Notable Quotable 2009

As much of a gadget freak as I may be, I love my Slingshot organizer. More than anything, I like having it around to quickly jot down info about things I see, films while I'm watching them, and, most importantly for this post, funny things people I'm spending time with say. Here's a collection of quotations from the last year, mostly without attribution.

January 28- can you mix chamomile tea and wine?

March 7- it was calypso metal for a second there.

March 15- you need to edit all day. do it. now.

March 22- what happens when you repeatedly remove 2 ft. of film from Ghost until 9 minutes have disappeared?

March 26- who is amen? goosey jossip. the way he breathes.

March 26- sever thunderstorms

April 2- how are you going to argue with the traveling nurse with the new fake boobs when she takes your glasses?

April 10- you and I lick ass at the mutual flake

April 17- Hispanic veggies -Felice

April 24- ride sightings of a big scary green and yellow snake, 3 deer, and a Tom turkey

April 26- salt dogs should've been the salt creek beetles. their mascot would have big mandibles to scare the shit out of kids. -Conrad

May 30- my brain is too powerful for passion. -Marti

June 10- have a good try one at the a&n bar in wymore.

July 3- all women have a built-in grain of indestructibility. and men's task has always been to make them realize it as late as possible. -Sans Soleil

July 12- baby/child one pulled pit with water pouring out of its open mouth, dead. "look, my gill can hold her breath!"

August 17- mom: I'm going to the blood bank
Elisabeth: have fun with the vampires
mom: you know, it's something good I can do that doesn't require brains
elisabeth: yeah, that's the zombies

September 8- when is our workplace going to reflect the creativity-fostering we want to see in schools? it's depressing, not funny.

October 10- ART ART ART show!

October 17- Kein mensch ist illegal.

October 18- I tried to do handstands for you.

October 21- serendipity: I heard your voice in Dresden comes on the shuffle while driving in dresden. berlin graffiti: I'll be in your dreams if you'll let me be in yours.

October 22- dorky business idea: underwear printed with dutch flag pattern, for your Netherlands.

My Week #1 (April 21-27)

Robbie started April with weekly videos with 8 seconds of footage per day. His sister Annie followed suit. I'm hopping in the fold this week.


My Week #1 (April 21-27) from nocoastfilms on Vimeo.

As originated by Robbie Wilkins and followed by Annie Wilkins, here is my first entry into the My Week genre. I decided not to follow the 8 seconds per day allotment as strictly this time; it was a busy week.

This American Life Impresses Once Again

Do yourself a favor, sit down without distractions, and listen to this.

Episode 375: Bad Bank

The collapse of the banking system explained, in just 59 minutes. Our crack economics team—the guys who explained the mortgage crisis, Alex Blumberg and NPR’s Adam Davidson—are back to help all of us understand the news. For instance, when we talk about an insolvent bank, what does it actually mean, and why are we giving hundreds of billions of dollars to rich bankers who screwed up their own businesses? Also, two guys go to New Jersey to look at a toxic asset.

Other shows on the financial crisis: Giant Pool of Money and Another Frightening Show About the Economy. And you can get daily updates about the financial crisis on Alex and Adam's Planet Money podcast and blog.

These recent episodes of the Planet Money podcast go into more depth on the issues in this week's show:

2/9/09 Get Tougher Please—especially the interview with Adam Posen
2/27/09 He Nationalized a Bank
2/2/09 Japan's Lost Lesson

Simon Johnson, the former IMF official on this week's show, has a blog called BaselineScenario.com.

Also, on C-Span—Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner praises this episode.

---

Prologue.

Host Ira Glass plays clips from TV in a recent senate hearing and talks about how confusing the current banking crisis is. But fortunately today, we have the team that brought us our show that explained the mortgage crisis a year ago, back to explain entire the banking system in 40 minutes. (3 minutes)

Act One. The Collapse of the US Banking System Explained in Just 39 Minutes.

Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson tackle a very tough subject: trying to explain exactly what a bank is and does. They talk to a number of experts about what has gone wrong in banking, but not before bringing us all up to speed on some banking basics, like understanding a bank balance sheet, and a bank’s assets and liabilities, and the squishy business of what banks say about their balance sheets compared to what they are.

Alex and Adam walk us step by step through the complications of the US government buying up bad assets from banks, and explain why, when it comes to footing the bill, the government might just prefer to not be in charge of the very banks it is having taxpayers bailout. From a dollhouse, to a hypothetical bank worth tens of dollars, to the trillions of dollars being spent to keep banks afloat, Alex and Adam talk economy, and where we might be headed. (39 minutes)

Act Two. Clean Up Crew.

Not everyone hates the idea of “toxic assets.” Reporter Lisa Chow goes to New Jersey to follow two guys on their quest to clean up some of America’s bad mortgages—by buying them, and going straight to the homes themselves to have a look at how dire the situation really is. (13 minutes)

Song: "The House Song," Peter, Paul and Mary