No, really finished now!
I am looking forward to reading non-financial, non-bailout related books soon (any suggestions?).
And TV, watching TV sounds good too.
Posting to resume on its regular schedule at 9am
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof. —John Kenneth Galbraith
Knowing that the vote over the weekend in Greece was really a referendum on Euro membership, a majority of the Greek Parliament said yes to staying. European Finance Ministers meet again on Wednesday to solidify the 2nd bailout package for Greece at the same time hopefully a deal is consummated between Greece and its creditors this week. The Greek 14.5b euro bond that matures on March 20th is up by 2 pts. The optimism that all will be completed and contained AGAIN to Greece has yields lower in Portugal, Spain and Italy. The iTraxx Financial Index is also narrower by...
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December 18th, 2008 at 7:53 am
“The Great Gatsby.” lol
December 18th, 2008 at 8:01 am
The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
http://www.constitution.org/usdeclar.htm
Anti-Federalist Papers
During the period from the drafting and proposal of the federal Constitution in September, 1787, to its ratification in 1789 there was an intense debate on ratification. The principal arguments in favor of it were stated in the series written by Madison, Hamilton, and Jay called the Federalist Papers, although they were not as widely read as numerous independent local speeches and articles. The arguments against ratification appeared in various forms, by various authors, most of whom used a pseudonym. Collectively, these writings have become known as the Anti-Federalist Papers. We here present some of the best and most widely read of these. They contain warnings of dangers from tyranny that weaknesses in the proposed Constitution did not adequately provide against, and while some of those weaknesses were corrected by adoption of the Bill of Rights, others remained, and some of these dangers are nowcoming to pass…
http://www.constitution.org/afp/afp.htm
When in Doubt about how to move Forward, Begin at the beginning..
December 18th, 2008 at 8:13 am
or, with, potentially, more currency in NYC:
“Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government purposes are beneficent…The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning, but without understanding.” — Justice Louis Brandeis, 1928
December 18th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Sundog – Jim Harrison
92 in the Shade – Tom McGuane
December 18th, 2008 at 8:18 am
GM announces they are not going forward with the engine plant for the Volt…
FINISHED!
December 18th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Ready to buy more oil at USO = $30.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Grapes of Wrath after you finish JustinTheSkeptic’s recommendation of Great Gatsby! Heck, it’ll almost be like Cliff notes for the economy for the next 5 years. Might save you some troubles! lol
December 18th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Book suggestion:
Younger Next Year, by Chris Crowley and Dr. Harry Lodge
Must read prescription for the “last third” or those (like me) heading towards it. Need to be in shape to survive the stress of the coming years.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Its actually vaguely financial and more than a little relevant.
“Going Postal” and “Making Money”, by Terry Pratchett.
But its good for a laugh.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:34 am
The Road – Cormac McCarthy
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman – Haruki Murakami
December 18th, 2008 at 8:37 am
only 554k people claiming initial unemployment this time around. woohoo.
4k less than expected = markets rip through the roof.
sweet
(cough)
December 18th, 2008 at 8:44 am
TV?
“Battle of the Bods” on Fox Reality Channel. A heavy dose of non-financial, non-intellectual programming.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:47 am
I would suggest reruns of House on USA network….if this guy was a real doctor he’d last about 2 minutes..but in terms of writing…the writers have the hero/antihero chimera down pat…
December 18th, 2008 at 8:49 am
CPJ13:
Yes, but last week’s numbers, as are every week’s numbers, were revised up…
December 18th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Extras – a bbc show with Ricky Gervais (of The Office). Funny, smart, dumb, andwell cynical. It is tv, but hardly in that category either.
~~~
BR: Seen every one!
December 18th, 2008 at 8:51 am
try the lee child jack reacher book(s). a great character and interesting stories. “the enemy” is a good one. there’s a bunch (10?) of them. good beach type stuff. look forward to your book. does it say how things are going to turn out? depression? massive inflation? everything ok? ;-}
December 18th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Barry, I second Bruce’s call on House – good show. Or, if you really want to waste a week of your life, ask someone for Lost season 1 box set for Christmas. Or don’t, we’ll all miss your posts…
And you’re right about the revisions, just wondering what today’s market action will be. Equities have been digesting horrific news like it was bland tapioca, so I’m curious about what will happen when the news is a sliver better than “expected”.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:54 am
The Road to Serfdom-Hayek
December 18th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Books? here’s one w/ a binding..
A Bubble That Broke the World (Paperback)
by Garet Garrett (Author)
http://www.amazon.com/Bubble-That-Broke-World/dp/0870341219
others, of his, don’t miss, either..
December 18th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Barry,
This is a serious recommendation, and I am sure you’d enjoy it…Stephen Gould was a professor of paleontology at Harvard, and wrote a series of books for those interested, but not experts, in the field of paleontology. I would recommend The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History….about the very early history of life as it evolved, and the Rosetta Stone that was discoved in western Canada, the Burgess Shale. What early life was, up to that point, and how radically different it became is fascinating. I must confess, I have read all his books, and you might get hooked on this too. Amazon link included…
http://books.google.com/books?id=SjpSkzjIzfsC&dq=shale+paleontology+Burgess+Gould&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPP1,M1
~~~
BR: I have a bunch of Gould books — he’s great
December 18th, 2008 at 9:25 am
“Heat” – Bill Buford
“The Emperors of Chocolate” – Joël Glenn Brenner
“Near 1000 Tables” – Felipe Fernandez
Or re-read “Fooled By Randomness” & “The Black Swan” and understand them.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Childhood’s End — Arthur C. Clarke.
~~~
BR: Read it years ago (anyone who loves Phillip K. Dick got their thru the usual progression: Asimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Niven, etc . . .)
December 18th, 2008 at 9:26 am
A great non-bailout book to read is ‘Limits of Power” by A. Bacevich
It’s a good look in the mirror for Americans.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:43 am
You could always imagine you are your own Fed, download & play the Monetary Policy game….
http://www.banque-nationale-suisse.ch/en/ifor/research/id/research_mopos
Kinda fun, but not too much so that you would fall into the temptation of remaining in your pajamas, playing the game all day, and neglecting to post.
Books…well, something by Fromkin is always an inspirational read. I’m currently inhaling;
“Europe’s Last Summer: Who started the Great War in 1914″ it’s a genuinely enjoyable read. Accurate, but without getting to bogged down in rates/weights/dates. Detail, but not too much that your eyes glaze over.
http://www.amazon.com/Europes-Last-Summer-Started-Great/dp/0375411569/ref=ed_oe_h
December 18th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Buy a Charlatans UK album (“Between 10th and 11th” if you’ve never heard of them), then buy an Alan Furst novel, starting with his earlier work. Then wait for the next season of Flight of the Conchords to begin on HBO.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Barry, I second anything by Stephen Jay Gould, recommended by Bruce n Tennessee. Through the vehicle of palentology, Gould discovered and elucidated more truths about we silly humans (as beings subject to the same compulsions and pressures of the animals he studied) than legions of philosophers have through the ages.
On the old blog I noticed you recommended “Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes”, so you must already know something of Gould’s brilliance. Gould is great for his coldly rational observations of what was actually happening–not what he thought should happen–and thereby illuminated the biases of many others in his field. My two favorite stories from “Hen’s Teeth” are 1) the one about the male fish that attaches to and becomes a part of the female fish to provide fertilization whenever she desires, and 2) the birds with nests demarcated by guano rings where they would not recognize their own offspring if they ever wandered out of the ring. Fascinating stuff, and fulsome with insights into our own species.
When studying human behavior through the prism of markets and economies, one should never forget the biological imperatives that compel us all. Gould is great for staying grounded in that regard.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:55 am
The Modern Con Man: How to Get Something for Nothing (Hardcover)
by Todd Robbins (Author)
The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man (Paperback)
by David Maurer (Author), Luc Sante (Introduction)
These are on my reading list of books to order soon from Amazon.
December 18th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Here are my two book recs:
Ugly Americans by Ben Mezrich
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
December 18th, 2008 at 9:59 am
A little known classic – poignant read given the recent times:
Jack London’s (March of the) Iron Heel
December 18th, 2008 at 10:06 am
What you need is a new hobby! Now go forth and kill something! http://www.amazon.com/Learn-Spearfishing/dp/B001E3LOES/ref=pd_bbs_sr_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229612638&sr=8-7
December 18th, 2008 at 10:09 am
i give a strong second to Shantaram
December 18th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Good for head-clearing?
Just about any John McPhee, e.g.,
Basin and Range
Coming Into The Country
The Pine Barrens
A Sense of Where You Are
Complete Bibliography @ http://www.johnmcphee.com/bookshelf.htm
Stieg Larsson “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Swedish murder mystery and corporate hanky-panky
December 18th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Curmudgeon:
Now why am I not surprised that a lawyer would be attracted to guano rings????
December 18th, 2008 at 10:36 am
May I suggest to all that the best piece of televised cotton candy is a show called “Chuck” on NBC.
Silly, huge plot holes, and who cares…the acting and the writing are terrific and the cast is really appealing. A wonderful way to downshift on Monday nights.
December 18th, 2008 at 10:38 am
If the book should be a rip-roaring success — and how could it not be? — you will find yourself being pressured for a sequel (successful books always come in threes).
So here are my suggestions for titles — the content will, as always, be delivered daily in the news feeds –
Book 2 – Back to the Bailout
Book 3 – The Bailout Strikes Back
Yeah, I’m mixing my movie metaphors, sosumi.
Best that you begin sketching out the structure of the sequels now, while you have all this free time. :-)
December 18th, 2008 at 10:41 am
or, BR, with this:
http://www.amazon.com/Federal-Reserve-System-Growth-Reflections-Recollections/dp/0405072422
Paul Warburg’s 1750-page magnum opus: The Federal Reserve System, Its Origin and Growth.
You could break it down, by Chapter, serialize, your posting of, it, and actually teach people about the Con they have confidence in..
following along the old adage: “The best way to Learn, is to Teach, the best way to Teach, is to Learn..”
December 18th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Bruce @ 8:49 — “the writers have the hero/antihero chimera down pat”
You know that they have consciously patterned the character on A.C. Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, right?
There is an entire sub-cult in the blogosphere that tracks the similarities, from his addictions (Vicodin vs Cocaine) to his name (House = “home” = “Holmes”) to the minutia of the character’s life (both live in apartment 221b).
Holmes as House is great — just like our markets, you wonder what inconceivable thing he will do next.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:08 am
I find that reading business / finance books clouds the brain…
To help find meaning in your life (hint: money is not it) and for some powerful perspective that will make this “financial crisis” appear quite small in the grand scheme of things, I suggest “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl.
To find and feed your inner-doubting self; to discover the true beginning of modern philosophical and scientific thought; and to learn from one of the greatest thinkers in history, I suggest “Meditations on First Philosophy” by Rene Descartes.
“What is to give light must endure burning.” ~ Viktor Frankl
“Thus even in the very example my critics produce, it is the intellect alone which corrects the error of the senses; and it is not possible to produce any case which error results from our trusting the operation of the mind more than the senses.” ~ Rene Descartes
December 18th, 2008 at 11:09 am
Constant:
yes, I realized that…and they had to have a vehicle that would allow his deductive powers to be on display other than the tired private investigator role. But the medicine part….last night my wife and I watched him treat a couple of boys with organophosphate poisoning…and also a young man with both anthrax and systemic autoimmune response to the anthrax bacteria after they were treated…
You would have more luck finding hen’s teeth than seeing some of the things he treats…
December 18th, 2008 at 11:28 am
Right on Batmando, right on.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:29 am
@Bruce,
see:The American Association of Poison Control Centers’ National Incidence Report indicates that pesticide injuries number 102,754 persons annually. Nationally, 4.2% of poisonings are due to insecticides. In 2007, Sudakin et al reported an overall decline in poison center–recorded exposures from 1995 to 2004 because of the United States Environmental Protection Agency phase out of common household and agricultural OP agents (ie, diazinon, chlorpyrifos).1
International
Pesticide poisonings are among the most common modes of poisoning fatalities. In countries such as India, OPs are easily accessible and, therefore, a source of both intentional and unintentional poisonings.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/167726-overview
we should be so lucky, if it were like ‘hen’s teeth’…as well, we eat this G*rbage everyday..
December 18th, 2008 at 11:32 am
If you want something that will truly blow your mind, read The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Maybe you have read it, but at the end of a scandalous period in U.S. history, I found “Machiavelli’s Shadow – The Rise and Fall of Karl Rove”, by Paul Alexander, to be a very informative. His do-anything-to-win approach provides a lot of basis for the devisive state of the U.S. today.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:51 am
A Confederacy of Dunces is a novel written by John Kennedy Toole
December 18th, 2008 at 11:51 am
I think it’s about time to get busy on the sequel.
A lot happening out there.
~~~
BR: No sequels!
December 18th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Right now I’m reading _When You Are Engulfed In Flames_, by David Sedaris, but some other recently read/listened to recommendations:
_The Atrocity Archives_, by Charles Stross
_Farthing_, by Jo Walton
_As She Slid Across The Table_, by Jonathan Lethem
_I Am America And So Can You_, by Stephen T. Colbert, DFA
_Moscow Rules_, by Daniel Silva (who does for GWOT what LeCarre did for the Cold War)
The entire _Old Man’s War_ series by John Scalzi
_John Adams_, by David McCullough
_Moment of Truth in Iraq_, by Michael Yon
_World War Z_, by Max Brooks
They’re out of print, but I’d also recommend:
The Killing Star, and The Reckoning if you can find them..
December 18th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman is a great mental palate cleanser.
December 18th, 2008 at 11:58 am
err, make that “As She Climbed Across The Table”.. need more coffee apparently :/
December 18th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Oh that’s right.. Listened to Gaiman’s _Coraline_ on the ride out west, _Anansi Boys_ is heartily seconded!
December 18th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Some science & biography suggestions:
The Black Hole War – Leonard Susskind
13 Things That Don’t Make Sense – Michael Brooks
Your Inner Fish – Neil Shubin
The Secret Life of Houdini – Kalush and Sloman
Fiction:
Out Stealing Horses – Per Petterson
The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo – Stieg Larsson
December 18th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
If you like football, gangsters and sci-fi, listen to Scott Sigler’s podiobook “The Rookie.” You might describe it as “Any Given Sunday” meets “Star Wars” meets “Goodfellas.”
December 18th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Oh yeah, almost forgot. For burning in the fire place to get that cosy X-mas feel:
The Age of Turbulence – Alan Greenspan
Kids Are Americans Too – Bill O’reilly
December 18th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
How about some lovely music to take your mind off matters? Anything by Alison Krauss and Union Station will do, or even one of Alison’s solo albums. A magnificently pure and true voice, backed by expert musicians and singing wonderful bluegrass-inflected tunes. Forget all about the Fed and Bernanke for a bit, and focus on some of the good things this country and this life have to offer.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
These are all on my list:
The Fall of Berlin 1945
Antony Beevor
Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America 1492-1830
John H. Elliot
The Forever War
Dexter Filkins
Truman
David McCullough
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
Goodwin Doris Kearns
December 18th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Barry, you need something completely different to really relax. Give almost any of Bernard Cornwell’s novels a try. I recommend his Sharpe series, exciting tales from British India and the Napoleonic wars.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Bruce n Tennessee @ 10:35, hehehe…of course lawyers like guano rings. We build ‘em around the truth. If it ever gets out, it dies like those baby birds, as we refuse ever after to acknowledge its existence.
See, I told you Gould was really teaching us about humans (even the sub-species that are lawyers) when he wrote about animals.
December 18th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Change your life by reading about others:
A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry
December 18th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Blood Meridian – Cormac McCarthy
Physics for Future Presidents – Richard Muller
December 18th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
I think I will try some of the recommendations here. Look interesting.
My contribution : Read Catch 22.
For me it is one of the best there is.
~~~
BR: Read it (twice) years ago. (I managed to slip in a Catch 22 reference in bailout nation)
“That’s some Catch, that Catch 22 . . . “
December 18th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I assume you’ve watched The Wire, Barry. Y’know, the greatest television show ever produced, probably the greatest television show that ever will be produced (ex. season five).
Buy yourself a Wii. Guitar Hero and Rock Band will take your mind off things. Wii Sports tennis sure took up my time for a few weeks after I got it.
~~~
BR: I like the Wii, but I am not a guitar hero fan. (If you are going to spend that much time with a guitar-like object in your hand, why not make it a guitar?).
December 18th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I stongly suggest you read Matt Miller’s new book The Tyranny of Dead Ideas: Letting Go Of The Old Ways Of Thinking To Unleash A New Prosperity coming January 6, 2009
December 18th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Haven’t read these yet, but they are on my To Read list:
A Nation of Sheep, Andrew Napolitano
Fooling some of the People All of the Time, David Einhorn
Now that I see these listed, I detect a theme to my to do list…. hmmm.
December 18th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Bob Dylan’s last few albums were really good.
December 18th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
This is a time to kick back and escape into a fantasy world.
I’ve just finished reading Ursula K. Le Guin’s 6 book Earthsea series. Wonderful writing about a world of dragons, sorcery and magic from an author who has won many Hugo & Nebula awards for science fiction writing.
Earthsea series detail
December 18th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Have some fun. A Confederacy of Dunces. Again if necessary. There’s a commentary in there on just about anything you care to find. http://www.amazon.com/Confederacy-Dunces-Penguin-Modern-Classics/dp/0141182865/
Measuring America is an interesting look at how real-estate, at a macro level, came to be divided and used as a de-facto currency for the early US, which sheds some light on why it is unusually important here compared to every other place in the world and how we’ve ended up where we have in recent years. http://www.amazon.com/Measuring-America-Wilderness-Fulfilled-ofDemocracy/dp/0452284597/
-btc
December 18th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
BR: I like the Wii, but I am not a guitar hero fan. (If you are going to spend that much time with a guitar-like object in your hand, why not make it a guitar?).
Logic like this is the reason you’re my hero!
December 18th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
The Social Contract, by Robert Ardrey (with appropriate apologies to Jean Jacques Rousseau).
Congratulations on finishing the book. I hope it sells well.
Best regards,
RF
December 18th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
Congrats on finishing the book, Barry. If you are a fan of short stories, there’s a great F. Scott Fitzgerald one about the post-crash in 1929, called “Babylon Revisited.”
Quote:
“I heard that you lost a lot in the crash.”
“I did,” and he added grimly, “but I lost everything I wanted in the boom.”
Link to online version here: http://gutenberg.net.au/fsf/BABYLON-REVISITED.html
December 19th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
BR: I like the Wii, but I am not a guitar hero fan. (If you are going to spend that much time with a guitar-like object in your hand, why not make it a guitar?).
Funny, always wanted to learn real guitar… Thinking about picking this up to learn, it gets decent reviews…
December 20th, 2008 at 3:37 am
Barry –
I echo the Lee Child / Jack Reacher books as well as my all time favorite, Confederacy of Dunces, but why not take on something guaranteed to not only restore your faith in the fact that there are indeed some who share your views but will also make you (probably) feel as though your efforts in producing the manuscript have been matched, and then some.
“Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand
I just re-read it for the third time and every time I finish it I find that what has happened to me, and bu extension to the world, since the last reading effects what I get from book.
Who is John Gault?