We'll see what today brings, but I really think that the game is over for the financial markets. Listen for this phrase: mark to market. This is the big fear, and I think why the people running the financial markets keep bailing out (or taking over) these big institutions - because actually unwinding their positions on the open market will expose the real value of these financial instruments, and this will force everyone else to mark to market on their own similar assets. In other words, a lot of the supposed value in these complex financial instruments (like credit default swaps) is overstated by their holders and even though everyone sort of knew this all along no one has wanted to admit it since everyone was making so much money. But we might be at the end in a rather cataclysmic sense. Sure, the fed can just print as much money as they need to keep propping it up, but that gets us hyperinflation which will just be the end from a different direction.
My grand economic plan of having no money is really starting to look good!
My grand economic plan of having no money is really starting to look good!
DAVID FOSTER WALLACE CONSIDER THE LOBSTER
quick ~ 50MM for damien, thats a nice weekend...
Damien Hirst's Two-Day Sale Brings in $199 Million
09.17.08
Damien Hirst concluded his sale “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever,” a two-day auction of his latest work at Sotheby’s in London, on Tuesday by bringing in $73.1 million (including buyer’s premium), reports Kelly Crow for the Wall Street Journal. Overall, the novelty of the auction and the artist’s populist appeal helped generate total sales of $199 million. Of the 167 pieces offered during a daylong sale of lower-priced paintings and sculptures, the majority sold near the top of their estimates and only three failed to find buyers. Bidding seemed strongest for the artist’s works featuring butterflies, perhaps because the artist has pledged not to make any more of these works, along with his kaleidoscope-like “spin” paintings. At one point toward the end of the sale, auctioneer Harry Dalmeny flushed out a few more bidders for a pair of spin paintings by reminding the crowd, “They’re running out, ladies and gentlemen.” Hirst says he's not planning any other sales, at least for now. New York dealer Mary Boone says other artists will likely begin organizing single-owner auctions whenever they believe they have reached their peak price levels in galleries or want to try expanding their global audience. But she says artists may also need Hirst’s charisma in order to pull it off: “The circus-like atmosphere of this sale certainly helped him, but Damien has always thrived on being over the top.”
Damien Hirst's Two-Day Sale Brings in $199 Million
09.17.08
Damien Hirst concluded his sale “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever,” a two-day auction of his latest work at Sotheby’s in London, on Tuesday by bringing in $73.1 million (including buyer’s premium), reports Kelly Crow for the Wall Street Journal. Overall, the novelty of the auction and the artist’s populist appeal helped generate total sales of $199 million. Of the 167 pieces offered during a daylong sale of lower-priced paintings and sculptures, the majority sold near the top of their estimates and only three failed to find buyers. Bidding seemed strongest for the artist’s works featuring butterflies, perhaps because the artist has pledged not to make any more of these works, along with his kaleidoscope-like “spin” paintings. At one point toward the end of the sale, auctioneer Harry Dalmeny flushed out a few more bidders for a pair of spin paintings by reminding the crowd, “They’re running out, ladies and gentlemen.” Hirst says he's not planning any other sales, at least for now. New York dealer Mary Boone says other artists will likely begin organizing single-owner auctions whenever they believe they have reached their peak price levels in galleries or want to try expanding their global audience. But she says artists may also need Hirst’s charisma in order to pull it off: “The circus-like atmosphere of this sale certainly helped him, but Damien has always thrived on being over the top.”
shazam. interesting iphone ap. will figure out the name of the song your listening to on the fm radio say and visa vi a sample check it tells you the name and then kicks you to the itune store to buy it. its a free download ap and you dont have to buy the mp3 at the apple store.
a house guest has it. so adman just downloaded it free. it knew a bootsy song but the next one it didnt know from radio princetons wprb. you can play stump the chump!
a house guest has it. so adman just downloaded it free. it knew a bootsy song but the next one it didnt know from radio princetons wprb. you can play stump the chump!
EV wine geek
Landmark restaurant Brennan's goes up in flames in Houston.
via John Cole
aimed at Houston, passing through tomorrow afternoon.
I need a net connection keep-alive. I've got a new evdo USB gizmo on a Mac. The evdo service times out if I'm not using it. The evdo access manager SW then proceeds to crash and burn. Requiring a force quit, yada yada. Anyone have any ideas for a web app that will keep a trickle of data going? I have been using a certain music web site to keep things going. I suppose I could also use my Sirius account.
(It timed out and crashed while typing the above. Arrg.)
(It timed out and crashed while typing the above. Arrg.)
"i ate 23,000 big mac burgers"
bacon bits
pool to nowhere
Was the arborcide a case of mistaken tree identity?
Park Slope residents were perplexed to find the top of a lush and soaring Norway maple on Sixth Avenue between President and Carroll Streets brutally chopped off this week. The remaining tree trunk will be removed soon.
“Everyone is calling us about the tree,” said the woman who answered the phone at Community Board 6 in Brooklyn. “Everyone is calling us. This has been the dilemma of the day. This is a typical Park Slope thing.”
Was the arborcide a case of mistaken tree identity? Park Slope residents were perplexed to find the top of a lush and soaring Norway maple on Sixth Avenue between President and Carroll Streets brutally chopped off this week. The remaining tree trunk will be removed soon. “Everyone is calling us about the tree,” said the woman who answered the phone at Community Board 6 in Brooklyn. “Everyone is calling us. This has been the dilemma of the day. This is a typical Park Slope thing.”
Why is Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese so expensive?
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is often one of the most expensive cheeses when it is bought at delicatessen counters or at supermarkets. However, we can make some considerations in this respect and prove that it is not exactly like that. First of all, it is a hard-paste and long-maturation cheese. This means that its water content is only approximately 30%, i.e. it is a highly concentrated cheese, where the nourishing substances present in milk (casein, fat, mineral, vitamins, etc.) undergo a special drying process, or more appropriately dehydration process, both during production in the dairy and in the maturation rooms. Therefore, when you buy a hundred grams of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, you are actually taking home about 70% nourishing substances. Instead, if you buy other soft or fresh cheeses (which can also be very tasty) the water content can be up to 50%. The quantity of nourishing substances bought is definitely not the same.
You must also consider that to achieve its top quality level, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese takes at least 24 months. This means that at least two years go by between the moment the cheese is made and the time the consumer purchases it to eat it, so that producers and maturers will not earn any money for all this time and, as you know, “time is money”, or better the money invested is costly!
Finally, we should not forget that the dairy cows making milk for Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese are mainly fed with hay from the area of origin and are not allowed to eat other fodder (e.g. fermented forage) which is cheaper, but would give rise to quality problems during the maturation phase. We say all this to prove that it is not only a valuable cheese, but it is also worth its price.
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese is often one of the most expensive cheeses when it is bought at delicatessen counters or at supermarkets. However, we can make some considerations in this respect and prove that it is not exactly like that. First of all, it is a hard-paste and long-maturation cheese. This means that its water content is only approximately 30%, i.e. it is a highly concentrated cheese, where the nourishing substances present in milk (casein, fat, mineral, vitamins, etc.) undergo a special drying process, or more appropriately dehydration process, both during production in the dairy and in the maturation rooms. Therefore, when you buy a hundred grams of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, you are actually taking home about 70% nourishing substances. Instead, if you buy other soft or fresh cheeses (which can also be very tasty) the water content can be up to 50%. The quantity of nourishing substances bought is definitely not the same.
You must also consider that to achieve its top quality level, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese takes at least 24 months. This means that at least two years go by between the moment the cheese is made and the time the consumer purchases it to eat it, so that producers and maturers will not earn any money for all this time and, as you know, “time is money”, or better the money invested is costly!
Finally, we should not forget that the dairy cows making milk for Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese are mainly fed with hay from the area of origin and are not allowed to eat other fodder (e.g. fermented forage) which is cheaper, but would give rise to quality problems during the maturation phase. We say all this to prove that it is not only a valuable cheese, but it is also worth its price.
French woman to sue Church of Scientology for 'organised fraud'
The Church of Scientology in France and seven of its leaders is to be tried for alleged organised fraud.
By Henry Samuel in Paris
Last Updated: 8:04PM BST 08 Sep 2008
Followers include Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta Photo: Film Magic
If found guilty it could result in the controversial body’s main centres being closed down.
The charges, which also include claims of illegally prescribing drugs, were filed by a woman who complained that the Scientologists had allegedly brought about her financial ruin.
She claimed she was psychologically pressured into paying thousands of pounds for lessons, books, drugs and a device called an “electrometre” which the church says can measure a person’s mental state.
The case has taken ten years to come to court.
France’s professional pharmaceutical association and another plaintiff have also filed for charges.
Scientology is not banned in France.
It is a recognised religion in the United States, where it was founded in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Followers include Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
This latest court order refers the church’s main structure in France, the ASES-Celebrity Centre, and its bookshop for alleged “organised fraud”.
Both could be shut down if convicted, according to judicial sources.
The trial - for which no date has been set - is rare, as most previous cases targeted individuals but not the church itself.
The seven members on trial, including Alain Rosenberg, the manager of the ASES-Celebrity Centre, face a maximum seven year jail term if convicted.
The woman who complained was allegedly approached by Scientologists in a Paris street in 1998. At first she was offered a personality test, then invited to hear the results.
In his order, the judge found that the church had used “personality tests void of scientific value...with the sole aim of selling services or divers products.”
The 33-year old was allegedly gradually persuaded to hand over around £25,000 on books, communication and “life healing” lessons, as well as “purification packs”.
While claiming to “identify and resolve supposed psychological difficulties or favour personal development,” the judge said, the Scientologists’ “sole aim” was to “claim their fortune” by “exercising a psychological hold” over her.
The decision to proceed with the case went against a 2006 call by the Paris prosecutor’s office for it to be dismissed due to lack of evidence.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs described the judge’s decision as “courageous”.
The Church of Scientology denounced the ruling, saying it was being “stigmatised” by the courts.
"The special treatment reserved for the Church of Scientology Celebrity Center raises questions about the equality of the justice system and the presumption of innocence,” it said in a statement
The Church of Scientology in France and seven of its leaders is to be tried for alleged organised fraud.
By Henry Samuel in Paris
Last Updated: 8:04PM BST 08 Sep 2008
Followers include Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta Photo: Film Magic
If found guilty it could result in the controversial body’s main centres being closed down.
The charges, which also include claims of illegally prescribing drugs, were filed by a woman who complained that the Scientologists had allegedly brought about her financial ruin.
She claimed she was psychologically pressured into paying thousands of pounds for lessons, books, drugs and a device called an “electrometre” which the church says can measure a person’s mental state.
The case has taken ten years to come to court.
France’s professional pharmaceutical association and another plaintiff have also filed for charges.
Scientology is not banned in France.
It is a recognised religion in the United States, where it was founded in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Followers include Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
This latest court order refers the church’s main structure in France, the ASES-Celebrity Centre, and its bookshop for alleged “organised fraud”.
Both could be shut down if convicted, according to judicial sources.
The trial - for which no date has been set - is rare, as most previous cases targeted individuals but not the church itself.
The seven members on trial, including Alain Rosenberg, the manager of the ASES-Celebrity Centre, face a maximum seven year jail term if convicted.
The woman who complained was allegedly approached by Scientologists in a Paris street in 1998. At first she was offered a personality test, then invited to hear the results.
In his order, the judge found that the church had used “personality tests void of scientific value...with the sole aim of selling services or divers products.”
The 33-year old was allegedly gradually persuaded to hand over around £25,000 on books, communication and “life healing” lessons, as well as “purification packs”.
While claiming to “identify and resolve supposed psychological difficulties or favour personal development,” the judge said, the Scientologists’ “sole aim” was to “claim their fortune” by “exercising a psychological hold” over her.
The decision to proceed with the case went against a 2006 call by the Paris prosecutor’s office for it to be dismissed due to lack of evidence.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs described the judge’s decision as “courageous”.
The Church of Scientology denounced the ruling, saying it was being “stigmatised” by the courts.
"The special treatment reserved for the Church of Scientology Celebrity Center raises questions about the equality of the justice system and the presumption of innocence,” it said in a statement
HFC (shouldn't this be something like WTF, except without the incredulity?) - Hurricanes from space (via Kottke)
