Determining the ultimate champion from the year that was - Grantland

I think this is my favorite article of the year.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7403367/who-won-2011

Poems in the doctor's waiting room: you'll never have to flip through an out-of-date Reader's Digest again – Telegraph Blogs

Ben's Friends made the London Daily Telegraph. Very cool. This is starting to happen a lot more often and it's a good sign for 2012!

"I must just mention one other charity called Bens Friends, which does stirling work as an international network of online communities that provide support for people struggling with rare diseases.

 Ben's Friends has 12,600 members globally – more than 38 million people are affected by a rare illness (3.5 million in the UK alone) – and the mission of Ben's Friends is to ensure everyone with a rare disease has a safe place to go everyday and connect with people like them. As we know, communicating with someone who is experiencing the same illness or condition as you are can be very comforting.Ben's Friends was founded in 2006 by Ben Munoz – hence "Ben's Friends" – who suffered from a rare condition called an AVM and realised that a support network would be extremely beneficial.

Like Poems in the Waiting Room, Bensfriends.org runs on a shoe-string budget and is fully supported by donors, sponsors, and advertisers. An army of volunteers helps out, no one is paid a salary, and all donations go directly to funding the networks."

This is really funny

Incredibly funny

Kumail Nanjiani on new drug called cheese - YouTube:

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

(see full image)

Saturday Brunch

Since it's a holiday weekend, I thought I would put together an extra long list of reading material this week. I don't want to overload you though, so I'll break them up over today and Sunday. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

• The Best Data Visualization Projects of 2011 - I've become really interested in the way data is presented and worked. There is a concept in startup world called Big Data - managing and mining huge datasets - that is making these types of visualizations possible. I think it's the next phase of the web which is heavy on text, video and sound (music) right now. Data visualizations are the next step.
• Wilco in Chicago at the Civic Opera House - incredible setlist and performance streaming from from one of my favorite bands. 
• Year End Position Updates - from one of my favorite investing blogs. He's heavy on natural resources and gold, which are big investing themes for me too, so I like to read his opinion.
• Elephants and Human Evolution - fascinating. I guess it's a case of "whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
• Amazon's 7 Year View - I've heard great stories from friends on Amazon's approach to new markets. The mantra, "you aren't losing enough money" is controversial, but it's proven effective.
• One Acre Fund's Semi-Annual Report - one of the best social impact ventures in the world, started by a Kellogg 06' grad. Many of my friends are on the advisory board. I was blown away by their report. It's detailed, quantitative and proves the money is spent very well. I hope to emulate this with Ben's Friends in 2012.
• How Fab Raised $40M - another highly quantitative approach to raising money, this time venture capital. This is the playbook for raising money.
• One Week in Japan - always beautiful photography from Mike Matas. Alex Bain turned me onto him. I believe he was an early designer on the ipod and iphone.
• The Battle for Control - a wonderful post by Kati of Living With Ataxia, a Ben's Friends network, on her battle to slow down ataxia and remain self sufficient. Kati is an inspiration to me.
• The Year in Volcanoes - beautiful

Sunday Morning 14

I'm fired up to post my annual Sunday Morning sensitive music playlist. This year it's Sunday Morning 14!

I've posted it through Spotify and I'll try to make it available through CD next week. This year's version is a little faster than past years. Thanks to all the people like Bryan Kenna, Beth Stevens, Matt Ziser and John Hamilton who tipped me off to great, new music in 2012!

I hope you enjoy the new tunes and have a Happy Holidays!

2011, Buh-Bye | Funny Video Animation by JibJab

Always awesome.

2011, Buh-Bye | Funny Video Animation by JibJab: "
"

I'll be there on opening night...

THE HOBBIT Trailer HD - YouTube:

Sunday Brunch - December 18, 2011

The links are back!

• Vocal Frey - I had never heard of this before but once I watched the video, it made perfect sense. Very interesting. Wondering if a vocal tic like this spread because of widespread media consumption or are we just noticing it now.
• Amazon Kindle Redirects to Amazon's Version of Android - brilliant move by Amazon. They're trying to make their branch of Android, the only one that matters. Worth paying attention to.
• UC Berkeley to Offer Financial Aid to Middle Class Families - awesome to see my alma mater react to changing economic realities. Of course, I (and many others) believe that widespread student loan availability has resulted in skyrocketing education costs. On balance though, I still think loans are good though because it makes education accessible.
• Playing with Pigs - Lisanti found another amazing link and video.
• Dividend Paying Funds Rock - great article by Kathryn on the importance of dividends in financial performance. I've owned a bunch of high dividend paying stocks for this reason. However, you have to be careful, because some dividend paying companies are really value traps. The dividend is all they really have going for them and Management clings to it while the business degrades.
• Give Me Something to Read 2011 - This blog consistently surfaces the best articles. This is their best of 2011.
• Whatever Happened to the Triangle Offense - the Triangle Offense is a basketball offense that is a little unorthodox but it gets players to move the ball, which creates easy scoring opportunities. 
• Why Quantum Solace Wasn't Any Good - funny story from the making of James Bond movie.
• A Softer World - excellent photo blog with snappy commentary.
• The Day I Saw Van Gogh's Genius in a New Light - fascinating that he had a problem seeing color the way most people do.
• Louis CK's Big Video Experiment - He cut out the middle men, big media companies, and the results have been great. I bought it and it's hilarious. 
• Don't be a Free User - good advice for people who love a service that doesn't charge. It's really hard to stay in business this way. Give them a few bucks.
• Seth Godin on Organizational Acquisitions - great way of looking at why big companies buy small ones. From the outside, it looks like Facebook does a terrific job of this.
• The Trap of Social Media Noise - social media can be so powerful, just look at how we're using it to help raise money for Ben's Friends, but it has a big downside if used incorrectly.
• Why Google is Bending to Verizon on the Google Wallet - Google's version of Android really needs Verizon to be successful.
• Hello Moon - really pretty

James McManus on Full Tilt poker and Black Friday - Grantland

James McManus on Full Tilt poker and Black Friday - Grantland:

Terrific article on online poker and what happened withe the federal crackdown. His book, Positively Fifth Street is a must read. It's such a page turner, I think I read it in two days, which never happens with me.

'via Blog this'

Friday Bonus Music - December 16, 2011

The National feat. Bon Iver - Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks Video by Myspace - Myspace Video:


Myspace | Myspace Music Videos

33forever's December 2011 mix | 33forever

Another great playlist by John Hamilton!

Will Ferrell Asks If He Can Star In Ads For Old Milwaukee Beer Free Of Charge - The Consumerist

Sometimes you need a reminder on where the rest of the world is on technology and the Internet. Poor Old Milwaukee...

Will Ferrell Asks If He Can Star In Ads For Old Milwaukee Beer Free Of Charge - The Consumerist: "The ads are funny, and would most likely go viral — if Old Milwaukee had a YouTube page."

Hanging in Boston w. Addy

Note the Clippers hat.

Louis CK - "Buy The Thing"

My favorite comic, Louis CK, put up a show on the Internet for $5. Love his message - "Buy The Thing."

I did, and I'm saving it for my plane ride home.

Saturday Night Live - Weekend Update: Capt. Steve Rogers - Video - http://www.nbc.com

Baldwin is amazing here. And yes, I play Words With Friends.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/weekend-update-capt-steve-rogers/1372901/?__cid=thefilter

iTunes Session by My Morning Jacket

This is a great Holiday album by My Morning Jacket. My favorite song is Christmas Must Be Tonight

iTunes - Music - iTunes Session by My Morning Jacket

Friday Chill Music - December 9, 2011

It's late in the day but this is still a great mix. Happy Birthday John!

Here is the 8Tracks playlist. the embed function is not working.

Jeremy Grantham's Latest Newsletter

Eye opening opinion in Jeremy Grantham's latest letter to investor. He lays it out pretty well and it's a little scary. I wish I could write as succinctly as he does. He's one of my favorite financial people to follow and I put a lot of weight into what he says. Here's a quick quote.

• "Separate from the “seven lean years” syndrome, the U.S. and the developed world have permanently slowed in their GDP growth. This is mostly the result of slowing population growth, an aging profi le, and an overcommitment to the old, which leaves inadequate resources for growth. Also contributing to the slowdown, particularly in the U.S. and the U.K., is inadequate long-term savings. As I write, the U.S. personal savings rate has fallen once again below 4%.
• In addition, and sorry to harp on this, the U.S. in particular has rapidly acquired relative deficiencies over the last 20 years that will hamper the effective functioning and growth of its economy. Relative to other developed countries, and an increasing number of developing countries, we are sliding in some key areas that threaten loss of competitiveness:

• Notably depleted infrastructure
• Marked fall-off in the effectiveness of education and training
• Much decreased effectiveness of government, particularly in its ability or even willingness to concern itself with long-term issues."

Amazon.com: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (9781400064168): Laura Hillenbrand: Books

This book is incredible. It's one of those books where you stay up way too late at night because you can't put it down. I highly recommend it.

Amazon.com: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption: By Laura Hillenbrand: 

JP Auclair Street Segment (from All.I.Can.) on Vimeo

via Alex Bain Favorites
JP Auclair Street Segment (from All.I.Can.) from Sherpas Cinema on Vimeo.

JP Auclair Street Segment (from All.I.Can.) from Sherpas Cinema on Vimeo.

Sunday Brunch - December 4, 2011

The links:

• Yoga Mat for Sale. Used Once. - hilarious. I've been there. Hot yoga should be illegal.
• When you Grow Up... - great steve jobs quote. couldn't agree more.
• Erosion in the Paid Media Pyramid - great observations by Seth Godin
• The Enterprise: Buyers vs. Users - why cloud computing is such a great idea for business users.
• Smiley Installation Shows Mood of the City - neat idea. We'll see more of this in the future as it becomes easier to mine social media.
• Big Changes for Cable & Wireless Operators - good in the short term, less choice in the long term.
• Ben's Friends Forever - we're doing our annual Ben's Friends fundraiser. I'd be grateful for donations. We're working on some cool perks too.
• How Ikea Would Build Stonehenge - funny
• Man Shoots Video of Great White on iPhone - incredible footage. Also, I'm reading a book called Unbroken and this makes their issues with sharks even more incredible.
• Secret Fed Loans Not Disclosed to Congress - never a good idea to forget to tell Congress what you are doing if you are the Fed.
• Gorgeous Orders Shipping Out the Door - the ladies of Sugar Paper make the best stuff.
• Opening Quotes from the Wire - so good. the writing on that show was incredible.
• The Types of People You Meet in a Homebrewing Class - Lisanti is always funny. And he's right.
• Faces and Places of Instanbul - terrific photo. I remember being right there 5 years ago.
• Right Side Down - incredible picture of the Golden Gate

Ben's Friends Forever

Loved this photo by JC - a superstar Ben's Friends Moderator. It made my day.

It's apropos too because we're kicking off our annual Ben's Friends Fundraiser using IndieGoGo. Last year we raised $10k and we're shooting for $15k this year. We're 3x bigger since last December - we served 31,000+ patients last month and we have 29 communities now. 

If you're considering a donation, think about it this way - we spent $15k in 2011 ($10k from fundraiser + $5k of our own money) and we're now helping 30k people a month. That's 50 cents per patient.

It's a really good feeling knowing we are making a different. It would be great if you can help us out with a donation. :)

Friday Chill Music (December 2, 2011)

Awesome playlist from Hamilton. He's back in the mix!

Monthly Music Fix - Indie Rock | 33Forever:

Video: Frisbee speedboat catch goes viral - Telegraph

Incredible Frisbee Trick - via the Walm

Video: Frisbee speedboat catch goes viral - Telegraph: