Ward on Words

Brad Delong, economics professor, blogger , expert on money stuff, has a sidebar on his blog noting that he's signed up for a speaker's bureau because "the Eighteen-Year-Old is going to college next year, which means that I need to think about making more money." Which makes it a bit odd that he's got a guest post on the Berkely Blog called Is It Fair for Education to Be Cheap ? A man now on the hustings to raise money for college is well aware that "cheap" and "college" are not a likely pair. What he's referring to is the subsidized higher education one can acquire at a public university. In my state, the in-state tuition is about $22,000 a year, which makes the cost of a four-year degree close to six figures when it's all said and done. That's not "cheap" education. Or if it is, I'd like to know how a family that makes today's average income of $50K can afford to send multiple children off to school an...

It will take a while, but you'll find him if you look hard. Page past the metal-clad Gucci model... Past the the starved-looking girl in the Juicy Couture ad (note to Juicy Couture marketing execs: nothing juicy about anorexia!)... Past Kate Moss wearing little more than a purse in a cab... Past the spread on "the Warrior Way" (which has nothing to do with warriors and everything to do with "tattered minis strapped with shoulder armor and breastplates")... Past the story on Tina Fey (but before the pic-heavy story on Robert Pattison)... And there you'll find him. Tim Geithner going Vogue , "on the money," spilling his guts about the bailout, all in the March issue of Vogue magazine. Who needs the New Yorker and Atlantic profiles when Vogue is there to chat with the US Treasury Secretary about TARP and bonuses and all the other topics so dear to the hearts of Vogue readers? The article opens with this: "If last year'...

A video by OK GO 'This too shall pass." (And if this innovative production doesn't leave you with a smile, don't despair. Spring is coming...) Having spent a portion of my career in production, I know this one-shot video was no easy task!

The Chi-rish are about to let loose. It's St. Patty's weekend in Chicago. Which means the Metra today let us know that there would be no glass objects or alcohol allowed on the trains this weekend. Yes, we love our St. Patty's day in Chicago - it's our way to let loose during Lent. Unlike New Orleans, we still feel compelled to party hard during the time of abstinence. We dye the river a bright, unnatural green. And we all add an O' or a Mac after our name, no matter where our ancestors came from. Everyone is Irish on St. Patty's Day! At least in Chicago. Not sure what it's like elsewhere. I've heard that until recently, St. Patty's day was a day to go to church in Ireland. That was until the Americans flooded the place wondering where the parade was. I had no idea that booze was allowed on trains on other days! Just thought the people surreptitiously drinking beer out of gigantic cans during non-festive days was their surreptitious way of ...