If, after watching a Republican debate, you feel a compelling need to get the fuck off the planet, might we suggest Saturn? The rings are lovely when it eclipses the Sun, and in case you have second thoughts, you can still see Earth and remember why it was so important to put 979 million miles between you and the rest of godforsaken humanity.

In the Shadow of Saturn [NASA, via Kottke]

After Rick Perry famously declared Social Security a Fonzie Scheme, we couldn’t help but agree — Social Security is a broken jukebox that we’ve been kicking for years, but for the younger kids coming into the malt shop, sooner or later, it’s not gonna work.

Hold on. Richie Cunningham is elbowing us in the ribs.

Ponzi Scheme? Oh. Right.

Well, since our premise has completely collapsed, there’s nothing left but to cut to commercial welcome you to Yet Another GOP Debate Open Thread/Shark Jump. Be nice, or we’ll disappear you faster than Richie’s older brother.

Excerpt the First:

This isn’t about politics — it’s about what’s best for the American people, period.

Excerpt the Second:

Please make a donation of $25 to support the 2012 campaign today.

We’re voting “Snow Jobs”.

“My Endorsement:” [NRO]

The Years of Shame [Krugman/NYT]

While playing Netflix Stream of Consciousness over the weekend, we landed on the PBS broadcast of the 2006 revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company. If, like us, you’re totally unfamiliar with it, the premise is simple: all the married friends of a 35-year-old bachelor are badgering him to tie the knot.

The revival staging is very sophisticated — the actors all double as musicians — which befits the intended sophistication of the show itself. But right from the start, there is, for us at least, a curious disconnect:

What’s so unusual about a 35-year-old bachelor?

We suspect this was not a question anybody asked in 1970, when Company debuted. That same year would see the premiere of another culturally groundbreaking sophisticated comedy, featuring a career-minded 30-year-old woman who was neither married, a widow, nor even in a steady relationship, with a spunky habit of tossing her hat in a busy Minneapolis intersection. Times were changing.

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This is probably my favorite piece ever – she rushes through the solo part at the end, but still a bravura performance:

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