Game of Thrones Spoilers

My amateur, impressionistic commentary about what's in the trailer.

A dragon flying over the Red Keep at King's Landing. From a dream?

Daenerys rules a city - Yunkai or Mereen? She is advised by Mormont, Selmy, and Missandei. Melisandre the Red Priestess is burning heretics.

Jaime's the new Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. Tywin and Cersei are still around. Tyrion is taken prisoner after Joffrey's death.

Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper, talking with Varys. Ygritte, Tormund Giantsbane and the Wildlings attack Castle Black which is defended by Jon Snow, Alliser Thorne and the Nightswatch. Theon's sister Yara Greyjoy and the Iron Islanders rescue Theon who is shown in armor. Rast leaves a baby in the snow for the White Walkers. Arya, Brandon, Littlefinger and Hodor are still around.

The Red Viper and the Mountain fight in a trial by combat over Tyrion's guilt.

Joffrey and Margaery wed. The Hound is shown fighting. Sansa escapes to the Eyrie.

Stannis Baratheon and Davos Seaworth are still around. Stannis's cavalry rides down the Wildlings at the Wall and saves Castle Black.

QE

Of Quantitative Easing, Political Economists, and Marshallian Parrots... by DeLong

So put me with Ryan Avent, who tweets:

[The] risk [is that] of not being considered a [very] serious person by peers [unless you claim to greatly fear the risks of quantitative easing]

Person of Interest's Prescience is Eerie

"Person of Interest”: The TV Show That Predicted Edward Snowden by Joshua Rothman

Interplanet Janet

Janet Yellen: The Sixteen Trillion Dollar Woman by Rana Foroohar

"I'd like to see real wages going up," Yellen says, adding that the average American male worker's inflation-adjusted wages have been flat or down for the past 20 years."

And via Thoma:

Recurring Themes for the New Year by Charles Evans

positive outlook

Fiscal Drag and Less Thereof by Jared Bernstein

My guess is that the deficit as a share of GDP will be around the same this year as last year, meaning little or no “negative fiscal impulse.”



So, granted that a lot can still go wrong—debt ceiling!—and that the failure to extend UI benefits would counteract some of the pro-growth results I show here, we may have reached a do-less-harm moment from our elected officials. Woohoo!

"But as a macroeconomic phenomenon, overcapacity is bullshit."

"Overcapacity" by Steve Randy Waldman

(via Ryan Avent)

Hitchens

Article on Hitchens. Came up in discussion about Bill Keller. I don't remember it being the best piece.

secstags and demand management*

What Market Failures Underlie Our Fears of "Secular Stagnation"? by DeLong

What Policy Conclusions Follow from Our Fears of “Secular Stagnation”? by DeLong

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*supply can also be managed of course.

the blogosphere

Heroes of blogging by Noah Smith

Game of Thrones

Golden Globes

Khaleesi Emilia Clarke* (and Chris O'Donnell) present Amy Poehler with an award, beating out other favorites Deschanel and Louis-Dreyfus. (I really like Veep where they did filibuster reform.) Tatiana Maslany didn't win in her category unfortunately.

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*She made in interesting-looking film called Spike Island. It's about some young people in 1990 trying to attend the Stone Roses' now "increasingly legendary" gig.

Wikipedia:

The Stone Roses' outdoor concert at Spike Island in Widnes on 27 May 1990 was attended by some 27,000 people. The event, considered a failure at the time due to sound problems and bad organisation, has become legendary over the years as a "Woodstock for the baggy generation".^[69] In mid-2010 footage of the concert was published on Youtube.