tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post5699509003904679495..comments2023-12-26T23:07:08.005-08:00Comments on TOMORROWVILLE: Financial Crises and NovelsDavid Isaakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-42118047231624489012008-10-20T13:47:00.000-07:002008-10-20T13:47:00.000-07:00A revival in Westerns might not be a bad thing. Bu...A revival in Westerns might not be a bad thing. <BR/><BR/>But Lord save us from a revival of Shirley-Temple-type films. That child is my personal nominee for the Antichrist and the only evidence I've ever seen that we are living in the End Times.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-46102344202369349522008-10-19T23:41:00.000-07:002008-10-19T23:41:00.000-07:00Regarding Depression crazes: Don't forget the wild...Regarding Depression crazes: Don't forget the wildly popular Shirley Temple movies that swept the land--little Miss Curlytop. Also some so-called classic comedies on the order of Laurel and Hardy. People did love stories about the very rich, esp.when the very rich rescued the poor little moppet along with her/his friends and family--many stories about orphans and deserted children. Everyone wanted a happy ending. But then, how can one explain The Grapes of Wrath; Gone with the Wind etc. Speaking of pulp, lots of westerns read esp. by men and boys.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-10416779589483536982008-10-19T21:25:00.000-07:002008-10-19T21:25:00.000-07:00Hi, Jen--Absolutely! Or, if not a bailout, can't w...Hi, Jen--<BR/><BR/>Absolutely! Or, if not a bailout, can't we at least get gold stars or something? Best in Show? Teacher's Pet?<BR/><BR/>We still own a house down in San Diego, which we bought back in 1995. Four bedrooms, good neighborhood...and under $200K when we bought it. At the time, there were still a ton of foreclosed properties and the Valifornia market was in the tank. Amazing that only 13 years later everybody thought that could never happen again.<BR/><BR/>At the other end of such problems, I knew a guy who worked for ARCO oil who was transferred to Dallas in the mid-80s: the middle of the Texas oil slump and the California property boom.<BR/><BR/>So as not to pay taxes on capital gains, he had to buy a house of equal value to the one he was selling in California. But to his great embarassment, the only thing of equal value was literally a mansion--something on the order of 12,000 square feet. So he bought it and his family lived in 3,000 sqaure feet of it, and closed up the rest of it.<BR/><BR/>Sort of like a post-apocalypse novel, innit?David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-71375530201434896572008-10-19T20:50:00.000-07:002008-10-19T20:50:00.000-07:00In 2000, our cat was dying of cancer and our landl...In 2000, our cat was dying of cancer and our landlord, upon hearing the news, said, "Don't get another one, I'm going no-pets." We said screw you and bought our first place, an 800 square foot condo in San Diego, for...well, six figures, but the first figure was still a 1. In 2004, we sold the place and moved to Dallas, and the first figure in the six figure price was no longer a one. What's more, the first offer we had on the place (36 hours before it was technically for sale) had a first figure that was, uh, even higher than a number that was no longer a one.<BR/><BR/>We came here and bought a house for five figures. That was four years ago. I think we could reasonably sell the place for, well, a low six figures in which the first figure is absolutely a one. Our neighbors did. Meanwhile, back in San Diego, there are still condos for sale where the first figure is neither a one nor the number next higher than one but the number higher than that. However, a rather distressing number of them say "BANK OWNED" in their ad. <BR/><BR/>So, we bought a house we could afford, in a decent neighborhood, with 20% down and a traditional 30 year fixed interest mortgage upon which we've never fallen behind - even when I was unemployed for four months. Where's my bailout?Jen Sterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10961079238063675246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-57774207370620703842008-10-19T18:14:00.000-07:002008-10-19T18:14:00.000-07:00Hi, Matt--Yeah, it's really annoying when saying "...Hi, Matt--<BR/><BR/>Yeah, it's really annoying when saying "I told you so" still leaves you mired in the mess with everybody else! On the other hand, take comfort in the fact that you don't own as house whose mortgage exceeds its market value.<BR/><BR/>I hadn't thought about it, but you're right--down times are good for horror, too. The 1970s were the great horror revival, weren't they?David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-580473888930846002008-10-19T18:10:00.000-07:002008-10-19T18:10:00.000-07:00Hi, David--Yep, start with little anomalies like t...Hi, David--<BR/><BR/>Yep, start with little anomalies like that, and pretty soon people are diverting office supplies to personal uses!David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-13700781344762061982008-10-19T10:03:00.000-07:002008-10-19T10:03:00.000-07:00Hi, DavidOne of my friends seized my shoulders dur...Hi, David<BR/><BR/>One of my friends seized my shoulders during a night out recently and said "my god, you were <EM>so</EM> right." A little later I realised why they said this when the reminded me of a drunk conversation I had with them five years ago, when I told them that we'll all be in the financial-shit in a couple of years due to the mortgage market not being regulated enough i.e. people buying houses they couldn't possibly afford. Apparently I also told them that interest rates and lending rates will go up seriously once the bubble bursts. It's because of this paranoia that we never bought a house when others told us it was important to get on the property ladder "no matter what". It was the "no matter what" that has now exploded in the faces of some people. And you know, I could say "I told you so," but we're no better off even with house prices falling. Interest rates in the UK are just too damned high.<BR/><BR/>On a writer note, I reckon (and hope) that apocalypse novels will come back into demand. Everyone likes a good ol' end of the world story, especially when the end of the world is nigh. Also, horror stories tend to come back in fashion during times of social stress. And thrillers. Thrillers about bankers being murdered will no doubt thrill the masses. Or politicians. A massacre of politicians and bankers will surely please some readers out there.mattfwcurran.com Web Admin https://www.blogger.com/profile/13651266491906006561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-64336538220601354622008-10-19T07:26:00.000-07:002008-10-19T07:26:00.000-07:00This is what happens when good people violate FASB...This is what happens when good people violate FASB rules. IT CAME FROM OFF THE BALANCE SHEET...David Thayerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02914916959957388178noreply@blogger.com