Wes Phillips

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Stuff That Makes Me Go Hmmmm

Economist Richard Florida's 2002 article, called "The Rise of the Creative Class: Why cities without gays and rock bands are losing the economic development race." Basically, Florida argues that "lifestyle amenities" like a cultural scene and diversity makes some cities more attractive to creative people who build economically successful enterprises than other cities that lack these features. Fine, I accept this, especially since Florida bolsters his arguments with impressive charts and metrics. I should also add that the "lifestyle amenities" argument is taken very seriously by cities like Sioux Falls, where JA & I were told that the addition of an arts center helped the local industries and hospitals attract quality personnel away from major metropoli.

Stuff That Makes You Go Hmmm

I did some work for Muzak once and made the mistake of calling it "music" within the hearing of my boss. He corrected me, "It is a work enhancement technology." Muzak, he explained, was designed to operate subliminally and different programs were designed to have different effects. Office music was designed to keep you focused and working briskly, whereas shopping music was designed to chill you out and make you linger, perhaps to buy more.

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