It's not the guy next to you looking, but...

It's been awhile since there was a potty themed post but this clip from coohunting was too good to pass up (yes, it's midterms!). Greeting the gentlemen at the Sofitel in Queenstown, New Zealand. It certainly beats lame urinal advertising and is definitely popular with the guests. Even without the gawkers the urinals themselves are pretty nice.

Reading Off The Syllabus

Each semester I attempt to maintain some personal reading with my course reading. I've had mixed luck in the past, but one home run was reading the Infinite Jest while in my Public Finance class. Both ultimately came down to the understanding the pursuit of happiness, whether its public goods & market failure or addiction & the junior tennis circuit.

I'm taking a class in Public Finance in Developing Countries now, and had the fortune of landing Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins from my book swap just before classes began. Confessions of an EHM is an anecdotal autobiography (with a several endnotes) on how he, as an forecasting economist for MAIN (think Bechtel, Carlyle & Halliburton) inflated estimates to convince developing countries and the World Bank to enter in huge debt agreements. A twist of how the pitch was always based on how great the endeavor would be for the county, and keeping on the low down how much more insured is the profit of his firm. While his style is over the top and didactic, its evident he really is trying to clear his conscious.

Contrast this with public finance theory, where between the lines there are implications of the winners and losers, but the text reads in a scientific neutral. The last two things to come to mind are:

1) how developing countries, whom have relied heavily on taxes on international trade, have been advised to reduce rates in order to spur growth and reap higher revenues. But now research shows that revenues have not increased for developing nations. They fail to mention how corporations are enjoying paying less in tax;

2) Venezuala keeps popping up in the news. Mostly Victor Chavez, and how he's painted as a socialist dictor threatening their stability. Pat Robertson called for his assassination. He survived a coup in December 2002. But what we don't get a sense of is a) how popular and charismatic he is, and b) how oil wealth was bypassing the country before his rise to power, and how contracts we rewritten to put more mineral wealth into the national treasury. Why is the news down on Chavez? Because he has not let Big Oil do as they please . The Documentary The Revolution Will Not Be Televised is a great perspective on how distorted our view of Venezuala is (and can I get a shout for my man Gil Scott Heron and my favorite cut!?!).

I'm moving on to Dominique LaPorte's History of Shit A look at human waste disposal from a Marxist perspective. I'll keep you posted on how it all comes out.

Revisiting a Throne and a Bike

Earlier I've written my admiration for the Shift Concept Bicycle and the Kohler's Purist Hatbox. Now I've read that both have won 2005 Industrial Design Awards from BusinessWeek. You can see the complete slideshow winners here.

Goodbye Plunger

It's been a while since there's been something new in the toilet world to report on. But the NYTimes has a piece on American Standards' new Champion Series toilet. It creates a higher pressure flush with less water, thus doing away with a plunger, while being smaller than the compressed tanks you find in restaurants. But "Champion"? I like a good bowel movement too, but it's really not a competition.

Also of note is this great site: Toilets of the World, a much more dedicated site for all things toilet.

Toilets plus gmail equals

I have postings and comments sent to my gmail address. Lo and behold these are my contexual ads:

Sponsored Links

Toilet & Shower Trailers AirConditioned 2-3 Station Trailers New Factory Direct. For sale & rent www.WellsCargoCOG.com

urination device women urinating standing up dirty toilets www.urinelle.biz

Elegant Restroom for Rent The nationwide leader in luxury mobile restrooms. www.blacktieservices.com

more sponsored links »

I particularly like the Urinelle product! You can buy it here.

Some more thoughts on Toilets

So I am thinking, "what if I help people learn about toilets here at 917 Press?"

I'd want them to know about what can happen to the decommissioned. They should know about how they factor into event planning. Or special artsy toilets.

For a time, I would take visitors of NYC to some of my favorites toilets.... the unisex at Bar 89 in SoHo, where the stall doors are transparent, but turn opaque when locked; Palicinka, also in SoHo where they have that awsome gritty handsoap.

There's also listing of notable and public toilets for the city. BlueManGroup's Tubes show muses on the wonderful system that links our homes to our cities... plumbing. In conclusion, toilets are interesting objects and places, why aren't more interested since we visit one at least once a day...

A Post by E-Mail; and yes, it's about a toilet

At the risk of being coming potty central, engaget has this nifty toilet piece. Not as a pretty as the Kohler, but so many features…. Though no vibrator?

A New Throne

Yesterday I broke the soap dish in my shower, bringing a bathroom renovation into higher priority. But I've often been dreaming of sweeter throne. Enter "The Purist Hatbox" by Kohler. Is it natural to lust after a toilet?