Weekend Topic Suggestions

How’d it go from $85 bn to $89 bn?

What ‘Star Wars’ has to do with QE
MJ Kim/Getty Images

Star Wars character Darth Vader.

by David Weinberg
Marketplace for Friday, May 24, 2013

Is the end of quantitative easing near?

This week Ben Bernanke testified before the Joint Economic Committee in Washington. And you can’t talk to Bernanke these days without asking him about quantitative easing. Or to put it in English, the Fed’s strategy of purchasing assets from commercial banks to keep cash flowing into the economy.

QE is controversial. It’s even been called a “Jedi mind trick.” This weekend being the 30th anniversary of “Return of the Jedi,” we thought we’d look at that analogy.

After Luke Skywalker found out that Darth Vader is his father, he accused Obi-Wan Kenobi of lying to him. Obi-Wan said it wasn’t a lie from… a certain point of view.

“A certain point of view?” Luke asks.

“You’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view,” Obi-Wan replies.

So is quantitative easing the Darth Vader of economic policy? Well, it depends on your point of view. You might say that QE has spurred lending, created jobs and has kept inflation below 2 percent. More like a young Anakin Skywlaker before he turned to the dark side.

“He was the best star pilot in the galaxy,” Obi-Wan says of Anakin.

Or, like many of its critics, you might say it’s only a matter of time before QE causes inflation, it’s creating artificial price bubbles, and it hasn’t had any noticeable impact on unemployment.

As Darth Vader says, “Give yourself to the dark side.”

Bernake says he has no plans of ending the Fed’s $89 billion a month spending on Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities.
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Video Interlude: Count the Trapdoors in this Nifty Adjustable Apartment

Thursday, January 23, 2014, by Spencer Peterson

Photo via Co.Exist

At first glance, the apartment featured in this promotional video by Spanish design firm elii looks unoccupied and unloved. Aside from a frameless bed in the corner of the second-floor loft, there's hardly a piece of furniture in sight: no daybed, no davenport, not even a breakfast nook! But that's because all the needful things in this tricksy digs fold out of hidden compartments. To wit, a mirror swings up from the bedroom floor, and the hollowed-out volume beneath it allows for a kneel-down vanity, while in the kitchen, a deconstructed picnic table (essentially just three plywood boards) lowers from the ceiling. And that's not even the half of it.

The living room boasts a hammock, a swing, and a disco ball. (Their client, a DJ, likes to throw parties, and its refreshing to see architects make room for a priority that so many of us share.) It's all very surprising and fun, not to mention appealing to the junk-drawer mentality of out-of-sight, out-of-mind organizers in a pretty visceral way. In creating the place, the firm wanted to extend the idea of "domestic theater" to open up "the possibility to rehearse, perform and live as many lives as you want," as they told Co.Exist. Check out the video below and see how they did:

· This Transformable Microapartment Has Secret Trap Doors Everywhere [Co.Exist]

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On the Market: This is What a $995K 1BR Condo at One Hawthorne Looks Like

Friday, January 17, 2014, by Sally Kuchar This unit on the 19th floor of One Hawthorne clocks in just under 1,000 square feet and boasts one bedroom and one bathroom. That said, there is a small den that's doubling as an office at the moment. The condo was just listed for $995K. It's a corner unit, so there's three directional views to the north, east and west. There's also been some customization, including built-in bookcases and wide plank walnut stained oak flooring. Monthly HOA dues are $591 and there's 1-car valet parking if you want to shell out an additional $273 a month.
· 1 Hathorne Street, Unit 19C [Redfin]

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Nathan Pyle’s NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette Book Coming Soon!

If you’re a reader of Matrix, then you’ve been subjected to my fandom of the work of my friend Nathan Pyle, here, here, here and here will have his very clever observations about NYC published in 2014.

Here’s a nice write up in Gizmodo and The Daily Dot. Don’t forget to “like” his Facebook page so you’ll know when the book is published!

DISCLOSURE: the fact that we disagree on the pronunciation of GIF (I’m in the “like the peanut butter “Jif” camp.), his work is smooth, not chunky.

@jonathanmiller @SAI As someone pointed out, he's fighting basic phonetic intuition, momentum and the fact the G stands for GRAPHICS

— Nathan Pyle (@nathanwpyle) May 22, 2013

The following is a recent batch that “probably” didn’t make the book (imagine how good the images in the book will be):

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Going Big: San Francisco-based Xoom—an online money-transfer company—just...

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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[Video] Talking Housing, Case Shiller, on Bloomberg TV’s Surveillance 8-28-13

I had a nice discussion with Tom Keene, Sara Eisen and Alix Steel, along with guest host Byron Wien, vice chairman of Blackstone Group LP’s advisory services on the state of US housing and the latest Case Shiller numbers.

More importantly, I’m still the mayor of Bloomberg TV’s Green Room on Foursquare.

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Push Your Style: 7 Bold Ideas from Pros — Professional Projects

Still haven't found that bold element you were hoping to include in your home this year? Looking for inspiration to push your style even farther in 2014? Whether you're ready to find the thing to add to a room to make it pop or if you're just in the mood to browse through gorgeous spaces, you'll find tons of adventurous ideas from professionals in these rooms.

Today is the first ever Tribeza Interiors Tour in Austin, Texas (tickets still on sale today for $25!) and those in Austin have the opportunity to tour interiors bursting with color, fearless elements and criminal levels of style. However anyone anywhere can enjoy the daring ideas dreamed up by top interior design professionals. Here are some of our favorite shots from the interiors on the tours — full of bold and exciting elements worth stealing:

Top photo: Green Scalamandre Wallpaper Zebras Wallpaper spices up a powder room by Rebekah Gainsley.

A black and white contrasting modern rug wows next to an extravagant chandelier and colorful art in this dining room, also by Rebekah Gainsley. A similar rug: IKEA'S STOCKHOLM.

Tiles laid diagonally, a bold and warm woven rug and a pop of turquoise spotted in a room designed by Clarissa Bailey.

Play with purple as inspired by this bold sitting room by Kim West, accented by Ferm Living's gold and white Wilderness Wallpaper.

Experiment with delicate and dramatic elements by using dark gray and elegant accessories, as seen in this room designed by Mary Korth.

Primary and secondary colors work wonders with graphic elements and modern art, as seen in this space designed by Veronica Koltuniak featuring a green WRONGWOODS Cabinet by Established & Sons.

More bold wallpaper mixes with silver stacked ball lamps and an intense pair of crimson, glossy modern night stands in this room by Veronica Koltuniak. Find a similar pair of lamps here.

What's the boldest element in your home right now? Are you looking for something adventurous to add to your space this year?

(Image credits: Jessica Pages)

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