Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

links for 2006-10-23

• Jenna Fischer finally gets her moment | Entertainment Weekly
  [On The Office,] “Pam suffers in silence,” explains Fischer. ”If Pam can’t think of anything nice to say, she doesn’t say anything at all. So I just kept looking at the camera and smirking, or showing a wounded look.”
  (tags: theoffice television)
• Doomed Almost From the Start | washingtonpost.com
  The rise and fall of [the Robert Taylor Homes housing project in Chicago] is the story of a Great Society promise that became a debacle, of intimidating high-rises that became a national symbol of failure, of a community that, at times, became a war zone.
  (tags: chicago urbanplanning community)
• The Starbucks Aesthetic | New York Times
  Starbucks is clearly very good at selling coffee, but why should it become involved in the movies — and books and CDs, for that matter? Yet the chain is increasingly positioning itself as a purveyor of premium-blend culture.
  (tags: starbucks culture marketing business)