Time to eat your dog

Nowadays it becomes ever more en vogue to calculate the "Carbon-Footprint" of virtually everything. I just stumbled across a hillarious study as part of a book titled "Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living".

They calculated the carbon footprint of dogs of medium and large size and compared it to a SUV. The result is quite surprising. See for yourself:

(click on the picture to see it in full size)

So if you were facing the difficult decision of whether to get a dog or a kick-ass SUV: this study claims that if you solely decide in terms of the carbon footprint you should get the SUV - provided you don´t drive more than 20.000km per year...

Found via Good. Read the hillarious article on the book on NewScientist - including tipps on how to reduce your pets carbon footprint.

P.S. Let´s hope that the authors got their methodology right ;)

This is it

That's the title of the Michael Jackson movie, which is currently being screened all around the world. I saw it tonight and (as a big MJ fan) I must say that I loved it!

"This is it" was also gonna be the title of Michael Jackson's last (50) shows in London's O2 arena. The movie is almost entirely based on footage from the rehearsals for the show. So basically you get a good idea of what the final show would have looked like and you get a lot of behind the scenes material, ergo a quite personal insight.

What impressed me most, yet again, is MJ's body control. He's probably the greatest dancer the world has seen in the past 50 years. It's just incredible how he knows exactly how he needs to move his body, which parts to keep still, how much to move, just to make it look elegant. And mind you, Michael was 50 years old but he still 'out-danced' his (extremely) talented but also much younger back-up dancers. I was thrilled to see that he hadn't lost the capability to perform his trademark moves. On the other hand I can totally see what he needed all those painkillers for...

Another thing I was very positively surprised by, is the 'person' Michael Jackson. He demands nothing less than perfection from his crew, while at the same time being very humble and constructive in his criticism. He knows everything there is to know about music and performing - not like most other performers nowadays. He's a real guru! This movie made me have so much more sympathy for Michael Jackson.

Oh, my father - who only listens to classical music - also came to see the movie. And he was stunned by Michael Jackson's dancing and musical abilities (not his singing though...). That's definitely means something!

My two other favorite casts from the movie are the lead guitar (a girl!!) and one of the singers of African-Japanese origin - they look great and they really kicks ass. (Just for the record, their names are: Orianthi Panagaris & Judith Hill)

I must say that I was very moved at times during the movie - my neighbors definitely were - and I am most sad that "this was it" for MJ. He was the King of Pop - no doubt. Thanks for everything.

Economists on Jeopardy

Have a look at the following video. On the game show 'Jeopardy' they were actually asking about famous economists....as an economist myself I am quite proud, that we made it onto the show, since the subject tends to be perceived as being rather dry.

Indeed, in that round the candidates avoided going for the economist questions until the very end. Only "Hockey quotes" proved to be more unpopular...

The participants did not have much of a clue, but the questions are somewhat tricky indeed. Would you have gotten the answers right?

Found via Greg Mankiw's blog.

Financial Crisis Revisited

Most of you probably saw the famous Bird & Fortune satirical interview on the subprime crisis, which brilliantly exposes the mindset of part of the banking community. You can learn a lot about the current financial crisis and its origins. It's funny and terribly sad at the same time. In case you haven't seen it, here it is again:

Anyway, about a year later, there is finally a follow up to this interview, powered by the Financial Times. It's not as brilliant as the original, but definitely worth seeing.

This is a brief excerpt of "Lehman, bonuses and the property boom - through satirical eyes"

The full version can be found by following this link.

The perfect furniture for globetrotters

I can't believe my eyes! Have a look:

This is so the ideal furniture for me! After all I'm moving either apartments or countries every few months...Just pack them up within a few seconds - they adopt the handy form of suitcases. That way you might even be able to take your furniture onto a plane!

The Japanese are so ingenious! This work was presented at the Shanghai world exposition. Check out the webpage for more smart japanese design.

Found thanks to Acácia via Globo.

Obama's reaction to winning the Nobel peace prize

Source: Slate

Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize

...and I'm speechless and thrilled. How did the White House Press Secretary put it? "WOW" The decision has been criticized quite a bit - in particular the question "What for?" has been asked a lot. So here's the official reasoning (my highlighting):

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

(Original Source: Nobelprize.org)

I'm with El Baradei "the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, who said he could not of anyone more deserving of the award. 'In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself." (Source: BBC)

I can see that this seems to be very hard for people to understand. They want to see concrete hands-on results. However, the award for Obama is not about the peace accords he managed to broker, but it's more about the change in climate, the change in attitude and the change in values he induced. The world is talking more with each other and listening more to each other; trying more to cooperate - it's less of "everyone against everyone".

Here's an excerpt from the the Will of Alfred Nobel:

[...] the interest on which shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind...[The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded to] to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.

In my view, Obama fits this description without a doubt. I can't think of anyone else who has done more in the past year and has improved world peace (for the better) in recent times than him.

So Congratulations to you, Mr. Barack Obama!

I'm looking forward for the The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences on Monday. I already 'know' how's not gonna get the Nobel Prize. Eugene Fama - well, at least not for his Efficient [Capital] Markets Hypothesis ;)

Zapatero's daughters

In Spain the release of a picture of Prime Minister Zapatero on an official visit to Barack Obama has caused quite some astonishment. The reason being that it is the first time Spain has seen Zapatero's daughter.

He had requested the media not to publish any photos of his underage daughters (and I believe it is illegal to publish pictures of minors in Spain, without their or parental consent). So far the media respected it. Unfortunately, the White House did not know about this request. And unfortunately, Zapatero brought his daughters on a state visit to New York and had a picture taken with Obama and his entire family. This picture was then published on the White House webpage and has since circulated the Web and has been printed by many Spanish Newspapers. The White House later removed the picture, but the 'damage' was already done.

So what was the big deal about it...it's just a picture, right? Well, have a look for yourself:

Well, they are dressed rather goth-style - and they actually went to see Barack Obama dressed like that. Now that's what I call brave - they didn't give in to those enormous social pressures! And a round of applause for Zapatero standing by the convictions of his daughters! Mind you, I would probably try to convince (read as 'force') my own daughters to wear something more conservative. Zapatero didn't, that deserves a lot of respect.

Felicitações, Rio 2016!

You really deserved winning the contest to host the 2016 Olympic Summer Games!

Madrid was an unlikely candidate. First, their slogans weren't good at all, as some of them were impossible to translate. For example, try translating "Corazonada" in an elegant manner - I'm not even gonna try... It seemed like Madrid was trying to convince the Spanish population, rather than the world, that they would wanna host the Olympics.

But a more important reason why Madrid would face an impossible task is the fact that the 2012 Olympics are gonna be hosted in London. Twice in a row in Europe - that ain't gonna happen. Why couldn't anyone in the steering committee see that one and act on it?

One of the main reason they got so many votes, I believe, is the influence of former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch (1980-2001 !). And indeed, even as cities were kicked out in the voting, Madrid didn't really get any additional votes, suggesting that it was a group of people 'loyal' to Samaranch voting for Madrid.

I liked Tokyo's concept of environmental friendly games and the short distances to be covered. But the games had just been in Asia (i.e. Beijing) and there didn't seem too much popular and political support within Japan itself for the olympic games. Their website is worth checking out though. It's very well done - the best one of all the candidate cities. Nice to look at and quite intuitive.

Chicago's bid was definitely a good one as well. However, the U.S. has already hosted 8 olympic games (4 summer + 4 winter), while the southern hemisphere as a whole has only hosted games twice so far. Rio will be the third to do so. Have a look at the following image, which makes just this "Geographic Argmument".

Olympic Games held in the northern hemisphere vs the southern hemisphere (The image is from Good Magazine) . It's quite obvious that it would be about time for the south to host some games, don't you think?

Furthermore, Rio is an awesome city and the Olympics will give it the boost (and money) it needs to fight its (admittedly) big traffic & crime problems. Barcelona was a city, which got just such a boost from hosting the 1992 Olympics. Before it was just 'another' (rather filthy) mediterranean city. The Olmympic games forced them to get their act together and clean up the town. And look what it has become: Europe's most beautiful and most livable city!

So Rio, go out and take your chances to improve the living conditions of your magnificent city! After all you already hosted the Pan American Games successfully in 2007 and, more importantly, 'Brazilians never give up' :)

P.S. Here are the official results of the vote (courtesy of Olympic.org):

Round 1
Madrid: 28 votes
Rio de Janeiro: 26 votes
Tokyo: 22 votes
Chicago: 18 votes

Round 2
Tokyo: 20 votes
Rio de Janeiro: 46 votes
Madrid: 29 votes

Round 3
Rio de Janeiro: 66 votes
Madrid: 32 votes

And the official announcement, because it is so much fun to see people in suits go crazy.

Lisbon!

I spent the last weekend in Lisbon - a city which had been my home for four years, while I was a kid. I didn't recognize a thing though. But thanks to my newly acquired portuguese skills (--> Trip to Rio), I could at least understand the locals. The city is absolutely gorgeous. I didn't inform myself whatsoever about the city beforehand and I was absolutely impressed!

Lisbon has marvelous buildings, lovely pavements, excellent restaurants, lots of impressive monuments, churches/monasteries and bridges. Particularly the 25 de Abril Bridge is awesome - there is really no need to go to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge...this bridge in Lisbon can easily keep up with it! Here's a picture of the bridge I found on Flickr (credits to Lumacafi). The day we saw it, it really looked kinda like that. It tends to get quite foggy and mystical in Lisbon due to the closeness to the Atlantic Ocean.

Lisbon has the flair of a real seafarer's city. You can almost feel the intimate relationship between the city and the Atlantic Ocean. Barcelona does not have this certain flair to me.

In terms of geography, Lisbon actually reminded me very much of Istanbul (which I visited last year around the same time of the year). It's also spread out over several hills, it also has big rivers flowing through the city as well as it has access to the sea. Anyone else know a city like that for next year's trip? ;)

Enjoy the pictures!

The view of Lisbon from the Castle of Saint George.

Isn't that cute?? There's a spot on the street for men to have a pee.

The view from our Hostel The "Lisbon Story Guesthouse". We stayed in the 'Escritor' Room, which was decorated in homage to famous writers, i.e. with a typewriter, an old radio, red+white walls with famous quotes written over the walls - very charming! The Lisbon Story Guesthouse might not be the cheapest option available, but the location is awesome (next to the Teatro Nacional Dona Maria II), the breakfast is great (and so is the lounge area where you have breakfast) and the people running it are very friendly and relaxed. So if you don't mind shared bathrooms you might wanna consider it.

View of Lisbon and the Castle St. George from the Bairro Alto

Portuguese Politicians have crazy ads! "The hour of truth has come" and the face of this lady is more likely to scare the hell out of people than anything else.

Downtown

The lovely Lisbon Streetlights. Note the little iron ship with the two birds sitting on it.

This was an awesome marble floor showing the dates when Portuguese established their colonies in all parts of the world. In the background you can see the famous Jeronimos Monastery (amongst other things it's where the Treaty of Lisbon was signed - the one the Irish just accepted in a vote this Saturday...).

By far the best scarf ever! (Not the Portugal one - sorry Paulo)

For all those who don't speak Spanish: it's the famous remark by Spanish King Juan Carlos I to Hugo Chavez from a the Ibero American Summit in 2007 - "Why don't you (just) shut up?"

We also spent half a day in Sintra, but those picture are on a disposable camera, since our digital one ran out of space...