Weekend Wonk
Halloween Wonk
Jerome Shea October 26, 2008
If you tramp the gloomy and spectral byways of Greek lore, sooner or later you will run across the tale of Erysichthon, a tale which goes back to a time when Time itself was but a swaddled suckling. Come back with me. Erysichthon was a bad, bad, man, brutal and arrogant. He cared for no man (or …
Lonely Street and Other Observations
Jerome Shea September 29, 2008
For an Obamanista, my street–my neighborhood for that matter–is enemy territory. McCain signs all over the place. Some front lawns fairly bristle with Republican attitude: “McCain/Palin,” “Darren White for Congress,” “Steve Pearce for Senate,” “Another Family for McCain!” It’s their …
Yellow
Jerome Shea September 15, 2008
What started me on this color business (see “Colors”) was the generally bad reputation that yellow struggles under. Never mind that yellow can be associated with gold and sunshine and buttercups and ribbons ‘round the old oak tree. Never mind that it has become a very popular color for sporty cars …
Colors
Jerome Shea September 3, 2008
so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens (Wm. Carlos Williams) I am gazing out of my office window and the world I see is a world of color and it is lovely for that. Zimmerman Library is a restful adobe tan*. The sycamores vary in their foliage, many …
The Great Irony Kerfuffle
Jerome Shea August 19, 2008
Well, Shea is late again. I hated to interrupt the coinage sequels, and Macinstruct has been in the summer doldrums, Matt and I indulging ourselves in travel and just kicking back, relishing the welcome rain and dodging the heat. But now, like the Terminator, we’re baaack! The presidential campaign …
Pennies and Quarters and Dollars, Oh My!
Jerome Shea August 5, 2008
Long live the penny! And live long it probably will, despite Jim Kolbe’s efforts (see “A Nickel for Your Thoughts” and “A Penny Saved or a Penny Spurned?”). The U.S. Mint says that there are no plans to discontinue it. As to what it costs to make a penny—I first said 1.4 cents and then 1.7 cents—the …
A Penny Saved or a Penny Spurned?
Jerome Shea July 22, 2008
Last week I outlined Question 1 on the AP exam: should we get rid of the penny?* Representative Jim Kolbe of Arizona, sponsor of the Legal Tender Modernization Act, thinks we should. He would have the nickel do the penny’s job by simply rounding sums up or down in cash transactions. It should also …
A Nickel for Your Thoughts
Jerome Shea June 25, 2008
Empty your pocket or purse. How much change do you have? I have only 41 cents at the moment: three dimes, a nickel, and six pennies. (I had a bunch of quarters, but I washed the Little Red Beast on the way in this morning.) I do have a point, which I’ll get to in a moment. The Advanced Placement …
Dark and Stormy Night
Jerome Shea June 15, 2008
These things always start innocently enough. I was browsing in a new reference book and came across the entry for the prolific Victorian writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873). The only thing noted besides his name and dates was the fact that Bulwer-Lytton is notorious for having written the worst …
Chagrin and Politics
Jerome Shea June 8, 2008
One could argue that chagrin and politics go together like salt and pepper. More on that later, perhaps. But this chagrin—mine—arises from the fact that a week after I wrote the “Rainy Day” wonk, there came another wonderful rainy day: Sandias socked in, sky a dripping dome, and so forth. This after …