UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => shootin' the shit => music, art and culture => Topic started by: jwi on May 19, 2015, 07:17:37 pm
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A place for quality writing on other topics than climbing.
I start off with Knausgaard's article on the Breivik murders
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/25/the-inexplicable
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Great idea.
Here's Seymour Hersh's controversial piece on the killing of Osama bin-Laden from last week.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n10/seymour-m-hersh/the-killing-of-osama-bin-laden (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n10/seymour-m-hersh/the-killing-of-osama-bin-laden)
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Thanks guys! both were great reads
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The Knausgaard is very good, of course.
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on a less significant topic, an interesting article (at least for children of the 80's) on the darkness of Mike Tyson (not UKB's own):
https://www.sbnation.com/longform/2015/2/11/7957523/mike-tyson-interview-history-background (https://www.sbnation.com/longform/2015/2/11/7957523/mike-tyson-interview-history-background)
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Ian Penman on Sinatra. Brilliant. http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n13/ian-penman/swoonatra
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Paul Haggis and the Church of Scientology.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/02/14/the-apostate-lawrence-wright
Couple with this film you get a really good idea of just how fucked up it is.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4257858/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5
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China Mieville on Utopia: http://salvage.zone/mieville_all.html
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John Lanchester on the Wright Brothers and Elon Musk http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n17/john-lanchester/lets-all-go-to-mars (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n17/john-lanchester/lets-all-go-to-mars)
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Great review!
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I love the way John Lanchester writes his articles and reviews. Always really enjoyable, entertainin & informative.
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The FT nails Yentob http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c0e910c4-d005-11e5-831d-09f7778e7377.html (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c0e910c4-d005-11e5-831d-09f7778e7377.html) "If name dropping were an Olympic sport, Yentob would be accused of doping"
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An oldie from 2013 but great considering the news from RBS this morning. John Lanchester (again) on banking http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n13/john-lanchester/are-we-having-fun-yet (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n13/john-lanchester/are-we-having-fun-yet)
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Have you read Lanchester's book on the financial crisis, "Whoops!"?
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Is there a non-quality non-climbing articles section, as this one had me spitting feathers
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/cover_story/2016/03/how_donald_trump_happened_racism_against_barack_obama.2.html
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Personally I think Obama is the smartest guy who's been in the White House for a very long time, and that there probably won't be anyone better in that job during my lifetime, so I don't agree with the tone of this piece which implicitly criticises him for his foreign policy "pivot" away from the Middle East. But it is a good read, presents both sides of the core arguments and contains some great stories.
Fantastic article, very much agree with your thoughts above. Really good insight into Obama's thinking, which is impressively strategic. What one would hope, but not necessarily expect, from a world leader. God forbid that the American reaction to a wise president is to elect a fool.
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Have you read Lanchester's book on the financial crisis, "Whoops!"?
Sorry I never saw your question Sean. Can I borrow your copy after Connor's finished with it?
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Litvinenko http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n07/peter-pomerantsev/murder-in-mayfair (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n07/peter-pomerantsev/murder-in-mayfair)
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That Obama piece is great - thanks Habrich
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Great profile on Jake Phelps, Thrasher editor for the last twenty years. Some parallels to be drawn with climbing, and the absorption of outsider culture into the mainstream. More than a touch of Anthony H. in that last pic too...
https://story.californiasunday.com/jake-phelps-thrasher (https://story.californiasunday.com/jake-phelps-thrasher)
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Great article JB. Thanks for the link...
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Thought you'd like it!
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That was really good
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Yeah, that was ace. Plus he looks like Wallander on a comedown too.
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A good piece on 'Nature Writing" https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/5019/the-cult-of-nature-writing (https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/5019/the-cult-of-nature-writing)
I stuck a link on the Hip-Hop thread to a brilliant set of interviews about Rawkus Records if mid 90's independent hip-hop is of interest.
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More Lanchester in the LRB, this time on Crypto-Currency, Bitcoin and The Blockchain http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n08/john-lanchester/when-bitcoin-grows-up (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n08/john-lanchester/when-bitcoin-grows-up)
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Very strange https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/05/9mother9horse9eyes9-the-mysterious-tale-terrifying-reddit (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/05/9mother9horse9eyes9-the-mysterious-tale-terrifying-reddit)
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Very strange https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/05/9mother9horse9eyes9-the-mysterious-tale-terrifying-reddit (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/05/9mother9horse9eyes9-the-mysterious-tale-terrifying-reddit)
That is weird.
Read it at https://www.reddit.com/user/_9MOTHER9HORSE9EYES9 (from bottom to top to get the chronology right)
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What would happen if we just gave people money? (https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/universal-basic-income/)
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A great piece by Ferdinand Mount on the referendum Nigel's Against the World (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n10/ferdinand-mount/nigels-against-the-world)
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I enjoyed that one too Ben, got me all panicked and posting on facebook to get people to vote though!
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Brilliant, in-depth Autechre interview by Joe Muggs:
https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/2756
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Brilliant, in-depth Autechre interview by Joe Muggs:
https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/2756
Really good, thanks
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Settle down somewhere quiet and read this slowly. It's brilliant http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n13/andrew-ohagan/the-satoshi-affair (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n13/andrew-ohagan/the-satoshi-affair)
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Settle down somewhere quiet and read this slowly. It's brilliant http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n13/andrew-ohagan/the-satoshi-affair (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n13/andrew-ohagan/the-satoshi-affair)
Loved it. Thanks for posting FD.
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Settle down somewhere quiet and read this slowly. It's brilliant http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n13/andrew-ohagan/the-satoshi-affair (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n13/andrew-ohagan/the-satoshi-affair)
Finished reading that last night and also thought it was a brilliant article, thanks for sharing the link FD.
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Short but very useful article on the admiration of Hitler in the third world.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/10/05/the-developing-world-thinks-hitler-is-underrated-duterte-world-war-ii-nazi-politics/
When I was teaching summer school, one of my Indian students asked a German student: “Do you admire Hitler?”, as a bit of an ice-breaker I assume.
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Interesting. A recent Ross Kemp doc on Sky (dont' mock me too much - they are usually pretty interesting) covered Neo Nazi movements in Mongolia - they targeted Chinese immigrants who they viewed as taking all of their jobs and resources. Some were just low rent nutters but others were more prominant (e.g. a local hero ex-Olympic wrestler). By and large, they just saw Hitler as a strong leader who did what was best for his people - either ignorant of or did not believe in the Holocost.
Link to the only story I could find on the doc here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ross-kemp/ross-kemp-extreme-world_b_11886406.html (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ross-kemp/ross-kemp-extreme-world_b_11886406.html)
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Two more good ones from recent LRBs.
Home Office Rules (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n21/william-davies/home-office-rules) an insight into Theresa May and her inner circle's thinking shaped by her time at the Home Office.
England Prepares to Leave the World (http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n22/neal-ascherson/england-prepares-to-leave-the-world) - a good piece on Brexit and nationalism.
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Enjoyed this article on #vanlife from The New Yorker, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/24/vanlife-the-bohemian-social-media-movement
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Enjoyed this article on #vanlife from The New Yorker, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/24/vanlife-the-bohemian-social-media-movement
+1 enjoyed that. Now back to work while I long to be out climbing.
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Enjoyed this article on #vanlife from The New Yorker, http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/24/vanlife-the-bohemian-social-media-movement
So much of that reminded me of the Withanil and I quote:
They're selling hippy wigs in Woolworths, man. The greatest decade in the history of mankind is over.
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Long and very good - James Meek on Cadburys, Poland and the EU
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n08/james-meek/somerdale-to-skarbimierz (https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n08/james-meek/somerdale-to-skarbimierz)
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Short but good:
https://flipchartfairytales.wordpress.com/2017/07/31/hbos-confederate-what-about-the-half-that-hasnt-been-told/
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John Lanchester on Facebook https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n16/john-lanchester/you-are-the-product (https://www.lrb.co.uk/v39/n16/john-lanchester/you-are-the-product)
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On Charleston killer Dylann Roof: https://www.gq.com/story/dylann-roof-making-of-an-american-terrorist
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Thanks for posting that Andy. A powerful piece of writing.
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One of France's greatest writers on Emmanuel Macron
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/oct/20/emmanuel-macron-orbiting-jupiter-emmanuel-carrere
Emmanuel Carrère seems to like strong personalities and also wrote a very suspect biographical novel on Limonov (I read the first third of his Limonov book, but I'm against bio novels by principle, unless they happen to be written by Kawabata)
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A long reflective interview with Barry Lopez (author of Arctic Dreams and long-time environmentalist)
https://medium.com/the-alpine-review/on-the-edge-calling-back-barry-lopez-48535505424b (https://medium.com/the-alpine-review/on-the-edge-calling-back-barry-lopez-48535505424b)
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Too Much Music - the challenges of listening to music in the digital world.
https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/01/16/578216674/too-much-music-a-failed-experiment-in-dedicated-listening
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Aha I read that too.. I could sympathise with the author. I'd already made a NY resolution to not buy any new records this year to explore my own collection more thoroughly and make better use of the streaming subscriptions. The article was very timely.
There's a great book by Ben Ratliffe on this subject called 'Every Song Ever (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/mar/18/every-song-ever-listen-music-now-ben-ratliff-review)' that looks at the problem of listening to music when everything is available on tap. I have a copy at home if you want to borrow it Sean (I still haven't read your copy of Barbarian Dreams.. I must get around to that).
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There's a great book by Ben Ratliffe on this subject called 'Every Song Ever (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/mar/18/every-song-ever-listen-music-now-ben-ratliff-review)' that looks at the problem of listening to music when everything is available on tap. I have a copy at home if you want to borrow it Sean (I still haven't read your copy of Barbarian Dreams.. I must get around to that).
Thanks, but I'm slowly - very slowly - working my way through Hobsbawm's "Age of Revolution". I'm imposing a bit of a moratorium on myself until I'm finished with the 18th and 19th centuries.
Don't stress over Barbarian Dreams (tho it is an excellent read).
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Another great John Lanchester piece on finance and the economy - barely disguised outrage and indignation. https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n13/john-lanchester/after-the-fall (https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n13/john-lanchester/after-the-fall)
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Great article
. In the popular imagination, the people who caused the crisis got away with it scot-free, and, as what scientists call a first-order approximation, that’s about right.
One of the main problems with the whole crash, and summed up well at the end of The Big Short.
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A brilliant essay by James Meek on Brexit, Englishness and myth.
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n19/james-meek/brexit-and-myths-of-englishness (https://www.lrb.co.uk/v40/n19/james-meek/brexit-and-myths-of-englishness)
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A very good read!
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Thanks FD, that's excellent.
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Yeah I thought so too.
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Doing my filial duty and raising these articles by my brother. I'm not going to claim that they are "quality", by whatever standards of professional journalism you all agree on, but I think they are interesting and decently written (I've definitely read worse in the broadsheets... and the one on North Korea is worth reading if only for the relatively rare view of such a restricted nation).
His relationship with film director / dress designer / art curator / serial fraudster CS Leigh...
https://medium.com/@neilthomasward/in-search-of-a-lost-film-8e187f3c253?fbclid=IwAR2sKlrBy6aGgy6ZhubelUqBIEb2Q1j0-TdE9eejUN40Tr8zNfXXQ5FypkI (https://medium.com/@neilthomasward/in-search-of-a-lost-film-8e187f3c253?fbclid=IwAR2sKlrBy6aGgy6ZhubelUqBIEb2Q1j0-TdE9eejUN40Tr8zNfXXQ5FypkI)
Interestingly, after he wrote this, someone posted on imdb that my brother was another cypher for CS / KS / Kristian Leigh, complicit in yet another faked-death and inevitable re-birth..... he thinks this is the best review he could ever have had!
His most recent bit of writing, a trip to North Korea:
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40neiltward83%2F5d-4n-in-the-dprk-285e192ba5d8%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3SutDqb365Q-hp7F3woCVycVlsL_X44oodSIkXGo4pCS8JpPaWG6gRsaw&h=AT26ZoZJ0qKaRri805j0E0PHCDSeejAu5xz7RwZhfPbhdjfMLSPxMgBt8StkHYcc65SuVZh-tMSQ0UnNuNtqy_-oVlN8EZUvdmMyAwlT1_2aZqYvBbuGhny35ch6IslLF9w (https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmedium.com%2F%40neiltward83%2F5d-4n-in-the-dprk-285e192ba5d8%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3SutDqb365Q-hp7F3woCVycVlsL_X44oodSIkXGo4pCS8JpPaWG6gRsaw&h=AT26ZoZJ0qKaRri805j0E0PHCDSeejAu5xz7RwZhfPbhdjfMLSPxMgBt8StkHYcc65SuVZh-tMSQ0UnNuNtqy_-oVlN8EZUvdmMyAwlT1_2aZqYvBbuGhny35ch6IslLF9w)
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Doing my filial duty and raising these articles by my brother. I'm not going to claim that they are "quality", by whatever standards of professional journalism you all agree on, but I think they are interesting and decently written (I've definitely read worse in the broadsheets... and the one on North Korea is worth reading if only for the relatively rare view of such a restricted nation).
His relationship with film director / dress designer / art curator / serial fraudster CS Leigh...
https://medium.com/@neilthomasward/in-search-of-a-lost-film-8e187f3c253?fbclid=IwAR2sKlrBy6aGgy6ZhubelUqBIEb2Q1j0-TdE9eejUN40Tr8zNfXXQ5FypkI (https://medium.com/@neilthomasward/in-search-of-a-lost-film-8e187f3c253?fbclid=IwAR2sKlrBy6aGgy6ZhubelUqBIEb2Q1j0-TdE9eejUN40Tr8zNfXXQ5FypkI)
That was great!
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What a fascinating story.
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Aye... it came as a surprise to me. I only knew about his CS Leigh quest when he asked me to proof the draft of the article! And, he's normally pretty open with me - I was possibly the only person he told about the North Korea trip beforehand (he kept it a secret from Mum and Dad and his partner until he returned home safely).
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The IMDB entry accusing my brother of being fake news.
(https://scontent-lht6-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/34473692_10155778587044779_2583915792005332992_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&_nc_ht=scontent-lht6-1.xx&oh=4631d39fe1e108d10235b93fcecd3896&oe=5C8268C2)
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Wow Moose - what a fantastic story. Your brother writes really well too. Reminds me of Geoff Dyer.
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Cheers, I'll pass it on to him; some non-nepotistic reassurance might be appreciated!
Incidentally, we have similar tastes in films, so I recently showed him Splinter (the Malc Smith short), as an example of how climbing films can be more than just abs and power-screams. This led to a conversation about Malc's ascent of Hubble, the burden of proof for remarkable "out of nowhere" deeds, and then Rich Simpson.. whose story he seemed intrigued by. My dream is that in a year or so, Neil suddenly asks me to proof an article detailing his tracking down Rich Simpson to a camper van in Spain, perhaps shared with Si O'Connor, and following him as he anonymously repeats a host of cutting-edge test-pieces, driven by inner fire and eschewing all publicity!
Also, his trip to North Korea coincided with my birthday... he brought me back this as a souvenir... the ladies symbolise North and South Korea, yearning to be united!
(https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/45523871_10210036536710215_5440513190708379648_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_ht=scontent-lhr3-1.xx&oh=3b0789c145458e4b1252c0f1d4eea25b&oe=5C809D32)
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You’ve put the hook in him now... watch this space.
Cool picture too.
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Brilliant article, Moose's brother.
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I passed on the good vibes to the brother, and he is very flattered and appreciative. Especially regarding the CS Leigh piece, as it's his tribute to someone he feels should be remembered, and not for being just an odd conman.
Also, as a good reflection on all your own varied tastes, he admits to having been recently bemused by a spike in his "total views" and "Likes" (Medium provides a weekly update). In his own words "the Likers had something in common, I couldn’t place my finger on. Very British sounding names, and seemed to Like other articles about highly specialised subjects you’d probably need a PhD to understand (probably the best people to get Likes from). There just seemed some link.. Mystery solved!
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I thought it was great too, reminded me a bit of the hole in the head piece I posted a while back.
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I happen to know a similar figure, a con-artist with a few careers behind them. Gets some stunning things done, have survived a few international arrest warrants. The most tiresome feature of a true conman is that they will try to shortcharge the waitress a few cents on a lunch were they swindle an enterprise to the tune of a million dollars. The tiger will not change its stripes, and it is hard to constantly stay on your toes
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The bizarre story of Tekashi 69. (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/tekashi-69-rise-and-fall-feature-777971/)
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The psychology of the climate crisis we’re all starting to live through:
https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/the-other-kind-of-climate-denialism
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A good long read on America's Green New Deal https://harpers.org/archive/2019/05/where-our-new%E2%80%A8-world-begins-green-new-deal-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/?fbclid=IwAR1veEzWe0QXuY5YZSPEWAFAaPjcA0oKPTTIvRM4eIYZ15YV6mKCxCs9Ws4 (https://harpers.org/archive/2019/05/where-our-new%E2%80%A8-world-begins-green-new-deal-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/?fbclid=IwAR1veEzWe0QXuY5YZSPEWAFAaPjcA0oKPTTIvRM4eIYZ15YV6mKCxCs9Ws4)
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Thoughtful piece on surfing, travel and the environmental impact of flying. Relevant to climbing. https://magicseaweed.com/news/if-we-care-about-our-environment-its-time-to-think-about-being-responsible/11417/?fbclid=IwAR2aXSacKC9Me2mlmeV2mxyLJKCDNbY-0ogzz7jL3P7mqqr0wGRoLclErUQ (https://magicseaweed.com/news/if-we-care-about-our-environment-its-time-to-think-about-being-responsible/11417/?fbclid=IwAR2aXSacKC9Me2mlmeV2mxyLJKCDNbY-0ogzz7jL3P7mqqr0wGRoLclErUQ)
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The marvellous John Lanchester on Universal Basic Income.
https://www.lrb.co.uk/v41/n14/john-lanchester/good-new-idea (https://www.lrb.co.uk/v41/n14/john-lanchester/good-new-idea)
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Alastair McIntosh on XR and Spiritual Activism. https://theecologist.org/2019/jul/22/doom-and-dharma (https://theecologist.org/2019/jul/22/doom-and-dharma)
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A manifesto from Rupert Read (XR) for the Autumn https://medium.com/@rupertjread/truth-and-its-consequences-eb2faa5eb458 (https://medium.com/@rupertjread/truth-and-its-consequences-eb2faa5eb458)
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Repost from the Science thread cos FD might enjoy: Jonathan Raban, Second Nature - The de-landscaping of the American West (https://granta.com/second-nature/)
Not new but a good 'un.
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I have a day off work to recover and rest from a therapy workshop. That was perfect - thanks JB.
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JR's latest essay (https://footlesscrow.blogspot.com/2019/09/kill-them-all.html?fbclid=IwAR0ZzzkTH1mtrgAq3TETMZtSt2xN-QUaKw_0TsMx7BsiSXjd9ebnH2l8j6k). Thankfully largely (but not quite) free of "unnecessary" quote marks and exclamations !!'s.
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Anyone else enjoying Tim Urban's timely series of articles on humans, societies and politics?: The Story of Us (https://waitbutwhy.com/2019/08/story-of-us.html)
Thought the last chapter, 'Political Disney World' was brilliant.
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The London Review of Books archive is un-paywalled until Mid Jan - loads of amazing articles from over the years.
https://www.lrb.co.uk (https://www.lrb.co.uk)
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The London Review of Books archive is un-paywalled until Mid Jan - loads of amazing articles from over the years.
https://www.lrb.co.uk (https://www.lrb.co.uk)
Where to begin?
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This is a great story for anyone who's not familiar with it about Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin - https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v38/n13/andrew-o-hagan/the-satoshi-affair (https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v38/n13/andrew-o-hagan/the-satoshi-affair).
Andrew O'Hagan's back catalogue is well worth a peruse (https://www.lrb.co.uk/search-results?search=andrew+o%27hagan (https://www.lrb.co.uk/search-results?search=andrew+o%27hagan)) as is that of another regular contributor, John Lanchester (https://www.lrb.co.uk/search-results?search=john+lanchester (https://www.lrb.co.uk/search-results?search=john+lanchester)).
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I really enjoyed this three parter on an obscure Soviet/post-Soviet intellectual...
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n15/perry-anderson/one-exceptional-figure-stood-out
David Runciman, James Meek and Pankaj Mishra also worth checking out.
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Will read that later Sean - thanks.
One of my fave tweets of the year (or last - whenever it was) was when the airport drone thing was going on and some bright spark posted “Looking forward to the 60,000 word Andrew O’Hagan on the Gatwick Drone in the LRB” :lol:
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A good one for Christmas. Terry Eagleton’s absolutely savage takedown of Richard Dawkin’s “The God Delusion” https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n20/terry-eagleton/lunging-flailing-mispunching (https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v28/n20/terry-eagleton/lunging-flailing-mispunching).
Merry Christmas to you all :hug:
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So far it seems to be a review of slackline!
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https://www.economist.com/news/2020/01/28/trapped-in-iran
I was paying my bill at the hotel when they came. There were seven of them, stiff and formal in plain-clothes. “Mr Pelham?” asked the shortest one and presented me with a hand-written document in Farsi. “It’s been signed by a judge,” he said. “It entitles us to detain you for 48 hours.” He paused to allow the information to register on my face. “It might be less,” he added. “We just need you to answer a few questions.”
Over the course of several days the men spent most of their time glued to phone-screens, watching Bollywood films, or American or Chinese schlock full of street fights, which they accessed through virtual private networks to evade the censorship they were supposed to enforce. They ordered kebabs, pizzas and watermelon and never cleared up. Each morning, I would wash their plates, scrape the leftover watermelon rinds, pizza crusts and kebab gristle into the bin and make tea. I would sigh audibly, like a father despairing of his unruly kids. “Thank you,” they apologised.
With the exception, perhaps, of Tel Aviv, I had visited nowhere in the Middle East where people read as voraciously as Tehran. “The Handmaid’s Tale”, Margaret Atwood’s dystopian fable of women enslaved to a theocratic caste, is a particular favourite, the owner of one bookstore told me.
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https://www.1843magazine.com/features/trapped-in-iran for those who've run into the 5-articles paywall
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https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/2020/02/the-problem-with-colin-obrady/
“The history of exploration is basically predicated on taking a man or woman’s word for what they did,” explains David Roberts, a dean of American adventure writers and one of the first from the adventure community to publicly criticize O’Brady’s claim. “But then people like this come along and by violating the code they make everybody subject to skepticism and doubt.”
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https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/2020/02/the-problem-with-colin-obrady/
“The history of exploration is basically predicated on taking a man or woman’s word for what they did,” explains David Roberts, a dean of American adventure writers and one of the first from the adventure community to publicly criticize O’Brady’s claim. “But then people like this come along and by violating the code they make everybody subject to skepticism and doubt.”
As Danny Dyer might say, 'TWAT'
I good reminder why its ok to be a cynical cunt, I've never got this type of stuff.
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Food for thought
https://vittles.substack.com/p/the-hyper-regional-chippy-traditions
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Food for thought
https://vittles.substack.com/p/the-hyper-regional-chippy-traditions
Wait, you don't do gravy/curry sauce much in London? Weirdly despite a lot of time there I've never been to a chippy so never knew this. Bonkers. What do you put on your chips?
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Food for thought
https://vittles.substack.com/p/the-hyper-regional-chippy-traditions
Wait, you don't do gravy/curry sauce much in London? Weirdly despite a lot of time there I've never been to a chippy so never knew this. Bonkers. What do you put on your chips?
Zhoug, and quinoa sprinkles. Ensuring first your cod was caught by fair trade affiliated Inuit Hunter gatherers wearing vegan sealskin clothing.
Or a pickled egg.
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Disappointing lack of babby's yed floating, pey wet etc.
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God I’m hungry now.
I thought I was going to get all the way to the end without mention of the “Parmo” that my mate from Middlesbrough talks about but it did get a mention in the last paragraph. :lol:
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Food for thought
https://vittles.substack.com/p/the-hyper-regional-chippy-traditions
Wait, you don't do gravy/curry sauce much in London? Weirdly despite a lot of time there I've never been to a chippy so never knew this. Bonkers. What do you put on your chips?
Fifteen years living here and I’ve been to a chippy a handful of times, and have found only one worth eating from. There are more Japanese restaurants within a half-hour walk of my house than there are fish and chip shops in the entire northern seaside town I originally hail from.
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Thankfully we’ve got two really good chippies near us. Mr Fish in QP and Micky’s on Goldborne Rd. Neither have Quinoa or avocado on anything. Just standard, proper chippy fare. W is a big fan which is great. Sean, I’ll treat you one day. :2thumbsup:
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How much Ben? Regular cod and chips?
The place up the road from us in Didsbury is £7:40 (😱) and around the corner from my house is £4.55 (£2.75 mon - weds)
Anyone else? I’m always interested in the geographical spread of cost of things like this!
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London prices Tom.
I just checked online and at Mr Fish in posh Queens Park it’s £8.45 for the lunch special (small cod, chips, mushy peas and a drink). Othewise it’s £10.95 for a medium fish and portion of chips - the medium’s are massive though and enough for me and W to share.
Micky’s on Goldborne is 7 quid for the lunch deal and £8.50 for a medium fish.
I’m starving now :-[
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(I meant to say the £4.55/2.75 lunch special price was in Hull..)
The place up the road from us in Dids used to serve the chips into a box with a high elbowed flourish from a stainless steel bowl (FFS). Got to know the owner a bit of a different one that re-opened in Dids Village - where they double fried the chips (lovely...). Covid has finished that off unfortunately.. had a proper bank of old friers!
My favourite chippy chips though are from a Korean owned chippy on Newland Ave in Hull, where they still fry the chips in lard. Sorry health fans/vegetarians - but they taste superb.
My earliest chip shop memories were getting an 11p bag of chips after Cubs as a treat.... that will age me :D
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My earliest chip shop memories were getting an 11p bag of chips after Cubs as a treat.... that will age me :D
I think 30p was the going rate when I was a young'un. The cheapest option was a scallop for 10p (a battered potato cake, not a shellfish) - one of those with "scraps" and lots of salt and vinegar fuelled many a lunchbreak at the arcade - feeding the rest of my dinner money into Golden Axe or Shinobi.
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Closest to me in Stokey is Sutton & Sons which typically is more of a fish restaurant with prices to match, haddock 11 chips 3 for takeaway. I’ve been once years ago. The chips didn’t look cooked and the guy patronisingly informed me some nonsense about non fat clean eco recyclable oil which tasted how you’d imagine.
One I do really like is the laughing halibut on Strutton Ground market off Victoria st, it’s near the millbank office so I’ll go on Monday.
TBH with all the options for great cheap food it’s not something I think of in London very often. Usually get it at my parents in Wickersley when we’re there with the kids.
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6 pence in old money when I had buy own after Cubs. We used to go to Bretts on Kirkstall lane in Headingley. However I got them for free if Charlie Brett was working as he used to drink in the Skyrack with my mum and dad before I appeared. It was a great place to see Yorkshire and England cricketers who used to go there after the matches.
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My earliest chip shop memories were getting an 11p bag of chips after Cubs as a treat.... that will age me :D
I think 30p was the going rate when I was a young'un. The cheapest option was a scallop for 10p (a battered potato cake, not a shellfish) - one of those with "scraps" and lots of salt and vinegar fuelled many a lunchbreak at the arcade - feeding the rest of my dinner money into Golden Axe or Shinobi.
"scraps" haven't heard that for years :)
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Other fish and chip faves..
Firstly - Frites - with frite sauce (Mayo) are amazing in Belgium. Somehow better than the same combo elsewhere in Europe.
Second - deep fried oysters (out of the shell obvs) from a chippy in Christchurch (NZ) looked like large deep fried ears. Ok - but a little tough :D
Barramundi is superb battered and deep fried - and I’ve had it a few times in chippies in NT Australia. Probably my favourite fish cooked that way.
Finally mushy or processed peas are actually grey. They have loads of green food colouring added to make them look - err - appetising.
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My earliest chip shop memories were getting an 11p bag of chips after Cubs as a treat.... that will age me :D
I think 30p was the going rate when I was a young'un. The cheapest option was a scallop for 10p (a battered potato cake, not a shellfish) - one of those with "scraps" and lots of salt and vinegar fuelled many a lunchbreak at the arcade - feeding the rest of my dinner money into Golden Axe or Shinobi.
"scraps" haven't heard that for years :)
I think Westies call them "bits" but they also refer to breadcakes / rolls as "teacakes" (which are glazed and contain currents in civilised parts), so their opinions clearly count for nothing.
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scollop in a tea cake with curry sauce. You are welcome.
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My earliest chip shop memories were getting an 11p bag of chips after Cubs as a treat.... that will age me :D
I think 30p was the going rate when I was a young'un. The cheapest option was a scallop for 10p (a battered potato cake, not a shellfish) - one of those with "scraps" and lots of salt and vinegar fuelled many a lunchbreak at the arcade - feeding the rest of my dinner money into Golden Axe or Shinobi.
"scraps" haven't heard that for years :)
I think Westies call them "bits" but they also refer to breadcakes / rolls as "teacakes" (which are glazed and contain currents in civilised parts), so their opinions clearly count for nothing.
Some of my fellow Cubs would ask for a “ bag of scraps” which was mainly bits of batter with a few chips thrown in.
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I used to love a beef cutlet with curry sauce as a kid but don't seem to find beef cutlet anymore. I don't know if they were beef, some breaded and fried grey/brown meat with a bit of a spice flavour.
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My earliest chip shop memories were getting an 11p bag of chips after Cubs as a treat.... that will age me :D
I think 30p was the going rate when I was a young'un. The cheapest option was a scallop for 10p (a battered potato cake, not a shellfish) - one of those with "scraps" and lots of salt and vinegar fuelled many a lunchbreak at the arcade - feeding the rest of my dinner money into Golden Axe or Shinobi.
"scraps" haven't heard that for years :)
I think Westies call them "bits" but they also refer to breadcakes / rolls as "teacakes" (which are glazed and contain currents in civilised parts), so their opinions clearly count for nothing.
Some of my fellow Cubs would ask for a “ bag of scraps” which was mainly bits of batter with a few chips thrown in.
I loved scraps when I was a kid, probably more than I liked chips. For me, buying a scallop with scraps as an accompaniment was just the cheapest way of getting scraps. They were free with everything but just asking for scraps alone, which weren't priced, seemed a bit cheeky. Those were the days ... when chippies were so cheap they used newspaper to wrap, and had "non-brewed condiment" instead of vinegar."
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Firstly - Frites - with frite sauce (Mayo) are amazing in Belgium. Somehow better than the same combo elsewhere in Europe.
I lived in Belgium for six months and the chips were fantastic especially on the way home after a few trappist beers. I especially like all the other sauces you could have beyond just mayo. Although they are still mayo based.
https://www.brusselslife.be/en/article/which-sauce-to-choose-with-your-fries
In particular I like the Andalusian and the Samurai. Definitely worth a try next time you are there.
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My grandad owned a couple of fish and chip shops both before and after the war. His new idea was to centralise and standardise production and eventually open several more, basically he’d dreamt up the fast food chain but alas post-war East Yorkshire was not ready for such innovation and he stuck with the day job.
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There used to be a chippy in Widnes that sold fish, chips, peas, and curry sauce - nothing else (maybe you could buy a pickled egg?). They opened for an hour or two at lunchtime Mon-Fri, and the same Friday teatime. Not at the weekend at all. There was always a queue and when you got inside the door you had to shout out your fish order or there'd be no fish for you. It was a chippy distilled to the most basic elements and very, very good. I think it was open for decades but closed maybe ten years ago when the elderly married couple who ran it retired.
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There used to be a chippy in Widnes that sold fish, chips, peas, and curry sauce - nothing else (maybe you could buy a pickled egg?). They opened for an hour or two at lunchtime Mon-Fri, and the same Friday teatime. Not at the weekend at all. There was always a queue and when you got inside the door you had to shout out your fish order or there'd be no fish for you. It was a chippy distilled to the most basic elements and very, very good. I think it was open for decades but closed maybe ten years ago when the elderly married couple who ran it retired.
Which one was that, Andy? I can remember when the very successful Cronton Fish Bar opened the imaginatively named Cronton Fish Bar 2 in the shops next to the Black House/Coterie. In fact, I'm sure that Rich Hession's mum worked at Cronton Fish Bar?
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Downtown, behind the town hall. Lacey Street I think.
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Another great LRB piece by John Lanchester on Sam Bankman Fried and EA, FTX etc.
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n21/john-lanchester/he-said-they-said (https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n21/john-lanchester/he-said-they-said)
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How much Ben? Regular cod and chips?
The place up the road from us in Didsbury is £7:40 (😱) and around the corner from my house is £4.55 (£2.75 mon - weds)
Anyone else? I’m always interested in the geographical spread of cost of things like this!
£7.40....bargain, often over £10 round here! Even the Blue Lagoon, ever cheap and cheerful is now £8 for fish supper. £2.75 is insane, how is that not losing money?
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Another great LRB piece by John Lanchester on Sam Bankman Fried and EA, FTX etc.
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n21/john-lanchester/he-said-they-said (https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n21/john-lanchester/he-said-they-said)
Excellent, enjoyed that.
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I wish he's said much more Number Go Up.
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More about? Yes, me too. Although if you scroll back up this thread there are a couple of his other great articles on Cryptocurrency, one called “What is money?” (I think).
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Weren’t some UKB posters lauding crypto a few years ago as a hedge against inflation? I wonder how that worked out…
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More about? Yes, me too. Although if you scroll back up this thread there are a couple of his other great articles on Cryptocurrency, one called “What is money?” (I think).
Yes, sorry, more about. It's just that the article was headed as a review of both books, when it really wasn't. I've heard good things about Number Go Up from people in financial history etc.
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It does sound good. I might get a copy.
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Weren’t some UKB posters lauding crypto a few years ago as a hedge against inflation? I wonder how that worked out…
That's an odd thing for you to post, considering the markets have gone through the biggest sell-off in bonds in 150 years. https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/benstead-bonds-bond-crash-has-broken-records-it-finally-time-buy-ii529520#:~:text=Bloomberg%20data%20shows%20that%20this,down%20another%204%25%20this%20year.
Maybe the last 2 years for bitcoin has seen a large decline. But looked at over 2 years a lot of things look rubbish - including long duration bonds!
The 5yr+ year gain for crypto is still gigantic despite the last 2 years drawdown. If you'd bought bitcoin 5 years ago in Nov 2018, today your investment would have increased in value by over 500%, beating inflation by massively more than any other asset class. If you'd bought bitcoin in 2015, the value of your crypto today has increased by a ridiculous 13,000%, even accounting for the last 2 years 50% decline from the $50k peak in Nov 2021! A 13,000% gain in 8 years is a pretty amazing return over inflation by anyone's standards.
Whereas, to show how much the world has turned on its head in the past 18 months, if you'd bought a US 10-yr treasury bond in the mid to late 2010's decade of low interest rates, thinking you were buying sensible asset and a counter-balance against stock market volatility, today your bond investment will have taken a very significant haircut if you had to sell it now rather than hold to maturity (but are at least guaranteed your initial money back after 10 years if you hold). Inflation hedge? Not for people who bought bonds during the years of ultra low interest rates, which was a lot of people.
JB's a fan of crypto I think? Waiting for systemic collapse so he can set fire to all his £50 notes..
For me crypto's a no-go / not interested. I don't own any crypto as an investment and don't speculate on crypto in the short-term. I do however very occasionally (as in maybe once every couple of years) make a short-term momentum trade on a crypto mining company inside my ISA, if there's a high chance of a major upswing in the BTC price. That way I can potentially make a tax-free capital gin on crypto volatility. Not my area of interest though.
That isn't meant to suggest anyone should place a load of their money in crypto (although as noted they'd have done well if they had, and stayed the course). And the risk/reward picture is looking much more positive for bonds now we have proper interest rates again. Coupons are higher (though mostly not higher than inflation) and if rates fall in the foreseeable future it would lead to a capital gain in some bonds purchased today, depending on duration/coupon.
I'm amazed that in this age of tech, the world continues to believe in the value of the magic pet rock (gold) as the asset that keeps pace with inflation but it does*. The absurdity of using vast amounts of energy and resources to dig out a useless rock in order to put it back in a hole in the ground (vault) must eventually lead to an emperor's new clothes moment. But I'll make hay while the sun shines (I don't own any gold, not a doomsdayer, but one or two miners as leverage on the price).
*1 oz of gold supposedly retains the same purchasing power over millennia - a good quality tailored suit etc.
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I always like reading J W Mason's review of the books he's read over the past year. I never have any intention of reading the books and yet I always find his summaries and commentary fascinating and illuminating. They tend to be big picture views of how humanity arranges ourselves. https://jwmason.org/slackwire/2023-books/
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I liked this three part series of posts about government debt https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2024/02/detoxifying-government-debt-part-1-debt.html