Capitalogix

Little Drummer Boy by Pentatonix

Not typical of what I'd normally share ... But thought this was well done and timely.

 

 

 

Pentatonix were the winners of season 3 of NBC’s instrument-free music competition - 'The Sing-Off'. 

Also, here's a link to their cover of Royals.

"Oils" - A Thanksgivukkah Miracle (Royals Song Parody)

Thanksgiving and the first night of Hanukkah coincide this year. 

American Jews get to mix turkey, stuffing, menorahs, and dreidels with a popular song. And what better song than Lorde's "Royals?" More appropriately named "Oils," in honor of the latkas and burning candles of Thanksgivukkah.

So, here is a musical parody of the new mashup holiday, Thanksgivukkah.

 

 

 

Puritans and a different Tribe dancing the the horah while belting back some Manischewitz ... it's a Thanksgivukkah Miracle.

Watch as Astronaut Chris Hadfield Covers Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ in Space

Life imitating Art.

Here is a version of David Bowie's Space Oddity, recorded by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station.

Hadfield is not only an astronaut, he is a social media star who invited the world to experience space differently by sharing the photos and videos he captured during his stay on the International Space Station.

 

 

With deference to the genius of David Bowie, here's Space Oddity, recorded on Station. A last glimpse of the World. youtube.com/watch?v=KaOC9d…

— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) May 12, 2013

 

 

In the clip, Hadfield floats around the space station singing the 1969 track (with modified lyrics such as, “Ground control to Major Tom, lock your Soyuz hatch and put your helmet on,”) and playing an acoustic guitar while gazing at Earth from space.

Kind of fun to watch.

 

Dance Like Nobody Is Watching ... But Plan for Bathing Suit Season [video]

Hope you are having a fun week.

It is springtime ... and the gym I go to is starting to get busier.

Reminder: summer is almost here.

The video below shows what happens when you forget that bathing suit season is coming.

 

 

 

On a positive note, the guy on the left is a pretty good dancer.  Love that he plays full-out, dances like no one is watching, and has fun. 

 

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What Can You Learn from an Orchestra Conductor?

Itay Talgam (photo: Frank Hamm)

Last week I got an insightful lesson from someone I'd never heard of before.  His name is Itay Talgam, and he used to conduct the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. 

He was the keynote presenter on the opening night of a business conference ... and somewhat surprisingly his message was about leadership.

Some people take the word "conductor" and assume it means "leader." However, taken a different way, "conductor" might mean "connector." 

Neither is "right," but which would you consciously choose for it to mean for you, your business, or your trading?

To figure out what conductors do, we watched some videos of well-known conductors conducting their orchestras.

• Some were the center of attention, some helped highlight the performers, while others focused on connecting the audience to the music.
• Some were stiff, others almost danced with their orchestra and the audience.
• Likewise, some were control freaks who micro-managed every nuance of a performance, while others simply let the orchestra play. 
• Some showed passion; others showed control. 

Again, there are countless variations; and the point is that it was easy for each of us to choose what seemed right (and what didn't).  Obviously, this works as a metaphor for business, interactions with people, or even how you trade and manage a portfolio.

If you were hiring a conductor, what would you be looking for, and how would you want them to engage ?

With that in mind (time for a little introspection), how do you show-up, and what do you do?  Are there other ways for you to perform your roles and duties that might get better results?

For some ideas, here is his TED Talk.

 

 

 

On a different topic, when you experience great classical music … who should get the credit?

Acceptable answers might include the conductor, the orchestra, the composer, even the audience.

Assuming that a conductor should get their fair share of the credit and blame for a performance, what do they do (or what could they do) to impact the results?

Obviously, the conductor is the focal point letting people know when to do the thing that they do. So there's clearly a communication and coordination component. Taken too far, and it strips some of the "magic" from the performers and the performance.

According to Talgam, the best conductors manage the process, while leaving the details to the performers. This allows them a fair bit of control, without the stifling effect on innovation or art.

From my perspective the same is true in trading.  I don't want a portfolio manager to be the trading system ... instead I want a dynamic and adaptive selection of the right systems at the right time.

Less Is More.

Leonard Bernstein

One of the examples was that a flute player asked the conductor how they would know it was time for them to come in ... The conductor's answer was "it's time to come in when you can no longer stand being out."

Leonard Bernstein was shown as an example of a great conductor. After working with the Vienna Philharmonic for many years, some of the best performances occurred while he did apparently little.

Upon closer inspection, you could see that he was sending them cues using: facial expressions, the pace of his breathing, a nod of his head, the movement of his body, the direction of his gaze, and through countless other little things.

Obviously, you can't rely on such things at the beginning, but once people really know what to do, one of the best things you can do is help them find opportunities to do what they do best, and then to get out of the way to let them do it.

 Here is a link to Talgam's website.

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Do You Agree With This List of the 100 Most Beautiful Songs Ever Heard?

Do You Agree With This List of the 100 Most Beautiful Songs Ever Heard?

A thread on popular net board, AskReddit, posed the question, "What is the most beautiful song you've ever heard?"

The challenge was simple:

Think to yourself, what is the most beautiful song you have ever heard, im not talking about your favourite song, or the most technical, or something that made you cry, I just want to know the song that made you say 'holy shit... I could die to this.'

After thousands of comments, a strong list was assembled and filtered. Ultimately, the 100 most upvoted songs became a public Spotify playlist.

Selections range from classical to punk and from pop to indie.  The result was interesting and varied.

Worth a listen. Here is the List.

 

 

 

  

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JibJab Lets You Star In Your Own Gangnam Style Video

Gangnam Style has about a billion views, recently surpassing Justin Bieber to become the number one most-viewed YouTube video of all time. 

So, of course, JibJab got in the game. They’ve launched a Gangnam Style video that you can personalize with your face (or a friend’s face). Here's what it looks like.

 

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

 

Hope you are having a happy and fun holiday season.

Your Weekend Reading Linkfest

Lots of good stuff this week to distract you from the bad.

 

 

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

 

Lighter Links:

• Why it’s Not All Bad to Be Bored. (NYTimes)
• Alec Baldwin Puts the 'Fear' Into Christmas with Glengarry Christmas Spoof. (CX)
• Spotify's 10 Most Popular Tracks of 2012. (TheWeek)
• The Purpose Of War? Thought provoking commentary. (ABC)
• Human Modification. Scientists are experimenting with different ways to enhance humans. What's possible? (TheBrowser)

 

Trading Links:

• The World’s 200 Richest People. (Bloomberg)
• Investors’ 10 Most Common Behavioral Biases. (RPSeawright)
• Market Data Firm Spots the Tracks of Bizarre Robot Traders. (TheAtlantic)
• Book Recommendations from Nassim Taleb. (FarnamStreet)
• With Profits Dropping, High-Speed Trading Cools Down. (NYTimes)

Adam Sandler's Hanukkah Song Video

It that time of year again.  Wow, how time flies.

To my Jewish friends, Happy Chanukah.

As a gift to all of you, here is "The Chanukah Song," performed by comedian Adam Sandler on Saturday Night Live.  It became an instant classic, since he first performed it in 1994.

Here is the video.

 

 

 

Here is the Wikipedia post about the Chanukah Song.

He has updated it since then.  Here is Sandler's Version 2.

And, here is Sandler's Version 3.  Hope you enjoy them ... and best wishes for a happy holiday season.

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Stand and Deliver: Jimmy Fallon and Christina Aguilera Use Office Supplies to Perform Her New Song

Here is a clip of Jimmy Fallon and Christina Aguilera using office supplies and used them as instruments to perform Christina's "Your Body."

Here is the "Instrument" list:

stapler, iPhone keypad, coffee pots with pencil drumsticks, roll of sticky tape, water cooler jug, tissue box & elastic band guitar, spiral notebook (a.k.a. the "tear snare"), keyboard washboard, paper clip shaker, and scissors.

 

 

Innovative, talented, and pretty cool.