It was no Showgirls

Okay, we'll get the boring stuff out of the way but I need to vent so anyone who doesn't feel like reading can skip the following few paragraphs.

California is in a fiscal state of emergency?  Really?  What was the clue Governor Schwarenegger?

I see the tax cuts are getting extended.  I also see the government is cutting payroll taxes for employers ostensibly to spur hiring.  They fucked that one up as they should have cut them for employees to spur consumption and further deleveraging .  I am pretty sure companies do not hire based on taxes getting cut as opposed to selling more of their goods and serivices.  Consumers deleveraging would spur healthier consumption down the road, that kind of consumption would be referred to as "organic" by all the talking heads.

Germany had yet another failed bond auction.  Bet you did not hear much about that but their most recent 5 year auction was a fail.  The Eurozone is completely frayed and one more thing will push it over the edge.  Spain and Portugal had auctions for short term paper and they rates were up 40-50% from the previous auctions.  The Street was trying to spin it as a positive but I am sorry, rates going up that much is not a positive.

TALF- so not only did the U.S. taxpayers bail out our own banks we also bailed out most of the European banks too.  Add tot he rumors going around that we the people were going to give even more to the IMF to give to the Europeans and that would have been a second bail out of European banks with our tax dollars.  Of course the Treasury came out and denied it immediately but the cynic in me says they have no problem prevaricating about such things and will do a better job hiding it this time so when someone uses the FIOA to get the details there will be none.

The geopolitical situation is not helping and yet it too is getting very little ink or airplay.  China keeps warning us that the Korean situation is not getting better and are all but telling us we are on a precipice of possibly bad things happening.  There is no way the markets have considered or fully and correctly discounted what a conflict between the West and China would mean.

The precious metals are telling you if you care that all the schemes the Western financial authorities are using will not succeed.  Gold hit an all time high of slightly over $1400/ounce and I smiled as I recall telling a fraternity brother back in August it could go to $2500/ounce in the next two or three years and he told me I was crazy.  Silver aint exactly slacking either.

The volumes in the market have completely aspirated lately and I am dreading how slow it will be the week of Christmas.

So Christmas this year will not be a big one due to the work we've put into the cottage.  The boys are getting netbooks and a wireless router for their mom's house.  The husband already got one of his gifts- a compound mitre saw.  I will also get hims a bunch of smaller things but that is it.

Mr. Barrett should skip over the next few paragraphs as it has to do with work on the cottage that we did not gut.  This weekend we finished installing the hardwood floor  in the kitchen area.  The cabinets are getting shipped the 12th so we removed all the old ones and installed the rest of the hardwood flooring.  This will make it easy for the dishwasher to get installed as many people only put the flooring to the cabinets then when they go and redo their cabinets and put expensive counter tops in then have to pull out the dishwasher they have an issue with differences in floor heights.  Speaking of the dishwasher got delivered when it was scheduled to today whereas the refrigerator did not and the store did not even call.  The husband was pissed.  Funny how the old store- Sears- understands customer service better than the new one- Best Buy

You know your sons are growing up when your oldest discusses irony with you.  It had to do with headphones for his iPod, buying new ones and then finding out his mom had spare ones.  I am still not sure if it meets the correct definition of irony or Alanis Morrisette's definition but I was impressed he was thinking that way.

Some really cute guys on the bus this morning.  The gym too- there was this guy who was a muscled version of Finn from Glee.  I could not get a great look at his ass as he was wearing baggy sweat pants but his mug and guns were nice.

The husband and I actually went and saw Burlesque  Saturday afternoon.  It was no where nearly as bad as that slow train wreck known as Showgirls.  Eric Dane was smokin' hot in it but if I had to choose between him and Cam Gigandet I would have gone with Cam as well.  Cam also has a smoking hot ass!  I want cookies from him.  Cher was ok in it but seriously her face is frozen and it does not move when she talks.  It is very freaky.