that was awesome.
i hope del toro gets to make "mountains of madness",because i love the imagery he used in hellboy,which was VERY lovecraftian.

i stumbled upon lovecraft from my dad,and by accident.
my dad had a ton of the those sci-fi,horror pulp magazines from the 40's and 50's in the basement.

i think i was around 9 or 10 and my dad had given me the job of clearing out the basement,because he was going to remodel it..and i remember coming across this old,and dusty cardboard box filled with those books.

i spent the entire afternoon reading..and reading..and reading.
and it was lovecraft that i fell in love with,although at my young age he was not an easy read.you have to absorb lovecraft rather than actually read him.

this was the weekend i also discovered isaac asimov,ray bradbury,fred saberhagen and jack l chalker.

so i fell in love with lovecraft before stephen king.

and then my big sister tried to introduce me to dean r koontz.
and well..fuck dean r koontz,fucking hack and plagiarist.

seriously..fuck dean r koontz.

I'm a big Fred Stoller fan. I actually just want to actually *promote his book, not that Norm MacDonald guy. What show was he from? I don't even remember. Fuck him.

Apologies, I got carried away... wall of text incoming.

@RedSky

I agree, monetary policy at low rates has very little to offer in terms of economic stimulus. Then again, the focus almost solely on monetary policy is part of the problem. Fiscal policy can have a massive impact, both directly (government purchases of goods and services) and indirectly (increase in automatic stabilizers). But for that you either need to be in control of your central bank, so that you can engage in Overt Monetary Financing ("printing" money). Or you need the blessing of the private banks, which is particularly true for a Vollgeld system.

The budget is the core of a parliamentary democracy, and to be at the whim of the folks at Deutsche Bank, HSBC or Credit Suisse -- no, thank you very much. We saw how that played out in Greece.

Anyway, the central bank can do miraculous things: if it provides funds to the democratically elected body in charge of the budget, aka parliament/the government. Trying to "motivate" the private banks to stock up on cheap reserves to stimulate lending is just a sign of ideology.

The great Michal Kalecki, in his essay The Political Aspects of Full Employment, summarized the general issue of government spending quite clearly. The industrial leaders stand in opposition to government spending aimed at full employment for three distinct reasons: a) dislike of government interference in the problem of employment as such; b) dislike of the direction of government spending (public investment and subsidizing consumption); c) dislike of the social and political changes resulting from the maintenance of full employment.

I'd say control over your currency is too great a tool to leave it in the hands of unelected managers. Clement Attlee knew very well why he had to nationalize the Bank of England in '46.

Back to the issue of inflation, I'd like to make two points. First, how big a role should inflation really play when talking policy. Second, what's the influence of a central bank on inflation.

Where does it come from, this focus on inflation. People usually talk about government spending when discussing inflation. Private spending is rarely brought up, even though it can be just as inflationary. So let's ignore private spending for a moment and talk purely government spending: should a deficit/surplus not be judged primarily by how well it helps us achieve our macroeconomic goals? Or more clearly, why should we sacrifice full employment or our general welfare on the altar of inflation? Yes, that's over the top. But so is the angst of inflation.

I'd say let's stick with Abba Lerner's concept of functional finance and judge deficits/surpluses purely by how well they help us achieve our macroeconomic goals. Besides, the US has run massive deficits during the GFC, so much in fact, that a great number of monetarists saw hyperinflation just around the corner. Still waiting for it. Same for Japan. Massive deficits... and deflation.

As long as spending, both private and government, doesn't push the economy beyond its limits (full employment, real resources, production capacity), out-of-control inflation just doesn't materialize. Plus, suppressing inflation is actually one thing central banks can do quite well. Unlike causing inflation, which both Japan and the EU are showcases off. Draghi can dance naked on the table, monetary policy (QE, mainly) won't push inflation upwards.

Which brings me to the second point: what's inflation, what's the cause of inflation, how can central banks manipulate it.

CPI is often used as a measure of inflation, but I prefer the GDP deflator. CPI doesn't account for externalities that you cannot influence, whatever you do. Prime case: the price of oil. Monetary policy of the Bank of Sweden has no influence on the price of oil. The GDP inflator, however, accounts for every economic activity within your currency zone -- much more useful.

General theory says, this measure of inflation goes up when demand surpasses supply. And vice versa. The primary factor of demand is domestic purchasing power, therefore wages. If you suppress wages, you suppress inflation. If you push wages, you push inflation. More specifically, you can see a direct correlation between unit labour costs and the GDP deflator in every country at any time. Here's a general graph for multiple countries, and the St. Louis FED provides a beauty for the US.

That's why it's easy for central banks to combat inflation, but almost impossible to fight deflation.

In this song, the fine state of Idaho is used to represent a case of paranoia - the lyrics "get out of that state" meaning to get out of that state of mind. B-52's singer Fred Schneider came up with the title, which was a play on the phrase "Private Eye" well before Hall and Oates used it in a song with a similar theme, but with hand claps. Why Idaho? Schneider explained to the Idaho Statesman that it was the wacky reputation of the state, saying, "Idaho is pretty mysterious to all of us. I know it's a beautiful state, but then I know there's also a lot of crazy right-wingers and all that stuff." He added, "The song's about all different things. It's not like a parody of Idaho or anything."
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=24064

Seriously though, in comparison to parkour, this is like comparing Fred Astaire to Ginger Rogers. Sure Fred was an amazing dancer, but Ginger had to do everything he did, backwards, and in high heels.

Parkour people, with your monkey hands and your four points of contact, are being laughed at right now.

Other than maybe Fred Rogers, Bob Ross has to be the best influence on my childhood/young-adulthood that there ever was on television. I think his personality was his masterwork, and his paintings and show are just the medium that allows us to see it. His calm, persistent, confident, kind, and joyful example have carried, (not always successfully,) through my entire life and his voice has been present in my head at some of the most stressful times I've had to deal with. SO THANKFUL to have been able to spend so many hours listening to Bob Ross while growing up, and SO HAPPY to see his work resurfacing online for a new generation to find.

Thanks, Bob Ross! You are missed but never forgotten.

My dick cost a late night fee
Your dick got the HIV
My dick plays on the double feature screen
Your dick went straight to DVD

My dick - bigger than a bridge
Your dick look like a little kid's
My dick - large like the Chargers, the whole team
Your shit look like you fourteen

My dick - locked in a cage, right
Your dick suffer from stage fright
My dick - so hot, it's stolen
Your dick look like Gary Coleman

My dick - pink and big
Your dick stinks like shit
My dick got a Caesar do,
Your dick needs a tweezer, dude

My dick is like super size
Your dick look like two fries
My dick - more mass than the Earth
Your dick - half staff, it needs work

My dick - been there done that
Your dick sits there with dunce cap
My dick - V.I.P.
Your shit needs I.D.

It's time that we let the world know
Dude, you gotta let your girl go
D.S. is the best in the business
P.S. we got dicks like Jesus

It's time that we let the world know
Dude, you gotta let your girl go
D.S. is the best in the business
P.S. we got dicks like Jesus

My dick need no introduction
Your dick don't even function
My dick served a whole lunch -in
Your dick - it look like a munchkin

My dick - size of a pumpkin
Your dick look like Macaulay Culkin
My dick - good good lovin'
Your dick - good for nothin'

My dick bench pressed 350
Your dick couldn't shoplift at Thrifty
My dick - pretty damn skippy
Your dick - hungry as a hippie

My dick don't fit down the chimney
Your dick is like a kid from the Philippines
My dick is like an M16
Your dick - broken vending machine

My dick parts the seas
Your dick farts and queefs
My dick - rumble in the jungle
Your dick got touched by your uncle

My dick goes to yoga
Your dick - fruit roll -up
My dick - grade -A beef
Your dick - Mayday geek

My dick - sick and dangerous
Your dick - quick and painless
My dick - 'nuff said.
Your dick loves Fred

It's time that we let the world know
Dude, you gotta let your girl go
D.S. is the best in the business
P.S. we got dicks like Jesus

It's time that we let the world know
Dude, you gotta let your girl go
D.S. is the best in the business
P.S. we got dicks like Jesus

Lantern says...

"My buddy Fred pulled over a car with 4 people in it, every one was wanted!

ah the good old days

As far as what he pulled her over for...

you don't have to tell the truth on that one.

I once had a guy wanted on a felony drug offense, I told him I was arresting him for a parking violation.

Once I had the cuffs on him, I told him what it was for.."


It's called evidence, Lantern.
You know, that stuff you're supposed to collect before you accuse someone.

Like evidence of a "Law Enforcement Officer" - YOU - gloating and laughing about how you DON'T HAVE TO TELL THE TRUTH when detaining someone.

You're chuckling & reminiscing about the "good old days" when you got to lie in order to facilitate an arrest!!

OMFG you're a joke.

Your own personal anecdotes illustrate that..

police lie whenever the fuck they feel like they need to.

Why would I, @newtboy, or ANYONE EVER trust a cop?! O_o?!

My buddy Fred pulled over a car with 4 people in it, every one was wanted!

no shit

ah the good old days

(sorry, couldn't watch the whole thing with that howling going on)

As far as what he pulled her over for...you don't have to tell the truth on that one. I once had a guy wanted on a felony drug offense, I told him I was arresting him for a parking violation. Once I had the cuffs on him, I told him what it was for...that way he's more likely to not resist since he thinks it's for something minor...safer for both of us, win-win!

Berserker. Fred Saberhagen. Google it.

@ChaosEngine I can see how you would feel like this is preaching to the choir (much like he accuses Fat Fred Durst of doing), but there are still good reasons to support this type of dressing down. You have to consider who the audience is for this video. As I see it, there are 3 possibilities: FFD and his followers, fellow sceptics and atheists, and the general public. While, ostensibly, this video aims at all three audiences, it is only the latter where you can hope for any movement.

If FFD is the only voice talking to teenage kids and incurious adults, then more of them will follow him. This video offers a counterpoint and if it influences just one or two otherwise unswayed people to think more deeply about religious claims, rhetorical logic or the scientific process, then it is a win.

While I'm philosophically on board with what he's doing here, I can't help but feel it's a colossal waste of time. A few years ago, I would have enthusiastically supported this video, but let's face it. The moron in the red hat (who I'm going to call Fat Fred Durst) is never going to accept your argument and neither will anyone who follows him.

Seriously, anyone who is that wilfully ignorant doesn't care about evidence, science or anything but what they already believe.

*dead, Fred

For Fred and Sharron's website
http://fredandsharonsmovies.com/index.html