Capitalogix

Happy New Year

Best wishes to you and yours.  JibJab nailed my resolutions for the year!

 

 

JibJab via YouTube.

Looking forward to a great 2016!

Cool Comparison of Harry Potter and Star Wars [Infographic]

The first reactions to 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' are here, and people are thrilled ... Even Wired liked it.

Ah, the Hero's Quest ... a formula that has worked for centuries.

Check out this document showing the differences between the plots of Harry Potter and Star Wars.

 

 

J.K. Rowling has said, "I haven't the faintest idea where my ideas come from."  Well, Wikipedia lists over two dozen influences and analogues (and is interesting, if you like that sort of thing.)

Or, you could just glance at the following infographic.  It highlights the similarities between Harry Potter and Star Wars pretty clearly.

 

 

Sometimes it is better not to analyze the trick and just enjoy the magic.

Other times, just let Saturday Night Live do a parody of it.

Related articles

• Incredible Infographic - The Fascinating Franchise of Harry Potter (basekit.com)
• The Magic Of Harry Potter (grumbleltd.wordpress.com)
• Bank on Harry Potter to conjure up the cash (telegraph.co.uk)

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading

In the spirit of 'Independence' ... here is a photo of the British Royal Family.  It could be captioned: "Did Phillip Fart?"

The expressions are priceless!  Notice Harry, and of course, the Queen.

 

 

What do you think?

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• What Happens When Our Computers Get Smarter Than We Are? (TED)
• Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling. (Aerogramme Studio)
• Watching Porn With Porn Stars Is Hilariously Awkward. (HuffPost)
• U.S. Suspects Hackers in China Breached 4 Million People’s Records. (WSJ)
• IBM is buying thousands of Macs for its employees. It wants to deploy around 50,000 MacBooks by the end of the year.  (9to5mac)

 

Trading Links:

• Most Millionaires Think They Are Middle Class. (CNBC)
• Uber is Now Worth MORE than Federal Express. (Lindzon)
• Feds’ Crystal Ball Shows Oil Comeback. (Investing Daily)
• Who Is Saudi Arabia Really Targeting In Its Price War? (OilPrice)
• How The Fed "Engineered A Massive Squeeze In The Markets" with the Help of 683x Leverage. (ZH)

The Dangers of Selfie Sticks - PSA Parody

This PSA parody warns people to stop abusing their selfie sticks.

Apparently, self-obsessed people will go to any lengths to top other selfie addicts. This results in longer selfie sticks, and increasingly dangerous situations. 

 

 

via YouTube.

The video ends by asking viewers to “please selfie responsibly,” an aptly-timed message considering Disney World’s recent ban on selfie sticks at the theme park.

This social commentary is a cleverly disguised Pizza Hut ad.

A Different Look at Things

This video was taken at the SXSW conference.  While it seems a little silly, the video illustrates an interesting point.

 

 

via TimeSlice Films, pioneers in multi-camera array imaging.

 

Perspective is important. 

Being able to see the 'invisible' makes the 'impossible' possible

 

via Flug.

New technology seems like magic until you understand how it is done.

Mana Lisa's Smile (Nope, It's not a typo)

Mana Lisa had a strange smile ... and eyes that seemed to follow you around the room.

The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Sometimes you don't recognize when the journey starts ... other times you do.

 

 — with Ming Alihan at MAD Museum of Art & Design, Singapore.

 

And sometimes you have to go half way around the world, just to get to the starting line.

Best wishes on all your journeys.

What’s Going On - Playing For Change [Music Video]

Here is a different take on Marvin Gaye’s classic “What’s Going On”.

It is a "Song Around The World" recording by Playing For Change.

It starts with an acoustic guitar in Africa, adds a drummer in Los Angeles. Next comes the electric guitar and bass on the streets of Chicago and strings in Serbia.  You get the picture ...

Now listen to the music.

 

 

 

Years in the making, minutes to watch. Very cool.

This Song Around The World is featured on PFC3. The album features 185 musicians from 31 countries.

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Wisdom in the Age of Information: The Future of Story-Telling

“We live in a world awash of information, but we seem to face a growing scarcity of wisdom,” states Maria Popova, Founder of the website Brain Pickings.

She believes that stories—in the broadest sense of the word—shape the meaning and momentum of everyday life.

 

 

 via YouTube.

Stories will never die, but the ways we tell them are changing.

Interesting.

The Monkey Selfie Cannot Be Copyrighted

This monkey took a selfie using a photographer's camera. 

 

 

via Mashable.

It went viral. 

Then the photographer tried to sue to protect the copyright he thought he deserved because it was his camera, his set-up, his planning, etc.

However, the U.S. Copyright Office has settled the recent debate over the so-called monkey selfie, declaring in updated rules that a piece of content produced by an animal can't be registered.

Aren't humans animals?

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekend Reading

The U.S. is supposed to be the model for free market economics.  So, why do we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world?

 

Here are ten posts that caught my eye. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• These Are Some of Best Time-Saving Hacks for A Productive Day. (AlltopStartups)
• There are Now 50 Colleges that Charge More Than $60,000 Per Year [List]. (Insider)
• If Logos Had Honest Slogans ... (TwistedSifter)
• Amazon Tests Kindle Unlimited, Its Own E-book Subscription Service. (FastCompany)
• Dad Claims Kingdom So 7-Year-Old Can Be Real Princess. (HuffingtonPost)

 

Trading Links:

• The Moneyball of Quality Investing. (ResearchAffiliates)
• The Difference Between a Good and a Bad Trader: What Brain Imaging Reveals. (ZH)
• Central Bank Exec Says Stocks Are 'Irrational'; China Poised To Crash. (BizInsider)
• A Cheat Sheet for Understanding the Different Schools of Economics. (Pragcap)
• 5 Everyday Products Whose Prices Are Hitting All-Time Highs. (Fool)