The New "Good"
I have mentioned the mortgage document issues facing the banks right now. I have to say the story is picking up steam, but I have already explained how it will end. What I wanted to talk about is how this is seen in the "new" economy.
On the local news I heard the "Breaking News" music and the announcer came on and noted that Bank of America is suspending foreclosures in Massachusetts. Ok, it is news but get the commentary (from memory, no transcript yet):
"Good news for Bay Staters facing foreclosure!"
Great news! BAC is in trouble and you get more time to live for free!
This is the new economy where handouts and lucky breaks make progress. Wow.
Questions
Well I had planned a post based on reader supplied questions, but I had almost none at all! I was surprised because I would have submitted quite a few if a blogger I read had this option open. Maybe you all have no questions you would want to ask me, or maybe you don't really want to hear my answers. Either way my post is shot. I have one set of questions from reader Watchtower that I will cover.
Question: What do you think is the US's 'Debt Chandrasekhar Limit' and when will we hit it? What has kept us from imploding so far?
Of course Watchtower is referencing one of my all time favorite posts:
Does the United States Have a Debt Chandrasekhar Limit?
So what do I think? I have to admit I have been as wrong as can be about this. I thought that all the games and all the QE would have caused serious stress in our system by now, yet the opposite is true! I thought 13 trillion was too high a deficit, but going by the (rigged) bond market I have no reason to believe that 26 Trillion would be harmful. How could it?
When I was younger I was more of a hyperinflationista. Over time I have come to accept that there may well be nothing anyone can do about the US making things go the way we want. I am shocked really, but that is what reality is telling me.
So my answer is, I have no idea. Let me say we will not hit 20 Trillion (yearly deficit) so we won't hit a limit. What has kept us from imploding? The reserve currency, the biggest military in the world, and the pickle the world is in financially that requires them to take whatever comes so US consumers can keep buying their crap. I have really changed my thinking on this over time. As I have written before, the monkey in the wrench is this will work as long as hard assets and real money (not notional book keeping money) are not needed, say in a large war, major famine, or multi country default. It would take something that big. I am shocked.
Good write up here by Econophile about why hyperinflation is not coming to the US.
I added this at 7:09 on a late entry from reader Scharfy.
Question: Why is boxing no longer a dominant sport in America? Dempsey used fight in front of 100k. Cultural reasons? Love ur take on that.
Very interesting question. I am a little late and I can expand on this plenty via email if you like but I think it comes down to two things:
-Lack of great fighters. In the 1980's people griped that ALL we had was Hagler, Hearns, Duran, Leonard, and Arguello. WOW! After Mike Tyson lost to Buster Douglas and Douglas got fat and got killed by Holyfield boxing entered a terminal decline due to...
-No young person boxes and thus the fighters are terrible. Boxing is too hard, too painful, and too long a road for the get rich quick crowd of today. MMA is huge right now and I respect those guys, but it is not art.
These two factors killed boxing in my opinion. There is way more to it though, bad decisions, boring personalities, etc. Let me know and we can talk further, you know I love boxing.
Freaks Without Leashes Friday
Ok, I guess nothing left to do but get the show started.
Seeing Stuff is More Fun
Cue the visuals!
This sums up Friday night at EconomicDisconnect, no?:
see more Lolcats and funny pictures
Nice.
"You got like three feet of air that time" (obscure reference):
see more funny videos
FAIL or WIN? What do you say?
Potassium Chlorate (heated) + Gummy Bear = AWESOME!
Better than the crappy mentos in soda stuff.
Film Clips
Filmage, it's whats for dinner.
New twist tonight, the following are movies you SHOULD NOT see or if you have, I feel your pain.
If you have not seen "Killer Clowns from Outer Space" you are better off:
I have seen it. 5 times.
"Can't Buy Me Love" was a really wonderful film, right up to the big speech at the end that was so stupid with the clapping it ended the John Hughes like film era forever (skip to 2:20 mark):
Ugh.
James Spader could not save the film "Tuff Turf" though Kim Richards (call me dear!) having eye intercourse on a piano almost pulled it out:
Still a bad film. Ok, maybe I am lying, here is the trailer and now I am going to buy it.
Rock Blogging
"Is this what they paid for? This is what they want!"
-Jimmy Conners on the verge of winning the sickest 5 set comeback against Aaron Krickstein at the US Open.
Hey, at least this site if free and there are no ads which are driving me nuts! If Clusterstock (Business Insider) and The Big Picture don't shit can the monster pop up ads I am going to remove them from the blogroll. Quit it already. Anyways, away we go....
Lurker requested Al Stewart's "Time Passages" and when I checked it I was iffy, but after a couple of listens, I like it:
Different tune, but it works.
My longest term blog reader and valued contributor Watchtower wanted Triumph and "Magic Power". Any and all I can do my man, and live as well!:
I like it! Watchtower, I would love to know how you first found my blog years ago! Use the gmail at the left or if you don't mind, share it with the readers in the comments. I do so appreciate your kind words and input over the years!
More magic? A Big Steel Keg brother in arms suggested Steppenwolf and "Magic Carpet Ride" and so I dug up an old TV performance in black and white!:
Fun stuff!
Ok, lets get deep. To me the greatest bands have great tunes, but when they go live they become almost legend. Plenty of idiots would kill to see Beyonce in concert, but only to say they were there and tweet it or some other crap. I would kill to see a vintage Ozzy, Sabbath, or AC/DC live just to feel the thunder in my chest and know what pure inspiration can feel like. Huge difference and I fear the new generation do things more to be seen and talk about than experience for themselves only. There is a HUGE difference there that will rear an ugly head later.
Anyways, we want a robot themed tune? Hells yes! Here is a wicked live version of "Who Made Who" by AC/DC which was featured in the film "Maximum Overdrive", you know the one when machines kill us all?:
NASTY!
Only 6 tonight (running late!) so that means 2 to go!
Well after all that build up, I need "Crazy Train" from the Tribute album via my main man Randy Rhoads:
I know, I play that a ton, but have you really listened to it?
Last call!
"Twilight is upon me and soon, night must fall. It is the way of things. The way of the force." - Yoda in ROTJ
What to choose, what to choose.
Let's get all crazy with Metallica and a live version of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" featuring maybe the best bassist ever, Cliff Burton:
Wow.
Have a good night.
7 comments:
From last post comments:
Thanks Dave! I love it when you let it rip! Thanks for stopping in.
"Watchtower, I would love to know how you first found my blog years ago!"
HousingPANIC
I read one of your comments there and thought you seemed pretty level headed.
But after 3 years of stopping by I know differently now...just kidding : )
Hey, thanks for the answer, it was also cool that someone else chipped in with their thoughts about it too.
I wish more people would give their input on subjects (without it degrading into a pissing match), and also that we would have more of these 'question' type of forums.
I'm late to the game and would be lying if I said that I have a handle on all of this stuff, asking questions would help a lot.
There is a saying (from the bible I think?) that goes something like this: "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" or something like that, anyway you get the point I'm sure.
Oh yeah, thanks for playing my request.
I read on the Youtube site that Triumph played that gig with rented equipment, they still seemed to perform well (although I'm no music critic).
I don't know how much musicians get attached to their own instruments, but if I had to shoot a pistol match with a weapon that I was not used to it would certainly throw me a curve ball.
Watchtower,
OMG, housing panic!
The days gone by!
I agree and I was very dissapointed about the lack of questions on the last post! Free discussion is so powerful after all.
I have no idea why you keep saying you are outside this, you have given so much over the years and offer great insight! You can have a guest post spot anytime.
It looks as if Ag closed above $22 an oz, does this mean it is still on track for a possible $24 an ounce high before a correction?
Any thoughts?
I agree with you about this generation being more of a cult of celebrity. But then it really has no choice, because rock and roll is dead.
It was a zeitgeist really that lasted for a short time. From my perspective, I would mark it from The Beatles' Revolver in 65 to Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell in 80. That's only 15 years, but all the best bands recorded their best albums in that time period.
And performed their best concerts. Anyone who saw Kiss in the late 70s knows what I'm talking about. That was a show.
The thing was that back in the day musicians were classically trained. Tony Iommi, for example, learned to play classical acoustic guitar before he invented what we call heavy metal.
Same for Keith Richards, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend, Brian May, all the great guitar players first learned from the masters, then took their art form to another level.
It truly was a "spirit of the times" more than anything else. I've often found it odd that the period between 65 and 80 was marked by polical turmoil, cultural and economic turbulence, but artistic, especially musical, creativity reached its zenith.
The old saying goes, genius skips a generation. That's where we are now.
"You got like three feet of air that time" (obscure reference
Napoleon Dynamite - Correct???
Watchtower,
I rolled up my stop on SLV to .50 cents under Friday's close. I think a near term pull back is in order and I am not giving anything back. Will have to see how this week pans out on the charts for another run up to $24. If I don't get stopped out I will let it ride.
Gawains,
Great comment.
Anon,
Yes you are correct!
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