April 16th, 2012
I’m deeply skeptical of the added value of video to online news, but this 3-D presentation on Mariano Rivera is unbelievable. (Via the Transom)
Also from the Transom is this insane piece about sniper shots. Total military porn. Sample awesome:
1 commentOne of them had been hit by the bullet and was killed outright, while the other two were struck down by brick and bullet fragments blasted out by Reichert’s shot. He had neutralized three targets that were behind a wall with a single shot made a mile out. For his actions, he was awarded the Bronze Star and a full scholarship to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
Comics Roundup
April 16th, 2012
* X-Men gets it’s first gay wedding. Huzzah.
* Having previously reached out to fanboys to quell rebellion during the Transformers shoot, Michael Bay is now attempting parlay over Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Eastman and Laird are not soothed.
* Interview with a (former) comic book pirate. (This probably isn’t what you’re hoping for.)
1 commentEarly Christmas Shopping
April 16th, 2012
If you’re into semi-obscure movie art, this is for you.
0 commentsSofia Vergara’s Night Reading
April 12th, 2012
As promised: JVL in The Three Stooges. (Click for the big version click here.)
Sofia Vergara. Demography. America’s One-Child Policy.
April 11th, 2012
I have it on good authority that in the new Three Stooges movie, there’s a scene where Sofia Vergara is lounging in bed, reading this. (I’m working on getting a production still.)
The only bad news is that, as some of you may have noticed, the title of the book has changed to What to Expect When No One’s Expecting. It’s due (for now) at the tail end of 2012.
More to come.
2 commentsInternet Bubble (cont.)
April 11th, 2012
I perked up at the news that The Facebook decided to pay $1B for Instagram. A few thoughts:
* If this doesn’t highlight the imperfect rationality of markets, I don’t know what does. Instagram is a 15-month-old company. It has no profits. It has no prospects of profits. It has a strong position within its own competitive sphere–free photosharing smart-phone apps–but not a dominant one.
I’m sorry–I said Instagram has no profits. What I meant was, Instagram has no revenues. You might be able to overlook the existence of (any) cash inflow if the company owned some unique, proprietary process. But it does not. There is no “secret sauce” which Instagram invented and which, though it has yet to be monetized, can be procured only by purchase.
* 12 months ago, Instagram was valued at $25M. On April 5, Instagram was valued at $500M. Four days later–four days–Facebook purchased Instagram for $1B. So either (1) The market failed in prior valuations; (2) The market has failed in the current valuation; or (3) Instagram doubled in value over the course of 96 hours.
* By market cap, the Facebook valuation would make Instagram the 1,842nd most valuable company in the world. Equivalent-value companies include McGee Energy, a public-utility in Wisconsin and NxStage Medical, which makes medical devices used in treatment of people with kidney disease. Click around the other companies on that list and you’ll see a lot of mature businesses that, you know, make stuff.
* If you needed final confirmation of the Instagram lunacy, Slate is on the scene to explain (counterintuitively!) why the $1B price tag absolutely makes sense.
0 commentsThe Meanest Thing Ever Written About a Movie
April 5th, 2012
“It’s huge, oversized, Bay-esque extravagenza but without the heart and charm of Bay.”
Oh no.
Before you click the link, guess which upcoming movie is being appraised. Got it?
9 commentsMy Gift to You
April 5th, 2012
Run, don’t walk, to Andrew Ferguson’s piece on the 25th anniversary of Allan Bloom’s Closing of the American Mind.
Awesome.
4 comments
