fieldus

Nextbook: Soldier of Misfortune
It is the tendency of financial institutions, during stable periods, to discount the inherent uncertainty of future profits. This eventually—indeed, inevitably—leads to big trouble. As the sense of risk and uncertainty diminishes, financial actors lend and borrow more in order to maximize the future profits that seem assured.
In other words, a sense [...]

David Blaine: death-dealer - Telegraph

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Andy Gill: ‘Why I hate Coldplay’ - Features, Music - The Independent
In the event, the album is almost exactly as I expected, if a tad shorter on Big Anthems than the previous three. The rhythms are a bit busier, and a bit more ethnic, and Chris Martin’s little falsetto catch – one of modern music’s [...]

iD: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century by Susan Greenfield review | Non-fiction book reviews - Times Online
Lady Greenfield posits three types of identity. Those who are “Someone” locate themselves in relation to others, changing and responding as they gain experience. Those who are “Anyone” are characterised by action, not reflection, and have [...]

iD: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century by Susan Greenfield review | Non-fiction book reviews - Times Online
The best exemplars are the Japanese hikikomori - young men, predominantly, who have withdrawn from society and spend their time locked away in their rooms in symbiosis with a screen. There are said to be a [...]

10 Things I Learned from Mental Detox Week | iain tait | crackunit.com

The thing that’ll work for me is to set periods of time where it’s just not allowed.
Amen.

Smile and kiss your right to privacy goodbye (according to David Byrne)
Technorati Tags: byrne, copyright, photography

Johann Hari: It’s the policies that count and that means Londoners should vote for Ken Livingstone - Johann Hari, Commentators - The Independent
Ken Livingstone with his adenoidal, amphibian populism is the most successful left-wing politician in Europe today. Born into the white working class in the rubble of post-war London, he [...]

Some commnetary from Samuel Brittan in the FT on Gordon’s desire to boost this tired Labour government’s rhetoric.He cites Pericles funeral oration as an exception to the rule - speechmaking that does make a difference.
FT.com / Columnists / Samuel Brittan - Please spare us this ‘vision thing’
It is time to come back to [...]

Interesting NY Times article via Scott Heiferman’s Notes. Hillary’s core constituency sounds remarkably like Hilter’s.
Can this be true?