Eric Scheske

Last week, I blogged about Detroit's Prophet Jones from the 1950s. In the same decade, New Yorkers had their black flashy sensation: Sweet Daddy Grace. Also from Thaddeus Russell's Renegade History of the United States: > Grace rode in a custom-built Cadillac limousine, and he bought

H.I.F. Thomas Woods asks some hard questions and makes some awkward points about the Holy Father's pontificate to date. Sample: "We are told Pope Francis is bold, but his alleged boldness consists of doing and saying things that please the world. This is not how

H.I.F. Do just one thing, do it well, and stick with it. It'll pay off (subject to government misappropriation): Meet The Restaurant With The Five-Year Waiting List [http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-14/meet-restaurant-five-year-waiting-list] . Excerpt: > [W]hat makes Baehrel's restaurant the most exclusive

Miscellaneous Rambling Panem. The Hunger Games. Chortle. Stupid sci-fi stuff. Nothing like that massive expropriation of wealth from the hinterlands to the central government could happen here! From the Atlantic: America's Wealth Is Staggeringly Concentrated in the Northeast Corridor [http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jobs-and-economy/2013/12/staggering-concentrated-wealth-americas-northeast-corridor/7872/

Alex and Abbie were studying for finals together at the UM grad library. Around midnight, Abbie needed a break, and she didn't care where she took it. Good for Abs! When I'm tired, I lie down and I don't care who knows it. And

BYCU One of the most-interesting beer pieces this year: A Shady Black Market Has Emerged For Hard-To-Find Craft Beers [http://www.businessinsider.com/craft-beer-black-market-2013-12]. The gist? A combination of shipping costs and oppressive alcohol restrictions make high-quality beer unavailable, so people are buying prized beer through black-market channels, like eBay.

It's not too often I run across a character that (i) is this colorful, (ii) is from Michigan, and (iii) I'd never even heard of. The following might be the most interesting passage about 20th century history that I've read in a few years.

New documents leaked by Edward Snowden show that the NSA actually spied on people while they played the video game World of Warcraft. I don't know – to me it sounds like some NSA agents had to think quick when they got caught playing World of Warcraft at work.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are among Barbara Walters' "10 most fascinating people of 2013." In a related story, Barbara has been named one of the "10 most easily fascinated people of 2013."

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