"'Project Runway' is a parable about the meritocracy of New York, and its narrative engine is assimilation—even when the language of the judges sometimes expresses the opposite…. Is it any wonder so many immigrants or children of immigrants thrive on the program? Especially the boys, who have already been through two gantlets: getting into mainstream America, as a foreigner, and then getting out of mainstream America, as a homosexual."

Alex Balk: Hey Balk: Can you explain something to me? Choire Sicha: DID YOU JUST "HEY" ME? Balk: What exactly does "meow meow" signify? Choire: asdlfkasdf; Choire: That's a complicated one Choire: Because Choire: "Meow!" means "CATTY!" Choire: But MEOW MEOW MEOW Choire: Or just MEOW MEOW Choire: Means "LA LA FINGERS IN MY EARS I CAN'T HEAR YOU" Balk: Okay, that's what I was working with, but I just wanted to make sure. Choire: Annnnd this is a blog post now.

Earlier, we mentioned today's Congressional Oversight Panel's report on what they call "a commercial real estate crisis on the horizon." The horizon, it turns out, is rather near! So, let's back this up. Commercial real estate loans usually have a rather short term of between three and ten years, and there is often a large final payment at the end of that term-a payment which is almost always covered by an additional loan. The panel is explaining, rather obviously, both that loan default rates are already high and that additional lending is difficult to secure, and so a rather high rate of default on these much larger payments should [...]