A day in the life

[astromeria]

Scroll around for interesting tidbits as well as an overall view of where our tax dollars go:
http://www.deviantart.com/view/9410862/

I found this wonderful work of graphic art while reading the blog of Steven Kraus, which I've added to my faves:
http://www.stevekrause.org/steve_kra...ess/index.html

Which I found while googling for info on Thorstein Veblen, who coined the term "conspicuous consumption" in his famous book "The Theory of the Leisure Class" published in 1899 (and which I read--or tried to--in high school):
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ide..._class?pg=full

I started out with the subject line "Your tax dollars at work," but after writing the previous paragrph, I retitled it "A day in the life," which of course reminded me of the beatles song, which seemed apropos, so I googled for that and discovered this interesting info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Day_in_the_Life

In case you're wondering what I do all day!

[Sarah in SC]

To encourage the rambling stream of consciousness started by Astro, I remember that the Thorstein Veblen was the second boat owned by Meyer, Travis McGee's economist sidekick in the John D. MacDonald novels I collect. http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Travis_McGee
I have a copy of the Theory of Leisure Class if you want to peruse it again, well, at your leisure....

Sarah

[brewer12345]

Heh, Thorstein Veblen! Funny story about him which may or may not be apocryphal:

At one point he was a professor for an upper midwestern university. Veblen was only interested in research and writing and hated having to teach classes. SO he had a very simple grading policy which he never bothered to tell most of the students. You got a C or a D no matter what unless you asked for an A. If you asked for it, you got an A. Naturally, only his research assistants who were also students in his classes knew to ask...

[ladelfina]

interesting! The first link reminds me of drawings by Mark Lombardi..
http://www.pierogi2000.com/flatfile/lombardi.html

who seems inspired by Tufte..
http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/books_vdqi
some of my favorite books!!

[Danny]

Enjoyed the post on T.V. - very important book for me while majoring in Soc.

I especially enjoyed this reference from your link:

In his bohemian habits, Veblen was something of a nutty professor. His own consumption was conspicuously inconspicuous: He refused to have a telephone and made his furniture out of burlap sacks and wood boxes. He mumbled his way through lectures, and once posted his office hours as "Mondays 10 to 10:05." His libertine carousing also raised eyebrows. After seducing the wife of a colleague in 1906, Veblen was promptly fired. He moved on to Stanford, where he also fell afoul of administrators for his philandering ways. (Legend has it that after Chicago's chancellor worried for the "moral health" of faculty wives, Veblen responded, "I've tried them all. They are no good.")