Ball point pen on the morning newsprint New Jersey Devil, Martin Brodeur set a new standard for hockey goaltending becoming the winningest netminder in NHL history by recording his 552nd career victory at the glorious Prudential Center yesterday. P.S. I'm not going to pretend to be a big hockey fan. Like most Americans, I grew up playing basketball, baseball and football, but I am a fan of excellence and a New Jersey native, so I've gotta give it up to Brodeur. Truth be told, I've only been to one Devils game in my life, and that was because my brothers built the beautiful arena where the Devils play and I was treated to great seats behind the net to check out their handy work. So, as long as I'm giving out kudos for excellence, great job on that arena Tom and Dan! ...
Read MoreMonthly Archives: March 2009
Ball point pen on the morning newsprint President "O"Bama is fighting mad over bonuses and retention packages given to the employees of AIG Financial Products Division responsible for derivatives that brought the giant insurance company to it's knees and triggered a taxpayer bailout. Happy St. Patrick's Day! ...
Read MoreBall point pen on the morning newsprint My Dad, having lost all function of his kidneys when I was a boy, would come home from work on Monday's Wednesday's and Friday's, ensconce himself in a reclining chair in front of our family television while my Mom connected him to a dialysis machine for a five hour treatment. So began my family's introduction to the late afternoon talk shows of Merv Griffin and Mike Douglas and their eclectic group of guests. The hosts were equally at home talking to John Lennon, as they were to comedian Totie Fields or one of my favorites, The Amazing Kreskin. Now the B list mentalist is the inspiration for a new movie "The Great Buck Howard". The film opens this Friday, starring John Malkovich and directed by Kreskin's former personal assistant Sean McGinty . A native New Jerseyan, Kreskin still makes his home in Essex county, not that he's home much, he's ...
Read MoreBall point pen on the morning newsprint Eminence Front The sun shines People forget The spray flies as the speedboat glides People forget Forget they're hiding The girls smile People forget The snow packs as the skier tracks People forget Forget they're hiding. Behind an eminence front Eminence front - It's a put-on The drinks flow People forget That big wheel spins, the hair thins People forget Forget they're hiding The news slows People forget The shares crash, hopes are dashed People forget Forget they're hiding. Behind an eminence front An eminence front - it's a put-on it's a put-on - it's a put-on The Who I doubt those who lost everything will ever forgive or forget the man who hid behind an eminence front. They just want their legacy back. ...
Read MoreBall point pen on the morning newsprint I applaud how the legislature has been shining a light on how corporate America does business, but the standard practices of our legislature also seems broken. Earmarks are a way for legislators to make the federal government pay for local concerns. But, often seniority has as much to do with who brings home the bacon as those concerns....and in light of the catastrophic state of the economy and our ballooning deficits, said concerns often seem silly and ill conceived. The state of Iowa is receiving $1.7 million to research pig odor, while Hawaii is receiving $2 million for the promotion of astronomy. Of the $126 million Massachusetts is receiving in earmarks, more than twenty percent of those funds are going to preserve the Kennedy legacy. The bill includes 5.8 million to plan and design the Edward M Kennedy Institute for the Senate, $22 millio ...
Read MoreBall point pen on the morning newsprint Although credited with the greatest literary works in history, little is known about the man, William Shakespeare. Nearly 400 years after his death, scholars still debate the authorship of his work, so it was not without controversy that yesterday in London, a painting held in private hands for centuries should now emerge as the one and only likeness of William Shakespeare to have been painted in his lifetime. A more handsome Shakespeare, with a long delicate nose and far more hair than the Martin Droeshout iconic black and white woodcut engraving that we have come to recognize as Shakespeare. From the NYT ...
Read MoreBall point pen on the morning newsprint Its gonna take time, A whole lot of precious time. Its gonna take patience and time, ummm To do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it, to do it right. George Harrison That was the message from President Obama's Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag this weekend...minus Harrison's hip, melodic delivery and eastern philosophy vibe. Note to Congress: He purposefully skipped over the second verse about how it's gonna take plenty of money. ...
Read MoreBall point pen on the morning newsprint Yesterday, auditors from the Deloitte & Touche accounting firm reported that despite the $13.5 billion GM received in bailout money "recurring losses from operations, stockholders' deficit and inability to generate sufficient cash flow to meet our obligations and sustain our operations raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern," GM has lost $82 billion in the past three years including $30.9 billion last year. The company's stock closed yesterday at $1.86 per share. Yet despite all that abysmal news, the audit revealed Rick Wagner's pay package for 2008 was worth $14.9 million. Yesterday the dow closed at 6,594. How can investors feel confident in the market with these modern day Neros in charge? Did we really need Deloitte & Touche to tell us that GM's business model was broken? Even a guy who draws pictures coul ...
Read MoreBall point pen on the morning newsprint There's a theme of sorts developing in my doodles this week. Bernie Madoff has taken people for $50 billion (that's billion with a B) so I guess he thinks everyone's a fool. Take for example the financial success of his wife Ruth Madoff. They have been married for nearly fifty years. Last month after the ponzi scheme was discovered, regulators revealed that she withdrew $15.5 million from a Cohmad securities account (Cohn/Maddoff)..... Hmmm, without being employed outside the firm, she has managed to amass 62 million dollars in cash and bonds and a $7 million penthouse, all in her own name. Now, Bernie says that those assets are separate from his ill gotten gains and she should be allowed to keep them. Very convenient that his name doesn't appear on any of their assets, being as he robs people of their life savings for a living. ...
Read More