Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Big Dumb Houses
All good people have decided that there's something wrong with houses getting bigger, but I'm not actually sure why this is precisely.I think it's easier to talk about why big lot sizes are a problem, but big houses?Bonus question: define big house.
Almost Here
September 1st tomorrow, Labor Day on Monday...then the 14 months of the stupid season really begins.Oh joy.
Links
Just not sure why, in most cases, this would be any sort of priority.
I mean, I don't have any problem running the inter-city rail system through the airports, but I can't see why it would be a priority worth spending much money on. If there's a rail line nearby when you're thinking of building an airport, or vice versa, sure spend a little extra to add a link, but I don't think it's a priority.
Other ideas for improving spending include coordinating highway, transit and railroad administrations so that they actually link up in a rational fashion — right now, the United States is the only industrialized country that doesn’t do this. A 2005 GAO report, for instance, found that “Most major U.S. airports have direct connections to local transit systems rather than to nationwide rail or bus systems.”
I mean, I don't have any problem running the inter-city rail system through the airports, but I can't see why it would be a priority worth spending much money on. If there's a rail line nearby when you're thinking of building an airport, or vice versa, sure spend a little extra to add a link, but I don't think it's a priority.
A Modest Proposal
Since conservatives claim to believe that the stimulus destroyed the economy, how about we have Stimulus II which only goes to states with Democratic governors. Everybody's happy!
The First Rule Of Industrial Policy
Is that everyone pretends we don't have industrial policy. Of course in practice we do have industrial policy. We may not have a Council On Industrial Policy, and an explicit plan to implement an Industrial Policy. Instead we spend our days complaining about the evil subsidies that other countries have made to their favored industry in the name of industrial policy. But we have various kinds of industrial policy. Some of it comes from people having a sense of how the world is supposed to work and implementing that as policy. Some of that comes from the various consequences of our ridiculously large military budget. Some of that comes from large incumbent industries having the ear of important senators. Sadly, these days, too much of our industrial policy leans towards industries that don't actually do anything. It's about health insurance and the financial industries, the skimmers and middlemen who do nothing but whose obscene profits must be protected at all costs.
That's A Long Time
Sadly, I'm sure many of the people involved understandably never really learn to stop worrying and love the fact that they get free rent for awhile, but at least they're extracting something from the banksters.I'm sure some people are lazy and bad and irresponsible, but most people are victims of the failures of elites who run this country. Failures to stem corrupt bankster practices, failures to do the easy and obvious things to improve the economy.As I said, I'm sure most people involved in the foreclosure process are probably not exactly blissed out by the whole experience, but I do hope some take some consolation in the fact that, for a time, they might have free rent. It's something.
Got Away
I think what got away from the political advisers was the fact that the reality of a crappy economy was more important than the "optic" of any unpopular policies. Maybe "stimulus" isn't super popular, though I think with a sexier name and a better sales job (not, you know, "Recovery Summer") it could be more popular. But you know what else isn't popular? No jobs.And, politically, it might be too late. So...hope!
A Day Of Shopping
I'm so old I can remember when voluntary acts of personal service and charity were actually something conservatives supposedly valued.
Jobs
Government number comes out Friday, widely followed ADP estimate of private sector growth comes in at a whopping +91,000. That's bad news in and of itself, and likely continued reductions in public sector jobs will make it worse.
Lucky Duckies
I guess I never thought the Lucky Duckies idea would travel very far off the WSJ editorial page.
Silly me.
Silly me.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Deep Thought
Strange how stocks soar when Teh Marketz think the Fed might do what all the people on CNBC say they shouldn't do.
Maybe Better Than Nothing. Maybe.
So conventional wisdom is now leaning towards the Fed doing more... something... next month. Presumably this means more goosing of asset prices which, with a bit of luck, might do... something... maybe.
I'm generally of the 'anything is better than nothing' view when it comes to trying to boost aggregate demand, but we should recognize that miraculously we have yet another justification for doing more to help rich people.
Send everyone a $10,000 platinum coin already. Problem solved, recession over.
I'm generally of the 'anything is better than nothing' view when it comes to trying to boost aggregate demand, but we should recognize that miraculously we have yet another justification for doing more to help rich people.
Send everyone a $10,000 platinum coin already. Problem solved, recession over.
What's It All About Then
Sometimes I think it's more complicated than this, but often I think that contemporary white racial resentment boils down to people being intensely angry at the fact that someone might criticize them if they use racial slurs.
But A Tree Didn't Fall On My House
I find the Irene coverage backlash to be puzzling. It was a big storm. It did (and is still doing) a lot of damage. If it had been just a little bit worse it could have done major damage to population centers like Philly and NYC. Fortunately, it wasn't a little bit worse, but it easily could have been if the dice roll had gone the other way.
Silly Consumers
Just head to the dog track, and if you lose send your slip to Bernanke. He'll reimburse.
Confidence among U.S. consumers plunged in August to the lowest in more than two years as Americans’ outlooks for employment, incomes and business conditions soured.
Music Tuesday: Fresh faces, Burning Man’s musical side and more
Summer’s drawing to a close, but there’s still time to discover a new summer anthem. Perhaps it’s a tune from Cults, the indie-popsters Noisey profiled last week on youtube.com/music. Or perhaps you’ll find your summer song in one of this week’s featured playlists.
Fresh Faces: August
Every month, we feature a handful of newly-signed music partners on YouTube’s homepage. This month, the pickings were so rich we couldn’t narrow it down to just four, so we chose six artists to feature, and they’re an inspiring group that spans the gamut, from a sixteen-year-old emcee from New Jersey who’s sworn off cursing to J Dilla protege and former Slum Village member Elzhi. Add a few jazzy singer-songwriters into the mix and there’s something for everyone.
Burning Man Survival Kit
The annual art festival takes place in Nevada Black Rock Desert this week. And while the event’s official focus is art -- kinetic, sculptural and frequently fire-breathing -- it’s also a premier gathering spot for fans of electronic music. Soundsystems on the “playa” vie with each other, putting on all-night raves that host cutting-edge deejays as well as some of the business’ biggest names. We’ve assembled a playlist of some sounds you might hear if you were there.
James Blake and Bon Iver: Fall Creek Boys Choir
Dubstep’s errant child and indie’s golden son have teamed up for an EP that releases later this year. They’ve dropped the first song from it on YouTube, and it’s a mysterious and spacious experiment in sound...just as we expected.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Pigeon John ‘The Bomb.’”
Fresh Faces: August
Every month, we feature a handful of newly-signed music partners on YouTube’s homepage. This month, the pickings were so rich we couldn’t narrow it down to just four, so we chose six artists to feature, and they’re an inspiring group that spans the gamut, from a sixteen-year-old emcee from New Jersey who’s sworn off cursing to J Dilla protege and former Slum Village member Elzhi. Add a few jazzy singer-songwriters into the mix and there’s something for everyone.
Burning Man Survival Kit
The annual art festival takes place in Nevada Black Rock Desert this week. And while the event’s official focus is art -- kinetic, sculptural and frequently fire-breathing -- it’s also a premier gathering spot for fans of electronic music. Soundsystems on the “playa” vie with each other, putting on all-night raves that host cutting-edge deejays as well as some of the business’ biggest names. We’ve assembled a playlist of some sounds you might hear if you were there.
James Blake and Bon Iver: Fall Creek Boys Choir
Dubstep’s errant child and indie’s golden son have teamed up for an EP that releases later this year. They’ve dropped the first song from it on YouTube, and it’s a mysterious and spacious experiment in sound...just as we expected.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Pigeon John ‘The Bomb.’”
I Know It's Drudgico
So you make your own assessment of the sourcing in this article, along with the usual Villager "it's just about who gets invited to the dance" view, but regarding this.
Here's where we were in February of 2010.
Black unemployment was at 15.9% last month. Better, but not enough better. It's important to remember that this isn't about people losing their jobs for a few months and then finding another one, this is about people experiencing long term unemployment, getting chucked out of their homes and apartments, burning through what little savings they have and cashing out their retirement accounts at great penalty. This is, you know, a bad fucking situation.
In a striking turnabout for a president who has rewritten American racial history, Obama finds himself the target of criticism from the black cultural and political elite that has, for the most part, been leery of airing its disappointment.
The president is reportedly angry that African-American leaders aren’t crediting him for his hard-bought achievements that will especially help communities of color, including health care reform, aid to cities, student aid and protecting Medicaid.
“The whole thing is bull-sh-t… We have met with [black leaders] more than any other group and we are increasing our outreach,” said a person close to Obama.
Here's where we were in February of 2010.
President Barack Obama met for nearly an hour amid Wednesday’s blizzard with three civil rights leaders, who made the case for more investment in jobs, particularly in hard-hit communities. The president replied that his initiatives are aimed at helping all Americans in need, they said.
While the national unemployment rate was down a bit to 9.7% last month, African-American unemployment was still 16.5%. “This was part of our effort to raise our voices and raise the level of concern about the jobs crisis,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League.
Black unemployment was at 15.9% last month. Better, but not enough better. It's important to remember that this isn't about people losing their jobs for a few months and then finding another one, this is about people experiencing long term unemployment, getting chucked out of their homes and apartments, burning through what little savings they have and cashing out their retirement accounts at great penalty. This is, you know, a bad fucking situation.
Three Years Later
The international financial system is still in crisis mode and unemployment remains at a level which, once upon a time, would have correctly been perceived as a crisis level.Substance aside, there are those who think the people in charge are playing the politics just right. Maybe they are, but I've never had a lot of confidence that 'senior democratic strategists' have any idea what they are doing.
Where To Look
I don't pay all that much attention to the education reform debates, though I am reasonably sure that for some reason teachers get all of the attention and no one seems to be too concerned with what administrators are up to.
When I Win Big At The Dog Track I Will Have Money To Pay My Bills
Elites continue to maintain the fantasy that the problems in the financial system were just about "liquidity," which perhaps is true to some extent as long as you understand "liquidity problem" means "not enough people trust us with their money anymore."
Better Ideas
I don't agree with everything in this, but I think the basic point - that extending the Social Security payroll tax cut isn't very good bang for the buck stimulus - is completely valid. There are certainly worse not-the-best ideas as this one at least provides a bit of money for not rich people, but we shouldn't forget that there are better ideas.
The Cranky Season
I thought it was just me, but looking around the internets it seems lots of people are cranky these days.
Reflections on September 11 - Share Your Story
The worst terrorist attack ever on U.S. soil took place ten years ago next month. The tragic events of September 11, 2001 affected the lives of millions of people, not only in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, but around the world.
Working with The New York Times, we’re marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with a dedicated YouTube channel, featuring special content from the New York Times, archived news broadcasts from September 2001, and your own personal stories and tributes. We hope this channel will provide an enduring record of what took place on that day.
We’re asking you to share with us:
Make a video answering any of these questions and submit it to youtube.com/September11. A selection of your videos will be featured on the The New York Times website and YouTube homepage on September 11 this year.
Through telling and sharing stories, we can all hope to make sense of an event that, for many of us, was one of the defining moments of our lives. Thank you for sharing yours.
Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics Manager, recently watched “Portraits Redrawn: Alissa Torres”
Working with The New York Times, we’re marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11 with a dedicated YouTube channel, featuring special content from the New York Times, archived news broadcasts from September 2001, and your own personal stories and tributes. We hope this channel will provide an enduring record of what took place on that day.
We’re asking you to share with us:
- Your strongest memory of that day or that time period
- How 9/11 changed you, and how you believe it changed America
- What you lost — or gained -- because of 9/11
Make a video answering any of these questions and submit it to youtube.com/September11. A selection of your videos will be featured on the The New York Times website and YouTube homepage on September 11 this year.
Through telling and sharing stories, we can all hope to make sense of an event that, for many of us, was one of the defining moments of our lives. Thank you for sharing yours.
Olivia Ma, YouTube News & Politics Manager, recently watched “Portraits Redrawn: Alissa Torres”
Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday Night
Already feels like Friday, but a crappy Friday when you gotta get up early and do stuff on Saturday morning.
We All Like A Bit Of Crap
I guess the 'guilty pleasure' stuff is about liking stuff which you know not to have any weight or depth, but basically this is true of all of us. Most of us aren't programmed to be operating at full mental capacity 16 hours per day, and there are moments when a bit of crap is just what we need.
Related are people who dismiss entire genres/mediums as being crap (television, any music written after arbitrary date X, etc.)
Related are people who dismiss entire genres/mediums as being crap (television, any music written after arbitrary date X, etc.)
Not Going To Achieve Anything
The point is that what's been on the table so far isn't going to actually achieve results, if by results we mean "lowering unemployment by Nov. 2012" instead of "passing some crap through Congress that at best won't do much." Maybe the Big Plan should be presented to voters, maybe not. I actually wasn't making a messaging argument, though I do tend to think if you aren't going to have any results then messaging is all you have left. My operating premise is that the agenda of Prime Minister Obama and his economic advisers, when enacted, won't do enough, so he needs some new advisers and he needs some new plans. President Obama will have trouble getting any plan through Congress, but my point is that even Prime Minister Obama isn't going to do enough.
I Am Better Than You
Read enough of the internets and you come across a reasonable number of entries in the "my lifestyle choices which will help save the world make me better than you" genre. I don't intend to dismiss the idea that we can all make somewhat better choices which will marginally nudge the world in the right direction, but your self-righteousness will not, in fact, save the world. Your choice to be a vegetarian, or not own a car, or stick a solar panel on your roof, doesn't even necessarily mean that your actual contribution to destroying the world is particularly low relative to other people. You've probably made some other world destroying choices. More than that, we all make constrained choices. It's easy for some (me) to not own a car, for example. I imagine my failure to breed has probably lowered my contribution somewhat, but I'd never suggest that others should not have children.
The point is that individual conservation is great, but moralizing about it is mostly just preening and ultimately saving the world requires collective action. We should all be a bit more diligent about recycling, but only policy changes will really solve the problems.
The point is that individual conservation is great, but moralizing about it is mostly just preening and ultimately saving the world requires collective action. We should all be a bit more diligent about recycling, but only policy changes will really solve the problems.
JasonMundayMusic is August’s On The Rise Star
Congratulations to JasonMundayMusic, who won August’s On The Rise poll after receiving the most votes from the YouTube community. Thanks to your support, Jason Munday (and his friends) will be featured on the YouTube homepage all day today.
As the self-proclaimed “nerdiest YouTube musician,” Jason’s repertoire includes songwriting, singing, producing, and sound engineering. His long history of musical projects on YouTube include hit YouTube bands Ministry of Magic and The Oceanic Six, whose songs were inspired by pop culture. Jason credits Ministry of Magic (a collaborative project with YouTube stars Luke Conard and Ryan Seiler) with opening the trio up to the potential of a YouTube music career with hits such as “Don’t Leave,” “On The Other Side,” and “This Town.” The band members have since chosen to pursue individual careers and Jason’s current solo project, Skyway Flyer, artfully combines the big arena sounds of the 80s with modern dance rock. Check out the video below for an overview of Jason’s work, past and present.
Here’s a word from Jason about his YouTube history, channels, and collaborations:
"I've been a YouTuber for several years, a musician for over a decade, and a nerd for as long as I can remember. Being a YouTube musician is now my full time job, and I'm proud to say that I've got to be one of the nerdiest! I started writing nerdy music with Luke Conard and Ryan Seiler over 4 years ago, and as Ministry of Magic, we were extremely fortunate with our online following and support. Thanks to our fans, I've been able to quit my full time job, move to Los Angeles, and pursue my dream of music and video making. I've since been able to focus so much more time and energy toward many different music projects and being out in LA amongst a vast ocean of music & film industry people, not to mention the growing YouTuber population, I've been able to network and make friends that are always looking to collaborate and even just help each other out. I always try to excel at whatever it is I'm focusing my efforts towards, and I find it fascinating to be able to look back at where I started and the place I've reached and simply look forward to where to future will take me. I'm inexpressibly grateful for all the good fortune I've had and as long as there are people enjoying what I do, I will continue to create it!”
If you’ve enjoyed monthly On The Rise blog series and want to see more rising YouTube partners, check out our On The Rise channel or look for our playlists on the browse page. Keep an eye out for next month’s blog post, as your channel may be the next one On The Rise!
Devon Storbeck, Account Manager, recently watched “Ready For Anything" (Live!) - Skyway Flyer.”
As the self-proclaimed “nerdiest YouTube musician,” Jason’s repertoire includes songwriting, singing, producing, and sound engineering. His long history of musical projects on YouTube include hit YouTube bands Ministry of Magic and The Oceanic Six, whose songs were inspired by pop culture. Jason credits Ministry of Magic (a collaborative project with YouTube stars Luke Conard and Ryan Seiler) with opening the trio up to the potential of a YouTube music career with hits such as “Don’t Leave,” “On The Other Side,” and “This Town.” The band members have since chosen to pursue individual careers and Jason’s current solo project, Skyway Flyer, artfully combines the big arena sounds of the 80s with modern dance rock. Check out the video below for an overview of Jason’s work, past and present.
Here’s a word from Jason about his YouTube history, channels, and collaborations:
"I've been a YouTuber for several years, a musician for over a decade, and a nerd for as long as I can remember. Being a YouTube musician is now my full time job, and I'm proud to say that I've got to be one of the nerdiest! I started writing nerdy music with Luke Conard and Ryan Seiler over 4 years ago, and as Ministry of Magic, we were extremely fortunate with our online following and support. Thanks to our fans, I've been able to quit my full time job, move to Los Angeles, and pursue my dream of music and video making. I've since been able to focus so much more time and energy toward many different music projects and being out in LA amongst a vast ocean of music & film industry people, not to mention the growing YouTuber population, I've been able to network and make friends that are always looking to collaborate and even just help each other out. I always try to excel at whatever it is I'm focusing my efforts towards, and I find it fascinating to be able to look back at where I started and the place I've reached and simply look forward to where to future will take me. I'm inexpressibly grateful for all the good fortune I've had and as long as there are people enjoying what I do, I will continue to create it!”
If you’ve enjoyed monthly On The Rise blog series and want to see more rising YouTube partners, check out our On The Rise channel or look for our playlists on the browse page. Keep an eye out for next month’s blog post, as your channel may be the next one On The Rise!
Devon Storbeck, Account Manager, recently watched “Ready For Anything" (Live!) - Skyway Flyer.”
Results
Monthly jobs report comes out Friday. Absent a miracle or massive mismeasurement, it most likely won't be anything close to the very very good news we need to start turning the economy around with any speed. I understand the difficulties of getting things done, of Republican obstructionism, of Democrats who also, too, suck, but ultimately such excuses don't matter. Results do. If I were the one in charge of this pop stand, I'd direct my economics team to come up with the "If I were a prime minister instead of a president, this is what we would do" plan. And if all they came up with was minor tax breaks for hiring, "patent reform," and "trade deals," I'd, you know, fire them.
Life Among The Econ
I don't think the nomination of Alan Krueger is bad, but nor does it exactly signal revolution. Still it's a good moment to offer up a rerun of this "oops I bet I said too much" moment from Krueger's former coauthor, David Card.
I think economists who objected to our work were upset by the thought that we were giving free rein to people who wanted to set wages everywhere at any possible level. And that wasn't at all the spirit of what we actually said. In fact, nowhere in the book or in other writing did I ever propose raising the minimum wage. I try to stay out of political arguments.
I think many people are concerned that much of the research they see is biased and has a specific agenda in mind. Some of that concern arises because of the open-ended nature of economic research. To get results, people often have to make assumptions or tweak the data a little bit here or there, and if somebody has an agenda, they can inevitably push the results in one direction or another. Given that, I think that people have a legitimate concern about researchers who are essentially conducting advocacy work. I try to stay away from advocacy of any kind, but that doesn't prevent people from being suspicious that I have an agenda of some kind.
I've subsequently stayed away from the minimum wage literature for a number of reasons. First, it cost me a lot of friends. People that I had known for many years, for instance, some of the ones I met at my first job at the University of Chicago, became very angry or disappointed. They thought that in publishing our work we were being traitors to the cause of economics as a whole.
All Those Cars Are Coming From And Going To Somewhere
Not really about the subject of this article, just made me think about it, but when people clamor for highway expansions I think they tend to forget that a 10 lane highway may be great until, at some point, it ceases to be a 10 lane highway. Those cars are coming and going from somewhere, and the surface streets leading to the highway often won't have the appropriate capacity.
Please Don't Tell Him To Do The Maths
Aside from the 'being wrong about stuff' part,' what's maddening about Friedman, aside that somebody actually pays him large sums of money and gives him an unlimited expense account, is that he really does seem to think that all that's necessary are his narratives and metaphors. He's telling stories, and the need to consult reality never actually occurs to him. Or his editors.
Oh What A Lovely Little War
I don't claim to know everything, and there are certainly things I know I don't know all that much about, but what I thought most of us should have learned over the past decade is that once you take the violence genie out of the bottle it's very hard to put it back in. Lots of people die in wars and their aftermaths.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Chris Waind's Epic NZSO Compositions
Photos ©Chris Waind. Click on any pic to embiggen.Wellington, New Zealand-based photographer/illustrator Chris Waind used a motley crew of inexpensive lights -- along with some Photoshop and a lot of creativity -- to create a visual campaign for the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
The goal: to lower the age demo of the audience and raise ticket sales. When the dust had settled, ticket sales were up 20% during a recession.
Keep reading for sketches, final images, a BTS vid and a full interview with Chris. Read more »
And What A Great Memory It Is
Leaving aside the stupid voluntary community service=socialism crap, I really will never understand the relationship conservative assholes have to the best day ever, 911 Day.
Recapitalize European Banks
More free money for rich people!
Might even be the right policy in some sense, as long as we all remember who the true moochers are.
And, again, for the millionth time: it's one thing to bail out the banks, yet another to bail out the shareholders, and still another to bail out the rich assholes who destroyed the banks.
Might even be the right policy in some sense, as long as we all remember who the true moochers are.
And, again, for the millionth time: it's one thing to bail out the banks, yet another to bail out the shareholders, and still another to bail out the rich assholes who destroyed the banks.
Years Later
Pampered over-privileged scribe finally discovers that it's kinda bad when people don't have any jobs or money.Better late then never I guess.
Bye Bye Stumpy Joe
Got him!
WASHINGTON — A drone operated by the Central Intelligence Agency killed Al Qaeda’s second-ranking figure in the mountains of Pakistan on Monday, American and Pakistani officials said Saturday, further damaging a terrorism network that appears significantly weakened since the death of Osama bin Laden in May.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has Colin Powell to talk about who MLK would bomb. This Week has Chris Christie and FEMA dude Craig Fugate. Meet the Press has Fugate. Document the atrocities!
Good morning
Or at least, the best you can.
(Here in London, the morning sun is blasting so hard through my window that I can barely see my screen, but I hear it's a bit wet back home.)
Update: Might as well leave you with something educational to watch.
Signed,
Not Atrios
(Here in London, the morning sun is blasting so hard through my window that I can barely see my screen, but I hear it's a bit wet back home.)
Update: Might as well leave you with something educational to watch.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Watch Anderson Cooper’s exclusive YouTube Q&A
Earlier this week, we welcomed Anderson Cooper to our New York office for a lively question-and-answer session. As he prepares to launch his new daytime talk show on September 12, Anderson has made a big splash on YouTube, posting behind-the-scenes videos from his show, and answering viewer questions directly using our Moderator platform. In the one-hour session, the “Silver Fox” (as he’s affectionately known online) answered some of your top-voted questions submitted online.
He also talked about his “YouTube moment” last week on the Ridiculist (you have to see it to believe it), and told us what it’s like to be a (shy) celebrity in New York City. You can watch the full interview here:
Anderson’s visit was part of our @YouTube Talks series, which brings authors, musicians, innovators, and other thought leaders to YouTube for talks centered on their recent work. The goal is to capture the cultural zeitgeist of the day through interviews, presentations, and intimate studio sessions --- and give you access to these minds by opening up the sessions for viewer questions.
Stay tuned for more @YouTube Talks!
Steve Grove, Head of News and Politics, YouTube, recently watched "Anderson in Times Square."
He also talked about his “YouTube moment” last week on the Ridiculist (you have to see it to believe it), and told us what it’s like to be a (shy) celebrity in New York City. You can watch the full interview here:
Anderson’s visit was part of our @YouTube Talks series, which brings authors, musicians, innovators, and other thought leaders to YouTube for talks centered on their recent work. The goal is to capture the cultural zeitgeist of the day through interviews, presentations, and intimate studio sessions --- and give you access to these minds by opening up the sessions for viewer questions.
Stay tuned for more @YouTube Talks!
Steve Grove, Head of News and Politics, YouTube, recently watched "Anderson in Times Square."
YouTube Creator Playbook tips: the first 15 seconds
This is the first of a series of posts sharing tips from the YouTube Creator Playbook, a resource full of best practices and strategies that you can start using on your channel and videos right away.
Ever notice how many of your favorite shows start with a great two-minute scene followed by the opening credits, instead of the other way around? How often has a great movie trailer caught your attention and made you want to go see the movie right away on opening night? With so many entertainment choices, all types of creators know how important it is to capture the attention of audiences early on. This same idea applies to videos on YouTube, and here’s how you can use this creative technique to attract and keep your viewers watching.
Make compelling content first...
Toby, on CuteWinFail, addresses the audience, makes a joke, and sets up the show all on the first 15 sec.
Want to keep your branding upfront but still use this strategy? The voiceover for College Humor’s Jake and Amir packaging changes with every episode.
Need more ideas? For how-to content, such as cooking or fashion tutorials, the first few seconds of a video is a great place to present a “sneak peek” of what the finished product of the tutorial will be. This lets the viewer know what amazing thing they’ll be capable of making if they watch your video.
FoodWishes’ cooking channel does a great job of this:
You can learn more about how to structure the first 15 seconds of your videos, and lots of other tips and strategies in the YouTube Creator Playbook. These suggestions were pulled together from YouTubers like you, and we’re eager to see how you’ll apply these tips in your own creative ways.
Ryan Nugent, Audience Development Strategist, recently watched “James Blake - Limit to Your Love.”
Ever notice how many of your favorite shows start with a great two-minute scene followed by the opening credits, instead of the other way around? How often has a great movie trailer caught your attention and made you want to go see the movie right away on opening night? With so many entertainment choices, all types of creators know how important it is to capture the attention of audiences early on. This same idea applies to videos on YouTube, and here’s how you can use this creative technique to attract and keep your viewers watching.
Make compelling content first...
- Start off with something that will immediately grab attention, whether it’s what you say or a stunning visual
- Make it clear what your video is about early on, so viewers aren’t confused about what they’re watching
- Tease the rest of the video so the audience is intrigued to see where you take them.
- A flashy intro may look cool, but it’s not the star of the video - let them see you, or your great content, first
- Make your branding compelling by making it entertaining or unique to each video
Toby, on CuteWinFail, addresses the audience, makes a joke, and sets up the show all on the first 15 sec.
Want to keep your branding upfront but still use this strategy? The voiceover for College Humor’s Jake and Amir packaging changes with every episode.
Need more ideas? For how-to content, such as cooking or fashion tutorials, the first few seconds of a video is a great place to present a “sneak peek” of what the finished product of the tutorial will be. This lets the viewer know what amazing thing they’ll be capable of making if they watch your video.
FoodWishes’ cooking channel does a great job of this:
You can learn more about how to structure the first 15 seconds of your videos, and lots of other tips and strategies in the YouTube Creator Playbook. These suggestions were pulled together from YouTubers like you, and we’re eager to see how you’ll apply these tips in your own creative ways.
Ryan Nugent, Audience Development Strategist, recently watched “James Blake - Limit to Your Love.”
Doggies In Restaurants
Seems like something fun for people to argue about on a Saturday.
Of course, it has always been a violation of the city’s health code to allow a dog anywhere near a beer tap. But for years, this has been one of the most widely — and gleefully — violated rules in the city.Not any more.Since the health department adopted a letter grade system for bars and restaurants last year, bar owners say, health inspectors are allowing no wiggle room for four-legged patrons.The stricter enforcement is apparently bringing to an end a rich tradition of dog-friendly bars in New York.
Stupid Stadium Tricks
It is a mystery to me why anyone thinks a sport with 8 home games per year can provide a local economic boost.
Wee Suggestion
In our great and glorious humanitarian enterprise, perhaps we should put down the freedom bombs for a bit and start airlifting in water. Or providing it somehow anyway.
Friday, August 26, 2011
I Don't Think They Got It Quite Right
Do you?
| Variable | Central tendency1 | Range2 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Longer run | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Longer run | |
| Change in real GDP | 2.8 to 3.5 | 3.4 to 4.5 | 3.5 to 4.5 | 2.5 to 2.8 | 2.3 to 4.0 | 2.7 to 4.7 | 3.0 to 5.0 | 2.4 to 3.0 |
| November projection | 2.5 to 3.5 | 3.4 to 4.5 | 3.5 to 4.8 | 2.5 to 2.8 | 2.0 to 4.0 | 2.5 to 4.6 | 2.8 to 5.0 | 2.4 to 3.0 |
| Unemployment rate | 9.5 to 9.7 | 8.2 to 8.5 | 6.6 to 7.5 | 5.0 to 5.2 | 8.6 to 10.0 | 7.2 to 8.8 | 6.1 to 7.6 | 4.9 to 6.3 |
| November projection | 9.3 to 9.7 | 8.2 to 8.6 | 6.8 to 7.5 | 5.0 to 5.2 | 8.6 to 10.2 | 7.2 to 8.7 | 6.1 to 7.6 | 4.8 to 6.3 |
| PCE inflation | 1.4 to 1.7 | 1.1 to 2.0 | 1.3 to 2.0 | 1.7 to 2.0 | 1.2 to 2.0 | 1.0 to 2.4 | 0.8 to 2.0 | 1.5 to 2.0 |
| November projection | 1.3 to 1.6 | 1.0 to 1.9 | 1.2 to 1.9 | 1.7 to 2.0 | 1.1 to 2.0 | 0.6 to 2.4 | 0.2 to 2.3 | 1.5 to 2.0 |
| Core PCE inflation3 | 1.1 to 1.7 | 1.0 to 1.9 | 1.2 to 1.9 | 1.0 to 2.0 | 0.9 to 2.4 | 0.8 to 2.0 | ||
| November projection | 1.0 to 1.5 | 1.0 to 1.6 | 1.0 to 1.7 | 0.9 to 2.0 | 0.5 to 2.4 | 0.2 to 2.3 | ||
This week's Trends: earthquakes, hurricanes, and portals
Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we've come across this week:
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "El Delorean de Volver al Futuro en Cabildo y Juramento."
- We highlighted lots of videos and reactions from the East Coast earthquake as well as some instances of the quake caught-on-camera.
- We saw how people were documenting preparations for Hurricane Irene.
- We catalogued 10 of the most-viewed Minecraft song parodies.
- We spotted some wild human pyramids in India.
- We tracked some rising searches this week, which included Aaliyah and some airshow tragedies.
- We shared video from a flash mob arrest.
- We received video from Libya as rebels arrived in Tripoli.
- We studied how Ken Block's new hit video was taking off.
- We discovered how some fans/filmakers brought the game Portal into real life.
- And ImprovEverywhere created another hit by asking people to "Say Something Nice."
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "El Delorean de Volver al Futuro en Cabildo y Juramento."
Neither Football Nor Hide And Seek
Too much of the Libya coverage has treated it as a sporting event, glossing over the fact that people die in wars.
Shutting Down
My local transit authority will cease all service at 12:30 Sunday morning.
Less wimpy than New York at least!
Less wimpy than New York at least!
Pretty Easy To Pass A Drug Test If You Know When It's Going To Happen
Another reason this was a hideously dumb idea is that most "bad" drugs, other than marijuana, really don't stay in your system for very long. Random drug checks can work well for this purpose, but not self-scheduled ones, except perhaps for chronic pot smokers or true addicts.
Elite Fail
A big part of the problem is that the central bankers of the world and their cheering squad in the economics profession pulled off a nice trick. The took a reasonable concept of "central bank independence," which was basically about politicians not having the power to run the printing presses when they felt like it, and turned it into a concept about a lack of an appropriate degree of transparency or accountability. They rule our world, and they're ruling it badly, but what are we going to do about it?
A Bunch Of Meddling Kids Stamped Out All The Green Shoots
I do cheer on bad news like this, not because I want there to be actual bad news, but because I think it's clear enough that the economy sucks and anything which might actually cause politicians to notice the reality of the situation is a good news.
The Lower Classes
As inequality and the size of the underclasses rise, expect more of this. For a long time in the US, poverty has been associated with urban minorities (somewhat incorrectly of course). And we all know what's wrong with them! EvenTheNewRepublic told us! As this image of the underclass becomes impossible to maintain, we'll learn that the problem with poor people isn't that they're black (though that's a problem too!), it's that they're just rotten bad and depraved people who never learned the manners and etiquette of our betters, like Jonah Goldberg or Dick Cheney.
That's The Monetary Policy Debate
Krugman lays it out.
My maybe this should be obvious but I'm not caffeinated enough to know question is... I gather that there are monetary policy people (Bernanke included) who are, for some reason, "more comfortable" with QEII type mucking about than they are with announcing policy in order to change expectations. Why?
Well, I should add, there's also a crazy stupid people monetary debate among people who think the Great Depression should be renamed the Great Shirk...
My maybe this should be obvious but I'm not caffeinated enough to know question is... I gather that there are monetary policy people (Bernanke included) who are, for some reason, "more comfortable" with QEII type mucking about than they are with announcing policy in order to change expectations. Why?
Well, I should add, there's also a crazy stupid people monetary debate among people who think the Great Depression should be renamed the Great Shirk...
Hurricane Prep
So, uh, any suggestions? A small bit of water occasionally finds its way into the basement during really really heavy rains (standard hazard of south philly living).
Flying UHauls
Occurs to me that Irene's gonna hit the urban hellhole during Uhaul weekend. Last weekend of the month is moving weekened.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
A Place For Good Things
Sometimes I'm too grumpy and I forget that this should be fun, not just a place for bitching but a place to find WONDERFUL THINGS.Will try to remember that a bit more going forward. Even if you all hate my youtube videos.
I Want My
I don't know if Ben or Timmeh get their chicks for free, but I think Krgthulu's point is the point which needs to advertised. In crazy times like these, you really do get your money for nothing.
Congratulations On Your FAIL
The administration promised help for homeowners in order to get the necessary TARP II release votes.
So, uh, about those promises....
So, uh, about those promises....
Today is a Fairytale: Taylor Swift takes your questions on YouTube
From "Tim McGraw" to "Sparks Fly," Taylor Swift has won over fans worldwide with her vocal talent and songwriting skills. In addition to a tremendous fan following, Swift has racked up four Grammys, six CMT Music Awards, thirteen Teen Choice Awards and even the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year award, joning the likes of Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and The Dixie Chicks. And now she takes your questions on YouTube!
Ever wonder what it’s like to become a major pop star before you’re out of high school -- on the strength of your own songs? Whether you’re cheer captain or on the bleachers, Taylor wants to hear from you and she’s agreed to be fearless in answering!
Starting today, submit written or video queries on Taylor Swift’s channel, and she’ll answer the most popular ones as part of our YouTube Presents program. You have until noon on August 31 to submit your questions and vote on the ones you’d most like to see her answer.
YouTube Presents is an ongoing program dedicated to bringing you live performances and interviews with your favorite artists. Upcoming YouTube Presents events will include artist interviews (with questions provided by the YouTube community), intimate performances at the YouTube offices, and live streams of music festivals.
Stay tuned for more YouTube Presents sessions this fall -- and watch the homepage to see Taylor’s Q&A, which we’ll post as soon as it’s uploaded.
Anna Richardson, Communications Manager, recently watched "Our Song."
Ever wonder what it’s like to become a major pop star before you’re out of high school -- on the strength of your own songs? Whether you’re cheer captain or on the bleachers, Taylor wants to hear from you and she’s agreed to be fearless in answering!
Starting today, submit written or video queries on Taylor Swift’s channel, and she’ll answer the most popular ones as part of our YouTube Presents program. You have until noon on August 31 to submit your questions and vote on the ones you’d most like to see her answer.
YouTube Presents is an ongoing program dedicated to bringing you live performances and interviews with your favorite artists. Upcoming YouTube Presents events will include artist interviews (with questions provided by the YouTube community), intimate performances at the YouTube offices, and live streams of music festivals.
Stay tuned for more YouTube Presents sessions this fall -- and watch the homepage to see Taylor’s Q&A, which we’ll post as soon as it’s uploaded.
Anna Richardson, Communications Manager, recently watched "Our Song."
I Know The Little Things Don't Matter Much
But they usually aren't very difficult, either.
WASHINGTON — In October, Energy Secretary Steven Chu pledged that solar panels and a solar hot water heater would be installed on the White House roof before the start of summer.
Now, summer is almost over, the 2012 election campaign is well under way, and there are still no solar panels on the White House roof.
Everything's Coming Up Downtown
While I do think that people put too much focus on 'where the skyscrapers are' when thinking about quality urban life, instead of looking at the more residential urban neighborhoods, it's also the case that having a thriving core seems to have spillover benefits. I've been to downtown LA quite a bit over the years, and the last time I was there it was quite stunning how much it had become a pretty hopping place.
Bye COBRA Subsidy
This never had much fanfare, but was one of the things they did right.
With little fanfare, the federal COBRA subsidy program that has helped millions of the recently unemployed afford to continue health insurance will expire next week.
Everything's A Nail
You know, if I actually believed that nuclear non-proliferation was something that anybody in the Bush administration, especially Cheney, actually cared about, then maybe one could see bombing a potential Syrian reactor as a reasonable option. But I don't believe that, I just think Cheney liked to bomb things.
Hey A Bit Of Sense
I loathe all "main street" references as nobody knows what the hell main street is anymore, unless perhaps there's a "main street" section of your local mall, but otherwise it's useful to see this in the news.
Fix the banks, destroy the world is a more likely outcome.
Two U.S. Treasury secretaries and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke provided capital and cheap loans to banks during the last three years to help fuel an economic revival. It hasn’t worked out....“The political class is fixated on how the banking system caused the problem in the first place and therefore how it will have to cure it in the future -- that if you get the banks working again the economy works,” said Robert B. Albertson, chief strategist at Sandler O’Neill & Partners LP in New York. “It drives me into silly laughter. It’s the other way around.”I suppose it should be no surprise that someone (Geithner) coming from the banking world would have thought it was indispensable. Fix the banks, fix the world was the belief. But they never thought through (or didn't care to) the true implications of what happened, that our banking system completely failed in its supposed purpose, that the people in charge therefore have no idea what the fuck they're doing.
Fix the banks, destroy the world is a more likely outcome.
Ikeya Tomohide: Drawn to Water
Photos ©Ikeya Tomohide
By Irwin Wong -- Tokyo-based commercial/advertising photographer Ikeya Tomohide [池谷友秀] creates images that feature people in the context of water. He uses simple, dramatic lighting and execution -- combined with complex themes -- to create powerful photos. A scuba diver before he was a photographer, Ikeya's series of Wave, Breath and Moon demonstrate the value of using personal experience to fuel own your creative process. Read more »
Introducing Your Asia Correspondent
Please join me in welcoming Irwin Wong to Strobist. He specializes in editorial, portrait and commercial photography. And as the new Asia correspondent, his job will be to search out photographers in that region doing kickass work for profiles and BTS's.Bilingual in English and Japanese, Irwin's first task will be to dive into the rich and vibrant photo culture in Japan. Case in point: Did you know you can walk up to a newsstand in Japan and buy any one of a number of photo mags that specialize in feature after feature of behind-the-scenes lighting breakdowns?
I'm thinking there is a lot of cool stuff waiting to come out of Japan, and Irwin is our "in".
Please feel free to help him out with any tips (especially you Japanese readers) via Twitter @IrwinWong. You can check out some of Irwin's own work at IrwinWong.com.
-30-
It's Almost Sept. 2011
So I'm glad that maybe they're finally realizing they should do something about housing, but the details matter...
Now it's a mess. Early on there were obvious win-win-win ways through. Haircuts for loans, small bribes to servicers, investors kept happy.
Now it's a mess. Early on there were obvious win-win-win ways through. Haircuts for loans, small bribes to servicers, investors kept happy.
Perversity
Periodically, Krugman reminds us that Kenneth Arrow showed that market-based systems can't work efficiently as health care delivery mechanisms. Over at the Great Orange Satan, Mcjoan gives an object lesson. For Medicaid, and the health care system as a whole, a key element in cost control is minimizing ER admissions.
For private sector hospitals, ERs are a profit center:
For private sector hospitals, ERs are a profit center:
Efforts to reduce unnecessary ER visits by patients in Medicaid, the joint state-federal health program for the poor and disabled, are proliferating as states search for ways to control the soaring costs of the program. But state officials complain that their efforts are sometimes hampered by hospitals’ aggressive marketing of ERs to increase admissions and profits.
"Many hospitals are actively recruiting people to come to the ER for non-emergency reasons," said Anthony Keck, South Carolina's Medicaid director, citing facilities that tout their speedy ER service on highway billboards. "When you are advertising on billboards that your ER wait time is three minutes, you are not advertising to stroke and heart attack victims," he said.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Poor People In LA And San Francisco Mostly Don't Have Cars
But even if they did, the important point is that smart parking charging policies don't just involve raising prices. In San Francisco prices increased/stayed same/decreased in about even proportions. Generally, however, in larger cities with not horrible transit systems if your concern for poor people begins and ends with the price of parking you probably don't have much actual concern for the lives of poor people.
Deep Thought
I admit blogging was a bit more fun when it was mostly about finding new and creative ways to inform the world that George Bush sucked.
Elite Fail
Occasionally I find some comfort in the fact that we're not the only country with elites who are stupid and/or evil.
Only occasionally.
Only occasionally.
Also
Raising the Medicare eligibility age would increase health care costs.
So, you know, lowering it would... decrease health care costs.
Shhh. Don't tell anyone
So, you know, lowering it would... decrease health care costs.
Shhh. Don't tell anyone
The Fed Could Buy All The Debt And Then Burn It
No I don't know what precise legal authority the Fed has to do such things, but roughly speaking what happened is that the Fed gave all the Banksters a giant do-over on all of their bad bets. But the rest of us didn't get any such do-over. If they gave us a do-over, by, say, giving everyone a 30% haircut on their debts, then people would have more money to spend.
But only giant mega banksters, the smartest guys in the room, the ones who destroyed the economy, get a do over. The rest of us have to suffer so that they economy can continue to be in recession. No I don't know why this is. In "normal" (full employment) times all these crazy ideas would be bad policy. But we aren't in normal times, and giving people lots of free money would actually be very good policy. Better policy than giving it to the Banksters anyway.
But only giant mega banksters, the smartest guys in the room, the ones who destroyed the economy, get a do over. The rest of us have to suffer so that they economy can continue to be in recession. No I don't know why this is. In "normal" (full employment) times all these crazy ideas would be bad policy. But we aren't in normal times, and giving people lots of free money would actually be very good policy. Better policy than giving it to the Banksters anyway.
Sent Home From School
I'm not sure I get the legal basis for these "deals" anyway, but surely with all of this stuff running through New York trust law I'm not sure how you do it without them.
White-Coat Hypertension
I have this. I can feel my blood pressure spike when the sphygmomanometer comes out.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Hamp'd
For a moment there was catastrophe and goodwill. Also, too, slush fund billions.
They made choices.
They made choices.
The Stupidest Man Alive
Andrew Malcolm is going to have to work harder as long as Jim Hoft is in the game.
Bargaining
Basically if the richest most awesomest country in the world can't provide, for most people who try reasonably hard (and a safety net for those it doesn't provide for), enough money to have a place to live, transportation, ability to raise a couple of kids and send them to college, have some nice things and the occasional vacation or night out, then we're doing something wrong.
That most economists are content to define the social welfare function as W=Real GDP is a problem
That most economists are content to define the social welfare function as W=Real GDP is a problem
But Did He Lie About Using Steroids?
We should all remember that the scope of prosecutable lies to Congress has narrowed somewhat in recent years.
Shares in the Wall Street bank fell in late trading on Monday when it emerged that Blankfein had retained Reid Weingarten, criminal defence attorney at Steptoe & Johnson. Blankfein turned to Weingarten after the US Department of Justice began investigating the way Goldman sold subprime mortgage securities – the toxic investments that triggered the credit crunch.
Blankfein has also been accused of misleading a Senate committee – a claim that is emphatically denied by Goldman.
Withern
Doesn't take all that much to chuck reasonable due process out the window.
Senior Metropolitan police officers devised a policy of holding all people arrested on riot-related offences in custody and recommending that the courts also refuse bail after they were charged, according to a leaked "prisoner processing strategy" that lawyers argue could pave the way for a mass legal challenge.
The document sheds significant light on the Met's processes and could explain why people accused of apparently minor offences such as theft of small items or receipt of stolen goods were not cautioned. They included a 23-year old student with no previous convictions who was refused bail and then sentenced to six months in prison for stealing a £3.50 bottle of water. The debate about sentencing of people accused of taking part in the riots has so far focused on the courts' right to use "exemplary" sentencing – harsher sentences to deter people from rioting. But the document suggests that in deciding whether or not to grant bail the courts would have also been considering recommendations from the police to detain people in the vast majority of cases.
Music Tuesday: Catching our breath with Zee Avi, Tom Waits and The Decemberists
Whew. Did you catch all that? We’re still trying to recover from five intense days of music mania. That’s right, we relaunched youtube.com/music last Thursday, and throughout the weekend you saw our logo redesigned and a bundle of playlists from folks you might have heard of: Lady Gaga. David Guetta. The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Eminem and Royce Da 5’9. And we had folks like SPIN Magazine, XLR8R and The Needle Drop clueing us in about what music we don’t know about, but should.
In the coming weeks, keep returning to youtube.com/music to discover more new videos, live performances and eye-opening playlists. Not only will our first batch of curators be returning with new features to share, we’ll be adding even more regular features from influential blogs, magazines, video bloggers and others. Keep coming back; we promise you’ll dig it.
Zee Avi curates the YouTube homepage
After featuring a bevy of celebrities over the past week, it’s fitting to come back to a celebrity YouTube helped foster. When Zee Avi posted her first video on YouTube, she had no idea it would make her a star; she just wanted to share a performance with a friend. One album and oodles of views later, she’s back with her second album, ghostbird. Today she shares an extremely lovely acoustic performance of several songs from the new album with us (we’re tripping over the first song, “Anchor,” which she filmed on a rooftop). She also shares some videos that put her in a state of self-described enchantment.
The Decemberists “Calamity Song”
The song is off their most recent album; the video was inspired by a scene in David Foster Wallace’s door-stop of a novel Infinite Jest. It feels to us like a metaphor for bad international decision-making, set on a tennis court with kids playing world leaders. What do you think?
Tom Waits “Bad As Me” Private Listening Party
How do you keep albums private in the digital age? How do you build excitement and mystery in an age devoted to breaking it down? Tom Waits, as always, shows us how.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Beirut - O Leaozinho.”
In the coming weeks, keep returning to youtube.com/music to discover more new videos, live performances and eye-opening playlists. Not only will our first batch of curators be returning with new features to share, we’ll be adding even more regular features from influential blogs, magazines, video bloggers and others. Keep coming back; we promise you’ll dig it.
Zee Avi curates the YouTube homepage
After featuring a bevy of celebrities over the past week, it’s fitting to come back to a celebrity YouTube helped foster. When Zee Avi posted her first video on YouTube, she had no idea it would make her a star; she just wanted to share a performance with a friend. One album and oodles of views later, she’s back with her second album, ghostbird. Today she shares an extremely lovely acoustic performance of several songs from the new album with us (we’re tripping over the first song, “Anchor,” which she filmed on a rooftop). She also shares some videos that put her in a state of self-described enchantment.
The Decemberists “Calamity Song”
The song is off their most recent album; the video was inspired by a scene in David Foster Wallace’s door-stop of a novel Infinite Jest. It feels to us like a metaphor for bad international decision-making, set on a tennis court with kids playing world leaders. What do you think?
Tom Waits “Bad As Me” Private Listening Party
How do you keep albums private in the digital age? How do you build excitement and mystery in an age devoted to breaking it down? Tom Waits, as always, shows us how.
Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched “Beirut - O Leaozinho.”
Stuck In The Middle With You
Not really necessary for regular readers of this blog, but any time a pundit constructs a "clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right" column, that column can be tuned out.
Or Maybe A Hundred
I'm sorry, England, for inflicting you with our stupidity.
He does love his 100 year timelines.
John McCain (left), the US Republican senator who ran for president in 2008 and is known in America as a foreign policy expert, has just been speaking to Sky News about the situation in Libya. He said: "Now we have succeeded militarily, now the major challenge of building democracy will come." It took the US over 100 years and a bloody civil war before it decided "what sort of country we wanted to be", McCain said.
He does love his 100 year timelines.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Um...For Starters...
A HAMP-type program that wasn't actually a government blessed predatory lending program? It's easy to hide behind Congress, but we can also look at the things they had direct power over.
Perhaps A Committee?
I'm sort of kidding, but mildly suggesting that maybe looking for "one unifying figure" is not the best way to be thinking about this issue.Though I suppose the last unifying figure had a pretty good run.
Revealing
It is revealing that Andrew Malcolm is fighting as hard as he can to win the stupidest man alive contest.
Random Reminder
People die in gun battles, from the perspective on the ground it isn't always clear who the good guys and bad guys are, and not everybody really has much choice in which team they're fighting for.
Tweaking Dusk: Howard County Fair
All throughout the '1990s if it was the second week in August I knew exactly where I would be -- at the Howard County Fair.
I was a staffer at Patuxent Publishing, a (then) photo-conscious chain of weekly papers. Issues were commonly over 200 pages. And since they ran the results of every 4H judging in the fair, I knew I would have 28(!) pages of listings to fill with photography.
They gave me most of the week to shoot, print and caption, and ran the photos huge in B&W. I was happy as a pig in mud.
So when choosing photos for the culture section of my Howard County Guide project, I knew I wanted to go back and include something from the fair. Read more »
Today's Worst Person In The World
Shaun Donovan.
In recent weeks, Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and high-level Justice Department officials have been waging an intensifying campaign to try to persuade the attorney general to support the settlement, said the people briefed on the talks. ...In an interview on Friday, Mr. Donovan defended his discussions with the attorney general, saying they were motivated by a desire to speed up help for troubled homeowners. But he said he had not spoken to bank officials or their representatives about trying to persuade Mr. Schneiderman to get on board with the deal.Please just stop. Stop. It's Almost September, 2011, do not dare suggest speedy help for homeowners is any concern.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Let's Play Our Bastard/Not Our Bastard
McCain 2009:
McCain today:
Late evening with Col. Qadhafi at his "ranch" in Libya - interesting meeting with an interesting man.
McCain today:
Looking ahead to a possible rebel victory in the civil war, John McCain said it will be very difficult to build a united democratic government there, due to the tribal rivalries.
"We've seen the difficulties with other countries who made this transition, but we will be rid of a guy who has the blood of Americans on his hands. We will be rid of a guy who has practised the worst kind of brutalities. And now it's going to be up to us and the Europeans."
McCain said he thinks the opposition forces can ultimately succeed in setting up a new government, aided by revenues from oil. He said he believes it is a "matter of hours, if not days" before Gaddafi falls.
The Impotence Of Jibber Jabber
Floating around out there is the basic idea that the presidential bully pulpit isn't very powerful. I can accept that no amount of presidential jibber jabber can force through policy (might be true, might not, but a reasonable argument). So, then, the entire point of presidential jibber jabber is simply the politics. It isn't the package, it's the advertising. Fair enough.
Has the focus on cutting the deficit for the past 20 months or so really been good politics?
Has the focus on cutting the deficit for the past 20 months or so really been good politics?
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation is on reruns for August apparently, and gives us an oldie but goodie from the year 2000, with John McCain, Terry McAuliffe, and Ed Gillespie.This Week has GOP presidential frontrunner Jon Huntsman (only 53 cents on Intrade!) and Axelrod.Meet the Press has Gibbs and Mitch Daniels.Document the atrocities!
Just Have Your Assistant Take Care Of That
My post office is always full. People do lots of things there, but one thing they do is pick up packages. Often they aren't home when the postman tries to deliver.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Something Other Than Hippie Punching In Our Future
So in September new product will be rolled out. It will hopefully be more than hippie punching. However, currently all signs point to the administration pre-negotiating a deal (give us money for jobs and we'll take the blame for other future cuts!) instead of making the case that something needs to be done about jobs, and letting the Republicans provide their counteroffer.
No I don't know why they do things this way.
No I don't know why they do things this way.
Fringe Views
It really doesn't matter all that much whether the economy, according to somewhat arbitrary criteria, has another "recession." I think the true fringe view, where fringe means outside the Village, is that unending 9.0%+ unemployment is horrible and requires an appropriate policy response. The point is we never got out of the last recession, and whether GDP growth is barely positive or barely negative doesn't matter all that much.
Friday, August 19, 2011
This week's Trends: extreme sports, waterspouts, rare snow
Each weekday, we at YouTube Trends take a look at the most interesting videos and cultural phenomena on YouTube as they develop. We want take a moment to highlight some of what we've come across this week:
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Blu-ray Rant."
- We watched New Zealanders enjoyed their "once-in-a-lifetime" snow storm.
- We dug into one of the more unique ways that people use YouTube to learn.
- We posted the first in our series exploring different types of YouTube "one-man-bands."
- We saw some on-the-beach footage from a waterspout in North Carolina.
- We learned that we've been peeling bananas wrong all these years.
- We enjoyed how one hostel employee's low-budget commercial went viral.
- We viewed some very talented dogs.
- And very popular driver Ken Block released an epic new stunt video with DC Shoes that quickly drew millions of views:
Check back every day for the latest about what's trending on YouTube at: www.YouTube.com/Trends
Kevin Allocca, YouTube Trends Manager, recently watched "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Blu-ray Rant."
Super Duper Committee
I don't know how effective this will be, but it's just insane that anyone thinks 'lowering the deficit' is an important policy goal in and of itself. More jobs and/or higher GDP growth with broadly distributed gains are policy goals. Lowering the deficit, in normal times, might be a way of achieving those goals. In the middle of a long deep recession, the best you can say is that it's idiotic.
How Many Times Can We Write This Story
NYT:
Yet, even at this hour, leaders on both sides of the Atlantic seem determined to handcuff fiscal policies — the main tools that can increase jobs, consumer demand and economic growth — with an unquestioning devotion to rigid austerity.Too often lost in all of this is that as the stimulus began to wind down we entered a period of anti-stimulus. The federal government joined state and local governments in being a drag on growth.And the beatings will continue.
Investor FeeFees
The sad truth is that only a stock market crash can spur elites to act. Not that they'll necessarily act in a good way.
ATRIOS IS PROBABLY DEAD
Noted blogger Duncan Black is presumed murdered in the "flash mob violence gripping the city" of Philadelphia.
Allegedly, Mr. Black is mourned by his cats.
Allegedly, Mr. Black is mourned by his cats.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
A Funny Joke
Via Steve M. Here is a funny joke.
Anyway civility harrumph discourse coarsening etc. and so forth. Can I hope in public that McMaster dies in a well-publicized two-wetsuit ball-gargling mishap, or would that be impolite?
Henry McMaster, the state's silver-haired former attorney general, then makes the political tenor of the room explicit when he rises to introduce Jon Huntsman in his thick-as-gravy drawl. "Some of you folks may remembah that I made a pledge that I looked forward to the day Democrats in South Carolina were so rare we'd have to start huntin' em with dawgs," McMaster intones. "It's come true! You cay-ant find any!"Maybe those dogs would have come in handy when the SC governor disappeared on the Appalachin Trail.
Anyway civility harrumph discourse coarsening etc. and so forth. Can I hope in public that McMaster dies in a well-publicized two-wetsuit ball-gargling mishap, or would that be impolite?
Strictly Comedy
It's funny watching the Right get all sniffy over Dan Savage's "Santorum" coinage, mostly because they are claiming that when they say to gays "what you do is totally gross and destroying civilization and also you are going to HELL," that is just Civil Discourse because Jesus.
In Defense Of Crap Beer
I also hail our new craft brew republic, but I do think sometimes beer snobbery overlooks the fact that sometimes a light watery mostly tasteless lager is actually just thing. Hot summer day, when you plan to drink a decent amount for a long time (and drink a lot).
Still it remains a mystery to me how marketing turned "girl beer" (as light beer was marketed back in the day) into Macho Sports Watching Mancave Man beer.
A round of bud light limes on me.
Still it remains a mystery to me how marketing turned "girl beer" (as light beer was marketed back in the day) into Macho Sports Watching Mancave Man beer.
A round of bud light limes on me.
Get your boat shoes, because America’s Cup is live streaming on YouTube
Through its 160 years of competition, the America's Cup has helped develop the sport of Cup racing and even brought attention to taking better care of our oceans.
Now, you'll have an opportunity to experience the sport in a whole new way as this year's America's Cup World Series is being live streamed on YouTube at the America's Cup channel. With on board cameras and microphones in HD quality, you can see and hear the crews live as they attempt difficult maneuvers and battle for nautical supremacy.
If you miss any of the live action, you can also see recorded footage of the day’s action on the America’s Cup YouTube channel.
We invite you to get on board and see sailing in a way you've never seen it before, on the wide open seas of YouTube.
Seth Frank, YouTube Strategic Partner Development Manager, recently watched “Flying on the Water"
Now, you'll have an opportunity to experience the sport in a whole new way as this year's America's Cup World Series is being live streamed on YouTube at the America's Cup channel. With on board cameras and microphones in HD quality, you can see and hear the crews live as they attempt difficult maneuvers and battle for nautical supremacy.
If you miss any of the live action, you can also see recorded footage of the day’s action on the America’s Cup YouTube channel.
We invite you to get on board and see sailing in a way you've never seen it before, on the wide open seas of YouTube.
Seth Frank, YouTube Strategic Partner Development Manager, recently watched “Flying on the Water"
Going Backwards
While we all mock the hopey-changey stuff a bit, I admit we could use a little bit of hopey-changey right now. Yes We Can is better than No We Can't.
I Guess The Zombie Unicorns Ate The Bond Vigilantes
Yum.
WASHINGTON — US Treasury bond yields plunged Thursday, with the 10-year yield hitting a record low as worries about a new recession in the United States and Europe battered stock markets.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 1.974 percent, lower than the previous record during the US "Great Recession," before recovering slightly to 2.007 percent, while the 30-year hit 3.337 percent before rebounding to 3.371.
The Two Step
As we're nearing yet another pivot to jobs, it's worth noting that crazy hippies warned that the jobs/deficit two-step was going to be very difficult. The powers that be thought the green shoots were here, that the jobs were going to take care of themselves, then they'd be deficit heroes as the economy turned around. It's always 1995 in other words.
I'm for anything and everything to help stimulate the economy short run, but potentially tying it to catastrophic long term spending cuts isn't really going to please people.
I'm for anything and everything to help stimulate the economy short run, but potentially tying it to catastrophic long term spending cuts isn't really going to please people.
YouTube.com/music is your ever-changing guide to music
YouTube has videos across the entire spectrum of music, from current pop hits to classic tracks to obscure but wonderful sounds. But how do you find that next piece of musical gold? To help with this task we’re re-launching our YouTube Music page with a host of new features to help guide you on your audio-visual quest, and several guest curators to help out as well.
On YouTube.com/music you can now find:
Finally, you may have noticed the electric guitar adorning the YouTube logo today. It’s there today to celebrate the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Guide to Rock, who have the first hand-picked playlist on the new music page. Over the next five days some of your favorite music stars will be sharing a personal guide to their genre, including David Guetta’s Guide to Electronica on Friday, Lady Gaga’s Guide to Pop on Saturday and Eminem & Royce Da 5’9”’s Guide to Hiphop on Monday. Look out for a new music-based YouTube logo each day, and clicking on it will bring you straight to the music page.
Tim Partridge, Music Marketing Manager recently watched “Check out the new youtube.com/music.”
On YouTube.com/music you can now find:
- recommended videos and artists based on the music videos you’re watching
- local concert listings in your area paired with artist videos
- the YouTube Top 100 - your invaluable source to the most popular music based on what the community is viewing
Finally, you may have noticed the electric guitar adorning the YouTube logo today. It’s there today to celebrate the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Guide to Rock, who have the first hand-picked playlist on the new music page. Over the next five days some of your favorite music stars will be sharing a personal guide to their genre, including David Guetta’s Guide to Electronica on Friday, Lady Gaga’s Guide to Pop on Saturday and Eminem & Royce Da 5’9”’s Guide to Hiphop on Monday. Look out for a new music-based YouTube logo each day, and clicking on it will bring you straight to the music page.
Tim Partridge, Music Marketing Manager recently watched “Check out the new youtube.com/music.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)