Recession Lexicon: Lazylancing

n./ Just when we wondered whether we might be running out of new downturn words, we got a Tweet from adventurous polymath Christina Davidson: “They miss what all my laid off journo friends R doing now. We call ‘lazylancing’ a way to justify travel.”

Lazylancing is when you subsidize your travel with freelance work, as Davidson did last year after being laid off from her job. “I decided to take a couple of months and go backpacking through Turkey and Syria,” she says. A story she wrote for The Atlantic ended up covering a good part of her expenses for the three months. “You may be hard pressed to get anyone to admit to this,” she says—writers want you to think they’re working hard. At the same time, more people may be lazylancing; they might as well. “There are so few regular jobs out there, and it’s a lot cheaper in the third world…

Video: Work the Way It Should Be

Working? Nope, we didn’t think so! Thankfully, College Humor’s Hardly Working series will help remind you of how it was back in, oh, 2006 or so. Remember? Go to job, turn on computer, fetch coffee, return to desk, look at computer, pick up coffee, head to co-worker office/cubicle, catch up, return to desk, click through emails, rinse and repeat. Pretty much like now, except you also collected a paycheck.

So you’ll love the guy who shows up in a camouflage shirt only to not be seen by his co-workers. Or the time the office’s favorite band stopped by. Or the discussion of the movie one of the employees saw the night before. Ah, life before the recession. These clips are new, but they sure are nostalgic…

Recession Briefing 8.5: The Downturn Helps Standup

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

The recession is sparking a new era in stand-up comedy. People still want to laugh. In fact, they need to laugh. They just can’t afford to go out and spend too much money. (The Atlantic)

The recession has made legal service a more daunting expense for many. That has created a surge of litigants who must navigate the often-bewildering justice system by themselves. (Chicago Tribune)

Fun-seekers venturing out to farm fairs, art festivals and other mainstays of the American summer are finding either crowds or cancellation notices this year. (Associated Press)

If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on. To receive Recession Briefing in your inbox, subscribe to our daily email.

Screwed: 15,000 at Anglo American

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 24,939

Diamond producer Anglo American, which owns among other subsidiaries DeBeers, after a 69% drop in profits, has reduced its workforce by 15,000. … At General Motors, 6,000 employees took buyouts. … Seagate plans to layoff close to 3,000 employees, which is 6% of their workforce…KV Pharmaceuticals in St. Louis laid off another 300 workers, bringing the total to 1,000… Xstrata Coal plans to layoff 300 employees…University of Maryland plans to cut 175 jobs and put a freeze on hiring…In Chicago, Marshfield DoorSystems will lay off 164 employees next month…

Twenty Months of Recession, 15 Minutes of Fame

Seems like half the planet is filming the recession—or trying to. Next month, our friends over at The Recess Ends will unveil the documentary they spent four months on the road shooting. Back in May, NBC pulled its casting notice for what seemed like a downturn-themed Apprentice. We’re not sure what happened to Fox’s controversial “Someone’s Gotta Go” series.

Feel like you missed your shot at being a recession celebrity? There are more opportunities out there…

The Recession Will End… When I Get My Damn Job Back!

Says who: 14.7 million unemployed Americans, some of who spend their days sending resumes, setting up networking meetings, scrutinizing expenses. Others have given up.

Why it might be false: There have been A LOT of predictions about a gradual and jobless recovery, ranging from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to economist Nouriel Roubini. Housing indicators are rebounding well, with starts and sales climbing, and we’re seeing more consistent growth than in the past year. There’s a general consensus that the start of economic growth is projected to start in early 2010, lowly workers be damned.

Why it could be true: As recent as this Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner noted that unemployment may peak in the second half of 2010 on ABC’s “This Week” program, and Larry Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, also admitted that the jobless landscape will be in critical condition for a while…

Recession Briefing 8.4: Blankfein Warns Goldman Execs on Personal Spending

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Vermont’s Eric Hagen, sole proprietor of Recession Ride Taxi, has built his business on his slogan: “Pay What You Want!” (Burlington Free Press)

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has warned his employees to avoid making big-ticket, high-profile purchases as the firm hunkers down amid a firestorm of public and political anger over outsize bonus payments. (New York Post)

A New York City woman who says she can’t find a job is suing the college where she earned a bachelor’s degree for the $70,000 she paid in tuition. (MSNBC)

If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on. To receive Recession Briefing in your inbox, subscribe to our daily email.

Screwed: 1,000 or more in Illinois

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Partial Total: 1,489

Several Illinois correctional facilities will be laying off 1,000+ employees during the next few months… BAE Systems will be laying off 259 employees beginning this September… Virginia International Terminals Inc. is laying off 90 employees, a first in its company’s history… The nonprofit organization Rainbow United is selling two buildings and laying off 70 staff members… Soda ash producer FMC Wyoming Corp. is leaving 70 employees out of work this fall… General Motors may once again be laying off thousands of factory workers in the near future…

What Unemployed People Get: Friends, Laundry and Thoughts

Yesterday, The New York Times published a very cool interactive graph (throwbacks like me might have seen the static version in the business section) that maps out how people spend their hours throughout the day. What’s so recessiony about that? Based on the 2008 American Time Use Survey, it lets you see in vivid color what people with jobs and without jobs are doing throughout the day, whether it’s eating, watching television, socializing or talking on the phone.

Some trends are obvious, like: unemployed people are working a lot less. No shit. On the other hand, they are also shopping more. (Huh?) And among the upsides of unemployment…

Recession Dispatch from… New Orleans

What an amazing town. The people… The music… The energy… Ahh, it’s so nice and personable, and fun! I love the character in the buildings, too.

I was surprised to get so many stories in New Orleans, especially because so many people told me the city was doing well now. Upon entering the town, I spoke to a dark-skinned man who explained that a lot of the jobs that resulted in stimulus funding went to people who moved to New Orleans to fill those positions. I got the impression he was referring to light-skinned people.

This morning, I met a man from Detroit named Bernard, who lost his job manufacturing nuts and bolts for the auto industry. He moved to New Orleans to look for work, but he hasn’t had any luck. Although he maintained a professional outlook and wore respectable clothing, he explained that he is homeless for the first time. He’s been on the streets for about a month, and it’s extremely difficult, he said…