Patricia Marx is an Ass

You want to know why a lot of people think the east coast (read: New York) intellectual class are effete assholes? How about these opening two sentences from Patricia Marx's brief "On and Off the Avenue" piece in The New Yorker on the arts and crafts store Michael's:

New York is rich in culture, cuisine, and commerce. The suburbs have parking spots and fast food, and they also have Michael’s, the largest arts-and-crafts supply chain in North America.

I love cities. I love the east coast. Outside of its sports teams (and fans) I love New York. I live in West Texas, decidedly not an enclave of the east coast elites. But I am associated with of those folks by background, by politics, by temperament and by preference. Patricia Marx, you are the reason why a mendacious drizzlewit like Sarah Palin can plausibly differentiate "real America" from her stereotype of a segment of the east coast. I hope you drown in a yachting accident. I hate nothing more than when my own side frags me with their idiocy.

Baseball Disparity in the New York Times?

Want a sense of the baseball hierarchy in New York?

The New York Times has a baseball blog, "Bats," that they update fairly regularly. As of this morning the Mets have one of the five best records in baseball. They are in second place behind a resurgent Braves team. The Mets are exciting. They are certainly the best baseball team in New York right now. The Yankees, meanwhile, have been playing better of late than they had through April, going 6-4 in their last ten games. But they are still a game below .500. And they are, depending on if you are a glass empty or glass full type (and on which side of the fence you sit with regards to the Yankees) tied for the 15th best or 15th worst record in the league. Up to this point in the still-young season they pretty much epitomize mediocrity. That mediocrity may well not last, and given that lineup and their bad luck so far with health I suspect that it will not.

Despite the disparity in on-field performance for the two New York baseball teams, the writers for "Bats" have fifteen posts currently on the front page. Ten are on the Yankees. Four cover the Mets. And one is a general baseball post. What do you think that says about the baseball culture at the Times