Arimathea

Saint Nicholas

Atom
RSS

Page views: 17591
Total entries: 1094
Total comments: 187

Acknowledgments

Fonts

Tenebrae Exteriores

Commerce

Here are recommended businesses that are worth your consideration, if not your money.

Monday, January 21, A.D. 2013

Goat Soap

I hope that you had a blessed feast of the Theophany over the weekend!

Instead of commenting upon the insidious ritual befalling us this day in our capital city, I shall ignore the clamor outside and rather focus on more important things—like soap made from goat’s milk. Last week, I mentioned the Hermitage of the Holy Cross in West Virginia. Today, I offer you a report in the Charleston Daily Mail on the monastery’s resident soap maker, Anna Long: “The best job in the world.” The article describes the process of soapmaking and features photographs, as well.

You may order your very own goat soap from the monastery’s gift shop.

Sadly, goat soap will not cleanse the land of its manifest inequity on this day, but at least you will smell nice—and help to support the monastery. We surely need their prayers.

Posted by Joseph

on Monday, January 21, Anno Domini 2013
Household Goods • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, November 28, A.D. 2012

The Pseudoscience of SkyMall

The Advent fast begins today. May your white lent be fruitful. I wish you the best in keeping the faith in this land of mammon.

Related to the ridiculous consumerism of contemporary society, I present you a funny article on Slate by Rebecca Watson, “The Pseudoscience of SkyMall.” Watson reviews the curious SkyMall catalogue that you find on planes and suggests a game that I shall play on my next flight. She imagines that she wins a contest where she gets to pick one item from each of the catalogue’s spreads. Watson ends thus:

If you’re playing Imaginary SkyMall Sweepstakes, definitely go with the Lord Raffles Lion Throne Chair on Page 91, because nothing says “class” like an ornate replica Medieval throne from an in-flight catalog. Or maybe the Bigfoot, the Holiday Yeti Holiday Ornament, depending on your personal tastes. Totally your call.

We are indeed a tacky people.

Posted by Joseph

on Wednesday, November 28, Anno Domini 2012
Capitalism • Household Goods • Technology • Transportation • (0) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, June 19, A.D. 2012

Money Flow

XKCD has a remarkable chart of the American and global economies: “Money.” You may click on the larger version, which allows for zooming and scrolling. It is impressive.

Posted by Joseph

on Tuesday, June 19, Anno Domini 2012
Capitalism • (0) Comments • Permalink

Monday, April 23, A.D. 2012

Unz Upbraids Vioxx

基督復活

Ron Unz published an interesting and disturbing article in The American Conservative last week about the American political and media establishments’ having given a free pass to the pharmaceutical company Merck after its drug Vioxx caused thousands of deaths: “Chinese Melamine and American Vioxx: A Comparison.” Unz contrasts the American media’s handling of the Chinese infant and pet food scandals with how they covered the Vioxx affair. Unz also compares the reactions of the respective governments. Unz notes that eventually the ChiComs executed some of the men who were responsible for the infant formula malefaction that resulted in six deaths and thousands of medical complication cases, whereas no one has really been held accountable for Vioxx, which may have caused the deaths of a half million Americans.

I discovered Unz’s article on Sailer’s site. Some of Sailer’s commentators think that Unz is being too hard on Merck, especially given the amount of people who took the drug and the benefits derived from it. Some even contend that aspirin would not pass F.D.A. approval today if it were a new drug. I do not know, but Unz’s article calls into question whatever journalistic integrity that remains in this country.

Update: Be sure to see Peter Schaeffer’s criticism of Unz’s arguments in the comments section.

Posted by Joseph

on Monday, April 23, Anno Domini 2012
Capitalism • (7) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, March 20, A.D. 2012

Jobs: Steve vs. the Stimulus

A few months ago, I read an interesting article in Forbes by Bret Swanson: “Jobs: Steve vs. the Stimulus.” The backstory of the article is that in his response to Obama’s State of the Union address, Governor Daniels of Indiana stated that Steve Jobs had produced more jobs than the monstrous stimulus act. Paul Krugman, lefty economist for The New York Times, then attempted to school Daniels by comparing the numbers. Contra Krugman, Swanson’s article defends Daniel’s assertion with a fascinating exploration of the dynamism in a free economy.

Posted by Joseph

on Tuesday, March 20, Anno Domini 2012
Capitalism • Technology • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, November 16, A.D. 2011

YiaTube

Athenos is not my favorite brand of packaged hummus, but Kraft’s Greek label commercials are sweet like Melissos’ honey. Enjoy what Yiayia says.

Yiayia on stay at home fathers:

Yiayia on fashion:

Yiayia on cohabitation:

Evidently, the ad campaign began in late winter earlier this year, but I only recently discovered the videos. I want more Yiayia commentary; grandmothers know better.

Posted by Joseph

on Wednesday, November 16, Anno Domini 2011
Capitalism • Food • (0) Comments • Permalink

Wednesday, September 28, A.D. 2011

Holy Smoke

Leave it to Americans to find a way to combine tastlessness and consumerism in even the most hallowed aspects of life . . . and death. I present Holy Smoke, a company that turns cremated remains into ammunition so that one can go out in a bang. From the company’s site:

Planning a loved ones final arrangements can be a challenging responsibility, one you want to do with care and consideration. Allow Holy Smoke to help you create a tribute to your outdoorsperson like no other.

We provide compassionate personal service, exceptional quality, and a truly unique memorial. Our unparalleled service and overall value are why our loyal customers won’t go anywhere else. We look forward to serving you!

The name you can trust! . . .

Now you can have the peace of mind that you can continue to protect your home and family even after you are gone.

The company is based in Alabama. I shall refrain from additional comment.

Posted by Joseph

on Wednesday, September 28, Anno Domini 2011
Capitalism • (0) Comments • Permalink

Thursday, August 4, A.D. 2011

Snoopy Sno-Cone

My brother Aaron surprised me by alerting me to the continued production of the much beloved Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine. My first impulse was to buy it to enjoy during the horribly hot and humid August summer, but then the inner naysayer responded that it would not be used enough to justify a purchase, that I would have to find a place to store it, that the refrigerator already makes crushed ice . . . but still, Snoopy is so cute, and the shovel! Everyone loves the shovel until it breaks.

It is somewhat pathetic that products invoke such powerful nostalgic longings. I still miss my hometown produced Milky the Marvelous Milking Cow; I can still hear her moo. O Kenner, where have all my plastic childhood memories gone?

Posted by Joseph

on Thursday, August 4, Anno Domini 2011
Food • (1) Comments • Permalink

Thursday, July 28, A.D. 2011

Black on Black Crime Hot Wings

I was researching tourist information for a possible upcoming trip to Pittsburgh when I came across a bizarre news story from WPXI: “Avalon Restaurant Criticized For ‘Black on Black Crime’ Hot Wing Flavor.” A hot wings restaurant named Big Shot Bob’s House of Wings apparently decided to name a new sauce flavor “Black on Black Crime.” The owner stated that the negative reaction to the name surprised him, and he excused his bad business decision by saying that a loyal “African American” customer came up with the idea. I should like to have been privy to that colorful interaction.

The story gets better! After the public outcry, Big Shot Bob’s altered the sauce’s name to “Big Fine Woman 2000.” The shop allowed the woman who made the initial complaint to rename the sauce, and “Big Fine Woman 2000” is what she decided. Oh, artifice does not hold a candle to truth!

In reviewing online reactions to the story, I encountered much handwringing about black on black crime. If only we could stop black on black crime! Left unsaid is whether the ongoing plague of black on white crime remains joyfully accepted. I suppose that a better wish would be for the end of widespread black crime, or, even better, the end of crime simply.

Posted by Joseph

on Thursday, July 28, Anno Domini 2011
Food • (0) Comments • Permalink

Tuesday, July 19, A.D. 2011

The Mall

I am not a devotee of Malcolm Gladwell, but I did find his article on the mall in The New Yorker quite interesting: “The Terrazzo Jungle.” Gladwell recounts the vision of the mall’s creator, Victor Gruen, as well as his disappointment in what became of his idea. Gruen wanted the mall to be a commercial centerpiece to an extensive, planned development that would create an orderly and beautiful community in suburbia. Such did not occur, though attempts at integrated commercial and residential space continue as the new urbanism refuses to submit before the American cult of the ugly and haphazard. Gladwell also explains how tax policy resulted in ghastly commercial developments largely disconnected from a community’s shopping needs, which thereby facilitated the American wasteland of suburban sprawl. Also of interest is mall designer Alfred Taubman’s commentary on the mall’s commercial strategies. The article is delightful pop anthropological candy. Enjoy.

Posted by Joseph

on Tuesday, July 19, Anno Domini 2011
Capitalism • (0) Comments • Permalink

Page 1 of 3 pages 1 2 3 >

The Economist

Liberalism in Print

The euro-zone economy: Recession, cont’d

ONE euro crisis may be over, but another has begun. The single currency is no longer under siege in financial markets, but it will not prove politically viable unless growth returns. Any residual hopes of an early recovery were dashed by GDP figures published on May 15th. These showed the euro zone still mired in recession.

Euro-area output shrank in the first three months of this year by 0.2% compared with its level in the final quarter of 2012 (see chart). That decline, which was a bit worse than expected, left GDP 1% lower than a year ago. Output has now contracted for six consecutive quarters in a recession stretching back to late 2011.The downturn is still steepest in southern Europe. Output fell by 0.5% in both Italy and Spain, the third- and fourth-biggest economies in the euro zone. But GDP is now declining in most euro-zone countries, including France, the area’s second-largest economy, which is back in recession following a second quarter of declining output, of 0.2%. The main exception remains Germany, the biggest economy, though it barely grew in the first three months of this year. Output was up by a lower-than-expected 0.1% (following a 0.7% fall in late...
Buttonwood: Caveat voter

ALMOST six years have elapsed since the start of the financial crisis. Yet the tensions between economic (and financial) efficiency and democratic accountability are still unresolved.These tensions first appeared in the autumn of 2008 when the plan to bail out American banks via the TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Programme) caused a visceral public reaction, prompting Congress initially to reject the bill. Although the plan limited the severity of the recession, opponents still attack those congressmen who eventually supported the bill for being in hock to Wall Street.In Europe the debt crisis has soured the spirit of continental unity; old stereotypes of domineering Germans and feckless Mediterraneans are making a comeback. A contradiction was built into the system of a single currency: politicians promised that struggling nations would not be bailed out, but the bond markets reacted as if they would be. That belief pushed yields on the debt of peripheral countries close to those in the core, a phenomenon known as convergence.Europe’s leaders have since struggled to resolve this contradiction. They offered limited bail-outs, but never really sorted out the problem...
Bloomberg: Too much information

TODAY, what really connects the financial world? Money, intellect and ideology are candidates. But the best answer may be: the Bloomberg terminal. More than 315,000 of these data cockpits (see picture) are in use around the world, leased for $20,000 a year. To locate a shared terminal in an office one merely needs to follow the deepest footpath in the carpeting. “Smart money” cannot live without the Bloomberg’s wealth of statistical information, analytical software and communication links. It provides a window on the world’s financial flows.Imagine the horror, then, when users of the terminal discovered that it also provided Bloomberg’s reporters with a window on them. Until the practice was stopped recently, those reporters could see when users had been logged on, and more.The trouble emerged when a Bloomberg reporter in Hong Kong remarked to a contact at Goldman Sachs that one of the investment bank’s partners had not logged on to the system in some time—and might have departed. The bank quickly realised what the inquiry suggested and complained to Bloomberg. Discussions ensued and on May 9th Goldman issued a bland statement saying that it was assured that...
Turkish banks: The lure of the Bosphorus

BIG boys usually get their way, particularly in banking. But earlier this year the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, the world’s biggest bank, was outsmarted when it tried to gain a foothold in the Turkish market by buying Alternatifbank. Before ICBC could pounce, Commercial Bank of Qatar snapped up 71% for $460m. Now the Chinese firm is rumoured to be close to taking over Tekstilbank, put up for sale in March.ICBC’s efforts in Turkey are yet more evidence of how hot the country’s banking assets have become. Deals have multiplied over the past year. And it is easy to see why: Turkish banks had their crisis in the early 2000s and now look healthy. Moreover, the country is one of the few in Europe that is growing. Istanbul, Turkey’s commercial centre, is making a bid to become a financial hub, with its own version of Canary Wharf being built on the Asian side of the Bosphorus.Potential buyers stand to benefit from the woes of a number of European and American banks, which invested in Turkish banks a decade ago and are now selling because of their own troubled balance-sheets. Citigroup, for example, shed half of its 20% stake in Akbank, the country’s biggest bank, in December.The problems in neighbouring Greece have also put some Turkish subsidiaries on the “for sale” list. In December Burgan Bank of Kuwait bought Eurobank Tekfen from its troubled Greek owner,...
Stockmarkets: Don’t worry, be happy

EQUITY bulls are on the charge. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index have each notched up record highs so far this year, with investors enjoying double-digit gains. European shares, as measured by the Stoxx Europe 600 index, have reached their highest levels in almost five years.

So what is fuelling the rally? It does not seem to be the strength of the global economy. Recent data have been mixed. Last month the IMF lowered its global-growth forecast for the year from 3.5% to 3.3%. If global growth prospects were improving, one would expect emerging-market stockmarkets to be performing well, too; in fact, they have been flat this year (see chart). And commodity prices usually strengthen when the economy improves, but The Economist’s all-items index has fallen by 3.2% so far this year, with industrial materials dropping by 7.1%.Nor is the rally due to a surge in profits. First-quarter results from firms in the S&P 500...

Forbes

The Capitalist Tool

Economically, Could Obama Be America's Best President?
With the stock market hitting new highs, some people have already forgotten about the Great Recession.
Will American's New Boarding Process Work? It Failed At Virgin America.
Give American Airlines credit for trying a new method to board passengers more quickly. Airlines constantly tinker with the boarding process, and this time American says it has found a way to cut an average of two minutes from the 40 minutes to 45 minutes that it takes to board a narrowbody aircraft. American narrow bodies take off about 3,000 times a day, so two minutes per flight is a lot of time.
Study: 78% Of Salespeople Using Social Media Outsell Their Peers
When Jim Keenan, the social sales specialist, describes his work today, he’ll tell you that he’s “ushering salespeople from the old world into the social world” - the cold calling world to the Twitter world, the salespeople who call prospects incessantly to the salespeople who educate their prospects with relevant content. Keenan’s argument in the The Rise of Social Salespeople is that using social media to sell - increases profits.
5 Reasons Tumblr + Yahoo Is Good For Users
Whenever a spunky, growing startup gets sold to an established player, the cry goes out. Users won't like it. The culture will be ruined. The startup will be subsumed by its parent. Sometimes it's true, but in the case of the Yahoo purchase of Tumblr, I think there's an argument to be made that everyone wins: Tumblr users, Yahoo users, and the investors and staffs of both teams. Here's five reasons why critics are worried, and why they are wrong. 1. Yahoo will ruin Tumblr with ads. Tumblr is a 6-year-old company with $112 million in investor funds. There has been pressure, one presumes from the board, to get the site to profitability and ads went from zero to $13 million in 2012, and were projected to reach $100 million by 2013. Simply put, without a deep-pocketed parent, Tumblr was going to have to embrace ads, even as founder and CEO David Karp has said as recently as 2010 that ads "turn his stomach." So, will Yahoo junk up the Tumblr experience with a ton of ads? No way. Yahoo needs Tumblr to remain pure, and to keep the core users happy. Yahoo has plenty of related ad supported pages to introduce to the Tumblr community, and tons of new video offerings that will come with pre-roll avails. What Yahoo needs from Tumblr is its powerfully engaged, and curation capable use base. So the Yahoo deal protects the Tumblr users from an onslaught of ads that otherwise were on the horizon. This is good for both.
Yahoo's Tumblr Buy Fails Four Tests Of A Successful Acquisition
Yahoo will buy New York City-based blogging service, Tumblr, for $1.1 billion. This is bad news for Yahoo shareholders because the deal fails the four tests of a successful acquisition.
New App Lets You Boycott Koch Brothers, Monsanto And More By Scanning Your Shopping Cart
In her keynote speech at last year's annual Netroots Nation gathering, Darcy Burner pitched a seemingly simple idea to the thousands of bloggers and web developers in the audience. The former Microsoft programmer and congressional candidate proposed a smartphone app allowing shoppers to swipe barcodes to check whether conservative billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch were behind a product on the shelves.
Listed For $190 Million, This Is America's New Most Expensive Home For Sale
Greenwich, Conn. has long been known for its pricey ZIP codes, enviable proximity to New York City, and of course, a diaspora of wealthy Wall Street residents that has earned it a nickname as the hedge fund capital of the country. Now the tony town will be known for something else: as the location of America's most expensive home for sale.
'Game Of Thrones' Season 3, Episode 8 Review: Second Sons, White Walkers
'Game of Thrones' returns with another excellent episode Sunday night as HBO's dark fantasy drama nears the end of Season 3.
Why Leaders Must 'Get Real' - 5 Ways To Unlock Authentic Leadership
Leadership is far less about what you are doing, than about who you are being. If you think about the people who have influenced you most over the course of your career and life, it’s likely that what impacted you most was not what they did, but about who they were being while doing it.
Will Angelina Jolie Help End Climate-Change Denial, And Help The Republican Party?
File this one under unintended consequences. Angelina Jolie, by announcing her preventative double masectomy, will likely have significant influence well beyond women’s health. By modeling how to think with data when data do not tell us what we would otherwise want them to say, she displayed a level of decision-making courage that business and political leaders should strive to emulate. For example, her leadership just may end up helping those fighting in the Republican Party to end ongoing anti-science climate-change denial.

Commerce

Monday, January 21, A.D. 2013

Goat Soap

Wednesday, November 28, A.D. 2012

The Pseudoscience of SkyMall

Tuesday, June 19, A.D. 2012

Money Flow

Monday, April 23, A.D. 2012

Unz Upbraids Vioxx

Tuesday, March 20, A.D. 2012

Jobs: Steve vs. the Stimulus

Wednesday, November 16, A.D. 2011

YiaTube

Wednesday, September 28, A.D. 2011

Holy Smoke

Thursday, August 4, A.D. 2011

Snoopy Sno-Cone

Thursday, July 28, A.D. 2011

Black on Black Crime Hot Wings

Tuesday, July 19, A.D. 2011

The Mall

Realm Categories

Realm's Recent Entries

Archives

Recent Comments

The Economist

Liberalism in Print

Forbes

The Capitalist Tool