Some interesting reading in today’s Globe.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/07/31/amid_struggles_arts_center_chief_got_12m_bonus/
Let’s see. Cut Shakespeare on Common budget by 500,000, that pays for almost half your bonus. Take 100,000 a year pay cut (from 500,000 to 400,000 per year). Over 7 years that will pay for the rest of your bonus. But hire wife to manage web site, that will help with cash flow. Cut performances from 96% of available nights to 33%. That gives you more time to spend at your 3 vacation properties. On the other hand, Boston Globe gets on your case, makes you look greedy, makes your board look stupid, makes your corporate sponsors nervous. You may lose job, wife may lose job. Oh well.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
RE: Presidential preferences
Q: Mitt in your top 4? I have lost all respect.
A: Well, Hillary would go up to #2 on my list if I could be sure her husband won’t embarrass her again. As for Romney, I guess I always go for the underdog. His Mormon background isn’t going down well in certain quarters, and if you take the long view that might shake things up in a good way. My favorite Romney quote: "marriage is between a man and a woman ... and a woman and a woman."
A: Well, Hillary would go up to #2 on my list if I could be sure her husband won’t embarrass her again. As for Romney, I guess I always go for the underdog. His Mormon background isn’t going down well in certain quarters, and if you take the long view that might shake things up in a good way. My favorite Romney quote: "marriage is between a man and a woman ... and a woman and a woman."
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Presidential preferences
Since you asked, here’s my current personal picking order:
(1) Bill Richardson
(2) Mitt Romney
(3) Rudy Guliani
(4) Hillary Clinton
Right now it’s most likely that the race will be between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. So I guess I’m voting for Rudy. But if it ends up being Hillary v. John McCain, or Hillary versus Fred Thompson, I guess I’m voting for Hillary.
Hillary has got a big lead for the Democratic nomination and is likely to be able to protect it. What dirt could they dig up that would be worse than the smacking around she’s taken all these years? Rudy’s lead on the Republican side is not so great. I think he’s perceived as a good match up against Hillary in some ways (puts New York in play, which will cost the Democrats money to defend) but not so good in others (he’s on wife #3, Hillary is still on husband #1). John McCain could be strong against Hillary too, but his statement that he wants to be the last man standing in Iraq is costing him (on some level you got to admire a guy willing to go down fighting for a lost cause). Mitt Romney makes the Christian conservatives nervous and that is fun to watch. Enter Fred Thomson.
There a lot of other people running, although a lot of these candidates are really running for Vice President or cabinet posts. And, in fact, I suspect my two top choices Richardson and Romney, are probably only in contention for VP at this point in the race.
Here’s my take on the rest of the field:
Other Democrats running not currently on my list to vote for:
Joe Biden – longtime Senator from Delaware
Joe Edwards – former one term Senator with no executive experience
Barak Obama – first term Senator with no executive experience
Christopher Dodd – longtime Senator from Connecticut, familiar face that stands for what?
Mike Gravel – former Senator from Alaska, aging crackpot
Dennis Kucinich – Congressman with limited executive experience
Wesley Clark – retired general not officially running
All Gore – former VP not officially running
Other Republicans running not currently on my list to vote for:
John McCain –admirable individual but no executive experience. GWB’s worst mistake was not picking him to be VP instead of Cheney.
Fred Thompson – protégé of Howard Baker (one of the last honest men on American politics), but no real executive experience, except on the screen
Tommy Thompson – former Wisconsin governor, solid Midwesterner with some good ideas on health care.
Mike Huckabee – former Arkansas governor, possibly a crackpot
Jim Gilmore – former Virginia governor no one has heard of
Sam Brownback – Senator with no executive experience
Tom Tancredo – Congressman with no executive experience
Duncan Hunter – Congressman with no executive experience
Ron Paul – Congressman with no executive experience
New Gingrich – former Speaker of House not officially running
(1) Bill Richardson
(2) Mitt Romney
(3) Rudy Guliani
(4) Hillary Clinton
Right now it’s most likely that the race will be between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. So I guess I’m voting for Rudy. But if it ends up being Hillary v. John McCain, or Hillary versus Fred Thompson, I guess I’m voting for Hillary.
Hillary has got a big lead for the Democratic nomination and is likely to be able to protect it. What dirt could they dig up that would be worse than the smacking around she’s taken all these years? Rudy’s lead on the Republican side is not so great. I think he’s perceived as a good match up against Hillary in some ways (puts New York in play, which will cost the Democrats money to defend) but not so good in others (he’s on wife #3, Hillary is still on husband #1). John McCain could be strong against Hillary too, but his statement that he wants to be the last man standing in Iraq is costing him (on some level you got to admire a guy willing to go down fighting for a lost cause). Mitt Romney makes the Christian conservatives nervous and that is fun to watch. Enter Fred Thomson.
There a lot of other people running, although a lot of these candidates are really running for Vice President or cabinet posts. And, in fact, I suspect my two top choices Richardson and Romney, are probably only in contention for VP at this point in the race.
Here’s my take on the rest of the field:
Other Democrats running not currently on my list to vote for:
Joe Biden – longtime Senator from Delaware
Joe Edwards – former one term Senator with no executive experience
Barak Obama – first term Senator with no executive experience
Christopher Dodd – longtime Senator from Connecticut, familiar face that stands for what?
Mike Gravel – former Senator from Alaska, aging crackpot
Dennis Kucinich – Congressman with limited executive experience
Wesley Clark – retired general not officially running
All Gore – former VP not officially running
Other Republicans running not currently on my list to vote for:
John McCain –admirable individual but no executive experience. GWB’s worst mistake was not picking him to be VP instead of Cheney.
Fred Thompson – protégé of Howard Baker (one of the last honest men on American politics), but no real executive experience, except on the screen
Tommy Thompson – former Wisconsin governor, solid Midwesterner with some good ideas on health care.
Mike Huckabee – former Arkansas governor, possibly a crackpot
Jim Gilmore – former Virginia governor no one has heard of
Sam Brownback – Senator with no executive experience
Tom Tancredo – Congressman with no executive experience
Duncan Hunter – Congressman with no executive experience
Ron Paul – Congressman with no executive experience
New Gingrich – former Speaker of House not officially running
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Democrats Love Jesus!
Q: Thought you might find this interesting. Boston Beatnik Post: Democrats Love Jesus! Link:
http://bostonbeatnik.blogspot.com/2007/06/democrats-love-jesus.html
A: My personal favorite was Hillary Clinton:
O'BRIEN: But I'm going to ask you a delicate question. Infidelity in your marriage was very public. And I have to imagine it was incredibly difficult to deal with. And I would like to know how your faith helped you get through it.
CLINTON: Well, I'm not sure I would have gotten through it without my faith. And, you know, I take my faith very seriously and very personally. And I come from a tradition that is perhaps a little too suspicious of people who wear their faith on their sleeves, so, that a lot of the ... a lot of the talk about and advertising about faith doesn't come naturally to me. It is something that -- you know, I keep thinking of the Pharisees and all of Sunday school lessons and readings that I had as a child.
But I think your -- your faith guides you every day. Certainly, mine does. But, at those moments in time when you're tested, it -- it is absolutely essential that you be grounded in your faith. For some people, being tested leads them to faith. For some people, being tested in cruel and tragic ways leads them away from faith. For me, because I have been tested in ways that are both publicly known and those that are not so well known or not known at all, my faith and the support of my extended faith family, people whom I knew who were literally praying for me in prayer chains, who were prayer warriors for me, and people whom I didn't know, who I would meet or get a letter from, sustained me through a very difficult time.
But I -- I am very grateful that I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and the strength to do what I thought was right, regardless of what the world thought. And that's all one can expect or hope for.
http://bostonbeatnik.blogspot.com/2007/06/democrats-love-jesus.html
A: My personal favorite was Hillary Clinton:
O'BRIEN: But I'm going to ask you a delicate question. Infidelity in your marriage was very public. And I have to imagine it was incredibly difficult to deal with. And I would like to know how your faith helped you get through it.
CLINTON: Well, I'm not sure I would have gotten through it without my faith. And, you know, I take my faith very seriously and very personally. And I come from a tradition that is perhaps a little too suspicious of people who wear their faith on their sleeves, so, that a lot of the ... a lot of the talk about and advertising about faith doesn't come naturally to me. It is something that -- you know, I keep thinking of the Pharisees and all of Sunday school lessons and readings that I had as a child.
But I think your -- your faith guides you every day. Certainly, mine does. But, at those moments in time when you're tested, it -- it is absolutely essential that you be grounded in your faith. For some people, being tested leads them to faith. For some people, being tested in cruel and tragic ways leads them away from faith. For me, because I have been tested in ways that are both publicly known and those that are not so well known or not known at all, my faith and the support of my extended faith family, people whom I knew who were literally praying for me in prayer chains, who were prayer warriors for me, and people whom I didn't know, who I would meet or get a letter from, sustained me through a very difficult time.
But I -- I am very grateful that I had a grounding in faith that gave me the courage and the strength to do what I thought was right, regardless of what the world thought. And that's all one can expect or hope for.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Patty Griffin concert report
I saw Patty Griffin at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton, Massachusetts on April 21, 2007.
The opening act was perfect. Her drummer performed with his 2-person band Terremoto featuring rhythms from Brazil, Cuba, and Peru. I had driven out from the city on a Saturday afternoon after a Friday night party at my apartment. I was able to sit back, relax, and snooze a bit in semi-conscious bliss before the start of headliner. Perfect.
Patty came out by herself and started on the piano. Eventually she was joined by her five person tour band for several songs. Then the band drifted away and left her alone on stage with her guitar. The band was back for the finish and encore. Patty’s latest album “Children Running Through” has disappointed some, and her voice seems to lack the power it once had, but the depth is still there. Her voice is developing a gravelly quality with a sultriness she didn’t use to have. Patty seems more respectful of conserving range in her newer songs, and saves the power for some of the older songs. It was a wonderful show.
Production notes: There were some sound problems. The occasional feedback came out a jarring staccato that might have sent a war veteran into post traumatic stress syndrome. I am trying to determine if the music from “Chldren Running Thriugh” is featured in the new musical “10 Millsion Miles” that will be playing at the Atlantic Theatre on East 20th street in New York City.
Set list (per Patty Griffin message board):
J'irai La Vour un Jour
Another Fool
Stay On The Ride
Trapeze
Useless Desires
Burgundy Shoes
Kite
Forgiveness (!)
Mary
Cold As It Gets (!)
Be Careful With Me
When It Don't Come Easy
No Bad News
Love Throw A Line
Heavenly Day
I Don't Ever Give Up
Up To The Mountain (MLK)
Truth #2
Encore:
Wishing Well
Rain
Getting Ready
We had to go to the judges on this:
It’s not stalking if you buy a single ticket to a show because by the time you got around to going online there were no good seats left for pairs. It’s not stalking if you drive all the way from Cambridge out to Northampton by yourself because you only have one ticket.
It’s not stalking if you check into the Hotel Northampton right across the street from the Calvin Theatre because you don’t want to drive back to the city after the show and that seems most convenient.
It’s not stalking if the hotel gives you a room with a balcony overlooking both the theatre marquis and the artist’s tour bus parked along side it because the hotel told you all they had left were rooms with balconies.
It’s not stalking if you bring your binoculars to the show because lots of people use binoculars or opera glasses at concerts.
It’s not stalking if you pinch a concert poster from a newspaper kiosk after the show because that’s just a dated ad that will get replaced for the next show.
It's not stalking when you go out on your balcony after the show with the corona, limes, smoked salmon, cheese spread, and crackers you packed out from the city for a late dinner.
It’s not stalking when you are still out on your balcony at midnight when one of the guys with the band walks the artist from her tour bus over to your hotel.
It is stalking when one of the lesbian couples on the balcony leans over and shouts. “Hey, Patty, great show. Don’t get hit by a car crossing the street.”
The opening act was perfect. Her drummer performed with his 2-person band Terremoto featuring rhythms from Brazil, Cuba, and Peru. I had driven out from the city on a Saturday afternoon after a Friday night party at my apartment. I was able to sit back, relax, and snooze a bit in semi-conscious bliss before the start of headliner. Perfect.
Patty came out by herself and started on the piano. Eventually she was joined by her five person tour band for several songs. Then the band drifted away and left her alone on stage with her guitar. The band was back for the finish and encore. Patty’s latest album “Children Running Through” has disappointed some, and her voice seems to lack the power it once had, but the depth is still there. Her voice is developing a gravelly quality with a sultriness she didn’t use to have. Patty seems more respectful of conserving range in her newer songs, and saves the power for some of the older songs. It was a wonderful show.
Production notes: There were some sound problems. The occasional feedback came out a jarring staccato that might have sent a war veteran into post traumatic stress syndrome. I am trying to determine if the music from “Chldren Running Thriugh” is featured in the new musical “10 Millsion Miles” that will be playing at the Atlantic Theatre on East 20th street in New York City.
Set list (per Patty Griffin message board):
J'irai La Vour un Jour
Another Fool
Stay On The Ride
Trapeze
Useless Desires
Burgundy Shoes
Kite
Forgiveness (!)
Mary
Cold As It Gets (!)
Be Careful With Me
When It Don't Come Easy
No Bad News
Love Throw A Line
Heavenly Day
I Don't Ever Give Up
Up To The Mountain (MLK)
Truth #2
Encore:
Wishing Well
Rain
Getting Ready
We had to go to the judges on this:
It’s not stalking if you buy a single ticket to a show because by the time you got around to going online there were no good seats left for pairs. It’s not stalking if you drive all the way from Cambridge out to Northampton by yourself because you only have one ticket.
It’s not stalking if you check into the Hotel Northampton right across the street from the Calvin Theatre because you don’t want to drive back to the city after the show and that seems most convenient.
It’s not stalking if the hotel gives you a room with a balcony overlooking both the theatre marquis and the artist’s tour bus parked along side it because the hotel told you all they had left were rooms with balconies.
It’s not stalking if you bring your binoculars to the show because lots of people use binoculars or opera glasses at concerts.
It’s not stalking if you pinch a concert poster from a newspaper kiosk after the show because that’s just a dated ad that will get replaced for the next show.
It's not stalking when you go out on your balcony after the show with the corona, limes, smoked salmon, cheese spread, and crackers you packed out from the city for a late dinner.
It’s not stalking when you are still out on your balcony at midnight when one of the guys with the band walks the artist from her tour bus over to your hotel.
It is stalking when one of the lesbian couples on the balcony leans over and shouts. “Hey, Patty, great show. Don’t get hit by a car crossing the street.”
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Taxachusetts
Q: This morning I heard on the radio that Vermont and Maine have the highest levels of combined local and state taxation. On the other hand, if you exclude Alaska, which reduces the net taxes on residents by sharing its oil revenues, New Hampshire has the lowest level of combined local and state taxation. That is of course why the radio hosts were making such a big deal out of this. But it’s also interesting to see Massachusetts below the mid-point; I’ve heard of this for years, but never had the real data before.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/335.html
The section of the chart that adds in the federal taxes doesn’t really surprise me – the federal taxes are directly related to the relative level of income, so they are about what you’d expect.
The web site also has some other interesting data, such as, which states pay more than they receive, and vice versa.
So much for “Taxachusetts” and other over-quoted misperceptions about taxation within the states!
A: Look at the chart from 1970-2007 http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/460.html, and you can see how the Taxachusetts label got stuck based on the experience of the 1970s and early 1980s. What you see now is certainly better, the result of Proposition 2.5 and some would say 16 years of Weld/Celluci//Swift/Romney. And what happened when Deval Patrick showed up on Beacon Hill and mumbled the words “fiscal discipline.” He was raked over the coals about his Cadillac and his drapes and his wife’s aide – by his fellow Democrats and the liberal press.
In the Midwest, the state with the high tax reputation was Minnesota, and that has remained true. More recently, Ohio has joined the high tax list. Perhaps Lydenberg has some insight into that. But there’s more to it than taxes. Massachusetts has a median household income of $52,354, compared to $48,508 for Vermont and $57,323 for New Hampshire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States#Income_by_state
http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/335.html
The section of the chart that adds in the federal taxes doesn’t really surprise me – the federal taxes are directly related to the relative level of income, so they are about what you’d expect.
The web site also has some other interesting data, such as, which states pay more than they receive, and vice versa.
So much for “Taxachusetts” and other over-quoted misperceptions about taxation within the states!
A: Look at the chart from 1970-2007 http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/460.html, and you can see how the Taxachusetts label got stuck based on the experience of the 1970s and early 1980s. What you see now is certainly better, the result of Proposition 2.5 and some would say 16 years of Weld/Celluci//Swift/Romney. And what happened when Deval Patrick showed up on Beacon Hill and mumbled the words “fiscal discipline.” He was raked over the coals about his Cadillac and his drapes and his wife’s aide – by his fellow Democrats and the liberal press.
In the Midwest, the state with the high tax reputation was Minnesota, and that has remained true. More recently, Ohio has joined the high tax list. Perhaps Lydenberg has some insight into that. But there’s more to it than taxes. Massachusetts has a median household income of $52,354, compared to $48,508 for Vermont and $57,323 for New Hampshire. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Household_income_in_the_United_States#Income_by_state
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Settle a bet
Q: You need to settle a bet. I think that Mormonism is a real liability for Mitt Romney. I said Iowans would vote for a Jew before they would vote for a Mormon.
So in a head to head vote, who carries Iowa, Joe Lieberman or Mitt Romney?
A: That’s a tough one, but I think you need to pay up.
(1) Joe Lieberman got no delegates at the 2004 Iowa caucuses. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/primaries/pages/states/IA/
(2) Iowa is one of the states (then a territory) the Mormons crossed on their great migration from Illinois to Utah. There could very well be more Mormons in Iowa than Jews. I can’t find the stats on that.
(3) In a ranking of "Family Values", based on marriage rate, divorce rate, suicide rate, AIDS rate data from the World Almanac of the U.S.A. Utah was ranked 4th highest in the nation (with statistics most indicative of traditional family values). The states that ranked higher by this cumulative score were Iowa, Idaho, and South Dakota. http://www.adherents.com/largecom/lds_dem.html. It’s been observed that between Romney and McCain (one divorce) and Guiliani (two divorces) it’s ironic that Romney the Mormon is the only monogamist.
(4) The religious affiliation of Iowa though largely Christian tend toward the more tolerant mainstream denominations:
Roman Catholic – 23%
Lutheran – 16%
Methodist – 13%
Baptist – 5%
Presbyterian – 3%
Pentecostal – 2%
Congregational/United Church of Christ – 2%
Other Protestant or general Protestant – 11%
Other Christian – 1%
Other Religions – 6%
Non-Religious – 13%
Did not answer – 5%
So in a head to head vote, who carries Iowa, Joe Lieberman or Mitt Romney?
A: That’s a tough one, but I think you need to pay up.
(1) Joe Lieberman got no delegates at the 2004 Iowa caucuses. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/primaries/pages/states/IA/
(2) Iowa is one of the states (then a territory) the Mormons crossed on their great migration from Illinois to Utah. There could very well be more Mormons in Iowa than Jews. I can’t find the stats on that.
(3) In a ranking of "Family Values", based on marriage rate, divorce rate, suicide rate, AIDS rate data from the World Almanac of the U.S.A. Utah was ranked 4th highest in the nation (with statistics most indicative of traditional family values). The states that ranked higher by this cumulative score were Iowa, Idaho, and South Dakota. http://www.adherents.com/largecom/lds_dem.html. It’s been observed that between Romney and McCain (one divorce) and Guiliani (two divorces) it’s ironic that Romney the Mormon is the only monogamist.
(4) The religious affiliation of Iowa though largely Christian tend toward the more tolerant mainstream denominations:
Roman Catholic – 23%
Lutheran – 16%
Methodist – 13%
Baptist – 5%
Presbyterian – 3%
Pentecostal – 2%
Congregational/United Church of Christ – 2%
Other Protestant or general Protestant – 11%
Other Christian – 1%
Other Religions – 6%
Non-Religious – 13%
Did not answer – 5%
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