Economist content now free for ad-watchers

Economist content now free for ad-watchers

Not sure when this started, but it looks like The Economist has adopted the Salon-model in which anyone can view the site's premium content if you agree to sit through an advertisement first. Test it here on a story about the oldest companies in the world.

Since you're wondering, this one's the oldest:

Kongo Gumi, founded by a Korean in Osaka in 578, is a builder of Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and castles—and now also offices, apartment buildings and private houses.

- posted by Amy @ 12/17/2004 11:39:00 AM

 
Chat n Chew II: Open n Closed

Chat n Chew II: Open n Closed

Did you know home cookin' emporium Chat n Chew opened a second location a few months ago? Too late, it's already closed.

I was by yesterday and there was brown paper covering the windows and doors. I suppose the Union Square location is still up and running though.
- posted by Amy @ 12/14/2004 10:34:00 AM

 
On the Peterson Verdict

On the Peterson Verdict

Two things California should be embarrassed about:
1. The cheering outside the courthouse as the death sentence was read. Cheering. ... (Update: CNN just played another tape and the chering wasn't nearly as loud as it seemed initially. I assume the original CNN mic outide the courthouse was in the center of the small group that cheered. Still, there indeed was some cheering.)

2. Before the verdict, silly Wolf Blitzer and one of his CNN guests were discussing how Peterson would be safer on Death Row than in the general population in any California prison. Even if it's not true, the state has such a bad track record that CNN can entertain the topic.
- posted by Amy @ 12/13/2004 04:55:00 PM

 
Fire at Zaytoons on Smith

Fire at Zaytoons on Smith

Apparently there was a fire at Zaytoons about a week ago. We were by today and someone was working inside, though it looked a total mess. There's a sad sign out front that asks people to patronize their other location in Fort Greene for now.

Pretty good, cheap Mediterranean foods. Hopefully they rebound.

Later on we ventured down Court Street and finally tried Frankie's 457 -- and it is indeed as good as everyone says. We'll be back - and also to try Le Petit Cafe, which had an extremely inviting covered garden space.

Frankie's has a blog devoted to the construction of the restaurant. Lots of pictures to check out.
- posted by Amy @ 12/12/2004 10:18:00 PM

 
Grow Your Own

Grow Your Own

Here's a tale of Christmas cheer that should warm your dark heart -- or make you nearly snark coffee through your nose.
- posted by Amy @ 12/12/2004 04:15:00 PM

 
Good God, Bakersfield

Good God, Bakersfield
The San Francisco Chronicle has a disturbing op-ed column about my hometown, Bakersfield, getting even more crazy conservative than it was when I left.

Grafted as it is onto an evangelical religious culture that trusts the Bible as the literal word of God, this land of big trucks, big agriculture, big oil, mega-malls, country music and churches has become an outpost for a world view that equates the liberal menace with the now defeated communist one. Even store names, such as Second Amendment Sports, and marquee messages, "Be an organ donor. Give your heart to the Lord," bear witness.

To anyone familiar with the old faith healer's traveling circuit, which always included a stop in Bakersfield, it's no surprise the home of Buck Owens has more in common with Little Rock than Big Sur. The same is true of the presidential election: Kern County gave 68 percent of its vote to soul brother George Bush.

(Link found via Kern County Democrats.)

- posted by Amy @ 12/12/2004 03:53:00 PM