There is a movie named Margin Call that seems to me to provide some compelling illustrations of some of the things I wrote about in my previous post regarding market values. The comments on that post were cogent and stimulating enough that I've found myself thinking about their content a number of times.
My request is that you watch this movie with the post about corruption in mind. Watch this movie and try to identify folks exhibiting corrupted behavior and values...Or maybe no one exhibits corruption. Whatever the case is, please watch and let me know what you think. Who's the bad guy(s) in the movie? Are there any bad gals or guys? By the way...the movie is particularly well done (I thought) and does an excellent job of summing up some of the major factors which helped drive the recent (and ongoing) economic debacle...and does so in such a way that doesn't make you go to sleep...or start twitching.
An apology is in order for the decrease in my posting. I've been (and still am) struggling with some computer issues that have interfered with my online time. They are still occurring, so I can't be certain that more delays won't happen. Technology can be useful...it also can be unreliable.
And...if you want to reduce your own corruption level...one way of doing so is to go vegan. The planet and our fellow animals will thank you (and me too).
Thursday, September 27, 2012
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6 comments:
My sympathies go out to you re the computer issues. Technology can be unreliable indeed, and the more dependent you are (I pretty much do everything online), the worse it is. My own hard drive crashed a few days ago, but luckily I'm up and running again.
Thank you for commenting HGV. If it is technology...it will fail. :-)
Marginal Call is in my netflix que - The stunning cast as well as intriquing story makes it a must watch - Even though I know it will be something that makes me angry and sad... It's one thing to desire wealth and even excess - But having it at the expense of the security of others is just unforgivable.
I think though that this kind of ruthless corruption must be taught or embraced at a very early age, before you get to realize that material wealth isn't all that... In fact for what it makes you do to attain and keep it - It's a burden.
I'd much rather worry with the simple things - Like right now how to repair a septic system on a limited budget... Or like learning how to fix something on your car, cause you don't want to pay someone else to do it. I know everything is relative - And what the uber-rich have in the way of problems are probably scaled someway to my worries. Still, my small world allows for very little damage along the way. Being broke and harmless is somewhat of a relief if you know what I mean... ?
And here's a thought about computers and how we've totally underestimated how they'd infiltrate our lives: "Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000
vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may
have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and perhaps weigh only 1 1/2 tons."
~Popular Mechanics magazine, March, 1949
At least you don't have one of those to worry with about how to get back on line! Still I'm glad that you are - if only sporatically.
Thank you for commenting Bea. I'm very much looking forward to hearing your impression(s) of the movie.
I must admit...the lack of a computer didn't really discombobulate me too much...which caused me to be sort of lackadaisical about getting it going again. It sort of surprised me...probably what I missed most was seeing what you and some other excellent bloggers might be writing.
The longer I live, the more convinced I am that simpler is better and that maybe part of how we humans have gotten so screwed-up is that we have violated the Peter Principle of living...in many ways.
If you're unfamiliar with the Peter Principle, you can learn a little bit about it here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle). I have been planning on writing a post about it...maybe this will jog me into doing so.
When I was in the military I bought one of the first component stereos and the amplifier was all tubes...one of the side benefits was that the thing helped keep my barracks room warm in the winter. :-)
Let me know what you think of the movie.
Hi! While the movie is fresh in my mind... Who's corrupt? In my mind everyone. Least was the character who made the initial discovery (the rocket scientist)... And I thought Kevin Spacey as Sam Rogers was a least offender as well.
But big boss played by Jeremy Irons nailed it when he rattled off all the times in history that these financial screw-ups occurred and how "the fat cats" always land on their feet. Nope, not much changes for them...
Meanwhile, nearly 6 years since the ripples are still being felt around the financial world. I totally understand "too big to fail" now and that knowledge just makes me more uneasy...
An engrossing film - Real life drama more diabolical than fiction. :/
BTW --- Cool or rather "warming" story about your first stereo... Now, is there anything redeeming you can think of for obsolete 8 tracks? My neighbor has boxes of them stored in his garage and every time I have a yard sale he hauls them out for me to try to sell... He's convinced they still have value. But I'm certain he'd be much better off selling them on penny/hundred "margin". hehe...
Thank you for commenting Bea. You arrived at the same place I did about the movie characters...probably the only innocence was to be found in the dog and the maid in the elevator. Everyone else was essentially on the take and seriously compromised.
Hmmm, 8 tracks. I don't know, let me think on it. :-)
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