For better or worse, accounting doesn't inspire that much interest.
It's easy to see why, with all the numbers and yawn-inducing rules that
are just this side of impossible to understand.
But when big-name players like Jones Apparel Group start registering
losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars, it opens some eyes, even
for the most mathematically challenged among us.
I was one of the million-plus who stood on the National Mall Tuesday for four hours (or more) in 30 degree temperatures, and to answer your question, no, I wasn't cold.
Adrenaline and body heat kept me warm through President Obama's speech. But that's not to say that I, and my compatriots, didn't come prepared. There were more floor-length fur coats on women (and men) than I ever expected to see.
All of the high-flown rhetoric about opening up the inauguration to the people can only go so far. For one thing, capacity at various events isn't limitless, and for another, there were donors to reward and political insiders to keep happy. But as the celebrities shut out of Maureen Dowd's cocktail party or the Huffington Post Ball could have told you, elite status only goes so far.
When a pop star, soon to be turning 50, issues a statement saying, "I
have no plans to get divorced at this time," it generally means, "my
plans to divorce will be announced soon." When the publicist for a
vehicularly challenged starlet says, "I have not heard that," it
generally means, "it's true, but I'm half denying it." Then there's
the all-purpose, "We have no comment," which is designed to introduce
doubt to a rumor, but usually means the same thing: "Yup."
