The Year in Win:
The Year in Fail:
Friday, December 31, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Greatest Letter Ever on NFL Letterhead
Originally posted in the Cleveland Scene, "Northeast Ohio's Alternative Newsweekly." Click to enlarge (if you must). First, a letter from an irate fan:
Followed by the response:
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Better Late Than Never...
Excellent PDF article about the housing bubble from December 17, 2007 written by Mark Pittman. Must read!
Japan: Too Big to Fail or Bail
Interesting piece in Salon about how Japan has defied pessimists for 20 years:
But at least so far, the consensus is that this dire scenario won't, can't, happen. Indeed, it's often said that you aren't a real macro trader (someone who bets on global trends) until you've gotten burned shorting (i.e., betting against) Japan. "You'll find 10,000 people saying I'm an idiot and that people have been saying this, and been wrong, for 15 years, and kid, shut up," laughs my source. The Bank of Japan says the economy is improving; analysts say the government has lots of options, including raising the value-added tax or having the banking system put even more assets into government bonds. (Already, the Bank of Japan is engaged in its own form of "quantitative easing," or purchasing government bonds, which, just as in the United States, is supposed to help the economy recover.) Japan's relatively healthy corporate sector could take over from households in investing its surplus cash into government bonds. "Everyone acknowledges the long term seriousness of Japan's fiscal position," writes Grice. "But people seem almost fatigued with the idea that a country which has defied bond market logic for so long now is ever going to change."
But at least so far, the consensus is that this dire scenario won't, can't, happen. Indeed, it's often said that you aren't a real macro trader (someone who bets on global trends) until you've gotten burned shorting (i.e., betting against) Japan. "You'll find 10,000 people saying I'm an idiot and that people have been saying this, and been wrong, for 15 years, and kid, shut up," laughs my source. The Bank of Japan says the economy is improving; analysts say the government has lots of options, including raising the value-added tax or having the banking system put even more assets into government bonds. (Already, the Bank of Japan is engaged in its own form of "quantitative easing," or purchasing government bonds, which, just as in the United States, is supposed to help the economy recover.) Japan's relatively healthy corporate sector could take over from households in investing its surplus cash into government bonds. "Everyone acknowledges the long term seriousness of Japan's fiscal position," writes Grice. "But people seem almost fatigued with the idea that a country which has defied bond market logic for so long now is ever going to change."
The World's Most Hated Man
No, not Osama Bin Laden, but Ben Sherwood, former executive producer at Good Morning America, and the newly-appointed president of ABC News. His new employees hate him so much that they made a we-really-hate-you-video about him and leaked it to Gawker. Ben has apparently always been hated by most people he comes in contact with, as evidenced by a 1988 article by Andrew Sullivan (yes, that Andrew Sullivan) for Spy magazine:
But as the Times hinted, Ben's enthusiasm had provoked some teasing from classmates. 'It was a common bond among my classmates at Harvard, hating Ben Sherwood," notes one of his more affectionate former friends. "Ben is one of the most hated people alive," agrees Clark Freshman, a Harvard classmate and, as a Marshall scholar, a fellow Oxonian. "It's bizarre. People actually make an effort to dislike him." Others put it more gently: 'When you think Ben Sherwood, you think funny stories, you think asshole, you think 'Thank God I'm not him,' " says a friend.
Then there's this 2004 e-mail trail, also from Gawker, in which Ben works on his holiday message to his employees at Good Morning America with the help of his wife, resulting in much hilarity.
But as the Times hinted, Ben's enthusiasm had provoked some teasing from classmates. 'It was a common bond among my classmates at Harvard, hating Ben Sherwood," notes one of his more affectionate former friends. "Ben is one of the most hated people alive," agrees Clark Freshman, a Harvard classmate and, as a Marshall scholar, a fellow Oxonian. "It's bizarre. People actually make an effort to dislike him." Others put it more gently: 'When you think Ben Sherwood, you think funny stories, you think asshole, you think 'Thank God I'm not him,' " says a friend.
Then there's this 2004 e-mail trail, also from Gawker, in which Ben works on his holiday message to his employees at Good Morning America with the help of his wife, resulting in much hilarity.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
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