August 12, 2009

A Crisis of Faith

True happiness, as I have discussed on this site ad nauseum over the years, is probably a concept that will elude me for the remainder of my futile existence. So much I have accepted. It would be curious, then, if in the midst of this eternal philosophical disquiet, I found a meaningful substitute for happiness in something so vacuous as to be embarrassing. And yet, that is exactly the place I find myself in today.

No, dear readers, I'm not talking about personal relationships assets (perish the thought!). It is, I am afraid, something far more plebeian than that: material possessions.

August 16, 2009

The “Rentership” Society

The (often overlooked) Weekend Journal has an essay this week that to me seems absolutely indispensable for anyone who cares about how we move out of the financial shit storm in which we are currently ensconced. It briefly documents the centuries old American obsession with home ownership, and all the US government has done since the Depression, both covertly and overtly, to make the dream of ownership a reality for tens of millions. Of course, we all know where all that assistance led us decades later: the debacle that is GSEs like the infamous Fannie and Freddie, now on taxpayer-funded life support and operating in a zombie-like state.

August 17, 2009

Seven Years and Counting

Despite my dereliction in updating this past year, I hope the recent flurry of activity convinces you, dear readers, that I have indeed resurrected this site from the ashes of unmet expectations. Two posts in as many days, however, is unusual, even by what used to be normal standards; I have two reasons for breaking these prevailing norms.

First, in addition to returning to the web, I have also posted pictures from my time in the UK this summer (working in London). Albums from Edinburgh and Bath are now online.

Second, today marks the seventh anniversary of this blog (though not the Realm, which is almost a year older). My first post appeared on this site on August 18, 2002. Please do not judge me too harshly.

In any case, I am off to Japan tomorrow (or later today, I suppose) for a little more than a week. Expect at least a couple updates from there, as I will be carrying a computer and will need to be online (for asinine reasons, as it were) rather regularly.