‘The Quality Of Splurge’: Jan Morris On The Problems Of Building In Bath

“Bath has been a city of constructional splurges. The Romans splurged there, and the whole place must have been in a state of splurge when [it became a fashionable resort] in the 18th century … It must be hard to know how best to develop or modernise part of so elegantly homogeneous a city as Bath. You might employ one of your iconists, a Pei, a Foster or a Gehry, … [or] you could consult a Prince Charles.”

Wal-Mart University. No, Really.

“it appears that Wal-Mart is entering into an agreement with the American Public University system — which is for-profit, not public — to offer its employees a group rate on any of several online degrees. Wal-Mart has a history of hiring from within, but many of its front-line staff don’t have the educational background to move up, so this is a way for the company to grow its own.”