me and my arrow

hope everyone had a good weekend.

here are six reasons why investors are freakin' out.

here are some signs that the bear market is over.

oh that mark cuban. he looks like frankenstein and he's also an inside trader. that's a shame. but if i did have a list of the most annoying people in the world, it would go:

1. bill o'reilly
2. mark cuban
3. alex trebek
4. robin williams
5/6. both of those osmonds

"is expired toothpaste dangerous?" seriously, i could not believe this was in the new york times.

five alternatives to banks.

two jabs please

two quick hits today. the first: why isn't elbow bigger than they are? i don't understand why they're not huge. it might have to do with the fact they came from the circle of bands that were influenced by the radiohead sound and weren't taken seriously. i don't know. i find it weird that bands i listened to when i was 15 are now influencing other bands. could that be it? i don't know. but they are sweet. i love me some elbow. check out the seldom seen kid.

the second: i often can't get lines out of my head, whether they're lines i created or lines from songs. this morning, it's one i created: "maybe it's time you forgot yourself." i am temporarily paralyzed by school, but there's independence on the immediate horizon. there's a million easier ways to say that, but anyway.... the main point is that once i'm out of school and we settle down somewhere, that it's time i forgot myself. it's time i started to make a difference. to help people: kids, the elderly, the something. i don't know. i can't shake it. and it's getting more of my thoughts. it's time i forget myself.

the weather is great. enjoy this.

quick roundup for the day

citi is handing out pink slips and raising your interest rate.

americans eat too much corn.

fidelity will cut 1,700 jobs.

i might be the only one, but i don't care about james bond. never did. never will.

100 greatest singers from rolling stone.

my top 3 greatest singers are:
1. brian wilson
2. harry nilsson
3. jeff buckley

your car has been crushed into a cube

i just had a very simpsons moment. i ordered 3 cds off of the best buy website with a gift card i got for my birthday. here are the three email titles i received shortly after purchase:

1. welcome to bestbuy.com
2. thanks for ordering with best buy
3. your item is backordered

very nice. does anyone else have a hatred for best buy? i do. they come into town and run the local record shops off. but they focus more and more on big ticket items and start cutting back on the number of titles ordered in music. so they chase off the independent store with everything you could want and then stop ordering a diversified number of albums and order eight million copies of jessica simpson or incubus.

best buy and circuit city. hey, remember media play? or sam goody? i worked at sam goody for a while. they also had another big media store that i can't remember the title of right now that failed. they were green usually. or maybe i'm thinking of media play again.

who knows. all i know is you matter how you slice, the chicken is one tasty bird.

frankie lee and judas priest

i love when curse words are overdubbed for regular television. i can't remember what movie it was, it might have been "back to the future" when doc or marty said "jesus christ," the overdub could be heard saying, "judas priest." that was always one of my favorite overdub moments.

top 10 most accountable companies.

here's a quick recap of what is in store for the president elect.

year of flops. the phantom and the shadow.

does it make sense to save the auto industry? at least without some quid pro quo? the industry cannot rise to the challenge of increasing miles per gallon and lowering emissions. they do not have answer to the asian auto market. if they are given a bailout, they should be held accountable for performance standards, not only of their company, but of their product. by the end of the next decade, detroit should be able to roll out a new car that is efficient and cheap. and if they don't, payback is a bitch.

what do you think? or how about you?

they punctured my yolk

after yesterday's confessions of emotional comeuppance, it's now back to business. we're hitting the stretch run for the 4th quarter. it's not looking good out there. stand back, cover your eyes and get ready to fork over all the dismal christmas money you get this year, because soon after obama takes office, the market will turn bullish again. the end of december to mid-january should be the time to jump in.

this guy has advice. and so does this guy. but i don't care for his advice.

this was from yesterday. the fed loans out $2 trillion of the money outside of the congress approved TARP. so who is it going to? they won't tell you.

"a trillion here and a trillion there, and pretty soon we're talking about real money."

article is somewhat weak, but good breakdown of how your money is taxed as you invest and is distributed.

good entry in popless about wilco. right at the top.

this guy actually heard "the chinese democracy." i'm starting to think it's real.

carry that weight

this is the longest non-posting span i've had since i started. friday was my birthday. saturday was my birthday party and sunday was a day of sleep.

i don't have any links. today is a weird day for me. my birthday is over. the party is over and now it's back to work. back to getting my last month of school over with. i realized something on sunday, a few somethings. the first is that i want to change my behavior. this is something that's been on my mind for some time. i do not enjoy staying up late and drinking anymore. i do not enjoy the way my body feels afterwards and i do not enjoy the thoughts and emotions that i experience when i am in that way. it's not real emotion. it's enhanced and fabricated and it betrays me because it masquerades as real. i do not want to experience it anymore.

the other something was a feeling of extreme change. in the past year, i've been married and i will graduate this winter and i had rarely felt change like this spirit of change i felt on sunday. i hadn't because i initiated those changes, getting married, going to school, etc. i am amazed by them, but i made them happen and i was fully aware of most of the changes those decisions would bring. the change i am speaking of now came from visiting my best friend's grandmother house. it was the house i thought of as my own home. it was the house i spent a lot of time in from the age of 15 to 19. i felt so free at that house. it was right on the river and we would take the jet ski out and under the bridge, over to where to the nice water started. we would leave around midnight and go play pool under 2 in the morning. we would listen to new bands and get on the internet when it was new.

i saw that house this weekend and was shocked at how it looked. the upstairs is lonely and foul. the downstairs is lived in and mostly the way it was the last time i had been there. but there was an overall sense of decay with the house. i can't imagine being over 80 years old and having to clean that big house all my myself so i completely feel for the wonderful woman who lives there. it's just amazing how your mind carries on the image of something indefinitely. and it won't change until you confront your mind with reality. the reality was sad, which it often is. but as i sat and spoke with my friend about the house and all of time hanging out there, i began to think of the house as a huge safety net. it had caught various members of my friends family and it had even caught me. i'll cherish being in that house with my friend and his family because i always felt welcome and made to feel like a member of the family. i was lucky to have walked through its door.

thursday afternoon

thursdays are so tempting. you can really feel friday, especially when you get off work. you want to go and hang out. you want to act like it's friday. but it's not. it's still thursday and you still have to go to work on friday morning. thursday nights, such a tease.

this breakdown by the economist is interesting. what's interesting is how annual income was basically negligible in this election. that surprised me. anyway, here it is.

planet finance and its demise.

so inflation was the big worry when rates were being cut like joan rivers (wow, a joan rivers reference!). seems that deflation is now the big worry. then comes stagflation.

could cap and trade derail obama's administration?

tomorrow is my birthday. i probably won't post unless i'm feeling really good. which is a possibility. a real possibility.

the room got heavy

it's over. wow. it's finally over. 8 years of bullshit is over. i hope our energy and motivation will channel into positive endeavors. it's just crazy right now that's finally over. there's one thing that impressed me more than anything else: his temperment. he was cool, calm and collected the entire time. do you realize what he just did? he beat hillary clinton for the democratic nomination and then beat long time senator john mccain. this is like running through ali and then foreman in the same year. and he did it. the old regime is done. the boomers, the "me" generation has given way to the "we" generation. it's time.

here's the final-ish map.

here are some points we need to look to in the coming four years.

even with oil slipping in prices, which is only temporary, green energy needs to be brought to the table and pushed into the mainstream within these next four years.

snow patrol has a new album out. i've never heard a single note by these guys. but here's a review. actually, i won't include a review.

won't get fooled again

full day of poll watching.

feels like change.

inhale. embrace. sleep and dream.

electioneering

tomorrow we'll have a new president. i have never been this excited about a presidential election. 8 years of crap will end tomorrow. i identify with a candidate and i see the need for change. 8 years ago i was living at home, attending junior college and i had no idea of the world and how a skirmish in georgia (not our georgia) affects world relations, prices of oil, stock indexes and which media source to believe in the first place. i also had no idea of muenster cheese, another great development in my life. i am counting the seconds. there will be no missed counting in this election because america is no longer 50/50. the revolution will be televised.

i'm sure this has made the rounds, but here is a prank call from nicholas sarkozy to sarah palin. she is just super.

this guy equates the current situation to aldous huxley's brave new world. not sure the situations are that similar, but interesting read nonetheless.

it's amazing how many decisions and how much forceful persuasion was used to get us right where we're at. it's a culture of short-term profits. no one regards long-term financial position anymore. the immediate mentally we have now has pervaded even our strongest business minds.

better go to circuit city while you can.

from rolling stone: best and worst of cable news.

rojo will love you baby

it's halloween and i could give a shit. but i'm in such a good mood. i know our country is in dire straits, but in a few days, we'll be electing a new regime. a new time. i feel prosperous and i feel enlightened everyday. i feel anxious for change. i'm changing every day and it's the only way.

here is wilco on the colbert report.

nobody reads this thing, but i'm having a blast doing it.

remember, i have developed a theory. i actually had a similar conversation with a great friend of mine. he mentioned how i used to think. he mentioned how i used to act. i was accustomed to things on an everyday basis. that's where i was off. there is no everyday. things will play out over time and just because you're unhappy today doesn't mean you'll be unhappy tomorrow. it's true. your enemies will become your friends and your friends will become your family. wait for it. and tell me i was right.

tonight's the night.

we (they) are the champions

congratulations to former astros closer brad lidge, former astros utility man eric bruntlett and former astros manager jimy (one "m") williams on becoming world series champions. special kudos goes out to lidge who completely turned his career around from his shaky status here in houston, did not blow a save all season and recorded the last out of the world series. no matter how you feel about how he melted down here, he deserves this success. the phillies are world champs.

learned a new word today: solipsism- extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one's feelings, desires, etc.

they are going to try and put together a clearing house for credit default swaps.

the avclub has an article about the movie "the rocketeer." i actually saw that in the theater when i was like 11 or something. i thought it was great. and it was my first introduction to jennifer connelly, who was only 20 years old in the movie. in the article, the author says, "she possesses the kind of jaw-dropping beauty that makes you angry, since you could never possess it and it felt like you were going to run amok like the Hulk due to sexual frustration." that just about sums up the age of 14-18.

the economy is shrinking. shrinking like an old man. or an old woman. they're all shrinking.

from rolling stone: memories from the campaign trail.

wilco- in the studio

check it out from rolling stone:

"Wilco have already recorded demos for a new album and are heading into their Chicago studio, the Loft, this month to start rerecording and fleshing them out. “Sonically it’s going to be a much wilder, much more unexpected record,” says guitarist Nels Cline. “There’s going to be too much to choose from. Right now it’s an embarrassment of riches, for sure.”

wow.

the kids don't stand a chance

just read a great article on valuation methods of current stock prices. it's all about perspective when it comes to the stock market. yes stocks are low, but is that due to the tremendous build-up of this recent bull run and just appear low by recent comparisons? are they low enough to really jump in right now? i think not. i think they'll get lower. and if i'm wrong, then i will slowly saw off my pinkie with a blade of grass.

similar article here.

the world series is supposed to resume tonight. go rays.

here's a great chart from bloomberg demonstrating how liquidity is non-existent right now based on historic levels.

here's an interview with kevin smith from the onionavclub. is it just me or does that guy get more and more obnoxious as the years go on? i mean, he did one good movie a long time ago. since then, he's put out crap. nothing but crap.

pitchfork finally got around to reviewing blitzen trappers new album furr. they liked it.

usually i put pretty ridiculous recipes on here, but this one sounded pretty good.

outta mind, outta site

the dow has surged close to 900 points today. at least the last time i looked it did. it could be down around 5,000 total by now. in fact.......it's not. just checked. i wish i had money to invest. maybe i should solicit some cash donations and i could invest it, for a slight fee. like 30% of earnings.

the world series will resume tomorrow night in a truncated four inning game. did you see the rain last night? wow. i don't know how anybody caught or threw or ran anywhere. it was like a river through the infield. i once played little league and we practiced right next to these woods behind a church. anyway, it had rained really bad for a few days and this area did not drain well at all. but we had to practice. so we went out there and played, which doesn't sound bad. but the water had become stagnent and it stunk so bad. it had combined with the humidity and dirt to form super wet dirt, otherwise known as mud. i had to ride home in the bed of the truck because my dad didn't want me in the cab. i wonder if the stadium will smell like that. probably not. probably smell like fresh cut hair or maybe just opened electronics.

ryan adams has a new album out with the cardinals. here's a review.

anybody seen the obama "wassup" ad on youtube? here it is. and here's the story of how it got made.

is mark-to-market a good thing or a bad thing? the SEC will try and figure it out.

here is a recipe for peanut butter chili. i dare someone to make this.

canceled check

what a weekend. i don't think i've ever sat at home more than i did these past two days. wow. i was starting to get bed sores.

the longhorns won on saturday against oklahoma state. top ranked team in the country going against texas tech next weekend. can't wait for that. and the texans actually won again. that's three in a row. i did not make it to this game and they won anyway. those guys were very brave to play that game without me in attendance. so brave.

saw 60 minutes last night. they had a great story about credit default swaps.

and this guy believes america is in decline and has altered his investing strategy to highlight stable companies with healthy dividends.

here's paul krugman on charlie rose.

i voted on saturday. early voting is the way to go. get out and vote.

from the onion avclub: 23 unusual vampire variations.

are you passionate?

i just got back from paying my graduation fee. the fee goes towards paying for your cap and gown and diploma. i wanted to take a picture of me and the girl working in the registrar's office. i don't think she understood how important that moment was for me. after i paid it, i drove around downtown thinking of my three years at UHD. here's what i thought of:

- my first day. i took the bus downtown because i had decided that the bus was going to be my new mode of transportation. the morning ride was a success. i made it to class on time. but after class was a different story. i waited by jones hall for 45 minutes without seeing a bus. finally, i decided to take matters into my own hands. i began to walk and i walked all the way from downtown, down memorial to my apartments at memorial and shepard. i never took the bus again.

- the fun semester. last fall, i took intermediate acctg. II, individual tax, AIS and some HR class. it was the first semester in the new business building. all i remember about that semester is standing around outside with tim and lindsey talking about internships and jobs. that was the semester i got the job at SPX and left fox sports. i was getting married the next semester. it felt like everything was finally changing.

- the rainout. during the first summer session in 2006, we got rained out for a few days and the school was closed due to flooding. i took the opportunity to see for myself what was happening. so i got on my bike and rode in the rain downtown with my digital camera wrapped up and dry. i took tons of pictures around the campus and over the bridge. it was amazing to see the bayou area right behind the spaghetti warehouse turn into a raging river. i was soaking wet and dirty as hell by the end of it, but it was great to see what a little rain can do.

- the test. i had to take a test for an online class on campus early on a saturday in february of 2008. i had studied the day before but convinced myself i needed to do more studying at school, since that was where i was going to take the test and somehow the information was more likely to stay with me. anyway, i got there and blew off studying. i went walking downtown. it was february and it was grey. it was early too, around 9:30. no one was moving around, except the bums. downtown looked like the old downtown i knew when i was younger. it was ugly. it was dirty. and i felt completely isolated there.

- one time i drank so many energy drinks, i could barely keep my hand steady during my exam.

- i remember wanting to fall asleep every night in intermediate acctg. III and auditing because i had been up since six that morning, had worked all day and was ready for a nap. i also remember during my final for intermediate acctg. III, my professor had a cold and she kept hacking and sneezing and wheezing during the entire exam. on top of that, i had drank two diet sodas right before the exam. so i was in agony trying to concentrate and not piss myself while constantly being distracted by my phlemmy professor. i wanted to knock her out.

- i remember riding my bike to school one day. i rode from my current address. the morning ride was fine. it took a little under an hour to get there. but the ride back was anything but easy. i didn't know it, but i had picked the windiest day on record. winds were clocked at record speeds. those winds made my 50 minute morning journey a two hour journey home. i actually called my wife to pick me up from the restaurant down the street because i couldn't make it home.

- i remember finally realizing the library had real books and i didn't have to buy so many books. i could check them out. i checked out three and read them in a month. i can't wait to have time to read again.

- i remember everyday wondering if i had made the right choice, if i was good enough and smart enough to pull this off. this wasn't a question of competition among my fellow students like so many times before in school. this was a question of myself. could i do this? did i have what it took to concentrate and focus and learn an entirely foreign industry? there were a lot of days i doubted myself.

- i remember parking everyday what felt like 5 miles from the school and walking up the bridge over the bayou, sweating my ass off carrying three, sometimes four books in the same backpack i used in high school.

- finally, i remember what it was like to pay for my graduation fee. i'm not done yet. i still have a few weeks, a few papers, a few tests. but looking back, it's amazing where i started. i was working at fox sports. my days off were tuesday and wednesday. i had a girlfriend and i lived alone. i had no idea what i was in store for.

come in number 51, your time is up

i like the first line of this article. "if you say something long enough and loud enough, it will become truth." are our corporate tax rates really the highest in the world? maybe. but how could we forget our millions of tax lawyers, who have legions of deductions and millions of little safe havens for you to hide your money? i think i'm just about done crying for corportations.

there's another good line in this article: "talent will continue to flock to unworthy causes." back in 7th or 8th grade, i had a professor, who i can't remember, say something along the lines of, "who the hell would want to be president of the united states?" his logic was along the lines of too much responsibility, not enough money. why not go to wall street and bank without having to worry about genocide in a far away place. i think fortune cookies are determining the direction of this country.

on a sidenote, can you imagine seriously living in the white house? how incredibly stupid would you feel? i would feel like an idiot. living in the white house. get a house or a townhome. you could never be comfortable in the white house. too much old furniture and who knows if nixon still has those rooms bugged? imagine throwing up in the white house. or having a horrible stomach ache in the white house bathroom. or having a lazy sunday, eating cheetos and watching football in your underwear. can you imagine doing that in the white house? plus, what about pop-ins? now, you might get a family member or a neighbor poppin-in. if you live in the white house, gorbachev could pop-in. or bono. or ted ferguson. who is ted ferguson? i don't know, but he could pop-in too. living in the white house. i don't think so.

that's enough of that.

how many people read this thing anyway? i probably count two. you and you.

charlie kaufmann (writer of being john malkovich, adaptation and eternal sunshine of the spotless mind) has directed his first film. here's a review.

the opec cartel is cutting production. i didn't mean to double dare them. it just happened.

here is a recipe for warm potato salad with goat cheese.

tampa bay is back in this thing.

hammering the cramps

great article on obama. i honestly believe if he doesn't win this election, there will be irrevocable damage done to our country and society. how people don't see that, i have no idea.

good article on the myth of talent.

good article on the real sarah palin.

average article on colleges hurting during the credit crunch.

the onion avclub adds office space to the new cult canon.

johnny cash's live from folsom prison has been remastered and re-released. "hello, i'm johnny cash." is there any other intro to an album that comes close to that one? maybe. the new radicals had one that went, "make my nipples hard, let's go." that would be a close second.

is "the chinese democracy" really going to happen?

shatner is pissed at sulu. sulu is gay. shatner pissed at sulu for other reasons. wow.