Who Wants Chips?

Rich=Smart?

It doesn't cultivate taste, that's a moral certainty. And winning big money doesn't quell the compulsion to hoard or impulse shop either. And I'm not going to assume what situation or circumstance place this winner in such a position. There are at least a dozen that I can think of nearly a top ten list right off the top of my head. Over spent and ran out of cash. That would be the one I think most people would think of first. I've heard such stories before. Medical bills. Bad investments. Taxes. Debts from gambling. They died. Legal judgment. Including lawsuits, criminal restitution, divorce. And any variation of the above. I guess the take-away is that if you win big money your life changes forever.

What the...

fuck. No. Seriously. What. The. Fuck. I would not, and have not for many years, wrap dead rotten fish entrails or allow my carrion feeding black vulture to shat upon the N. Y. fucking Post.

UPDATE; Thursday night this typical half-ass apology appears. Why is it alway easier to apologize when the same amount of brain power would've avoided the entire offending situation in the first place?

Thanks but No Thanks?

So, now that the rubber has met the road to recovery. Will all the Republicans who have so vocally and steadfastly made their views against the Stimulus made exceptionally clear to anyone and everyone within hear shot take the money? One would think with the earnestness that the Republicans have put behind their opposition they would surely have to politely decline any funds based on their dearly held conservative principals. Then, of course, there would be more to go to the members of Congress who aren't adverse to taking the funds.

No Such Thing As.............................

OK, now this guy, Yiga Azrouel works, asshole deep, in the fashion industry. So he knows the value of hype and how to generate any kind of buzz (or act out as it's phrased in pre-school) he wants. Although, and I'm not casting any aspersions here, he should be one of the last to have any objections to having Ashely Dupre at his show. Hype, buzz, trend, are the air, food and water to fashion. Plus if she is seen waring any of his designs, particularly as she is "rehabilitating" her image, it would only be a good thing. As far as I'm concerned, the mere fact she is looked upon unfavorably by any one is silly, puritanical, and even hypocritical. But I won't get started on the sex negativeness of the USA- not here anyway.

Tick-Tock

Ticking, ticking, ticking like one of those clocks on a big, bad bomb (ever wonder why Hollywood mad-bombers go to all the effort to put countdown clocks on their bombs? Who are they're for? Nobody's supposed to see the bomb let alone know how long before to goes off). But this is not Hollywood. This is real life. Very real life. And this bomb is metaphorical to be sure but the American car builder General Motors will implode no more completely than if it was a literal one. Reuters is reporting on a Wall Street Journal article in the Saturday edition that, in lieu of a viable restructuring plan presented to the U.S. Government in exchange for 17.4 billion dollars in federal loans, a filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a real option. The deadline; 17 February 2009 Tuesday

Our president has been saying for a long time already that things, financial things, will get worse before the get better. Worse before better is an abstract notion for some if not most. What does worse look like. Well, it kind of looks like this. A brand that's ingrained in our national consciousness. It's a brand that's nearly omnipresent. The pervasiveness of the logo spans the width and breadth of our country. And it's in very real danger of going away. Whether it should be allowed to should be debated. My point is that it's this kind of thing that brings the recession nearing depression into such sharp focus it liable to cut.

Sat down this morning, like in days of yore, gathered with friends and family around the magic box and watched and listened, sometimes bemused, sometimes confused not to the inspirational and comforting voice of a world leader, not to a comic genius providing lighthearted escapism or witty insight. None of that. I watched and listened to a bit of history, a bit of theater, I watched and listened to some of the financial titans of this country of ours answer questions from the people's representatives in the federal government. The banker shucked, the bankers dove. They sat wide-eyed innocent and confidently presented their cases. At lunch the questioning panel had not had the chance to ask any probing questions. Despite the fact that the little fellow behind a studio desk, looking a little like Beaker, thought of the proceedings as a flogging. The floggings I've been a part of have produced much more gratitude from the precipitants that these hearings have so far. Except, maybe, for the people victimized by these modern day robber barons.