Commitment to Quality

I've recently discovered that my incoherent ramblings have actually been read by a few people who live outside of my postal code.

After the initial shock wore off, I realized that it might be a nice idea to try and keep this blog updated fairly regularly and keep the content fresh, innovative, and relevant. I also thought that I should tone down on coarse language, but I don't want to get too radical. One step at a time.

At any rate, I will attempt to mimic the "saintly" figure displayed here and be a good blogger. Both the American and Canadian elections will be over in the next couple of months, so please bear with me if my halo tarnishes every now and then.

G'night all!

Stop the Bleeding Already!

More bad news from Wall Street again, followed by the usual frenzy of a sliding market. Both New York and Toronto, as well as other world markets, have experienced some major dips in the past couple of weeks, making investors even more nervous and worried than they already were.

There's no question that the bailout of the world's largest insurer, the collapse of the fourth largest investment bank in the U.S., and woes suffered by a number of others is clear evidence that there are some serious issues in the American banking industry. Unfortunately, the punishment for their sins is being passed on us...in our investment portfolios, retirement plans, and pension funds.

As with every other period of market turbulence, eventually it must come to an end, and if history repeats itself, world markets will be at record high levels within the next five to ten years. It is critical that investors do not lose their cool and make rash decisions that simply add more gas to this fire. Already, hundreds of companies who have very little connection or correlation to the financial services industry are trading at 52 week lows and have seen their market capitalization hammered. Has anything changed in the last week that would cause a pharmaceutical company to be worth half what it was seven days ago? The answer is no, and believe me, once the aftershocks start dissipating...large institutional and personal investors will start shopping for bargains...and that's a train I want to be on.

Stay cool....everybody stay cool.

Rants on Music

Just a few minor issues to get off my chest.

Is it just me or does Rihanna suck? Back when her first single hit the airwaves and I had no idea who it was, I remember asking friends why radio would give someone with no vocal talent airplay. I'm no music expert, but I do know that singers with bad voices tend to sound more nasal or whiny to disguise their lack of ability. Lo and behold, I actually know what her name is and now that I've heard a few more of her "songs", I'm blown away that this is what passes for music today.

Then again, I say the same thing about Canadian supergroup, Rush. Even though they get more radio airtime than they deserve due to CRTC rules, every minute they do get makes me wonder when strangling cats was legalized. Terrible vocals and the most un-melodic music ever arranged. And to top it off, I'm 35 and I've never met a single person who likes them...or actually has a single Rush CD...or music on their IPod. Yeah, Rush sucks too...period.

I guess the bottom line is that there's a lot of music that sucks. That record labels convince 12 yr olds is cool, that peer pressure in university convinces 19 yr olds is cool, and that dumb-ass music award shows convince forty somethings is "hip". My simple rule is that as far as music is concerned, it should be played with instruments...not synthesizers or mixers. There should be musicians....people who play instruments and don't necessarily dance. The music should have some sort of melody...and not just be a bunch of different notes and chords jammed together because it's hard to do. And unless you're the lead singer of a band, where band members actually have some talent, don't consider yourself a vocalist if you can't really sing. And shouting out "rhymes" while waving your hands around....uhh....not singing....not music.

I can score a 99% on Rockband on easy or medium....but I am not a singer or a musician. But if Sony Records wants to sign me, I'm game.

Laugh Before Bed

If you want to some more opinion on the upcoming election, that's more detailed and more biting, check out my brother's blog.

However, for another laugh before bed...from last night's Saturday Night Live.

You Know It's Bad When...

I have no love lost for Karl Rove, the architect of the modern American election campaign, where bullshit, lies, and groin kicks are more important than little things like the issues. That's why I was shocked when CNN reported today that even Rove thinks McCain's campaign has gone too far with the lies and mistruths in their ads. Amazing when the stench of bullshit prompts the bullshit master to make a comment.

Hopefully, the Big Lie technique will remain a relic of the past and die a quick death in modern election campaigns. Enough is enough.

Thar She Blows - Part 2

The upcoming American election is sadly more interesting than the Canadian one...and for all the wrong reasons. The Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin has taken the old Bush strategy of misleading the public one step further by flat-out lying. Lying about their own records, lying about Barack Obama's and lying about pretty well everything they can lie about.

You can't just make shit up!

I repeat, you can't just make shit up!

Up to this point, the media has been pretty lax in holding them accountable, but Paul Krugman of the New York Times had a pretty good op-ed piece out today. According to the GOP ticket, not only did Sarah Palin not support the Bridge to Nowhere (bullshit), and not only did she not go after earmarks (bullshit), but Obama supports giving sex-ed to kids (bullshit) and plans on increasing taxes to 95% of Americans (also bullshit). The recurring theme of bullshit stinks. And what's worse is that Republican strategists think this is a good way to run a campaign...and what's even worse than that is that some Americans are actually falling for this.

How can two candidates running for the most powerful office in the free world be allowed to get away with this? How can their supporters tolerate this insult to their intelligence? Considering the utter failure of the Bush regime in nearly every area from the economy to foreign relations, it is unbelievable that a Republican ticket that is this out of touch with reality is even in the game. I sincerely hope and pray that the American people are not this easily manipulated and make the right decision. At this point, conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans, whites and blacks, men and women, and rich and poor need to get past these stupid labels and in a collective voice, tell the GOP to stop making shit up.

Thar She Blows!

The big news today, of course, is the impending landfall of Hurricane Ike. We're in the midst of the busy hurricane season and we've probably got a few more to go before it's all over. From where I'm sitting, in a nice dry living room in Eastern Canada, it looks like the poor folks in Texas are going to be in for one hell of a night.

What I can't understand are those people who insist on staying put, knowing full well that if they're lucky, only their homes will be lost and not their lives. Having survived Hurricane Juan several years ago...and considering that was only a Category 1 storm and our lives were not in real danger, I can't even imagine sticking it out through one of these. I guess people who live along the Gulf Coast are more accustomized to this sort of thing, but I still wouldn't test Mother Nature. Godspeed.