Recent Comments
Re: “Union Way”
This "new kind of shopping experience" sounds very similar to an 'arcade', as they are known in England and Australia, and have been since the 19th century. Also found under different names in Europe, Asia, and pretty much everywhere else on the planet. So, yeah, not so "new" really. Apparently the developers are some of those loathsome people who think America is the only country that exists...
(I'm also curious how having a hotel at one end is supposed to be a selling point to attract the locals needed for this to succeed)
Re: “In Washington State, Tough Questions on the CRC”
@Blabby: I don't find the argument "we should never fix any of them" convincing, but I do find the argument "we should fix those other ones first" convincing, particularly in the case of the Rose Quarter. There was talk last year of putting an extra lane in there between the I405 and I84 intersections; let's get that done first and then see how bad the inbound traffic is after that.
Re: “Beth Ditto Didn't Show Up At Her Arraignment, But Her Lawyer Did”
Colin: they're writing about it because it's interesting and kind of funny. Nobody's claiming it's important, just that it's interesting.
I would happily take a hundred more posts on this topic over a single Paul Constant post.
Re: “Good Morning, News!”
Yeah, Iceland worked out great. Their unemployment rate reached all-time record levels, from which it still hasn't completely recovered. And they refused to pay back (i.e. stole) millions of dollars from investors in the rest of Europe, including such villainous entities as local councils. I mean, I guess one way to get out of a financial crisis is to just steal the money you need from someone else, but it's not really a model to follow for the rest of the world.
Re: “Pro-CRC Lawmaker Given "Cars Rejuvenating Carbon" Award Last Night”
The vote passed 45-11. His vote made absolutely no difference. I'm betting he realized that, and traded it for a vote on something else - like, say, the statewide carbon tax. That's how politics works - you vote for my bill and I'll vote for yours.
It's not how politics is supposed to work, in an idealistic universe, but we all know that it does.
Re: “Will You Be Better Off Than Your Parents?”
Places like Britain have already raised the retirement age. The two problems with it are:
A) there aren't enough jobs to go round already, without making the workforce bigger.
B) the elderly vote in bigger numbers that the young, and have more money to donate to / bribe politicians, so congress will never vote for it.
RSSGoing to Seattle?
Re: “Do Spoilers Really Matter? The Relative Importance of Storytelling in Film”
The definitive answer would be "it depends". The Crying game is a perfect example of a film that would be fantastic even without the twist, so having it spoiled doesn't matter. When Karl Penn's character left House, not having it spoiled made it a far more powerful and memorable moment (although you could certainly make the case that House wasn't particularly good by then, and that being spoiled by knowing a spoiler is indicative of lower quality).
On the other hand, I don't know of any movies / shows that have been improved by knowing the spoiler. So if there's potential downside of telling people what's going to happen, and there's no conceivable upside, why would you do it?