Trudy, do you know the book Mister G-d, This is Anna? The little girl in the book simply has conversations with her, well, friend, Mister G-d, just like she has conversations with all her other friends. When I read this book, as a child, it fit perfectly to the way I saw things.

Oslo has overtaken Tokyo as the world's most expensive city, according to a survey published Tuesday. Tokyo had held the top spot for 14 years in the Economist Intelligence Unit's biannual survey.

Of 17 U.S. cities featured in the survey, the most expensive were New York (27th), Chicago and Los Angeles (tied for 35th), and San Francisco (40th).

Chicago more expensive to live in than San Francisco? That's crazy talk.

[link]

Chicago more expensive to live in than San Francisco? That's crazy talk.

Tommy, does it say if the figures are for the cities proper, or the entire metropolitan area? It might make a difference, if outlying areas are cheaper for some cities. But yeah, crazy talk.

Yes, tonight it'll be time again...time to play the State of the Union Drinking Game!

3. If George W actually says, "If Al Qaeda is calling you, we want to know why." first person to finish a whole beer gets to toss Li'l Smokies at any of the others until they finish their beer. Use the toothpicks.

3. If George W actually says, "If Al Qaeda is calling you, we want to know why." first person to finish a whole beer gets to toss Li'l Smokies at any of the others until they finish their beer. Use the toothpicks.

You know, if they'd start calling the RNC things could get interesting.

Nilly, I adore that book.

I've just been abandoned (okay, he's taking a sick day to take care of his baby daughter, but what about MY needs?) by a co-worker to a meeting I really don't want to have where I'm going to be asked for information I don't have.

And pandora.com played me Michael Bolton. How do I work it so I don't have to work anymore? Just nerve blocks and exercise?

Chicago more expensive to live in than San Francisco? That's crazy talk.

I dunno. There are certainly a lot more rental vacancies than there used to be; juliana was able to find an affordable and small-but-not-microscopic cat-permitting 1BR in a very desirable neighborhood, while moving from another state with no job; and I have an acquaintance who last year managed to negotiate his rent down (he claimed that if the rent went up and he had to move, the place would've gone vacant and rentless for months or more, and the landlord looked over the records of his other properties and hastily agreed). It's still crazy fucking expensive to live here, but there've definitely been indications over the last year or so that the crazy fucking expensivity is flattening out.

Hmmm, Buffistas burninating and explodiating all over the place. Volatile, ain't we? But where's the kaboom?

Congrats on T's raise and the retro! And also to a good interview for Gud!

Nilly! Nice to see your keyboard on the, um, board.

Oh look! Something shiny! ::poof!::

Maybe they mean the cities are expensive relative to... no, that doesn't make sense, either.

..Aha:

The EIU produces the index as a guide for companies in calculating executive pay in 128 cities around the world. More than 100 goods and services, from babysitter rates and soap to deluxe cars and restaurant meals, were used to calculate the weighted index.

So it sounds like it's a cost-of-living comparison specifically for the upper class. Or something like that.