Daily Bafflements

• An Aeon profile of Elon Musk, and his quest to colonize Mars, begins thusly: “‘Fuck Earth!’ Elon Musk said to me, laughing. ‘Who cares about Earth?’” (Via Jared Keller.)

• Helaine Olen unleashed a Twitter screed against the “Latte Factor,” the idea that cutting out everyday luxuries like fancy coffee is an easy way to attain middle-class wealth (via New York). Check out Olen in the current issue of The Baffler, writing on gentrification in Venice, California.

• Bloomberg has some more details on Eric Cantor’s next act, at an investment bank in New York (#CantorsNextGig). Those close to Cantor say it’s not all about Cantor “chasing the money,” no. “He’s going to be guiding people on how the world works,” Cantor’s former communications director, Rory Cooper, tells Bloomberg. “The understanding of complex systems, of people, and what their needs are and how everybody can benefit–it’s those things that make him special.”

• Did You Know? If you fly via the Singapore Airlines “Suite Class,” which costs over $18,000 for a round-trip ticket from Singapore to New York, and boasts a private room with a double bed, you can request that the airline staff address you using any one of the following prefixes: King, Lady, Lord, Lt. Gen., Major, President, Prince, Princess, or Prof. Dr.? (Via Gretchen Gavett.)