Violinhunter

Joe Paterno and stress

2012-01-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

Many years ago, a candidate for president of Mexico, Donaldo Colosio, was assassinated. His widow died a year later. It was tragic because both of them were in their prime. Later, the guy who used to play Superman, Christopher Reeve, died after battling paralysis for years. His widow died a year later. She was in her prime. Now, Joe Paterno is ill. People say it is as a result of stress induced by the investigation into his handling of the Sandusky child abuse case. That is probably true. Stress and worry and depression kill people. Avoid them like the plague.

P.S. Five minutes after I posted this, Paterno died. Sad but true. He was the fall guy for others who should have reported what they knew. He trusted their judgment and they let him down.

Experiment

2011-12-17T08:52:00.000-08:00

I am today conducting an experiment in blogging. I cannot disclose what it is because it might spoil things. In fact, it WILL spoil things so I will just keep quiet about it. I will tell the secret in a few days. I'm sure it will be interesting - at least to me it will. It is not even necessary to post a picture with this blog - the words will be sufficient.

Ambrose Bierce said: "The properties of ink are peculiar and contradictory: it may be used to make reputations and unmake them; to blacken them and to make them white; but it is most generally and acceptably employed as a mortar to bind together the stones of an edifice of fame, and as a whitewash to conceal afterward the rascal quality of the material."

I like the phrase "...edifice of fame."

Who likes to fail?

2011-11-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

They say Abraham Lincoln, the greatest American President, failed at many enterprises he tried before going into politics and public service. The failures obviously prepared him for the great challenge that lay ahead - the Civil War. Failure is not nice, but if you recognize it for what it is - a challenge to your ingenuity and perseverance - you can learn to manage it. It soon loses its control over you.

Debt and Futures

2011-10-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of guys just won the Nobel for Economics. We still have very high unemployment and these guys don't have a clue how to create jobs. One of them said he would sit on his money for a while. Sitting on money will not create a single job. Spending it will. The problem is two-fold: too much debt and the futures market. Futures are like the gambling aspect of the economy, really meant only for speculators, which means it creates nothing - no products, no services. When losses occur, someone is left holding the bag which then means a debt that goes unpaid and is written off. That takes money out of the economy without giving anything back in return. I'm only guessing, of course. Have a nice day.

Santa Anna Bonds

2011-09-29T07:21:00.000-07:00

We had a client recently to whom we offered 600 million for one Santa Anna bond he owned and he DECLINED the offer. Figure that one out if you can. He came back later to accept the deal but it was too late - our buyer had gone elsewhere. Live and learn.

Silver

2011-09-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

Financial advisors and promoters have been pushing investors and even normal people to buy lots of gold. Now they are pushing them to buy silver as well. Silver is cheaper and more affordable. You can't eat it or drink it or build homes with it or sew it into a garment or use it as a towel but it has value because people want it (for some strange reason.) Figure that one out.

Mexican Bonds

2011-09-17T13:36:00.000-07:00

Why is it that so many people seem to be out there selling Mexican bonds when in effect they do not have them? Some of these bonds can be pretty pricy - upwards of 5 billion - and they make for good business if only people would be serious about them. If you have one of these or if you know someone who does, just look me up. We're buying.

Came Art Abstracts

2011-09-16T18:03:00.000-07:00

I have a blog titled Came Art Abstracts. It has two followers. I have not been able to find out or figure out why it only has two followers. This one has five. There are blogs which have 2,000 followers. Not that 2,000 is a huge number. It isn't. Facebook has 400,000,000. Maybe one day my Came Art Abstracts will have 400,000 followers. Not really - I'm just dreaming. hehe

Politics

2011-09-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

Politicians are people too. They may start out by trying to do good for the people they govern but eventually get taken over by ego and greed and dishonesty and special interests. There is no such thing as an incorruptible man or woman - Republican, Democrat, or Independent.

Buy Gold and Silver

2011-09-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

Almost everyone agrees that since the dollar might suffer a collapse soon, buying gold and silver is about the smartest move any investor can make. Even Porter Stansberry and JPMorgan agree.

Danzon Cubano

2011-08-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

A very short and delicate Danzon Cubano dedicated to Celia Benfer - writer, poet, artist, and teacher.
Un breve Danzon Cubano dedicado a Celia Benfer - artista, escritora, poeta, y maestra.

Celia Benfer

2011-06-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

Asuncion, Paraguay is where you can find Celia Benfer writing poetry, under the influence of lovely rainy weather or a brilliant and hot sun. She loves to write and she writes lovingly. Her verses are short, full of sincerity, very deep emotion, and illustration by way of words. I have only known her briefly but I recognized her talent for poetry the minute I began reading it. You can find her on Facebook and here, on Blogger. You have never met a more honest and pure poet, I guarantee you that.

Asunción, Paraguay es donde usted puede encontrar a Celia Benfer escribiendo poesía, este lloviendo o con el sol brilloso en el cielo. A ella le encanta escribir y lo hace con amor. Sus versos son cortos, llenos de sinceridad, profunda emoción, e ilustraciones dibujadas con palabras. Nada más la he conocido poco tiempo pero me di cuenta de su talento para la poesía en cuanto la empecé a leer. La puede usted encontrar en Facebook o aquí en Blogger. Le garantizo que nunca ha conocido poesías más honestas y puras.

National Public Radio

2011-03-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

There is talk about NPR - lots of it. It has become a favorite topic of commentators and bloggers. NPR has lately been tarnished by a series of missteps. It isn't perfect. What is? I say just leave it alone. It will learn and move on. No need for anyone else to meddle in its affairs, and, if the government funds it to a small degree, let it be. We certainly get our money's worth. Even the Timid Reporter could not do a better job, even if he is much less pretentious.

Design Design

2011-03-17T13:20:00.000-07:00

How much attention do marketers or producers or manufacturers or store owners pay to design? A lot. In fact, Apple Computer's guru (Steve Jobs) thinks design is not only one of the most important things in a product but that it's the only thing. Think about that. My blog, I hope, is well-designed. It has music, photos, graphics, and nice colors. The writing does not much matter. Agreed? If you want nice, smart, imaginative designs delivered in record time and at a low price, go here. The woman at left will thank you. Wild Sight

News and more news

2011-03-11T12:02:00.000-08:00

Ladies and gentlemen: NPR announced that an 8.9 magnitude earthquake had struck Japan this morning. I was just getting up. The quake was a strong one. It created a scary Tsunami which even touched the western coast of the USA. The odd thing about all this is that the NPR news team announced it in a very matter-of-fact manner, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It did not indicate anything close to the davastating effect this would have on Japan and other countries. I don't think they knew how deadly it was. One other thing - the day 911 happened, the same type of news update was given. One could not tell - from the announcer's initial broadcast - how serious an attack it would turn out to be. Sometimes, we just don't know. Protector

Married priest

2011-02-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

Very recently, a Lutheran minister converted to Catholicism. His wife was also a Lutheran minister. She had converted to Catholicism already. She became a nun in 2004 and he was ordained a Catholic priest a few days ago. The Pope said it was ok for them to remain married. I guess this means they can still sleep together. Of course, I have no problem with that at all. I just wonder what the unmarried priests have to say about this funny situation. That thing on the right is asking me to link something here again. I wonder where it came from. Alone

Egypt and Fashion

2011-02-11T12:56:00.000-08:00

Well, now that Egypt is free, will Egyptian women be allowed to wear liberal fashions such as this one? I seriously doubt that. Seriously. This will be amazingly interesting - like a roller coaster ride. Something odd just happened: I was busy typing and then suddenly this little box appeared asking me to link this to somewhere else. I did as I was told. Here it is anyway. I hope it's a good book. I haven't read it yet. The King Is Dead

Idling your car

2011-01-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

I just read an article about why you should not idle your car's engine before you drive off or while stopped somewhere for a few minutes. There must have been at least ten testimonials from car shops from around the country advising that idling is really not necessary. They say the engine will warm up just fine if you idle it for 30 seconds or if you start it and go. This is on Yahoo! Let me just say that I have been idling my car for five minutes every morning (for 20 years) before I drive it away and will continue to do so. I was not convinced and habits die hard. Sorry.

Paris Apartments

2010-12-30T15:14:00.000-08:00

There is an ad on this page which advertises Paris apartments as an alternative to Paris hotels - if you plan to stay for a while - longer than a few days, but not for too long. Paris is, of course, one of the most beautiful cities in the world; however. it can be expensive. Those high prices sort of keep it exclusive.

Yemen and Germany

2010-11-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

The recent bombing plots have prompted Germany to immediately halt all flights from Yemen to Germany. It seems that twice weekly flights from Yemen to Franfurt are too risky for comfort. Germany - and all of Europe - will soon be forced to take extraordinary measures to protect itself. Does anyone blame them?

Europe to the Right

2010-10-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

I told you so. It is being reported that Chancellor Merkel has stated that a multicultural society within Germany is simply not working. Read between the lines. Sarkozy had previously started to evict gypsies - Roma - who had entered France illegally. He was criticized by Liberals but he didn't care. His country comes first. This topless woman is 100% European I think. No problem.

Chile is proud

2010-10-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

All of the trapped miners in Chile are about to be rescued. The engineers have gotten 29 out already. Chile should rightly be proud of this terrific accomplishment. Even the President of the country is present at the rescue site. Of course, they had technical assistance from many different countries but we should keep this in mind: they were not too proud to ask for help. The rest of the world should learn from this. Chile, as I have said before, pulled itself out of a cycle of poverty in less than twenty years. We need to ask them how they did it.

Economics vs Poverty

2010-10-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

So, the Nobel Prize committee is at it again. This time, they awarded the Economics Prize to three men who teach somewhere - it really doesn't matter. Economics has never actually been a science but there you have it. I submit to my six readers that one of the most pressing needs of our time is to solve the riddle of poverty. Yet, among the dozens of economics gurus who have received the famous Nobel Prize, none has had a fix on the problem, much less a solution. Is that not ironic? They know as much about poverty as this topless woman.

Nobel

2010-10-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

So, a Chinese man has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This sort of thing makes news for about two weeks then goes completely away, but it has made the leaders of China very mad. They claim that this man, who is currently in jail, does not deserve this award. The man, according to the Chinese leaders, is a criminal. The Nobel committee is just trying to start trouble in China - that's what the Chinese leaders have said. If you will recall, China executed a man for possession of drugs not too long ago, even in the face of protests from all corners of the globe, especially England. They do not tolerate lawbreakers. Think about that.

Giovanni Boldini

2010-10-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

A story on Yahoo! has it that a recently discovered (and untitled) painting by Giovanni Boldini was auctioned for nearly 3 million dollars. Nobody seemed to know much about the artist until the discovery. Now, he is quite popular - at least for a while. It seems that the best part of the story concerns the apartment where the painting was found. It had not been used in seventy years - since about 1940. The tenant was simply paying the rent while the apartment remained unoccupied. The absent tenant was the granddaughter of the woman who probably posed for the artist - Marthe De Florian. Stories like this are still unfolding and they seem - to most people - very romantic.