Last night, my two sons (Chad and Erik) and I took in a performance by a wonderful trumpet player named Ephraim Owens. One of the tunes he covered was “Afro Blue”, by John Coltrane. Thanks to YouTube, a substantial archive of live Coltrane performances, including Afro Blue, are now available for everyone to enjoy. Here’s Coltrane’s performance of Afro Blue, with McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums!
Adam Bender – plays baseball with only one leg
From http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/2008/05/31/:
“Adam Bender, 8, is one of several kids who plays catcher in Southeastern’s rookie league at Veterans Park. What makes Adam stand out is that he plays one of the toughest positions on the field with only one leg. Because of cancer, he had his left leg amputated when he was one. Adam doesn’t use a prosthesis, and only uses crutches when he reaches base for the Astros.”
Mankiw's 10 principles of economics, translated for the uninitiated
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Mankiw’s 10 principles of economics, translated for the uninitiated
For those who don’t think that the study of economic principles can possibly be entertaining, I highly recommend Yoram Bauman’s satire of Harvard Prof. Greg Mankiw’s “10 principles of economics” (a written transcript of his satire is available here:
Deconstructing the Subprime Crisis
I highly recommend the Knowledge@Wharton video entitled “Deconstructing the Subprime Crisis”:
An economics tutorial on oil prices
In today’s Wall Street Journal, Martin Feldstein provides a simple economics tutorial on oil prices entitled “We Can Lower Oil Prices Now”. Once you read this, you’ll understand why “Any steps that can be taken now to increase the future supply of oil, or reduce the future demand for oil in the U.S. or elsewhere, can therefore lead both to lower prices and increased consumption today.”
Of course, Professor Feldstein’s conjecture directly contradicts claims made recently by certain members of the political class who simply assert (without benefit of any corroborative economic theory and/or evidence) that increased drilling cannot possibly have any such effects; e.g., see “Obama and The Don’t Drill Democrats To America: Don’t Drive. Just Shut Up and Sweat In Your Dark House.”
Vista Blues
After using the so-called “Vista Ultimate” operating system for the past couple of months, I have finally seen the light and “downgraded” my notebook computer to Windows XP. Although I didn’t buy a Mac, the “Vista Blues” video hits the nail on the head!
Knowledge@Wharton's take on the subprime crisis
I highly recommend Knowledge@Wharton’s new subprime crisis website,” entitled “Inside the Subprime Crisis: How Wall Street Alchemists, Ambitious Lenders, Overreaching Consumers and Enabling Lawmakers Pushed the Economy to the Brink of Recession, and How to Avoid a Repeat.”
Knowledge@Wharton’s take on the subprime crisis
I highly recommend Knowledge@Wharton’s new subprime crisis website,” entitled “Inside the Subprime Crisis: How Wall Street Alchemists, Ambitious Lenders, Overreaching Consumers and Enabling Lawmakers Pushed the Economy to the Brink of Recession, and How to Avoid a Repeat.”
Drill! Drill! Drill!
I would like to nominate Daniel Henninger, editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal, for president. His article in today’s WSJ, entitled “Drill! Drill! Drill!” provides a very clear analysis of the predicament that the U.S. faces as a result of its longstanding (30 years plus) policy of not developing domestic energy sources. Click on the video play button below to see an interview with Mr. Henninger about today’s column.