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My latest nonfiction was April 1865: The Month That Saved America
The book focuses on the title month, April 1865, tracing the remarkable events that ultimately – but not inevitably – concluded the Civil War. From Lee’s surrender to Lincoln’s assassination, from Johnston’s insubordination to Booth’s capture; Winik faithfully reconstructs the tension and uncertainty that surrounded those upon whom the fate of the nation rested.
Those of you still deciding who to root for in the Cup, consider someone other than Argentina. No one really wants to see this.
Diego Maradona has promised to run naked through the center of Buenos Aires if Argentina wins the World Cup.
The Argentina coach made the promise during a radio show. The unpredictable Maradona was speaking a day after Argentina defeated Canada 5-0 Monday in its final warm-up match before the World Cup.
Another book down, and this one was for fun and fluff. The Hunger Games
Despite the gravity of the book, it fit the bill for a quick easy read. Being juvenile fiction helped, too. I’ve got the second book, Catching Fire
Somehow I managed not to read Night
I Just finished Sonic Boom
The basic premise: The world is getting better… it just won’t feel like it. read more »
Planet Money Question of the Day: Would you invest your retirement savings in a fund managed by Goldman Sachs?
The short-answer: Not a chance.
A few more extended thoughts. read more »
Interesting quote to ponder here.
“There’s a reason elite schools speak of training leaders, not thinkers—holders of power, not its critics.”
Here’s a graph of this afternoon’s DJIA activity (Captured from Google Finance).
DJIA Graph - Afternoon, 6 May 2010
See that big dip, right there about 2:45? Know what caused it? Do you have any idea what suddenly discovered bit of information caused those companies to become 5% less valuable… for nearly 10 whole minutes!
Yeah, me neither. And I bet you won’t find anyone else who can give a reasonable answer. Should I decide to take up gambling, I think I’ll stick to dogs or ponies; both are cuter than stock certificates.
[UPDATE]
Leading theories at the moment include anxiety over Greece, a computer glitch, and someone entering a P&G trade with his or her toes. A ten-minute panic attack? A sudden and previously unrevealed glitch in an otherwise normal day? Nah… Door #3 seems most likely to me.
Regardless, a 1000 point drop for no substantive reason ought to scare the hell out of a lot of us. Baby-boomer Robert Reich seems wisely worried:
Regardless of why it happened, it’s further evidence that the nation’s and the world’s capital markets have become a vast out-of-control casino in which fortunes can be made or lost in an instant — which would be fine except for the fact that most of us have put our life savings there. Pension funds, mutual funds, school endowments — the value of all of this depends on a mechanism that can lose a trillion dollars in minutes without anyone having a clear idea why. So much of the market now depends on computer programs and mathematical models that no one fully understands, so much trading is in the hands of a few people whose fat thumbs or momentary carelessness might sink the economy, so much of global wealth now depends on who can move their money quickest at the slightest provocation — that we are toying with financial disaster every day. The luck or foolishness of a few traders, and inside knowledge and information that some possess and others don’t, combined with ultra high-speed computers, put us all at the whim of a system whose risk is way out of proportion to any public benefits. (Robert Reich – The (Almost) Crash of Wall Street)
Self-regulating markets… I don’t think so. An empty coffee can is looking better and better to me.
More info: Planet Money – Maybe It Wasn’t Just Greece
Great words from Parker Palmer.
Here is the ultimate irony of the divided life: live behind a wall long enough, and the true self you tried to hide from the world disappears from your own view!
Another original composition from a friend of mine. So happy to see and hear him writing his own music.
Life begins in the second mile
Will we dare to step across the line
If it is where He leads us
via Songs from the Office – Episode #12 – Life Begins « Ben Chilcote.
