Saturday 21 September 2013

raubgold or double-quick time

After studying a cipher subtly scribbled on a music score, a Dutch film-maker and musician is convinced that the lost cashe of Nazi treasure is buried somewhere under the town of Mittenwald, in the Isar valley and near Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the Austrian border—Der Spiegel International reports. Although the treasure-hunter's focus is not exactly the stuff of the Da Vinci Code, the patriotic march having not been composed as a vehicle for hiding in plain sight and transmitting secrets, but rather a collection of documents thought to be from the personal secretary of Adolf Hitler (though a chain-of-custody has not been established with certainty), which includes a copy of the sheet-music foot-noted that supposedly point to the exact location of the hidden, legendary Alpine treasure-trove. Preliminary excavations are underway in Mittenwald and although nothing might be unearthed, the notion has a lot of people intrigued.

Friday 20 September 2013

playable character or level-boss

Learning about the passing away of visionary and creative genius Hiroshi Yamauchi who took the Japanese traditional board- and card-game company Nintendo under his leadership for more than fifty years, producing a multitude of arcade games and then gaming consoles for home use, I was reminded about this poster of spiraling constellations that chart all the games produced during the company's most prolific period from Pop Chart Labs.
 With such a memorable cast of characters, studying the accompanying manuals, legends and bestiaries were almost as engrossing as playing the games itself. Almost. While its competitors sought to deliver flashier graphics and greater computing power, Nintendo endured by remaining true to family of avatars—many the inventions of designer Shigeru Miyamoto, another pioneer Yamauchi encouraged, like Zelda and the Brothers Mario, that frankly made the others look like road-kill, and challenging environments, with innovative interfaces from the gun for Duck Hunt, R.O.B. the little robot challenger, a microphone in the Japanese version that could be used to shout down certain enemies, the power glove, to the Wii controllers, which pulled players into the game, more than any degree of realism could hope to. Thanks for all the endless hours and entertainment, Mr. Yamauchi, and know that your legacy lives on.

Thursday 19 September 2013

invisible hand

There are quite a few conflated statements and actions in circulation regarding America's economy and monetary policy. While it is true that raising a debt-ceiling does not in fact increase overall debt, rather just re-calibrates a county's ability to fulfill its outstanding obligations, and despite evidence to the contrary about past fiscal cycles, history and precedence and possibly the very definition of madness in expecting any other outcome, such a correction does not necessarily speak to thrift and discipline. On the contrary, a commitment to not default and continue to match the caretaking and stewardship responsibilities of a government demonstrates a discipline usually understood to be the opposite.

Unfortunately, these overtures came on the heels of the unexpected announcement by the US Federal Reserve cadre to continue its policy of quantitative ease (read printing more fiat money) in order to encourage growth and investment. Interest rates could hardly be any lower to discourage the hoarding of money in savings and encourage growth through investments—being the more attractive place to make one's money work for its keep. Stakeholders, however, cannot be exactly led to water by dwindling attractions, when amounts are large enough to be insulated. Half-a-percent of billions is quite a lot, even when swimming upstream. Bursars the world-around rally, knowing there is enough cushion to offset the lack-lustre dollar with selective prestige projects. Though from separate accounts, it is an awful coalition, a coming together, a flittering programme to back up some eighty-five billion dollars monthly of shaky bonds (debts) with copy-machine collateral compared to the goal of saving eight-billion dollars spread out over a year, with follow-on aims for the next decade, in the name of sequestration—which, I suspect, achieved retrograde success. Already agencies, petty tyrants, are being urged to update contingency plans for a lapse in funding, which will play out the same as the exercise in work-stoppage known as furloughs. Absent cooperation and clear objectives, I am not sure what economies, who have painted themselves into a corner, could do.

Wednesday 18 September 2013

polling place or fragenbogen

A section of the German electorate is gifting its ballots to expatriates and EU citizens unable to influence the outcome of the campaign via a social-media group called Electoral Rebellion in order to lend a voice to those outliers affected by Germany's stance in the European Union, like the Spaniards and Hellenes in the face of austerity measures and others further afield with the potential to be touched by new German policy. From a legal standpoint, it appears, that the volunteers are simply soliciting the advice of foreigners, and participants—with no expectation of quid pro quo, would have probably voted for the candidates most sympathetic to the views of those voting by proxy, but the action does raise a needed discussion on supra-national politics and infringements as well. What do you think? Is this action, stunt not far from buying and selling votes or a broader and necessary world-view?

shutter-bug

Der Spiegel's international desk reports through a narrative of the scavenger- hunt (die Schnitzeljagd) and a collection of the discoveries on the City of Leipzig being the latest entry among German metropolises in a new form of tourism that aims to capture urban landscapes in new ways through sponsored Photo Marathons. I really like this idea, although when exploring someplace new I have not assigned myself a certain theme, especially such esoteric ones subject to abstract license—except maybe manholes and graffiti.