Lance Knobel wrote:

An occasional contributor to World Link, Rudi Dornbusch, died last week.

Rudi was that supposed rarity, a colourful, funny economist. He was also, as many tributes are now testifying, one of the best and most influential economists of our time.

From my narrow perspective Rudi had the wonderful asset of always ruffling feathers, whether it was tearing into the incompetence of monetary authorities in Latin America or east Asia, or rubbishing the prospects for the German economy. The last was a particular sore point in my world, since it led to a temporary diktat not to invite Rudi to Davos, because he had so offended some of the German business and political titans who were a core constituency for the Forum.

The ban was a particular pity because Rudi was such a good Davos performer, whether as an expert on a panel or as a moderator, where he had the rare skill of simultaneously moving a discussion along and provoking disagreements and good humour all around. I particularly remember him decreeing at the beginning of some session that anyone whose mobile phone rang during the session would be required to ask a question -- and then enforcing the ruling on some (I hope temporarily) unhappy executive.

[aka obituaries a la blog]

I've been trying to turn a number of my friends into "bloggers," and build my own community.  However, most of the examples of blogs out there are not of interest to my community, except as curiosity.

So, my mission is to find blogs that my community might be interested in, demonstrate the power and interest of blogging, and build a new blog community.

I'll first start with finding one other friend to participate.  An achievable goal.  (I think.)

So you're going to convince your friends to blog?

Why, that would make you a born again blogger!

A Blogging evangelist! Start a blog, go to heaven, one post at a time. Know God through blogging. Confession is good for the soul. Comment unto others as you would have them comment unto you. The family that blogs together, stays together. Find that permalink for your soul. Blog on, brother. As you link, so shall you linkback. In the name of DayPop, Radio, and the Googleplex, Amen.

Or are you a blog pusher?

Psssst. Hey buddy, do you blog? I've some grade A stuff, straight in from the web, guaranteed to keep you locked to your computer for hours. Come on, the first post's free. Everyone's doing it. What are you, chicken? It's sooooo good you're gonna thank me for this. Just a five minute download and tweak and it'll be like you've been mainblogging for years. Just link to me, give me some flow, baby. That's all I ask.

Maybe a vampire.

Can't you hear the children of the night calling? They howl so beautifully. Join us and your thoughts will never die. Cross over and feel the unholy connection to your new extended family. Tilt your head. I want to suck your blogg!

Seb's Open Research:

K-Logs are a close fit to the academic culture. Here are ten reasons why. ...

This is a little scary. Like most disruptive technologies, klogging started very slow, spread like the common cold, and mutated as fast. But when faculty and students get ahold of something like this, it spreads like wildfire, mutates in surprising and dangerous ways, and makes archaic all we hold dear.

Can you imagine what they'll do with blogs and gigabit bandwidth? Community features and matrix computing? Syndication and the hundreds of thousands of home grown lab applications?

I shudder and tingle at the prospect.

[aka klogs]

As seen on Haiku the Blog

Find morbid stuff at
Obituaries a la Blog.
It's not really goth.

Thanks, Firda.

[aka obituaries a la blog]

Ben Domenech said: 

Chaim Potok passed away today. Whereas Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, Philip Roth and other Jewish authors distanced themselves from their religion in the context of their writing, Potok embraced it, and in so doing, crafted some of the greatest works of modern American literature. He died a man. He will be missed.

[aka obituaries a la blog]

Steven Jarvis:

Leo McKern, who starred as Rumpole in the British TV series, Rumpole of the Bailey,has died. My wife and I had read all the Rumpole books before seeing the TV series, and McKern WAS Rumpole. RIP.

[aka obituaries a la blog]

Rogi said:

Photographer of Churchill, Hemingway dies. Photographer Yousuf Karsh, who gained international prominence with his 1941 portrait of a defiant Winston Churchill and photos of public figures such as Albert Einstein and Ernest Hemingway, has died at the age of 93.

Okay, it's a fair ol' age, and he had a fantastic lifetime -- but he'll still be sorely missed. I personally miss him already...

[aka obituaries a la blog]

'Our simple models are no longer sufficient,' said an eminent game theorist, who is calling for human passions and quirks to be taken into account, too. Diana Michele Yap reports from Stony Brook, New York. [Wired News]

About time, but it'll be fun watching mathematicians persuade psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists to mathematically model how people think, feel, and interact. (Mr. Spock vs. Bones, for those old enough to remember the original Star Trek team.) This at a time when complexity science and emergent behavior are forcing everyone to rethink their approach to social science modeling.  

RIP Alan Lomax, 1915-2002. Without Alan Lomax we might not know what 'old-timey music' is. [Meerkat: An Open Wire Service]

Wow, this is a truly great loss. His recordings of folk music, especially those made in the southern US, are incredible. This is music you would hear no other way. It's not popular and never will be, but if you have an open mind there's some really fascinating stuff available. In particular the recordings he made of Son House in the 1940s are legendary.

[aka obituaries a la blog]