Mike Schilling
/// February 12, 2016
When I first went to see him, I telephoned P. G. Wodehouse and asked for directions from New York to his house on Long Island. He merely chuckled, as if I had asked him to compare Euclid with Einstein or attempt some other laughably impossible task. “Oh, I can’t tell you that,” he said. “I don’t have a clue.”
From P. G. Wodehouse, The Art of Fiction No. 60Interviewed by Gerald Clarke — The Paris Review
Mike Schilling
/// August 28, 2013
If P. G. Wodehouse had moved from musical comedy to epic fantasy, it might have begun something like this.
There’s been a boom in day trading and individual investing over the past several months — activity that’s often taking place or being discussed on platforms such as Reddit and Robinhood instead of in more traditional arenas. And one big question amid the frenzy has been how much the little guys really matter. Sure, small-time investors trade a lot, sometimes to the annoyance of more traditional institutions, but are they really consequential?
When it comes to the GameStop saga, at least, the answer is yes. An army of traders on the Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets helped drive a meteoric rise in GameStop’s stock price in recent days, forcing it to halt trading multiple times and causing a major headache for the short sellers betting against it and banking on the stock falling.
(Featured image is "Blowing up balloons" by JoshBerglund19 and is licensed under CC BY 2.0)
Comment →TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey legislators have approved three bills that reshaped how the Garden State handles drug use involving marijuana.
The state’s Senate and Assembly voted first to create a new and legal marijuana industry from scratch and called for new regulations to be written within six months.
Additionally, both houses approved a bill that decriminalizes possession of up to six ounces of cannabis. That second bill is designed to stop arrests and expunge criminal records of low-level marijuana offenses.
...
Now, the Garden State is set to become the only state in the U.S. where adults can legally use, possess, and purchase cannabis while still risking prison for growing marijuana at home—under any circumstances.
(Featured image is "NEW JERSEY 1953 ---FARM USE LICENSE PLATE" by woody1778a and is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)
Comment →Leon Black plans to step down as chief executive of Apollo Global Management Inc. after an independent review revealed larger-than-expected payments to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that it nevertheless deemed justified.
The months long review by Dechert LLP found no evidence that Mr. Black was involved in the criminal activities of the late Epstein, who was indicted in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges involving underage girls, according to a copy of the law firm’s report that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal.
In its report, Dechert found the fees that the billionaire had paid Epstein were for legitimate advice on trust- and estate-tax planning that proved to be of significant value to Mr. Black and his family. Mr. Black paid Epstein a total of $148 million, plus a $10 million donation to his charity—far more than was previously known.
(Featured image is "Did You Say 'Bribe'?" by ccPixs.com and is licensed under CC BY 2.0)
Comment →When I was a kid, I heard a handful of references to "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" but I had always assumed that the song was a parody. Like, it was a much more bitter "I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" from Country Joe and the Fish.
I've recently had an opportunity to listen to the song a couple of times and was inspired to do research into it and, as it turns out, it was written in 1942 as a response to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
I've listened to three or four versions of the song but have concluded that this version is my favorite. I hope you like it too.
(Featured image is "5.56 Match Ammo" by mr.smashy and is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)
Comment →
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InMD in reply to Jaybird on From Vox: The GameStop stock frenzy, explainedIs it wrong to kind of hope that happens?
Brandon Berg in reply to Slade the Leveller on From Vox: The GameStop stock frenzy, explainedShorting is a good thing, when it's right. If a st…Bra in reply to Philip H on Telework Will Change Our Cities, and (Maybe) Our PoliticsIs this a question about causal inference, or abou…
Jaybird in reply to Jaybird on From Vox: The GameStop stock frenzy, explainedThey're also now playing this game with AMC and...…Jaybird in reply to James K on From Vox: The GameStop stock frenzy, explainedWell, consider this particular price discovered.
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James K on From Vox: The GameStop stock frenzy, explainedThe prejudice against short-sellers may be the mos…
Fish on Food, or Eating Your Beans and Cornbread Thankfully Like An AdultThis was fantastic, Andrew. Reminds me quite a bit…
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