A few posts ago I commented on a report of institutional investors getting into residential real estate. Before that trend they were into mortgage-backed securities, and we know how that turned out. But now it’s actual property that big money is after, and it’s not just in the luxury market. The acquisitions go all the way down to the lowest rung of home ownership — trailer parks — as covered in a recent article in The New Yorker.
Author: DOuG pRATt
A Three-Hour Tour
A trilogy of hours in conversation with Brian Sibley, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the BBC Radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
I recently began re-listening to my BBC/America CD box set of the series. The actors include Ian Holm and Bill Nighy.
Looking Back on Looking Back
A 1996 history of computers. Curiously for that year, the Internet isn’t mentioned, despite an onscreen appearance by Arpanet innovator Bob Taylor. At that time the minicomputer industry, that had been a driving economic force here in Massachusetts for 25 years, was on its last legs.
https://youtu.be/OSQld7xVMn0
I became an Amazon customer in August, 1996. My first order was a gift for “Rose is Rose” cartoonist Pat Brady who, to my surprise, wasn’t familiar with Winsor McCay.
Dutchmen Pop
My DJ roots are showing once again. Years before “Radar Love,” Golden Earring, from Holland, had the British Beat sound nailed in 1965.
Here’s the big hit that got a lot of play in the college cafeteria jukebox. With a somewhat changed lineup, the band certainly got their sound — and their look — right for the 70’s.
Flippin’ Off Investors
It’s one thing for individuals to try their hand at flipping houses, but now big money institutional investors are getting into the “we buy junk houses” business. This will distort residential real estate markets, especially for first time home buyers.
The White Man’s Jazz
TCM has its restored print of King of Jazz back in rotation. Paul Whiteman was as much the King of Jazz as Murray “the K” Kaufman was the Fifth Beatle. Both titles were self-proclaimed and completely untrue.
Nonetheless, Whiteman’s significance can’t be overlooked, and King of Jazz, from 1930, includes his two most significant contributions. He commissioned George Gershwin to write “Rhapsody in Blue,” and he hired Bing Crosby.
The movie is a fascinating time capsule from the early era of sound on film. It opens with a Walter Lantz cartoon with a brief appearance by Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the character that was stolen from Walt Disney, forcing him to create Mickey Mouse.
https://youtu.be/HDReQ6T-54k