Here's a newsflash you dumb bitch: Manhattan is one of the most desirable places to live. It is expensive to live there. Not everyone can afford to do it. If it were possible to live comfortably in Manhattan (with kids, no less) for minimum wage, then about half the population of the US would live there. If people's skills are such that they can only make minimum wage in Manhattan, where the cost of living is necessarily high, then perhaps they might consider moving somewhere a bit more affordable? If people live in Manhattan while all they can make is minimum wage and they therefore must do without things, but they aren't willing to consider moving, then living in Manhattan must be worth the suffering to them. And is making $5.15/hour better than making nothing at all? I'd say yes, but apparently Ms. Jackass doesn't agree. She didn't know that $12/lb. for some rancid turkey wasn't a bargain, but she insists she knows whats best for everyone else and believes that laws should be passed to satisfy her whims.
3:14 PM
Martha Stewart
Let's just be honest here. Ms. Stewart should just be found guilty. But not of securities-related malfeasance. Everyone knows the real reason Martha Stewart is on trial is because she thinks it's better to grate your own nutmeg than to buy the pre-ground stuff, because she raises her own chickens for the fresh eggs, and because she advocates many other labor-intensive, quality-of-life-enhancing activities that bedraggled suburbanites deplore. She didn't have insider information, so she couldn't be charged with insider trading, but it couldn't be left at that. No, far too many people hate her because if it weren't for here, they might feel better about heating up frozen crap and "serving" it to their families on styrofoam plates as they gaze wonderingly into separate, blaring TVs. So some novel charges had to be brought against her. Yes, she was head of a large company and she might have lied about a personal matter completely unrelated to her company. If she is found guilty, then the floodgates will be open for all manner of high-ranking corporate-types to be brought into federal court and accused of lying about whether or not they were carrying on an extramarital affair. Or whether or not their boobs are real or of the silicone variety. Charge Martha (in the court of public opinion, of course) with what she's REALLY accused of, declare her guilty and move on. Prosecuting CEOs may be all the rage, but that doesn't necessarily make going after every current and former corner-office occupant "a good thing."
2:38 PM
Retaliatory Weekend Update
The weekend was basically uneventful except for the polyurethane. There was a LOT of polyurethane involved. The good shit, too. I must say that Minwax Clear Shield is a fine, fine product. It produces a luxurious, silky-smooth finish and substantial protection and coverage, which will come in quite handy when my Monet wastebasket is put to use in the harsh environment that is my bathroom. It did such an excellent job on the wastebasket that I was moved to take every single bottle of wine (plus three bottles of Boone's) out of my wine rack and throw a coat of the good stuff on it. But it didn't stop there. The end table/cabinet that I modified for use as a wine rack base got the treatment as well. And since I already had the can open, the wastebasket got a fresh coat. The sense of accomplishment is immeasurable. I have concerns that when the wastebasket is complete (when the polyurethane dries, trim both beaded and unbeaded will be applied) it will be too fine a masterpiece to be put into service as a trash receptacle and will have to be displayed in a glass case. But we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Progress has been made on the Boudreaux portrait in the form of color selection. It will be, like all of my art, a bunch of stuff that doesn't look like anything, but I will title it "Boudreaux" in keeping with the stated objective.
