Ok it is 2012

There is something wrong with our radio station tonight - it keeps repeating universal time every ten seconds. The music from New York is not there anymore. Someone must have hacked the automatic pilot. Happy 2012.

The Truth

It is true that the world's economy is today as vulnerable to a collapse as it was before the collapse of 2008. I am absolutely certain that world leaders tend to look relaxed about the situation because they all have contingency plans in case things go very, very sour. Are they insulated from hard times as rich people were during the Great Depression in the U.S.? Not if food becomes scarce - I mean very scarce. They would have to own huge storage freezers for that to be the case. Sorry. Weather catastrophes in the wrong places will put everyone at risk, not just me. Of course, I will try to store several sacks of lima beans and wheat flour. ...Several gallons of water, too. See how long that lasts.

The Truth

Oscar Wilde said: "If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all." If you think about it, this applies to ALL art. That's why dissonant, incoherent contemporary music has failed so dramatically and resoundingly. Nobody is interested in listening to it a second time. Mascagni's opera, Cavalleria Rusticana, has been performed over 44,000 times since it was composed in the late 1800s - about 350 times per year. By comparison, the modern opera, Nixon in China, has perhaps been produced 10 times and performed 50 times since it premiered in 1987 in Houston, an average of 2 times per year. It may as well be dead.

The Truth

So, you feel disappointed after trying to accomplish something and it just does not work out no matter how hard you try? Thomas Edison tried hundreds of combinations before he hit upon a substance that would work as a good, effective filament for his light bulb. Winston Churchill walked for days through the jungle in an effort to get to safety. George Washington fought desperately at Valley Forge after the odds seemed completely against him and his little army. And so it goes. Perhaps the difference between great men and ordinary ones is the simple fact that they do not give up and we do. If you keep going, what have you got to lose? If you keep going, you just might accomplish something extraordinary.

The Truth

There was a story on NPR this morning about the low birth rates in developed countries. The story included some history about how birth rates were high when the nations (the human race) thought they could be doomed to extinction unless they seriously and assiduously multiplied and multiplied some more. Now that the threat of extinction seems to have disappeared, the focus on reproduction - at least in the Western world and Russia - has been lost. The truth is that we are now closer to becoming extinct than ever before. The nuclear arsenals stockpiled here and there are more than enough to destroy life on the earth 100 times over - except, perhaps, cockroaches. World leaders know this well but are doing their best to keep the lid on.

Golden years baloney

Old age is not fun. That's when people realize they will die soon. There's nothing sweet about death. Nothing. Death is an enemy. It is sad to see people get old and not be able to do what they did when they were young. There is no such thing as a golden year when you get old. No such thing. It is a self-deluding myth.

600,000,000

A client had a Santa Anna bond for sale. We found him an offer of $600MM for it. Six hundred million dollars. He declined it - he didn't think it was enough. Yes, he was a Republican. True story - and there's a lesson there somewhere....

Black Eagle Bonds

There is a big market for Mexican bonds now. Black Eagles 1843 27500s are especially in high demand. Let me know if you have one. It could make you very, very rich. 

Black Eagle bonds

The trouble with the Mexican bond business is that it's full of sellers that can't sell and buyers who can't buy. The sellers don't really have the bonds they say they do and the buyers don't have the money to buy - but they pretend they do. Beware.

Mexican bonds

Why is it that so many people seem to be out there selling Mexican bonds when in effect they do not have them? Some of these bonds can be pretty pricy - upwards of 5 billion - and they make for good business if only people would be serious about them. If you have one of these or if you know someone who does, just look me up. We're buying.

The Truth

The truth is that if government ever wanted to put a stop to crime, they could do it simply by outlawing cash transactions. That way, everything you did would be known to them. That's the truth. Who would be the first to say "you can't do that.?

The Truth

The truth is that even the world's best, toughest, and most well-intentioned leaders know that they are subject to the whims of circumstances which are out of their control. They all come to that conclusion soon after taking office. That's the truth. Their staffs know it too but they have to keep up pretenses. It is true - the whole world is a stage.

One Event

A single event, just as a single man, can trigger historical upheavals, even if the event turns out to be a failure. Countless times throughout history, a hundred protesting people have turned into thousands then hundreds of thousands. If the event fires up the imagination, then things begin to sort of shape themselves until a movement is born and suddenly, a revolution is in full swing, whether for good or evil.  Men tend to make mistakes often so things usually turn out badly, regardless of the original intention. Such is life. Just don't ask me why. I have no clue.

Price of Gold

Everyone knows that when the dollar is weak, gold is strong. It all has to do with the confidence investors have in the value of the dollar. If your dollars are getting devalued, obviously you will need more dollars tomorrow to buy the same items you bought today. So, the more gold you have, and the higher the price for gold goes, the greater number of dollars you will have tomorrow if you decide to sell your gold for dollars. That way, inflation will not hurt you as much. Be that as it may, I would rather have ten tons of wheat and five tons of lentils at the ready.

US Debt

I think the U.S. debt is so huge it will take forty years to pay off, providing there are no new expenditures. It might even take longer. Politicians always tell us what we want to hear. Their number one job is to keep their job. It is an ego trip they are on. They are only human after all.

Blogger and Google

I heard a rumor which is probably true: that Google is going to change the name for Blogger. They own this site now so they can do as they wish and they will change its name, so I hear. It will be a good name though. You can bet on that.

Juarez Competitiva

Juarez Competitiva is a movement initiated by several Juarez businessmen aimed at changing the perception people around the world have of Ciudad Juarez - the most violent city in the world. It is structured in a way which imitates large-scale conferences. It will take place in October, 2011. You can help by accessing its page on Facebook and "liking" it. It is here. It would be nice to raise awareness so that all people around the world know about it and have a chance to help in any way they can. Concrete actions are worth a lot more than simply lamenting the situation. Juarez Competitiva es un movimiento social a grande escala. Se llevara acabo en Octubre del 2011. Ustedes pueden levantar el perfil de este evento si simplemente van a Facebook y prensan el boton "like" que ahi se encuentra. Mas vale ayudar un poquito que lamentar mucho. Aqui esta. Mil gracias.

Poetry

Asuncion, Paraguay is where you can find Celia Benfer writing poetry, under the influence of lovely rainy weather or a brilliant and hot sun. She loves to write and she writes lovingly. Her verses are short, full of sincerity, very deep emotion, and illustration by way of words. I have only known her briefly but I recognized her talent for poetry the minute I began reading it. You can find her on Facebook and here, on Blogger. You have never met a more honest and pure poet.

Asunción, Paraguay es donde usted puede encontrar a Celia Benfer escribiendo poesía, este lloviendo o con el sol brilloso en el cielo. A ella le encanta escribir y lo hace con amor. Sus versos son cortos, llenos de sinceridad, profunda emoción, e ilustraciones dibujadas con palabras. Nada más la he conocido poco tiempo pero me di cuenta de su talento para la poesía en cuanto la empecé a leer. La puede usted encontrar en Facebook o aquí en Blogger. Le garantizo que nunca ha conocido poesías más honestas y puras.

One person

One person only - that's all it takes to make the difference between failure and success. It made a difference in the lives of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Mozart, Pablo Picasso, Richard Wagner, Stephen King, Joanne Rowling, and countless others. When one person who can assist you decides to give you a helping hand, you can make a fortune. If that person never shows up in your life's tapestry, you can die penniless.  Mozart died before that person showed up.

DESIGN DESIGN DESIGN

How much attention do marketers or producers or manufacturers or store owners pay to design? A lot. In fact, Apple Computer's guru (Steve Jobs) thinks design is not only one of the most important things in a product but that it's the only thing. Think about that. My blog, I hope, is well-designed. It has music, photos, graphics, and nice colors. The writing does not much matter. Agreed? If you want nice, smart, imaginative designs delivered in record time and at a low price, go here. The lady at left will thank you.

Lame Journalism

I'm dropping a brief note just to give you a sense of how lame journalism has become. This is my example (they say example is the best teacher, though that is highly debatable): NPR (National Public Radio) initially made a tepid and lame announcement regarding the earthquake that hit Japan yesterday (or the day before, depending on where you were on the globe.) From the tone of the announcement, you would never have guessed that the temblor was quite significant, though they did mention that it registered 8.9 on the scale. Their reporting on the event was so low key and innocuous that it rather surprised me. TODAY however, they are falling all over themselves to cover as much detail of the event as possible. This is extremist journalism - from nothing to overkill. And this is NPR, supposedly the least sensationalistic news organization out there.

On The Rocks

Here is another inventive photo - a picture of a drink on the rocks - literally. How many times do we say things that if taken literally seem quite unusual. For instance: Heads up, flying off the handle, off the top of my head, on my shirtsleeve, camera ready, top secret, underground, ballistic, choked up, on the edge, loose canon, pushing the envelope, anti freeze, etc.

Subtlety

You probably agree that the eyes can convey a world of meaning. The face too. But the eyes, as small as they are, are abundantly expressive all by themselves. How many emotions or thoughts can they convey? I don't know. I might ask the Timid Reporter. He has lots of experience in those things. Perhaps this girl is saying "I am in full control." If I ever met her, I certainly would not disagree. Just to be sure, I would question her too.

Timid Reporter

If you like to read, this is what your bathtub might look like. I always like to see inventiveness and this photo is inventive - a bathtub made of books. One could say this woman is immersed in her reading obsession. She is not reading one of the Timid Reporter's books - he hasn't written any. She is probably reading some crime novel which she cannot put down. There are hundreds of them.

First of 2011

Correspondents around the globe? We don't have any. We leave that to the big boys - The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The New Yorker, The Economist, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Miami Herald. We're here to make fun of them - the posturing, the pretense, the commercialism. PLEASE. The only correspondent we use is the Timid Reporter. That's enough for us and (besides) he's the only one we can afford - really. Even when he's not entirely sober, the man is as honest as the day is long. He may be timid, but he's not naive and he's not afraid. On top of that, he is so old (he'll be 234 in July - DOB=7/7/1777) he's the only correspondent in the world who can claim to have lived history, not just read about it in a book. Openly timid?  Yes.