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Change in the Age of Parasitic Capitalism
Michael Stephens | March 29, 2012
In his latest policy note, C. J. Polychroniou argues that the political and economic dominance of finance is pushing advanced liberal societies to a breaking point:
The main problem is the power that finance capitalism exerts over domestic society and the abuses that it inflicts. Finance capitalism is economically unproductive (it does not create true wealth), socially parasitic (it lives off the revenues produced by other sectors of the economy), and politically antidemocratic (it restricts the distribution of wealth, creates unparalleled inequality, and fights for exclusive privileges). At the turn of the 20th century, finance capitalism … was still seeking to bring industry under its control and exercised its brutal power largely on undemocratic societies overseas. By the late 1970s, it can safely be said that finance capitalism had subjugated industry at home and took control of government power in the same manner that the great industrialists of the 19th and 20th centuries were able to influence public policy. The difference is that finance capitalism has no vested interest in seeing the living standards of ordinary people improve, and regards any public intervention as an attack on its freedom to exploit society's economic and financial resources as it sees fit. Industrial capitalism was a progressive stage of economic development relative to agrarian capitalism and feudalism. …. But the dominance of finance capitalism represents a setback for society as a whole.
Can Tax-Backed Bonds Save the Eurozone?
Philip Pilkington and Warren Mosler have teamed up to present a financial innovation that they believe could settle the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis: a special type of "tax-backed bond" that contains a clause stating that if (and only if) the country issuing the bond defaults, the bond can be used to make tax payments in that country. "If an investor holds an Irish government bond, for example, worth 1,000 euros," they write, "and the Irish government misses a payment of interest or principal, the investor can simply use the bond to make tax payments to the Irish government in the amount of 1,000 euros."
Pilkington and Mosler call attention to the fact that countries like Japan that issue their own currency are not facing unbearably heavy interest costs on their debt; with the reason being that such countries can always make payments when due. Investors know that Japan can always create enough yen to meet its obligations. Eurozone member-states, however, are users, not issuers of the euro, and as a result, while many countries in the periphery have debt-to-GDP ratios that are smaller than Japan's, they nevertheless face higher and higher debt servicing costs.
The idea behind the tax-backed bond, which draws inspiration from Modern Monetary Theory, is to provide a way of securing investor confidence in peripheral debt (the bonds are guaranteed to be "money good," since they're acceptable for the payment of taxes in the event of default) and thereby keep interest payments under control, without requiring a eurozone exit; to provide a way of endowing peripheral debt with an aura of safety comparable to that of the debt of a currency-issuing nation—but without requiring a country like Greece to actually leave the euro and revert to the drachma.
And as Pilkington and Mosler argue, if this plan works, the bonds would never actually be used for tax payments: "since this tax backing would set an absolute floor below which the value of the asset could not fall, and because the bonds pay a fair rate of interest, there would be no risk of actual loss and no reason to part with them—and, hence, the bonds might never be used to repay taxes."
You can read their proposal here.
Why Minsky Matters (Part One)
L. Randall Wray | March 27, 2012
My friend Steve Keen recently presented a "primer" on Hyman Minsky; you can read it here.
In his piece, Steve criticized the methodology used by Paul Krugman and argued that Krugman could learn a lot from Minsky. In particular, Krugman's equilibrium approach and primitive dynamics were contrasted to Minsky's rich analysis. Finally, Krugman's model of debt deflation dynamics left out banks—while banks always played an important role in Minsky's approach. Krugman responded here.
I found two things of interest in this exchange.
First, Krugman argued: "So, first of all, my basic reaction to discussions about What Minsky Really Meant — and, similarly, to discussions about What Keynes Really Meant — is, I Don't Care." This is not the first time Krugman has mentioned Minsky—see, for example, here, which previewed a talk he was to give titled "The night they reread Minsky."
Amazingly, Minsky only appears in the title of the talk. It is pretty clear that Krugman has not cared enough to try to find out what Minsky wrote, much less "what Minsky really meant." Minsky always argued that he stood "on the shoulders of giants"—and he took the time to find out what they had said. So while Minsky probably would have agreed with Krugman that arguing about what the "master" really meant was less interesting, he did believe it was worthwhile to try to understand the writings of those whose shoulders you stand on.
Second, at the end of his most recent blog it is pretty clear that Krugman leaves banks out of his model because he doesn't understand "what banks do." He starts by saying "If I decide to cut back on my spending and stash the funds in a bank, which lends them out to someone else…" Well, if he had actually read Minsky, he would understand that this is the description of a loan shark, not a bank.
So what I want to do today is to quickly summarize Minsky's main areas of research. Then next week I will post more on Minsky's view of "money and banking." For those who want to read ahead, you can see the more "wonkish" piece at the Levy Institute, where I summarize Minsky's later (mostly unknown) work on banks.
So, who was this Minsky guy and what was he all about? continue reading…
The Levy Institute Measure of Time and Income Poverty
Thomas Masterson | March 23, 2012
I'd like to take a moment to give a brief report on some research that my colleagues Ajit Zacharias, Rania Antonopoulous, and I have been working on as a result of collaboration between the Levy Economics Institute and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Regional Service Centre for Latin America and the Caribbean (RSCLAC), particularly the Gender Practice, Poverty, and Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Areas. It addresses an identified need to expand our understanding of the links between income poverty and the time allocation of households, and between paid and unpaid work. Policies to combat poverty and promote equality require a deeper and more detailed understanding of the linkages between conditions of employment, unpaid household production, and existing arrangements of social provisioning—including social care provisioning.
Income poverty is customarily judged by the ability of individuals and households to gain access to some level of minimum income based on the premise that such access ensures the fulfilment of basic material needs. However, this approach neglects to take into account the necessary (unpaid) household production requirements, without which basic needs cannot be fulfilled. Households differ in terms of their household production requirements and also in terms of the time their members have available to meet the requirements, so it should not be assumed that all households can meet these requirements. In order to promote gender equality, it is imperative to understand how labor force participation and earnings interact with household production responsibilities, as it is already well established that women contribute their time disproportionately to unpaid work.
We provide an analytical and empirical framework that includes unpaid household production work in the concept and measurement of poverty. Our approach shows that awareness of gender differences (especially in unpaid work) can bring to the forefront a 'missing' but key analytical category that allows for an improved measurement of poverty, and a deeper and more precise poverty classification of households and individuals. Future posts will delve more into policy ramifications of this work. In this post, I want to report on two of the headline results of our research.
Our alternative measure is a two-dimensional measure of income and time poverty, which we refer to as the Levy Institute Measure of Time and Income Poverty (LIMTIP). Time poverty, especially when coupled with income poverty, imposes hardships on the adults who are time-poor as well as their dependents, particularly the children, elderly, and sick. Income poverty alone does not convey enough useful information about their deprivation. Our measure can shed light on this phenomenon. My colleague Ajit Zacharias has published a working paper that lays out the theoretical underpinnings of the measure, and I have a working paper that outlines the methods used to construct the data sets we used to create the measure for Argentina, Chile, and Mexico.
The first important result of our project is that the size of the hidden poor, namely those with incomes above the official threshold but below the LIMTIP poverty line, is considerable in all three countries (Table 1). The LIMTIP income poverty rate for Argentina is 11.1 percent, compared to 6.2 percent for the official poverty line. For Chile, adjusting for time deficits increases the poverty rate to 17.8 percent from 10.9 percent for the official line. And in Mexico, the poverty rate increases to 50 percent from an already-high 41 percent. This implies that the households in hidden poverty in Argentina, Chile, and Mexico comprise, respectively, 5, 7, and 9 percent of all households.
The second important result of taking time deficits into account is that it dramatically alters our understanding of the depth of income poverty. The average LIMTIP income deficit (the time-adjusted poverty line minus household income) for poor households was 1.5 times higher than the official income deficit in Argentina and Chile and 1.3 times higher in Mexico. Thus, official poverty measures grossly understate the unmet income needs of the poor population. From a practical standpoint, this suggests that taking time deficits into account while formulating poverty alleviation programs will significantly shift both the coverage (including the 'hidden poor' in the target population) and the benefit levels (including the time-adjusted income deficits where appropriate).
Table 1 Official, LIMTIP, and 'Hidden' Poverty Rates and Number of Poor (thousands)
Official income poverty
LIMTIP income poverty
'Hidden poor'
Redistribution of Wealth, Foreclosure Style
Matthew Goldstein and Jennifer Ablan report on the latest US investment craze: buying up large bundles of foreclosed homes from Fannie Mae and renting them out to take advantage of the hot rental market. Randall Wray is among the critics quoted in the article who contend that, as Goldstein and Ablan put it, "the federal government is fostering a transfer of wealth of sorts by selling big pools of foreclosed homes to big fund investors and high-net-worth individuals. There's also concern that some of the players who helped create the housing crisis will now benefit by buying foreclosed homes at a steep discount."
Wall Street benefited from the ballooning indebtedness of American households on the way up, and now on the way down they're taking advantage of the flipside of that indebtedness, as families' assets are seized, transferred, and rented out … likely to some of the same people who just lost their homes. That feedback loop is galling enough. But as Wray has pointed out, it's also a cycle that's been greased by foreclosure fraud.
Felix Salmon is surprised at the continued success of the financial industry in pushing legislation (in this case, he's talking about the proposed "JOBS Act," a key provision of which involves a nice dose of financial deregulation): "a bill which was essentially drafted by a small group of bankers and financiers has managed to get itself widespread bipartisan support, even as it rolls back decades of investor protections."
At this point, it's very difficult to imagine what could possibly change these dynamics. Clearly, triggering a global economic collapse hasn't made a dent in the sway the industry holds. There was a lot of enthusiasm surrounding the Occupy movements, but it's hard to see it amounting to a countervailing political force (even if it intended to be one, which isn't clear). Dodd-Frank, for all its faults (and they are legion: see this new Levy Institute working paper by Bernard Shull, and Chapter 1 of this analysis) appears to be the only game in town. If it's able to shrink the sector a little that may change the political economy—but only at the margins. And that's likely the best case scenario.
To Help Address Inequality, Reinvent Fiscal Stimulus
In 2010, the first year of the economic recovery, 93 percent of all income growth in the US was captured by the top 1 percent, according to Emmanuel Saez. There are a whole host of reasons for the stubborn persistence of corrosive levels of inequality, but one of the surprising contributing factors may be found in the way we approach fiscal stimulus policy.
In her newest policy note, Pavlina Tcherneva explains how a conventional "prime the pump" approach to stimulating the economy does little to alleviate tendencies toward unequal growth—and may even exacerbate them. The status quo, at best, offers us two choices in fiscal policy flavors: austerity and stimulus through aggregate demand management. While stimulus is preferable, says Tcherneva, there are still flaws in a fiscal strategy that aims at boosting investment and growth without explicitly targeting unemployment. The problem with pump priming is that it is rarely aggressive enough to adequately reduce unemployment—and when it is sufficiently aggressive, it has inflationary tendencies.
Here Tcherneva is relying on a recent working paper of hers that models the effects of different fiscal policies on prices and income distribution. She compares the effects of government as a provider of income transfers (in the form of unemployment insurance and investment subsidies), as a purchaser of goods and services, and as a direct employer of workers and finds that the first two policies are more inflationary and more inequitable than direct job creation: "pro-investment policies in particular add upward pressure to prices and skew the income distribution toward the capital share of income."
Jumping off from these results, Tcherneva offers a third way on fiscal policy, beyond austerity and pump priming. continue reading…
What a Real Fiscal Crisis Looks Like
It says something about how badly the battle for public opinion on budget matters has been lost when a headline about a "fiscal cliff" the US is about to fall over in 2013 leaves you grimly expecting a pile of words dedicated to the poorly articulated threat of near-term public debt and deficits. But in this case, hold off on letting your eyes glaze over. The author is Alan Blinder and the fiscal emergency he's talking about is a large scheduled swing toward further budget austerity: a combination of expiring tax cuts and automatic spending cuts (from the debt ceiling deal) that are all set to occur in January 2013. Combined, says Blinder, the fiscal contraction amounts to a drag of 3.5% of GDP—a serious blow to aggregate demand.
And if the macro-level view of things doesn't grip you, the view from the ground offers enough frustrating examples of the self-inflicted wounds to come. As Nancy Folbre points out today, Head Start, the early childhood education (ECE) funding program, is destined for cuts. This isn't just a "think of the poor children!" moment (though, seriously, think of the poor children. For whatever reason, only budget hawks are allowed to chastise us for short-changing the next generation). The economic case for borrowing right now (at negative real interest rates) to make public investments in projects that would yield even modest benefits down the road is compelling. Making the case for decreasing investment over the next few years in a program that yields substantial benefits, like early childhood education, is a feat to be attempted by only the most clever of sophists. This is one of those situations where the macro level might not be the most favorable terrain for an argument; where "cutting government spending" doesn't register quite like "cutting early childhood education."
And this isn't just a rhetorical point—the payoffs from ECE are considerable. Rania Antonopoulos and Kijong Kim's working paper on the economic benefits of ECE surveys the research showing the direct welfare improvements and positive spillover effects that come from these investments in human capital (enhanced cognitive and noncognitive development for children leading to improved labor market outcomes and asset ownership in the future, improved labor market participation for mothers, higher GDP, etc.). Antonopoulos and Kim also share the results of their research (along with a team of other Levy Institute scholars) on the job creation potential of a 50 percent increase in Head Start/Early Head Start funding (which, it should be noted, still wouldn't be enough to offer universal ECE). In terms of the number of jobs created per dollar spent, they found that investing in social care service delivery packs a serious punch (more than twice the jobs per dollar, when compared with more capital-intensive infrastructure projects). And if that isn't enough, Head Start, because it's targeted at poor children, enhances the sort of equality to which both sides of the political spectrum feel compelled to pay lip service: equality of opportunity.
Head Start, as Folbre observes, "has never served more than 60 percent of eligible children in extreme poverty." That's a lot of wasted potential. We're planning on wasting even more, and in exchange for what exactly?
Opinions on Modern Monetary Systems Not Sharply at Odds
Greg Hannsgen | March 15, 2012
The Nation notes that austerity policies in Europe have proved to be very damaging to economic growth in the region, and points out that after adhering to IMF and EU austerity programs since last May, Portugal is "even deeper in the hole. The austerity has only increased its debt, as it has spread more suffering."
The editorial goes on to point out that the euro countries have also been hindered by their unified currency system. This system currently makes it difficult for member governments to see to it that there is a market for their bonds and other securities—namely, their central banks. Taking exception to Republican fears of a "Greek-type collapse," the Nation emphasizes that the "sovereign currency" possessed by the American government has always allowed it to avoid difficulties making payments on its debt. (A web version of the editorial is here. A similar Washington Post opinion piece is posted here.) Compare this with the current financial problems experienced by many state and local governments, as documented by recent articles in the New York Times ("Deficits Push New York Cities and Counties to Desperation") and the Wall Street Journal ("States Keep Axes Sharpened").
Many things can go wrong in an economy, even one with a smoothly running monetary system. But the Nation's argument remains crucial for the U.S.—first, that deficit-financed stimulus programs have helped keep our economy going; and second, that a government with its own currency is almost unable to default.
Quick note: In an interesting op-ed piece, Martin Wolf of the Financial Times notes that U.S. budget deficits have allowed the private sector to deleverage a bit: "If the public sector does not sustain spending as the private sector cuts back, the latter will go too far, causing unnecessarily deep damage to the economy." He contrasts the U.S. situation with the crisis in the United Kingdom and Spain, where deleveraging has not gone as far. He points out that Spain's lack of a sovereign currency has prevented its government from helping along the private-sector deleveraging process.
Greece's Pyrrhic Victories
C J Polychroniou explains how the latest pair of efforts aimed at addressing the Greek crisis, the newest bailout package and the bond swap, create tremendous complications down the road even if they may offer a temporary respite. As you know, the bailout money was shackled to a series of grim austerity measures that will push the already struggling nation further under water. But his analysis of the bond swap is even more intriguing.
One way of getting at the political challenge in the eurozone is to note that many powerful economic solutions involve, not to put too fine a point on it, reinvesting resources from countries like Germany into countries like Greece. This is something that happens all the time within units that understand themselves as nations (or aspire to such an understanding. As Dimitri Papadimitriou and Randall Wray point out, after reunification Germany invested resources in the former East Germany in much the same way). But the question of whether revenues from New York are being shoveled into Mississippi rarely becomes a live issue. Within the eurozone, however, these distributional questions are fraught with political peril; dooming a whole host of solid policy solutions. And Polychroniou suggests that the restructuring of roughly 200 billion euros in private debt that just took place may have actually made these political dynamics worse (while also making life more difficult for Greece if forced out of the eurozone):
the bond swap was a deal forced on private investors, … yet the new bonds have been issued under foreign law. This doesn't mean that the Parthenon is at risk of one day falling into the hands of foreign creditors, but it does mean that the Greek government has lost whatever strategic advantage it may have had in the ruthless game of sovereign debt restructuring. For one, all of Greece's debt is now wholly owned by public institutions (with European taxpayers bearing much of the cost), so the next debt restructuring phase could entail political, not merely economic, consequences. Simply put, it could pave the way for Greece's forced exit from the eurozone. Indeed, given the prevailing sentiments toward Greece across Europe, it is most unlikely that European taxpayers will accept kindly the idea of getting stuck with Greece's bill while allowing a pariah state to remain in the Union. However, in the event of an exit from the eurozone, Greece will no longer be able to pass legislation to convert euro-dominated debt into new drachmas.
Read the whole thing here.
Why Haven't Business Groups Pushed Harder for Stimulus?
Although recent employment numbers seem to have set off a fresh round of complacency, the December Strategic Analysis from the Levy Institute makes it pretty clear that more fiscal stimulus is necessary if the economy is going to reach decent levels of growth and employment anytime soon.
However, there's very little reason to think that anything substantial is forthcoming on the stimulus front, as the US slides slowly into austerity. And the biggest obstacle is congressional opposition. Short of an historic wave election, substantial new stimulus just isn't likely (although when it comes to increasing government spending to counteract a recession, Congress appears to be much more accommodating when there's a Republican in the Oval Office). But short of these once-in-generation electoral outcomes, there's another possibility: business groups could come around to the realization that they might benefit from an increase in aggregate demand and start seriously pushing their clients in Congress to pass something.
An article in Bloomberg points out that just such a push occurred in the 1940s, as a coalition of business interests, concerned about what would happen to demand as war spending wound down, pushed for fiscal stimulus (interesting side note: Fed Chairman Marriner Eccles is featured in the article as someone whose Depression-era experience in the private sector led him to conclude that government stimulus was necessary):
Dennison joined forces with Paul Hoffman of Studebaker, advertising executive William Benton, and top managers from Eastman Kodak, General Foods, Sears and General Motors in the Committee for Economic Development in 1942. Fearful that the economy would slip back into a depression once World War II ended, they advocated an activist state that spent money to promote consumption and high employment. Their position was hardly radical, and they aimed their appeal at "all who are interested in keeping the system of private enterprise and larger personal freedom." But they understood that capitalism could survive only if there was a way to "counter the tendencies toward boom and depression." Capitalism required growth, by whatever means necessary.
… soon even the Chamber of Commerce took the plunge and joined the growth coalition. Under the dynamic leadership of Eric Johnston, it supported the Full Employment Act of 1946, a Keynesian, albeit conservative, embrace of government spending to reduce the boom-and-bust cycle that Hoffman feared.
It's notable that such a coalition, as far as I can tell, has not emerged in the contemporary United States. One can't help but think that it might have something to do with the decoupling of median and average incomes; with the fact that the top 1 percent seem to be able to enjoy quite robust income growth without needing to pull the average worker along with them.


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Executive MBA: Leading Transformation in a Digital World
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Marc's talk was a good antidote and gave me some helpful new metaphors for thinking about and explaining what Git does. Git for Visual is the website he built to go with his talk and it links to his Skillshare class + a free cheatsheet, both of which would be excellent resources for anyone looking to get more comfortable using Git.
I've gotten to see Julie speak plenty of times now, including a shorter talk on this topic, so I knew what I was in for: beautiful slides with an overwhelming amount of interesting information that would make me want to redo all of my CSS ever to be better/faster/stronger. I was not disappointed! Julie gave a great overview of several popular approaches to object-oriented CSS and I'm looking forward to learning more about each and trying out various methodologies. Here's a whole scalable CSS reading list that looks really promising and Julie's slides are online as well!
Aisha is a good friend of mine and a co-organizer of Girl Develop It Detroit, so I was extra excited to see her present! She shared honestly about some of the adversity & obnoxiousness she's faced as a Black woman in technology and gave lots of concrete examples of what companies and managers can do to improve working environments. I'm thrilled that she's taking this talk on the road to Future Insights Live this week, because it's a message that needs to be heard.
Self.conference was a fantastic & inspiring experience that I'd recommend to anyone. The diversity of speakers & topics was refreshing and exciting, and I left feeling energized about my work and the future. I hope to attend again next year and for many years to come – but for that to happen, we'll all need to pitch in. The conference fell short on funding this year and is seeking donations. If you value having a diverse and meaningful tech conference in the Midwest, please consider donating – and hopefully I'll see you there in 2016!


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Home / Books / Book Reviews / Book Review: The Wurms Of Blearmouth by Steven Erikson
Mayhem and bedlam mixed with a healthy dose of humour make this a great read.
Book Review: The Wurms Of Blearmouth by Steven Erikson
Richard Marcus July 18, 2012	Comments Off on Book Review: The Wurms Of Blearmouth by Steven Erikson 74 Views
One of the crasser ways devised by television producers to cash in on the popularity of a show was the "spin off". This usually involved taking a second-tier character from an original show and trying to make something out of nothing for no other reason than to make more money.
Almost invariably, these shows were not only inferior to the originals but would never last more then one or two seasons. The problem was that most supporting characters didn't have the substance to base a show around. They had been created with the purpose of being incidental to the main action and that quickly became obvious when the spotlight shone on them. Just because a character could grab an audience's attention for 30 seconds a week didn't mean he or she was interesting enough to have their own show.
In the literary world spin offs aren't as common as they are in television. They are rare enough occurrences to make them noteworthy if for no other reason than the author has been able to find the time to write about secondary characters. Therefore when Steven Erikson, best known for the 10-book series The Malazan Book Of The Fallen, began writing novellas featuring three characters who made a brief, yet memorable, appearance in one of his books, I decided to check them out.
Everything I had by Erikson up to that point was worth reading, so the chances were good these would be too. That the characters in question, the necromancers Bauchelain and Korbal Broach and their man servant Emancipator Reece (also known as Mancy the Unlucky for his history as a sailor on doomed ships and the fact that all of his prior employers had meant untimely ends) had made an indelible impression in their brief appearance, was evidence there was a good chance they could carry a novella on their own.
The Wurms Of Blearmoth, currently available from Britain's PS Publishing and hopefully soon to be released in North America by Macmillan who have published three previous novellas in omnibus form, is the fourth tale to feature two villains you'll learn to love to hate and their luckless manservant. (A fifth book, The Crackedpot Trial, focuses on a group of disparate hunters trying to track down Bauchelain and Korbal Broach for the various crimes they have committed against society.)
As we have discovered in their previous adventures evil and villainy are relative terms, and as often as not the two necromancers are relatively benign compared to those they have encounter on their travels.
When the Suncurl, the ship they had boarded to make their hasty exit from the town of Lamentable Moll, finally gives out under them, Bauchelain, Korbal Broach and Emancipator Reece find themselves wading ashore at one of the most desolate outposts in West Elingarth, Spendrugle of Blearmouth. Why anyone would want to hold sway over such a backwards outpost is unknown, but Lord Fangtooth Claw the Render, has only recently usurped his brother to take control of the remote backwater.
That he takes his position as local tyrant seriously is made clear by his keeping his brother chained in the dungeons of his moulding keep for a bit of routine torture, his edict that all newcomers be brought to said keep in order to be put to death and his employment of a scribe to make sure his words are remembered for posterity. While Fangtooth is ruler of this little cesspit, the town's inhabitants are more than his equal when it comes to being memorable.
From the inn keeper/madam with the strange additions to her anatomy and her beautiful yet simple daughter, the ex-tax collector who plots to leave the town with the aforementioned daughter, the town's sole militia member who carries out his master's edict of arresting all newcomers, to the hung man who refused to die and to the strange old fellow who lives in a cabin by the beach, the town seems filled out of proportion to its size with the weird and the odd.
Yet as strange a collection of folk they might be, they are still woefully unprepared for the onslaught of visitors they are about to receive. For not only do everyone's favourite necromancers make it ashore from the wreck, so do three of the boat's crew. These three bring with them a history that includes a posse of heavily armed, but not very intelligent, soldiers intent on bringing them to justice for a theft they carried out in a far off land. The first mistake the locals make is treating Bauchelain and Korbal Broach as they would any other visitors – which means being taken up to the keep for Lord Fangtooth's pleasure.
Not content to merely allow events to take their natural course, having Bauchelain make short work of the local despot, Erikson shows why the two sorcerers have become favourite characters in spite of their own predilections. Before disposing of Fangtooth, Erikson has Bauchelain engage him in a philosophical discussion on the nature of tyranny over dinner. Over a meal that was designed to poison its guests, the two debate on the hows and wherefores of what is required to be a successful tyrant and how to best subjugate townspeople. Needless to say Fangtooth is much distraught to find his company still alive when the evening's repast is complete and excuses himself to kill the cook.
Of course the arrival of the other visitors has not gone unnoticed in the village, and the result is quite a to do that ends in substantial bloodletting. Of course it doesn't help matters that the witch who Fangtooth deposed, who also happens to be a shape shifter, manages to regain her powers and chooses this moment to exact vengeance on those town folk she believes betrayed her. So all in all it ends up being a night of glorious bedlam resulting in the local population being somewhat diminished by its conclusion.
Anyone who has read anything else by Erikson will know of his ability to write humour, and this book is a great example of just how twisted and dark it can be. Yet in spite of some of the more gruesome and macabre moments to be found there is an underlying layer of intelligent satire that elevates it above most stories of this type.
Filled with strange and interesting characters and action suiting their various miens The Wurms Of Blearmouth is a treat for Erikson fans everywhere. If you've been intimidated by the sheer size of the Malazon Book Of The Fallen the novellas featuring Bauchelain and Korbal Broach provide an easier path of entry to the wonderful world Erikson has created. However, be warned, like all entry level drugs you'll find them highly addictive and habit-forming.
Tags book eds-pick Fantasy fiction novella Steven Erikson
About Richard Marcus
Richard Marcus is the author of two books commissioned by Ulysses Press, "What Will Happen In Eragon IV?" (2009) and "The Unofficial Heroes Of Olympus Companion". Aside from Blogcritics his work has appeared around the world in publications like the German edition of Rolling Stone Magazine and the multilingual web site Qantara.de. He has been writing for Blogcritics.org since 2005 and has published around 1900 articles at the site.
Graphic Novel Review: 'Year of the Rabbit' by Tian Veasna from Drawn+Quarterly
Ten Best Books 2019
Book Review: 'A Keeper' by Graham Norton
Book Review: 'The Winter Sisters' by Tim Westover
In this earthy, magical-realist dive into small-town Southern life two centuries ago, Westover explores the boundaries of medical science and superstition.


I am a huge Shakespeare nut. In university, I took an introduction to Shakespeare course as my elective and every year I see at least 2 of his plays. So needless to say, if I see a book that is based on a Shakespeare story or has Shakespeare in the title/plot summary–I am there. So I am happy to say that I very much enjoyed this book!
One thing I really enjoyed about this was the history within it. Mingle's writing makes me feel like I am living in that exact moment of history. Especially with respect to the history of Catholic and Protestant religions in Britain. I had studied that in school and I felt that she captured that history incredibly well. She is descriptive enough to allow you to create the world in your head but not so descriptive that you are skimming the paragraph to get on with the story. It is the perfect balance which makes this book so enjoyable to read.
You don't have to be a Shakespeare nut to like this book. It has very little to do with his plays and focuses more on what his life was like back in his time. There is a bit of mystery and suspense, and of course, romance but it mostly focuses on the history.
That might be why people don't like this book. If you don't enjoy history focused novels, you might want to avoid this one. You might not like the heroine either. I didn't particularly love Miranda–she wasn't as annoying to me as some other heroines but I didn't find anything that I particularly liked about her.
The book ended pretty suddenly in my opinion (it might have been because I was tired when I finished it though :P). I also like a little bit more closure in my books so I wouldn't hate the idea of a sequel but it really isn't necessary.
I really enjoyed this book. I liked the history of it all but that history might not appeal to everyone so be warned!


Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero (born December 12, 1938), with Italian origins known professionally as Connie Francis, is an American pop singer best known for several international hit songs including "Who's Sorry Now?," "Lipstick on Your Collar," "Where the Boys Are" and "Stupid Cupid." She topped the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart on three occasions with "Everybody's Somebody's Fool," "My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own" and "Don't Break the Heart That Loves You." She was the top charting female artist of the 1950s and 1960s.
MGM Records Label; Mono recording; Album cover has split seams on three sides and has been taped.


This is the first year I have had Hyacinth Bean, a vigorous annual vine in my garden. Also known as the Jefferson Bean, prefers full sun. I ordered seeds and planted them in small pots this spring. I transplanted one into my retaining wall garden and this plant is doing great. I learned earlier this year that there are climbers with tendrils that like growing on a trellis and those that prefer climbing on a wall. I had planted this Hyacinth Bean near a trellis but I see it would much rather prefer the wall behind it. It's starting to bloom these gorgeous long flower shoots that will eventually turn into the bean pods. I plan to save seeds from this plant for next year by harvesting the dried seed pods right before our first frost. Is your Hyacinth Bean flowering yet?
Updated photos 9/9/2017. We are now growing seed pods!
Yes, Melissa! This is one of my 2017 new favorites. Ours is growing up a trellis and now looks like a flowering bush. I even gave it a trim and looks thicker. Great color, interest, and the purple pods will be pretty. Looks pretty on your wall! A 2017 success!
Excellent! I am so glad you also like it and it sounds like yours is doing even better!


Shirt in 100% cotton dobby, with cutaway collar, long sleeves and front button closure. Rounded bottom, pleats and yoke at back. Slim fit. The flowers featured in this image do not make up part of the product and are not for sale.


This first floor residence overlooks the lush gardens surrounding the owners' private pool and thanks to its 25 foot elevation, has peek-a-boo views of the Caribbean Sea. The large terrace is ideal for families allowing for direct access to the pool via a landscaped footpath. The large master bedroom with walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom enjoys a private terrace to take in those beautiful views. The spacious living and dinning area can be expanded thanks to folding glass doors that open onto a convertible terrace. Thoughtfully designed, the kitchen features Miele and Sub-Zero appliances, marble countertops and backsplash, and custom cabinets. A beautiful Caribbean home for the most discerning buyer. Enjoy the private owners' rooftop terrace, access to all the rich amenities of the adjacent Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa, and relaxed sophistication at Seafire's three distinctive restaurants. The Spa at Seafire will pamper guests with a peaceful retreat offering an all-service spa menu, including a Turkish bath and an open-air spa garden.For your safety, all-aluminium doors and windows are Miami-Dade hurricane rated. Understory parking and electric car charging stations are also available.LocationLocated on a pristine stretch of the Caribbean's most enviable beach, Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, The Residences at Seafire share a lushly landscaped 12-acre site with the adjacent Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa, the beloved boutique hotel brand's first luxury Caribbean resort.DeveloperThe Residences at Seafire and The Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa were developed by Dart Real Estate, the Cayman Islands' premier real estate developer. Dart Real Estate is known for its commitment to quality design and its thoughtful approach to peacemaking taking inspiration from the community's needs, assets and potential to create distinctive spaces that promote people's health, happiness and wellbeing. The Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa is also the recipient of the Chris Development of the Year Award.DesignA 62-home residential tower, among the first LEED© Silver condominium developments in the Caribbean, The Residences at Seafire provide a singular and distinct approach to beach side living boasting diverse floor plans that range from 600 square foot studios to 4,000 square foot penthouse suites. The Nest, a rooftop lounge exclusively for owners' use, provides residents with the perfect place to meet and entertain.


Garrett has been teaching since 2009, working with individuals at all ability levels. He has taught at several top public and private clubs in the Chicago area, and currently serves as the Director of Instruction at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, IL. Prior to teaching, Garrett played golf at the University of Illinois, competed on the PGA Tour of Canada, and played in USGA events including the 2004 US Amateur and the 2008 US Open Championships.
Garrett is currently developing the Skokie Country Club Junior Golf Academy with a focus on long term athletic development to reach golfers at a young age and grow with the sport. The Junior Golf Academy includes Spark Golf for young children, Discover Golf for core family golf development, and a Commitment to Potential program for focused golf athletes and competitive junior players hoping to compete at the high school and college level.
Garrett understands the importance of using technology to enhance a golfer's performance. Through the use of Trackman, SAM Putt Lab, Swing Catalyst, 4D Motion, and Opti International Performance technologies, Garrett is able to work with golfers during all seasons, both indoors and outside.


(Montclair, NJ--January 18, 2019) The North New Jersey affiliate of the Scholastic Art Awards has declared three High Tech students the recipients of Gold and Silver Key awards, as well as Honorable Mentions, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, Principal of High Tech High School.
Also, both juniors received Honorable Mentions for their photographs.
Gold Key winners represent the very best works submitted to local programs and considered eligible for national–level recognition. Winners have their work displayed from February 17th-March 17th at the Montclair Art Museum.
Silver Key winners comprise stand-out works submitted to local programs. These works demonstrate exceptional ability.
Honorable Mention recipients denote accomplished works submitted to local programs showing great skill and potential.
An award ceremony to recognize these and other winners will be held at the museum on February 28th from 6pm-9pm.


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Q: How to log qunit test results to a file We are using qunit to write test cases for JavaScript. Test cases are getting passed, but we are not able to write the test result to a xml file. We run the tests using Ant.
In dev environment it actually needs to be picked up by jenkins. As per my understanding Jenkins will see the results in output xml for marking build as success/failure.
Currently I am using the following entries in build.xml
<arg line="--qunit ${basedir}/WebContent/js/qunit/qunit-1.14.0.js --tests ${basedir}/WebContent/js --junit ${basedir}/qunit-results.xml"/>

Thanks in advance for suggestions

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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matt zoller seitz Aug. 15, 2012
Seitz Asks: What's Your Favorite Episode of The Larry Sanders Show?
By Matt Zoller Seitz
Photo: HBO
This is what you might call a niche-interest Seitz Asks, but what the hell: The Larry Sanders Show, my favorite sitcom, premiered twenty years ago today, and I'm in the mood to celebrate.
This inside-showbiz satire by star Garry Shandling and his co-producer Dennis Klein is the program that inspired me to subscribe to HBO for the very first time, and it might be the first of the network's great artistic achievements. As I wrote in a 2010 piece for the Museum of the Moving Image's magazine, it might be the most influential American comedy series that almost no one saw. It's damned near impossible to pick a "best" episode, so I won't try. (My friend Ed Copeland did a bang-up job in his top ten list, though; it's a must-read for Sanders fans.) Instead I'll name my favorite: "Arthur After Hours," in which the fictional talk-show host Larry Sanders (Garry Shandling) pisses off his veteran producer, Artie (Rip Torn), by cutting Artie's pal Ryan O'Neal from a show.
The affront sends Artie on a postshow bender that drags on into the night, revealing facets of Artie that we've never seen and inspiring Torn to give one of his career-best performances. The first part of this episode — the selfish, neurotic Larry taking Artie for granted, his default mode with pretty much everyone — is spot-on, mixing affection, pathos, and knife-twisting satire. But it really takes off when Artie stages a pity party on the show's deserted soundstage, getting tanked, belting the jilted-lover's-revenge song "I Wanna Be Around" as a coded eff-you to Larry, and bonding with the show's Russian janitor, Nicolae (Elya Baskin).
"Arthur After Hours" is also one of the show's most insightful portraits of workplace power politics. "I clean up shit all day, you clean up shit all night," Artie tells Nicolae. "It's different shit, but we're the guys pushing the brooms." Artie means what he says, but he still asserts privilege when it suits him, going from handing Nicolae a gold watch to commanding him to commit an anatomical impossibility when Nicolae refuses to clean up a broken bottle. "Hope your balls falling off!" the Russian bellows.
What's your favorite episode of The Larry Sanders Show?
matt zoller seitz
seitz asks
the larry sanders show
garry shandling
Seitz Asks: What's Your Fav Larry Sanders Ep?
snl 1:35 a.m.
Will Forte to Host SNL Next Week With musical guests Måneskin.


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Nonprofit Tech Club: How to Obtain a Donation and the Benefits of Microsoft 365
Start: June 9, 2016 - 5:30 pm CT
Cost: Free for all
Nonprofit Tech Club Austin (Austin, TX) is part of NTEN's Nonprofit Tech Club program.
Brian Kinsella, Co-founder and Managing Director of the Virtu Group will join #NPTechClubATX for an after-work presentation about how to secure a donation(s) from Microsoft, and more. Brian will also share updates about Microsoft 365.
Microsoft 365 includes a powerful suite of tools, like hosted email and calendars with Exchange Online; instant messaging and web and video conferencing through Skype for Business; cloud-based access to familiar Office applications; access to your documents from anywhere with OneDrive for Business; and more depending upon your subscription plan.
Brian has spiced-up his presentation with "door prizes":
• A free one-on-one training session at the Microsoft Store @ The Domain (worth $49).
• A free one-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 Home Edition (worth $99.99) | Up to five separate household users | Fully installed Office Professional Pro software: up to 5 PCs, 5 tablets and 5 phones (Android and Apple) per user | Each user gets 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage plus 60 minutes of Skype calling per month.
Brian Kinsella is a co-founder and managing director of the Virtu Group & Virtu Systems – a Microsoft Partner. Its technology practice focuses on business process improvement, collaboration and constituent relationship management — key drivers of organizational success. Brian spent 16 years as a trade association executive and fundraiser. His prior experience includes legislative, legal and regulatory affairs, business development, strategic alliances and fundraising for state, national and international trade groups and other nonprofits. In his free time Brian enjoys keeping up with public affairs, astrophysics and cosmology — at least the parts without much math!
Course: Engaging Your Community
Course: Digital Storytelling in Fundraising
Course: IT Security Fundamentals
Course: Write Effective Fundraising Emails
Course: Advanced Google Analytics


An exhibition has opened at London's Design Museum celebrating 70 years of Ferrari design, from the brand's first vehicle, to the Formula One race car that Michael Schumacher drove to victory in 2000.
A major exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of Ferrari, celebrating one of the great adventures of the industrial age. Get unprecedented access into the secretive world of car making. A behind-the-scenes look at the design, manufacturing and engineering of one of the most iconic car brands on the planet.
Adult £18.00 Student/ concession £10.50 Family (1 adult + 3 children) £29.30 Family (2 adults + 3 children) £41.00 Child (6 - 15 years) £9.00 Children under 6 years free Members free 10% discount is applied when booking 10 or more tickets online. Alternatively, please contact the Bookings Office (Mon - Fri 10;00 to 17:00) on +44 20 3862 5937 or +44 20 3862 5900. Concession tickets include seniors (over 60 years), the disabled and a companion and job seekers.
The show starts with an exact replica of the first Ferrari car ever made. Created in 1947, when the Italian economy was damaged from the second world war, the Ferrari 125 S marked an achievement in history. The rosso-corsa-red race car sported a 1.5-litre V12 engine producing around 118 horsepower, and could reach speeds of up to 130 miles per hour.


Even before they are born an infant's brain is developing learning patterns; for up to a year after an infant comes into the world they will continue to remember and actually prefer the songs that were sung to them while they were still in the womb.
The first five years of life are extremely important to a developing child. They are not only learning new things every day, but their brain is learning how to learn. The brain of an infant will produce over 2 million synaptic connections every second. By the time the infant enters toddler stage they will have over 100 trillion synapses, which begin to decline and disappear as they go through middle school.
Infants are born with a preference for people; they prefer listening to a human voice talking to them or singing over listening to recordings, and they seem to know the difference. Learning language skills should start as soon as the baby is present, and can begin with adults singing and talking to them. Talking and interacting with an infant will help them to gradually understand language and encourage them to join in the conversation, even if you can't understand exactly what they are saying. Helping an infant to understand language and vocabulary is also helping them to become social beings.
Music should be a large part of the learning experience; research has proven that children who study and play musical instruments have a greater understanding of language than their non-musical friends. Music and language are developed in the same area of the brain, so the findings are not surprising. Children with no prior musical training who studied music for a few weeks were found to have improved language skills and improved memory functions. Children who study music will produce better tests scores and even have larger IQ's.
Music also encourages a child to use their imagination, which is another positive learning experience. Children who engage in imaginative play learn how things work in the real world and also learn how to solve problems as they work through them in imagination-land. Talking to one or many imaginary friends engages their language skills and their critical thinking skills. Music has shown to be particularly helpful with children experiencing learning difficulties by strengthening their auditory skills.
Music can also be a gateway for the future; those who study music may chose to continue that study through their life and make a career from it. A child could chose to play a musical instrument or sing, but that's not all. An individual who has a knack for rhyming may become a lyricist, while one who is interested in computers might learn about sound mixing. Someone who enjoys working with people could use a degree in music to become a music therapist.
From the time an infant is born giving them positive exposure to spoken words and music will help to encourage their language and speech development, which in turn enables them to become well-rounded, sociable human beings.


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'The Elric Saga Volume Two: Stormbringer'
The Elric Saga Volume Two: Stormbringer
New York: Saga, 2022 (April 12th) hardcover;
as "Stormbringer: The Elric Saga[,] Vol. 2", on cover & spine;
edited by John Davey;
original price: $29·99;
xii + 851 pages;
I.S.B.N.: 978-1-5344-4571-0;
cover artist: Michael Whelan;
illustrated by John Collier (map), John Picacio, Robert Gould, Tyler Jacobson, (Gerald) Brom & Piotr Jabłoński;
foreword by Michael Chabon;
no British edition.
The Elric Saga Volume Two: Stormbringer is an omnibus containing (pretty much) the entire second half of the primary Elric saga; see below…
(Preceded by The Elric Saga Volume One: Elric Of Melniboné)
p. vii: Foreword by Michael Chabon;
p. 1: The Vanishing Tower;
p. 169: The Revenge Of The Rose;
p. 429: The Bane Of The Black Sword;
p. 587: Stormbringer;
p. 825: 'The Elric Saga: A Reader's Guide' (non-fiction) by John Davey.
(Followed by The Elric Saga Volume Three: The White Wolf)
The Elric Saga Volume Two: Stormbringer is available as an audiobook (download), narrated by Samuel Roukin; also as an e-book: 978-1-5344-4573-4.