It's officially cold this morning. When I go get my paper if it's below freezing and breezy, windchill is 16°, it's officially cold. That makes me wonder about our New Years Eve plans because ice skating at Bryant Park or going to Times Square were both options but who wants to freeze in the new year? Than again my brother is in State College and the Village is rather balmy compared to the mountains.
When it comes to the tunes I listen to I can be a bit strange because I can jump from Ellie Goulding to Linkin Park in one playlist. Thing is my iTunes holds almost anything including sadly country and Tom Jones but there is no opera. Last night I was listening to a playlist that may have been stranger than any of mine. Like some of mine it was all over the music rainbow but yes it included opera, opera shuffling to dance shuffling to indie which is my whole point of writing this. I heard a cover of Neil Young's "Into the Black" that was awesome so I asked who it was and was told it was a band fro Oregon called the Chromatics. We ended up listening to there entire newest album, Kill For Love, and it's really quite good, worth a listen, or maybe it was just the wine. (video)
I was reading an old article from the Guardian about career tips for art school graduates when I came across this one, it's a rule I follow at all times. "It's crucial to remember that everything you do online can be seen by everyone. So no political rants, no passive-aggressive behavior, keep it light, fun, happy and professional at all times." I'm very good at their first tip, multitasking.
So you thought this was a non-political post? Wrong because here we are looking into the national financial abyss without a parachute and the House is just coming back tonight. Well maybe not an abyss, as with the whole mess the 'fiscal cliff' is totally self inflicted drama. It would take months for all the spending cuts and taxes to take effect and in the end it's just not going to happen, take my word for it. But there are a couple things to notice.
The first is that if nothing happens tax rates will go up and than will be cut again for most people. But as the new year begins, if nothing happens, the Bush tax cuts cease to exist. When they take effect again they will be forever known as the Obama tax cuts.
The other thing to do is sit back and enjoy the beauty of a second term president. I may have mentioned before that a second term president is a totally different beast because he/she is never going to run in an election again. When President Obama made his fiscal cliff statement on Friday he threw down the gauntlet, actually he put a noose around the tea party's neck and dared them to jump. Come up with something he can support or allow a yes or no vote on his tax rates before we hit the curb. That leaves them very few options none of which are good for Republicans because either we play Thelma and Louise or they raise tax rates on the wealthy. Republicans get the blame for the first but no credit for the second. It's a beautiful thing.
Finally, Saturday morning at 12:25 AM Eastern Time the first same sex couple was married in the state of Maine. Next up the sate of Maryland on New Years Day. Congrats.
12/31 update - I wanted to add this yesterday and never got around to it. This week a bill legalizing gay marriage will be introduced in the Illinois State Senate. It is a rare thing for a sitting president to voice their opinion on state matters but on Saturday President Obama privately urged lawmakers in his home state to pass the bill. Also Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked major state CEOs to sign a letter which calls passing the marriage equality bill an economic imperative for the state. Among the signers so far are Google, Groupon, Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto, and PrivateBancorp Chairman Norman Bobins. This letter follows the release on Saturday of another letter signed by 250 state religious leaders supporting the bill which would make Illinois the tenth state to legalize same sex marriage.
When it comes to the tunes I listen to I can be a bit strange because I can jump from Ellie Goulding to Linkin Park in one playlist. Thing is my iTunes holds almost anything including sadly country and Tom Jones but there is no opera. Last night I was listening to a playlist that may have been stranger than any of mine. Like some of mine it was all over the music rainbow but yes it included opera, opera shuffling to dance shuffling to indie which is my whole point of writing this. I heard a cover of Neil Young's "Into the Black" that was awesome so I asked who it was and was told it was a band fro Oregon called the Chromatics. We ended up listening to there entire newest album, Kill For Love, and it's really quite good, worth a listen, or maybe it was just the wine. (video)
I was reading an old article from the Guardian about career tips for art school graduates when I came across this one, it's a rule I follow at all times. "It's crucial to remember that everything you do online can be seen by everyone. So no political rants, no passive-aggressive behavior, keep it light, fun, happy and professional at all times." I'm very good at their first tip, multitasking.
So you thought this was a non-political post? Wrong because here we are looking into the national financial abyss without a parachute and the House is just coming back tonight. Well maybe not an abyss, as with the whole mess the 'fiscal cliff' is totally self inflicted drama. It would take months for all the spending cuts and taxes to take effect and in the end it's just not going to happen, take my word for it. But there are a couple things to notice.
The first is that if nothing happens tax rates will go up and than will be cut again for most people. But as the new year begins, if nothing happens, the Bush tax cuts cease to exist. When they take effect again they will be forever known as the Obama tax cuts.
The other thing to do is sit back and enjoy the beauty of a second term president. I may have mentioned before that a second term president is a totally different beast because he/she is never going to run in an election again. When President Obama made his fiscal cliff statement on Friday he threw down the gauntlet, actually he put a noose around the tea party's neck and dared them to jump. Come up with something he can support or allow a yes or no vote on his tax rates before we hit the curb. That leaves them very few options none of which are good for Republicans because either we play Thelma and Louise or they raise tax rates on the wealthy. Republicans get the blame for the first but no credit for the second. It's a beautiful thing.
Finally, Saturday morning at 12:25 AM Eastern Time the first same sex couple was married in the state of Maine. Next up the sate of Maryland on New Years Day. Congrats.
12/31 update - I wanted to add this yesterday and never got around to it. This week a bill legalizing gay marriage will be introduced in the Illinois State Senate. It is a rare thing for a sitting president to voice their opinion on state matters but on Saturday President Obama privately urged lawmakers in his home state to pass the bill. Also Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked major state CEOs to sign a letter which calls passing the marriage equality bill an economic imperative for the state. Among the signers so far are Google, Groupon, Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto, and PrivateBancorp Chairman Norman Bobins. This letter follows the release on Saturday of another letter signed by 250 state religious leaders supporting the bill which would make Illinois the tenth state to legalize same sex marriage.
