Whistle Louder

Three day weekend ahead! Perfect timing. The wife wants to see "The Fighter" this weekend. I guess I do too but as I grew up in Lowell I wonder how bad or good it will look? At least the scenery will be familiar! When I was into boxing, Mickey Ward would come to my gym and spar with the good fighters sometimes and I saw him often at the little store I used to work at.

Hate to Ruin the Good Time
I hate to ruin the good time everyone is having as of late, but the world is getting scary. I am not going to debate whether the economy is "good" or "bad" as it matters little at this point. Minds have been made up that devouring assets all of kinds is necessary at any price and the voracious appetite of speculation must be fed constantly so the fire does not go out. While seeing prices of stuff go parabolic is good if you own them (and hope to sell them to someone else) one should not totally be blind to what such behavior results in. I know every person in the world will "get out" at exactly the right moment. Certainly every blogger and financial writer will be out at the top and tell us all 6 months later. Count on it.

Today on Wikipedia (yes I know I have a problem!) I was reading about "The Dust Bowl". You can check it out at the link, but it was the pictures that jumped out at me and made me want to write this section. First, the pictures:


From Wiki:

The phenomenon was caused by severe drought coupled with decades of extensive farming without crop rotation, fallow fields, cover crops or other techniques to prevent erosion. Deep plowing of the virgin topsoil of the Great Plains had displaced the natural deep-rooted grasses that normally kept the soil in place and trapped moisture even during periods of drought and high winds.

I think that the gorging on stocks since the later 1990's into the Tech bust, followed by a renewed orgy of speculative fervor in the mid to later 2000's and now the unabashed gluttony of equity moonshots have damaged the underlying structure of the system. 3 bubbles in about 10 years (give or take) have stripped the business cycle of any power to allocate capital; now it is either ALL allocated or not at all with no regard to anything other than the action of motion.

In this sense the roots of the system are now gone. I get the feeling that as speculative fervor runs rampant (like locusts) devouring anything and everything it can, an economic Dust Bowl will be the result. Just a thought. Now go buy stocks!

Note: Readers may wonder why I write this as I have been trading stocks this year and that is 100% fair. Long time readers know where I stand on the macro level (remember macro?) and I would hope people understand the reasons why I have been a bit active in markets.

Rattling a Silver Bull
As a long time lover of silver, today has me unsettled and maybe a touch worried. How is this for a triple goocher:
-Margin requirement hike (to 50%)
-Options Expiration
-Gold not really moving while silver rolls
All three? In 10 years of watching silver I have seen one of these at times but not all three at once. We are in no man's land.

Friday Night Entertainment
Lifting spirits since 2007.

Real Science
In a classic science experiment, a hot lady wears a small camera on her behind to answer the question "Do men stare at women's butts?" The results are stunning I tell you (via Geekologie):

Best ones are when the guys are staring and their girlfriends are like "What's your problem!". Good stuff.

Bizarre
Had to be done, this is out there:

see more Very Demotivational
???

Film Clips
Nobody seems to like "Did You Know" so a shorter post tonight.

A "new classic" is "Road to Perdition". In a film with so many moving scenes, it is hard to pick one. From last weeks contest (which no one entered, you could have an ounce of silver right by now) here is 'I'm glad it's you':

Cannot be beat.

Maybe you have not seen "Capricorn One" but you should:

It's OJ!

Rock Blogging
Music for the masses.

Reader Gawains wanted to hear David Essex and "Rock On" and I do love the tune:


I think YouTube should be valued at over 200 Billion (beat ya Mr. Drogen) as the wonders never cease. How about some live Tears for Fears doing "Shout" live in 2006!:

I like it.

A kind of newer tune that I like is "Push" by Matchbox 20:


Great live performance of "Zombie" by The Cranberries:

Haunting.

Two songs left. First, intermission!

In response to Mark's Stag-E Coach idea and wagon wheels, I submit this:

That is soooooo old school you don't even know!

Ok, back to the last tunes.

Sick as all get out! In case Downtown Josh Brown stops by anymore, this is for you man! Live rock out show with Public Enemy and Anthrax doing "Bring the Noise":

That was so great I just don't know. In case that was too loud and fast, here is the studio version.

Last call! Get a girl, a beer and whatever else gets her going on Friday night!

Gotta go with the flow and stay all live shows!

I cannot pick so you all get two to close.

Bon Jovi and "Runaway" from way back in 1984:


As well as Poison with "Fallen Angel":

I may just love this Friday post best.

....Because I do, here is a bonus! Skid Row with "18 and Life" live of course:

Wow, love it.

Have a good night.

Special Bonus Post

A Saturday blog due to a great find today!

New Tool Now in Play
I have been impressed with iBankCoin's Chessnwine since starting to read him on a hat tip from Josh Brown of The Reformed Broker. After watching this guy make uncanny calls for months I wanted to learn a bit more about the PPT, a trading tool and screener based on their own program.

I signed up today and I am impressed already with everything the PPT can do. There is a TON of useful stuff there and it will take me a bit to figure it all out and do some testing before I start using it to support my own secret way of picking out positions. I think it is going to be fun. I will update in a while when I am ready to start getting to work.

College Band CD Find
The wife found a CD with songs from a band some members of my college program (biotechnology) had made way back in 1997-1998! I was so excited because I knew there was a particular song I used to love and I have not heard it in years!

The band was called Man Bites Back, which was funny. I have no musical ability so I was not involved, but some of my best college friends were in the band. They played all kinds of stuff and got to play local clubs in Lowell. They even scored a show at T.T. and the Bears in Cambridge! That was a wild time!

For a bunch of scientist hopefuls, they could really play! Here is my favorite song by the band titled "Ghetto Starlight". This song is about 1000% better in a live setting when the singer can really let it rip, but the recorded version is awesome as well. I spent about an hour figuring out how to put it on YouTube and so here it is:

"She took me by the hand on a rocket ride! Into the sky! And I don't know why!"

Thought I would share a great memory from the old days. I hope you like the song.

Have a good night.

Saturday Night Live

I have to say that Depeche Mode is amazing in live concert. The sound quality is unreal, and the energy the band puts out should be bottled and used as jet fuel. I had a great time! I am going to post a few small items, but not too much hard economics tonight. It is the weekend and i will jump into the entertainment.

GDP Numbers
Friday brought news that GDP only fell 1% in the second quarter, better than the never wrong estimates of -1.5%. Naturally this was seen as just aces, and all was rosy and fine. Zero Hedge has the best take down on the whole thing, and I would point you there. Final summation excerpt:

"..It is a sorry state where the only thing that is propping the world's greatest economy are promises of improvement and confidence games via the traditional media, with hopes of propping up a stock market which has long since ceased to be an indication of economic reality. The convergence between the S&P and the underlying fundamentals is, unfortunately for the administration, inevitable, especially since the government has now single-handedly taken over a key portion of major GDP output industries. Numerous empirical studies, especially from communist block countries, demonstrate just how "effective" the government is, when it decides to get directly involved in running a substantial portion of the economy."

Right on!

Clunker Cash Really Annoys Me
I thought I was about as disgusted as possible when the whole "mortgage modification" process started up. That level of sickness may have been surpassed by the "Cash for Clunkers" program which for some reason has really irked me to no end. A few random thoughts on this program:
-How desperate is the US government to be seen as doing something to help the economy? I mean in an hour they pass a 2 page proposal to restock the program after funding was projected to run out.
-How many cars and buyers really qualify for this? The $4500 is only good if your car is worth less than that, as you get no additional trade in value?
-A side angle I have not seen covered is that seeing that the government is behind this program 100% it is quite probable that banks will rush to make these car loans. Why do you ask? Because when anywhere from 10-30% of these car loans go bad the banks that made them can get the US government to pay them full price because it was their idea in the first place! Think of it as a pre-existing backstop.

Further reading on this topic can be found;
The Automatic Earth
"Its a good idea, but it's wrong"

Mish Shedlock win the "headline of truth award" with:
Free Money Runs Out, Congress Authorizes More

Saturday Night Entertainment
Some items for your amusement for the weekend.

Writing Sample
Recently at a lunch meeting with a good friend of this blogger, I was asked what I would like to do with my life, career, etc. While I imagine I will work in biotech for some time, I was really unprepared for the question. Since then I have tried to think about that more.

I love science, but I have been doing it for some time. I am somewhat limited on the upside because i would need higher degrees to get much further in my field, and I have zero interest in going to school again.

I think being an analyst for stock and market research would be great fun. I would be perfectly suited for pharmaceutical/biotech analysis. My attachment and study of the precious metals may be a good area too. I would never want to manage other people's money however! I am quite good enough at losing my own, no need to help others lose theirs!

When I think about it being a writer would be great. A have a story I have wanted to write since I was in 4th or 5th grade after I drew a sketch of a design I had thought up. The sketch is long lost, but the idea behind it is very wild (to me) and over time I have thought up a whole story around it. It has always been called "the device" in my mind. Life is so busy, I never get to follow through.

Anyways, at the concert last night I was struck by how moved I was by live music. I have not seen a live show in over 8 years! While I was listening to the music, the following words just popped into my head and I wanted to get them down someplace before I forget them. Please bear with my as I submit for your critique a small writing sample:

The drums.
The detail that struck out to me was how very different the drums sound in an open air arena. The sound cannot be matched through the channels of vinyl, tape, CD, or ipod. With every beat the drums came to life, a life of their own. Pumped through mega watt amplifiers, the stretched skin percussion pieces called out a sharp and declarative tone. I closed my eyes and could almost hear an undertow of joy as the drums were set loose upon the air, no longer muted and silenced by a recording that was played back. I even could sense a twinge of anger, anger at being restrained and having their message filtered. No, the drums were awake tonight, and they had plenty to say.

The guitar.
No longer just a sound on a track, the guitar is a muse that must be handled to produce magic. I could hear the hands of the player moving over the neck, I could hear the fingers tapping the frets. Touch a guitar just right, and it may respond with affection. And Respond it did. As each chord was played and sent aloft, it was as if the notes themselves wanted to stay and hear more. I looked skyward and for a moment I could see the aura of the chords as they floated up, but not out. The formed a sort of tapestry for the sounds played just moments before. It seemed as if they wanted an encore unto themselves. I clapped even harder to try and lend them some support.

Remember to be nice, I am very sensitive! And no I was not on any illegal substances!

Rock Blogging
An extended music section is now in order.

Here is the very song that inspired the written section above. Enjoy Depeche Mode and Personal Jesus:


Loyal reader Watchtower requested a song by Queen, Under Pressure, and even provided a link to a wonderful live performance of said song. Only truly great bands/performers can boast that their live shows are as good as or better than the studio albums. Queen, led by Freddie Mercury, clearly makes the cut. Makes my job easy, enjoy:


From the department of "I had no idea who sings this" I love the song Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot but I had no idea who the performer was:


I have featured Bett Midler's classic tune The Rose here before, but I did find a live performance of it that is no less moving and beautiful:


Another band I have seen live and can vouch for their great skill is Radiohead. Please enjoy a live version of Karma Police Super Sweet!:


You may have noticed the all live version theme, lets keep it up with L.A. Guns and Over the Edge, as song I have very recently begun to love:


Last Call!!!

I will close the show with one of the greatest live show bands ever, Iron Maiden. Few crowd energies can match a Maiden show. They will usually open with Aces High, and so we will close with their open:


Have a good night.