Even Heroism Will Be Regulated

This article explains how police in England preventing citizens from rescuing their neigbors in a fire. It sums up why I am so pessimistic about the vast boost statists received in November. Leviathan will crush us.

Right Hand a Stranger to Left Hand

You can tell a lot about someone by observing how they interact with after you give them something they need desparately.

Which is why I prefer to do it anonymously. This site is a great idea. Unfortunately, the transaction cost is quite high, but it fills a great need. From the endorsements, I'm about 95% certain it's run by Christians (McClung is a bigwig in YWAM).

Dog Whistle Screeches Rush at the Corner

At National Review's group blog, The Corner, John Hood has been titling his posts for the past week or so with lyrics from the ancient Canadian rock band Rush. They elicit a laugh every time because I'm sure they are cryptic for 99+% of Corner readers. Today's post features an excerpt from the Toronto trio's best song (IMO), Limelight.

So You Think You Understand the Financial Crisis?

Check out this new blog by a person who deals in Credit Deafult Swaps. Make sure you read the comments. Did you add it to your RSS feed?

I thought not.

"It’s a multi-asset monte carlo engine with a correlation matrix" I'm feeling that the investment scene is like me back in Greece right after college, handing over my wallet to the vendor and hoping he gives me the right change.

Wisconsin: America's Dumbsloganland

Wisconsin has a new slogan: "live like you mean it." A dozen varieties of revulsion well forth within me as I contemplate this excresense. Does anyone but me find it just a shade sinister? What business is it of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism to command meaning into my life? And what kind of meaning do they have in mind? The gymnast balanced on the S and the C in the logo betrays the source - the Human Potential Movement and all like ilk which befoul our civilization. The message is always the same: if you aren't living life like Pippi Longstocking, your life has no meaning.

The Orwellian overtones of this new slogan (and I hope the tourism bureaucrats are sued by legions of winged lawyer demons until they change the slogan to "Wisconsin: Beer, Cheese, and Fat People") were reinforced by the way I found out about it - a demand to know whether I was living like I mean it (HT Angie Brennan). Aaaargghhh.

If we have to have a state motto, let it be anodyne but distinctive. By these criteria, I've never been a fan of "Live Free or Die" and Quebec's "I remember" has to be the most depressing motto ever stamped into a license plate. What was the matter with America's Dairyland? I suspect I know - shame. A lot of people are ashamed to be from Wisconsin. Having lived for six years in the most narcissistic state in the union (Texas), there's something wonderful about living in a modest and humble state.

We are now gearing up to host another foreign exchange student for the next school year. The program we participate in lets the foreign student "guarantee" a particular state for an extra fee. Almost all the state guarantees are for California, Texas, or Florida. Wonder of wonders, a few days ago we encountered a young woman in the listings who had paid for a Wisconsin guarantee. She is paying extra to come to Wisconsin! I wish we could host her.

When I Write a Thriller

1. A villain will demonstrate his evil bona fides by killing a dog.
2. One prominent plot device will be a flash mob.
3. A woman will try to punch a bad guy and will wind up with a concussion.
4. The terrorists will be Muslims, and none of them will be conflicted, though one will have blue eyes.
5. The president of the U.S. will be from North Dakota, and having Finnish ancestry, her name will end in a vowel.
6. She will slaughter more people than Margaret Thatcher ever dreamed.
7. The hero will have a happy marriage.
8. The opening scene will take place at a boat show.

Great Depression Flashbacks

I find myself groping for memories of my grandparents' memories these days. As a child, they would sometimes let drop an anecdote about hard times, but I didn't pay much attention. This article is a good refresher.

Parents with Daughters: Boycott Pixar

I have become increasingly upset by an undeniable trend I've noticed in Pixar movies. Let's examine the lead roles in them:

Toy Story:	male toy
A Bug's Life:	male ant
Toy Story 2:	male toy
Monsters, Inc:	male monster
Finding Nemo:	male clownfish
The Incredibles:	male human
Cars:	male race car
Ratatouille:	male rat
WALL*E:	male robot
Up:	male misanthrope

Spot a pattern here? I do, and what's more disturbing is Pixar's handling of the secondary female characters. What do we find? A hapless insect princess, a brain damanged Regal Tang, rude French kitchen help, a curvacious German sportscar. On and on it goes. Reinforcing destructive stereotypes. Sending a loud and clear message to your girls: No You Can't. No, you can't save your colony from disaster. No, you can't expose corruption in Monstropolis. No, you can't compact trash.

I would have thought things would change when Disney took over. During the Disney animation renaissance that began in 1989, the studio progressed admirably from the mewling red-headed mermaid who collected forks to the awesome man-killer Mulan, who single-handedly slaughtered most of the Hun army.

When I take my five boys to see Coraline, I'll make sure to point out them that it's not a Pixar movie.