Publishing

An excellent article on self-publishing in the WSJ. Comments are also valuable.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204770404577082303350815824.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

This reminds me a bit of the classical music/art world c. 1900. The French Academy dismissed those who turned the rules of composition upside down, preferring instead to reward those who believed in small, incremental change. It is not the names of Louis Leroy or Jules Massenet that we remember today, but those of Claude Monet and Claude Debussy.

Electronic media is turning the insular paper world on its head. Bravo to those who are leading the way.

McDonald's

Anyone else remember when the golden arches declared proudly "Over 10 Million Served?" - and how fast that slogan changed?
Today, the number of countries that don't have the ubiquitous fast-food restaurant can be counted in less than 15 seconds.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/palx/4761347793/lightbox/

Making money in the Capital

One of the big conversations at the Christmas dinner table this year was the discussion of the big pull of the 20something crowd to DC. Why? When we were in college, my sister-in-law (D) and I (I) both agreed, those who went into politics did so with altruistic motives: somewhere there was a desire to change things - to help those in poverty, to alleviate world suffering, to reduce the arms trade. Cynicism came after - when the sordid world of power and deal making exposed itself only to those who played the game.
Now, some 25 years later, all pretext has been dropped, and the name of the game is money. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/growing-wealth-widens-distance-between-lawmakers-and-constituents/2011/12/05/gIQAR7D6IP_story.html?hpid=z2

If the electorate could understand that government does not create jobs, and is, in fact, a hinderance to those who do, there might be a chance that career politicians might cease to exist. Until then, I fear that we are doomed to a re-creation of the court at Versailles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_nobility