The roaring sixties

… when two regular furniture salesmen could just walk into Harrods and buy a lion cub to fool around with.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms-piPxEzbk]

Wikipedia has a page about the story/events here. At £3500 / USD 6000 today not exactly cheap and apparently not that uncommon back then, according to the 45-minute full length documentary (which actually paints a slighty different, more realistic picture – worth watching)

So you think know how to ride a bike…

Unless you can do it like this guy, you don’t…

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShbC5yVqOdI]

Industrial Revolutions is the amazing new film from street trials riding star Danny Macaskill. Filmed and edited for Channel 4 ‘s documentary Concrete Circus.

Industrial Revolutions sees Danny take his incredible bike skills into an industrial train yard and some derelict buildings.’ Filmed in the beautiful Scottish countryside Danny Macaskill’s latest film was directed by Stu Thomson (Cut Media/MTBcut) for Channel 4’s documentary Concrete Circus.

www.CutMedia.com
www.DannyMacaskill.com

Music is ‘The Wolves’ by Ben Howard courtesy of Universal Island Records

Hayek vs. Keynes

Awesome YouTube discovery of the day:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk]

In Fear the Boom and Bust, John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek, two of the great economists of the 20th century, come back to life to attend an economics conference on the economic crisis. Before the conference begins, and at the insistence of Lord Keynes, they go out for a night on the town and sing about why there’s a “boom and bust” cycle in modern economies and good reason to fear it.

Get the full lyrics, story and free download of the song in high quality MP3 and AAC files at:

http://econstories.tv

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTQnarzmTOc]

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession ended almost two years ago, in the summer of 2009. Yet we’re all uneasy. Job growth has been disappointing. The recovery seems fragile. Where should we head from here? Is that question even meaningful? Can the government steer the economy or have past attempts helped create the mess we’re still in?

In “Fight of the Century”, Keynes and Hayek weigh in on these central questions. Do we need more government spending or less? What’s the evidence that government spending promotes prosperity in troubled times? Can war or natural disasters paradoxically be good for an economy in a slump? Should more spending come from the top down or from the bottom up? What are the ultimate sources of prosperity?

Keynes and Hayek never agreed on the answers to these questions and they still don’t. Let’s listen to the greats. See Keynes and Hayek throwing down in “Fight of the Century”!