It’s on – the season premier of Hoarders.   The episode is all of 6 minutes old and I’m already mesmerized by the scenes that have been shown.

I understand there is a wide range of mental illnesses people face but this is one that I simply do not understand….

Seriously, it was a matter of time before a news story like this appeared.  The co-writer of Pulp Fiction has landed in prison and is now - allegedly – tweeting.

Roger Avary, one half of the “Pulp Fiction” writing staff (the other being Quentin Tarantino), got one year of prison for vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving. Now it looks like he is tweeting from behind bars with gems such as this:

“Nightly, every few hours like clockwork, a guard’s flashlight beam strikes #34’s face, perhaps to ensure lack of proper rest and exhaustion,”

or

“Night falls, and the only real activity is an endless recounting of the terrible and pointless events that brought us all to this sad place,”

We don’t know if this is real or not, but if it a famous person is sitting in prison, tweeting away, I would have to wonder if they are somehow creating a security risk for themselves.  Assuming this is real, it could be one interesting read over time…

Jan Ake Jonsson, the CEO of Saab, is in Detroit today – along with a number of Swedish government officials – in hopes of speaking with other potential buyers after the deal with Koenigsegg Automotive AB fell apart.

Three potential buyers have slowly come forward including Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings, The Renco Group Inc. and investors Merbanco Inc. Obviously, the biggest name on the list is BAIH, and they are truly in a position to execute a Saab business plan; however, will BAIH and GM be able to finish a deal?

Frankly, this sounds like a last, desperate, Hail Mary type of play on the part of GM but if Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings plays their cards right they company can walk away with Saab at a fire sale price.

On another note, it looks like the problems of Dubai are going to magically go away… OK, the situation is not exactly that happy but it now looks as if the central bank of the UAE will provide a funding to insure against a default of Dubai debt. The roughly $700 billion the UAE central bank has on the books is more than enough to save Dubai, it is sad to see this happen.

Why?

Quite simply the action will calms fears and perpetuate the unrealistic belief that there will always be someone to bailout those in need, that too big to fail is a reality. If a default can happen to Dubai, it can happen to any government, but not every government will have an angel to provide them with a rescue package.

What would the world to then?

My guess is panic.

I have to say it, I cannot stand Angelina Jolie. The way she looks, the way she carries herself, her self-righteous “I want to save the world so I’m going to adopt a bunch of children from a country no one has ever heard of when there are plenty of children in the United States that need homes” and, well, her style of acting. All of those factors played into my initial desire to NOT see Changeling.  The only reason I actually considered watching the move was because of Clint Eastwood.

I was NOT disappointed.

Changeling chronicles the Wineville Chicken Coup murders that gripped 1928 Los Angeles. Angelina Jolie plays Christine Collins, a mother who is desperately trying to find her missing son, Walter Collins. The anguish, pain and torment of this character is displayed with ease  by Angelina as she almost takes on the personality of Christine. The film also allows John Malkovich to shine as Rev. Gustav Briegleb, a minister and radio evangelist who has taken on the goal of fighting police corruption in Los Angeles.

While this is excellent film it really is all thanks to Clint Eastwood and his production staff.  Frankly, any talented actor could have played a mother desperately seeking her child or a minister attempting to stop corruption within a political system; however, not every director could set the mood and tone that Eastwood has developed in his years as director.  The detail given to set and prop design, the colors used to set tone, and the ease the story develops only comes with the experience a director, such as Eastwood, at the top of his game can provide.

Once I put my hesitations regarding Angelina Jolie aside, I found Changeling to be a truly enjoyable movie experience from just about every perspective – Acting, Production, Direction, and Story.

If you have not seen and you are looking for a good story, I suggest you give it a view.

TV talk

This evening is the two hour season finale of Storm chasers on Discovery channel.  Have to say, I love it. Make sure you tune in! The weather channel tried to come up with their own, bastardized, version that is very lame in comparison…

A few other shows are coming on that will keep my attention. The season premier of “Hoarders” starts on Monday, 11/30. You can catch that on A&E. Monday also brings the season premier of Pawn Stars on the History Channel.  Nothing beats watching people who collect everything and anything while living in total squaller OR watching people desperate for money trying to sell of their possessions.

Finally, HBO’s “Big Love” season 4 starts on January 10th.

Experimenting with Food

Right now there is a white bean chicken chili sitting in the crock pot just cooking away.  After the W had soup at the other day I thought “I can make something like this…”  Well, I’m not sure my experiment is going to end up as chili, maybe more of a soup than anything.

We’ll see how it turns out.  The results will be over at Yes, We Cook!

Staying true to yourself

The W and I were talking about how one becomes a good person.  It it their willingness to help others? Is it the principles they live their life by? No clue…  However, the discussion lead into happiness, personal happiness and begin fulfilled in life. This all begs the question what truly makes one happy?

In order to be truly happy I would say that one needs to be true to themselves. That means one must understand who they are and what they believe in.  If you are interested in doing a self evaluation here is a good list of items to look at.

Just a small question here…

When you learned your American history what were the non-native Americans who attended the first thanksgiving called?

They were called Pilgrims.

So why is it President Obama needed – or felt the need - to call them European settlers? No other presidential Thanksgiving day proclamation in the last 12 years felt the need to specifically point out European, so what is so special about the distinction now?

Little by little this administration is trying to change the traditions and fundamental beliefs this country was founded on.

Actually, surprise really is not the correct term. A number of people and rating agencies have stated for about a year that by 2011 one in four mortgages would be underwater – that is the borrower owes more than the property is worth.

First American CoreLogic, a real estate information company, now says that 10.5 million households have negative equity in their property. For those who claim the residential real estate market have bottomed, think again. Let us deal out a few reasons why.

The case for the next leg down in real estate

1. Foreclosures are making record highs each month. This means there will continue to be extra inventory on the market, pushing down prices
2. People with negative equity – especially large amounts – will start walking away from their property (see point number 1)
3. $110 Billion in Adjustable Rate Mortgages will reset in the next two years. Seeing a large portion of borrowers cannot refinance as it is, a wave of ARMs resets will cause pressure on borrowers again leading to people being unable to pay their mortgage.
4. Unemployment is expected to remain high over the next several years. If jobs are hard to come by, how can people pay their mortgage? (again, see point 1)

What I find interesting is that 11% of people who took out mortgages in 2009 ALREADY owe more than what their property is worth. If that is not a sign that the market continues to trend downward I don’t know what is.

Really, Iran?  I mean, really?

Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer and human rights activist who won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in spreading democracy and supporting human rights efforts.  In 2010 she was the Nobel Peace Prize winner that had her medal taken away from her by Iranian authorities because Shirin Edabi is, apparently, dissenter of the Iranian Government.

Not only that, the Iranian government has frozen her bank accounts. The government is claiming she owes 410,000 in back taxes.

At a time when Iran should be trying to show the world they want to be a member of the world community the leadership goes and does something like this. Truly amazing.  I guess one should never underestimate stupidity.

Cormac McCarthy is a graphic, and in the minds of some, a disturbing writer.  Want a perfect example? Just look at “No Country For Old Men.” Sure, the Coen brothers added their twists to telling of the story but the movie gives you a baseline understanding of McCarthy’s writing. When McCarthy released “The Road” I found the book to be both mesmerizing and disturbing at the same time; however, when I found out that The Road would be turned into a movie I was concerned of the filmmakers ability to carry over that emotion.

The Road stars Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee, as well as a smattering of other notable actors that have small roles, who are trying to make their way to survival in a post apocalyptic world. Simply due to the nature of the story there is very little dialog in the movie. Viggo carries the movie when speaking or simply showing his emotion in scenes, which is a great thing as he is on screen almost the entire time. Kodi Smit-McPhee, the actor in the role of the boy, is another story.

Smit-McPhee was mildly annoying to me. During the entire movie I kept thinking to myself what other actor could have filled the role.  Be it the way he was talking or crying, I just kept thinking how his performance was taking away from the viewing experience. It was almost as if Viggo was so good in his role any “not ready for prime time” actor sharing the screen ended up looking, well, like an amateur.

Robert Duvall has a small part within the movie as the Old Man. During a short exchange between the two Viggo and Robert, Duvall simply shines and shows why his is one of the greatest actors ever to grace the screen. It is unfortunate the story did not have more for Duvall to show his abilities.

The movie managed to create a world torn apart by some unknown event, and did so with minimal CGI. There were moments when I thought to myself this is what I would expect a post-apocalyptic world to be like. The problem I had with the movie version of The Road was exactly what I feared – the emotion and tension of the book did not translate to the film. It almost felt as if the essence of the story was sucked out and the viewer was left with an empty shell.

Viggo Mortensen was truly outstanding, and the 5 minutes that Robert Duvall was on screen was a pleasure, but overall the movie was just lacking.

Not a horrific film, by any means, it was simply disappointing.

While the world was caught off guard by the news that Dubai is on the verge of defaulting on their debt, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, a family member of the Dubai’s ruling class, noted the decision to announce was carefully planned. I have no doubt the decision was planned; however, what does not add up to me is this quote:

“unprecedented growth, in Dubai and across the (United Arab Emirates), over the past decade has helped lay the foundation for what is now a broad-based sustainable economy beyond just natural resources.”

Is the United Arab Emirates truly in a position to continue growing beyond their involvement in natural resources? I would be hard pressed to believe such a statement.

The unprecedented growth in the UAE was based on energy, all other industries were offshoots. Why do you think the UAE is pushing for higher energy prices? The revenues from energy production fund government operations, and without that revenue the governments of the UAE will constrict – if not collapse.

A potential saving grace for Dubai may be their big brother, Abu Dhabi.  This write up by Northern Trust bank suggests Abu Dhabi may help the country restructure debt in exchange for assets such as Emirates airlines. As John Galt points out, someone sold a large amount of gold at the open of the markets after the Dubai news – was Dubai trying to raise funds, or was Abu Dhabi getting ready to assist? A rescue move by Abu Dhabi move would make sense on a number of levels – both business and cultural.

The real question that should be asked is this: Are any other governments facing default and would would be their “big brother” providing a rescue?

If Dubai does default, the credit markets will slow yet again, especially into emerging markets.  Such an event will put even more pressure on smaller governments facing debt issues due to the global economic depression. But what about other other governments, what about the “stable” countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, the European Union and Japan?

The sovereign debt worldwide has increased roughly $15.3 trillion dollars between 2007 and 2010, and the majority of the debt was placed squarely on the books of the countries above. If the United Kingdom or Japan were to default a number of countries may be able to assist, but if the United States where to lapse on debt there is no one with a bigger checkbook that could come to the rescue.

The future remains to be seen but if it can happen to Dubai – a country that was the jewel of the UAE – it can happen to anyone. Over the next year we may understand that the term “too big to fail” is indeed false.