Disgusting
The one thing the OWS should focus on - if they want sustained support - is crony capitalism and this kind of bullshit.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Criminal
How is this not criminal? The process low credit customers go through to buy a car.
Also - why not pay $3000 for a clunker straight out? Why buy a 2007 Ford Fusion?
How is this not criminal? The process low credit customers go through to buy a car.
Also - why not pay $3000 for a clunker straight out? Why buy a 2007 Ford Fusion?
Ouch
Eugene Volokh nails what Occupy Wall Street is really all about.
It's well worth reading the whole thing.
Eugene Volokh nails what Occupy Wall Street is really all about.
The OWS protestors are a revolt — a shrill, cri-de-coeur wail at the betrayal of class solidarity — of the lower tier New Class against the upper tier New Class. It was, after all, the upper tier New Class, the private-public finance consortium, that created the student loan business and inflated the bubble in which these lower tier would-be professionals borrowed the money. It’s a securitization machine, not so very different from the subprime mortgage machine. The asset bubble pops, but the upper tier New Class, having insulated itself and, as with subprime, having taken its cut upfront and passed the risk along, is still doing pretty well. It’s not populism versus the bankers so much as internecine warfare between two tiers of elites.
It's well worth reading the whole thing.
Steve Jobs
Andrew Sullivan on why we worship Steve Jobs despite evidence he was a dick.
Hmmm...well...I don't worship Steve Jobs, but I don't care whether he was a dick or not. He isn't my relative. I didn't even know the guy. I could give a shit what kind of person he was. I don't buy Apple products because of Steve Jobs. I buy them because they make the most sense for what I need. I like listening to an Ipad in the car. I like writing on my Mac laptop. That's it. People are so frigging strange.
Andrew Sullivan on why we worship Steve Jobs despite evidence he was a dick.
Hmmm...well...I don't worship Steve Jobs, but I don't care whether he was a dick or not. He isn't my relative. I didn't even know the guy. I could give a shit what kind of person he was. I don't buy Apple products because of Steve Jobs. I buy them because they make the most sense for what I need. I like listening to an Ipad in the car. I like writing on my Mac laptop. That's it. People are so frigging strange.
Cain
He says sexual harassment claim unbased.
I sort of think this will only enhance his image amongst his fans. It certainly doesn't make me think less of him. My issue with Cain is simple: the guy has never held political office. Crazy to elect someone like that - much as I may like him - to be President. It would be like when the Niners hired Mike Singletary to be their coach before ever head coaching a team at any level. And that was a disaster. The fact that people like discussing the guy and spend energy doing so only makes me take it all less seriously. American politics devolving into American Idol. There is always an element of that to it...but it used to be the parties would not put forward joke candidates...now...political parties don't even have any control. They need to follow the people who are popular to stay relevant.
He says sexual harassment claim unbased.
I sort of think this will only enhance his image amongst his fans. It certainly doesn't make me think less of him. My issue with Cain is simple: the guy has never held political office. Crazy to elect someone like that - much as I may like him - to be President. It would be like when the Niners hired Mike Singletary to be their coach before ever head coaching a team at any level. And that was a disaster. The fact that people like discussing the guy and spend energy doing so only makes me take it all less seriously. American politics devolving into American Idol. There is always an element of that to it...but it used to be the parties would not put forward joke candidates...now...political parties don't even have any control. They need to follow the people who are popular to stay relevant.
Correlation Not Causation
Niners are most efficient team as scoring points per yards gained (1 point for every 10.87 yards gained). Additionally, they are most efficient at not allowing points per yards gained on defense (20.76).
The statistics suggest the Niners get better field position than their opponents (the product of good special teams and turnovers) and they score more points and allow fewer in the red zone. Now - I'm not sure what the stat means - either the Niners have been lucky or good. Either way, the stat alone isn't necessary the cause of winning and success, it could be the other way around as well - successful teams will tend to get better field position and score in the red zone. So anyway, it is a correlation/causation thing.
UPDATE: A WSJ piece on Delanie Walker, the 49ers utility guy on offense.
Niners are most efficient team as scoring points per yards gained (1 point for every 10.87 yards gained). Additionally, they are most efficient at not allowing points per yards gained on defense (20.76).
The statistics suggest the Niners get better field position than their opponents (the product of good special teams and turnovers) and they score more points and allow fewer in the red zone. Now - I'm not sure what the stat means - either the Niners have been lucky or good. Either way, the stat alone isn't necessary the cause of winning and success, it could be the other way around as well - successful teams will tend to get better field position and score in the red zone. So anyway, it is a correlation/causation thing.
UPDATE: A WSJ piece on Delanie Walker, the 49ers utility guy on offense.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
How To Be A Journalist
It is a whole series.
I think some of lessons are applicable to anything in life, which is why I know it is good advice:
Some copped advice:
Interesting. Because I actually think fiction is similar...
It is a whole series.
I think some of lessons are applicable to anything in life, which is why I know it is good advice:
Some copped advice:
I don’t know who the characters are at the beginning, I don’t know the story, but I do know the stage of the theater. I find the characters by simply showing up at the ‘theater.’ As I spend more time in there, they emerge. It’s almost as if I imagine them, and then, they mysteriously appear.
Interesting. Because I actually think fiction is similar...
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Logging
Film: Die Hard
It's hard not to watch when it beckons on Neflix instant amidst all the shit. The great action movies in the 1980s often had really good button scenes at the end. Die Hard's is awesome. The only one that tops it is Point Break. I even enjoy the Lethal Weapon button scene when Mel Gibson and Gary Busey fight, although it makes a lot less sense than the other two I mentioned.
The reason they work is because these movies took care with developing side characters and had serious underlying themes. I watch these new ABC comedy shows which are trying to make some sort of point about emasculated males losing their place in society like Man Up and this midseason replacement Work It (where men dress as women to get jobs). Jesus, have these people seen Die Hard? This is the treatise on the subject.
Film: Die Hard
It's hard not to watch when it beckons on Neflix instant amidst all the shit. The great action movies in the 1980s often had really good button scenes at the end. Die Hard's is awesome. The only one that tops it is Point Break. I even enjoy the Lethal Weapon button scene when Mel Gibson and Gary Busey fight, although it makes a lot less sense than the other two I mentioned.
The reason they work is because these movies took care with developing side characters and had serious underlying themes. I watch these new ABC comedy shows which are trying to make some sort of point about emasculated males losing their place in society like Man Up and this midseason replacement Work It (where men dress as women to get jobs). Jesus, have these people seen Die Hard? This is the treatise on the subject.
How Marriage Increases Income Inequality
Marriage helps the rich get richer. Because the well educated and wealthy tend to marry other well educated and wealthy people.
Maybe we should ban the institution to make incomes more equal.
Marriage helps the rich get richer. Because the well educated and wealthy tend to marry other well educated and wealthy people.
Maybe we should ban the institution to make incomes more equal.
Revolt Within the Revolt
Kitchen workers stage counter-revolution.
The brains and talent flocking to these festivities is amazing. I'm puzzled why employers aren't rushing out to hire all these folks.
Kitchen workers stage counter-revolution.
The Occupy Wall Street volunteer kitchen staff launched a “counter” revolution yesterday -- because they’re angry about working 18-hour days to provide food for “professional homeless” people and ex-cons masquerading as protesters.
The brains and talent flocking to these festivities is amazing. I'm puzzled why employers aren't rushing out to hire all these folks.
Logging
TV: Man Up, Modern Family (last year's halloween episode), Free Agents, Happy Endings
Man Up is lame. What is this trend of trying to reclaim masculinity in network TV? Very unmasculine. I wish they didn't cancel Free Agents - it is the only new show I enjoy. Watching this much TV in one night almost made me vomit.
TV: Man Up, Modern Family (last year's halloween episode), Free Agents, Happy Endings
Man Up is lame. What is this trend of trying to reclaim masculinity in network TV? Very unmasculine. I wish they didn't cancel Free Agents - it is the only new show I enjoy. Watching this much TV in one night almost made me vomit.
Student Loan Plan
Obama's master plan will save average grad less than $10 a month.
Another example of pointless, impotent, government meddling to score political points. This is basically the M.O. of the Obama Administrations domestic agenda. If they really wanted to do something about the long term problem, they would have a beer summit of college presidents and force them to lower tuition by 10% next year (not that the government could actually do such a thing). Or the government could just simply get out of the business of student loans tomorrow and force the college to cope. This is actually probably one of the better long-term options.
As for the existing loans - it's just like the mortgage crisis. What the fuck can be done? People bought these houses and took these loans - most of them will have to pay it back or some large percentage of it. Or declare bankruptcy.
But back to the article, the statistics are astounding - student loans increased 511% over the past decade. The rate of loans vs. disposable income is ridiculous. The parents have lost the value in the house and the kids are hamstrung with debt. Bad times.
Obama's master plan will save average grad less than $10 a month.
Another example of pointless, impotent, government meddling to score political points. This is basically the M.O. of the Obama Administrations domestic agenda. If they really wanted to do something about the long term problem, they would have a beer summit of college presidents and force them to lower tuition by 10% next year (not that the government could actually do such a thing). Or the government could just simply get out of the business of student loans tomorrow and force the college to cope. This is actually probably one of the better long-term options.
As for the existing loans - it's just like the mortgage crisis. What the fuck can be done? People bought these houses and took these loans - most of them will have to pay it back or some large percentage of it. Or declare bankruptcy.
But back to the article, the statistics are astounding - student loans increased 511% over the past decade. The rate of loans vs. disposable income is ridiculous. The parents have lost the value in the house and the kids are hamstrung with debt. Bad times.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Racism
Normally, I can't get behind charges of racism in TV shows and movies. I hate all the PC bullshit. But 2 Broke Girls is getting some criticism, and in this rare case, I'm leaning towards siding with the critics.
Why?
Well, part of the issue is the show sucks. This - without a doubt - leaves less wiggle room and forgiveness. But beyond this, it is actually a broader critique of hispterism and what hispterism has become.
I remember in college I knew this girl who very much was a preview of what hipsters have become today. Into Modest Mouse, the onion, and other ironic things. But she was smart. She once complained to be about the hipster guys she hung around were basically no different than the stereotypical drunk ass groping frat boy. She argued they would get wasted "ironically" and descend into the same sort of misogynistic, groping, pathetic behavior she associated with alcoholic fat dudes...and in a way, were worse about it because they weren't self-consciousness and thought they were really cool. She said - an alcoholic dumbass is no different than an ironic alcoholic dumbass.
It also reminds me of a critique I once read about Colbert which said the same thing - being an ironic right-wing blowhard isn't so much different from being a right-wing blowhard. What does the prior stand for in contrast to the other?
Now, 2 Broke Girls is the low-water point for the hipster movement. Hipsterism is now a sitcom on CBS. How far has this movement fallen since the days Jack White? But back to the point - how is an ironic racial stereotype different from an actual racial stereotype? Herein lies the hipster dilemma - it is a style and movement without anything to say. It is pose, first and foremost, and when forced to produce something resembling art - it can only dig into the only thing it knows - the self and the various ways one can pose. Hipsters are broke because work isn't cool. To try isn't cool. What's cool is to bang on drums and to treat your significant other like shit.
The Korean dude in 2 Broke Girls isn't a character. He is a hipster dream of what a funny immigrant looks and behaves like in a solipsistic mind. In this way, it is different from classical racism, which basically believes the races are inherently different - some inferior and others superior and justifies all sorts of legal and social segregation, and so forth. Hipsters don't believe certain races are inferior - they believe everyone who isn't a hipster is inferior. And deep inside, they believe themselves to be the most inferior of all. (armchair pysch alert - but am I wrong?)
The hipster movement started worshiping real talent - The Onion, Jack White, The Strokes first album, etc - and sure, it was a justifiable reaction against reality tv and the annoyingness main stream pop culture. But hey, Islamic Fascism is a reaction against Arab Nationalist autocrats. Who cares? Ideas must stand on their own at some point. Something has to matter. And honestly, who the fuck wants to wear used clothes all the time?
Normally, I can't get behind charges of racism in TV shows and movies. I hate all the PC bullshit. But 2 Broke Girls is getting some criticism, and in this rare case, I'm leaning towards siding with the critics.
Why?
Well, part of the issue is the show sucks. This - without a doubt - leaves less wiggle room and forgiveness. But beyond this, it is actually a broader critique of hispterism and what hispterism has become.
I remember in college I knew this girl who very much was a preview of what hipsters have become today. Into Modest Mouse, the onion, and other ironic things. But she was smart. She once complained to be about the hipster guys she hung around were basically no different than the stereotypical drunk ass groping frat boy. She argued they would get wasted "ironically" and descend into the same sort of misogynistic, groping, pathetic behavior she associated with alcoholic fat dudes...and in a way, were worse about it because they weren't self-consciousness and thought they were really cool. She said - an alcoholic dumbass is no different than an ironic alcoholic dumbass.
It also reminds me of a critique I once read about Colbert which said the same thing - being an ironic right-wing blowhard isn't so much different from being a right-wing blowhard. What does the prior stand for in contrast to the other?
Now, 2 Broke Girls is the low-water point for the hipster movement. Hipsterism is now a sitcom on CBS. How far has this movement fallen since the days Jack White? But back to the point - how is an ironic racial stereotype different from an actual racial stereotype? Herein lies the hipster dilemma - it is a style and movement without anything to say. It is pose, first and foremost, and when forced to produce something resembling art - it can only dig into the only thing it knows - the self and the various ways one can pose. Hipsters are broke because work isn't cool. To try isn't cool. What's cool is to bang on drums and to treat your significant other like shit.
The Korean dude in 2 Broke Girls isn't a character. He is a hipster dream of what a funny immigrant looks and behaves like in a solipsistic mind. In this way, it is different from classical racism, which basically believes the races are inherently different - some inferior and others superior and justifies all sorts of legal and social segregation, and so forth. Hipsters don't believe certain races are inferior - they believe everyone who isn't a hipster is inferior. And deep inside, they believe themselves to be the most inferior of all. (armchair pysch alert - but am I wrong?)
The hipster movement started worshiping real talent - The Onion, Jack White, The Strokes first album, etc - and sure, it was a justifiable reaction against reality tv and the annoyingness main stream pop culture. But hey, Islamic Fascism is a reaction against Arab Nationalist autocrats. Who cares? Ideas must stand on their own at some point. Something has to matter. And honestly, who the fuck wants to wear used clothes all the time?
Home Prices
Here is a chart of median and average home prices in the United States.
I was prompted to look this up because of an article about median home prices dropping to a 3 month low.
Right now, median = 204,400 and average = 243,900
I am more curious about the total loss rather than just the 3 month span, so I went back up the chart. The highest prices are:
March 2007, median = 262,600 and average = 329,400
Doing quick math, that suggest a drop in 22% of the median and a 26% drop in average price -- over 4.5 years.
Don't get me wrong - this is a significant drop. No one wants to lose 20 plus percent in one of their biggest investments. However, should losing 25% of the value of something really be catastrophic? This would drive someone living on the edge over the edge, certainly. But in a healthy financial situation, people ought to be able to recover. Just as an alternative example - cars routinely lose most of their value over time - and you lose at least 25% of the value the moment you drive it off the lot. It's not even totally clear to me why we view housing as an investment as opposed to something we use (like a car). What is really worrisome about the economic crisis is how many people were living on the edge, not the loss in housing prices.
Here is a chart of median and average home prices in the United States.
I was prompted to look this up because of an article about median home prices dropping to a 3 month low.
Right now, median = 204,400 and average = 243,900
I am more curious about the total loss rather than just the 3 month span, so I went back up the chart. The highest prices are:
March 2007, median = 262,600 and average = 329,400
Doing quick math, that suggest a drop in 22% of the median and a 26% drop in average price -- over 4.5 years.
Don't get me wrong - this is a significant drop. No one wants to lose 20 plus percent in one of their biggest investments. However, should losing 25% of the value of something really be catastrophic? This would drive someone living on the edge over the edge, certainly. But in a healthy financial situation, people ought to be able to recover. Just as an alternative example - cars routinely lose most of their value over time - and you lose at least 25% of the value the moment you drive it off the lot. It's not even totally clear to me why we view housing as an investment as opposed to something we use (like a car). What is really worrisome about the economic crisis is how many people were living on the edge, not the loss in housing prices.
Logging
Movie: Assault on Precinct 13
The original. Great example of a B-movie. Great example of a variation of the home invasion movie. Not my favorite Carpenter film, but enjoyable. Told myself I'd watch the first 30 minutes before I went to bed and ended up watching the entire thing. Must mean something good.
Movie: Assault on Precinct 13
The original. Great example of a B-movie. Great example of a variation of the home invasion movie. Not my favorite Carpenter film, but enjoyable. Told myself I'd watch the first 30 minutes before I went to bed and ended up watching the entire thing. Must mean something good.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
I Suppose This Makes Sense
Obama offers convoluted plan to help students loan debtors.
Given that Obama shows no success in creating jobs for recent graduates, this plan will succeed in helping a small group of people a very small amount and more importantly, make it appear as though Obama is doing something for the younger voters who helped him into office. The income plan superficially makes sense, but I can't help but think it costs a lot more to live in New York than in Arkansas and so don't know how seizing 15% of income over the 16,000 amount is fair to anyone living in a more expensive location.
Also, this is tucked in at the end:
Why? It's not like students who pursue careers in those fields provide a more valuable service to society than the budding entrepreneur who might create a business and hundreds of jobs. This is just one of the many problems with the big bloated federal government trying to nudge people towards what a giant bureaucracy values - not rocking the boat.
Obama offers convoluted plan to help students loan debtors.
Given that Obama shows no success in creating jobs for recent graduates, this plan will succeed in helping a small group of people a very small amount and more importantly, make it appear as though Obama is doing something for the younger voters who helped him into office. The income plan superficially makes sense, but I can't help but think it costs a lot more to live in New York than in Arkansas and so don't know how seizing 15% of income over the 16,000 amount is fair to anyone living in a more expensive location.
Also, this is tucked in at the end:
Another benefit for student loan borrowers who convert into direct loans is that they'd qualify for other debt forgiveness programs if they work in public service or at nonprofits for ten years.
Why? It's not like students who pursue careers in those fields provide a more valuable service to society than the budding entrepreneur who might create a business and hundreds of jobs. This is just one of the many problems with the big bloated federal government trying to nudge people towards what a giant bureaucracy values - not rocking the boat.
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