That's a great tie!

I want to move to Iceland. Or maybe I would if they hadn't gone bankrupt.

From Vanity Fair: Wall Street on the Tundra

Alcoa, the biggest aluminum company in the country, encountered two problems peculiar to Iceland when, in 2004, it set about erecting its giant smelting plant. The first was the so-called “hidden people”—or, to put it more plainly, elves—in whom some large number of Icelanders, steeped long and thoroughly in their rich folkloric culture, sincerely believe. Before Alcoa could build its smelter it had to defer to a government expert to scour the enclosed plant site and certify that no elves were on or under it. It was a delicate corporate situation, an Alcoa spokesman told me, because they had to pay hard cash to declare the site elf-free but, as he put it, “we couldn’t as a company be in a position of acknowledging the existence of hidden people.” ...

Back away from the Icelandic economy and you can’t help but notice something really strange about it: the people have cultivated themselves to the point where they are unsuited for the work available to them. All these exquisitely schooled, sophisticated people, each and every one of whom feels special, are presented with two mainly horrible ways to earn a living: trawler fishing and aluminum smelting. There are, of course, a few jobs in Iceland that any refined, educated person might like to do. Certifying the nonexistence of elves, for instance. (“This will take at least six months—it can be very tricky.”) But not nearly so many as the place needs, given its talent for turning cod into Ph.D.’s. At the dawn of the 21st century, Icelanders were still waiting for some task more suited to their filigreed minds to turn up inside their economy so they might do it.

Enter investment banking.

The whole thing is interesting (what I've read, anyway) but I just had to post the elf part....

elves—in whom some large number of Icelanders, steeped long and thoroughly in their rich folkloric culture, sincerely believe.

Is he implying that Björk isn't an elf?

I'm having a fail!test today. Oy.

Is he implying that Björk isn't an elf?

My own theory is Björk is half-elf, and moves easily through both worlds....

My own theory is Björk is half-elf, and moves easily through both worlds....

Making Tilda Swinton a full-elf, I guess.

Huh. Björk and Tilda Swinton probably rank at the top of my list of attractive celebrities.

Maybe I should move to Iceland - I might have better luck dating there....

I think I read somewhere (TWOP, maybe?) that Santelli has canceled and they're going to have another business reporter instead.

Crap. I made sure to set the Tivo. I can't imagine why he'd bail--except for the fact that his "Tea Party" initiative seems to have been well planned and well financed, rather than the spur of the moment diatribe it appeared to be.

In spite of the am Lady Doctor appointment AND two fillings at the dentist this afternoon, the day is a success because the babysitter got Liv to take a nap! The girl is sleeping right now and I have 45 minutes until Owen gets home. Peace, quiet! Huzzah!

Have people heard this? I've read accounts of it several places:

The limits of misinformation

One California columnist has a great story that's getting attention around the blogosphere now -- an account of his trip to the office of Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif. The columnist, Dick Spotswood, writes:

While a social moderate, Sonny Bono's widow is a solid conservative. Talked to her about Obama's $780 billion stimulus legislation. She's outraged that the plan has "$1 billion wasted on a magnetic-levitation train from L.A. to Sin City" - all at Nevada Sen. Harry Reid's doing.

After expressing my doubt that the Las Vegas line was actually in the bill's language, Bono Mack directs her staff to "get him the bill, it's right there, show him." A few minutes later, a staffer emerges with a copy and quietly says "it's not in the bill."

This is the kind of thing that would be an interesting if not all that informative if it were not emblematic of a larger issue. It's now gospel in Republican circles that this train project was in the stimulus bill, no matter what the facts are, and unless one columnist visits every GOP congressional office and pulls this off, the story's unlikely to die.

Dude. Boy really likes you.

I know! My place is MUCH messier than his.