let me roll it

i'm going through a mini-mccartney obsession as of late. i can't stop listening to ram. it is not a flushed out piece of pop symphony by any means. it's an album consisting of little ideas, snap-shots of melodies and lyrically, it's just scatter-shot. but, as a whole, it flows so well. it's such a sweet album, and by sweet i mean soft-hearted. the fact that this is paul and his wife recording and singing these songs like "eat at home" and "long haired lady" and "the back seat of my car" is very comforting. it's greatly undervalued and i wished he would have made a few more albums like this.


his debut album, just called mccartney, was a particular obsession of mine back when i was in college at huntsville. mccartney consists of mere sketches of ideas of melodies and lyrical approaches. i mean, it is an album that sounds like an album of outtakes and demos. it really does. but at the time, i was intrigued by brian wilson's modular approach to recording, which he utilized on good vibrations and smile. and i thought, what if instead of taking these little recorded track sections and putting them together to form a cohesive album, instead you record little track sections and never put them together, but combine them into an album of little ideas. and that's what appealed to me so much with paul mccartney's debut album. it was an album of little ideas. and it was impressive that such a pillar of the music industry at the time would release such an album. you could argue that the beach boys did it first with smiley smile, but i wouldn't agree with that argument considering smiley smile only existed because smile was too complex and complicated for the beach boys and smiley smile was just a collection of tracks recorded for smile that they re-recorded and released subsequently.

you would think finding paul mccartney albums is easy. it's not. go to a record store and you won't find a lot of his 70's albums besides the debut, ram and band on the run. you'll find some of his more recent recordings, which i understand are pretty good.

but i'm interested in finding red rose speedway. (which strangely enough, i used to listen to on vinyl because my dad owned it. i listened to it when i was a kid, not because i liked the music, but because the insleeve contained photos of naked women in pseudo s&m poses. for a ten year old kid, that was like finding the lost city of gold).

i would also like to explore some of his early '80s stuff like mccartney II, and tug of war.

but back to ram, i'm not sure of a modern artist who's recorded an album such as this. i'm sure i know of one, but at the moment, i'm at a loss. but there are brilliant moments of exhilaration on that album and distinct beauty. i hear it in my head right now. great album.

brilliant

elizabeth warren for president.

not in 2016. in 2012. this is a great idea. i love elizabeth warren.

this matt taibbi guy is onto some good stuff.

the roust-a-bouts

here are some clips from some pretty rockin' dudes:

legs against arms- the applicant recording session

leatherbag- acl

legs against arms- at the mohawk

leatherbag- on down the line

legs against arms- at the mohawk, pt. 2

leatherbag- pro j insider interview

let's burn down the cornfield

the committee to save the world. rubin. greenspan. summers. this committee to save the world nearly brought about the end of the world. the financial world at least. these guys worked with democratic president clinton and a republican controlled congress to deregulate the financial market. so the next time someone tells you the republicans or the democrats did this, look them right in the eye and tell them, they all did it. they're all responsible.

there was one lady trying to regulate the derivatives market. brooksley born. pbs frontline ran a show on her last night. she was simply trying to pull the market from the dark. but this committee to save the world wouldn't have it. they knew better. markets are better left alone. she didn't agree. and she wrote a concept release regarding the matter. you can read it here. eventually, she was marginalized and she resigned.

the pbs frontline can be seen here.

here is a playground analogy regarding the financial mess.

greenspan has retired as head of the fed. rubin went on the help make citibank one of the biggest receivers of federal bailout money. and summers is back in government with our current president. apparently he is now in favor of more regulation.

but there are people in the administration calling for more regulation. paul volcker is. but does he go far enough? that is a question raised here at naked capitalism.

and more importantly: does he have the president's ear? the new york times discusses that question.

there's a line a broken social scene song that goes, "don't get high on what you create." and that is applicable here. these problems existed before. these problems helped stir up the beginnings of the great depression. but we created a better, more fluid financial system, right? those problems won't be our problems again, right? we're smarter now. information is abundant. it won't happen again, right?

don't get high on what you create.

periodically double or triple

time doesn't really seem to exist much these days. whether it's a monday or a thursday or a sunday doesn't have too much relevance, besides football games and such. but ultimately, the days are somewhat connected. and i'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. it's nice to not focus on certain days or fret about other days or what's coming up. you can kind of just take it all in. the change in weather certainly helps. i'm actually really enjoying this life of tempered behavior. i started late to the race and i'm glad i did. but i'm also glad i finally joined the race. and it's not the race for material possessions or fancy things. it's probably not even a race. it's more of an awareness. i was late to the awareness. and i think people who are late to the awareness fair better down the road. it's the people who wake up suddenly when they're 35 or 40 and become aware that can be dangerous. i don't really know what i'm saying, but i do.

there's a new sec prosecutor and his name is robert khuzami. yes. go after them robert khuzami! i suppose one bernie madoff is enough for the sec to be completely and forever embarrassed.

here's a few guys you can start with. these dudes is corrupt.

i've been saving my money a lot lately. partly because i don't want anything and partly because i want to provide a cushion when my wife and i get old and broken down. so it really pisses me off to read stuff like this because i know it's out there and i have a bad feeling it's going to get worse.

the dollar is crashing. what's that all about?

paying off your credit card on time might soon cost you some money. remember to use these things sparingly. they are not your friend.

flight of the conchords have a new album out.

this magic moment

has anyone seen "lost highway"? it's a david lynch movie. david lynch movies are incredible because you have no idea what's going on and no idea why the characters are doing crazy shit. "blue velvet" made a little more sense than "lost highway," but "lost highway" was better. it's the story of a jazz musician who thinks his wife is unfaithful. but it's so much more than that. the movie goes in wild tangents making you sit through about an hour an a half of movie before things start to somewhat become unclear. i highly recommend it to everyone. and i would love to hear what anyone thought about the movie who's seen it.

i finally got my notice to schedule for the next part of the CPA exam. i've been fighting with these people for two weeks. that was a huge relief.

looks like the banking industry might be getting the much needed hand slap it deserves.

this chart shows that increased viewing of television goes hand in hand with increased amounts of debt. at this thought, this chart seems to make tons of sense and really doesn't enlighten the conversation at all. but it's worth looking at just to check out.

went the to menil museum and the italian festival this weekend. i love going to the menil.

my world series picks are looking pretty grim.

my texans pick of 8-8 is looking perfect.

when you wake up feeling old

supergrass is a seriously underrated band. i remember hearing "late in the day" way back in high school and loving it. i've bought all their albums since. actually i don't have diamond hoo-haa. i hear it's awful. but i don't know so i can't say for sure. i only mention this because i'm listening to road to rouen right now. good stuff.

i'm going to see blind pilot in a couple weeks. but i'm totally excited about the opening band too. they're the low anthem. wow. they have a sweet sound.

food prices are set to up again this year.

this guy had a guy at a bar tell him the reason for the economic collapse was due to smart guys making it to wall street instead of the slower guys. maybe he's right.

goldman sachs is still making money. tons of it.

new documentary coming out called floored. check out the trailer here.

laura

there's a band called girls. they have an album called album. it's really, really good.

here is the video for laura.

check it out!!

kick in the teeth

i emailed several people last night about the pbs frontline program on the afghanistan war. the war that is in its eighth year, longer than WWII. the war with no end in sight. the war with no clear understanding or reason. the war that has boys dying half way around the world while trying to win the hearts and minds of the afghan people. really? did we train soldiers or did we train day care teachers? war is frustrating and in most cases unnecessary. this one is both. has this war accomplished anything? the soviets marched in afghanistan and got beat. of course john rambo helped, but still. they got beat and they live right next door. we live across oceans.

foreignpolicy.com says get nasty or go home. i'm not so sure that's not exactly right. i don't think we need to be there. but we are. so we need to accomplish our mission and come home. otherwise, we're lost.

bill black was speaking about james galbraith's book the predator state. he had several good points. you can find them here about midway down the page.

and mish is getting on board with the financial coup d'etat.

geithner's aides seem to be able to still make money. lots of it.

"i believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. if the american people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around (the banks) will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. the issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

- thomas jefferson

remember when....

remember when obama was going after those tax loopholes that let billions of dollars go unchecked and untaxed from overseas investments?

well, nah. apparently, we're not going to do that.

and even our buddy jeff skilling is getting an appeal from the supreme court. this guy is fraud personified. but, we let the others go. why not him too?

ghostmouth

there are some terms floating around out there that need some definitions.

excise tax

VAT tax (which is kind of redundant, because it's value added tax)

memo to investigators. dig deep!

companies are going after the unbanked. look at the dude in the picture. where do you think he hides his savings?

the clientele. very nice. i bought suburban light used at waterloo. great album.

the blessed breeze

man. wilco was incredible. two encores. both with like 5 or 6 songs each. the concert was held in a minor league hockey arena. my feet were completely numb by the end of the show. but what a show. i think sarah enjoyed it too and enjoyed hanging out with her. i kind of felt like a cooler, older brother, which i've never been. my sister was older than me. it was nice hanging out and getting to know her. after the show, we hung out with rock stars legs against arms and drank their beer and hung out. friday was kind of a busted day, but it quickly turned into an awesome day. and it was cold. and it was wet. but it was fun nonetheless.

this is an amazing article with gore vidal. i highly suggest it be read.

bill moyers does a follow-up on the financial crisis with marcy kaptur, who was a great part of capitalism: a love story and simon johnson. that video is here.

the financial times weighs in on a possible 2nd coming of the current recession.

iceland is continuing to be hit very hard by their economic collapse.

is a lower dollar value the answer to our economic situation? i was just reading last night how roosevelt took us off the gold standard to improve our situation during the great depression.

the flaming lips have a new album out. it's called embryonic. here is a review.

no man can find the war

i'm off to austin tomorrow. i'm beside myself i'm so freakin' excited. i'm going to see wilco thursday night. and then after that, it's on.

it's going to be a blast.

unfolding fans

the baseball 2009 playoffs are here and, of course, i have the winner of the world series before it's played.

the national league:

l.a. dodgers versus the saint louis cardinals. i got the cardinals.
colorado rockies versus the philadelphia phillies. i got the rockies.
saint louis cardinals versus the colorado rockies. i'm sorry, but i got the cardinals.

the american league:

either minnesota twins or detroit tigers versus the new york yankees. i got the yankees.
boston red sox versus anaheim angels. i got the angels.
new york yankees versus anaheim angels. i got the angels.

the world series:
saint louis cardinals versus the anaheim angels. i got the angels.

there it is folks. your 2009 world series champ. the angels are a team of destiny this year. and the cardinals are the best team in the national league. it should make for a great world series.

slight figure of speech

so the weekend was great. saturday i took my exam. shopped for some stuff and ended up having sushi for dinner. sunday we went and got homemade tortillas from el bolillo and went and saw the informant down at the angelica and then snuck into capitalism: a love story. both were excellent films, although i'm not sure how much of the latter one we saw. we got in there while it was already going on.

the informant is based on this guy. the capitalism movie, i'm sure you guys have seen and heard about it. i was worried because sicko sucked and i thought old mike moore had lost it. but he nailed it with capitalism. i highly recommend it to everyone. of course, it's a topic i'm passionate about and it might bore the rest of you completely. but either way, sit through it and you'll get something out of it.

lots of stuff happening in the world. remember a few weeks ago when i said that 60 minutes was shit for saying americans were having a hard time dealing with so much change from the obama administration when there really hasn't been any change? well, SNL hit up on that this weekend. check it out.

goldman sachs is getting another rubdown from the government.

stiglitz says the markets are irrational regarding the supposed recovery. really? i believe him.

larry summers and this wonderful economic team at the white house.

now soros is saying there are bankrupt banks and they're holding the US back.

i really like long songs when they work. when they don't, they're horrible. but when they do they're epic and you can't help but listen to the whole thing. the avclub put together some of the best long songs all time. here they are.

by the way, the new avett brothers album is so good.

who could win a rabbit

i took the audit section of the cpa test this morning. i feel like a bad-ass. i should hold off on that feeling until i find out whether or not i passed. but it feels good to have finally taken a section.

i'm also wearing contacts. so i look like a badass.

tired hippo

i take the audit section of the cpa test on saturday. i'm not nervous, i'm just mentally exhausted. i've been studying this shit for months, took a few months off and now i've been studying another whole month. needless to say, i should pass. but if i don't, then i'll try again. not much else i can do. persistence baby.

jon stewart takes what i've been saying about the dumb-o-crats (lame) and makes it funny.

dude, jon and kate plus minus infiniti. i win. go away people!

this is a great list: 6 beloved tv shows that traumatized cast members for life. awesome.

banks still flying blind.

review of the new avett brothers album.

10 awesome arrested development scenes. just 10? the one where buster calls his mom an "old, horny slut" is a great one. ah, franklin.

GDP is now to blame.

you and i and love

wow. i just picked up the new avett brothers "you and i and love," the new yo la tengo "popular songs," the new dodos "time to die," and the new and only album from passion pit "manners."

it feels like christmas morning. except i'm santa. and i'm going to eat the cookies tonight.

two medicines

i really like the dodos.

husks and shells

i often wonder if i'd be happier waking up at six in the morning and working in a field all day. eating only when i'm hungry and to replace nutrients lost. everything i have/eat/wear is something either myself or someone in my family/community made. i wonder if we'll ever get back to that.

do you ever wonder that the simpler everything is, the more you're a part of it?

of course if that were the case i wouldn't be typing on a computer sitting underneath a fan and listening to volcano choir on the internet. i like that too. maybe i'll wake up at six in the morning tomorrow and see if i like it.

pussycats

it might seem ridiculous to take an album that's already been made and remake it. note for note. no changes. but by remaking it, aren't you changing it? might be note for note, but you've added something new to it by remaking it. the walkmen did this with pussycats. pussycats was a lost album made by harry nilsson and produced by john lennon. it was made during the whole lost weekend bullshit story. i actually like the walkmen version better. i'm not sure why.

i highly suggest going out and getting both albums, if you can find the first. listen to one and then the other. beck is actually doing this project called record club. it's not exactly the same because beck and friends are stylistically changing the songs/albums. check it out.

no line on the horizon

long, long, long

"long, long, long" is a george harrison song on the white album. i've always been intrigued by it. there's nothing immediately exceptional about it. it's somewhat seductive in its presentation. i used to skip it when i first listened to the white album. but i remember i was in huntsville listening and drinking in my apartment by myself. i used to do this with all the lights off and only had some candles burning and i would really try to "listen" to the music, almost completely feel it. it didn't always work successfully, but for this song it did. i felt it. the reason i mention it is because jim james (yin yames?) from my morning jacket has covered a few george harrison songs and "long, long, long" is one of them. i hope it is better than the original, which there is no way possible it will be, but hey, give it a shot. plus, there's no audio sample of the original song for me to link to. you can hear a clip on amazon. actually, you can't do that either. sorry.

as much as this country is about muscle cars and power, i cannot wait for the future of cars to get here. i want a light, battery operated vehicle that will fit myself and a bag or something, but still have protection from flying debris and flying monkeys. like those bikes/vehicles from tron (see above). that's awesome. fast, safe (unless you hit a wall and they break up into ten million pixels), but safe in reality. check out these cars from the near future.

i've been watching a lot "one year from the crisis" type shows where they go back and see what really caused things and how we really should have handled it. anyway, here is frontline's version and i love frontline.

here are the most frugal cities in america.

i have seen wilco live three times, once in austin and twice in houston. the first time in houston was april of 2005 for the ghost is born tour. i went with randy and his girlfriend. it was a great show. jeff tweedy had just stopped smoking and was a easily agitated by the crowd. he basically said he was not coming back to houston because everyone who wanted to see them could go to austin. the next time i saw them was at acl in austin. great show again. and the last time was march 2008 back in houston. they came back apparently because they forgot something, i don't know. but he had a cold this time. so every time he came to houston that i saw them, jeff was afflicted in some way or another. i also met and talked to glenn kotche outside a sushi restaurant the last time they were in houston. that was cool. i bet he remembers that. this time, i'm going to cedar park, which is outside austin to see wilco in october. it doesn't look like they're coming to houston anytime soon and i'm taking the audit part of the cpa text the week before the show, so i'm going to be ready to blow off some steam. i'm totally stoked.

audience with the pope

"i have an audience with the pope, and i'm saving the world at eight, but if she says she needs me, she says she needs me, everybody's gonna have to wait." brilliant elbow.

did anyone watch 60 minutes last night? the interviewer, i believe it was steve kroft was interviewing president obama. he mentioned how the american citizen is having a hard time handling the health care reform because there's been so much change already. what change is he referring to? what has changed? the administration has done nothing to correct the financial industry's problems. everything that happened before can happen again. today. he hasn't changed health care. he basically backed out of the public option. so what is really changing around here? please inform me of the great amounts of change going on. i would love to be corrected. because i thought i voted for change. that's what i thought.

speaking of interviews, my mom told me about wilco being interview on cbs this morning. i didn't see it because i usually don't wake up at 8:30 on a sunday morning. here is the interview.

i did make the mistake of watching the texans game yesterday. seriously. unbelievable. totally pathetic. i predicted 8-8. that might be optimistic.

the evil mastermind of the 20th century

i wanna be adored

there's a lot going on today. it's the 8th anniversary of 9/11. we're a year on from our financial meltdown that basically starting this blog. and apparently kurt cobain looks like a dancing monkeybear on the new guitar hero video game. nice.

it's the 8th anniversary of 9/11. feels so long ago. anybody else want to play the "where was i when...." game with me? so i was in huntsville and i had woken up and turned the tv on before going to class, like i always did. but by september baseball is wearing down and it seemed like there were highlights from track and field or bowling or something stupid that i didn't like, so i changed the channel and found a building in new york had a hole in it and it was believed to have been caused by a plane. so i sat there and continued to watch. at this point, it was believed to have been a mistake. so my girlfriend at the time and i walked to class, not believing it was anything other than pilot error, and by the time we walked to class and sat down, there had been another building hit by a plane. by this time, it was apparent, this was not an accident. so we sat there through our first class and our second class and watched. watched the buildings fall. watched the ash and debris. we walked back home and stayed there pretty much all day. i called my mom and some other people just to settle my mind. later that night, my girlfriend, myself and another friend went bowling. we felt like we had to something to take our minds off of it. i got home late, probably about midnight and watched dan rather sign off. he had been on the air all day. i called my dad and sat there talking until about one in the morning. i guess it was actually 9/12 when i got off the phone. the next seven years sure were shit as far as our decisions and methods taken to correct such an injustice. but i won't forget the collective feeling i felt with my country that day.

it's also been about a year since our entire financial system fell apart. let me ask you a question: what have we done to ensure this doesn't happen again? the answer: nothing.

did accountants help to cause the financial meltdown?

has the federal reserve bought the entire economics profession?

here's krugman's explanation for why the economists got it so wrong for so long.

so often people forget that simply trust is a big reason why our economic system works.

grizzly bear has a new video out for "while you wait for the others."

also, it's the 20th anniversary of the stone roses debut album. if you don't have this album, buy it, you will love it. it's incredible.

across the universe

the beatles are everywhere, still. i guess it's only been a day since i wrote it, but it's still true. i love listening to their music when i walk into best buy or a starbucks. their music instantly puts a smile on my face and makes me start singing out loud, and i find myself just walking and listening and seeing the world a little different. how many bands can you say do that for you?

but one song in particular i find completely mesmerizing and utterly unguarded, naked in its lyrical approach and almost conscience shattering. i feel like i've left my plain of existence when i sing these words and hear the melody. "nothing's gonna change my world."

across the universe is a lennon triumph. it hits me right where i have nothing, a void is filled when i hear this song. "jai guru deva om." it's gentle. it's comforting. it's sad, yet promising.

it's incredible still.

here are some different versions:

fiona apple

rufus wainwright

there's also a cover by david bowie that i can't find.

i'm looking through you

the beatles are everywhere right now. the rock band game is out and all their albums have been re-released in stereo and mono and dolby. i don't think they do dolby anymore, do they? dolby went the way of the dumont network. actually by being on that dolby website for less than a minute, it looks as if dolby is still around and doing quite well.

what a discussion. anyway, the beatles are everywhere and pitchfork is reviewing each album. their reviews have been spot on for me. even some being more generous than i would have been, see magical mystery tour.

but it got me thinking about music and about artistic leaps. the leap these liverpool lads took from help to rubber soul was amazing. and as good as rubber soul was, the leap to revolver is even more amazing to me. i think revolver and the white album are their best albums. so i started to think about the greatest leaps in rock history. and a few quickly came to mind:

radiohead: pablo honey to the bends
wilco: a.m. to being there
pink floyd: meddle to dark side of the moon
the beach boys: all summer long to today

that's really all i got right now. i'm actually ashamed of only being able to think of these four. this office is hot. i can't think when i'm hot.

does anyone has anymore?

and by the way, go read those reviews at pitchfork. if you can't find them, just search "the beatles" and you'll find them. they're a great read.

lovers at the airport

matthew simmons is at it again. talking about peak oil and such. go here.

ben bernanke has made our financial mess worse. he didn't mean to though. he had to. and he'll do it again.

"massive global wealth destruction."

daisies of the galaxy

daisy wasn't the most socially adjusted dog. she was notorious for bringing you a tennis ball or a stick and setting it down next to you and barking until you finally picked it up again and threw it. this process would go on forever. she would never, ever tire playing fetch. never. it was amazing. what she was though was a good dog. she was good for her owners. she was proud to stay and guard the house, proud to lay by the fence and wait until someone would come home and maybe they would play fetch with her again.

i wasn't close with daisy. but the reason i'm writing about her is because i watched her die yesterday. she had a brain tumor and we'd known about it for several months. by the way, daisy was my wife's mother's dog. anyway, she would wobble and fall over when she tried to get up and walk. but she had good days and apparenty these last few days were good for daisy. she had a friend, a younger dog that the neighbor's brought with them while vacationing from houston. they were playing together and chasing each other and daisy chased the young dog into a pond and got her foot stuck. she didn't have enough strength to get her foot out of the mud. the stress of the water and almost drowning, sent daisy into a seizure.

a young girl, probably 17 or 18 jumped into this nasty pond and rescued daisy. we got there when she'd been out of the water for about 20 minutes. her breathing was labored and she was unable to stand up, but other than that, she seemed alright.

but about an hour later, she wasn't alright. something had collapsed inside her head. her tumor had ruptured and she was suffocating with blood in her lungs. she was drooling blood and she was unable to control her bowels. we found a 24-hour vet who would see her. so we loaded her up on a flat bed truck and my wife's mom rode with her all the way to the vet like that. when we lifted her up and put her on the truck, she started bleeding everywhere and let out this howl of pain and it became very clear to me that it was daisy's last day on earth. i had never seen anything die in front of my own eyes. people, animals, they were either close to dying or already dead. i had never witnessed the event of dying. and although i wasn't there when they put daisy to sleep, i petted her for the last time and her eyes were rolled back into her head. she was gone.

it's tough when animals die. like i said, daisy could be extremely annoying when you were hanging out in the back having beer and just wanted to relax. she would bark and bark and bark until you played fetch with her. but she wasn't full of malice. she was sweet and she wanted your attention. and who can fault her for that. she rests easier today and i'm happy for her.

fruit bats

going to see the fruit bats tonight at walter's on washington. it's my first show at walter's, which is perfect timing because they're going to close that place down and move it downtown, so i'm just sneaking in time to catch a show. can't wait.

popular songs

sons of the silent age

there's giant oil in the gulf.

bailouts, bailouts, bailouts. barry ritholtz, author of bailout nation, gives his take on the bailouts, whether they were successful or not and how they could have been improved.

interestingly enough, the pay for executives at bailed out companies, you know the ones who were poorly run and had to be saved by an injection of taxpayer capital, is actually higher than their peers. so cut loose, run your company into the ground, and you too can make tons of money.

diane sawyer is taking over for charlie gibson on abc world news tonight. i have always thought diane sawyer was so hot. here's picture of her younger.

capture the flag

senator tim johnson is set to take over the banking committee if chris dodd/dudd moves on over and takes the recently deceased senator kennedy's still-warm spot. if this happens, good news people: we won't change anything, because the devil we know is better than the devil we don't, right? right.

dr. doom says he's got some ideas on how to get us out of the spend and borrow pattern we love so much. although after reading it, i'm not sure what the idea is/was.

sheila barr, chairman of the FDIC, says a super-regulator is a bad idea.

we're making some money back from TARP, to the tune of $4 billion. i would like to get all our money back before we decide whether we made a profit or not. you don't win a football game at halftime.

the future of movement, travel and transportation through space could be coming from one company: tesla. if you don't read the story, that's fine, but i highly, highly suggest you watch the video of the rocket taking off and going into orbit. there is a camera on the side of the rocket transmitting the image of it leaving earth. it's amazing.

pitchfork already has a review of yo la tengo's new album "popular songs." it's out next week. i saw this band at ACL in 2007, i think. it was around noon and it was hot as shit, but these three people put on a head rattling performance. it was brutally good.

audit the fed

audit the fed.

this is exactly what i wanted.

but how come i feel like this is going to backfire?

my vege-tables

i meant to post this the other day and didn't. i'm really starting to get into the idea of growing and producing food locally. i've been trying to pay attention to where my food comes from and what it is made of. i've read articles like this before and it's something i believe is important as we move forward/backward as a nation.

there is actually a garbage island floating in the ocean. here is a picture.

it's starting to become clear now that oil speculators were behind the massive run-up in oil prices last year.

i write here about peak oil, but what about peak water? is this something we should be paying attention to?

i've got other articles on banks, but i'm sick of reading about these banks. all i want to do is dance.

prank calls

i'm still cracking up about that bernanke joke from my last entry. that's really all i have to say.

bernanke's back

"bernanke's back
and we're gonna be in trouble,
hey nah, hey nah
bernanke's back!"

ben bernanke has been nominated by the continually confusing president obama. it doesn't guarantee a second term for old ben, but it's about a done deal without really being a done deal. so, should old ben come back for another round? how did he do the first time around? he had a lot to deal with. he made some mistakes of course. but was he really that bad?

here is bloomberg.

the financial times.

mish.

in addition, the fed has been ordered to turn over the names of all financial institutions that received bail-out monies.

krugman's got some thoughts on health care and how it relates to the financial disaster we refuse to really clean up.

kid a is being re-released with as a special collector's edition. i remember first hearing this album and thought, "what the shit is this?" but i kept listening, it had left an impression. and slowly, the album revealed itself to me. brilliant, incredible album. they haven't been the same band since.

here is the list of cheapest cars to own. i'm thinking about getting one.

come on! feel the illinoise!

so i'm back from the windy city. what an amazing weekend. the weather, man. it was 70 degrees with zero humidity. just absolutely gorgeous. we got in saturday morning around 10:30. this is after being up the night before until 12:30 and getting up at 4:00. needless to say, i was a little loopy without any sleep. we got picked up from the airport and headed to the hotel. actually, we stopped for a beer first. then we went to the hot dog stand and got something to eat. then we went to the hotel and laid out. took a nap. saturday evening we had dinner at a greek restaurant. it was alright.

sunday was the big day. we got up and went to church for the service, baptism and blessing of the marriage. then we headed to the restaurant and proceeded to hang out/drink and party for the next 10 hours practically. once the restaurant kicked us out, we went to the groom's nephew in-law's place and hung out there listening to 80's music and dancing in a kitchen hallway until about one in the morning.

monday was a pretty wasted day because of hotel conflicts, people not getting sorted out and the baby's mama being unable to move for the first few hours of the day. that chick partied hard.

once we got into houston, they lost 2 out of 3 of our bags, but right as i was leaving for work this morning, the dude was dropping them off. nice timing. of course, last night would have been better timing, but oh well. the great chicago trip is over. now it's back to work.

i just wasn't made for these times

here is a lecture given by william (bill) black about the banking heist we went through and are still going through. i bought his book "the best way to rob a bank is to own it," but i haven't started reading it yet. the guy is sharp, to the point, and very, very focused on malfeasance within the system. i highly suggest you check it out.

the democrats seem to have finally found something: their balls. they have a majority in the house and the senate, in fact a filibuster-proof majority in the senate, yet they are letting the republicans, who lost every election possible last year, dictate their terms on health care. it's really amazing. the democrats are unfocused and completely unprepared and unorganized for this fight. it's simply amazing.

david alexrod has got some explaining to do. major independence issues, but else is new in washington?

when every right-wing blowhard out there says we have the best health care system in the world, do you roll your eyes? you should. because the WHO doesn't seem to think so. this study took place in 2000, but do you think we've made major improves since then under the bust/bush administration? probably not. so we're still somewhere floating around less than adequate. we've got the technology. that is no argument. we have the best doctors. that is no argument. but it's like having the best equipment and the best players on a baseball team, but the rules of the game make the game rigged, so it didn't matter. that's the problem.

that birdhouse presents....

wilco's got a b-side floating around out there called dark neon.

radiohead's got a song floating around too called these are my twisted words.

plus, i found a free cookie in the vending machine! what a day!

moonage daydream

"keep your electric eye on me babe,

put your ray gun to my head,

press your space face close to mine, love



freak out in a moonage daydream, oh yeah!"



is there anything better than bowie? seriously. the man was a force.

rio grande

"oh the great big river,
goes on and on,
oh the great big river,
makes my heart beat strong."

-brian wilson


this weekend was pretty wild. my wife was attacked by a storm trooper at space center houston. we landed a successful mars mission and found water on mars, which was a big deal. we almost got left behind at rocket park inside nasa after it closed. after that, we went to kemah and ate and walked around the boardwalk. that was all saturday.

on friday night, we took jerry out to eat and watched a fight break out in the bar area of the restaurant in tomball. we went to a cowboy bar/dancehall after that and my wife and i danced and then we got jerry out there in his wheelchair and i pushed him around on the dancefloor during the cotton-eyed joe. it was a blast.

sunday i saw my grandmother and my wife and i made dinner and cleaned the house. it was the best weekend ever. and we went to church together for the first time in a while. that meant a lot to both of us.

it was an awesome weekend. how was yours?

my girls

is it much, to admit i need
a solid soul and the blood i bleed
and with a little girl and by my spouse
i only want a proper house

i don't care for fancy things
or to take part in a precious race
and children cry for the one who has
a real big heart and a father's grace

i don't mean to seem like i care about material things and a social status
i just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls

*make sure you select a track that is not remixed. just pick one that only has the title of the song without some crazy shit after it

war on war

remember disclosure and transparency? weren't those things supposed to utilized in the new presidency regime? i wonder where they went? because i haven't seen them....ever.

this is a wonderful article on the uselessness and utter hilariousness of the efficient market hypothesis. it's hilarious when you read what these guys factor into their models as constants and wonder why they get these every 400 year events, like every four years. they talked about this some in "when genius failed."

when is the next oil shock coming? because it's coming. and it's coming within the next two to three years. we're running at full capacity people and the only thing keeping us from teetering over right now is a global economic collapse. so i guess there is a bright side to everything. but eventually people are going to start producing and buying shit again. and demand will catch up and surpass available supply. that's when the pain starts. hard decisions will have to be made. and we've seen how our government handles hard decisions. they don't make them.

over at fortune, they are designing the perfect health care system. check it out.

clothes line saga

idealism only lasts so long. that's why we love to think back when we were younger, before we realized how the world really works. idealism is a beautiful thing and if you had it, celebrate it. if you still have it and you're as old as i am, wake the F up. this is a wonderful story. it proves finally, once and fall for all, there is no change. our future, the future of us being ruled by global corporations using money and influence to continue to subject us to loopholes and fleece us out of our hard earned, hard fought money, is set. there will be some explanation. there will be backtracking. but don't you just feel it. like you know when someone is lying or cheating. you know it. you might feel it, before you actually realize it and speak it. but you feel it. i'm feeling it. there is no change. "meet the new boss. same as the old boss."

so i have one suggestion: do not you spend your money frivolously. you don't need half the shit you have. hold on to books, music and art. don't use credit cards. question everything. realize your little handful of friends and family is as good as it's going to get, so take care of those people.

here's a Q&A with a writer from the NYT who's covering the town hall meetings on health care.

i'm listening to fruit bats right now. i'm going to see them in september. cool.

here's ten minutes with elizabeth warren. everytime i see/hear elizabeth warren, i fall in love. this woman is the best. she is the top of the shit.

parklife

the fed will be making some announcements regarding interest rates and their/his view of the economy today. ben bernanke. the man. the fed. probably should start to thinking about raising interest rates, just a smidge.

speaking of the fed, they sure like to help contribute to the making/contributing of bubbles, don't they? well they've spent tons and tons of monies this year and last. are they doing it again? have you seen the stock market? what's all that uptick based on? what has really changed? i'm not sure either.

still speaking of the fed, the fed of cleveland is proposing a three-tiered system for regulatory systematically important financial institutions. but, like before, who's watching the watchers?

this article says the bubble will pop in 2012, when the next wave hits. especially read the bottom part. wow.

bankruptcy is changing.

you what i listened to last night and i really, really liked? blur's parklife. this is one of those albums that i bought and never really listened to all the way through. i didn't like it because i didn't know what to expect and then when i listened i just brushed it off. but last night, i listened to mostly the whole thing, it's freakin' long and i missed like three songs, and it was great. terrific pop record. check it out.

our faces split the coast in half

what a weekend. let me take a second......

okay. first, houston hosted it's first, what i would call, real music festival. why was it real? well, is buzzfest real? no, it's hosted by a radio station and all the bands sound the same. is the earth day festival real? no, it's centered around a day to celebrate the earth, not really music. this one had extremely diverse acts and was actually in downtown houston, which buzzfest is not. it had no radio station ties and it was actually really freakin' great. hot as hell, but really freakin' great. here's the story of the great saturday music festival journey. we packed up on saturday morning and walked with our stuff probably two miles. in the heat. once we stopped and regrouped we checked everything out and found our place on the hill. i saw young mammal, fat tony, octopus project, the sword, broken social scene and explosions in the sky. i didn't get burned because i lathered, seriously, lathered myself in suntan lotion. and i wore a long-sleeved shirt. and a hat. and pants, but that goes without saying. or does it?

bss was freakin' great. octopus project was really cool and young mammal was pretty good too. but man, it was hot. so hot that that night after we ate and had like one drink, we all called it a night. i was thinking we would party into the early hours, but i guess, heat, old age and heat made us all a little tired.

so the next day, we woke up and tried to get our cat to eat. see the back story on the cat is, after the move, we put him on new medication for his thyroid problem. that didn't react well with his stomach and he also got into a cat fight, his first one ever, and we changed his food. several bad moves on our part. so he just stopped eating. seriously, like 100% not eating for four days. so by sunday, we were freaking out. but sunday morning he woke up kind of with an attitude that made us think he was feeling better. so we washed him off (don't ask why) and we gave him some water. i had bought some baby food late saturday night for him to eat cause we thought that would be soft enough and gentle enough on his stomach that he might go for it. and sure enough, sunday morning, he ate it. we were so freakin' happy. it was like seeing a miracle to watch this cat eat. and he's been eating ever sense. he hasn't moved to hard food yet, but he's getting there.

after watching our cat eat for a while, we ran some errands and went back to the festival. it was still hot, but it was later in the day, so it wasn't too bad. we got there in time to see what made milwaukee famous, devin the dude and of montreal. wmmf was really good. but of montreal put on this freaky, wacky show with characters in stage and balloons and magicians and little scenes they would act out. total wild. really entertaining and the music was good too.

what a weekend.

on another note, the rolling stone article i posted here a while back is getting some major heat. this guy is defending it. if you have like 30 minutes, you should take the time and read both articles. it's well worth it.

don't go near the water

we're going highbrow today people. this blog isn't just about the latest fashions, sights and sounds. the monkees were great, but how long can we talk about the musical genius of peter tork? the answer: not long. i pack this blog full of articles that i like to read. today i am going to pack it with articles about what i do and see everyday and some things i want to do and see.

the first thing is fas 157. first, what is fas? fas is short for fasb, which is short for financial accounting standards board. fas 157 is all about fair value. see what's happened lately is that with this financial meltdown, as i like to call it, we've gotten sensitive to what is being held on company's balance sheets. are these assets really worth what they are saying they're worth? how do we find out? how are the valuations calculated? that's what fas 157 is about. it's supposed to break down these assets into three levels, with each level determing a different value structure. fas 157 is all the rage right now.

and because fas 157 is all the rage, there is already talk of changing it.

next, what does the sec regulator look for? well we just talked about one: fair value. another is goodwill impairment. what is goodwill? goodwill is the intangible asset representing the excess amount above book value that a company paid for another company. and every year, that excess has to be tested for impairment. and with all this economic meltdown, you'd figure a lot of these have been impaired and you'd be right, but companies have a way of figuring figures that makes them look pretty good. so these regulators have to verify how goodwill is tested and how it is finally determined.

i should point out, i'm not a regulator. but an auditor does basically the same thing. i just do it on a much smaller scale.

a new area of accounting will focus on alternative energy, how to accounting for emissions and such. this is a very interesting article about how companys will value their credits under cap and trade.

and finally, this article is about wind energy and how difficult the logistics of transporting the energy really is. this has nothing to do with what i do, but it's intersting nonetheless.

tickets to what you need

i am totally digging the new place. i'll give you three reasons why:

1) it's smaller. the other place was too big and too awkward in design. it seemed no matter where i was, my wife was a million miles away. with this place, i can be at the computer and she can be in the kitchen, and we can still talk. it's great.

2) there is no cable in the living room. the days of rabbit ears are over, so if you don't have a cable outlet, you get no tv. now we do have a cable outlet in the bedroom and we do actually have cable, like 70 channels or something, but when we get home at night, i turn on music, she lights candles and i will read while she talks on the phone. no television is really nice.

3) all of our stuff is still in boxes. it makes our lives easier, simpler without tons of stuff cluttering up our lives. you really begin to realize how much junk you have when you move.

AIG is breaking up and some folks are making tons of monies off of it.

CNBC's ratings are way, way down. that could be because they're idiots.

is buffet the product of government bailouts and agressive lobbying?

speaking of, burkshire hathaway is going to post "blockbuster" results evidently.

with a girl like you

i'm over the moon on this cover of the troggs hit "with a girl like you." apparently this dude is a member of tv on the radio, who i'v never really gotten into. anyway, great arrangement, great pacing. really well put together.

the treasury is selling more debt. anybody want some of this?

i've been saying for a while that how can be tell how well our economy is doing when the government is spending so much money? isn't this just another version of a pumped-up, artificially inflated economy? mish agrees with me.

what is with all these texas instrumental bands? explosions in the sky. octopus project. balmorhea. enough people. say something!

mama says

i went to the dentist this morning. i got beat to hell, but i was told i was in good shape. so i don't think i'll brush for the next month and see what happens. actually my teeth are holding up pretty good. we'll see how they're doing in another 30 years.

i am totally excited about this weekend. music festival in houston! that is a rare thing. i've been listening to tons of broken social scene. i don't have anything by the rest of the bands, except of montreal, but i don't know where that is.

we went grocery shopping. i don't think anything beats the feeling of coming home with tons of good groceries. it's better than christmas morning.

almost done

-if i cranked up broken social scene, i wonder if anybody would care

-why are my hands so dry and cracking? i should probably look into that

-if i had to put an over/under on how much longer my car will last, i'd say less than three years

-i've been trying to eat tons of blueberries because i'm convinced they unlock some sort of super-powers for my brain

-benjamin is throwing up a lot and it has me very worried

-when will they have mailboxes like the bank slots in the drivethru? i bet they won't because someone could put something in there and you'd bring it into your house and wouldn't know until it was too late, like some bees or something

-i still have vhs tapes. why am i keeping these things?

-i have business cards and i actually gave one out the other day

-i think the peak of tom hanks career was bosom buddies

-i am certain i could be friends with pat sajak

-how long would it take the grass/weeds to cover a road?

-going through the hurricane last year, no matter how small it really was, was an amazing experience, not one i'd ever want to relive though

-i've had three cups of tea today

-it's been too long since i've had muenster cheese

-i have a lot of euros in my car cup-holder

-i still haven't developed my black and white film from iceland

-my teeth are going to be beaten the hell up tomorrow when i go to the dentist; on a side-note, i read a study that said redheads are more sensitive to pain; so i'm not a weiner after all

-there is a song on the dark was the night soundtrack that is blowing my mind. this is it.

moment of surrender

i think i'm slowly realizing how much of myself i have to let go in marriage. and it's not parts of me that are vital to who i am or my personality. it's the parts that rally for victory rather than understanding. it's the parts that knock over the catcher to score another run when i was already winning and could of easily trotted home. it's those parts. those parts ingrained in me that would rather fight, than listen. those parts that would rather go to sleep proclaiming individual victory, rather than team victory. my wife is better at certain things than i am. she's better at certain things that i should be better at. for example, we were loading up the futon in the back of the truck to take it away finally and we had these straps that we were using to lock it down. i had seen them used before, but i just needed a little bit of time to figure them out. that's how it is with most things for me: give me a minute or two and i'll figure it out and i'll never forget. but she figured it out faster. and internally, it frustrated me. i wanted to figure it out first and make it work faster. but i didn't and i had to give that one away. but who am i giving it away to? i'm giving it away to my team member. because there's only one team i'm on and i only have one teammate. so if i don't score the game-winning run, hopefully she will. i have to work/think like this. it's not just my show anymore. it's our show. it's our life. it's our future. i'm getting it. slowly. but i'm getting it.

krugman points out there's more high jinx (sp?) going on with some big investment firms. i'd heard about high-speed trading on NPR not long ago.

apparently the UK is going to be investigating high-speed trading/cheating.

do you bank with guaranty bank? well if you do, your bank is teetering on the verge of collapse.

what about afghanistan? what are we doing there?

i've been watching the bronx is burning again. man, that is a good show.

the seldom seen kid

man today is one of those when i am feeling strong. the move is over and the new place is taking shape. i've been working out again and i feel stronger than a freakin' horse. i'm looking into certain accounting issues like accounting for carbon emissions and wondering if maybe i should become some sort of expert in this field for the future of cap and trade in already upon us. i don't know. i signed up for the journal of accountancy and i get it at a discount because i'm a cpa candidate and not a cpa. i feel good today. i've been listening to elbow all morning. i dropped off the keys and the garage door openers and all the stuffs for the old place. so we're out completely from the old, heat infested place. things felt so spread out, so out of place, so lost just a few weeks ago, but it's coming together. i love when a plan comes together.

i feel like i could lift this building right up over my head. i hope everyone gets to feel like every once and a while.

gorilla dust

just thinking about iceland today, so i thought some pictures might help me out.

absolutely

"don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust."

-bill mcneil

got nuffin

really, i got nuffin today.

i ate jalepeno sausage for lunch today with fried potatoes and red cabbage. it was actually really good. i didn't eat all the cabbage.

speaking of food, while i was in austin, my dad took me to alamo springs cafe in fredericksburg. apparently their burgers are so good, they were voted some of the best in texas and made the cover of texas monthly. the burger was awesome. the fries were great too. it's about as in the middle of nowhere i have ever seen a restaurant. i really want to try some of the best burgers in texas before i leave. roznovskys and christian's tailgate are next on my list.

the lake

the lake did me in again. we went to austin this weekend for my wife's sister's birthday and i took off to hang out with my dad for his birthday. but before i did that, i made another valuable contribution to a texas water body.

the first contribution happened in july of 2008. i had just gotten married in april and was getting used to my wedding ring. it was kind of loose and i didn't think that was normal. i told my wife about it and she said, yeah, it should be a little loose. i said okay. so we're out on her brother's boat in lake scummerville (sommerville) in brenham. we jump off for a bit and start throwing around the football. i dive for a throw to my right and when i come up, i feel around my fingers and notice that my wedding ring is gone. totally gone. flew off at some point when i dove for the ball. we (my wife, me and two friends) spent the next two and a half hours looking for that ring. this water was kind of nasty too and i'm not sure what exactly i was touching down on the bottom. that was my first contribution.

my second contribution came this past weekend. we get to her sister's kind of late friday night, like around 9pm. we start hanging out and having a good time. we leave and head out to this awesome house on the lake, that's where we're staying the night. so this place was amazing. hot tubs upstairs, all kinds of flat screens and stuff. we sleep, get up and we're (just five of us who stayed there) are going to take the boat out on the lake before everybody from the party gets there. and it was not easy getting the boat in. the water on lake travis was down probably about fifteen feet. we had to fanagle that thing in. but eventually, it got in. we drove around, found a good place to wakeboard and a terrific time. the last person to wakeboard was my wife's brother. once he gets done, my wife asks for my help pulling in the wakeboard. so i'm happy to help. but while i'm bending over to help pickup the wakeboard, my left hand comes up too high and i knock my glasses in the river. gone. sunk like a stone. i stood there, dazed for a second, not believing i had done it again and this time, now i was literally disabled because of it. but, i laughed it off. that's something you can do when you lose your wedding ring. but i had no way of getting to my dad's now for his birthday.

anyway, long story short, we went to walmart and i got an eye-exam and a trial pair of contacts and able to see again. the prospect of not being able to see for two days was really horrible. thank goodness for walmart. so between the ring and glasses, i've not contributed about $1,000 to various water bodies in texas. if you find either one, please return them to me.

what

self defense is useless
self defense is useless
cutting against the grain
marble slabs, your soul, your brain,
intimate, i see your stain


self defense is useless
self defense is useless
combat, combat, shoot out the lights,
tempermental, keep your rights,
in reverse, i dream these nights

blasting fonda

blasting fonda is an amazing wilco b-side from their "being there" days. great tune.

front page news: the astros sweep the cardinals. we're one game back of first place! what the hell is happening with this crap-ass team? i mean seriously! geoff blum and chris coste are playing over their heads. it's incredible. i think it's this new gatorade i've been drinking. those electrolytes are amazing. and they taste good. i sometimes sprinkle electrolytes on my cereal.

we've got an open letter from mish to president obama in regards to health care.

why is everyone obsessed with the idiot known as sarah palin? is it because she's a hot politician? really? thank you john mccain for bringing this person to our national stage. really good.

the dow is over 9,000 and people are freaking out.

sheila barr is calling for the largest financial institutions to pay a fund for the next time we all come tumbling down. good idea? don't know. the government loves to touch some monies that have been sitting for a while.

this guy says we're just now hitting the depression.

"i'm going where there's no depression,
to a better land that's free from care,
i'll leave this world of toil and trouble,
my home's in heaven, i'm going there."

-carter family

california stars

i would like to rest my heavy head today because i am exhausted from the move. saturday was one long freakin' day, full of heavy stuff, lots of boxes and lots of corners from upstairs to downstairs. it was hot as hell in the midafternoon and raining in the hours before evening. so we had all the elements come into factor. but we're about 99% done with stuff at the old place. i still have my clothes and a couple small things laying around, but it will take about an hour to get the rest. then we move on to cleaning and organizing our new place. all of our stuff fit though. i was surprised. my wife did an amazing job of packing and organizing. i thought all along she was messing up and not really getting things done, but the day of the move, i finally realized how incredible the job she did was. all the boxes/containers were color-coordinated for each room and she knew exactly how to stack everything. plus, her brother is really good at moving/stacking boxes. so both of them made our day easier.

i have to good stuff i'd like to post, but i'm busy and i don't have internet at home yet, so i'll be popping up every now and again.

common people

the move day is fast approaching, so every minute of day is full right now with boxes and tape and benjamin laying in my way while i'm carrying a 50 pound box full of random cleaning products, most of which i bought in 2003 and never used. so i'll be out and mostly about well into next week.

in other news, i started writing a play. it has no name at this moment and the only thing i know for sure is it involves a nun from the church of euthanasia. it's going to be spectacular. or not.

this year's girl

"a bright spot might corner the market in this year's girl,

you see yourself rolling on the carpet with this year's girl,

those disco synthesizers, those daily tranquilizers,

those body building prizes, those bedroom alibis,

all this, but no surprises for this year's girl." (the song is there, just type "this year's girl" and search)

i always feel like a tool typing up lyrics, but man, elvis costello is so freakin' good.

wow doesn't even begin to describe this

i just found this video with this kid freaking out. this is absolutely insane. check it.

look at these people

seriously. when is this a good idea? what is this you ask? this is kajagoogoo. meet them. love them. just don't dress like them. ever. or smile like them. it's slightly unnerving.

too shy

"too shy shy
hush hush, eye to eye"

classic.

i love how the wikipedia page has a paragraph called "success and decline." which is perfect that they are combined into one, small paragraph, because the success and subsequent decline took place over three days.

it's true. look it up.

innocent man

awesome new term: bankslaughter. just like manslaughter, but it involves killing a bank due to reckless behavior and gross incompetence. nice.

here is an article with jeff tweedy in the new york times.

glass houses

where we last stood, ron paul was trying to audit the fed. well we've hit a roadblock. it's called the senate. it's not dead yet, which is a good sign and it's also gained some steam, which is also a good sign. but none of that matters if that twerp barney frank takes it and eats it during a senate finance hearing. he'll cover it with jam and eat it. i know he will. anyway, write your representatives and senators and tell them AUDIT THE FED!!!

i think it's amazing we're already talking about a 2nd stimulus bill when so little of the first one has been spent. seriously, what is the justification for a 2nd bill? the 1st one is not even out the door yet. most of it hasn't even been spent. apparently it's hard to spend billions of dollars. i'm not sure how that is so hard either. you buy lots of cds, fourteen houses, six cars and the moon and you've got yourself a billion dollars spent. watch out for this. if this starts gaining momentum, look out.

speaking of the 1st stimulus bill, where is that money? here is the answer.

here are the 500 biggest companies in the world.

rolling stone has an excellent, ranting article on goldman sachs. really good work.

speaking of speculative bubbles, remember john meriwether? the guy who got booted from salomon brothers and then almost brought down the market singlehandedly with long-term capital management? well his latest hedgefund just bit the dust. surprise, surprise.

i can't stand it

i said i was done and i am done. i'm not writing another word about the new wilco album. but.... here are several reviews that you can read to make up your mind. and trust me, you'll need a shower after reading the rolling stone review. i had the same feeling after they reviewed the new U2 album.

pitchfork

the onion avclub

paste

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i have decided not to review the new wilco album. what is the point? i've made my feelings known. there's really nothing else to say. it's the worst album of their career. it's flat, unimaginative and musically and lyrically uninspired. that's all. i'm done.

robert mcnamara died. if you haven't seen the fog of war, you should. speaking of, here is a clip.

steve "air" mcnair died this weekend too. his death was a little more complicated. the details are still being unearthed. mcnair, eddie george and chris johnson were supposed to be the next trio of stars for the houston oilers. but instead the team moved to tennessee and became stars there. except chris johnson, i don't know what happened to him.

interesting article about the american marriage. i have extreme hope for marriage. it's not easy, but it's worth it. every little heartache is worth it. i like the joke between a son and his dad. the son says, "it's amazing dad. 50 years and you never once had an affair. how did you do it?" the father replies, "i can't drive." nice.

no more sarah palin? what a shame. here's five reasons why she quit.