Stock Market Up

I told you so. Today, the market is at 9325 and going up steadily. If you didn't buy at least 100,000 shares when I first advised you three weeks ago, it is a little late now. Sure, the market will continue to go up, but only a little at a time. The time was ripe when the market hit 8500. If you don't have a broker, go outside and look for the hemlines on ladies like the one on the left. That is the only sure indicator of where the market is headed. I told you so.

What bad economy???

I get out quite a bit. I see places - I hear stories - I read stories - I meet people. Every single day. From all accounts, the economy isn't doing well but I don't believe that at all and neither should you. Someone is trying to fool us. I see stores packed with customers. There are long lines everywhere. I see customers buying big ticket items. I see lots of people at banks - depositing big chunks of money. Every single day. I see that concerts with very expensive tickets get sold out. I see sporting events being filled to capacity. I see restaurants packed with people having a good time. Where is the bad economy the media is talking about???? NOT HERE, that's for sure.

Listen up

I have been advising my eight readers to buy stocks - 100,000 shares to start - as long as they are safe, conservative companies they're buying into. I also said the market has gone as low as it's going to go - 8500 - give or take. Today, the market went up by almost 900 points - 10%. Now, we continue to hear dire predictions about the housing sector. The housing sector will hit bottom in about three months. Some say it won't hit bottom for another year or more. I say no, no, no - three months max. Why does the media enjoy scaring people? Because FEAR sells. The lady at left proves the economy is about to right itself. Hemlines are a better indicator of the state of the economy than any ECONOMIST. Remember that.

Cheating

A book on Donald Trump is coming out soon or is already out. What do I know? Anyway, the book says something to the effect that Trump is not worth what he says he is - 1.5 billion (or thereabouts). According to reliable sources, Trump is worth closer to 100 million. He is still well off, but not a billionaire. Like the New York banks that went bust, we all thought they had so much liquidity and actually they were living from paycheck to paycheck. That's Donald Trump for you - somewhat of a farce. By the way, that's not Trump on the left - she's a movie star from I forget what era.

Paganini

Nicolo Paganini is probably the most famous violinist who ever lived. That's not him to the left, that's someone else. It doesn't matter. He would have liked her. Paganini is - to violinists - what Marco Polo is to explorers - what Einstein is to scientists - what Roosevelt is to politicians - what Frank Sinatra is to singers. Paganini was like a trapeze artist on the violin - working without a net. He was born on this day in 1782.

Hans Rosenfeld

No, that's not Hans Rosenfeld on the left - that's a movie star from another era. Anyway, as I was saying, Mr Rosenfeld had one of his ideas stolen by Hollywood bigshots - the idea for the movie ROBOTS. Remember that movie??? It wasn't just the idea itself - it was the entire script and the design for the robots. Imagine you talk to someone about an ingenious new invention. Next thing you know, they manufacture it and make lots of money and you're left standing there wondering how they could do this and get away with it.

Beauty

Is there such a thing as just posting a photo without a blog? Or is a blog necessary? Writing can be redundant if you have a picture that speaks for itself, no? On the other hand, if the picture needs to be explained, well, how else to explain it than with words? I cannot make up my mind about this one - does it need any explanation? I don't think so, even though this beautiful woman can probably not be identified by anyone.

Media Panic

The Dow sits at about 8500 as we speak. By how the media is portraying the market, you would think that the sky is falling. I have already said that 8500 is about the lowest that the market will sink. Yahoo! news is writing something about the Dow "plunging." Is 150 points a plunge???? Give me a break. I strongly suspect they exaggerate (HYPE) everything just to get people to read their news articles. How unprofessional - really!!!! They have become tabloids and nothing more. I don't think they want the economy to improve since they favor a certain candidate for office (the one who wants "change"). If you have any money at all, now is the time to buy - the market can only go up. Buy 100,000 shares of anything that looks conservative and safe and in six months you will be happy you didn't panic like everyone else. Of course, if you don't believe me, get a second opinion.

Stealing an idea

Flash of Genius is a new movie which depicts an injustice which is not unheard of. Big people are always trying to steal ideas and inventions from little people. Sometimes they succeed. Almost always they succeed. Little people have no weapons with which to fight the unfairness of large and powerful businesses or corporations. As a matter of fact, I have a friend that suffered the same fate as the guy in the movie. His name is Hans Rosenfeld.

Do you remember the movie "Robots?" It's a very nice movie. It was a hit, especially with children. It made a lot of money for Hollywood. The big thing is that there is something very sinister about Robots. Very sinister. Why? BECAUSE IT WAS STOLEN. If you saw Flash of Genius, about the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper, you know how easily that can happen. Robots was stolen. Just like that. History is full of fortunes that have been made on the backs of others - others who never received a dime for their inventions or intellectual property. Hans Rosenfeld is one such artist. 20th Century Fox stole his script for the movie Robots. Please help me correct this unjustice. We just might make history.

Money and Markets

Money and Markets has produced a free one-hour video which you (one of my eight readers) might be interested in, especially if you're looking forward to some day receiving payments from your 401K pension.

Here is what the banking experts behind Money and Markets say:
"We NAME NAMES — 198 of the big banks we believe are most likely to fail, the 197 strongest banks in America, and the most solid brokers as well ...
We give you the simple, step-by-step instructions for finding out how safe your bank is even if it's not one of the 395 named in the X-List report ...
And we give you the four crucial guidelines to follow when choosing a bank to trust with your money." There is, of course, tons of other useful financial information in the video. Buy stocks and plenty of them, but make sure you're investing conservatively. Do not worry about the stock market. It can only go up.

A Rose

Here's a picture of a movie star of a bygone era. Because her image is rendered in the style of the forties, she will not be familiar to my eight readers, though she acted in some well-known productions. Take a wild guess. There's no way you will be right. I was very surprised when the name was finally revealed. As they say, "a rose by any other name....

Transparency

Pay no attention to the markets. The markets will be just fine - I don't want to repeat myself so much. In less than a year, everyone will be better off. The adjustments will have washed away all the dirty financial grime. The thing you should be paying attention to is the proposal to eliminate cash as an instrument for barter. The Europeans no longer trust the U.S., even if they act like they do. Keep your eyes on the November meeting of the G20. Your credit card will be your new ID. All of this in the name of financial transparency. Get a second opinion if you feel the need.

Sell fast

If you live in one of these zip codes and are planning to sell your house, you're lucky. According to Business Week magazine, these are the fastest selling zip codes in the country - houses are averaging about 70 days on the market (compared to six months elsewhere): 94087 and 92131 (in California); 78749, 75075, and 77094 (in Texas); 97202 (in Oregon), 01880 (in Massachussetts); 98117 (in Washington); 80130 (in Colorado); and 30340 (in Georgia). According to Smart Money, the hardest hit states when the housing bubble burst were Nevada, Florida, California, and Arizona.

Acai Berries

Be careful with the ad for Acai Berries. It's a good deal if you're getting the bottle for shipping cost only, but read the fine print. You might even be charged just $1.00, as I was. However, if you don't cancel within the fourteen day trial period, your card will be charged for one month's supply which will be shipped automatically - about $90.00. That's a forty five day supply for $90.00. If it works as well as they say, maybe it will be worthwhile - that's $2.00 per day. Good luck and good health to you.

Spain

It pays to be conservative. Now, I hear that Spain is not having too much trouble dealing with the folding of Wall Street. Why not? Because they were very conservative in their lending practices. While banks in the U.S. and Europe were making loans while blindfolded, Spain was being judicious and careful. I think this photo was taken in Spain. The hemline indicates that the Spanish economy is doing very well. It can't go any higher, that's for sure.

Biggest loser

Jillian Michaels has these tips for us. Enjoy

1.) DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR SELF-PRESERVATION. "Why should we apologize for the practices that help us manage the symptoms while we deal with the real reasons we eat? I pour candle wax on my food at restaurants," Jillian admitted. "Not wanting to 'waste food' is a poor excuse for ending up far worse off later on, dealing with all the health problems that come with obesity."

2.) RUN. I asked Jillian if running really is the best form of cardio for weight loss. "Absolutely," she said. "There are lots of great ways to get your heart rate up, but if you want to see the pounds melt off, running is the fastest way. But I get that not everyone is built for it--knee problems, tight IT bands, heel spurs; I get it." Whatever you do, she said, "Don't forget the weights! The more muscle you build, the faster your metabolism will run."
3.) THE BIGGEST LOSER IS NOT REALITY. "You don't watch the Olympics and think, Hmm, I should swim for 6 hours a day like Michael Phelps, do you? But you might think about joining a pool and swimming a few times a week," she said. That's what Jillian wants people watching TBL to think, too: "If these people can lose ten pounds in two weeks, maybe I can lose ten pounds in a couple of months." She adds: "I want people to realize their own potential; I meet people all the time who never thought of themselves as athletic, but now? They truly are athletes."
4.) FORGET WILLPOWER. "Losing weight is not about willpower--it's about moments of bravado, like the moment when you ask your waiter to take the bread away from the table right away."
5.) JUST SAY THANK YOU. When I told Jillian how much weight I've lost, she congratulated me. And then (as I always do), I added, "But I still have a long way to go." "Cool," she said.

Europe and Finance

As I was saying, the EU has initiated a plan, by way of French President Sarkozy, to revamp the current world financial setup - whatever that is. The idea of a universal currency and a worldwide cashless system might be proposed. The idea will be resisted - for now. What the credit crisis brought out into the open is a serious credibility problem regarding the future strength of the U.S. economy. Japan, China, India, Russia, and all of Latin America will benefit greatly from this.

"On Friday, Sarkozy repeated his call to overhaul the global financial system so that it can be better supervised in the wake of the crisis.
"Together we need to rebuild a capitalism that is more respectful to man, more respectful to the planet, more respectful to future generations and be finished with a capitalism obsessed by the frantic search for short-term profit," Sarkozy said
Sarkozy has floated the idea of reforming rating agencies and even exploring the future of currency systems.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who engineered a British bank bailout that inspired U.S. and European rescues, is proposing radical changes to the global capitalist system, including a cross-border mechanism to monitor the world's 30 biggest financial institutions. "

Simple Finance 101

Herewith, a few words of advice for dealing with the recession and personal financial losses. I copied it from I don't remember where. Buy lots of cheap stocks too, if you have the money. Stocks can only go up, in the long term. My simple formula for financial security? Always, always live below your means and save the difference.

Deal with Debt: If you have debt, pay it down. Better still, eliminate it completely. Going forward, pay cash for everything you buy. That may keep you from making some purchases; if so, that's good.
Downsize Your Life - Before it Downsizes You: Differentiate between things that you want, and things that you actually need. By streamlining your life, you'll rediscover that some "things" (time with your family) are more important than other things (a plasma TV).
Stay in, Don't Cash Out: If you're a decade or more away from retirement, everything we know about market probabilities and recorded history suggests the better option is staying in the market, as opposed to cashing out. But don't go crazy, either. We also know that balanced funds, hard assets and a solid emphasis on income offer the best shot at higher returns over time.
Be Real: If you're already retired, and your "nest egg" has been eviscerated, conduct a realistic appraisal of your financing needs. If you realize you can't risk losing part - or all - of the money that you still have invested in the markets, talk to your financial advisor immediately. It may be better to pull out of the markets and move on to safer choices.

Hollywood thievery

Do you remember the movie "Robots?" It's a very nice movie. It was a hit, especially with children. It made a lot of money for Hollywood. The big thing is that there is something very sinister about Robots. Very sinister. Why? BECAUSE IT WAS STOLEN. If you saw Flash of Genius, about the guy who invented the intermittent windshield wiper, you know how easily that can happen. Robots was stolen from a friend of mine. Just like that. History is full of fortunes that have been made on the backs of others - others who never received a dime for their inventions or intellectual property. Hans Rosenfeld is one such artist. 20th Century Fox stole his script for the movie Robots. Please help me correct this unjustice.

Famous Suicides

Famous suicides is an odd subject. I was researching the biography of a composer the other day (that's him on the left) when I discovered the poor guy had committed suicide by laying down on some railroad tracks. He was 54. His name was Ernest Pingoud and his talent had never been recognized in his native Finland (or anywhere else). In other words, he was decidedly unsuccessful. I asked myself if perhaps that was the cause of his decision to end his life. The answer was, of course, NO. It is said that suicide is most often caused by a failed relationship or a financial hardship. That is, of course, NOT TRUE. People don't end it all because they're broke, or because they're unhappy with someone, or because they regret something they did. Failure can cause the body (and the mind) to sort of shut down and become ill - absolutely yes. Mozart and Bizet and Mussorgsky and Modigliani come to mind. However, none of them ended their own life, although they all became ill and died young. I think suicide happens when a person becomes truly isolated in their psyche - like being at the bottom of a deep well with no way out. There are many, many poor people in the world who never kill themselves. There are many people whose relationships end badly. They also don't necessarily kill themselves. On the other hand, there are many people who have everything who shoot themselves to death. The only common denominator is the devastating mental isolation. Herewith, then, is a short list of famous people who did themselves in. Salvador Allende, Edwin Armstrong, Diana Churchill, Sigmund Freud, Ernest Hemingway, Abbie Hoffman, Frida Kahlo, Christina Onassis, Mark Rothko, Romy Schneider, and Amy Vanderbilt.

World Finance

OK, now we know. The market is not going to get better any time soon. If people want to panic, they will panic. If they want to riot, they will riot. French President Zarkozy has already made some pronouncement about the need to change the world financial structure - whatever that is. The meaning behind that is ominous. It has become clear that the U.S. has - up to now - exerted too much influence over world money markets. When things have gone sour here, they then have soured the rest of the world financial order. That is no longer acceptable. He didn't say it in so many words but that's what he meant. It is now clear that Europe does not want to be held hostage by economic or financial conditions in the U.S. A meeting will be held some time in November to initiate changes - whatever those may be.

The lack of transparency is being held up as one of the key issues. As a result, it may well come to pass that cash will be eliminated as an exchange medium for buying and selling. Perhaps only banks will be allowed to transact cash. You and I will need credit cards. Electronic transactions is the only way to keep everything transparent. It will also cut down on the crime rate since every dime you have will have to be accounted for. Pretty clever. Let's see what happens. In the meantime, buy the cheapest stocks you can find.

Diet tips from Yahoo!

Granola Bar: 200 calories15 g sugars - Eat this instead! 1 oz cheddar cheese with Triscuits: 150 calories 5 g sugars -- Yogurt with Fruit on the Bottom: 190 calories 30 g sugars - Eat this instead! Plain yogurt with fresh fruit mixed in 110 calories 15 g sugars - Pass on these over-sweetened yogurt cups; they contain as much sugar as a soft drink. Almost all of that comes directly from the “fruit,” which is swimming in high-fructose corn syrup. Yogurt and fruit can be a great way to start your day, but do it yourself by mixing a cup of nonfat plain yogurt with a half cup of mixed berries. - Bagel with Cream Cheese: 700 calories 40 g fat 13 g saturated - Eat this instead! Cheese omelet 425 calories 18 g - 6 g saturated - Bagels are bogus. The bread is bad enough, containing 300 calories and 60 grams of carbohydrates, but tack on the liberal cream cheese schmear (by our survey of popular breakfast chains, up to 4 ounces for a single bagel!) and your "harmless" breakfast sandwich weighs in as worse than a Whopper. The omelet swap will save you nearly 300 calories, plus provide a surge of metabolism-boosting protein. And a recent study from the University of Connecticut found that eating eggs can help raise HDL (good) cholesterol. Dried Fruit: 175 calories 45 g sugars. Eat this instead! Fresh fruit, like an apple or a peach 70 calories 15 g sugar. OK, so dried fruit won’t totally derail a day of good eating (unless you down the whole bag of banana chips), but it’s far from being a harmless snack. First, because the dehydrating process sucks most of the volume from the fruit, you can eat cups of the stuff, and 600 calories later, still not feel any fuller. More troubling, though, is the fact that Sun-Maid and Ocean Spray add sugar to the fruit, making Craisins closer to candy than Mother Nature’s original intention. The choice is clear: Stick to the original, straight from the tree. Fish Sandwich: 600 calories 30 g fat 11 g saturated. Eat this instead! Grilled chicken sandwich 300 calories 13 g fat 4 g saturated. Fish is good for you, except when it’s battered, fried, robed in cheese, and bathed in tartar sauce. Even the biggest star can be sabotaged by the supporting cast. To this end, avoid any menu item with the word "crispy," the restaurant industry’s favorite euphemism for “fried.” Make sure your next fish or chicken sandwich is grilled, dressed with fresh produce, and topped with a low-cal barbecue sauce, or even ketchup and mustard. And watch the salt; Stick margarine (1 Tbsp): 100 calories 11 g fat 2.5 g saturated 2.5 g trans fat. Eat this instead! Whipped butter (1 Tbsp) 50 calories 6 g fat 1.5 g saturated. In their haste to remove saturated fat from butter, margarine makers created the margarine monster — a dangerous lipid called trans fat, with more dangerous links to heart disease than saturated fat. Pick up whipped butter instead; by whipping air into the spread, manufacturers decrease the caloric density of a tablespoon of butter, and they make it easier to top your toast. If you buy margarine, make sure it’s the type found in the tub, hopefully with an added bonus like omega-3s folded into the mix.

Listen to me

The instability in the stock market is being caused by nothing but fear and the instability and unreliablity of investors themselves. Listen to me now - buy cheap stocks and hold on to them. Period. Don't sell, don't move, don't panic, don't run, don't cry, don't collect $200 - nothing. Stay still and everything will be fine. The stock market is not for babies to begin with. If you're going to be selling at the first hint of lower earnings, play Monopoly instead. You'll make more money there.

Marketing 101

Sometimes, the only thing that will draw a crowd is something truly remarkable or outlandish. A dog with the head of a cat. Or a cat with six legs. Marketing is not as easy as it looks. One never knows what the public will like. One sure thing there is - pretty women. They are ubiquitous. You see them on magazine covers, billboards, newspapers, the internet, etc. Of course, if you own a bar, hire the most attractive female bartenders you can. You can't go wrong, unless the competition does that too. Here's a bartender dressed for the occasion, but without customers. Maybe the bar hasn't opened yet. Who knows?

Stocks

Take a good look at the man in this picture. One can almost feel the same relief he is feeling at seeing the numbers go up on the board at the NYSE. I hope you bought lots of stock when I advised you to buy a few days ago. I knew the market would go up soon - it simply couldn't go down any further. I will never hesitate to tell you "I told you so." The economic troubles are not solved by any means, but at least the market has been stabilized. The other side of the coin is that the government has gone into debt. That will cause problems, but not for another two or three years. Enjoy the upturn, and don't forget to save as much as you can.

Dorothy & Poetry

Why is it impossible for some people to write poetry? I often try and all I get for my effort is awkward sentences. Poets often make wonderful song writers because lyrics are a form of poetry. Dorothy, a dear friend on MySpace, whose photo is to your left, wrote the following short poem. As concise as it is, it tells a whole story. It sounds effortless - as natural as breathing. Enjoy....

I leave a tear at your doorstep
For you to kick into a million distant memories....
For then, you shall be my hero.

Carman Moore

Carman Moore is an American composer, conductor, and teacher, born on October 8, 1936. He first obtained an undergraduate degree from Ohio State University and, after moving to New York, graduated from Juilliard with honors. His teachers there were Luciano Berio and Vincent Persichetti, among others. He is probably the best composer you have never heard of. That is a complete mystery to me. Critics across the board have consistently praised his music. His music has been performed by many great orchestras around the world, including the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the San Francisco Symphony. He writes and arranges music for ballet, film, and theatre, and has written concertos, chamber music, and operas, in addition to many songs. He is the founder and conductor of the Skymusic Ensemble. Moore has also taught at Yale University School of Music and Carnegie-Mellon University. He also has a page on MySpace that includes a wonderful song for peace - sung by a child. I urge you to see it. http://www.myspace.com/carmanmoore

Copyright infringement (theft)

As I was saying, my friend Hans Rosenfeld - theatre producer, artist, and inventor - wrote the script for a fabulous theatre production. He created all the characters - all of them robots. He called the production by another name (which I will reveal later). Then, along come some smart people from Hollywood who proclaim to be very interested in the production. The fundraising begins in earnest. The project is sidelined by 911 events. Next thing you know - the movie ROBOTS comes out - almost an exact replica of Mr Rosenfeld's project. What is he to do????

Hemlines coming down

So, what happens now??? This is turning out to be a bigger financial mess than anyone ever anticipated. The bailout bill has been approved, the Federal Reserve is stepping in with huge amounts of money to help bolster the credit markets (the banks), President Bush is making speeches to reassure the public and still the market tumbles. Am I the only one who has not panicked??? Fear is gripping the populace - big investors are playing it safe. Huge sums are going abroad. I have said it before - there is absolutely no reason to panic. What everyone of you should be doing is buying huge amounts of stock - now that they are so cheap. They can only go up. In the meantime, since the economy is drifting downward, so will hemlines. I don't know if I like that.

Cyril Reuben

This morning, I was writing a mini biography of a violinist for my other blog. In doing my research, I discovered there was no information about him other than birthday and date of death. I proceeded anyway and wrote a couple of lines about his career. His name was Cyril Reuben and he played in the first violin section of the London Symphony for many years. He died in 1996 at age 69. He was, of course, not famous like Heifetz and all the other concert violinists. He just played in an orchestra. It takes a special combination of gifts to be able to take center stage - that's for sure. That applies to all endeavors - science, education, medicine, law, government, industry, the arts, etc. Yet, without the soldiers - the anonymous foot soldiers - the generals could not do their job. Is it fair that only the generals - those that take center stage and become idols - are remembered and the foot soldiers remain anonymous forever? Yes it is. You see, Cyril Reuben, in doing his job, was afforded as much opportunity to be fulfilled and happy and to experience as much good and as much triumph and as much grief and sadness - everything that life throws at you - as any general, as any concert artist, as any conductor, as any president of any country or chairman of the board of any company. I'm sure Maestro Reuben enjoyed himself immensely playing among the rank and file. Everyone has a place in society - if my place is at the back of the line, I'll have as much fun there (being as mischievous as I am) as if I were at the head of the line. There is no reason not to - as long as I have enough money to buy my coffee and my sweet bread.

Robots

Do you remember the movie "Robots?" It's a very nice movie. It was a hit, especially with children. It made a lot of money for Hollywood. The big thing is that there is something very sinister about Robots. Very sinister. Why? BECAUSE IT WAS STOLEN. If you saw Flash of Genius, you know how easily that can happen. Robots was stolen from a friend of mine. Just like that. I'll tell you about it in my next blog.

FEAR

So, the stock market is still falling despite the bailout legislation? The country (and the world) is saturated with economists - some great and famous - yet, only a very, very few predicted the credit disaster. Those who did were not paid attention to. Credit is driven by confidence and trust. Everyone knows that. When confidence wanes, leaving a vacuum, fear starts to take its place. People see doom and gloom behind every tree and around every corner. Politicians are scrambling to settle things down. Even the State of California is asking for a bailout. It seems nothing was learned from Great Depression days. I believe things will actually get better, but what will now happen is that people of all stripes will look to government for solutions. That means government control and power will grow tremendously. Here, it will be liberal power - sharply toward the left. The virus is in Europe also. There, the power will shift toward the right. That's my best guess. What do I know? Get a second opinion.

Didn't I tell you?

Now - everyone is coming out and saying that the financial bailout of Wall Street was not meant as an economic stimulus - it was just a bailout of the banks. Now, if we behave ourselves, the banks will again start lending us some of our own money. Thanks a lot Congress. All this time, just as I said, the major investment banks were living from paycheck to paycheck.

Advertisement 2

There is a house for sale here and it's a good deal. You will never see this post unless it's by accident. In any case, it's a 4 bedroom with 2 baths and is 2090 square feet - on the west side of town - like new. Affordable at $220,000. Boy, oh boy - I sound like an agent. This is a partial view of it. Good luck.

Flash of Genius

Flash of Genius is a new movie coming out soon, maybe today in fact. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that the movie depicts a situation which is not unheard of. Big people are always trying to steal ideas and inventions from little people. Sometimes they succeed. Almost always they succeed. Little people have no weapons with which to fight the unfairness of large and powerful businesses or corporations. As a matter of fact, I have a friend that suffered the same fate as the guy in the movie. His name is Hans. I will tell you about him in my next blog. It's getting late.

Pure nonsense

"The Congress has to approve the bailout plan or else!!!" That's what everyone is saying. All we see is panic all around. Commentators are all saying the same thing!!! I am amazed, though I shouldn't be. Disaster. Disaster. All these experts are absolutely nuts. Thay can't seem to think for themselves. If the thingy doesn't get approved, the economy will surely slow down, but disaster???? Give me a break. People still have to work and make a living somehow. Even banks have to keep operating. There will be financial pain yes, but it will go away in a few short years or perhaps months. The earth still spins and the sun still comes up and the hurricanes still churn. Nature is a lot stronger than Wall Street. We should be afraid of nature, not some unreal financial catastrophe. Relax and listen to some jazz instead.

Einstein and success

I was having lunch with a friend yesterday (Wednesday) noon. I happened to mention that I was going out of town next week - it's the only week between now and December 15 that I can travel. Too much going on in the orchestra business. She wanted to know where I was going and with whom. I told her she didn't need to know but that it was business, not pleasure, and she was not offended. She knows how blunt I can be - besides, she likes me way too much to be offended. Anyway, I told her I would explain with a quote from Einstein. He said the secrets of success were three - imagination, work, and keep your mouth shut. I think it's good advice.

Hemlines going up

After tomorrow, when the bailout plan is approved, hemlines will start going up again. They say that good economic times tend to raise hemlines on women's dresses or skirts. Who really knows? Of course, if the little plan doesn't get approved, then the hemlines will drop - probably all the way to the floor. It won't make too much difference to me either way - my eyesight is not terribly good. I would need to get really close to notice the difference.

Advertisement

This is an experiment so don't get bent out of shape about it - please. It will probably fail because there are simply not enough daily views to statistically ensure a response - BUT ONE NEVER KNOWS. Coincidence is one of the secrets of life. Well, to get to the point.... There is this building for sale here in EP. Fourteen apartments for $325,000 - a steal. Furthermore, the price is negotiable because the owner needs to sell. It is not listed and will not be listed. I have photos and other info about the deal - should anyone be interested. End of experiment.