Personal Dork Assistant

Arriving Las Vegas

Despite all its faults, I still consider the New York Times a fine newspaper. From the way they still refer to everyone as "Mr." or "Mrs.", to the fact that they still actually gather their own news, they provide a factual base for the national debate, no matter what biases you think they have. Beyond news, the feature articles allows the journalists to actually show off their writing, while adding some richness to the mix of dry reporting.

"The portable," its ceiling tiles decorated with bright butterflies with coffee-filter wings, is an apt metaphor for Jennifer Noble's unsettled year. Like so many Las Vegas pilgrims, Mrs. Noble, a veteran teacher of radiant calm whose features evoke Vermeer, moved here after giving up on California. She had lived there as a child and moved back with her husband, Chris, but after their twins arrived, the couple realized that the salaries of even an experienced teacher and a talented young chef did not jibe with California's vaunted promise.

I like how they slipped in a Vermeer reference, especially in the context of an article about Las Vegas. I guess if you're being pushed out to San Bernardino and Riverside for affordable housing, then you might as well as keep going on I-15 and go on to Vegas, since by then you're getting all the worst parts of the sprawling desert while missing out on the good things about California.