Is anyone else finding themselves increasingly interested in how our financial system works? If there's a bright spot in this terrible economy, it could be that people manage to get slightly more educated about this stuff. Maybe.
For example: will the Treasury's plan to shed toxic assets work? I dunno. Investors seem to like it; the Dow was up after the plan was announced. If I were in high school, I would start a metal band called "Toxic Assets" and make a million damn dollars. Or at least get a gig playing the prom.
A woman in New Jersey was found in a mall in 1994. No I.D. "Jane Doe." They've found out, 15 years later, that she is Elba Leonor Diaz Soccarras. Bizarre.
Another little kid calls 911, saves mom's life. Quick, everyone go to your kids and say, "What did you do today? Well, a 4-year-old saved her mother's life." Because that's a sensible reaction. (Note: don't do this.)
Ruth Madoff, wife of Bernie, may be able to keep most of her Florida mansion out of the hands of creditors. Why? Because Florida law protects up to half an acre of property, and the Madoff manse sits on .54 of an acre. So bilked investors can only go after a .04 acre piece. Got that? It may not matter if prosecutors can make the case to seize all of Ruth's assets, which her lawyers say are protected because they are in her name and not Bernie's. Of course, where did she get the money from? Um, I'm sorry, what was the question? By the way, Mr. Madoff will be staying in jail until he is sentenced. Seems he's a flight risk. Shocking thought, I know.
More Florida fun: there has apparently been an outbreak of kids in chicken suits running through Publix supermarkets. It's a prank. A pretty lame prank, but a prank nonetheless. Incidents like this are an argument to legalize child labor. (I kid. Sort of.)
Woodstock (the music festival, not the bird) turns 40 this summer. Original event co-producer Michael Lang is trying to put on another show. "There would be a lot of legacy bands [performing] – The Who, Santana, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Joe Cocker maybe. And it would be people like Steve Earle and Ben Harper. There's certainly room for the (Red Hot) Chili Peppers and Dave Matthews...that would be the shape of the music," Lang said, according to NME. Oh, and a low carbon footprint. Very important. Considering one of the most striking images of the Woodstock film for me is the person picking up all the trash during the closing credits, maybe that is kind of important.
Jeanne Sager pointed out to me that Lang isn't part of the Woodstock festivities that are already happening at the original Bethel Woods site. B.B. King and Buddy Guy are among the planned concerts this summer. Yes, but what is their carbon footprint? Huh? What about that?
Oh, movie news from the weekend I forgot to include yesterday: The "utterly preposterous thriller" Nicolas Cage movie "Knowing" was number one at the box office, beating "I Love You, Man" and "Duplicity." "Race to Witch Mountain" fell to 4th place, "Watchmen" dropped to 5th. You know what's still hanging in there at #10? "Coraline." Good movie, you should see it. Even if it's too scary for your kids, go yourself. No, really.
More tomorrow, including my review of "Race to Witch Mountain." Try to contain yourself until then.
Image: Yahoo! Finance
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