Oh Ommm
A wonderful documentary, FIRST POSITION follows six exceptional young ballet dancers as they prepare to perform at an event that can open the door to a professional career.
Bruised and bloodied feet, near exhaustion, debilitating injuries, plus the regular challenges of adolescence, all at the same time. An awe-inspiring portrait of “the most gifted ballet stars of tomorrow.”
See more here: http://www.balletdocumentary.com/trailer/
Human ‘evolution’ continues at a rapid pace. But which direction? Black Friday 2013: Brawls, Trampling, Shootings
One of America’s greatest philosophers – comedian George Carlin: “The only true American value that is left – Buying Things.”
Just in time for Black Friday madness.
And a related classic: George Carlin Talks About “Stuff”
From a palliative care nurse who spent the last 3-12 weeks of her patients lives: “When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again.”
What were the most common five?
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
How ’bout you? Any regrets?
Read more here:
http://worldobserveronline.com/2013/11/17/nurse-reveals-top-5-regrets-people-make-deathbed/
Say what?? Ya wanna learn the lyrics to this tune? Emmalyn & DJ Hunt do a cover of Look At Me Now – by Chris Brown/Karmin.
Take a vacation twice a year … sing more … stop complaining … break your food into smaller pieces to eat less … but don’t ask for a raise.
She makes $8.25/hour after working at McDonald’s for 10 years. CEO not too sympathetic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVBh9M5UnZk
Final piece of music in the French movie The Concert (Le Concert) – Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto In D, performed by Sarah Nemtanu with the Budapest Symphony Orchestra. Now there’s another time it would have been great to be in the audience.
(Some consider Jascha Heifetz to have been the master at this piece. You can see his version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFaq9kTlcaY)
Bloomberg Businessweek has some nifty graphics on the litigation against those pesky banks. Turns out that settlements so far (to Nov 7) are $415 BILLION, with lots more on the way.
“Banks have been accused of improper foreclosure practices, selling bonds backed by shoddy mortgages, and misleading investors about the quality of the loans.” More here:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-11-14/2014-outlook-banks-face-investigations-and-litigation
JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S., has agreed to pay $4.5 billion to resolve claims it sold faulty mortgage securities.
Last month, it agreed to pay $5.1 billion in another claim that it misrepresented mortgage bonds, and it expects that more legal disputes lay ahead.
Another US bank, Bank of America, has a tentative settlement of $8.5 billion it will be paying to bond investors, and it’s believed many other banks will soon be facing lawsuits over illegal investment practices.
Yet, these settlements are a small fraction of what investors actually lost, and the banks continue to grow and pay great bonuses.
Nice work, boys!
Ramallah in Palestine gets more annual rainfall than London. So where does all that water go? Why does it seem the Palestinians don’t have enough water?
An interesting graphic tells an interesting story. (Click on the image to enlarge.) And see more here: http://visualizingpalestine.org