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$1,300,000,000,000.00

can you pronounce the above number? i always wondered what a trillion looked like? now we know, its a 1 plus 12 zeros. the above number is 1.3 trillion and reflects the current US national debt (currently at 1.239 and rising). the deficit is the fiscal year difference between what the United States Government takes in from taxes and other revenues, called receipts, and the amount of money the Government spends. we got one lousy bookkeeper if you ask me. to understand that, here’s a breakdown: estimated population of the United States is 307,620,632 so if each person was to pitch in to payoff this debt today that would be approximately $39,940.93 per person including children (born) and elderly (alive). everyone.

one family name looks suspiciously linked to the red lines on this chart

now in case you are interested i was shocked to find out they actually have a place for you to send your check : “how to make contribution to reduce the debt: make your check payable to the bureau of the public debt, and in the memo section, notate that it is a gift to reduce the debt held by the public. mail your check to: Attn Dept G, Bureau of the Public Debt, P. O. Box 2188, Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188”… can you believe that? by jb

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quote of the day : banksy

“any advertisement in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours.
it belongs to you. it’s yours to take, re-arrange, and re-use.
asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.”
– banksy

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quote of the day: antoine de saint-exupery

“i know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind.“
– antoine de saint-exupery

CATEGORIES: musings, quote of the day, read

the catorialist: one of the top 100 influencers

o.k. this has to be the funniest take on the self-obsessed poser of the century, hilarious. the only thing this blog lacks is perfectly composed/cropped/edited pictures of the owner plastered around in seemingly “unaware moments” pondering life in general and his gargantuan tasks ahead of him, otherwise dead on. one of the posts on the catorialist reads:

“you may remember the first shot I did of burnie a couple of months ago. at the time, i did not know her name nor anything else about her but i was taken by her overall look (little did i know of that which she was capable!) i found her this time enjoying the sun on a warm los angeles morning walking seemingly without a care in the world.” by zz

CATEGORIES: musings, read

forget global warming: earth’s north and south pole are shifting

“the magnetic field inside the earth is turning independently at a rate different from that of the earth. during a potential reversal, the magnetic field does not vanish. they just gets more complicated. a south magnetic pole might emerge over africa, for instance, or a north pole over tahiti.” you can throw away your compasses now.

this is not the sci-fi film you watched last weekend, its NASA and BBC reporting: “the earth’s magnetic field is changing: compass needles in Africa are drifting about 1 degree per decade. this shift has accelerated in the recent years and at this rate there could be a complete reversal of earths poles.” what would that mean for it inhabitants? the poles continued to shift during the 20th century, at an average speed of 10 km per year, in recent years accelerating to 40 km per year. at this rate the north pole will exit north america and reach siberia in just a few decades.

in case your plan B was to escape using your miles on virgin galactic here’s some bad weather reports from mars: “data from NASA’s mars global surveyor and odyssey missions revealed that the carbon dioxide “ice caps” near mars’ south pole are diminishing for three summers in a row.”

the magnetic fields on earth have completely reversed in the past. meaning the north and the south poles swap places. such reversals are recorded in the magnetism of ancient rocks. they come at irregular intervals averaging about 300,000 years; the last one was 780,000 years ago. sounds like its about time?

some background: “james ross located the pole for the first time in 1831 after an exhausting arctic journey during which his ship got stuck in the ice for four years. no one returned until the next century. In 1904, 73 years later, roald amundsen found the pole again and discovered that it had moved–at least 50 km since the days of Ross. 50 km in 70+ years.” and now 40k in just 1 year. yikes!!! lady gaga seems like a real important topic suddenly!!! excerpts from www.nasa.gov. also see BBC: is the earth preparing to flip? by dd

CATEGORIES: earth related, read

my twisted meditation for the day : by hunter s. thompson

Hunter S. Thompson fax excerpts:

“Dear Holly,

Okay, you lazy bitch, I’m getting tired of this waterhead fuckaround that you’re doing with The Rum Diary.

We are not even spinning our wheels aggresivly. It’s like the whole Project got turned over to Zombies who live in cardboard boxes under the Hollywood Freeway… I seem to be the only person who’s doing anything about getting this movie Made. I have rounded up Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Brad Pitt, Nick Nolte & a fine screenwriter from England, named Michael Thomas, who is a very smart boy & has so far been a pleasure to talk to & conspire with…

So there’s yr. fucking Script & all you have to do now is act like a Professional & Pay him. What the hell do you think Making a Movie is all about? Nobody needs to hear any more of that Gibberish about yr. New Mercedes & yr. Ski Trips & how Hopelessly Broke the Shooting Gallery is…. If you’re that fucking Poor you should get out of the Movie Business. It is no place for Amateurs & Dilletants who don’t want to do anything but “take lunch” & Waste serious people’s Time.” …

reading this makes me want to be more like hunter… raw, true, unforgiving. only hunter can pull this off. can you imagine someone receiving a letter like this, today? you can read the full transcript here. by kl

CATEGORIES: musings, read

les valeureux

for those who read french, i might suggest this really beautiful blog. it’s called “les valeureux” which means the braves and it’s the meeting of a talented photographer and a talented writer. so one provide a picture and the other one writes a little text about it. there is a new one every day and it’s really powerfull. for those who can’t read french, just have a look at the pictures, that worth it whatever.
“La voix de Lou Reed me shootait un peu plus de minute en minute ; j’oubliai le froid, la solitude de cette ville désertée par la Semaine Sainte, cette question qui montait : « qu’est-ce que je fous là ? ». La lumière avait la liquidité opaque qu’a parfois l’East River au niveau du pont de Williamsburg : longues traînées jaunes sur une eau d’un violet sourd. Derrière : la ville, étonnamment calme depuis Brooklyn. (…)” by pp’