harsh musings

Cold Souls is an upcoming film by the emerging director Sophie...

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:14:00 -0400

Cold Souls is an upcoming film by the emerging director Sophie Barthes, starring Paul Giammati. If the film is anything like its trailier, it will be a delightful dark comedy. The trailer has a Kaufmanesque feeling.

The film premiered at Sundance and was nominated for the Grand Jury prize. Cold Souls comes out in August.

"Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for ..."

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:08:24 -0400

““Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one””

- John Lennon

"I haven’t learned a lot more about investing or making money since I was 25 years old. But..."

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:10:09 -0400

“

I haven’t learned a lot more about investing or making money since I was 25 years old. But I’ve learned a lot about human behavior. Let’s play a game. If you had to pick 1 classmate, and you would earn 10% of what they will earn for the rest of their life, what would go through your mind? Their IQ? Their grades? What school they went to? Who’s the best on the dance floor?… Or is it who’s the most effective human being. Who do people admire and love to work for. Who is able to inspire and willing to give credit to other people for their successes.

If you had to short 1 classmate 10%, who would that be? What traits turn you off?

You’ll realize that the qualities in the people you want are behavioral, not born in. You want someone who doesn’t keep score, like ‘I cleaned your room, now you clean mine.’ You want someone who people want to do things for.

”

- Warren Buffet

"We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent...."

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:05:30 -0500

““We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent. Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? So this is what we’ve chosen to do with our life. We could be sitting in a monastery somewhere in Japan. We could be out sailing. Some of the [executive team] could be playing golf. They could be running other companies. And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it. And we think it is.””

- Steve Jobs, on what drives Apple employees

Photo

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:25:44 -0500

"If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give..."

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 04:42:30 -0500

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Danish Mortgage System

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:50:11 -0500

Danish homeowners can actually purchase their own mortgages at a discount when the bonds linked to the mortgages are trading at a discount. Very interesting system. The Economist elaborates…

“The second feature of the Danish system is that mortgage-holders can also buy the bonds in the market and use them to redeem their mortgages. This is useful if a rise in interest rates (or a fall in house prices) causes mortgage-backed bonds to trade at a discount. Redeeming their bonds allows homeowners to reduce the amount they owe. In America, for instance, mortgage-backed securities have fallen far below their fundamental value in thinly traded markets, partly because the people who would benefit most from buying them have no mechanism to do so. “Everybody can buy that bond at a discount except that one guy who is most involved with the loan, the homeowner,” says Alan Boyce, a mortgage expert who has worked with George Soros, an investor and philanthropist, on promoting the Danish model in emerging markets. In Denmark, by contrast, a fall in the value of mortgage bonds usually encourages homeowners to snap them up to redeem their own mortgages, as is happening now.”

-The Economist

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where..."

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:41:49 -0500

““Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where—” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
“As long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.
“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.””

- Lewis Carroll

"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:55:23 -0500

“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”

- Thomas Jefferson

The Death of Privacy

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:14:50 -0500

I caught this in the FT today.

Linguist says US intelligence spied on Blair

The part of the article that I want to draw attention to involves the Red Cross:

“Last month, Mr Faulk and another former NSA employee provided a rare glimpse into the veiled world of the NSA, by revealing that the spy agency had spied on journalists, soldiers, and non-governmental organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross. They told ABC that the NSA routinely spied on Americans by listening to private conversations, including pillow talk and, in some cases, phone sex.”

Post 9-11 policies driven by fear have killed privacy. We need it back.

Big Three CEOs Flew Private Jets to Plead for Public Funds

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:35:00 -0500

“Auto Industry Close to Bankruptcy But They Get Pricey Perk

By BRIAN ROSS and JOSEPH RHEE
November 19, 2008
382 comments FONT SIZE EMAIL PRINT SHARE

The CEOs of the big three automakers flew to the nation’s capital yesterday in private luxurious jets to make their case to Washington that the auto industry is running out of cash and needs $25 billion in taxpayer money to avoid bankruptcy.

More Photos

The CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler may have told Congress that they will likely go out of business without a bailout yet that has not stopped them from traveling in style, not even First Class is good enough.

All three CEOs - Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford, and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler - exercised their perks Tuesday by flying in corporate jets to DC. Wagoner flew in GM’s $36 million luxury aircraft to tell members of Congress that the company is burning through cash, asking for $10-12 billion for GM alone.”

Another reason why we shouldn’t bail out Detroit. Management must go.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/WallStreet/story?id=6285739&page=1

Mitt Romney on letting Detroit Fail

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 03:18:23 -0500

I don’t think the American government should bail out the failing US auto industry.

Mitt Romney has a great op-ed in tomorrow’s NYTimes on why Detroit should fall into a bankruptcy. The crux of his argument, is that Detroit needs to restructure itself. A bailout (aka Get out of Jail Free card) would let it pass go and collect $200. “With [a bailout], the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.”

The piece ends with “Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was a candidate for this year’s Republican presidential nomination.”

What it should have said is that Romney founded Bain Capital. BainCap is, arguably, one of the most successful private equity firms. Romney knows a thing or two about running businesses and making things operationally efficient.

"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on..."

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:08:40 -0500

“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”

- Muhammad Ali

Tom Toles is my favorite political cartoonist. I think...

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 00:12:08 -0500

Tom Toles is my favorite political cartoonist.

I think today’s cartoon by Toles, the day after history was shattered, captures how important the election Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States is.

It’s morning again in America.

El Bulli on NPR

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:47:00 -0400

El Bulli, consistently rated as the best restaurant in the world, was recently featured on NPR.

As a former roommate of foodie and aspiring gourmet chef Emerson Taymor (www.twitter.com/etaymor), I caught the gastronomy bug my senior year of college. It was interesting to hear the <5 Minute feature on NPR on the world’s best restaurant.

El Bulli, which is located in Spain, typically has a 1-year wait. The 30-course tasting menu costs 250 Euros per person.

Find it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96044667&ps=bb4

Now back to my search for the perfect Malbec (which unlike Bordeauxs and Burgundies, you can still find great values)

several key trends that will affect the PE industry according to Dave Rubenstein's Super Return Presentation in Dubai

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:27:00 -0400

Fewer lenders will provide debt to fund acquisitions
Private equity firms will face less competition from investment & commercial banks
Distributions to limited partners will fall in the mediumterm
Decreased global liquidity will result in reduced commitments to new private equity funds
There will be more co-investment opportunities
There will be fewer PE commitments from high net worth
individuals
The terms of private equity partnerships may change
Public perceptions of the PE industry will improve

_______________________________

Thoughts?

"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that..."

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:37:13 -0400

“Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.”

- Ellen Goodman

"The darkest hour is–in fact–right before the dawn."

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:09:00 -0400

“The darkest hour is–in fact–right before the dawn.”

- This is for those that are feeling down about the downturn.

Enjoy.

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:55:24 -0400

Enjoy.

The Rich Support McCain, the Super-Rich Support Obama

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 12:10:34 -0400

“More than three quarters of those worth $1 million to $10 million plan to vote for Sen. McCain. Only 15% plan to vote for Sen. Obama (the rest are undecided). Of those worth more than $30 million, two-thirds support Sen. Obama, while one third support Sen. McCain.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/10/13/the-rich-support-mccain-the-super-rich-support-obama/?mod=loomia&loomia_si=t0:a16:g4:r1:c0