"Most of my buyers are averaging four offers before they have one accepted," my new real estate agent in the Bay Area said yesterday. "It can be an emotional and stressful time."

Probably! And especially if you're moving from a still-depressed housing market, which is roughly the area between the Eastern Seaboard and San Francisco. But, as NPR is reporting as I type these words, the American housing market (in the coastal elite cities) is "fast changing." From causing the collapse of the Earth's economy just five years ago to a breezy NPR feature about an insane couple putting in offers at 2 a.m. after driving by a new [...]

"The average rent in Los Angeles County fell almost 4% in 2008 as apartment occupancy rates dropped and new units came online. The decline should continue this year as more renters lose their jobs."

The lovely St. Mark's Bookshop is hoping for a $5000 reduction each month in their $20,000 monthly rent—and they expect to perhaps hear from their landlord, Cooper Union, today.

A reduction of $5000 a month! Why, that's all of 250 purchases at a (very low) estimated average purchase price per customer of $20. (That would be eight customers a day.) I would describe that as a harrowing view into the store's finances and costs.

Let's examine the centerpiece of Rent, the Up With People On The Fringe-esque routine that closes the first act: "La Vie Boheme" is a tribal chant heralding any and all things counterculture. It's "We Didn't Start the Fire" from the perspective of East Village artists. It's a list of everything that you need to know to be hip. There is a song by King Missile called "It's Saturday" that opens with the line, "I want to be different, just like everyone else I want to be like." This sentiment is the heart of "La Vie Boheme." The number embodies an unembarrassed need for self-expression and a yearning for [...]