| The baby boomers have still got cash to splash
SO the Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold this month. Even better, sky-high domestic gas and electricity bills are set to fall, with anticipation of a summer price war to follow. That should take some of the steam out of rising inflation, might even prevent further rate rises this year. And make us all feel better. In any case, demand in the shops is still booming. Record numbers of us are flying long-haul from Scottish airports. And average house values continue their inexorable rise. In short, in material terms, it looks like we've never had it so good. And bang on cue, a number of magazines and newspapers, including the Economist and the Independent, have been queuing up to tell us so. Sure, there's climate change to worry about. And the state of our pensions.
Chad Vader, superstar
Since the series started in June of last year, the five Chad Vader episodes, the longest of which runs just over six minutes, have together attracted more than 7 million views on the video-sharing site YouTube and the social-networking site MySpace. And the buzz has gotten bigger, even, than the Web. The fourth Chad Vader episode debuted on ABCs Good Morning America, and the cable channel VH1 will feature Chad in a February special, 40 Greatest Internet Superstars. Sloan and Yonda also received favorable press in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Hes an antihero, I guess, Sloan told me of Chad when, a few days before the Montmartre shoot, I joined him and Yonda for coffee. Is he? asked Yonda. Is he? replied Sloan. Sure, why not? said Yonda.
Cave rich in underground history
Why people go: Meramec Caverns is the largest commercial cave, or "show cave," in Missouri. The cave is home to an ancient limestone "wine table" and an entire seven-story mansion, all built by Mother Nature and all underground. The cave offers regular, guided tours. On tour you can see some of the rarest and largest cave formations in the world. Meramec Caverns is open year round. The cave's trained rangers can accommodate groups of any size. Meramec Caverns is rich with history. Local tribes of Native Americans used the cave as shelter. Later in the 1700s, a French miner, Jacques Renault, founded one of the cavern's greatest natural resources, saltpeter. This substance was used exclusively for the manufacture of gunpowder. During the Civil War, a Federal powder mill in the cave was blown up by Confederate guerrillas of whom Jesse James was a member.
Dysfunctional dumping grounds
WHEN the historical datelines are being drawn up, the year 2005 may be marked down as the Indian summer of Australia's decade-long economic boom. Truly it seemed as if the sun might never set. Household disposable incomes, measured in dollars, were half as high again as they had been a decade earlier, a deluge of personal wealth we'd not seen since the halcyon postwar years. The dollar values of Australians' homes had more than doubled, while the interest rates they were paying on their mortgages were almost one-third lower. .
Destination: Petite Abeille
If you're in NY right now, we know you're freezing your, um, whatever off. It's about 12 degrees, but feels like negative 20 outside. Where to go that's comforting and warm, and somewhere you can indulge in a cozy, Belgian feast? Petite Abeille is the perfect cure for the common winter chills.
With three locations, they're a chain, yet don't feel like one. There's something about the cheery blue and white gingham and bumble bee motif that warms us up, and if that doesn't work, try the Flemish-style beef stew with a Chimay (they have quite an authentic brew selection), or hit up the Wednesday night "Moules a Go-Go" deal of all-you-can-eat mussels. It's also a great place for brunch with out-of-towners and has enough room (and patience) for the stroller set too. Beware that the service can sometimes be spotty, but overall you'll leave sufficiently full and plenty warm.
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