July 11th, 2011 → 7:56 am
“Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines.” – Sonnet 18
There is an extreme heat advisory in St. Louis today. It is supposed to top 100 degrees, with a heat index approaching 117. I noticed last night, at around 10:30 p.m. it was 95 degrees! At 10:30 p.m.! Stay cool everyone…
July 9th, 2011 → 9:07 am
“But soft, methinks I scent the morning air.” – Hamlet
A little late for me this morning, but it does seem like its going to be a sweet, fresh-smelling day…
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
July 8th, 2011 → 6:39 am
“If it were done, when ’tis done, then ’twere well it were done quickly.” – Macbeth
Analogizing raising the debt ceiling to committing murder is probably not the best way to go here, but the underlying sentiment is still accurate. We need to raise the debt ceiling, so just get it done already, and quickly! My favorite media comment on this came from NPR the other day, where Jim Kessler said: “You can cheat on your spouse and maybe your marriage will survive, but your marriage will never be the same again. And you can default on your debts as a nation and your country will survive. But the way your country is viewed will never be the same again.”
Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money
July 7th, 2011 → 6:57 am
“Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod.” – King Henry V
A former student of mine from the Economics Department at UMSL has been unemployed for over a year. But he kept trying, kept himself busy, kept up his contacts with his former professors at UMSL, and yesterday he got a job! And a good job too, at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. I was really happy to put in a good word for him at the Fed and now I feel so proud of him for getting the job! Like I felt when another former student of mine got a top job with the Hillary Clinton campaign (when that was still a viable campaign), and when a couple of my former students got into excellent Ph.D. programs around the country. One of the best things about my day job is the personal satisfaction I get seeing my little kiddos do so well. 🙂
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
July 5th, 2011 → 7:57 am
“My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer
Can serve my turn? ‘Forgive me my foul murder’?
That cannot be; since I am still possess’d
Of those effects for which I did the murder,
My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.
May one be pardon’d and retain the offence?” – Hamlet
I’ve been listening to the radio show This American Life since it began in 1995. With the podcast now, I believe I have never missed an episode. Before the podcast I used to schedule my weekly house cleaning around the time the show aired so I could listen to it while I dusted and swept. Anyhow, this week they are re-playing my favorite episode of all time, Act V, about a production of Hamlet put on in a high-security prison. A show that contemplates murder, acted out by murderers. It makes me well up in tears every time.
Filed under: Blog & Literature/Theatre/Art
July 4th, 2011 → 7:11 am
“Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!” – Julius Caesar
I’ve been rather negative in this blog so far, on politicians, the economy, people. So I decided it was about time to show a little positivity! America does a lot of things wrong – and god knows I’ll continue commenting on them in future blog posts – but in truth, it does even more right. Happy 4th of July everyone! Whoop Whoop!
July 3rd, 2011 → 7:48 am
“Foolery…does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines everywhere.” – Twelfth Night
I have no particularly pertinent quote for the day, so I thought I’d just add one that seems to apply all the time! To politicians, to colleagues, to friends, to family members, to myself. Ah, the foolish things we do, every day…
Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money & Other & Politics/Politicians & Self/My Life & Stupid/Evil People
July 1st, 2011 → 6:54 am
“Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.” – Sonnet XCIV
The Greek debt needs to be restructured already. I know the Europeans want to avoid that and implement a debt rollover instead, but that’s just drawing out the inevitable digging up and throwing out of the festering lilies. Here’s hoping Christine Lagarde is able to take a dispassionate, well-rounded view of the situation in her new role as head of the IMF. (By the way, Congratulations on the new job Christine!)
Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money
June 27th, 2011 → 6:31 am
“Alas the day, what shall I do with my doublet and hose?” – As You Like It
A camera crew from HEC-TV is showing up at my house in a few hours to interview me about my day job as an environmental economist (http://www.umsl.edu/~kosnikl/). I’ve done radio and paper interviews before, and brief TV clips, but never an in-depth interview at my house! What shall I wear??
(P.S. The show will air sometime in July. Stay tuned for more details on exactly when…)
Filed under: Blog & Self/My Life
June 25th, 2011 → 6:46 am
Lord Chief Justice: “Your means are very slender, and your waste is great.”
Falstaff: “I would it were otherwise, I would my means were greater and my waist slenderer.” – King Henry IV, Part II
An apt commentary on the current U.S. budget crisis. Though isn’t this true for all of us? I read a report the other day that even our babies are now too fat (!): http://www.npr.org/blogs
Filed under: Blog & Economics/Money