Category Archives: corporations

Chron: Commercialism and Art Cars

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Here’s an article against corporate infringement into the art car scene. It’s more invective because of it’s harsh title – which is just typical “journalism”. I heard a few discussions on this topic at the many events I was at. Mostly, the corporate cars don’t show for the quirky events and thus don’t effect the “counterculture vibe”. The parade is a media event, and I fully expect corporateness to show up for a 250,000 person crowd.

I heard one major complaint about the McDonald’s shoe visiting schools on Friday. It’s a reasonable complaint, though one not shared by all artists. The complaints about the Shoe’s stereo being too loud are much more common.

What humors me the most is the social elitism of the comments to the article on the Chron’s web site. (“It’s not art because I don’t like it.”)

Is commercialism driving off fun of the Art Car Parade?

A few say sponsors detract from the event’s counterculture vibes

By SARAH VIREN
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
May 13, 2007, 9:57PM

Patrick Stanley exhausted his supply of souvenir hard hats an hour before Houston’s Art Car Parade started Saturday. Each bore the name of the construction company he works for, SpawMaxwell, just like his art car, a 1958 Edsel Pacer.

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MySpace to Buy Wall Street Journal

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Dow Jones PricesWell, actually News Corp, which also owns MySpace, offered an unsolicited bid of US$5B for Dow Jones & Co. That’s a cost of $60/share for a company that was in the low $30s/share.

Rupert Murdock runs News Corp and is a brilliant businessman and evil media magnate.   I won’t be surprised when this happens (if this was not a family owned business, they would have to accept such a ludicrous offer).

I have no great love for the WSJ or it’s company and think there’s little left to sully.  As with MySpace he’s getting a flawed product that he can sell to the masses and make them think they want it.

source: WSJ online

Here’s to the Hummers

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DEAD PICTURE - Gasoline prices at $2.00+ and a pedestrian 'walk' sign.The day’s gasoline prices are displayed at a service station Friday, March 26, 2004, in Chicago. Rising fuel prices affect Illinoins’ business large and small, from Bloomington-based State Farm, whose nationwide fleet burned 12.5 million gallons of gasoline last year, to pizza delivery drivers like college sophmore Dan Okrasinski, who figures he spends an hour delivering pizzas every week just to cover the extra cost of filling his tank. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

I think gas should cost more. It would make people make more appropriate transportation decisions. I would raise state-wide gasoline taxes to actually pay for road construction (and fund public transportation).

antenna

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I bought an antenna from Gilman Subaru I-45 something like 3-5 months ago.  They were to mail it to me. I called them 2 months ago, they said “we don’t do that”.  I called my credit card a month ago, they were outraged, and asked me to write it down and they’d take care of it (USAA rocks). I never wrote it down (it’s still on the list, though).  I get home today and a box with the antenna is sitting on the porch.

Apparently, they Airborn Expressed it to me, those 20 miles. I  guess they were trying to close out 2003, and it bothered someone.

At least I’ve got my antenna, my AM reception has been a little annoying.

-b

A long, busy day out of nowhere

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So, I had planned on going to the Big Top and prepping the bartop trim. But I also recalled that I had promised to replace a kitchen sink dispose-all for a friend this week and had been horribly otherwise busy.

So I called J. Nunnally to see what was up about 11am. “I’m at Ikea. I have $400 in gift certificates and I’m buying stuff for his house.” Bobby Mac being out of town, and J. Nunnally, his eX-but-still-friend house sitting for him. “I’m not sure how I’m gonna get the stuff back, though.”

I, of course, had dozens of things to do at the house, and had mentioned to Yo-yo, that I was planning on working at the CC/Big Top (but had made no specific plans or promises), so I offered “I’ll come help you”.

Number One. Ikea on a weekend should be avoided at all cost. O.K. that’s the only number that’s relevant. Continue reading →

Importing Oil Into Iraq

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“Of the $1.6 billion the Corps of Engineers had allocated as of Oct. 17 to rebuild Iraq’s oil infrastructure, some $762.4 million had been spent to import fuel and repair Iraq’s fuel distribution network. Halliburton is permitted to earn a profit of anywhere from 2 to 7 percent on the cost of the assignment.”
[source]
[…]
“Given the extraordinarily high prices that Halliburton has been charging to import gasoline, this action could save American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars,” Rep. Henry Waxman,

We only get 2-7% on the cost it takes us to do the job? How will we make more money? Any Economics 101 student will tell you, “run up the cost”.

-b