Another Sign the Apocalypse is Near

For some reason, this incredible news story escaped my attention. Maybe because it was published on a day I had more important things to worry about...

The Telegraph published a story that began:
A vicar attended hospital with a potato stuck up his bottom - and claimed it got there after he fell on to the vegetable while naked.
The clergyman, in his 50s, told nurses he had been hanging curtains when he fell backwards on to his kitchen table.
He happened to be nude at the time of the mishap, said the vicar, who insisted he had not been playing a sex game.
The vicar had to undergo a delicate operation to extract the vegetable.

Breaking News

An update. Shocking and frightening news has come to light that the northern hemisphere is losing two minutes of sunlight every day, and if this crisis continues, we will be in total darkness by June or July. Frightening new information has surfaced from Daylight Change Research. The data indicates drastic changes to the environment that have already started. Many species of birds, millions of individual birds have left the northern hemisphere. The impact of the loss of these birds is unimaginable. Insect life has been severely affected. Most can no longer be observed. Large mammals have been observed lying in a state of near death torpor in their dens. Crop production has fallen to dangerously low levels, and the models and the research predict famine in the very near future. In addition, computer models did not project this, but actual eyewitness observation has shown that most, if not all, leaves have fallen off all trees in the researcher's hometown. Now, these and other effects of the loss of daylight demand our immediate attention if we are to prevent a climate catastrophe. Remember, total darkness and everything that would result from it by June or July if we cannot enact policies now that change this leakage. Al Gore should be made aware of this.

Yipee! I'm, Getting $8,000,000 and the FBI is Going to Help Me

I received this via email Saturday. I know it is true because it from the FBI. Just look at the return email from the FBI to confirm it is legit.

Date: Sat, December 27 2008 02:56:51 +0100 (GMT+01:00)
From: FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONS
Subject: FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FBI.WASHINGTON DC.

ROBERT MUELLER III
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FBI
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FBI.WASHINGTON DC.
Email: contact@fedbureauinvestigations.org
FBI SEEKING TO WIRETAP INTERNET

ATTENTION:

We believe this notification meets you in a very good present state of mind and health. We the Federal bureau of investigation (FBI) Washington, DC in conjunction with some other relevant Investigation Agencies here in the United states of America have recently been informed through our Global intelligence monitoring network that you presently have a transaction going on with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as regards to your over-due contract payment which was fully endorsed in your favor accordingly.

It might interest you to know that we have taken out time in screening through this project as stipulated on our protocol of operation and have finally confirmed that your contract payment is 100% genuine and hitch free from all facet and of which you have the lawful right to claim your fund without any further delay.Having said all this, we will further advise that you go ahead in dealing with the Central Bank office accordingly as we will be monitoring all their services with you as well as your correspondence at all level.

In addendum, also be informed that we recently had a meeting with the Executive Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, in the person of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo and Mr. Olanrewaju Yemi along with some of the top officials of the Ministry regarding your case and they made us to understand that your file has been held in abase depending on when you personally come for the claim. They also told us that the only problem they are facing right now is that some unscrupulous element are using this project as an avenue to scam innocent people off their hard earned money by impersonating the Executive Governor and the Central Bank office.

We were also made to understand that a lady with name Mrs. Joan C. Bailey from OHIO has already contacted them and also presented to them all the necessary documentations evidencing your claim purported to have been signed personally by you prior to the release of your contract fund valued at about US$8,000,000.00 (Eight million united states dollars), but the Central Bank office did the wise thing by insisting on hearing from you personally before the go ahead on wiring your fund to the Bank informations which was forwarded to them by the above named Lady so that was the main reason why they contacted us so as to assist them in making the investigations.

They further informed us that we should warn our dear citizens who must have been informed of the contract payment which was awarded to them from the Central Bank of Nigeria, to be very careful prior to this irregularities so that they don't fall victim to this ugly circumstance. And should in case you are already dealing with anybody or office claiming to be from the Central Bank of Nigeria, you are further advised to STOP further contact with them in your best interest and then contact immediately the real office of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) only with the below informations accordingly:

NAME: PROF. CHUKWUMA SOLUD O
MR. OLANREWAJU YEMI
OFFICE ADDRESS: Central Bank of Nigeria,
Central Business District,
Cadastral Zone, Abuja, Federal Capital
Territory, Nigeria.

Phone Number: +234-330-26412

Email: cbnpayroleoffice@gmail.com

NOTE:
In your best interest, any message that doesn't come from the above official email address should not be replied to and should be disregarded accordingly for security reasons. Meanwhile, we will advise that you contact the Central Bank office immediately with the above email address and request that they attend to you payment file as directed so as to enable you receive your contract fund accordingly.

Ensure you follow all their procedure as may be required by them as that will further help hasten up the whole procedures as regards to the transfer of your fund to you as designated. Also have in mind that the Central Bank of Nigeria equally have their own protocol of operation as stipulated on their banking terms, so delay could be very dangerous. Once again, we will advise that you contact them with the above email address and make sure you forward to them all the necessary informations which they may require from you prior to the release of your fund to you accordingly.

All modalities has already been worked out even before you were contacted and note that we will be monitoring all your dealings with them as you proceed so you don't have anything to worry about. All we require from you henceforth is an update so as to enable us be on track with you and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Without wasting much time, will want you to contact them immediately with the above email address so as to enable them attend to your case accordingly without any further delay as time is already running out.

Should in case you need any more informations in regards to this notification, feel free to get back to us so that we can brief you more as we are here to guide you during and after this project has been completely perfected and you have received your contract fund as stated.Thank you very much for your anticipated co-operation in advance as we earnestly await your urgent response to this matter.

Best Regards,
Robert S. Mueller III
Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C.
20535-0001, USA
Email: contact@fedbureauinvestigations.org

Died --VHS 1979 -2008

The beloved videotape format that bravely won the war against Betamax and charmed millions of Americans by allowing them to enjoy mindless Hollywood entertainment without leaving their homes -- has died at the age of 29. It passed away peacefully after a long illness caused by chronic technological insignificance, snowy screens and a lack of director's commentary tracks.

No one knows exactly when this once-valued objet de home entertainment began its journey toward that previously-viewed-video bin in the sky. Some say it was March 1997, when the slimmer, sexier DVD was introduced to American consumers. Others pin the time of death to the week of June 15, 2003, when DVD rentals first topped those of VHS. And there are some -- technophobic, time-warped souls who argue that VHS isn't deceased at all. It's just, well, resting its eyes.

VHS was maddening. No matter how many times we tried to fast-forward to a certain scene -- the moment when Leonardo DiCaprio sinks underwater in "Titanic," or the fava beans line in "The Silence of the Lambs" -- it never stopped exactly where we wanted. Inevitably, by the time we hit "play," Leo was already dead and Anthony Hopkins was already saying a breathy "Chianti."
And even in this age of DVD saturation, when you imagine someone watching porn, immediately you think: VHS. And recall that black-curtained corner of the video store that was marked "18 and Over Only," with its nervous-looking browsers.

Worshippers at Church of Free Market suffer crisis of faith

In this season of spiritual introspection, there are true believers suffering a real crisis of faith. They have been worshipping at the Church of the Free Market, and their doubts run deeper than stock brokers not answering prayers, or returning calls.

For decades, their prophets have preached economic markets function best when left to themselves, unfettered by government regulation or oversight.

Businesses, investors and traditional market forces would self-regulate, self-correct and self-enforce. Oops.

The collapse of the housing and stock markets trace their way back to decisions and choices made at the highest levels of government and commerce. The rest of us get swept along for the ride, both up and down, and suffer the consequences of hubris, incompetence and criminality.

To hear the humbled apostles for markets free of disclosure and rules begin to mumble about the need for government regulation is extraordinary. Still-tender bruises from a battered 401(k) make it hurt to laugh out loud.

Chief among the apostates is former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who humbly confessed his wonderment at mortgage-lending practices to a congressional committee:

"Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders' equity, myself included, are in a state of shocked disbelief."

He was reminded he had the authority to prevent the lending practices behind the subprime mortgage crisis — was advised to do so — and refused to act. Greenspan is contrite. Millions more are in foreclosure.

Help was available through a 1994 law called the Homeowner Equity Protection Act. The New York Times reports fewer than 1 percent of mortgages were subjected to the restrictions under the law.

Three years ago, a handful of regulators were waving red flags about hedge funds and credit derivatives. Lightly regulated exemptions from most rules, they placed enormous bets — literally — around the planet. Dense and esoteric, these trillion-dollar segments of the markets seemed pretty remote until ordinary mutual funds — yours and mine — began investing in them.

The effects of deregulation and unenforced regulation were cumulative. In 1994, the Financial Accounting Standards Board changed its rule that stock options must be treated as a company expense. We are living with the hyperventilation of executive compensation and inflation of stock values.

A year later, Congress limited the rights of investors to sue, let accounting firms off the hook in fraud cases and fudged reporting practices. In 1999, the repeal of lessons-learned regulations from the Depression fuzzed the lines between retail banking and investment banks.

Every opportunity to push the limit was taken, as allowed or ignored by law. Industry lobbyists on Washington, D.C.'s K Street had their back.

My favorite bit of apostasy revealed itself ever so quietly in a New York Times column by Ben Stein, a lawyer, writer, actor and economist. And cheerleader. For Stein, the resilient economy was always peachy keen!

Two weeks ago, reality set in for Stein. At the back of a column about fear and foolishness, he slipped in a hope that President-elect Barack Obama will put meaningful regulation in place — maybe even repeal the private securities law against suing companies. Oh, and maybe inspire a more vigilant Federal Reserve.

Dare I say, there has been an epiphany. People who understand the complexities and see the connections acknowledge how precarious economic conditions truly are.

Resistance to change usually means things are not bad enough yet. We are there.

Otherwise, we are left with the wisdom of a faux person-in-the-street interview from The Onion's satirical review of the 2008 economy:

"C'mon, I've seen this happen a thousand times. The stock market crashes, and then 20 years and a world war later, everything's fine."

The exclamation point on the arrogance of the times is the refusal by banks to tell regulators and taxpayers where billions in bailout money went.

Consider it a revelation of change to come

A Sign the Apocalypse is Near

Plastic Surgeon Drives Car on Liposuctioned Fat
A top Beverly Hills cosmetic surgeon says he used fat he removed from patients in liposuction operations to power his 'green' 4x4 car. U.S. authorities have launched an inquiry into claims made by Dr Alan Bittner that the fat he had sucked out of patients in liposuction operations was turned into biodiesel.

Cool Story about Cowboy Singer Will Dudley

I graduated from Western State College (back in the day) and stories like this still make me think of what a great school it still is. the link at the bottom of this article will allow you to listen to all of will's music.
Dudley Earns Cap and Gown for his BrotherLuke Mehall, Western State College of Colorado News

When asked what he is graduating in, Will Dudley joked, “A cap and a gown.” It is this sort of humor, among his other traits, that the 57 year old has won the hearts of his fellow students at Western State College. Dudley will graduate this Saturday with a degree in English.The motivation for his return to studies at such a late age was his younger brother, Jon Dublin, a U.S. Diplomat who died in Iraq in February 2006. Dudley, a Vietnam veteran himself, had always told his brother that he would one day return to school, to which his brother replied, “not in my lifetime.”“Well I guess he was right,” Dudley said. His upcoming graduation is a tribute to his brother.“To honor my brother means the world to me,” Dudley said. “I would not have done this if it wasn’t for him.”Dudley, a traveling musician, attended Belmont College in Nashville, Tenn., in the 80s but dropped out to tour with Tanya Tucker, a famous country music star. Other musicians that Dudley has worked with or has befriended include Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, and Charlie Daniels.After his brother died, Dudley enrolled at Adams State College in Alamosa, the closest school to Walsenburg, Colo., where he was living. His friends, Rod and Ryan Pringle, who own and operate the Waunita Hot Springs Ranch, enabled Dudley to move up to Gunnison. They offered him a free place to stay at the ranch while he completed his studies. Starting at Western in the fall of 2007, Dudley figured that he would be able to relate to his teachers, but not to the students, most of whom are half his age. But with his wit and involvement in campus and community activities, Dudley fit right in with his peers.“Will quickly became a favorite among students,” remarked Mark Todd, an English professor and Dudley’s adviser. “There has never been a sense of separation from them.” Todd says that Dudley’s popularity is due in part to his musical and lyrical talents, as well as his participation in extracurricular programming. Dudley is a popular act at the Gunnison Arts Center, and has performed there often over the last year and a half.Krista Ehasz, a senior at Western, remembered how Dudley was nervous at first about fitting in. But as she has gotten to know him through English classes, and extracurricular activities like Wordhorde open-mic nights and playing music together at the Folksong Coffeehouse, she now considers him a close friend. “What’s great about Will is that he recognizes the importance of passion,” she shared. “Will has taught me by example how to just live for what’s here.” Tiara Lopez, a junior at Western, shared that sentiment. “He has been a pleasure in my classes and always has something nice to say to me.”“That has been the biggest surprise to me that I have been accepted among the wonderful young people here,” Dudley said. Dudley notes that integrating into the world of computers was one of the major challenges that he faced. His last year and a half in Gunnison was also the first time he has stayed in one place in the last 20 years.In the midst of finals week, days away from graduation, Dudley isn’t quick to praise his efforts, or to say that his effort is complete. “I won’t believe it till it happens,” he reflected. He added that he is extremely thankful for the students and teachers at Western and for the Pringle family.“We’ve all taken away a lot from getting to know Will,” Ehasz shared. “He could be anywhere in the world right now making music and traveling and he chose to ride it out at Western. We all could learn something from the heart and determination he brings with that.” “I for one will be sorry to see him graduate,” Todd added. “I hope he continues to think as fondly of us as we do of him. It’s rare to have an alum who has already made his mark as opposed to preparing to make that mark. We can already call him one of our famous alums – just as soon as he walks across that stage to get his diploma at Commencement.”More about Will Dudley and his music can be found at http://www.willdudley.com/

Caroline, Thanks, But No Thanks

Caroline, it is not a birthright.
For people of a certain age, learning that Caroline Kennedy is 51 years old is a bit jarring. The daughter of a slain president and storied family has lived a full, busy life out of the public eye for the past 45 years.
Her sudden interest in the soon-to-be-vacant U.S. Senate seat from New York is also mildly disconcerting. The upper chamber of Congress is not the old House of Lords, with a hereditary right to office. Coincidently, she is seeking the job via appointment, how the reformed House of Lords fills vacancies.
Kennedy's pursuit of the Senate post seems as much an homage to her ailing uncle as any obvious personal interest in politics. Sen. Edward Kennedy, stricken with brain cancer, has represented Massachusetts since 1962.
Elective office defines the family, to be sure. Another uncle, Robert, was New York's senator at the time of his assassination on the 1968 presidential campaign trail. She has a cousin in the House of Representatives.
She chose a different path, away from the spotlight. She focused on raising a family and working behind the scenes in philanthropy, all with good results. As a political figure, she is essentially unknown.
Kennedy seeks to replace Hillary Clinton, who was chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to be secretary of state. Clinton ran for election to the Senate in 2000 and won re-election in 2006. Early, she strained a bit to make connections, but she made her case out on the stump.
The campaign for this race boils down to convincing one voter, Gov. David Paterson. Whomever is appointed by the governor would run in 2010 to fill out the term, and again for re-election when the seat up in 2012.
The list of political aspirants for the appointment is long, experienced and worthy of consideration, and includes women who have represented New York in the House.
Kennedy has politics in her genes, but she lacks a civic résumé of her own. She should build one. She should burnish her talents on the public's business, and then let the voters decide if the dynasty continues.

Playing Field Isn't Even for Justice in the U.S.

Let there be no doubt: There are two systems of justice in America.

If you don’t think so, consider this:

Some dopey teenager breaks in to several homes and businesses - let’s say three or four dozen places over a period of several weeks. The area of town he has targeted is on high alert, because he is hitting two or three locations every night.

So far, he has burglarized only wealthy residents and businesses with a lot of cash on hand, and his haul is approaching $1 million in jewelry, cash and valuable items, from computers to heirlooms. Finally he is caught and eventually sentenced to eighteen years in prison.

Then there’s a New York “investment banker” who, through a series of chain-reaction transactions known as a “Ponzi” scheme, steals from the rich and gives to the rich, keeping a huge fortune of the money for himself.

One of his problems, after many years of working his con, is that he is giving away more and keeping more than he is taking in. After awhile he is taking in far, far less than he is expected to give out.

In the end, he’s out of cash, but he owes his “investors” about $50 billion that he doesn’t have.

His trick, as illegal as the routine of the kid who burglarized buildings, was to lie to his clients, take their money, dish out lucrative returns, all by giving new investors’ money to previous investors, until there was not enough coming in to pay out.

Meanwhile, he was stealing hundreds of millions from the fund for himself.

The dopey kid stole $1 million, and he gets eight years in prison. The slick New York investor stole $50 billion - 50,000 times as much money - and is facing two years in prison.

If that doesn’t convince you that there are two systems of justice - one for the wealthy and one for the rest of us - consider this:

If the victims of the burglar can’t get their possessions back, they can only recover from their insurance companies.

But, it turns out, the victims of the New York investor might be bailed out by American taxpayers.

That’s right - they appear to qualify for a bailout, up to the tune of millions and millions each.

If you or I had been swindled by a bank or by a stockbroker, our accounts would be insured up to $250,000 by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The New York investment genius, Bernard Madoff, made his services available only to a small circle of wealthy friends. You and I could play the stock market, but Madoff’s customers had a greased path to riches - because they were rich.

And, just because they were rich and trading in millions while we were average folks trading in hundreds, they enjoy unlimited taxpayer protection and the victims of the burglar are protected to the limits of their private insurance policy.

Now convince me there aren’t two system of justice.

How does this apply to people like Al Gore, the biggest hypocrite of our times?

Not only does Gore preach to the rest of us to buy electric cars and solar-heated homes to save energy, while he jets around spewing pollution out of his private jets’ exhausts, he is heavily engaged in hedge funds of the kind Madoff’s friends were attracted to.

He spent the better part of two years working at a hedge fund, saying he wanted to learn how they operate and apply that knowledge to helping the poor.

Four years later, he has shared no information that he learned on the job. He has not come up with any innovative way to help the poor.

All he has done is take what he learned to start his own businesses, built on the myth and scare of global warming, and encouraged others to put their money in his bottomless pit.

The next big economic scandal is coming - and it is green.

I finally got my Christmas lights up

Use Our Knack for Innovation to Get Us Out of the Fiscal Doldrums

Most Americans are despondent about our economic mess. But if we pull back and try to rise above the clouds, there are real reasons for hope.
The combination of a new administration headed to the White House, along with our country's established leadership in innovation, has us standing at the crest of a trail that could ensure we never enter this chasm again. Let's get back on our feet and remember what we are made of.
America is the world's leading innovator in medicine, energy, information technology and almost every discipline. Our research, patents, startups and venture capital all show a country driven to innovate, to create and to dream the big dream for a better future.
United States' innovation drives our everyday lives. The light bulb. The transistor. The PC. The Internet. The human genome. An innovator's spirit cannot be doused by a few rain showers, and thrives on adversity. We are amazed by modern daydreamers and historic visionaries, including Thomas Edison, Jonas Salk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and others. They, like most Americans, possessed an innate disrespect for the status quo. They defied conventional wisdom and created new industries.
America succeeds where others fail because we value creativity over conformity. We respect the hope and naiveté of the young, because sometimes they are right. We seek risk, because it makes us stretch and break new ground. We support a free market for all good ideas and welcome the best and brightest from distant shores.
We learn from failure and don't punish it automatically, but we do not tolerate poor performance either. We reward the risk-takers.
Try that in Germany or Japan or China.
We must stay on the trail of innovation in spite of adversity. Be aware that the trail is prone to mudslides, flooding and more. We can allow our science and education system to continue to slide. We can cease to be the beacon in the world for the best ideas and people. We can accidentally suppress our innovation machine with overregulation and bureaucracy. We can try to protect what we have instead of embracing the challenges of a global economy.
If we slip off the trail, the America we each have been blessed enough to grow up in will die. Our productivity will fall. Foreign powers will dominate our economy.
But now we have a window of opportunity to implement energy independence, protect our homeland and create better health care. This is the moment in time to use our strengths to solve our own problems. Let's harness innovation to solve the world's woes, create jobs and stay competitive.
President-elect Barack Obama has it right. Stabilize the financial markets and economy, and then focus on solving the energy emergency. Then move to disease detection and prevention, and to the fundamentals of education and research. He is standing at the crest of the trail, ready to lead us.
Obama must rally the American innovation culture and must define the challenges. He must harness the patriotic spirit and get Americans to ask themselves how they can help, just like Kennedy articulated in his vision to reach into space.
We need to depend on ourselves for our energy solutions. We must attract the best scientists and entrepreneurs. Give government managers and universities freedom and incentives to take risks. Enlist private sector to help set the goals and execute the plan and create "green" jobs.
Let's double basic science funding to fuel the engine of innovation. We should take steps to reward, not tax, the risk takers who solve our problems. Let's appoint a chief technology officer for the United States who can make sure the bureaucracy does not get in the way of real solutions.
We must restore global confidence in American economic leadership, and reach out to the best and the brightest who want to innovate here on our shores. Let innovation become our olive branch to restore the world's respect. We will lead the world by offering solutions to the major problems of our day — energy, homeland security and disease prevention.
Let's keep on the trail of innovation. Let's take this adversity as a challenge, as our forefathers did. Let's use our strengths to seize the moment and create unprecedented change. At the end of that trail is an economically recharged America that is cleaner, healthier and stronger.

Great Headline! The Editor Should be Proud

Great headline in today's Santa Fe New Mexican:
"Man accused of break-in, poking estranged wife's pies"

Wasn't there a scene in the movie American Pie where this event was reenacted?

Movie Review: Cadillac Records

So apparently, Chuck Berry did not get his sound from hearing Marty McFly sub in on guitar for Berry's injured cousin Marvin at the Nov. 12, 1955, "Enchantment Under the Sea Dance" in Hill Valley, Calif. And apparently the birth of rock 'n roll has nothing to do with a time-traveling DeLorean, but instead with multiple vintage Cadillacs.
I know. I, too, am confused and frightened. Damn you, Back to the Future. I trusted you. But thank you, Cadillac Records, for setting me straight.
Sometimes what it takes is a Chess Records ensemble-biopic origin myth, a tale of the momentous, messed-up musical family assembled by Leonard Chess, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Willie Dixon, among others, on the south side of Chicago halfway through the last century. And that's just what writer-director Darnell Martin has provided.
Still, I must say, I want more. Especially with Mos Def playing Berry — a weird, inspired choice. It's true that he seems, well, nicer, than the actual man, but just look at him go: There's all that duck-walking showmanship, that unabashed appetite for women, that indignation at having his music ripped off by the Beach Boys — all brought across with subtle, irreverent hilarity. And Berry's not even the main character.
Nobody is, really, although Jeffrey Wright's Muddy Waters, a mesmerizing marvel of coiled reticence, gives the film its foundation. And Adrien Brody's Leonard Chess, a Polish-Jewish immigrant playing at being the boss of African-American artists in a segregated age — supporting them, exploiting them, supplying them with all those Cadillacs — is its compass. There's also Columbus Short's potently brash and self-destructive Little Walter; Eamonn Walker's commandingly ferocious Howlin' Wolf; executive producer Beyoncé Knowles' bewitching if Beyoncé-esque Etta James; and Cedric the Entertainer's highly appealing if sometimes overcooked Willie Dixon.
Near the end, Dixon says, "We made the kind of music that can grow into anything," because it is he who has the unfortunate task of summary narration. And I only say unfortunate because there has to be so much summary, and we all know that narrative abbreviations compromise authenticity.
So what if Cadillac Records had been a miniseries instead of a movie? And I don't mean just some lame knockoff with third-rate talent wiling away the off hours on an obscure cable network. No, I'm talking about a full-blown arrangement, with commensurate budget and production values, the same phenomenal cast, free-range rights to all the essential music (well, this is a fantasy, after all), and the liberty to really get into it — to vamp and shred and call and respond.
Then it might feel like a proper epic. Then those main players might get the solo time they all deserve — something more than the standard movie-bio highlight moments of inspiration, opportunity, fortune, misfortune, drugs, sex, vanity, violence and tragic too-early death — and the absentees might even take the stage as well.
Cadillac Records is rousing, but it feels hurried and confined as a film. What we need is a sense of space, and of time. Can we get one of those Cadillacs with a flux capacitor?

Good News

Breaking News

JPMorgan Chase laying off 3,400 in WaMu's Seattle offices
JPMorgan Chase is laying off 3,400 people in WaMu's Seattle offices, about 80 percent of the people who work for the thrift there.

I am afraid that this may only be the tip of the iceberg. President-elect Obama states one of his first acts will be the creation 2,500,000 more jobs for Americans. He will need to talk with the ghost of FDR his first night in the Whitehouse and learn what the New Deal was all about and how to put that many people to work. I hope President Roosevelt did not trademark the terms WPA, CCC, CWA, PWA, FERA and others because Mr. Obama is going to need them.