second mention of magic wands in the ny times today
It's like somehow he's been able to preserve the work habits of a really unsuccessful writer well into his success.
- ira glass on david sedaris, reported by WARREN ST. JOHN, "Turning Sour Grapes Into a Silk Purse," new york times June 6, 2004
fiscal
But the markets should pay closer attention to a structural problem, said Stephen Roach, chief economist at Morgan Stanley.
"The big issue they are missing is that imbalances matter," Mr. Roach said. "We have massive trade and budget deficits in the United States and huge surpluses in Asia. I am not trained to wave a wand over these huge imbalances and say this is the way the world works now."
If Mr. Roach had his way, the leaders would focus on two things: "The United States needs to be called to task for running reckless monetary and fiscal policies and fostering an environment that has allowed consumers to live well beyond their means. And the rest of the world has to be called to task for failing to stimulate domestic demand."
- market week, "Will the G-8 Look Beneath The Surface?" new york times June 6, 2004
posted June 06, 2004 in politics, printcultural vapidity should not be permitted to deprive you
While children are being eroticized into adults, adults are being exoticized into eternal juvenilia. There is nothing more satisfying, more gratifying than true adulthood. The process of becoming one is not inevitable. Its achievement is a difficult beauty, an intensely hard-won glory, which commercial forces and cultural vapidity should not be permitted to deprive you of.
- toni morrison, commencement speech at wellesley, quoted by SAM DILLON, "Threats to Rights and Financial Barriers to Poor Are Cited at Graduations," New york times June 6, 2004