Recently updated blogs

Contrary to expectations, nonfarm payroll employment surprises +256K vs. +164K Bloomberg consensus. The standard deviation of changes is 85K, with mean +186 (over 2024), which means the surprise is about one standard deviation. Several observers have questioned the accuracy of the CES measure of nonfarm payroll employment. On the basis of the preliminary benchmark, Heritage’s EJ Antoni argued the recession started in July. However, it’s apparent to me that there …

1. A report on “killing with applause.” 2. Tacit knowledge videos. 3. Turkish chef recreates 8,600 year old Neolithic bread. 4. Boomerasking (not about Boomers, btw). 5. Peter Thiel publishes the word “struldbrugg” in the FT. 6. Who paid U.S. taxes in 1929? 7. Africa books of 2024, and forthcoming in 2025. 8. Kevin Bryan video on education-focused AI. 9. “Controlling who in the entire world can finetune on what …

Sonic Advance 3 is a curious game. It disregards the speed-focused design of its predecessor, but it doesn’t return to the classic style of the original Advance. Instead it forges its own path, partially based on the teamwork-based systems of Sonic Heroes, to create an experimental co-operative 2D Sonic platformer. One that’s long-winded and often tedious, but nevertheless ambitious enough that it might be worth trying out. The story’s slightly …

An exceptional deposit of 141 Roman gold coins dating to the late 4th century has been unearthed near Holzthum in northern Luxembourg. The coins are gold solidi struck during the reigns of nine emperors who reigned between 364 and 408 A.D. Three of the 141 solidi were issued by Emperor Eugenius whose coins are rare because he reigned for only two years (392-394 A.D.) and was never acknowledged as western …

Young Stars, Dark Nebulae

Mantra. Mercury’s north pole. If you stand up to urinate, and you’re on the right side of the plane, there is a surreal moment in the flight from Britain to America where the call of one’s bladder intersects with an optical illusion through the low toilet window and it looks like you’re peeing on Greenland.

An end of week recap “If the real world were a book, it would never find a publisher. Overlong, detailed to the point of distraction-and ultimately, without a major resolution.” – Jasper Fforde (born 11th January 1961) This is a post in which I summarise books read, reviewed and currently on my TBR shelf. In addition to a variety of literary titbits, I look ahead to forthcoming publications, see what …

Vengeance Most Fowl was the best thing on TV over Christmas, and I'm fascinated with how it is made. So, here we find out.

Boy on Carousel, Trail of Lights – Austin, Texas We are jumping back to the 2024 Trail of Lights for a few posts to show you how well the Leica D-Lux 8 performed at this outdoor event at night. I featured two of these images and much more in my monthly magazine coverage, which you can read for free. I zoomed in to the maximum 75mm equivalent as I saw …

Nature reminds us of how small we are, so the cliché saying goes. I find nature reminds me to be humble, rush less, and grow. The next four years are loaded with uncertainty, so here are 101 nature quotes that resonate with me. Nature quotes “The earth has music for those who listen.” ~William Shakespeare “We breathe air exhaled from trees whose leaves are made of starlight… Our veins echo …

In The Wall Street Journal this week, I interviewed actress Julia Stiles for my House Call column in the Mansion section (go here). She grew up in SoHo loft in Manhattan, and her mom was and is an artist and novelist. Julia is most famous for her co-starring role in the Bourne film series. Now she has directed Wish You Were Here, a romantic drama film due out Jan. 17. …

Ingrid Fetell Lee with the wisdom in her email newsletter: Progress is the tangible evidence that we’re moving closer to our goals. We’ve been conditioned to measure success in terms of progress… Growth is a subterranean shift, not what you made or did, but a change in who you are. It’s hard to measure, harder to describe. And it’s deceptive because in a growth moment, everything might look the same, …

Tommy Henriksen– I See The Sun Cherry Poppin' Daddies– So Long Toots Sonichrome– Honey Please Block – Rhinoceros Dishwalla– Pretty Babies Everclear– I Will Buy You A New Life R.E.M.– It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) Squirrel Nut Zippers– Trou Macacq Flying Neutrinos– Mr. Zoot Suit Perry Como– It's A Good Day Randy Newman– Political Science Celeste Prince– A Little Belief Steve …