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- HOW BANKS PREPARED FOR A U.S. DEFAULT. (2)
- GREECE’S ADVANTAGE IN THE CHICKEN GAME. (2)
- Nick: That makes sense. It reminds me of the stories Pater Familias would tell me about how in Boston the person with...
- Dick Weisfelder: Greece seems to me to be playing a game that Karl Deutsch called “underdog.” While one...
- FOOTBALL PLAYERS DELIBERATELY CAUSING CONCUSSIONS? (3)
- Nick: It was my understanding that boxing gloves were to protect the puncher’s hands and not the...
- Dick Weisfelder: Remember the Roman arenas? Bare knuckled boxing? Such injuries were taken as natural and accepted in...
- Mary Jane Schaefer: This isn’t about football. Or even sportsmanship. Well, it is about sportsmanship. But what...
- A 25 % CHANCE OF A EURO DEFAULT? (1)
- Nick: The fact that this has gone on for so long is pretty perplexing. The Economist is referring back to articles it...
- DECIDING WHAT KIND OF PATIENT YOU ARE. (1)
- Dick Weisfelder: One can be very open to new technology, but also risk averse. The recent debates about how to...
- THE EUROZONE—A CHICKEN GAME WHERE EVERY MEMBER CAN BLOW IT UP? (1)
- Mary Jane Schaefer: This is not a matter of chicken. These are all turkeys.
- PLAYING WITH MATCHES NEAR A GASOLINE TANK. (1)
- Mary Jane Schaefer: Why would the French care? As long as they take down Britain?
- NORWAY’S CHRISTMAS BUTTER SHORTAGE. (1)
- Mary Jane Schaefer: Christmas with a butter cookie shortage–in Scandinavia. This isn’t even Scrooge. This...
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Monthly Archives: March 2008
ROADS IN LAOS.
ROADS IN LAOS. I have discovered in writing this blog that I am fascinated by roads and how they extend markets and facilitate trade. I have posted several times on roads, including here and here. This article by Thomas Fuller … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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BEING WHO YOU WANT TO BE.
BEING WHO YOU WANT TO BE. I have been posting about Colin McGinn’s contention that personality is “not a given, but a choice, not determined but free.” I was chatting over the weekend with an old friend who lives in … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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IS GENDER SIMPLY PLAYING A ROLE?
IS GENDER SIMPLY PLAYING A ROLE? Colin McGinn extends the idea that for Shakespeare, “our personality (or many personalities) is analogous to the character an actor plays on the stage” to include gender. McGinn treats it as a matter of … Continue reading
Posted in Literature, Shakespeare, Theater
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DO WE CHOOSE OUR PERSONALITIES?
DO WE CHOOSE OUR PERSONALITIES? The philosopher Colin McGinn, in SHAKESPEARE’S PHILOSOPHY, considers Shakespeare’s view of the self. He contends that Shakespeare was a precursor of the sociologist Erving Goffman, who in THE PRESENTATION OF SELF IN EVERYDAY LIFE argued … Continue reading
Posted in Literature, Shakespeare
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CAN CASSIUS BE A WOMAN?
CAN CASSIUS BE A WOMAN? Yes, Cassius can be played as a woman. Like the Vermont farmer, I’ve seen it done. My wife Mary Jane has now completed her performances as Cassius in JULIUS CAESAR. She was playing Cassius as … Continue reading
Posted in Literature, Shakespeare, Theater
3 Comments
THE MAN WHO STOLE 40,000 COAT HANGERS.
THE MAN WHO STOLE 40,000 COAT HANGERS. This excerpt from a trial transcript is wonderful (link via Instapundit). In fact, it seems too good to be true, It reminds me of the wonderful fictional legal opinions of the law reformer … Continue reading
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BORROWING FOR A DAY AND LENDING FOR YEARS (COMMENT).
BORROWING FOR A DAY AND LENDING FOR YEARS (COMMENT). Nick asked me here: “So to sum up, Bernanke is using an old idea, and you agree that it’s the right move?” I had posted last August that Walter Bagehot should … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, History
3 Comments
WHAT CATS, COURTIERS, BUSINESS EXECUTIVES AND ACTORS HAVE IN COMMON.
WHAT CATS, COURTIERS, BUSINESS EXECUTIVES AND ACTORS HAVE IN COMMON. Our cats seem to get along just fine when they are not in the same room with us. I want to focus on only two paragraphs in this article by … Continue reading
ECONOMICS AND THE RULE OF LAW.
ECONOMICS AND THE RULE OF LAW. Dick Weisfelder recommended this article in The Economist about the research that has been done in economics in the last ten years which argues that the rule of law is critical to economic development. … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, History
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GRAIN ELEVATORS.
GRAIN ELEVATORS. To find out more about the history of the Chicago grain trade, I went to my library to look at NATURE’S METROPOLIS: CHICAGO AND THE GREAT WEST by William Cronon. Cronon sketches a number of factors which facilitated … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, History
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