behold: your tumblr of the day

I'm too old for Tumblr (don't even get me started on Instagram and by the way, GET OFF MY LAWN).

But every so often there is a Tumblr so amazing that even I get it.

People, I give you, "F**k your Noguchi Coffee Table".

You are all welcome.

Jogaphy game

All of the following photos are from the same US state. Do you know which one? Tell me in the comments.

Hat tip to Michael Busch

Chapeau Showdown

Ok people, it's a good old fashioned hat contest.

First up, me:

(clic the pic for an even more colorful image)

Second is my good friend and co-author Aaron S :

(clic the pic for an even more mixed communist metaphor)

Who is the winner people? Plus, do you have a great shot of Economists Wearing Hats? Show me!

Tomato / Tomahto

It's being reported that an old lady "ruined" an Italian fresco by trying to restore it.

I can only assume that by "ruined" they mean "made awesome".

Here's the before and after:

From a tired old Jesus to a towel-armed manimal, just like that.

A star is born!

Markets in everything: South African price discrimination edition

And if you're interested in what a Kulula airlines plane looks like:

 (clic the pics for more informative images). Hat tip to Jeff Ely.

One day too soon

If I'da waited another day before posting my pond pics, you would have gotten to see our water lily in bloom too.

Feast your eyes (and clic the pic for a more bucolic image):

What do Anthony Davis and I have in common?

A unibrow?

No, not yet at least.

A desire to get as far away from Coach Cal as possible?

Hmmm, maybe

That we serve as unpaid labor for a cartel that makes many millions every year?

Ding ding ding! We have a winner.

Anthony of course was a prisoner of the NBA rule that players cannot enter the League until a year after their high school class graduates. He spent the last year making millions for the University of Kentucky, ESPN, and the NCAA in return for room & board.

I of course am an idiot! As the Economist points out:

In 2011 Elsevier, the biggest academic-journal publisher, made a profit of £768m ($1.2 billion) on revenues of £2.1 billion. Such margins (37%, up from 36% in 2010) are possible because the journals’ content is largely provided free by researchers, and the academics who peer-review their papers are usually unpaid volunteers.

I have published in several Elsevier journals (Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Journal of International Money & Finance, European Journal of Political Economy) and referee frequently for them and many other Elsevier outlets.

In my defense, I do macro and development. the JME and the JDE are the top outlets for my work.

At least Elsevier could hold some kind of tournament and let the winning researchers wear giant t-shirts and cut down the nets!

Sentences are for sissies

As part of his plan to conquer the universe, LeBron has been writing a "very short reviews" sidebar for the NY Times Sunday magazine, where he reviews a book in one sentence.

But a sentence is just so prolix!

I propose reviewing a book with a song title!

Some examples:

The Glass Castle: Ain't that America, 

Coming Apart: The Bi*ch is Back, 

Poor Economics: Love the One You're With

The Steve Jobs Bio: Yonder Stands the Sinner

The Great Stagnation: Eve of Destruction

White Man's Burden: Whippin' Post

The Rent is too Damn High: Wishing Well

Speaking of "cute boots"

Picked up these bad boys in Santa Fe for Mrs. Angus' christmas present. Not on Black Friday though.

(clic the pic for an even more glorious image)

NB: I followed the full set of Mark Perry boot rules; no half boots, no zipper boots.

Black Friday

LeBron on Black Friday. He doesn't say it, so I will: Robert Frank is a clown.

The LMM just came home with three pairs of "cute boots." I like it very much when the LMM feels attractive (which she always is, objectively), and happy (which she is sometimes not). I love Black Friday.

Cholera is a small price to pay for Liberty!

Apparently, there's three kinds of people in this world.

A cultural bouillabaisse

1. The culture that is France; the enablement of DSK. (Hat tip to LeBron)

2. The culture that is Australia; "boozed-up idiots running wild all over the country"

3. The culture that is Mexico; the toes knows!

Happy Holidays

and best wishes for 2011 from KPC

Christmas at Chez Angus

As the big day approaches, I thought I'd share a video showing how we celebrate Christmas around here:

yeah, it's pretty much like that.

Top 10 signs Obama is a lefty

In an earlier post, I became aware that our president, at least on foreign policy and many social issues actually is acting in quite a conservative manner. Unfortunately, he is also totally wrong on these issues just as the previous "conservative" administration was.

So I started to wonder exactly why I had the perception that Obama was "pretty far left".

Hence this Top 10 signs Obama is a lefty list:

10. His incessant pandering to unions

9. His child-like love for high speed rail

8. His pushing for subsidies for solar, wind, & ethanol (i.e. uneconomic boondoggles).

7. His refusal to understand that electric cars actually burn coal in many parts of the country!

6. His firm belief that a small group of experts can competently run the economy

5. The amazing growth in the Federal budget under his watch

4. His habit of flip-flopping like a boated marlin

3. His inability to consider issues of moral hazard or unintended consequences in policymaking

2. His belief that anyone who disagrees with him is stupid or evil or both

1. His overall superior, moralistic, and condescending attitude

me & 2T

Now just 2T:

The wrong Weigel

Wake me up when the interweb blogging heads start discussing THIS Weigel: