Felix

The most English thing you will read today

Thu, 23 May 2013 01:33:20 -0400

“I was just on my way home after a trip to France. I was visiting my children in Plumstead and I had taken a 53 bus to get to Parliament Square where I was going to meet my children and walk to Victoria coach station before getting the coach to Helston in Cornwall.

“I was sitting on the lower deck and the bus stopped… I asked someone to watch my bag and then got off…

“Then I saw my bus was moving… I asked him if there was anything else I could do for him because my bus was about to leave and he said no.

“I got on the bus… I didn’t have a moment to think of myself.

“The bus then started to move away. They dropped us in the middle of Lewisham which really annoyed me because I had no idea how to get from there to Parliament Square.”

(source)

"Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars in profits through a Dutch..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 08:07:07 -0400

“

Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars in profits through a Dutch bookkeeper’s suburban home office en route to subsidiaries in Mauritius and Switzerland. Like Apple, Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo has deposited profits in an Irish subsidiary that claims not to be a tax resident in Ireland, but instead in the Cayman Islands, filings show.
Forest Labs, Cisco

Forest Laboratories, based in New York, has used a virtually identical strategy to that of Google, claiming most of its profits are offshore, even as its sales are almost entirely in the U.S. It has also used an Irish unit that claims to be headquartered in Bermuda, and therefore not on the hook for Irish income taxes.

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), based in San Jose, California, has avoided paying billions of dollars in income taxes by attributing about half its worldwide profits in recent years to a tiny unit at the foot of the Swiss Alps.

”

- A timely reminder that it’s not just Apple: they all do it.
Google Joins Apple Avoiding Taxes With Stateless Income - Bloomberg

newsweek: Want to see what a tornado looks like as it passes...

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:06:03 -0400

newsweek:

Want to see what a tornado looks like as it passes overhead, Twister-style? Here, a dude in a storm cellar says he “just stuck my camera out of the little hole.”

It’s like a James Turrell Skyspace mated with a disaster movie!

Real house prices by Prime Minister

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:26:09 -0400

nealewanhudson:

Jamie Dimon on journalists: Worse than that, you don’t even make any money! Jason Calacanis on...

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:36:11 -0400

Jamie Dimon on journalists:

Worse than that, you don’t even make any money!

Jason Calacanis on journalists:

They have no chance of making big money in their jobs… they don’t have the balls to create something.

David Chang & Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at The Strand - Hangover Observations - Eater NY

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:14:06 -0400

David Chang & Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at The Strand - Hangover Observations - Eater NY:

David Chang

gregcohn: EFF: Who has your back?

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:23:42 -0400

gregcohn:

EFF: Who has your back?

The way the art market press does numbers

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:22:18 -0400

shaneferro:

The Art Newspaper: Leo raises $38.8m for wildlife charity

Art Market Monitor: Christie’s 11th Hour Charity Auction = $33.3m

Gallerist NY: Leonardo DiCaprio Charity Auction at Christie’s Hammers in $31.7 M.

Artinfo: Leonardo DiCaprio’s Wildlife Charity Auction Raises $38.5 Million at Christie’s

Official press release: $38.8 million

theparisreview: In the age-old battle between book and bath,...

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:14:03 -0400

theparisreview:

In the age-old battle between book and bath, man has tried many things: the reading tray, the conveniently placed towel, the waterproof page. An eight-year-old has gone one better.

"If remembering to take a mindful pause is difficult for you, as it is for me, you can use technology..."

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:07:07 -0400

“If remembering to take a mindful pause is difficult for you, as it is for me, you can use technology to send yourself a helpful ping. When first developing my mindful habits, I set up a recurring event in the Reminders application on my iPhone with notifications reminding me to “chew twenty-five times” before lunch (12:00 p.m.) and dinner (6:00 p.m.).”

- Is you technologically-induced distraction making you fat? There’s an app for that!
Mind Over Fatter — Foodist Collection — Medium

"On May 3, 2013, NYC Parks named a City playground in honor of artist and humanitarian Adam ‘MCA’..."

Mon, 06 May 2013 01:14:06 -0400

“On May 3, 2013, NYC Parks named a City playground in honor of artist and humanitarian Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch. You can help support his park by making a donation in his memory. Please fill out the “Make a Donation” section, and then mention that your donation is in honor of Adam Yauch. All proceeds will go to support projects in his namesake playground.”

- Make a Donation in Honor : NYC Parks

"He can’t give everything away, he explains, because French law requires him to leave three-quarters..."

Sun, 05 May 2013 16:34:06 -0400

“He can’t give everything away, he explains, because French law requires him to leave three-quarters of his wealth to his three children, the oldest of which is 13. “It’s an old law. If you raise it with French politicians, they say, ‘The French love inheritance, so we can’t touch that.’ ””

- Under French law, you need to leave at least 75% of your wealth to your children???
Lunch with the FT: Xavier Niel - FT.com

"Keynesian economists often dismiss these long-run concerns when the economy has short-run problems...."

Sat, 04 May 2013 14:48:06 -0400

“

Keynesian economists often dismiss these long-run concerns when the economy has short-run problems. “In the long run we are all dead,” Keynes famously quipped.

The longer-term problem we now face, however, may be more serious than any that Keynes ever envisioned. Passing a larger national debt to the next generation may look attractive to those without children. (Keynes himself was childless.) But the rest of us cannot feel much comfort knowing that, in the long run, when we are dead, our children and grandchildren will be dealing with our fiscal legacy.

”

- Niall Ferguson says his remarks were “tactless”. Presumably this, from Greg Mankiw, is the tactful way of saying the same thing.
Economic View - What Would Keynes Have Done? - NYTimes.com

diggvideos: ‘The Matrix’ as explained by a mom.

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:18:59 -0400

diggvideos:

‘The Matrix’ as explained by a mom.

mickwe: World population by longitude and latitude (via World...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 10:46:51 -0400

mickwe:

World population by longitude and latitude (via World Population By Latitude, Longitude | Geekosystem)

"When I was just starting out on the copy desk, it fell to me to copy-edit a piece by Nora Ephron..."

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 16:35:43 -0400

“When I was just starting out on the copy desk, it fell to me to copy-edit a piece by Nora Ephron titled “Dear Frequent Travelers.” It was a parody of frequent-flier rules, and because it was supposed to be a form letter from an airline, and because corporate writing is famously not beautiful—no extra letters to make the words bouncier—I was hesitant about styling the word “travellers” with the double “l.” I thought the author might object on the ground that “traveler” with just one “l” is more vulgar, better suited to the context. Her fictitious airline would never go to the trouble of making the “traveler” more comfortable by padding the word with extra consonants. This was, after all, a parody. So I left it alone.”

- Why The New Yorker Doubles Consonants : The New Yorker

A short rephrasing of the Prince v. Cariou appellate decision

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:09:41 -0400

shaneferro:

If judges were allowed to use colloquial language, the Prince v. Cariou appellate decision might read something like this:

To: Richard Prince
Cc: The House of Gago

Dear Richard,

You got yourself in a lot of trouble with this Canal Zone thing. Actually, you got yourself in a lot of trouble when you got sued and then you didn’t take the legal proceedings seriously, which really pissed off the district court judge. That was unappreciated.

However, the system can’t just go overturning current copyright jurisprudence because you were obnoxious under oath. Since you apparently don’t want to or are otherwise unable to argue transformative intent, I’m going to do that on your behalf right now (thank your lawyer). It’s pretty clear from looking at your artwork that the series is totally different from the underlying Cariou works. I get that feeling because they mostly seem to make fun of said works.

It’s not the usual way to defend fair use, but I can’t really argue with the work itself. Cariou’s photos are clearly meant to document, while yours seem to be intended to piss people off (including the artist being appropriated). That is, in fact, one way of being transformative. I find that your complete lack of regard for the meaning of the original works is decent evidence you weren’t stealing them outright.

It’s also pretty clear to this court that “Richard Prince collectors” and “Patrick Cariou collectors,” if the artist ever marketed his work enough for this latter group to exist, are unlikely to overlap in any way. So you’re not really stealing money from Cariou, either.

As much as it pains me, I’m going to rule in your favor (in favor of fair use, really). However, because you’ve been sort of a pill during this process, I’m also going to rule that a few of your paintings actually might not be transformative enough for fair use and send you back to that district court judge who really hates you to get a final decision. Have fun!

xo,

Barrington D. Parker, Circuit Court Judge

"I was fortunate to begin writing for LinkedIn Influencers in January. It was during my introductory..."

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:52:00 -0400

“I was fortunate to begin writing for LinkedIn Influencers in January. It was during my introductory call with my editor that I realized how disruptive a business model this program is. “I’m so excited to write for you guys, because as a former teacher, I’m really passionate about educating the world about social media and leadership,” I told my editor.”

- Presented without comment.
How LinkedIn Quietly Built a Massive Media Empire | LinkedIn

Love this cartoon (via Letter to a Young Social...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:44:00 -0400

Love this cartoon

(via Letter to a Young Social Entrepreneur: the poor are not the raw material for your salvation | Pioneers Post)

The Business of Phish

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:56:59 -0400

priceonomics:

Over the past four years, the rock band Phish has generated over $120 million in ticket sales, handily surpassing more well known artists like Radiohead, The Black Keys, and One Direction. Since their start 30 years ago, Phish has consistently been one of the most popular and lucrative touring acts in America, generating well over a quarter billion dollars in ticket sales.