By Sydney H. Schanberg
John McCain, who has risen to political prominence on his image as a Vietnam POW war hero, has, inexplicably, worked very hard to hide from the public stunning information about American prisoners in Vietnam who, unlike him, didn't return home. Throughout his Senate career, McCain has quietly sponsored and pushed into federal law a set of prohibitions that keep the most revealing information about these men buried as classified documents. Thus the war hero who people would logically imagine as a determined crusader for the interests of POWs and their families became instead the strange champion of hiding the evidence and closing the books.
John McCain, who has risen to political prominence on his image as a Vietnam POW war hero, has, inexplicably, worked very hard to hide from the public stunning information about American prisoners in Vietnam who, unlike him, didn't return home. Throughout his Senate career, McCain has quietly sponsored and pushed into federal law a set of prohibitions that keep the most revealing information about these men buried as classified documents. Thus the war hero who people would logically imagine as a determined crusader for the interests of POWs and their families became instead the strange champion of hiding the evidence and closing the books.
word to the wise.... do not get into an argument with jim over the relative merits of synthetic versus natural decking materials if you are itching for a quick and easy exit from a mutually besotted encounter. i wont mention which jim as i suspect either or perhaps all might take the installation of composites as a personal affront.
bushy-eyed
was just watching westworld thinking it would be ripe for a remake.
We'll see what today brings, but I really think that the game is over for the financial markets. Listen for this phrase: mark to market. This is the big fear, and I think why the people running the financial markets keep bailing out (or taking over) these big institutions - because actually unwinding their positions on the open market will expose the real value of these financial instruments, and this will force everyone else to mark to market on their own similar assets. In other words, a lot of the supposed value in these complex financial instruments (like credit default swaps) is overstated by their holders and even though everyone sort of knew this all along no one has wanted to admit it since everyone was making so much money. But we might be at the end in a rather cataclysmic sense. Sure, the fed can just print as much money as they need to keep propping it up, but that gets us hyperinflation which will just be the end from a different direction.
My grand economic plan of having no money is really starting to look good!
My grand economic plan of having no money is really starting to look good!
DAVID FOSTER WALLACE CONSIDER THE LOBSTER
quick ~ 50MM for damien, thats a nice weekend...
Damien Hirst's Two-Day Sale Brings in $199 Million
09.17.08
Damien Hirst concluded his sale “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever,” a two-day auction of his latest work at Sotheby’s in London, on Tuesday by bringing in $73.1 million (including buyer’s premium), reports Kelly Crow for the Wall Street Journal. Overall, the novelty of the auction and the artist’s populist appeal helped generate total sales of $199 million. Of the 167 pieces offered during a daylong sale of lower-priced paintings and sculptures, the majority sold near the top of their estimates and only three failed to find buyers. Bidding seemed strongest for the artist’s works featuring butterflies, perhaps because the artist has pledged not to make any more of these works, along with his kaleidoscope-like “spin” paintings. At one point toward the end of the sale, auctioneer Harry Dalmeny flushed out a few more bidders for a pair of spin paintings by reminding the crowd, “They’re running out, ladies and gentlemen.” Hirst says he's not planning any other sales, at least for now. New York dealer Mary Boone says other artists will likely begin organizing single-owner auctions whenever they believe they have reached their peak price levels in galleries or want to try expanding their global audience. But she says artists may also need Hirst’s charisma in order to pull it off: “The circus-like atmosphere of this sale certainly helped him, but Damien has always thrived on being over the top.”
Damien Hirst's Two-Day Sale Brings in $199 Million
09.17.08
Damien Hirst concluded his sale “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever,” a two-day auction of his latest work at Sotheby’s in London, on Tuesday by bringing in $73.1 million (including buyer’s premium), reports Kelly Crow for the Wall Street Journal. Overall, the novelty of the auction and the artist’s populist appeal helped generate total sales of $199 million. Of the 167 pieces offered during a daylong sale of lower-priced paintings and sculptures, the majority sold near the top of their estimates and only three failed to find buyers. Bidding seemed strongest for the artist’s works featuring butterflies, perhaps because the artist has pledged not to make any more of these works, along with his kaleidoscope-like “spin” paintings. At one point toward the end of the sale, auctioneer Harry Dalmeny flushed out a few more bidders for a pair of spin paintings by reminding the crowd, “They’re running out, ladies and gentlemen.” Hirst says he's not planning any other sales, at least for now. New York dealer Mary Boone says other artists will likely begin organizing single-owner auctions whenever they believe they have reached their peak price levels in galleries or want to try expanding their global audience. But she says artists may also need Hirst’s charisma in order to pull it off: “The circus-like atmosphere of this sale certainly helped him, but Damien has always thrived on being over the top.”
shazam. interesting iphone ap. will figure out the name of the song your listening to on the fm radio say and visa vi a sample check it tells you the name and then kicks you to the itune store to buy it. its a free download ap and you dont have to buy the mp3 at the apple store.
a house guest has it. so adman just downloaded it free. it knew a bootsy song but the next one it didnt know from radio princetons wprb. you can play stump the chump!
a house guest has it. so adman just downloaded it free. it knew a bootsy song but the next one it didnt know from radio princetons wprb. you can play stump the chump!
EV wine geek
Landmark restaurant Brennan's goes up in flames in Houston.
via John Cole
aimed at Houston, passing through tomorrow afternoon.
I need a net connection keep-alive. I've got a new evdo USB gizmo on a Mac. The evdo service times out if I'm not using it. The evdo access manager SW then proceeds to crash and burn. Requiring a force quit, yada yada. Anyone have any ideas for a web app that will keep a trickle of data going? I have been using a certain music web site to keep things going. I suppose I could also use my Sirius account.
(It timed out and crashed while typing the above. Arrg.)
(It timed out and crashed while typing the above. Arrg.)
"i ate 23,000 big mac burgers"
bacon bits
pool to nowhere
