Month: February 2024

The US 250th anniversary logo is being designed by the company that designed the bicentennial one

American Revolution Bicentennial Standards Manual

My view on three films about the stock market and finance

These three films were all based on actual events.

I recently watched Dumb Money about the GameStip short squeeze. I enjoyed it but think The Big Short which is about the financial crisis of 2007-2008 is much better. The Big Short does a great job of explaining financial concepts directly to the audience.

The Wolf of Wall Street informed young people about what quaaludes were. The drug was last sold in 1985. (That’s around the only time I tried it.)

The GOP will try to ban birth control

Emboldened after their Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, they want to end birth control now.


Don’t put liars on TV – a rant by me

This is simple.

  1. If you let them lie, then you have to correct them. They still get to spread their lie and some viewers will believe the liar, not the media.
  2. Why should they stop lying if the networks will still have them as guests? The networks want to seem impartial but the division now is not between liberals and conservatives, it’s between people who tell the truth and people who lie. Sure, all politicians lie sometimes but you can’t compare the two parties now. About 2/3 of the Republican party believes that Biden didn’t win a fair election. As far as I am concerned, anyone who says this should never be on TV. The Big Lie is not an opinion, it’s a lie.
  3. I am fine with people who have different opinions. I don’t want or expect everyone to agree with me. I am not fine with liars and bigots.
  4. My mental state is better because I don’t watch the news. I was getting too angry every time Trump or his cult members were on. I can’t stand the sight or sound of him. He has done more harm to our country than anyone since the Civil War. I still keep up with the news by reading The Washington Post, The New York Times, and two local (Baltimore) papers. They have failings too but they’re better than the TV networks.
  5. We have to remember that the networks are in it to make a profit and they had better ratings (and thus made more money) when Trump was president. Trump is awful but he’s great at drawing attention to himself. The media eagerly repeats his latest juvenile nicknames and spreads his online posts.

Tweet on Trump not paying contractors

TimeOut on the 50 Greatest Italian Movies

I think the TimeOut list is excellent. I’ve seen 22 of them. They have Amarcord at 30. It’s my favorite Fellini film and I would put it near the top. I am glad they included Giallo and horror films such as Deep Red and The Beyond. Of the recent films, I strongly recommend The Great Beauty.