2002.06.07
Link of the Moment
On a brighter note, there was an amazing interview on Salon with an author who thinks that the to a successful urban center is a core creative class. He says (and has done the research to get to this conclusion) a city needs 3 Ts: technology (a big technological base, associated with universities and tech investment), talent (have general aspects that appeal to that group) and tolerance (of diversity in general). It's why places like Austin have suceeded while Pittsburgh and Detroit are having more and more problems. Funny, and very true, excerpt:
"How do you choose a place to live and work?" and the answers just came out: Diversity, we want a place that's diverse, where there's different kinds of people on the street. Of course a job is important, but it isn't just "a" job: We need lots of jobs because we know now that "a" job isn't going to last long. We want a city to be creative, we want it to be exciting, we want it to have all kinds of amenities, we want it to have outdoor sports, extreme sports, rollerblading, cycling, art scene, music scene. Then we asked, "Do you do all that stuff?" and the answer was "No, we just want to know it's there."Also, interestingly, he believes gay communties are kind of the "canary in the coalmine" for the creative economy.
Japanese Pop Culture of the Moment
Beer-chan loves beer so much!!! She looks young, but she is 20 years old. So, boys and girls! Don't drink it like her! You hear beer-chan saying "It's sooo good!" anywhere, anytime....I'm not making this up. Young boys and girls should take their cue from Beer Chan's younger relation, Chibi Beer Chan who is too young to drink, and can merely dance about with a beer glass on his (her?) head.