Cross Town Thoughts
Old men in red yarmulkes, pointed hats, lace skirts. Patriarchal hoarders of financial assets protected by lack of inheritance. No marriage allowed. Holy See! Pomp and circumstance. Incense. Gregorian chants. Anachronistic opiate. Centuries of secreted debauchery. Can a new Pope cure this?
And we have the resurrection of Paul AynRyan. Oh boys.
In the Valley of Debates. IMF warns that global economy is teetering on the brink as the struggling EU gets Nobel Prize for Peace. Fiscal cliff looms here. No debate to date has dealt with either. The world is flat. Remember that.
Ogilvy is one of LinkedIn’s top 20 InDemand global employers. Lucky mAdBen.
Pumpkins popping out of the ground. JeanJean the PromQueen StuffingtonPost. Happy milestone to A-Man. AutumnCandy. RecipeDetours. Bon weekend. 
Main Street vs. Bain Street. Why is Mitt surprised? He’s been running for President for like 10 years. He never thought this subject would come up? With documents from the SEC? He should have had his ducks in a row.
Zzzomney was in the bizness of maximizing profits. At any cost. For shareholders. That means downsizing. Outsourcing. Geez. Wasn’t anybody around in the 90’s? Personal tax shelters. Okay, maybe in the old days. But, last year? Perception is everything. This is not competence we can believe in.
The entitled on Bain Street need not heed the problems of Main Street. Until they run for office. Arrogance or ignorance? Either way, scary.
It’s what my college roommate from Westchester called my Aunt Gloria. No. That’s not it. Ants! They took the glow out of our modem. After days of intermittent internet service, we discovered their new residence. Gross.
Last night’s MadMen episode. Didn’t get the DarkShadows allusion except for obvious foreshadowing that started weeks ago. Betty is still fat, though.
AntiGlobalBanking. Until regulators are hired with the same quant skills as traders, get compensated at least as well, and have cross-border reach, Jamie Dimon, Congress, Obama- nobody can change Wall Street! Broken record alert. How many times do I have to say it?
Year of the water dragon. Black. Volatile. Strong. Will a fiery year ensue? Obama calls for unity once again, still an appealing theme. His personality is what differentiates him from Zzzomney and the Grinch as Repub debates drag on. Madden-esque mud fest at Candlestick. Could’ve gone either way in OT. Sloppy defensive slog. Brady lucky he didn’t go into OT, slithering into another SB. Neither win felt triumphant. Grandson with dog collar ad hilarious.
Books Page. The Strange Fate of Kitty Easton- Elizabeth Speller. World War I, its human toll depicted at Easton Manor, as with Downton Abbey this season. Nostalgic nod to Elaine’s from forgotten photo archives.
Recipe Detours. Alison’s roasted asparagus with pan sautéed hake. Finally fun to cook again. Distractions from Grinch and Zzzomney. But hey, Obama can sing.
The State of Our Union depends on the State of the European Union in the coming year. Davos discussions by that 1% will make it clear.
The Night Circus is a tightly wound time piece. Nocturnal wonderment. Transcendent love. Boundless imagination. Morgenstern’s first novel is a tour de force. 5 stars. When you read it, and you must, pay close attention to chapter headings and dates. When I finally got the “Bailey” joke, I laughed out loud. This was one of the best books I’ve read in a very long time. Couldn’t put it down. Hated to have it end. Loved it.
Amanda Knox’ four year purgatory finally over. Her Italian amante’s as well. Seems right. Conrad Murray, not so much. If you are a cardiologist, it’s good to know CPR at the very least. ElevatorEcon continues. Tick tock Andy Rooney.
Back in the early 90’s when there was talk of a European Union forming with one currency, I was a naysayer. I could not imagine countries with centuries of distinct cultures, languages, economic roots ever agreeing on anything as one entity. An article in The Economist, entitled ‘Yerp’ caught my attention at the time. It was a kindred cynical satirical view using the American tourist term for the continent. “We’re heading off to ‘Yerp’ for vacation in August.” As if Europe were just one big happy country. Never thought it could actually become so.
Wrong. The EU formed in 1998 with the Euro its common currency. However, as Paul Krugman says today, maybe we were right.
Shakin’ all over the East Coast. Romanian travelers settled into Sibiu without a Cluj. Far-reaching quake centered in Virginia caused panic in Poughkeepsie. San Franciscan survivors of the ‘big one’ unimpressed.
Not that long ago, Trump was offering to put Gadhafi’s tent on his golf course in Westchester. Who are the bad guys? The so-called “Arab Spring” will not bring democracies. Chaotic tribal hodgepodges, theocracies, freshly minted despots will emerge. Follow the money.
‘Franco’ is back. September. Yup. James Franco on GH the soap. Katie Couric better not get in the way of my favorite menacing serial killer. Found a 2009 Richard Russo novel, That Old Cape Magic. It’s not Empire Falls nor Bridge of Sighs, but I liked it. Thought provoking. Marriage in the sandwich years. BoSox’ Ellsbury on fire, NYY A-Rod in the hot seat. BaggerWoods’ return to the links. Have to watch Quijote even without his Panza. Addictions are hard to break.
Jon Huntsman’s campaign story is soap opera fodder. But, New York Magazine’s article on the Romney v. Huntsman saga is epic. You heard it here first! Hope Congressional caped crusaders are having a great vacation leaving USA in the lurch. PrezO turns 50 today, already grey. Not easy.
CandyPants asks: What’s with the doily doo dads on Mika’s dresses? Not pretty.
Mormon wars? Huntsman v. Romney? Jon Huntsman, Sr. and I go back to 1986 in the banking bizness. Jon, Jr. dipped in and out of Huntsman Chemical, and was on hand when his Dad gave me a salute at the family’s Park City ski lodge in 1994. Not surprised that Jon Jr. would run for Prez, but shocked that he’d do it this year against another Mormon. That doesn’t happen in LDS-land. Huntsmans and Romneys have deep ties to each other and the Church. Huntsman’s campaign advisors come from the McCain camp. There’s gotta be more to this story… 
Carol in Northampton, Ma., made her 24th appearance on the Cafferty File, 6/22. “Could a Mormon Ever be Elected President of the U.S.?”
Side Trek . NYC 