Free-Market Economics Succeeds in Decades-Long Quest to Drown America in a Bathtub

/work trauma yesterday & capitalizm at its finest/

Me: You can’t sell a home equity loan to someone you know is about to be laid off.

Salespeople: (blank stares)

Me: Remember the three Cs of lending? Collateral, Character and Capacity? This is the Capacity part. Like repaying, you know? Otherwise that’s a Liar’s Loan, which you may have heard contributed to the total economic collapse.

Salespeople: But that’s why we need to close the loan now, before the client loses their job. They won’t be able to qualify for the loan after that.

Me: (possible concussion from repeated head to desk slamming)

Thank you, free trade and NAFTA. Clinton and Bush 1.

wanna buy a nice haunted house?

@Capt Howdy: Some fancy digs. Where do they keep the Horror? The basement?

@Benedick:
I wondered the same thing. I didnt see any ghosts listed in the property features.

personally I could deal with a few ghosts to live there

@Capt Howdy: The story was a fraud, of course. I’m too bored to look it up but it had something to do with selling the house, or selling a book, or selling something. Same with the ‘case’ that Blatty used for The Exorcist which was later exposed as a fake. Still, it gave us a terrific film with the superb performance of Max von Sydow.

@Benedick: The classic in that department is the “true story” behind Fargo, which the Coens later (proudly) admitted they made up completely.

@Benedick:

I saw an interview with the Lutzes recently and they were standing by every word.

which doesnt mean its true. Im just sayin.

here ya go

not the one I was talking about but it will do.

@Capt Howdy: It can’t possibly be true. If it were true the house would have become – there’s a real-estate word for when a property becomes so tainted by a bad reputation that it becomes unsellable which I can’t now remember – which would have made the house to be shunned by any prospective buyer. So I don’t buy it. That plus the whole satan and flying monkeys aspect.

@Benedick: @Capt Howdy: I believe the Horror is the ball-fringed drapes in the living room.

@Mistress Cynica:

the dingle berries?

@Benedick:

no, not true. but I was just making the point that apparently they at least never admitted it was bull.

still, I think its a shame they removed those famous fan shaped windows to make he house less recognizable. I think I read they did that at some point.
and I think there may have been problems selling it more in the heyday.
ifyouknowwhatImean.

@Capt Howdy: Maybe I read something about them. Clearly didn’t make much of an impression.

@Mistress Cynica: Are you sure you’re not a guy?

Speaking of which, I had a dream about Capt Howdy last night. This might not be the place to discuss it however. Still, makes a change from my dreams about noje.

@Benedick:

really?
usually only the talkleft pumas dream about me. was it good for you?

@Benedick:
we were just playing this last night.
what great books were made into great movies…though still NEVER as good as the book. and any scarywood screen writer who thinks he can write it better, is why LA frightens me.

the exorcist
the godfather (all 3 except for any scene sophia was in)
one flew over the cuckoo’s nest

controversial: the shining. why do people love that movie?
total suck from the rare serious stephen, he despised it, so did i.
the book was deep. ok deep for king.

entries? or do we want to talk about the oil spill and cannibal anarchy.

pedo…your tweet today? LOVE

@Benedick: @Mistress Cynica:
of course we’re guys. this has been well established. ghey men in women’s bodies.

also. cyn, your comment of days ago went on my fridge:
“personal accountability is for the poor”

@baked: Lolita comes to mind. Or The French Lieutenant’s Woman where the movie is better than the very good book.

Scariest movie I know is, I think, an original script. The German Funny Games which creeps me the fuck out whenever I see it.

Scariest movie based on a book is probably Sex and the City.

@Capt Howdy: Oh, it was good.

@Original Andrew: They’re right from their POV, the only one that counts. They have to collect their fucking commission right away. If it all ignites into a ball of flame and takes down a family with it, who gives a fuck? This is the story of banking in America writ small but it is the story that maps well to every level of the financial sector. This kind of underwriting pornography should be a capital offense, at least a felony punishable by a stretch of 20-40 years without parole.

@Benedick: The power of Christ compels you! And I go on, blaspheming my way down the stations of the cross.

@baked:
the excellent book Twins about two depraved NY gynecologists was made into a pretty good David Cronenberg film called Dead Ringers.

Dolores Claiborne was an amazing book that was made into honestly an even more amazing movie. I never figured out why it never got more attention expect that it was Kathy Bates in what I believe to be one of her very best roles except she had won the oscar the previous year for Misery – which was also an amazing book made into a pretty amazing movie – so no one cared.

these are Kings “deep” works. the scary stuff, not so much. wonderful but the real stuff is much deeper.

also speaking of King and difficult book to film conversions, the biggest test ever is coming. JJ Abrams is making The Dark Tower.

I have no idea how they are going to do it. forget that the entire series is about 8 million pages there are things about the book that I can not imagine how they will film. for example one of the “gunslingers” is a woman in a wheelchair. cant wait. and talk about deep? The Dark Tower is the very best thing King ever wrote. I am pretty sure he would agree it is his masterwork.

@Benedick: I believe we previously established that baked and I are gay men trapped in women’s bodies.

ADD: ANd SFL, of course.

@FlyingChainSaw:

They’re salespeople. They don’t care if they’re selling lady’s lingerie, sprockets, or salt to slugs. They just sell.