I've been staring at the cannisters of Illy at the store since before Jay used that name in a rhyme -- is it really, I wondered, can it really be twice as good as Lavazza or Kimbo. Marginal utility. Lavazza d'Oro's usually $5.99 for 8.8 oz; Illy runs anywhere from $11.99 to $17.99 for the same volume. So what do you get. You get a cannister that tightens shut with a twist, not with a plastic lid either. And the coffee is in fact much much better than even Kimbo gold, which is robust, delicious, and free of aftertaste. But to pay 100% more for the bonus of a really lovely finish and a designy can, son, no. Back to the cheap expensive stuff.

Which brings me to this great line in Carl Wilson's post about the new Sonic Youth:

They usually display the right mix of creative pique and pleasure that is dignified in someone lucky enough to be a white, middle-class bohemian New Yorker - which by any measure is one of the most fortunate positions in the world. Maybe in the history of the world.

That's certainly how it feels today.