderful on the web. Correction: it's impossible to... posted by Michael at September 2, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

Genetics, Environment and IQ
Michael: I’ve been reading a lot recently about environmental impacts on IQ, and I must admit it is kind of... posted by Friedrich at September 2, 2003 | perma-link | (21) comments

American Splendor
Friedrich -- The Wife and I weren't wild about the much-praised American Splendor, an indie biopic about the underground-comix phenom... posted by Michael at September 2, 2003 | perma-link | (4) comments

Monday, September 1, 2003


Parking Lots and Downtowns
Friedrich -- A while back, Brian Micklethwait (here) and David Sucher (here) put up some memorable postings about car parks.... posted by Michael at September 1, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments