Okay, you can turn it down again.

At times, the Cowboy feels that New York City Ballet, in whose arms the legacy of Balanchine was adoringly placed like a bouquet of roses during the curtain call, is trapped by those very roses, like a lovely dancer upon whom the roses keep being piled until they engulf her.

Pilobolus, so amazing when new, threatens to become a greatest hits’ tape stuck in the eight-track.  How do they outdo themselves?

Judith Jameson is leaving Alvin Ailey, after keeping the flame alive for many years.  Where will things turn?  Is there a place for black dance theater anymore.  Ailey was astounding in his day, but his work is merely pleasant and entertaining today — an institutionalized revolution.

It is a difficult balance: how do you capture and preserve the soul of an innovator as time continues its march?  Is there room for further innovation?  Can the museum look forward as well as back?

The Cowboy had a delightful conversation on this very topic a few weeks ago with Ann Williams, one of the most significant forces in African-American dance in the last several decades.  Sitting in her office, located in the company’s new home — a lovingly renovated former city-center YMCA that lodged a laundry list of inspiring leaders including the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Cassius Clay, and Ray Charles — one can’t help but be amazed at the fortitude and tenacity of leaders like her, using their talents to fight the good fight, in their own way, against the odds.  Ms. Williams, as everyone addresses her, didn’t have a ready answer to the problem of relevance for the past innovator, but acknowledged it knowingly.  It is one step at a time, the Cowboy supposes, like walking a tightrope.  And as for Ms. Williams, a thriving school, multiple touring companies and a fabulous facility, are testament to the power of tipping the tightrope.

And the creativity keeps flowing.  Watching Janelle Monáe’s creative energies and synthesis of high culture and pop culture, sci-fi and retro, the Cowboy can’t help but think of Alvin Ailey and George Balanchine pushing boundaries.  As the iTunes review says: “Monáe might not have much appeal beyond musical theater geeks, sci-fi nerds, and those who like their genres crossed-up, but no one can deny that very few are on her creative level.”  Well, the Cowboy counts himself as all of the above, but he expects that her appeal will continue to widen.  Whether you’re high or low, have a listen.  She’s touring with Erykah Badu, who herself tries to pay homage to the past while stripping it bare and walking into the future. (NSFW)

Here’s to Mr. B, Robert Battle (Judith Jameson’s successor), Ms. Williams, and to Android 57821 (Monáe’s alter ego).  And here’s to pushing boundaries, mixing things up, and putting one foot in front of the other.

The Cowboy probably will be at Jacob’s Pillow again this summer, enjoying the museum and hoping to see someone walk the tightrope.  Or at least take their clothes off.

There is something revelatory about laughing at your own misfortunes, however large or small.  Celebrate life as it comes.  It’s all crazy.

And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;

- William Shakespeare, As You Like It

When it’s time to put on a show, what kind of leader do you want?

David Brooks plays the Cowboy’s song:

In the journal In Character, the Washington Post theater critic Peter J. Marks has an essay on the ethos of the stagehands who work behind the scenes. Being out when the applause is ringing doesn’t feel important to them. The important things are the communal work, the contribution to the whole production and the esprit de corps. The humble hound is a stagehand who happens to give more public presentations than most.

The Cowboy spent many years as a stagehand, and he does like to give public presentations.  He started as an apprentice, joined a union, toured, led crews, and stage-managed.  But mostly he was just a stagehand surrounded by good teachers: Robin, Mike, Paul, Bob, Nacho and many others.

As for the Cowboy’s leadership style, well, it’s hard to call oneself humble.  If you are, you can’t very well brag about it.  Plus, the Cowboy is not immune to the attractions of transformational change when putting on a show.

Still, there is something quite cool about not getting the applause, standing in the wings, and offering a hopeful merd or a praiseful brava.

So.  Humble Hound?  Boardroom Lion?

How about Plauditory Poodle.

Places everyone!  C’mon, get happy!

There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says “Morning, boys. How’s the water?” And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes “What the hell is water?”

If you have some time, read this through. (Courtesy of More Intelligent Life)

Reading DFW so often feels like seeing the voice inside my head [insert standard self-deprecatory language here about modesty and not deigning to compare oneself to a modern literary great].

The Cowboy has written about him here.

(h/t: Dish)

In the realm of economics, business and politics, one of the most difficult concepts for the regular person unschooled in international economics to comprehend (please forgive the patrician demeanor) is the wealth-producing effect of trade and comparative advantage.  Everyone benefits.

In rich countries, political leaders by and large support free trade (on both sides of the aisle, to use the American phraseology), but they do a poor job of communicating this difficult concept.  And while it may be difficult, Russ Roberts demonstrates that it can be communicated clearly.  He obviously has notes as he does this podcast, but I do not believe he is reading from a script, which makes this all the more impressive.  Further, his passion and the sheer amazement, delight and hope that these ideas can bring shine through quite clearly.

This is important.  Do yourself a favor and listen.  Even if you are already well-versed in these subjects, Roberts’ way of telling the story deserves your attention.  We all need to be able to tell this story as well as he does.  Over and over and over again.

Also available here and on iTunes (2/8/10 episode).

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

- Michael Corleone, The Godfather Part II (sometimes wrongly attributed to Sun Tzu)

Iran has come up as a subject of conversation a number of times over the last few days.  After a breakfast talk by the UAE’s Ambassador to the U.S., His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, a friend posed this provocative question:

Would the UAE freeze Iranian accounts as a sanction to prevent their acquisition of nuclear weapons?

Remember that the UAE is geographically very close to Iran.  The Cowboy’s take was as follows:

My guess is that the UAE would be too afraid to freeze their accounts . . . Further, the major components of the UAE’s drive for diversification include financial services, tourism and real estate.  I don’t think they want to make all of those Russian oligarchs and Kazakh oil barons worried about their investments.

And finally, Iran is a major source of ongoing investment in the UAE.  It’s a strange symbiotic relationship.  If Iran were more open, there would be less of a need for wealthy Iranians to put their funds in the emirates.  My guess is that their dream would be to keep things in Iran as they were prior to the elections.  Of course, as a devoted free market capitalist, I think long term the entire region, including the UAE, would benefit economically from a more open Iran.

Here’s a relevant piece from the Emirates Tribune a few days ago.  A recent realist’s view of the diplomatic situation is here.  And finally, here’s an interesting dialogue between Steve Clemons and David Frum:

The Cowboy spent a week with Steve a number of years ago when we were both selected as “Young Leaders” for a great conference to promote international dialogue and cooperation.  The Cowboy links to his blog, The Washington Note, under “Occasional” to the right.

Well, history is long and the world is small.

]]> http://diaghilevcowboy.wordpress.com/2010/02/21/iran-so-far-away/feed/ 0 C/B Left turn, Dubai; right turn, Qeshm A Flock of Persian Seagulls http://diaghilevcowboy.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/the-sound-of-freedom/ http://diaghilevcowboy.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/the-sound-of-freedom/#comments Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:07:42 +0000 C/B http://diaghilevcowboy.wordpress.com/?p=2271 ]]> Tomorrow is 22 Bahman, the day a group of young students wishing for a better government, a better country and a better life, toppled a dictatorship against the unlikeliest of odds, forever changing the course of their country and putting their country at the center of a global geopolitical storm that would last for decades.

Tonight:

They chant:  “Death to the Dictator,” but the year is not 1979 and the dictator is not a Pahlavi.

Check out the various sources, cited in an earlier post by the Cowboy here.  Sullivan is still on top of things, but not doing dedicated coverage.  Backgrounder here.  Tehran Bureau is another good source.  Wright has a thought-provoking  realist view.

Pray for the land desiring to be free and the brave seeking to make it so.

Ah, Neighbour Christian, where are you now?

Truly, said Christian, I do not know.¹

Markets up, markets down, dollar up, dollar down, jobs up, unemployment down, sovereign concerns, hot money flows, oil, copper and gold.  Where do we go from here?  Where is HELP!

It is difficult to read the omens at present.  And those who claim to know the future don’t.  Whether we fear a resurgent China or an authoritarian Iran, a crumbling Euro or a securitization portfolio we can’t unload, we must continue to make the best of it, take charge of our destinies, plan as well as we can, and adapt as new data are revealed.

As in life, sometimes you simply have to keep plowing forward.  You may be in a slough of despond, but only because you are seeking to become more than you were.  Don’t panic.  Just because you’re down in the first quarter doesn’t mean you can’t win the game.

Savings rates have to increase, deleveraging must take place, and spending must be reined in, all while avoiding the paradox of thrift that can also keep us in the mire.  Still, optimism, faith, and perseverance will get us out.  And as for HELP, we can all play that role by looking for ways to assist others in getting out of the muck.

“Mögest du weiter darüber nachdenken. Laß dich aber warnen, du Wißbegieriger, vor dem Dickicht der Meinungen und vor dem Streit um Worte. Es ist an Meinungen nichts gelegen, sie mögen schön oder häßlich, klug oder töricht sein, jeder kann ihnen anhängen oder sie verwerfen. Die Lehre aber, die du von mir gehört hast, ist nicht eine Meinung, und ihr Ziel ist nicht, die Welt für Wißbegierige zu erklären. Ihr Ziel ist ein anderes; ihr Ziel ist Erlösung vom Leiden.”

“You should think about this further. But be warned, oh seeker of knowledge, of the thicket of opinions and of arguing about words. There is nothing to opinions, they may be beautiful or ugly, smart or foolish, everyone can support them or discard them. But the teachings, you’ve heard from me, are no opinion, and their goal is not to explain the world to those who seek knowledge. They have a different goal; their goal is salvation from suffering.”²

___________________

¹  John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress, 1678, Part I, Section 1

²  Hermann Hesse, Siddartha, 1922, First Part, Gotama (Said by Gotama to Siddhartha).  Translation by: Gunther Olesch, Anke Dreher, Amy Coulter, Stefan Langer and Semyon Chaichenets

As the Cowboy has stated:

“Given that the Chinese economy is already focused on exports anyway (like Germany and Japan), the currency manipulation just adds to the current account surplus, putting more foreign currency in the hands of the government.  This is money (or stored value) that is being saved by the country as a whole.  If the Chinese consumed more, there would be less production available for export, they would import more and, with a freely floating currency, you might eventually reach a current account balance.  As for a black market, the Chinese government has been pretty effective at keeping it to a minimum.  All of this begs the next question though.  Why would the Chinese government intentionally make its people worse off, allowing them to buy less and forcing them to save more, especially given how poor most of its population is?”

Go to the post (and the following parts) if you want the Cowboy’s answer to that question.

And as a wise friend reminded the Cowboy yesterday, it was Keynes who said:

“If you owe your bank a hundred pounds, you have a problem. But if you owe a million, it has.”¹

Well, get a load of Arvind Subramanian‘s piece in yesterday’s FT.  I know, I know, that’s two consecutive posts linking to the FT, behind its pay-wall.  Sorry.  The article is entitled: “It Is The Poor Who Pay For The Weak Renminbi”.

Money quote:

“In the short run, with capital pouring into emerging market countries, their ability to respond to the threat of asset bubbles and overheating is undermined. Emerging market countries such as Brazil, India and South Korea are loath to allow their currencies to appreciate – to damp overheating – when that of a major trade rival is pegged to the dollar.

But the more serious and long-term cost is the loss in trade and growth in poorer parts of the world. Dani Rodrik of Harvard University estimates that China’s undervaluation has boosted its long-run growth rate by more than 2 per cent by allowing greater output of tradable goods, a sector that was the engine of growth and an escape route from underdevelopment for postwar successes such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.”

Not only are the Chinese people at large being impoverished, but other emerging markets are as well.  The Chinese currency regime is a de facto tariff, but a much smarter one than the traditional type.  With this “currency tariff” not only are imports discouraged but exports are encouraged.

Authoritarian Capitalism.  Gotta love it.

_____________

¹ As quoted in The Economist (13 February 1982), p. 11