Monday links
Apr. 7th, 2008 03:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yendiWe did make it back late last night (and huge thanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
feste_sylvain for the ride home from the airport). Am very tired, naturally.
Weekend was fun. Friday was a family trip to see Wicked, which was absolutely delightful. Elayna's wearing the "Defy Gravity" shirt her grandpa bought her to school today.
Saturday involved haircuts, food, and more food. We also got to hang out withenderfem and chemokitty. Yay!
Sunday was the engagement party brunch itself, was was fun, if overwhelming. The future brother-in-law really is a nice guy, and it's good There was enough food to feed a small army, including a buffet that featured crab legs and smoked salmon. I did not need dinner last night, needless to say.
(Aside: Since a few have asked, no, there's no birthday celebration of any sort tomorrow. Parties are not my thing.)
The advantage of being away from LJ for so long is that tons of links pile up. Here are a few of the ones that are still relevant:
1. Charlton Heston died. He was always a fun actor, whatever else I might have thought of him at times. Gotta love In the Mouth of Madness.
2. Fact I did not know: Lawrence Block used to write lesbian porn.
3. The 10 most prophetic Sci-Fi movies ever. They left Sleeper, Demolition Man, and Star Trek 3 off the list, somehow.
4. The Angry Black Woman thanks white people (read the links at the beginning featuring Pat Buchanan's typically idiotic and bilious prose first).
5. The Violet Vault (the latest Phantom Mansion level) is out!
6. One great April Fool's joke I missed is the one at the French Laundry at Home blog.
7. I know I commented that I was not looking forward to seeing folks behind the utterly mediocre Two-and-a-half Men writing a CSI episode, but I have to admit that I'm getting psyched for it after reading this story.
8. There's a remake of Short Circuit on the way. I can only hope that Steve Guttenberg, Ally Sheedy, Fisher Stevens, and El Debarge can find times in their busy schedules to be involved.
9. Someday, JP Morgan and Chase will be in the exact same boat as Bear Stearns. And they will deserve it.
10. Finally, a good rundown of some basic law enforcement myths that continue to be spread by contemporary TV shows (although I can't honestly remember seeing a warning shot on a TV show in years).
feste_sylvain for the ride home from the airport). Am very tired, naturally.Weekend was fun. Friday was a family trip to see Wicked, which was absolutely delightful. Elayna's wearing the "Defy Gravity" shirt her grandpa bought her to school today.
Saturday involved haircuts, food, and more food. We also got to hang out with
enderfem and chemokitty. Yay!Sunday was the engagement party brunch itself, was was fun, if overwhelming. The future brother-in-law really is a nice guy, and it's good There was enough food to feed a small army, including a buffet that featured crab legs and smoked salmon. I did not need dinner last night, needless to say.
(Aside: Since a few have asked, no, there's no birthday celebration of any sort tomorrow. Parties are not my thing.)
The advantage of being away from LJ for so long is that tons of links pile up. Here are a few of the ones that are still relevant:
1. Charlton Heston died. He was always a fun actor, whatever else I might have thought of him at times. Gotta love In the Mouth of Madness.
2. Fact I did not know: Lawrence Block used to write lesbian porn.
3. The 10 most prophetic Sci-Fi movies ever. They left Sleeper, Demolition Man, and Star Trek 3 off the list, somehow.
4. The Angry Black Woman thanks white people (read the links at the beginning featuring Pat Buchanan's typically idiotic and bilious prose first).
5. The Violet Vault (the latest Phantom Mansion level) is out!
6. One great April Fool's joke I missed is the one at the French Laundry at Home blog.
7. I know I commented that I was not looking forward to seeing folks behind the utterly mediocre Two-and-a-half Men writing a CSI episode, but I have to admit that I'm getting psyched for it after reading this story.
8. There's a remake of Short Circuit on the way. I can only hope that Steve Guttenberg, Ally Sheedy, Fisher Stevens, and El Debarge can find times in their busy schedules to be involved.
9. Someday, JP Morgan and Chase will be in the exact same boat as Bear Stearns. And they will deserve it.
10. Finally, a good rundown of some basic law enforcement myths that continue to be spread by contemporary TV shows (although I can't honestly remember seeing a warning shot on a TV show in years).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-07 07:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-07 07:17 pm (UTC)(Translation: Thanks and fixed!)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-07 07:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-07 07:53 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-08 12:32 am (UTC)This bit made me ill:
On Sept. 4, 2003, as a new school year was starting, the board met again with DiCarlo, who said the district should sign the deal and the bank would give it $750,000. Board members asked DiCarlo how much the bank would make in fees.
DiCarlo said, ``Everybody has asked, and it's a reasonable question: What does JPMorgan, what do we get on this transaction? I can't quantify that to you,'' according to a transcript of the meeting.
If you ask someone, "What's in it for you?" and they can't quantify it for you, it's a bad deal. I'm not sure JP Morgan acted in bad faith here: In '03, there was little reason to suspect that U.S. housing problems were going to prove so much trouble for British Interbank rates. On the other hand, where's the one school board member to say, "If you can't quantify your advantage, I don't think we can make that deal."
9. Someday, JP Morgan and Chase will be in the exact same boat as Bear Stearns. And they will deserve it.
I suppose you're prepared to do your grocery shopping with beaver pelts? The reason Bear got a bailout goes right back to that derivatives problem. If Bear Stearns defaulted (the likely scenario had JP Morgan not offered to buy them, even at the firesale price they offered), the resulting disintegration of worldwide financial markets would have likely resulted in dumping of all those debt bonds we've been selling to China. Dollars would likely be worth more as a firestarter.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-08 05:07 pm (UTC)4. I'm glad someone responded to Buchanan's tripe. I read that column a week or so back and as a cracker I was embarrassed.
8. As Joel McHale said recently on "Talk Soup," I've seen so many Signs of the Apocalypse lately that I'm starting to think the Apocalypse isn't going to happen!
And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I know we aren't mutual friends so am putting this where you will see it.