Daily Bafflements

• In case your kids are lacking appropriate role models, one venture capitalist is stepping up to offer them a tale of some true superheroes. In the Kickstarter pitch for Joe Floyd’s new graphic novel, he tells us that “young people grow up idolizing the figureheads of the mainstream media, which today includes musicians, athletes, and movie stars. I want my children to know there is another class of superheroes in our midst.” Okay, Joe, and who is this other class of superheroes? Civil rights leaders? Public servants? Nurses?? Not quite. Floyd’s graphic novel, Silicon Heroes, follows a team of five scrappy young entrepreneurs. “The story highlights five superpowers that map to the five behavioral characteristics of successful CEOs.” Donate to the project and help children everywhere buy into the latest New Economy mythos.

• Maybe your youthful dreams of heroism were a little more old school. Well, you’re in luck, too, because NASA has announced it will soon accept applications for “the next class of astronaut candidates.” If you think you’ve got the chops, or you’re bored at work, applications will be available next month, here.

• Today in billionaires: Bloomberg reports that two high-end developers are in talks with Freddie Mac to finance deals totaling $10 billion, a practice that’s becoming more common for the taxpayer subsidized mortgage guarantor. “Detractors argue that providing subsidized loans to deep-pocketed real estate investors isn’t in line with the mandate of the government-sponsored entities,” according to the Bloomberg report. But David Brickman, a Freddie Mac official, assures, “we’re helping to push more capital into this part of multifamily [affordable housing.] A very small percentage of what we’re doing is luxury.”