(Part One here.) My friends, I have joined a secret society. It hides in plain sight. Some of you are members already. Some of you aspire to be. Others remain proudly free of the constant demands, financial obligations, and emotional binds the society exacts from its members. To the latter of you, I say: congratulations. [...]
Archive for the ‘Commerce’ category
An American year
Meaning that there is a holiday — federal, religious, cultural, or celebratory — about every two weeks. This is not so elsewhere. It struck me this week as I walked home from work in my green suit in a sea of people decked out in emeralds, limes, and spring greens. I know several of these [...]
La maison, c’est moi
My family religiously observed the tradition of Sunday dinner (literally, since, as many readers know, family time is a Mormon fetish). Every other week we gathered for the whole evening⎯the grandparents, the siblings, and us, the first cousins. To say the teenaged me took these get-togethers for granted would be a huge understatement, but I [...]
Businesses I wish I’d started
The creator of the Frisbee died last week, age 90, a wealthy man for having adapted a popcorn tin lid into a toy. How great would that be – to invent an object beloved by millions and retire off it? Whenever I read stories about the people who become zillionaires by inventing cool stuff, I [...]
Inconspicuous consumption
Welcome to Black Friday, Whatsiters. I hope you are curled up in a post-Thanksgiving haze, browsing your favorite news sites, sipping coffee, and giving a second round of thanks that you are not battling crowds at the mall. In October, I went to the Washington City Paper’s Crafty Bastards craft fair, which turned out to [...]
Stella investigates: the death of the newspaper and the future of journalism
Stella sat down with a nationally-acclaimed journalist to talk about the decline of the newspaper industry and the future of the craft. I cancelled my subscription to The Washington Post earlier this year. That makes me feel disappointed. What are you reading? I get the Post. I read less than I used to because I [...]
Satisfaction
Lane recently contended in comments: You go to the Apple store and you really want that new Steve Jobs gadget. (Steve Jobs is one of my pagan gods) You pay $300 for the object that has a production cost of $50. The $250 difference is the sacrifice at the altar of Apple. And that new [...]
Stella investigates: the financial crisis
Stella sat down with an international economist to ask the burning questions that have not been answered by the media. Our friendly economist is the kind of guy who is very busy, because there’s a global financial crisis, yet found the time to talk to Stella over a glass of Johnnie Walker on the rocks. [...]
