Friday, October 31, 2008

FUCK YOU, BANKS. YOU GUYS SUCK.

We’re All Bankers Now. So Why’s the A.T.M. Still Charging Us $2?


Published: October 30, 2008

According to our math, not the most reliable of guides, each taxpayer in this country has a $1,785.71 ownership share in the banks of America.

This figure is based on the $250 billion that the Treasury Department is investing in banks to prod them to start lending again. We divided $250 billion by 140 million, which the Internal Revenue Service says is the number of individual tax returns filed last year. By our count, that gives every taxpayer a $1,785.71 stake in JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and the rest.

(In that 140 million, we are not including Charles J. O’Byrne, who resigned under fire as Gov. David A. Paterson’s top lieutenant. We can’t be sure that Mr. O’Byrne has fully recovered from what his lawyer calls late-filing syndrome when it comes to his taxes. Also excluded is Joe the Publicity-Hungry Unlicensed Plumber. Public records have shown that Joe suffers from Sticky Fingers Syndrome in paying all that he owes.)

Far be it for us to tell Henry M. Paulson Jr., the treasury secretary, or Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, how to manage $250 billion. They’re the brains. And they’re doing a heck of a job. Thanks to all that brilliance in Washington and on Wall Street, the rest of us now know how to make a small fortune: by investing a large fortune.

But as shareholders, we have thoughts on aspects of banking that seem beyond the scope of Messrs. Paulson and Bernanke. Call them small-bore issues. But they affect ordinary people every day.

Let’s start with something really easy. Is it too much to ask that all banks have pens that work on the counters with the deposit and withdrawal slips? In too many places, the pens are useless. How can people feel confident that their money is being managed wisely if those in charge can’t even provide a functioning pen?

As shareholders, we were going to suggest that the top executives of the banks forgo end-of-year bonuses, but Andrew M. Cuomo, New York’s attorney general, was ahead of us. He sent a letter on Wednesday to nine big financial institutions asking for information about their plans in this regard. It doesn’t guarantee that mega-bonuses are finished. But, really, why should we give a dime to executives who had to come to us hat in hand? Better to give an extra buck or two to the guy in the subway with an outstretched plastic cup.

How about a moratorium on new bank branches in New York neighborhoods? The tanking economy will probably take care of that anyway. But an ironclad agreement by the banks to halt further expansion would delight New Yorkers. Many are infuriated as they watch cherished local stores die and give way to impersonal bank outlets, often located within yards of one another. Enough is enough.

Why not forbid any bank receiving taxpayer money to purchase naming rights to sports stadiums and arenas? Citigroup is handing the Mets something like $20 million a year to call their new stadium Citi Field. Surely, the Mets do not need Citigroup’s money — not to mention yours — to keep failing to make the playoffs.

Might we end the procedure by which banks stiff you when you deposit a large check? Often, you are initially credited with only part of the deposit, and must wait a few days to gain access to the rest. Meanwhile, the bank is using the withheld portion to pick up a few bucks for itself. Check-clearance times have been speeded up in recent years. But why shouldn’t depositors be able to get at their money immediately, all of it?

For that matter, why must bank customers pay several times to retrieve cash at an A.T.M. (known to some as short for Always Taking Money)? If you use an A.T.M. at a bank other than your own, that bank usually charges you a fee. Fair enough. But your own bank also charges you for the same transaction. So you pay twice for the privilege — no, make that the right — to withdraw your own money. How is that?

As long as we have $1,785.71 at stake, can’t we ask that banks have recognizable names?

A few years ago, something called Sovereign Bank began popping up all over town. We’d never heard of Sovereign. Now, just as we’ve been getting used to the name, we learn that Sovereign has had it.

A full-page advertisement in Thursday’s paper announced that Sovereign had been taken over by a company called Santander. What in the name of the Bailey Savings and Loan is Santander?

Turns out that the full name is Banco Santander, based in Spain. Want to bet that Santander left out “banco,” except in very small type at the bottom of the ad, so that few would see right away that another piece of America had been acquired by a foreign institution.

Sovereign, we hardly knew ye. But at least you didn’t go by a dopey moniker like WaMu. That’s what Washington Mutual called itself before it, too, flopped. The name WaMu will soon be gone, whammo!

Here’s hoping the same doesn’t happen to our $1,785.71.

E-mail:haberman@nytimes.com

Thursday, October 30, 2008

NY Times Article about Brooklyn Beer Distribution

At the Atlantic Antic this year Allan and I were talking about how SixPoint basically owned Atlantic Avenue for 12 hours. They must have had a stand every block, sometimes 3 to a block.

Brooklyn Returns to a Heady Time


Published: October 28, 2008

BROOKLYN produced one-fifth of the nation’s beer as recently as 1960. By 1976, when Rheingold and Schaefer shuttered their Brooklyn plants, the number of local breweries dropped to zero.

Now the hops are stirring in Brooklyn once again.

Sixpoint Craft Ales, which has been brewing an increasingly popular range of beers in a small brew house in Red Hook for four years, just bought a bottling line and a brewing system that will let it increase production tenfold — to about 60,000 barrels a year.

They’re hoping to close a deal on a property in Williamsburg to install their new equipment soon.

MORE

Happy Halloween



There are no words.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

John Daly Has Spoken



From SI:
When you hear the words "Hooters," "John Daly" and "extremely intoxicated" in the same sentence, you know where this story is going.

In the latest chapter of Daly's longtime struggle with alcohol abuse, Daly was held overnight in a North Carolina jail after passing out at a Hooters restaurant, according to Winston-Salem police.

Police officers were called to the Hooters at 120 Hanes Square Circle in Winston-Salem at 2:17 a.m. When police arrived, Daly, who had passed out at the restaurant, was already being treated by emergency medical workers, according to police reports. Emergency workers said Daly refused to go to a hospital.

According to police, Daly "appeared extremely intoxicated and uncooperative." Daly again refused to go to the hospital and was eventually asked to leave by Hooters employees, police said.

Because the clearly drunk Daly had no transportation home, police said they held Daly in custody at a local jail until he sobered up, and then he was escorted home. Daly was photographed by police, but does not appear to have been charged with any crime.

After his bizarre appearance at the British Open, where he accused his former coach Butch Harmon of lying about Daly's alchohol abuse and then struggled to break 90, and his shirtless round in Missouri which was a YouTube hit, this latest episode is more proof that Daly, who still has a tremendous fan following, is now far more famous as a sad sideshow than the long-hitting Babe Ruth of golf who came from nowhere to win the 1991 PGA Championship.

I thought I would include a nice video of John at a the Pro-Am:

Richard Belzer Has Spoken




The Goth's favorite actor weighs in on the election.

I don't think most people understand how dangerous it would be to elect the Republican ticket in 2008. I believe McCain is a genuinely dangerous person. And his age is not the point. I know people in their eighties who are very sharp. My concerns about McCain are that he was tortured for five years during the Vietnam War, which isn't necessarily ennobling.

Think about his inability to raise his arms above his head. Keep that in mind for someone with such oversized pride and ego, who is so enamored of himself. The fact that he can't comb his own hair—he must be seething with so much anger for his inability to do the most basic acts. It's an anger that underscores everything he does. And it's an anger, in particular, for people who question his judgment.

RIP ZIMA

Introduced in 1993, the year most of us here entered high school, Zima wasn't the first alcoholic beverage I drank (that would probably be Olde English 80o) but it was certainly the first beverage that a number of girls I sloppily made out with in high school drank (along with Boone's Strawberry Hill or whatever that shit was called).



MillerCoors ends production of Zima, Teenage Girls Saddened

MILWAUKEE (AP) — MillerCoors LLC says goodbye to Zima.

The joint venture between SABMiller's U.S. unit and Molson Coors Brewing Co. told distributors in a letter Monday that production of the malt liquor beverage was discontinued as of Oct. 10.

Chief Marketing Officer Andy England says the decision was due to weakness in the "malternative" segment and declining consumer interest.

He says distributors can get remaining Zima inventories most likely through December.

Distributors are being asked to put products from caffeinated alcoholic beverage Sparks on retail store shelves to make up for Zima's absence.

The brand came to the joint venture from Molson Coors, maker of Coors Light and Keystone.

Manny Pacquiao

Caught this on ESPN last night, happy to see it's already been posted up to YouTube.



December 6th, Manny fights De La Hoya. Most anticipated fight of the year.
We gotta watch.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Allan Thinks He Can Dance

I remember hanging out with Allan in 1998, back when we used to live with Piston Honda in Union Square. His favorite club was called Match, his drink of choice was a Tom Collins extra sweet, and boy did he live to dance. I don't know if it was his mascot training that lit a spark, but I have never seen someone just get down and boogie to Big Pun's "I'm not a Player." He had some very interesting dances, but the one that stands out in particular is highlighted nicely in this video around the 1:00 mark. Check out the guy in the black suit. Although its not Allan in the clip, I think it gives a near identical representation of his dance skills:

Jean Claude Van Damme at the Brooklyn Academy of Music



JCVD, aka Jean Claude Van Damme's new movie, will be coming to BAM in the next few days. What's a Van Damme movie doing at BAM? Who cares. All you need to know is that he'll be there for a talk on Thursday, November 6 at 7 p.m.

From the above link's description:
"A surprise smash at both the Cannes and Toronto film festivals, JCVD reveals the Muscles from Brussels in ways you've never seen him before--facing a child custody battle and a career that is rapidly tumbling downhill (hitting rock bottom when he loses a part to his rival Steven Segal)."

Here's the trailer:

Friday, October 24, 2008

Halloween Costume?

Holy Mary, this is so dope. Probably gonna customize a "95 South" or "Whoot There It Is" t-shirt at some point this weekend.

"Ooh-e ooo e, look at that booty
Ooh-e ooo e, Excuse me Sonny
Ooh-e ooo e, look at that booty
Ooh-e ooo e, Excuse me Sonny"

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Some Good Pro-Communist Articles on the Financial Crisis



I thought this was a good article on how we should approach the financial crisis.

Capitalism happens. When and where it does, capitalism casts its own special shadow: a self-critique of capitalism's basic flaws that says modern society can do better by establishing very different, post-capitalist economic systems. This critical shadow rises up to terrify capitalism when -- in crisis periods such as now -- capitalism hits the fan. Karl Marx poetically called that shadow the specter that haunts capitalism.

More...

Here is another one that I thought had some good insight into why the rush for huge bailouts is a bad idea.

One of the most striking things about the reaction to the current financial meltdown is that, as one of the participants put it: ‘No one really knows what to do.’ The reason is that expectations are part of the game: how the market reacts to a particular intervention depends not only on how much bankers and traders trust the interventions, but even more on how much they think others will trust them. Keynes compared the stock market to a competition in which the participants have to pick several pretty girls from a hundred photographs: ‘It is not a case of choosing those which, to the best of one’s judgment, are really the prettiest, nor even those which average opinion genuinely thinks the prettiest. We have reached the third degree where we devote our intelligence to anticipating what average opinion expects the average opinion to be.‘ We are forced to make choices without having the knowledge that would enable us to make them; or, as John Gray has put it: ‘We are forced to live as if we were free.’

More...

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Jose, can't you see?!

Monday night marked the passing of an On-Fire Hall of Fame legend. No, Jose Canseco - the Godfather of steroids who practically built the OFHOF with his bare hands (and artificially enhanced biceps) - isn't dead. Technically. But he's dead to me.

Why? On an A&E special in which he was given a remarkable platform on which to expound upon his recently released sequel to his time-honored classic "Juiced" - a sequel in which he boldly, blindly, and therefore awesomely accuses A-Rod of juicing - Jose instead APOLOGIZED for writing it and said he "regrets" doing so.

Take a look:

Say it ain't so, Jose! Canseco's lying in bed and longingly staring at a video of himself back in the Bash Brothers days notwithstanding, this is rock bottom for Jose. Later in the A&E feature, camera crews capture Canseco attempting to break into his own home after his house has been condemned. The video is of course hilarious, but it is a clear symbol as to the depth of Jose's sudden disgracehood. Once I find the video I will post it.

So the man who gave us not only two "Juiced" books that forced Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro--among others--into seclusion; the man who shared a house with Verne Troyer on the "Surreal Life"; the man who tried to break into the George Mitchell steroids press conference in New York last winter to ask his own questions....only now, after apologizing for the baseball-wide chaos he created, has he truly disgraced himself.

Like Pete Rose before him, Canseco is a man who was a sure-fire, On-Fire Hall of Famer who apologized on national television for the very thing that earned him his first ballot induction. Both should have realized that such apologies won't help their Baseball Hall of Fame chances...and cost them their OFHOF status.

R.I.P. Jose

NOTE: As Allan pointed out, if this is all one big ploy to sell more books and elbow his way back into the national sports consciousness, please discount everything I just said. Stay tuned.

Mike Tyson's PUNCH-OUT!! Real and Imagined Endings

Mike Tyson's PUNCH-OUT!! ranks as one of the top 5 video games of all time. This is no mystery, as Mike Tyson ranks as one of the top 5 people of all time. Below is the ending for the NES game you'd see if you were actually able to defeat Tyson (I finally did it my sophomore year at NYU) and the special WHS ending to the game.

Real Ending (note severe racial and national stereotyping of characters):


WHS Special Ending (note everything):

Monday, October 20, 2008

Find out where to vote, sucka!

You think you saw this video already, where Sarah Palin refuses to mention a single magazine or journal that she reads, but there's a bit of a twist near the end of this one. Watch it all the way through.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Please help me title this picture:



Suggestions so far:

"The many faces of Renee"

"Wincott has Spoken!"

"For Every Renee You Slay, There Are A Million More Poisonous Renees That Emerge"

For inspiration, click here.

From the above link to the Michael Wincott/Rene Ricard fansite:
"Later that evening, Rene has been drowning his sorrows and is by now quite drunk. He creates a scene at an exclusive restaurant, and is eventually thrown out in the funniest scene of the movie." AHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH



Someone also please investigate this lead (Wincott assisting the Obama campaign?)
Wincott Doing Obama Ads?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

W

At last, the great unintentional comedy biopic of our time has arrived. This one should make "Bobby" seem like "Citizen Kane". Please observe how not only do NONE of the actors cast look like the real-life people they are portraying, but judging by the trailer - they don't even attempt to sound like them.

When the credits roll at the end of the trailer, revealing the hit list of who's playing who, you will literally laugh harder and harder with each successive visual.

My apologies if this video has already been posted, but this is probably something you can never get enough of anyway.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

WHS Classic Sitcom Scenes: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

This unintentionally funny scene is from the episode, "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse". WARNING: do not watch at work, as it is very hard to control laughter

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Johnny Cash and Louis Armstrong

I just came across this little gem on youtube; a duet with Johnny Cash and Louis Armstrong. As far as I could tell this was the only time they performed together. I have always enjoyed both of them, and its cool to see them on the same stage:

"Damn E, they tried to fade you on 'Dre Day' "

"...but 'Dre Day' only met Eazy's pay day"

These were the days.



Favorite line: "Damn E, they

Hey Ya'll Wanna See Some Manute Bol?



Barkley and Mahorn Have Fun With Manute


Blocks


"Sky Hook"


(Still searching for the game where Manute just lofts three pointers, and hits them, to the disbelief of the commentator)

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Elvis

I don't think you can get more on fire than the late Elvis Presley. I spent this morning reviewing youtube clips of his last few concerts. He is not just fat, he has the look of someone with Cushing's syndrome. This is a condition where there is elevated cortisol in the blood stream creating edema in the extremities and the characteristic "moon face." It is more than the look of someone who had too many pancakes and beer.

As we all know he eventually died from his massive addiction to amphetamines, opiates, and alcohol. Some estimates indicate that he spent up to a million a year on his pills. Now, I remember being amazed that Christy Brinkley's ex husband spent $3000 a month on internet pornography, but good lord...Elvis blows him out of the water!

As I look at the old clips, I am amazed at his amount of sweat, apathy, and confusion. In one clip, he walks on stage ready to sing Frank Sinatra's classic "My Way", but unabashedly needs to read it from a piece of paper. In the other, he forgets lyrics to "Lonely Tonight," and in front of a crowd of thousands he babbles nonsensically with a smile on his face. But what makes him truly 'on fire' is that he could do this shit every week, in front of large crowds and television viewers, and get away with it. Amazing!



Friday, October 10, 2008

Question

You know you have been waiting for it...

Che, El Argentino



Here are some links you may find interesting for Steven Soderbergh's "Che".

Official Website (espanol)

20th Century Fox International's page (espanol) for CHE, "El Argentino". You can find the trailer here.

Yahoo! news story about the U.S. distribution deal struck with IFC Films. IFC Films' site doesn't seem to have very much, if anything, on Che at all.

From the linked story: "The film will play a one-week qualifying run in Los Angeles and New York in December for Oscar consideration. It will reopen in theaters in January and be available to cable and satellite subscribers through IFC's movies-on-demand service."

It would be nice to watch this film at home - pause when you want, etc. - considering its length, which is at or above 4 hours.

Trailer Found on YouTube

Thursday, October 9, 2008

"THAT ONE"

Sorry but I had to do it.

ORIGINAL




REMIX



MOCEAN WORKER VERSION



COLD AS ICE VERSION



DIDDY "I INVENTED THE REMIX" BLOG COMMENTARY



T-Shirts already available here.

My New Tattoo

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Allan In a Commercial

A few years back, Allan found himself in a Cookie Company commercial. But here is the kicker...he was the fucking mascot! After a little digging, I found the original footage:

Mulholland Drive: The Game



In addition to We Has Spoken's prior post I bring to you the official Mulholland Drive game.

Mulholland Drive Game

INSTRUCTIONS: Drag the puzzle pieces from the left into the empty black box on the right. When the piece is correctly lined up, you'll hear a sound confirming it's in the right place so make sure you have sound.

After correctly completing the puzzle, you'll be given a code. It's a booth number and a phone number. You'll be taken back to the homepage. Click 'phone' and you'll then see a series of red numbers. These are the booth numbers. Click the booth number you were just given and you'll see a rotary dial. To activate the phone, first click the small button to the bottom left of the dial, then "X" and the number you were given. You'll have to do 1 more simple puzzle and dial a new code to get to your worthwhile video prize (look closely at one of the windows - you'll know what I mean when you see it).

SHORTCUT TO END (not as rewarding if you don't do the puzzles): Click Here

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Mullholand Drive "Winkies Scene" Explained

Well sort of...

"Can you say something about... that horrible blackened derelict behind Winkies?"

DAVID LYNCH: OK, here's the deal. Denny's restaurant on Sunset used to be a place called The Copper Penny. It was right at Gower and Sunset. I think that's where Frank Capra worked, and in the old days that was the corner where all the movie extras would line up in the morning for work. And the Denny's there was a pretty strange Denny's. I'm not positive, but I think there was a satanic booth in the parking lot there for a while.

"What's that?"

DAVID LYNCH: I don't know! But I used to go there and have breakfast - a Grand Slam. Anyway, I was in a booth and I think I was alone and behind me there were three people, and they were talking about God. It sounded like quite a pleasant Sunday morning conversation. And I got up to pay the check and I glanced over at the people in the booth and there was the Head of the Satantic Church in the booth. They were talking quite friendly and nice. I thought it was like a church group! And so it was kind of strange. Anyway, there were some kind of heavy feelings at that Denny's and that fed into this thing in Mullholland Drive - this bum.

- from Lynch on Lynch edited by Chris Rodley.

Great Moments in Public Speaking

This is what I do on Sundays: I get in line at a bar by 10am to watch the Green Bay Packers and listen to passionate speeches. This was last weekend, before the Packers lost to the fucking Falcons, but a week after Aaron Rodgers got hurt and Brett Favre threw 6 TDs for the Jets. Dissension had run amok. We needed a Barack Obama/Rodney King "can't we all just get along and unify" moment. In the grand tradition of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr, and John Belushi, there is now my friend Nate:

Devendra Banhart Does Oasis

There was a music video contest a little while back for Guilt By Association - its description below:

"Have you ever felt embarrassed listening to one-hit wonders or pop gems of yesteryear? Fear not. Your favorite Indie superstars are giving the OK by joining in together for "Guilt By Association", a collection of songs by today's most exciting Indie talent re-interpreting their favorite guilty pleasure pop songs."

Video for Devendra Banhart's take on "Don't Look Back in Anger" won:


And let's throw in the original because it may be one of the better songs to sing whilst 4-bottles of Soju deep in a K-Town karaoke spot:

Monday, October 6, 2008

Great Hagakure Quote



From the film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

How high is Diddy?



My guess is "really," what's yours?

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Google 2001

To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Google made their 2001 index searchable again. Many of the websites I frequent are not there. Try a search on iPod...its not there, gmail nope. Here is the result for Lindsey Lohan. In 2001 there are 773 hits for Barack Obama compared to 79,400,000 today. There are no results for Sarah Palin. Try your searches and let me know what you find.

Magua

Wes Studi, the actor who played Magua in The Last of the Mochicans, is an amazing character actor. In my opinion, his convincing portrayal places Magua as the best cinematic villain of the 90s. I am including two scenes from the Last of the Mohicans and breaking it down for the viewers of WHS:

The final battle:
- Min 5:13: I think this says it all.



The final scene:
-Min 2:46: Magua slits Uncas' throat, looks disgusted with the blood splattering on his face, and does all of this in front of Uncas' dad.



Magua Haiku:
Magua he appears
Breaking arms slitting throats
Scared woman jumps cliff