“A bubble is how a child’s breath can make something beautiful…from nothing – just like God made the universe. Do bubbles have to break?”
Mr. Bubble passed away this last Tuesday evening, as announced from his Hamilton, NJ home by short-term corporate family associate and restructuring officer; Doug Booth. The official cause of death was a brief bout of bankruptcy, however, those who knew Mr. Bubble, attributed his demise to an agonizing and protracted struggle against avarice, after firstly suffering from a self-inflicted business roll-up some few years earlier. According to the bankruptcy obituary, Mr. Bubble is survived by three layers of debt; levereged, senior and junior, neither of which had anything left to speak of.
Had Mr. Bubble lived, he would have been 88, being born of the Lander family in 1920. Mr. Bubble’s father gained his reputation selling perfumes such as “Romantic Days” and “Samedi Soir.” Lander relinquished his prodigy several times before it was adopted by the Hermes Group, a private equity firm, in 2003, according to the perfunctory regulatory inquest.
Two years later, Lander was placed in another consumer-products home, and took in Mr. Bubble from Playtex in 2007 to reside with Coty’s “Healing Garden.” Final arrangements for the disposition of Mr. Bubble’s remains, if any, are being handled by the firm of Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin.
And so it goes, but begs the question – in business, is greed ever good? Greed, as opposed to what – honest competition, ambition and hard work? In my grief, I’m going to think about that, as I reflect on fond memories of growing up squeaky clean with Mr. Bubble. It’s just kind of sad, and likewise ironic, that the first business roll-ups to be done in the 1970′s were Mom and Pop funeral homes and neighborhood trash haulers. Tech bubble, stock market bubble, Don Ho and “Tiny Bubbles,” housing bubble – so long, Mr. Bubble…
YOUR MOTHER WON’T KNOW YOU (vintage commercial, and only 49 cents!)
Looking really brilliant in this picture, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on systemic risk and the financial markets. The U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve announced steps Sunday, July 13, 2008 to shore up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Woo-Hoo!
Follow the money? Forget about it – it’s gone. Yours, mine, Wall Street’s, the Bank’s – all gone. Nobody made a dime, and you should do a better job of keeping the part of the curb you are sleeping on cleaner. So many people greased their palms in this mortgage muck (and continue to do so) that it really should be considered, “Economic Stimulus Package I.” Hopefully, you used the tax rebate check from the sequel, son of a stimulus package, to help the Chinese via the Bank of Wal-Mart, rather than further feed the beasts (your mortgage).
Do you really need an explanation? OK fine. Watch Jimmy Stewart here doing a great Henry Paulson impression as he testifies before shareholders during the best bank run/failure there ever was:
Reader poll: “Which weighs more – Amy, or Amy’s hair?” Write us, we wanna know!
In the “is this even possible?” department, Amy Winehouse manages to stay in the news by taking a swing at a “fan,” (human, I suppose) yesterday during her performance at Glasto. If anybody knows what prompted the punch, they aren’t telling, so, let’s just say that of the 80,000 people in attendance, the dude seated front row center was in the right place at the wrong time.
Were it me (the human) I’d be shaking in my rumpled rehab robe. I mean, I have this mental trauma just thinking about being attacked by a 70 pound emphysematic crankster. I personally think Amy should get a gravity award for her ability to remain vertical under the weight of her coif and tattoo ink. Seriously, given her fragile state, and notwithstanding that Amy is a girl (I think), I’d certainly never return a jab, and, nor would I be so bold as to let my friends find about this.
Anyhow, kudos to quick action from the security boys, ensuring safety and freedom for the patrons to pursue other interests, like the concession stand, or voting in Zimbabwe.
~ Anemi
PS – We found it necessary to add this postscript, as a great many gentle readers are somewhat confused. The above photograph is indeed that of Amy Winehouse, not to be confused with the photograph that follows, which is of the fabulous Miss Elsa Lanchester; the original “Bride of Frankenstein” of film fame ~ 1935. Just goes to prove, whatever is old is new again, right, Igor?
Think things are bad in the USA? The head Russia’s Gazprom warned today that gas prices will double by 2009. If you don’t know, Gazprom is a state-controlled monopoly, is the largest gas company – in the world – and supplies 25% of all gas to Europe. Price disputes in the past have caused disruptions. Hmm, winter in Cabo is starting to sound pretty good. Bring your own towels, I do not do wash, heY!
“Many thousands of Americans losing their jobs, rendering families as statistics while they are evicted from their homes. Many find themselves without shelter and nowhere to turn but charities and the promise of government aid.” ~ December, 1929.
“WELCOME TO THE OCCUPATION” R.E.M.
LYRICS:
(Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)
Hang your collar up inside
Hang your dollar on me
Listen to the water still
Listen to the causeway
You are mad and educated
Primitive and wild
Welcome to the occupation
Here we stand and here we fight
All your fallen heroes
Held and dyed and skinned alive
Listen to the Congress fire
Offering the educated
Primitive and loyal
Welcome to the occupation
Hang your collar up inside
Hang your freedom higher
Listen to the buyer still
Listen to the Congress
Where we propagate confusion
Primitive and wild
Fire on the hemisphere below
Sugar cane and coffee cup
Copper, steel and cattle
An annotated history
The forest for the fire
Where we open up the floodgates
Freedom reigns supreme
Fire on the hemisphere below
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
Listen to me
It seems like every time somebody comes along with “the next big thing,” I think…”junk,” and say so, and then they wind up making zillions of bucks. So, do yourself a favor, short my sentiments here, and go glam on to as much stock in this as you can squeeze into your IRA, mattress, whichever you have left.
In yet another attempt to stick it’s fingers in the money goo, Google not long ago teamed-up with fueling system supplier Gilbarto Veeder-Root to equip Internet-enabled gas pumps with the Applause Media System, featuring Google Maps. The setup is supposed to, among other things, allow lost motorists to find themselves, hungry road warriors to feed themselves (and save money doing it with printable coupons), and sleep depraved drivers to scroll around a local map in search for a cot, and free HBO.
What’s wrong with this picture? Well, the top one is just fine, with my edits. But the unedited version, just above, and this whole idea – here’s my take.
Firstly, with gas over $4.00/gallon, you’ve got more money than sense than to be driving, let alone plan a trip without knowing where the best gas prices can be found. OK, excuse – you were in a hurry when you left, and now the battery in your Blackberry is dead. What’s to stop you from pulling up to this web-pump and surfing over to GasBuddy just to make sure Omar inside there is not gouging you, when gas can be had at three-cents cheaper across the street? No foul here, I mean everybody will tell you there is no money to be made at gas pumps, they are merely loss-leaders to get you inside to buy a pack of “square-nabs,” that’s where the real money is.
I guess on a practical level, if your Blackberry truly is dead and you are wayward, this “innovation” could be a godsend. Getting lost out there is brutal. Nobody knows where they are. It’s like, they know they will not get, nor keep, a job at a gas/convenience store unless they act directionally challenged. It’s a rule, printed in the 7-11 employee handbook. It might even be an Arabian sub-terror plot to keep you lost to buy more of their gas.
Talk about frustration and possible road rage, ever get this – “Hmm, I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never heard of I-40, sorry. Bubba might know, but he’s on dinner break.” You get so upset, you wind up buying gas or “square-nabs” just to calm the nerves. Stupid? It works. They get the sale.
Another reason this thing is just plain dumb relates to patience, or our lack thereof. Waiting in line for anything just plain sucks. We are talking silent wishes for a drive-by shooting of the idiot in front of you with nothing better to do than Google for directions to the best route to discover the “World’s Largest Pecan.”
Maybe though, after a tough day on the thirsty trail, you decide to print out and use that gratuitous 5%-off coupon at the Motel 6, and kick back with the free in-room color TV. Maybe then you’ll have a greater grasp of the local 7:00 “action” news blurting, “Elderly couple flattened at local gas station, right after a word from our sponsor; Google.”
“Breaker-Breaker, good buddy. Howzit lookin’ over your donkey?”
Yeah, gas prices hurt. Check out these peeps fuming in line for the “crisis” at 81 cents/gallon. If you were rich, before you could even get to the “square-nabs,” you might have passed the time untangling the tape in your eight-track installed by your bro’inlaw, or rappin’ on the CB radio. “What’s a Blackberry, Internet…huh?” Some things are a bit better, I suppose.
You know the economy is bad when nothing, and I mean NOTHING is going on in Hollywood worthy of reporting. What to do when you need a story, and can’t even find a Yorkie to kick down Rodeo Drive? Hmm. GOT IT! What say we check in with Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband, Frederic, and catch a glow of what he’s been up to, what fun, heY!
But first, up for a bit of sport? How about a multiple choice quiz, I’ll call it Truth or Dare Paparazzi, where you, are the Photog, and your mission is to get a pic of Zsa Zsa Gabor. (Told you things were slow). As with anything worth doing, this is not going to be easy, and there is a “price” to be paid. So, to get the winning shot, which are you more willing to endure?
a) Getting a rep for hanging around Beverly Hills street corners and snapping pics of old people.
b) Getting a fat lip from an old person who thinks he’s a younger man and an old monarch for hanging around Beverly Hills street corners and snapping pics of old people.
c) Wasting three years by suing an old person who thinks he’s a younger man and an old monarch for giving you a fat lip for hanging around Beverly Hills street corners and snapping pics of old people.
d) Gah, I dunno, all of the above.
I know, tough choices, but, this is Hollywood, land of “Greed is Good,” so take answer “d”, be safe and go for it all.
This is exactly what photographer Dirk Smeten, age unknown, did, saying he worried he would be killed when Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband slugged him in the face three years ago on a Beverly Hills street corner.
In his legal complaint, Dirk claimed Frederic von “Ask Him” (Gabor’s husband) aged apx. 75, was in the vicinity and began punching him about the lips while Smeten photographed him and/or Zsa Zsa Gabor, aged apx. 92, in May 2005. According to the complaint, the blow(s) caused Smeten to fall down in suffering with lip lacerations, cuts to his face, swelling, pain, high blood pressure, headaches and stress symptoms, to which Smeten continues to this day to get psychiatric care.
Herr von “All Sprechen” said he initially wanted to give Smeten about twenty large for busting on his chops, but Smeten opted for the long court road home in search of $137,000. On Friday, the court awarded Dirk $4,510, about right I’d say, after three years of negative economic adjustments.
A search for Smeten for comment turned out to be fruitless, however, von “Au Lait” was sited in West Hollywood savoring a Starbucks and sucking a stogie, and graciously consented to the following interview:
PS: There is an awful lot of this stuff rearing its ___(s) (pick whichever body part you delight to complete descriptive) on the WWW as of late – again. I dunno, it seems whenever the world’s economy gets stuck, or there are mindless, ceaseless wars, its deja vu with all this conspiracy talk. For me, it’s human nature to want to blame somebody else for problems, but re-hashing the same tired arguments is – tired. Now I love a good conspiracy story, and often they make compelling page-turners, but debates are always won on facts. Making the rounds once again thanks to the “illumaniti,” as it has since World War II, is this preponderance of evidence that the world’s wealthiest families, e.g.; Rockefellers, Rothchilds, Warburgs, DuPonts, Easys, etc., form this secret-private coalition/cartel with designs to control banks, soverign nations, oceans, whatever. These stories have made many an author rich, famous, and infamous. To the latter, I refer to that great poet and visionary pioneer of the “modernist” movement, from Hailey, Idaho; the late Ezra Pound. Fascinating guy, became an on-air radio Nazi propagandist and Mussolini sympathiser whilst living in Europe, turned himself in in 1945 for treason against the United States, had what appeared to some as a nervous breakdown, plead insanity at his trial (treason is supposed to be a capital offense) and spent 13 years in a mental facility; St. Elizabeths in Washington, DC. Following his release, he declared “America is a lunatic asylum,” and motored back to his favored Italy, where he died in 1972.Sad, but it is noted, some of his best work ensued during this, his “blue period” hospital days, leading many to question his “insanity.” Pound, among other things, knew how to tell and sell a story, and favoured grand conspiracies. Among the better tales, was that of the history of the United States Federal Reserve and how the wealthy of the world conspired to control the banking system and start World War’s I and II for personal profit. Whilst a mental patient, Pound was permitted a few privileges, including a personal researcher; Mr. Eustace Mullins of Roanoke, Virginia, who had been fired by the Library of Congress, to assist with Pound’s literary career. Pound commissioned Mullins to write the story, cautioning care to “tell it like a detective story.” The book; “Secrets of the Federal Reserve,” was the product, and has been re-written in subsequent books by others many times since. All decent and compelling page turners, all frought with inaccuracies and historical mis-statements of facts, all bunk. Read them if you have time and desire, I’ve read them all, and will even loan you my copies, if needed (borrowed from somebody else, heY!). Alas, all the doods from the “modernist” movement are now dead and gone; Yeats, Sandburg, Hemmingway, etc., save one lone survivor; Eustace Mullins. Enjoy Mr. Mullins views of the world in the short interviews below. Today, Mullins serves on the editorial staff of the far-right Willis Carto’s “American Free Press” and is a contributing editor to the “Barnes Review.” A word of caution to those who care about men suffering obviously from “Oldtimers,” – Mullins, as you will see, is, like many of his peers, a devout anti-semite. Sigh. Lastly, believe whatever you want to believe, I say. Can’t live your life in the baby seat. Just, be careful.
At the papal Mass at Washington, D.C.’s Nationals Park this morning, 46,000 were in attendance, and to partake of Holy Communion, including Senators John Kerry, Chris Dodd, and Ted Kennedy.
Kennedy, a Catholic, conspicuously remained seated as his row was called for Communion, whilst Senate brethren Kerry and Todd showed no reservation.
“Blasphemy, Sacrilege!” Or…better, “Scandal – Kennedy loses taste for alcohol!”
Before anybody blows a Catechism, sorry, none of the above. Turns out, only Kennedy did the right (hmm) thing. Surprised? Read on…
Ranking authorities in the Vatican, and indeed the Pope himself, have insisted that pro-abortion politicians be denied Holy Communion. Kennedy, Kerry, and Dodd each hold public stances favoring abortion.
Francis Cardinal Arinze, the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, speaking at a Catholic family conference in Ohio last November confirmed that pro-abortion politicians must be denied communion. He referenced a 2004 letter on the subject sent by then-Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, who said that such politicians “must” be refused Communion.
Several prominent US bishops with the leading of now-retired Washington Cardinal Theodore McCarrick have refused to follow such direction from Rome.
Paris Hilton was not observed among the faithful, and Britney Spears was not contacted for comment.
”It’s not surprising… they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them…”
“Religion is a bulwark, a foundation when other things aren’t going well. That’s true in my own life.”
~ Senator Barack Obama – “The Bitter Speech,” San Fransisco, CA, 13 April, 2008.
First, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright thing didn’t work out so good, and now – the speech – another religious Obama-bomba. So, it should surprise nobody that Barack Obama would try to put some new clothes on the bitter beast by naming his “National Catholic Advisory Committee.”
“The Nomination Process Works In Mysterious Ways…”
I have no clue what role these esteemed people are supposed to play, but do note, according to the just published Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life,Catholics make up a whopping 24% of Americans over the (voting) age of 18. What a divine coincidence!
Since “things aren’t going well,” here is the “foundation” Obama is “clinging” to as advisors in all issues Catholic, I suppose:
The Obama Catholic Kitchen Cabinet:
National Co-Chairs -
Senator Bob Casey;
Representative Patrick Murphy (PA-08);
Former Congressman Tim Roemer, President of the Center for National Policy;
Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas;
Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia;
Tom Chabolla, Assistant to the President, Service Employees International Union;
Victoria Reggie Kennedy, President, Common Sense About Kids and Guns;
Sr. Jamie Phelps, O.P., Professor of Theology, Xavier University;
Sr. Catherine Pinkerton, Congregation of St. Joseph.
National Steering Committee -
Mary Jo Bane, Professor, Harvard Kennedy School;
Nicholas P. Cafardi, Catholic Author and Scholar, Pittsburgh, PA;
Lisa Cahill, Professor of Theology, Boston College;
M. Shawn Copeland, Associate Professor of Theology, Boston College;
Ron Cruz, Leadership Development Consultant, Burke, VA;
Sharon Daly, Social Justice Advocate, Knoxville, MD;
Richard Gaillardetz, Murray/Bacik Professor of Catholic Studies, University of Toledo;
Grant Gallicho, Associate Editor, Commonweal Magazine;
Sr. Margaret Gannon, IHM, Scranton, PA;
Don Guter, Judge Advocate General of the Navy (2000-2002); Rear Admiral, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Pittsburgh, PA;
Cathleen Kaveny, Professor of Law and Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame;
Jim Kesteloot, President and Executive Director, Chicago Lighthouse;
Vincent Miller, Associate Professor of Theology, Georgetown University.
“If misery loves company, misery has company enough.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
Ain’t it the truth, Thoreau. Remember when Rosie O’Donnell and Donald Trump got into their glam-slam-fest, with Rosie calling The Donald, “nothing more than a snake-oil salesman,” and Himself confusing us with legal jargon, “Rosie’s a loser. A real loser. I look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie.”
Hopefully, that fatuity is not clogging a court calendar someplace, but I could not help but notice my email in-box crammed with Trump spam pitching the latest course offering from Trump University – “Fast Track to Foreclosure Investing.” It’s bad. Really bad, and goes on to read:
The Time is Now to Profit from Foreclosure! A “Perfect Storm” of events has made investing in foreclosure properties better than ever – and now’s the time for you to profit…
WITH A SUB-PRIME LENDING CRISIS, Balloon payments coming to term, borrowers losing equity in high-value homes, and a home market turned upside down by recent events, there are right now literally thousands of under-valued properties–many in your area–ready to be purchased far below market value and sold high…
Ugh. I don’t want to fall prey to being called a “loser” by saying Donald Trump is a “snake-oil salesman,” so my advice is – go for it! I mean, if you’ve got kids bound for college, and want them to have a Wharton degree to write and sell just like Donald here, this might be the, “nice fat little Rosie” you’ve been looking for, hey!
Naive, I’m not. I realize opportunists have been exploiting the misery of others since long before Jesus wept, but, well, I’ll just leave it by saying, Donald Trump is not moving up any faster on my cocktail party guest list.
Anyhow, click that link above, or here, and take your pick of Trump University seminar locations in curiously, non-Trump branded motels and resorts across America, from San Diego to Hartford, and attend for free (I think). You’ll need to enroll on-line, which gets you a (I think) free DVD, and guaranteed Trump spam for life.
What is truly amazing to me, is that all this is coming from the same Donald that felt the need to create Trump Mortgage way back in April, 2006 and told us “Trump Mortgage is going to take better care of people than anyone in the mortgage industry ever has.” The company’s president, E. J. Ridings, of course, agreed, adding, “The housing boom has attracted a variety of people into this business, not all of them honest, I really believe that the public needs and wants a safe place to get a mortgage.” Ridings was subsequently evicted from the firm in humiliation for falsely documenting his employment with his, say, “sub-prime,” dis-honest resume. Trump Mortgage itself imploded this past summer with less than two years loan “seasoning.”
You know, if you are in a, not so long ago bankrupt, Trump Casino, it’s a safe bet to take that a former Trump Mortgage employee is now facing foreclosure, or is saving his miserable roof by teaching this brand of disaster capitalism at a seminar slithering near you soon! I wonder if Rosie is free for drinks this evening?
OK Google, very funny, April Fools, I know, but dang – if this were true, just imagine the increased subscriber base. If you have an internet email account with Google, perhaps you were, or were not greeted and fooled by today’s log-in screen, touting great new handy features, such as post dating and pick your own time stamps. For a second there, I was going to…oh, never mind.
The Peace Corps, asked this very question of “Miss” Lillian Carter when she decided to become a Peace Corps volunteer at the age of 68.
My theory is that her “service” was part of a grander “left wing conspiracy,” hatched many years ago by then diabolical Democratic Party operatives interested in feathering their own political nests at this very time in our lives. Think about it. Barack Obama’s father is Kenyan, you know, and Barack would have been a bitty baby at the time “Miss Lillian” joined the Corps., and she could have snatched the baby from a third world village and raised it in obscurity on a Georgia peanut farm, and so…
OK, the preceding is pure Anemi drivel, partly because it is April Fool’s day, and partly because I am getting a bit tired of peeps pulling out the “race card” as some form of safety net whenever things aren’t quite working out to their convenience. This goes for all people guilty of this lame fall-back, regardless of color, and for me – enuff said. It really would not surprise me to see the Clintonistas run with this notion – I guess we’ve seen worse, and surely more will follow.
Anyhow, I am giving some consideration to joining the Peace Corps, and got distracted (one of my better traits) by some historical stuff on their site, and this Lillian Carter info popped up. Born Bessie Lillian Gordy, better known as “Miss Lillian,” mother to U.S. President Jimmy Carter, did join the Peace Corps in 1966 when she was 68 years old. Barack Obama was born in 1961, so the picture above – well, it’s close enough, heY!
When Lillian Carter was making her decision, the Corps asked her to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. She was asked to explain why a well-off Southern widow, whose son was running for Governor of Georgia, was volunteering to serve dark-skinned people in stifling heat.
In her own words, Miss Lillian was just taking the Corps advertising campaign at face value—”age is no barrier.” Had she been 40 years younger, she would have been labeled a social activist. No one would have questioned her motives.
The results of the psychiatric evaluation were straightforward enough, and the Doctors said “Miss Lillian” was exorcising her demons of white guilt over Southern race relations. Nevertheless, she was sent to New Delhi, India and then on to a colony about 30 miles outside of Bombay, where she worked as a family planner and nurse in the local clinic for the next two years.
Following her tour, “Miss Lillian” often said her experience was worth 1000 times it’s weight in gold. However, this is from the same woman who said; “If I had known how my children were going to turn out, I would have remained a virgin.” As for me, well, OK then, Lillian. I’m off for a little more… “distraction,” heY!
