Dec 27, 2008

Visual Foolery

Fabulous abstract painting? Look again.


It's the Carina Nebula as photographed by NASA. More stunning photos of other nebulas can be found at BLD blog (scroll to the bottom.)

Dec 25, 2008

Remembering Eartha Kitt: Santa Baby


Rest in peace, you beautiful kitten. Purrrrrrr!

Here's her take on An Old Fashioned Girl. Hah!

Dec 23, 2008

Christmas Sweater Winners

The other night a friend and I were strolling down the tony part of Monument Ave and walked past a mansion that was hosting a lah dee dah party. The chubby hostess wore an ugly Christmas Sweater, prompting my friend to say, "A good income does not necessarily translate into good taste."

Ah, Christmas, a time of ugly sweaters at parties. Here's a twist on the Christmas sweater: Bliss certainly had a unique take on a time honored tradition last year.

Stuff White People Like also features ugly Christmas Sweaters. I rather liked this blog until I realized it was one long ad for a book. Meh. In one year this blog racked up 51 million hits. Jealous much, Vic? Yeah. This post is funnier: Fugly Ass Christmas Sweater of the Day.

Best Tacky Christmas Sweater gets my vote for pix with really ugly sweaters in 'Ode to the Joyously Ugly'.

Epically Ugly Christmas Sweaters offers 34 images of ticky tacky wool jumpers.

Oooooh, don't you just love the Holiday Season?

Image: Colin Firth as Mark Darcy in Bridget Joneses Diary.

Dec 22, 2008

Merry Humbug

Imagine making the following statement to your banker after receiving a hefty loan, or to your IRS agent during an audit:

"We're choosing not to disclose that."
"The money can't be tracked," or "We're not providing dollar-in, dollar-out tracking."
"We are going to decline to comment."
"We've lent some of it. We've not lent some of it. We've not given any accounting of, 'Here's how we're doing it."


These are statements that bank representatives made to Matt Apuzzo, an AP press writer, in Where Did the Bailout Money Go? Ssssh. It's a Secret.


WHAT COLLOSSAL NERVE. It's my money, you neo-criminals. Actually, it's OUR TAXPAYER money, not yours. You'd foreclose my grandmother's house faster than an eye can blink, and now you want to drag your heels in telling us how you are using the bailout money that helped to keep you afloat.

Bah humbug. If I could live without banks, I would. The idea of paying their exorbitant near-usurers' fees to handle my hard-earned money has teed me off for years. Now, knowing how poorly they've handled my finances, which skirts criminality, the thought of these institutions even touching my savings, pension, and checking accounts makes me physically sick. I am so fiscally responsible that I have no debts, not even on a credit card, my car, or my house, and have watched the mortgage debacle unfold over recent years in horror. Question: What idiot loans $100,000 without requesting a down payment or collatoral, or receiving assurances that a repayment can be made? Answer: A bank. Now that they have our money - again - they're smiling at us like Chesire cats, daring us to guess what they're doing with our dough.

Do you trust them? I don't.

I hope on a personal level that these overpaid, underperforming executives placed their bonuses in Madoff's funds. Now that would be justice. As for me - their nose-in-the-air attitude is the last straw for me. I am consolidating all my finances and will hide my stash under a mattress. It has a chance of being as safe there as in a bank, brokerage firm, or pension fund.

Dec 3, 2008

Margaret and Helen: Two Little Ol' Ladies with Claws

You just have to love these two little ol' ladies - Margaret and Helen, best friends for over 60 years and counting - and as outspoken and smart as anyone 1/5 their age. Their humble blog has received over a million hits, and why? Because they tell it like it is. Read their posts, then read their readers comments. Hilarious, yet real.

Here's a passage from 28% of Americans Don't Believe Sarah Palin is an Idiot - "That was a hoot. All those people reading my little blog and getting so upset. Who knew there were so many people who still enjoy hearing Palin talk? Then again who knew Palin supporters were smart enough to read? "

Hah!