Re: LIVE LIKE YOU'RE IN FORBES MAGAZINE!!!

Soon the artists will all have to move to the Financial District because rent on apartments in Brooklyn is the only rent that isn't plummeting in this economy.

Time for cheer

Via I Am Bored.

If California and New York State were businesses, they'd be going bankrupt. If you're among the nearly 20 percent of Americans who live or work in these two states, the fiscal crisis is coming home for the holidays. And the worst is still on its way.
-First paragraph of John Avlon's "What if New York goes bust?"

I am not keen on the "forget about the auto industry, journalists have the real trouble" argument, but I wish we could still afford to make heroin jokes this year.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Black Wednesday

Yet again, we're on the cutting edge of things at our company: we're all unemployed, at least for now. Guess who else is? The publisher of Houghton Mifflin, 10% of Thomas Nelson, much of Simon & Schuster and Random House, according to Editorial Ass (also on Andrew Wheeler's blog, via GwendaBond). Maud Newton elaborates.

Even my coworker wrote about it. Gosh, we are so trendy. But we knew we might be laid off well before the economy crashed. That's what you have to do when you work in Williamsburg: be way ahead of the trends, and act pouty and pissed when you become a trendsetter. Or when you become homeless.

Recession Red... Communists, eat your hearts out.

Everybody wants bail-out. Poets, the environment, Somali pirates, people who thought they'd be able to retire before they died...

Anyway, guess what stock went up today? I'll give you a hint: you can store it for decades and it's especially good for colds.

That's right. Campbell's Soup.

Thanks for the stock tip, Wonkette. An aside: my roommate sent me a message tonight that said simply, "Well, Capitalism was fun. Wonder what we'll do now."

At least New Yorkers have a sense of humor: Gray's Papaya has a "recession special," and I passed a wine store advertising "Recession Red" for just $7.

Also, in case you missed it: Heath Ledger stars in "The Dark Bailout."