If you are not a city, state, or federal employee, odds are these days, you stand a good chance of losing your job, your home, or your pension; or all three. If you are a retiree, you probably don’t have a job –yet, your home is paid for, and your … Continue reading →
Air Guitar Heroes rejoice! One of yours is now on a presidential ticket to, maybe, somewhere. Sarah Palin is here to take up your cause. There is no longer need to wallow in nerdy resignation because you really, truly, have no talent whatsoever; as much as you try to make … Continue reading →
Compared to Sarah Palin, George W. Bush has wisdom and gravitas. Compared to the current incarnation of John McCain, George W. Bush really has a pair of cojones. Compared to all three, Dick Cheney is Master Of The Universe. George W. Bush never had convictions to begin with, so it … Continue reading →
We are snitches. Yep, that’s right. We are just friggin’ snitches. According to recent numbers from Crime Stoppers USA, due to the rough times many folks are experiencing trying to make ends meet, there has been a substantial increase nationwide in calls with tips for rewards. Turning in perps for … Continue reading →
We are officially Macondo.A recent report published by Forbes, concluded that San Antonio is in effect, the second most recession-proof city in the United States, right behind the gangbuster bastion of enterprise and compelling travel destination that is Oklahoma City. On the one hand it is good to know that … Continue reading →
210 CHILLIN I saw these words the other day, decalled onto the rear window of a souped-up, black, late-model Suburban -Westbound on Highway 90, just off the I-35 South intersection, near downtown San Antonio- layered over a silver silhouette of our downmarket city’s unprepossesing skyline. The semiotics -hard at work … Continue reading →
easy | achieved without great effort; presenting few difficulties. Easy is good. Unless it’s bad Easy. Then it’s not good. I’m sure that somewhere, there’s a mathematical formula for this. But it eludes me at this time. Which is a shame. Because with a good formula at hand, the probabilities … Continue reading →
Simply said: Engaging artists as window dressers for civic boosterism is always a losing proposition, both for the artists and for the city. Even though it may be well intended, it is unfortunate when political leaders –furthering assumptive notions of cultural relevance, or trying to generate tourism dollars to pick … Continue reading →
What is the single, most fundamental problem facing the development of art programs and the long-term stability of cultural organizations? If you answered Lack Of Funding, congratulations; your choice reflects sentiments shared by approximately ninety-five percent of cultural organizations and administrators, whom although altogether comprising a small and elite segment … Continue reading →
Follow the money. This is a truism fundamental to the history of art. And if you do follow the money, you will find that these days, increasingly, the money is traveling on a parallel rotation with mother earth: Eastward. Go East, young folks. Go East. If you live in the … Continue reading →
When I first wrote the essay below, back in 2008, I had no clue that for the next twelve years, the United States would formulate as pillars of foreign policy, Leading From Behind, and America First –in its most reductive interpretation. I had always thought that the grown ups would … Continue reading →
As an asset class, stocks are long overdue for a comeback. Yes there was a very good five-year run that started in 2002, when the smart money went in after the dot.com bubble bust. But in general terms, the real money was not being made in stocks per-se. The fortunes … Continue reading →
Don’t get me wrong, we’re capitalists here. Myself, unabashedly so. Without a doubt, we are enjoying a vitalizing economic upswing unique to San Antonio’s history. We are also, without a doubt, at the peak of that upswing, with many upstanding citizens reaping substantial benefits, not the least those toiling at … Continue reading →