It's rare that I quit on a film but I just couldn't finish this critically acclaimed work. It's surreal and interesting as a premise but it has a few moments of genuinely gratuitous violence - which is utterly unlike the gratuitous violence of say, 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron' - which I'm sure is an attempt to recapture Luis Bunuel's work but I just wanted to groan. It's a funny film because it's odd, but at certain points it leaves you cold.
Anyway I just thought I'd mention it in passing. Lately I can't finish films if I'm not hooked into it. I've lost the discipline and gumption to go through to the end of a film I'm not enjoying.
Zero Hedge Exposed
The dudes who are the Tyler Durdens at Zero Hedge got revealed this week.
Working at Zero Hedge was also exhausting, Lokey said, and typically involved early morning starts and writing as many as 15 posts a day of as many as 1,500 words each. The work didn't stop on the weekends, either. Text messages exchanged between Lokey and Ivandjiiski, screen shots of which were provided by the latter, paint the picture of a work environment that ranged from exhilarating to exasperating.
For instance, Lokey says he's "scared to even ask for an hour off," while Ivandjiiski replies that "if you ever need time off for whatever reason, never hesitate to just ask." In February, Lokey says, "I love this company and this website," and tells Ivandjiiski "you saved my life," expressing thanks for the job.
By April 2 - the day Lokey left Zero Hedge-their relationship had deteriorated significantly, according to the messages provided by Ivandjiiski.
"I can't be a 24-hour cheerleader for Hezbollah, Moscow, Tehran, Beijing, and Trump anymore. It' s wrong. Period. I know it gets you views now, but it will kill your brand over the long run," Lokey texted Ivandjiiski. "This isn't a revolution. It's a joke."
It would seem that way. Nobody can be a total stoic as the Tyler Durden from 'Fight Club' demands. That's why it's a movie. More interestingly, it's nice that the political bias of Zero Hedge got explained. While I enjoy the site, it's always made me wonder just where they're coming from to be so Pro-Putin even in the depths of the Ukraine crisis. Now I realise it's their editorial policy. That makes it easier to digest as flaks being flaks.
Bitcoin Mastermind Outs Himself
This was news today. Satoshi Nakamoto does not exist - it's actually an Aussie by the name of Craig Wright.
The BBC said Wright gave technical proof supporting his claim to using Bitcoins known to be owned by Bitcoin's creator. It said prominent members of the Bitcoin community had also confirmed Wright's claim and said Wright repeated the claim to The Economist and GQ.
"I was the main part of it, but other people helped me," the BBC quoted Wright as saying.
The Economist however said it was not entirely convinced.
"Our conclusion is that Mr Wright could well be Mr Nakamoto, but that important questions remain," it said. "Indeed, it may never be possible to establish beyond reasonable doubt who really created bitcoin."
Despite its use initially being restricted to tech insiders, Bitcoin has steadily gained popularity, with mainstream banks and the Australian Stock Exchange considering adopting its "blockchain" public ledger model for managing transactions.
At this point in time, it's hard to know if finding the inventor is all that significant. The genie is clearly out of the bottle.
"Obama, Out"
It's still a bit early for President Barack Obama to be signing off, but he did have his final White House Correspondent's dinner where he put on his stand up comedy routine. He's still got 6months until the election day in November. He's not quite the full lame duck just yet so you hope he's not signing off like he did at the end.
It does make me think of the last year of Dubya's Presidency and it is quite the contrast. As much as Carl Icahn and Zero Hedge are talking up another GFC, the market seem to be calm. This time in 2008 was like a daily grind downwards in all the markets with teeth-gnashing angst in the papers everyday. I guess we'll know where we really are around July-August.
In the mean time, I guess we're watching the final year of a fairly good Presidency. Jeez time flies.
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