Recently I’ve gotten a lot of suggestions to watch a series of videos that parody the state of Michigan’s “Pure Michigan” campaign. You can find them over here.
Most people that know me agree that I have a crazy sense of humor. I’m usually not serious enough most of the time.
I’m really sad that people think these videos are worthy enough to pass around. I will admit, I laughed for a moment. Then, it just turned into bewilderment.
The Pure Michigan parody videos aren’t funny, despite the “producers” intentions. They are mean and spiteful. But most of all they took no thought. It’s easy to take a place, a person, or an idea, and rip it a new one.
Negativity in any form is still negativity. It’s poison. It’s also appealing to people because of the emotional rush you get from deeming yourself superior in comparison.
There is a wonder and sense of excitement that engulfs you when you learn to love something for what it is, despite its downfalls. Loving the place where you live is a really important piece of happiness.
Detroit isn’t New York. Or Paris. Or LA. But it’s a great place. It’s Motown. It’s the home of techno. It’s got some real heavy roots. It’s a real place.
I’ve had no greater joy in life than loving the quirky and unusual. After all, everything is a little quirky, and there is no greater feeling than love.
I’m unsure of the year (1954?), but I received a very similar watch as a wedding present from my wife. I also, consequently gave my father a similar watch as a best man’s gift back in 2008 when I got married.
They began their voyage in their apartment, using a homemade machine to process cacao beans. Over time they cultivated their creation, sourcing beans from family farms in Madagascar, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador. Each bar is handmade with incredible reverence for the process and history of chocolate. They are bound in ornamental papers and golden foil like a collection of rare books. Each bar offers its own story of flavors, and no two are exactly alike.
Mr. Chetty and his colleagues — one of whom, Emmanuel Saez, recently won the prize for the top research economist under the age of 40 — estimate that a standout kindergarten teacher is worth about $320,000 a year. That’s the present value of the additional money that a full class of students can expect to earn over their careers. This estimate doesn’t take into account social gains, like better health and less crime.
Obviously, great kindergarten teachers are not going to start making $320,000 anytime soon. Still, school administrators can do more than they’re doing.
They can pay their best teachers more, as Pittsburgh soon will, and give them the support they deserve. Administrators can fire more of their worst teachers, as Michelle Rhee, the Washington schools chancellor, did last week. Schools can also make sure standardized tests are measuring real student skills and teacher quality, as teachers’ unions have urged.
Given today’s budget pressures, finding the money for any new programs will be difficult. But that’s all the more reason to focus our scarce resources on investments whose benefits won’t simply fade away.
And what if I refuse? Honestly though, I see this as the IRS equivalent of the HIPPA. A big waste of precious time and paper.
In 2012, every business, including sole-proprietorships, will have to issue a 1099 to anyone from whom it buys $600 worth of goods or services. The IRS’s Tax Advocate Service says, “For example, if a self-employed individual makes numerous small purchases from an office supply store during a calendar year that total at least $600, the individual must issue a Form 1099 to the vendor and the IRS showing the exact amount of total purchases.”
When I try to explain this to business groups, they invariably reply, “No, that can’t possibly be right. You mean if I buy $600 worth of paper from Wal-Mart in the course of a year I have to get their IRS number, the address of the corporate accounting office, send them a 1099 and another copy to the IRS?” Yep. That’s exactly what it means. “What does this have to do with health care? What is wrong with these people?”
I don’t know, but the Tax Advocate Service estimates 40 million businesses will be affected. And no money was appropriated to cover the cost.
Don’t get me wrong. I love being able to have lived another year and I’m thankful for another year to come. But, the birthday parties get repetitive. When you start to think about it, getting gifts just because you age starts feeling a little weird. You stop getting transformers and get a barrage of cards (and money sometimes) instead.
I kept saying that I didn’t want to do anything this year. But, why waste a day when I can leverage it for the greater good?
I’m a nature nut. I love the environment. I recycle like it’s going out of style. And, when the BP oil spill happened, it really messed me up. I’ve never had such a physical reaction to imagery as I did when I saw what was coming out of The Gulf. I’ve also never felt such a great sense of loss of control.
I think it’s really important to get our environment under control. I can’t stop BP, but I can invest in a better world where BP doesn’t exist.
If you know me and you want to buy me something for my birthday, donate to Environment Northeast. If you were going to buy me a card, donate that $3 instead.
Die Antwoord’s 5 is (finally) out. Their influence and creativity have really made an impact on me. I’m hoping they’ll play in Detroit some day soon. Also, yes, the album is awesome. For kicks, check out my favorite video, because I swoon for Yo-Landi Visser.
Hey, I can see your mouth moving, but there’s a delay. Because your cell phone goes to America or India or somewhere, and then it bounces off a satellite and beams itself to the other side of the street.
