Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
Sure it's hard to keep track of what country is melting down economically, but you'll want to check out this article on the Irish Mess. What stood out for me was that Ireland was being used as a tax shelter by some companies, essentially contributing nothing to the economy.
Yeah, I know, more depressing stuff – but this is going to affect our future.
Bonnie's got links for awhile, but I wanted to make sure all you progeeks and profans out there saw this:
A fantastic look at various financial and investment activities, and the question if these things do any good for the country (and the world) at large.
(I've noticed talks about the Vocaloid Concerts echoing around the internet, and wanted to address the idea behind virtual stars in more detail. Seriously, when you see a post on it at an econoblog, you know it's time to comment.)
If you pay attention to the news, you'll see occasional discussion about Virtual Stars, completely manufactured media people. The ones I see talked about are mostly in Japan, such as Kyoko Date back in the late 90's, or the prominent Vocaloid phenomena today. These creations ventures often seem to be a cultural curiosity (especially outside of Japan), an oddity, or something out of a bad anime or science fiction film. I think there's something useful in the virtual idol/virtual star concept that I want to explore as worthy of actual consideration as a viable commercial exercise