The opening notes of “Kravitz”, which kicks off Mabe Fratti’s 2024 record Sentir Que No Sabes, are lodged in my brain permanently. It’s not a showy album, by any means. But there’s something about the buzzing of her cello, plucked as you might an upright bass. The way they ring out before coming to an abrupt stop, fuzz still hanging in the air, set against a simple kick and snare sat firmly in the...
The opening notes of “Kravitz”, which kicks off Mabe Fratti’s 2024 record Sentir Que No Sabes, are lodged in my brain permanently. It’s not a showy album, by any means. But there’s something about the buzzing of her cello, plucked as you might an upright bass. The way they ring out before coming to an abrupt stop, fuzz still hanging in the air, set against a simple kick and snare sat firmly in the pocket. There’s something industrial about the way it all comes together, like a jazzy “Closer.” Then come Fratti’s paranoid lyrics in Spanish about ears in the ceiling and someone listening through the walls, and the slightly atonal horn blasts. In the back half, the arrangement blooms with big piano chords, and the drums pick up steam. It’s the perfect opening to a record that sees Fratti taking her experimental impulses and working them into something that more closely resembles pop music, straying further from her avant-garde roots. Fratti was born in Guatemala, but operates out of Mexico. She’s told Pitchfork that, as a child, her parents mostly played Christian and classical music around the house. But as a teen, she discovered Limewire and the works of experimental composers like György Ligeti. This more expansive, internet-fed musical diet is on display in tracks like “Pantalla Azul.” It flits about, toying with various styles from goth rock to new age, but always coming back to the strength of Fratti’s melodic instincts. Meanwhile, “Oidos” leans fully into chamber pop, with echoed cello stabs, plaintive trumpet, and what sounds like an autoharp. Even when the arrangements are stripped down, Sentir Que No Sabes sounds lush and enveloping. It would feel equally at home in a coffee shop or on an arena stage. The production from I. La Católica (Héctor Tosta) is the glue holding together Fratti’s frantic stylistic shifts and jagged cello manipulations. It would be easy for the delicate horns, atonal pizzicato strings, and icy digital synths to sound like several differ...
Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) is navigating the tension between explosive AI-driven power demand and the slow reality of nuclear licensing. I break down why new-customer backing matters, what execution risks remain, and how long-term upside depends on milestones that most investors are not yet fully pricing in. Stock prices used were the market prices of March 2, 2026. The video was published on March 7, 2026...
Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) is navigating the tension between explosive AI-driven power demand and the slow reality of nuclear licensing. I break down why new-customer backing matters, what execution risks remain, and how long-term upside depends on milestones that most investors are not yet fully pricing in. Stock prices used were the market prices of March 2, 2026. The video was published on March 7, 2026. Continue reading
Notes from Central Taiwan: The myth of TSMC’s ‘hollowing out’ While the KMT and TPP warn that constructing TSMC’s fabs in the US will undermine Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, their obsession distracts from deeper challenges that they have done little to address By Michael Turton / Contributing reporter Recently the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and its Mini-Me partner in the legislature, the T...
Notes from Central Taiwan: The myth of TSMC’s ‘hollowing out’ While the KMT and TPP warn that constructing TSMC’s fabs in the US will undermine Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, their obsession distracts from deeper challenges that they have done little to address By Michael Turton / Contributing reporter Recently the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and its Mini-Me partner in the legislature, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), have been arguing that construction of chip fabs in the US by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is little more than stripping Taiwan of its assets. For example, KMT Deputy Secretary-General Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) in January said that “This is not ‘reciprocal cooperation’ ... but a substantial hollowing out of our country.” Similarly, former TPP Chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) contended it constitutes “selling Taiwan out to the United States.” The two pro-China parties are proposing a bill that would limit semiconductor technology transfers. Priests at Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung’s Dachia Township pray to the goddess Matsu for rain during a drought in March 2021. Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times The claims of the KMT and TPP, while meeting a receptive audience given the economic anxieties so common in Taiwan, are appeals to ignorance. Taiwan’s chip dominance is in no way threatened by its investments in the US. FAB CONSTRUCTION Current TSMC plans call for the construction of six to eight facilities in Arizona over the next decade. Note “decade.” TSMC last year said that when completed, its Arizona cluster would have six fabs, two advanced packaging facilities and a research and development center. Its total development package represents an investment of US$165 billion. A person last month walks past the logo of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, outside its office building in Hsinchu. Photo: EPA By contrast, this year alone in Taiwan TSMC plans start construction on or build 10 fabs distributed across the island, according to media reports...
You do the hard work of saving your money for retirement and choosing where it goes. But if you put it in a tax-deferred retirement account, then it's not all yours. You still owe the government a cut of your savings, and eventually, it makes you pay up. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are mandatory annual withdrawals the government forces you to take when you reach a certain age, and it's p...
You do the hard work of saving your money for retirement and choosing where it goes. But if you put it in a tax-deferred retirement account, then it's not all yours. You still owe the government a cut of your savings, and eventually, it makes you pay up. Required minimum distributions (RMDs) are mandatory annual withdrawals the government forces you to take when you reach a certain age, and it's pretty important that you get them right. Here are the three main things you need to understand about them. 1. Who has to take RMDs You have to take RMDs beginning in the year you turn 73, but there are a few exceptions. You never have to take RMDs from Roth accounts, and you don't have to take one from your current employer's 401(k) if you're still working and own less than 5% of the company. If you have multiple 401(k)s, you'll need to take an RMD from each one individually. That's not the case with IRAs. With IRAs, you have to calculate each RMD individually (more on that below), but you can withdraw all the funds from a single traditional IRA if you'd like. You must withdraw an amount equal to your total IRA RMDs, but you can take the funds from any traditional IRA(s) you like. You generally must take RMDs by Dec. 31 of the year in question. However, the first year you have to take RMDs, you technically have until April 1 of the following year. For example, if you're turning 73 in 2026, you don't have to complete your first RMD until April 1, 2027. 2. How to calculate your RMDs You'll need to look up your retirement account balance at the end of the previous year to calculate your RMD. For 2026, look for what the balance was as of Dec. 31, 2025. Your plan administrator should be able to help you locate this information if you're not sure how to find it. Then, take that amount and divide it by the distribution period next to your name in the IRS's Uniform Lifetime Table. For example, if you're 73 and have $250,000 in a traditional IRA, you'd divide $250,000 by 26.5 (the d...