Money Master - Jimmy Rogers

!: Money Master - Jimmy Rogers

I have come into contact with this legendary investor several times in my life including a lunch or dinner here and there. First, we are dealing with a very smart man. Raised in Alabama from poor parents, he went to Yale on a scholarship and never looked back. At a very early age in his 20's, he became partners with George Soros himself. Soros ran the now famous Quantum Fund, a hedge fund years ahead of its time, and Jimmy Rogers was his equal partner.

There was a time for a period approximating 10 years or so, when Jimmy Rogers was among the best informed people in the world. As he related the story to me once, he use to read 15, 16, 17 hours per day, just sucking up information, and then relating it to investing. In the 1970's, when he ran the Quantum Fund with George Soros, they turned in a performance history that is the stuff of legends. The return was 40 times on your money in 10 years. During the same time period, the stock market was up a small fraction of that number. He retired from his day job with George Soros at the ripe old age of 37.

He has written two thoroughly entertaining and informative books for investors. You should read both of them. "Investment Biker" is one where he details his trip around the world on a motorcycle while investigating investment opportunities. The other is "Adventure Capitalist", written years later, different trip, different bike (a modified yellow Mercedes this time, same objective-investment opportunities, same objective. He would get acquainted with the world on a first hand basis, and look for investment opportunities.

Jimmy Rogers is a investor that likes primary sources for information. He's not the type that would read a Forbes magazine article on General Motors. He's the type of investor that would read government abstracts of information about car manufacturing, and figure it out for himself. In our meetings, he said a couple of things to me, which have stayed with this investor for several decades now.

He asked me if I had ever been bankrupt. I told him no. He said, "Too bad, there's something about being at the bottom, once or twice in your life, that teaches you things you can never gain any other way." As usual, Jimmy Rogers was right. You have to learn at the bottom, to know what to do at the top. It will also keep your head clear, when you are at the top, and everything from that view looks rosy and beautiful. It always looks that way before the fall from grace.

Jimmy Rogers also stated that he never uses excel spread sheets to do calculations on companies. He won't let anyone who does analysis for him use excel either. He feels there's something to be learned by doing it with pencil, eraser, and the old fashion way. It may take hours instead of minutes, but the data will have more meaning. The way the data moves when you change numbers will have more impact.

He also said that when he was investing in the old days, he would read the annual report of each company cover to cover. He said if you read the annual report you did more work than 90 out of a hundred people who are competing against you. He then said he would read the financials line by line, until he was through. You now did more work than 99 out of a hundred people. Finally, he would read each and every footnote about the company. There's not one investor in 10,000 that did this type of work. It takes discipline, focus, desire, and a real appetite to make the big bucks that are only available to the truly extraordinary investor.

Recently while on that second trip around the world, Jimmy Rogers and his wife Paige Parker traveled 152,000 miles, visited 116 countries, and took 3 years. Jimmy likes to get down and dirty when he's doing research. He has no interest in talking to the finance ministers. He wanted to know what the guy in the street was thinking. He wanted to know if the economic situation was conducive to doing business. Was it smooth or difficult?

Warren Buffett is fond of saying about himself that he is the best allocator (aka money manger) of capital in the world. He also said this only works if you are in an economic environment where such a skill is appreciated. Had he been born in East Africa, he would have been playing drums somewhere. Bill Gates prior to the age of the personal computer would be a librarian in some isolated part of Vermont trying to live up to his father's reputation.

All of this relates to Jimmy Rogers, who feels compelled to understand the world in a first hand way before he will invest in it. Take Zaire in Africa, the most fertile soil on the planet earth. You could practically throw seeds at the ground in Zaire, and they will grow. It's unbelievable that with this potential, Zaire is a net importer of food. Why you ask, the road system is in disarray, and there is very little infrastructure. The old African colonies where the white colonialists profited from the blood of Africa, has been replaced by black ruled dictatorships, with the same, precise lack of interest in their people that was reminiscent of the white colonialists.

When Jimmy Rogers travels through a country, he is able to deduce if the climate is ripe for investment. If so, he makes his bets on physical commodities. He wants to own oil, mineral companies, copper, tobacco, brewing, or something, anything that's tangible, that's real. This is because such a country must export whatever they have, to begin the wealth creation process. He believes the next major bull market will be in commodities which we are already experiencing.

Jimmy Rogers is an investor who buys when there's blood in the streets, when nobody else will touch an investment, and he has been uncannily accurate in his purchases. As a top down investor, his bets are on countries, not individual companies as a rule. His observations are always brilliant, incisive, and to the point. He is arrogant, and intolerant of small talk.

This is what he says about India as an example. He thinks China blows them away. The Indians don't know how to do business. If an Indian visits the Taj Mahal which is magnificent, he is charged 20 cents to get in. An American is charged almost . The Chinese have more than 12 times the income from tourism than do the Indians. Why, because the Chinese know how to do business, and the Indians know how to screw it up. It's this type of thinking on Rogers' part that makes him the MASTER investor that he is.

We are similar to Jimmy's thinking here at StocksAtBottom.com in that we have a bottoms-up approach to investments. We want to look at a company first, without regard for the economy and the industry. Unless the company is going to make it on its own, we have no interest. Once the company passes muster, than we look to see if the industry or economy can provide a tailwind at the company's back. If so, we are on our way, because we will have a big hit on our hands.

We did this with Walt Disney a number of years ago, and Tyco more recently. Nobody wanted to own either company. With Disney, the amusement parks were empty. With Tyco there was a massive corporate embezzlement causing institutional investors to scatter to the wind. Our performance history will show we made a killing with both stocks. For more information click here StocksAtBottom.com

Money Master - Jimmy Rogers

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Hollywood, Aliens, And A Christmas Story - Modern Pop Culture Images Of Hungarians in the US

!: Hollywood, Aliens, And A Christmas Story - Modern Pop Culture Images Of Hungarians in the US

“They’re heeeeerrrrreeeeee…”: Alien-(n)ation.

One of the most enduring and entertaining images of Hungarians during the second half of the 20th century is the idea of Hungarians as aliens or Martians. Much of this is tongue-in-cheek, is not intended to be pejorative, and has been exploited to good effect and with great enjoyment by Hungarians themselves - to the point of their likely having been behind its origination. There are multiple overlapping/competing descriptions of how all this started. Consensus suggests that it came out of the circles of émigré nuclear scientists, physicists, and mathematicians who came to the US during 1930s and 1940s, many of whom were collocated at Los Alamos, New Mexico for the Manhattan Project.

As George Marx, a Hungarian professor of atomic physics in Budapest, asks in his extremely engaging chapter entitled “The Martians’ Vision of the Future,” how is it that there were groups of Austrians, Germans, and Italians involved in these scientific breakthroughs and yet it was Hungarians alone who seemed to gain the moniker and association of “alien?” Marx appears to prefer the account according to which one day the Italian Enrico Fermi was speculating about the universe and the possibility of life on other planets, and Leo Szilard, a Hungarian, ventured an answer to Fermi’s question:

“And so,” Fermi came to his overwhelming question, “if all this has been happening, they should have arrived here by now, so where are they?” It was Leo Szilard, a man with an impish sense of humor, who supplied the perfect reply to Fermi's rhetoric: “They are among us,” he said, “but they call themselves Hungarians.” (according to Marx, this is Francis Crick’s version of the myth)

Marx elaborates on the “birth to a legend”:

The myth of the Martian origin of the Hungarian scientists who entered world history on American soil during World War II probably originated in Los Alamos. Leon Lederman, director of the Fermilab, reported possible hidden intentions. The production of scientists and mathematicians in the early 20th century was so prolific that many otherwise calm observers believe Budapest was settled by Martians in a plan to infiltrate and take over the planet Earth…According to myth, at a top secret meeting of the Manhattan Project, General Groves left for the gents' room. Szilard then said: “Perhaps we may now continue in Hungarian!” Hungarian émigrés enjoyed speaking their mother tongue whenever a chance offered itself. This has made them look suspicious. Los Alamos was a place of top security. General Groves was annoyed that Neumann and Wigner had frequent telephone conversations in Hungarian. [Teller, talk in Budapest 1991.] The “thick Hungarian accent” was often heard even in the corridors of the Pentagon. (The Lugosi accent made the alien power of Dracula, the count from the faraway Transylvania even more realistic.)

Marx recounts the details of the arrival of the Martians-cum-Hungarians on planet Earth:

--Gabor, von Kármán, Kemeny, von Neumann, Szilard, Teller, and Wigner were born in the same quarter of Budapest [author’s note—most were Jewish…it is interesting to note that some anti-Semitic Hungarian nationalists at the same time assiduously include these names in lists of famous Hungarians]. No wonder the scientists in Los Alamos accepted the idea that well over one thousand years ago a Martian spaceship crashlanded somewhere in the center of Europe. There are three firm proofs of the extraterrestrial origins of the Hungarians: they like to wander about (like gypsies radiating out from the same region). They speak an exceptionally simple and logical language which has not the slightest connection with the language of their neighbors. And they are so much smarter than the terrestrials. (In a slight Martian accent John G. Kemeny added an explanation, namely, that it is so much easier to learn reading and writing in Hungarian than in English or French, that Hungarian kids have much more time left to study mathematics.) [quoted by Marx from “Yankee” Magazine (?) 1980] ([http://www.mek.iif.hu/kiallit/tudtor/tudos1/martians.html])

Finally, in a somewhat more serious vein, the alien connotation has been explained in analytical terms as follows:

If we understand SteeDee's theory correctly, the first Hungarians-
are-aliens story arose from some minor human incident. The
Hungarians may have stood out from the rest of the staff at Los
Alamos, perhaps by maintaining their own cliques and speaking
their own indecipherable tongue, and this made the English
speakers uncomfortable. The Hungarians were like aliens to the
rest, and since there were many reports of "flying saucers" in the
popular press in the 50s and late 40s, the "Martian" label was a
convenient way to sublimate the social tensions. To be called
extraterrestrials, in a jocular, rib-poking way, might have helped
reduce this social friction both inside and outside the Hungarian
group. If there was a problem with communication, the recurring
alien joke would provide a means to make light of it, thereby
expressing frustrations that could not otherwise be spoken. (http://www.ufomind.com/area51/desertrat/1995/dr29/ )

According to Marx, “as a matter of fact, these suspicious Hungarians—Theodore von Kármán, John von Neumann, Leo Szilard—enjoyed the myth. Edward Teller became especially happy of his E.T. initials, but he complained about indiscretion, ‘Von Kármán must have been talking’.”

From Teller to Talleah…Zsa Zsa and Her Sisters

This brings us from Teller to Talleah, the difference being that Teller was a real Hungarian scientist who pretended to play the part of an alien…whereas Talleah is the name of an alien from the 1958 King of the B Sci-fi Movies, “Queen of Outer Space”…starring none other than perhaps the most well-known Hungarian among Americans, Zsa Zsa Gabor, who plays the role of an alien scientist! [More about this hysterical film and its hysterical reviews below.]

Of course, June 1989 put Hungarians on the map for many Americans. The reburial of Imre Nagy, the huge crowds, the solemn ceremony before hundreds of thousands and a live television audience, a landmark event in the history of Hungary…No, that was 16 June 1989…I am referring here to 14 June 1989, the day Zsa Zsa slapped a Beverly Hills police officer, an incident that immediately became fodder for every late night comedian and even two years later was the subject of a spoof starring the actress in the satirical film series, the Naked Gun. Such is the fate of Hungary and Hungarians in the United States.

There were actually three Gabor sisters: Zsa Zsa, Eva, and Magda. I am not sure whether to say marriage or divorce ran in the family. The three sisters had more marriages than they did important movie roles. To borrow a page from Dave Barry in another context (Dave Barry Slept Here, Random House 1989, p. 101), here are the final tallies of the three sisters in Marriages:

Final (?) Gabor Sister Marriage Standings

Zsa Zsa 9* *** ****

Magda 6**

Eva 5

*It is difficult to know how exactly to calculate Zsa Zsa’s total number of husbands…since as she once responded: “How many husbands have I had? You mean apart from my own?”

**These numbers may be affected by the fact that both Zsa Zsa and Magda were married to the English actor George Sanders, if sixteen years apart. Not to make too much light of things, but Sanders eventually committed suicide. He played the part of Mr. Freeze in the Batman television series, that Zsa Zsa made guest appearances on (see below).

***It seemed only fitting in early 2007 surrounding the macabre and absurd Anna Nicole Smith custody fight that Zsa Zsa’s most recent husband—Prinz von Anhalt—claimed that he had a ten year affair with Anna Nicole and was the father of her orphaned child. (Supposedly, Zsa Zsa was angered and hurt by this admission, but can one completely discount the possibility that it was yet another attempt for Zsa Zsa to get back in the limelight, and after all, hadn’t Anna Nicole Smith been famous for being famous.)

****It may surprise almost no one in a certain sense, but Zsa Zsa’s daughter by Conrad Hilton (the only child of all three Gabor sisters) is grand-aunt to Paris and Nicole Hilton.

Zsa Zsa claims that she won the 1936 Hungarian beauty pageant (according to one Hungarian source, Sandor Incze who discovered Zsa Zsa, invented the idea of the beauty pageant…don’t think so), although her mother Jolie (“pretty” in French), married only twice, and fond of “new math” long before we knew it was new—like her daughters she seemed genetically incapable of telling her true age; if she was telling the truth her first daughter, Magda, would have been born when Jolie was thirteen!—claimed it was she (the mother) and not Zsa Zsa who had won the beauty pageant. (To use the famous Casey Stengel line “You can look it up!”…these things should be verifiable, although I will leave that to others to investigate since it is beyond the intended scope of this paper.)

The “Queen of Outer Space” or “Damn it, Jim, I’m a Former Hungarian Beauty Queen, Not a(n Alien) Scientist”

Zsa Zsa’s film career is summarized by the online film critic “Jabootu” as follows:

Unfortunately, Ms. Gabor’s Hollywood career proved much less epic [than her married life or run-ins with the law]. In John Huston’s 1952 Moulin Rouge, Zsa Zsa played, in a bold move, a Euro-sexpot opposite Jose Ferrer’s Toulouse-Lautrec. The following year she appeared in a supporting role in the musical Lili, which co-starred the unrelated but similarly monikered Mel Ferrer. From there, though, it was all downhill. Her few starring roles included playing twins (!!) in the hilarious-sounding espionage meller Girl in the Kremlin. In case you’re wondering, one of the twins [is] Stalin’s mistress (!!), the other a spy working against the Soviets. Zsa Zsa also had a bit part in Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. (http://www.jabootu.com/queen.htm)

But perhaps “Jabootu” is being too hasty and superficial in judging Ms. Gabor’s career. Maybe we have underestimated Zsa Zsa’s roles in movie and television. For example, Zsa Zsa has recounted how she liked playing the role of “spy” when she guest-starred on the Batman serial as Minerva, a beauty parlor owner, whose hairdryers could read the minds of (male) clients. Was the episode perhaps a skillful allegory about how the totalitarian state uses the most banal and subversive means to pry into the lives of its citizens? (Was the “mullet” a communist plot to make Americans look stupid? Tune in next time, same Battime, same Batchannel…)

Evidence for such a, more enlightened, revisionist view comes from the 1958 movie “Queen of Outer Space,” in which Zsa Zsa plays Talleah, an alien scientist, who leads the women of Venus against the sadistic, disfigured Queen Yllana, thereby saving a flight crew of men from Earth whom Yllana has cruelly imprisoned. I argue here that this film only appears to be a sexist, cheesy, and moronic vehicle for profit, when in fact that is part of its subterfuge and inner-brilliance. The movie is, in fact, a subtle and sophisticated allegory of communist Hungary and the outbreak and crushing of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Let us take another look at this film—although, unfortunately, we are forced to rely on the flippant and sometimes juvenile comments of “Jabootu” for a discussion of the plot.

In this first extended excerpt, we find Zsa Zsa’s Talleah (symbolizing the Hungarian resistance) being informed that recently arrived Earthmen (“bourgeois” intellectuals, “men” had been banished from the planet, although “scientists and mathematicians” were retained because they were needed) have been imprisoned by the evil Yllana (the communists/Soviets). Talleah recounts for the men, the sad history of the planet, the destructive war, how Yllana went from well-meaning rebel to tyrant, etc. The astute reader will notice here that Zsa Zsa is in fact recounting the destruction of World War II in Hungary—she says “Ten Earth years ago”!—the coming to power of the communists, the initial “popular” image of the Soviets as liberators, and their construction of a people’s dictatorship….

“To Be Hungarian Is Not Enough…”: Hollywood and Hungarians

As is to be expected of space travelers, Hungarians claim to have founded certain places…one of them being Hollywood. Adolph Zukor of Paramount Pictures, one of the early Hungarians in Hollywood is said to have had on the wall of his office an inscription: “TO BE A HUNGARIAN IS NOT ENOUGH.” To this George Marx adds, “in a low voice Adolph would add, ‘but it may help’.” He continues, “Non-Hungarians in Hollywood used to say, “If you have a Hungarian friend, you don't need an enemy.” The MGM commissary was said to have a sign which read, “Just because you’re Hungarian, doesn’t mean you’re a genius!”

The influence of Hungarians on Hollywood is astounding. In 1996, the Associated Press reported that of the 136 Oscar nominations since 1929, Hungarians had won 30 of them. Some of the names are more familiar than others. George Cukor—not to be confused with the aforementioned Adolph Zukor, “Mr. Motion Pictures,” founder of Paramount Pictures, and producer of perhaps the first film “Prisoner of Zenda”—captured five best director nominations, including for My Fair Lady (’Enry ’Iggins says of Zoltan Karpathy: “Every time we looked around there he was that hairy hound from Budapest. Never leaving us alone, never have I ever known a ruder pest.”). William Fox of “20th Century Fox” was born near Tokaj, Hungary, famous for its sweet wines. Among the better-known actors other than Bela Lugosi (born Bela Blasko) and the Gabor clan, we can name Leslie Howard, born Laszlo Steiner, and Tony Curtis, born Bernard Schwartz (born in Budapest, fluent in Hungarian), and Peter Lorre.

Speaking of Bela Lugosi…there is the following unforgettable exchange between Johnny Depp playing legendary B-moviemaker Ed Wood and Martin Landau (himself of interplanetary space travel frequently) in his Oscar-winning portrayal of aging, foul-mouthed, bitter, and morphine-addicted Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood” (1994):

[Ed and Bela are watching Vampira's TV show.]
Ed Wood: Oh, I hate it when she interrupts the picture. She doesn't show 'em the proper respect.
Bela Lugosi: I think she's a honey. Look at those jugs!
[Bela Lugosi casts a love spell on Vampira who is on TV while moving his fingers like Dracula]
Edward D. Wood, Jr.: My Gosh, Bela, how do you do that?
Bela Lugosi: You must be double-jointed. And you must be Hungarian. [!]

Some “Hungarians” famous in film and television will come as a surprise. Drew Barrymore’s mother was Ildiko Jaid Mako. Jerry Seinfeld might talk about Ceausescu above, but his father was named Kalman Seinfeld. Paul Newman’s mother was Hungarian. And half of the famed animator set behind “The Simpsons” and a series of other cartoons, Klasky Csupo—Gabor Csupo—is a Hungarian (he fled Hungary in 1975 hiking through a 2 ½ hours through a darkened railway tunnel to Austria).

The trivia of all these cases is to say the least entertaining. Other great finds on the webenetics site are the following. Ilona Staller, aka Ciccolina, of blue movies and green politics, had a red father—a member of the early communist Interior Ministry. And Juan Epstein’s mother—whose signature concluded every excuse note Juan Epstein brought to class in the 1970s ABC sitcom “Welcome back, Kotter!”—is in fact Hungarian, Juan Epstein having been played by Robert Hegyes.

“What’s that? Hungarian roots?”: Budapest and Wanting the Other MTV

Then there are the Hungarian roots of rock and pop stars. Appropriately enough, while Art Garfunkel is of Romanian Jewish ancestry, Paul Simon is of Hungarian Jewish ancestry. Tommy Ramone, drummer for “The Ramones,” was born with the more sedate name of Thomas Erdelyi. We can salute Gene Simmons of KISS (or should it have been KISz?) as half-Hungarian, and you might find it ironic, but you ought to know that Alanis Morissette is supposedly half Hungarian. It also turns out that the father of the Knopfler brothers of the “Dire Straits” band was a Hungarian Jew who fled the Nazis to Glasgow in 1939.

The Hungarian tie of “Dire Straits” is interesting—even if probably entirely incidental—in light of the “video within a video” of the band’s most famous commercial/video success, “Money for Nothing (1985).” “Money for Nothing” is better known for its line “I want my MTV”—brilliant and somewhat satirical marketing, mention the video channel coming of age in an iconic way in your song/video and you will guarantee play there. (It was also the first video played when MTV Europe debuted on 1 August 1987—for those too young to remember, MTV, no not Magyar Televizio, was a brief experiment in playing something called “music videos” until reality shows killed the music video star). The premise, the inspiration of “Money for Nothing,” was a bunch of workers moving appliances and commenting while, as it turns outs, watching Sting’s “The Russians” video on a wall of TV screens. (Ooohhhh, Sting mentioned the Russians, do they really love their children too? Ooooohhhhh, how daring…because I’m sure the Russians do love their children too…1985, the eighties, ugh). I had always wondered about “the video within the video” since the bikini-clad “mama she got it stickin’ in the camera lens” model appears to be posing in the Halaszbastya (Fisherman’s Bastion on the Buda side of Budapest) which I had then just recently visited (May 1985, the video came out in September 1985). Turns out I wasn’t hallucinating for as Dennis O’Connell writes:

The video was produced by Steve Barron, who envisioned that the entire video be computer animated. The band wanted a live video. The final product was a mix: footage from Budapest enhanced by computers along with a computer generated character, Sal, which was inspired by Joe Pesci's character in Raging Bull.

Sting, the object of the workers’ derision that gave rise to the song, performs back up vocals on “Money for Nothing.” Bringing everything full circle, my Russian History professor in college decided to open his semester with “Money for Nothing” blaring as students entered the classroom.

Camp. La(s)zlo

In keeping with the alien riff, Hungarians love their inside jokes. The crowd-favorite, sentimentalist Hollywood film, “Casablanca,” with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman (nope, neither of them Hungarian), was directed by Michael Curtiz (Kertesz). S. Z. “Cuddles” Sakall, a Hungarian stage actor, played the role of Karl, the kindly Austrian waiter in Rick’s Café. The famous historian John Lukacs (author of Budapest 1900) among others has argued that there is a typical Hungarian inside joke in this film—or at least the film bears the marks of its Hungarian director. Ingrid Bergman’s underground, Czech resistance leader husband in the film is named Victor Laszlo. Now, of course, as Lukacs notes—personally, he describes the movie as “imbecile”—“Laszlo” is neither a first nor last name in Czech. It is, however a sometimes last name, but frequent first-name in Hungarian—and Curtiz was surrounded “by a slew of Hungarian scriptwriters in Hollywood, many of whose first names were Laszlo” (Lukacs, 1989, pp. 178-179). Hence, the name in the film. (There is also a popular contemporary cartoon named “Camp Lazlo,” but Lazlo is a Brazilian spider monkey, and as far as I can tell there is in no conscious Hungarian connection behind the name choice.)

But I would argue there are even better inside Hungarian jokes than that of “Victor Laszlo” woven into movies, as I will now demonstrate.

The Boy Named Wolf in Hungarian Who Made Ralphie Cry…

It took over 30,000 feet, several time zone changes, and countless years to figure it out. A few years ago (2001) I was flying out west and scanning the music channels for the headphones. On the classical music channel I suddenly came upon a familiar tune. Yes, there it was: the tune that would repeat everytime the school bully would appear in the lovable, sentimental, nostalgia-fest for a life that few of us ever lived, that is “A Christmas Story (1983).” I thought I recognized the music: it was Sergei Prokofiev’s famous “Peter and the Wolf,” and the theme—that which Prokofiev used for the wolf—became the school bully’s signature in the film. Upon the first hearing of this tune, when the school bully makes his first frightening appearance, the reminiscing “Ralphie,” the little boy who is the main protagonist of the movie, exclaims, “it was Farkas, Scott Farkas, the school bully…he had yellow eyes, yellow eyes I tell you.” (Ralphie’s younger brother, Randy “lay there like a slug…it was his only defense”!)

(Spoiler Warning!: When I came to this personal epiphany in 2001, and even while I was writing this article in 2005, there was no indication on the Internet that anybody else had recorded this observation, which led me to question whether an overactive imagination had gotten the best of me yet again. What a great difference two years can be in the Internet age: now a google search for “farkas wolf ‘christmas story’ prokofiev” yields 123 hits, beginning with the wikipedia entry for the film!)

Why is this important you ask? Well, if you know Hungarian, you will know that “farkas” is the Hungarian word for “wolf.” Therefore, to play the theme of the “wolf” from Prokofiev’s work—a piece drafted, it would appear, for children to learn the various instruments of an orchestra—is to play an obscure “inside joke” on the viewers of the film. (Making it even better is the fact that the actor who plays the part of Ralphie is Peter! Billingsley.) Jean Shepherd, upon whose book the movie is based—and who also narrates the film from the perspective of an adult Ralphie looking back on his childhood—appears to have chosen the name of the bully, “Scott (Scut) Farkas,” himself. The story is set in 1940s northwestern Indiana—significantly, Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” debuted in 1936 and became the subject of a Disney cartoon—so the presence of people of Hungarian ancestry and last names is plausible.

It is always possible that the Prokofiev-wolf-farkas nexus is just an unintentional, if very witty happenstance. But the idea of it having been one of the ultimate Hungarian “inside jokes”—although Jean Shepherd does not appear to have been Hungarian himself—is enhanced by the comparatively unknown and definitely less memorable sequel to “A Christmas Story,” “It Runs in the Family (1994),” in which Ralphie’s father recounts the story of “the Hungarian barber’s cross-eyed daughter.” Shepherd died in 1999, but as with many common last names from other cultures—and farkas can perhaps be deemed one of those—growing up with Hungarian acquaintances it is conceivable that Shepherd would have known the meaning of the name in Hungarian.

“Honky”: The Hungarian Roots of a Racial Epithet

Speaking of the Hungarian(-American) “working class” in the Chicago environs. According to the entry on the wikipedia: Honky, Honkey or Honkie is an American racial slur for a Caucasian, usually applied to males. The word “honky” as a pejorative for Caucasians comes from "bohunk" and "hunky". In the early 1900’s, these were derogatory terms for Bohemian, Hungarian, and Polish immigrants. According to Robert Hendrickson, author of the Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, Black workers in Chicago meat-packing plants picked up the term from white workers and began applying it indiscriminately to all Caucasians.

Honky, was later adopted as a pejorative meaning white, in 1967 by black militants within SNCC seeking a rebuttal for the term nigger. They settled on a familiar word they felt was disparaging to certain Americans of European descent; hunkie meaning an American of Slavic or Hungarian descent.

In the Simpsons cartoon series, Homer Simpson is fond of saying when something goes wrong, particularly at the nuclear power plant where he works, “blame it on Tibor, the guy who doesn’t speak English.” One can imagine that this is something of an inside joke among the creators of the Simpsons, since the chief cartoonist Gabor Csupo is Hungarian (supposedly Hank Azaria’s character Dr. Nick Riviera, a quack physician, is supposed to be a parody of Ricky Ricardo on “I Love Lucy”—“Hi e-ver-y-bo-dy!”—but coworkers just assumed he was making fun of Gabor. Personally, I have always thought he sounds oddly like Andrei Codrescu on NPR…) According to the online urban dictionary of slang, “blame it on…Tibor” has entered at least some marginal popular discourse as shorthand for blaming the foreigner—thus in keeping perhaps, unintentionally, with the roots of “Honky”:

A tibor is someone in your office whom you blame when you have done something stupid, illegal, or immoral. Typically the person is someone who cannot defend themself. Especially effective when the Tibor cannot speak English. “You'll have to jiggle the handle. That idiot, Tibor, lost the key.”

Hollywood, Aliens, And A Christmas Story - Modern Pop Culture Images Of Hungarians in the US

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Massive Action

!: Massive Action

Warren Buffett did not become wealthy by investing the loose change in his pocket. Bill Gates created Microsoft by daring to dream big goals. Walt Disney did not visualize one amusement ride. Olympic athletes do not spend time at the gym casually visiting and half heartedly doing one or two exercises.

Every successful person takes massive action. Dare to dream big goals, choose to design a massive action plan to achieve those goals and commit to implementing that plan today. Regardless of whether your dream is making money online with a home based business or a franchise or a brick and mortar business, the business principles are identical. Every successful person and every successful business followed exactly the same formula.

Start by having a heart to heart talk with yourself. What do you passionately desire to achieve? The key words are "you passionately desire to achieve." Your goal must light your soul on fire with an all consuming passionate desire. Selecting a goal which you think you should choose or one that someone else chooses for you creates a disaster in the long term.

My father declared that I did not deserve a college education and that I would stay in the local farm community and get some mundane job as a secretary at a local business. The very thought of doing that drained the life out of me. History records many instances of people who attempted to live the life someone else, usually a well meaning parent, designed for them. Rarely did that lead to a successful and fulfilling life for the child.

This is your life. This is the only life you will have on this earth. You have the right and duty to design the life you desire to live, create the plan to make that goal a reality and take the massive action necessary to implement that plan. IF YOU DO NOT DESIGN THE PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE, BY DEFAULT SOMEONE ELSE WILL DESIGN IT. Who do you believe will do a better job of designing the life you truly choose to live? You or someone else?

Jim Rohn, noted business philosopher asks what you think someone else has designed for you and answers the question. "Not much." Are you willing to settle for "not much" for your life? I am not. Refer back to Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Walt Disney and Jim Rohn. Each one of these men created an incredible empire for themselves by following a simple formula. They dreamed a massive goal, visualized that goal completed, designed a plan to bring that goal into reality and took the necessary massive action to achieve.

Successful business people all follow exactly the same simple formula. Business principles remain consistent throughout the centuries. Whether you choose a successful small business or a gigantic corporation, the business principles are identical. The only difference between where you are right now and where these financial giants are at the peak of their careers is the dream, the plan and the massive action.

You have more opportunities right now with the online business potential than ever before in history. Success comes to those who dream big and take massive action.

Massive Action

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Disney Princess & Me 18 inch Doll Set- Belle

!: expert reviews Disney Princess & Me 18 inch Doll Set- Belle Review

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Disney Princess & Me 18 inch Doll Set- Belle

The Disney Princess and Me dolls let you live a royal lifestyle with your favorite princess! Our Disney Princess and Me 18 inch Doll Belle includes:1 18-inch Doll 1 Ball Gown1 Pair of Shoes 1 Princess Magazine 1 Princess Certificate 1 Royal Invitation

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Some Ship Wrecks We Have Known

!: Some Ship Wrecks We Have Known

I’ve listed shipwrecks that caused more than 23,000 deaths in total.

So was the Titanic the most costly in human life?

Some think so.

They are wrong.

Ship Wrecks (over 1000 killed)

April 27, 1865: The Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River near Memphis. The boilers were faulty which made steamships dangerous. (1450 deaths) Read about the Sultana at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/sultana.htm. This site claims that there were over 1700 deaths.

April 14-15, 1912: The Titanic sunk after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic. Deaths were caused by the shortage of lifeboats, the mishandling of lifeboats, waiting too long to drop lifeboats, and the failure of certain other ships to quickly respond. The Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable. If the liner had hit the iceberg head-on rather than a side-splitting glancing blow, it probably would not have sunk. Lower-class passengers suffered the most. (1503 deaths) Read about and see photos of the Titanic at: http://www.titanic-online.com/. You can read the radio transmissions at: [http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Cauldron/5807/Titanic/message.html].

May 17, 1915: The Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine off Ireland. The Germans claimed that the ship was carrying armaments. Recent dives indicate that it was. (1198 deaths) Read about the great ship and the political intrigue at: http://www.pbs.org/lostliners/lusitania.html.

February 26, 1916: The French cruiser, La Provence, sank in the Mediterranean. (3100 deaths) Don’t confuse with the battleship much later. Read about the ship at: http://www.greatships.net/provence.html. This site claims that the number of deaths was over 900. You can have fun researching that discrepancy. It was carrying troops, but many were saved. Losses were partly caused by rough seas hindering the launch of lifeboats. A German submarine sank the ship.

December 16, 1917: The Mount Blanc, Imo, a French ammunition ship collided with a Belgium steamer in Halifax Harbor. (1600 deaths) This is one of the most fascinating events in history. Not only was the ship in danger. Read about it at: http://www.cbc.ca/halifaxexplosion/he2_ruins/he2_ruins_countdown_catastrophe.html. Here is an excerpt: “The steel hull burst sky-high, falling in a blizzard of red-hot, twisted projectiles on Dartmouth and Halifax. Some pieces were tiny; others were huge. Part of the anchor hit the ground more than 4 kilometers away on the far side of Northwest Arm. A gun barrel landed in Dartmouth more than 5 kilometers from the harbor.”

November 1948: Chinese army evacuation ship exploded off Southern Manchuria. (6000 deaths) I found nothing of interest on this disaster. It is covered in some book but I couldn’t find a good web site. If you find one, please email me. I learned at http://liners.greatnet.us/shipwreck_timeline.htm that the ship was carrying Chinese Nationalist Soldiers from Manchuria.

December 3, 1948: Chinese refugee ship exploded south of Shanghai. (1100+ deaths) I found no web site on this either. At http://liners.greatnet.us/shipwreck_timeline.htm I learned that these were refugees fleeing Communist China.

September 26, 1954: The Toya Maru, a Japanese ferry sank in the Tsugaru Strait. (1172) Some U.S. military personal died in this disaster.

December 20, 1987: The Dona Paz, a Philippine ferry sank after colliding with an oil tanker in Tablas Strait. (3000+ deaths) Read more at http://www.hazardcards.com/card.php?id=14.

Feb. 17, 1993: The Neptune: triple-deck ferry capsized off southern peninsula of Haiti during a squall. Over 1,000 passengers believed drowned. About 300 survived the sinking.

September 26, 2002: Senegalese state-run ferry, the Joola, sank off the coast of Gambia. (1800 deaths). Read about the aftermath at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2290490.stm.

The End

Some Ship Wrecks We Have Known

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Selena Gomez and WoWP casting meet&greet at NYC's Disney Store

!: Selena Gomez and WoWP casting meet&greet at NYC's Disney Store

[[READ DESCRIPTION]] I've been a huge fan of Selena Gomez for a very long time now and to finally get a chance to meet her in person and also getting to meet the cast of Wizards of Waverly Place here in NYC, was just so incredibly exciting, especially since I've never met any Disney stars (or celebrities in general) before, until now. I got in line at 9:30am and it wasn't really long, there was only 50 people before me and probably 100's behind me. I had to wait 5 freakin' hours and we spent the last two hours waiting in the rain, but it was so worth it! The second we stepped into the Disney store, the place was crowded and there were a lot of screaming girls going on. Selena Gomez, David Henrie, Jake T. Austin, Jennifer Stone, and David DeLuise were sitting in a long table. (Maria Canals-Barrera couldn't make it, due to the fact that her mother was ill.) =[ Anyway, they looked so clean, flawless and perfect, like they just stepped out of a teen magazine and there I was, with my hair all wet and my outfit all messed up, haha! We weren't allowed to record or take pictures WHILE we met them . We were only allowed to do that while waiting in line taking pictures of them, not WITH them. =[ So I might as well tell you guys what happened when I met them! As I finally gotten to the table, Jake T. Austin was first to meet and he looked SO adorable. As he was signing an autograph for me, I said "Aww I would totally babysit you.", he laughed and said "Hey that's fine with me!" Then ...

Selena Gomez and WoWP casting meet&greet at NYC's Disney Store

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Who Else Really Needs to Buck The System and Live a Longer Happier and Wealthier Life

!: Who Else Really Needs to Buck The System and Live a Longer Happier and Wealthier Life

Are you one of these people that believe fervently that there is a better way to create wealth and happiness than working longer hours for an ungrateful and uncaring boss...and although you punish your body in the gym, you realise it will take more than just physical fitness to break free.

Well, it certainly helps, and those that treat their bodies like a temple certainly do enjoy a much more illness-free existence, and relative freedom from stress.

However there is one other area that many people ignore - at their peril - and that is the stress of keeping up with 'The System' - that is working harder, getting the toys you want, then having to work harder to pay for them - in a vicious spiral.

The System?

Yes - The System...

Most people are dragged into 'The System' from a very early age, and only a very few people ever manage to escape it - less than 1% in fact...and you can always tell those who have bucked this system, and done their own thing.

The System we are talking about here is a spin-off from the Industrial Revolution where the workers were paid just enough to meet their basic needs but not enough so that any of them could actually leave and do their own thing.

This has been translated into modern day society in that we are all taught from an early age that we should go to school, get a good education, get a good job, and work all your life until it comes to retirement. At least in the early days of the Industrial Revolution, many employers provided special houses for the long serving employees, so there was a good reason to be faithful and dutiful towards their bosses.

Perhaps until 50 or 60 years ago, a similar situation was in place with all sorts of State run pension schemes and the like - but not any more. If you are still holding to that old myth, that all you have to do is what generations have done before you - work long and hard all your life- and at retirement, the State will look after your needs, well think again, as the Baby Boomer era (those born just after the Second World War) start to sap the remaining life out of pension funds.

But look what is happening on the retirement front - are governments trying to make the situation better or worse? Well, they are running scared, as they are also fully aware the effect the massive expansion in retirement needs of the Baby Boomers are going to have on the economy, and are possibly looking at billions more needed in pension payouts. With more and more people looking for a wealthier life style, this is going to cause a lot of political issues.

In many countries in the world, there is much talk about governments increasing the age to qualify for your pension, and many are opting for the time you reach 70, rather than the old established retirement age of 65.

Now, you may think that's fine - if you fancy working 'til you are old and shriveled, with no hope of an active retirement, then that's your choice. Me - I fancy having an eye still for the opposite sex in my 'retirement' years.

But - here's another not so well-known fact - recently, a major insurance company just did some research on the effect of retirement age with regard to your active life span.

Did you know that:-

If you retire at 65, the average life expectancy is 71.

If you retire at 60, the average life expectancy is 76.

If you retire at 55, the average life expectancy is 81.

How clever - if your government increases the retirement age to 70, then by following 'The System' you will all probably be dead before you start to draw any money from the State, leaving all that tax money in the government's very grateful coffers...

Well, it would seem then, the sooner you retire, the longer the lifespan you be able to grab for yourself, and not only that, this extra time will be filled with abundance and plenty, a much healthier lifestyle, and one also filled with financial freedom that you only used to dream about......

Now, how on earth does a normal person buck The System, creates their own wealthier life and become financially free of this system, that controls and rules most people's lives?

Simple. They have 'The Knowledge'. They are taught by enlightened friends, mentors, or life coaches, that the way to succeed in this life is not to work for money, but make money work for you! Let's face it; you only have 24 hours in a day, seven days a week. Once those have been 'sold' to your employer, there is nothing else available to you. You need to know how to make money work for you...

Look at anybody with expensive 'Toys' - fast boats, the best cars, beautiful properties, and seemingly endless time on their hands...

If you want to be like them, and enjoy your own wealthier life, then you have to have 'The Knowledge'. You have to know what they knew, to escape the system. To get your financial independence, you need access to on line education, you need to understand how to manipulate stocks and shares, and how to get the best returns out of property investment, all topics that The System does not tell you anything about. Why should it?

The System needs people like you to keep an orderly society going - after all, if we all knew 'The Secret' (care of Bob Proctor) then who would be around to wash our cars, clean our pools, do all the tasks in exchange for time that we don't want to do...

Now, one of the best ways of getting this knowledge, used to be by attend training courses, seminars, or spend a fortune on self-improvement courses. But this takes an inordinate amount of time and money, and is very demanding on time and travel arrangements.

According to Peter Drucker in Forbes Magazine last year ( just before his death after a very distinguished career in information management that stretched back to the 1920's) there is a much better way of getting this knowledge, that of on line learning. This on-line learning concept is earmarked to become the next massive trend on the internet, as more and more people demand this wealthier life style.

Where else are you going to get access to masses of training and learning courses from experts in property, stocks and shares, and other self-improvement courses, that you can call upon in the comfort of your own home, at time to suit you to help create your wealthier life style?

There are an increasing number of these on line learning sites appearing on the internet today, and they really represent the way forward as a means of getting 'The Knowledge' to produce your own wealthier life style and escaping from 'The System.'

Rather than spending a fortune on multitudes of courses and sometimes travelling half way round the world to attend; for a small monthly fee, you can have them all, in the comfort of your own home at a time to suit your needs. Many of them not only teach you 'The Knowledge' but the better ones also have the ability to build your own business by getting you to 'spread the word' to friends and colleagues, generating a very substantial extra income stream. Rather than committing to hours and hours of concentrated learning, just 15 minutes a day on a regular basis will usually do the trick for you and really create this magical wealthier life style.

Not only see how 'They' made it to where they are in stocks and shares, investment property, and the like, and when you have created your wealthier life, learn from them how to protect your assets. Learn from people who have escaped The System, and have managed to carve a lifestyle outside of The System that we could all become extremely jealous of.

If you are interested in this style of 'Earn and Learn' process, when you choose which company to work with, make sure they have a powerful way of helping you build up your own network of users, and also make sure the commission structure and pay plan is as simple and as uncomplicated but as rewarding as possible.

But above all, you owe it to yourself if you want this wealthier life to make the decision NOW to make sure you do not spend the rest of your life trapped in The System. After all, why not retire early, live a longer wealthier life, and make sure you have created sufficient income streams to support a life of abundance.

The alternative really is unthinkable...

Who Else Really Needs to Buck The System and Live a Longer Happier and Wealthier Life

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Disney Princess & Me 18 inch Doll Set- Ariel

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Disney Channel High School Episode 4

!: Disney Channel High School Episode 4

Episode 5: www.youtube.com btw you guys i havent been making a lot vids lately but thats only cause school but on weekends there will be atleast 2 videos from me and maybe 1 or 2 during the weekday if i can fit it in. anyways enjoy this episode of DC high its kinda random but lol its still good! tell all your friends to watch my series too! sorry for misspelling a few words (and yes i spelled that wrong on purpose) Do you guys want any other celeb to be in there? What celeb couple do you want in here? Any tips, Etc.Do you want any specific song in there? I want hear you opinion so tell me what you want to be in hear cause I make these episodes for you guys! If you have any ideas comment the video too! I love reading the comments so please comment this video!

Disney Channel High School Episode 4

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Miscellaneous Money Saving Techniques

!: Miscellaneous Money Saving Techniques

How to Find Powerful Ways To Beat The Recession By Saving Money? Part IV

1. Barter System
Gather friends, family, neighbours, and co-workers and set up a bartering system. Offer babysitting to one family in exchange for them mowing your lawn or offer to clean someone's house in exchange for a week of car-pooling your child to school. You would be amazed at the opportunities and the money that can be saved using a bartering system. We have a neighbourhood bartering system in place in my community. We set up a bartering board at our local post office. Anyone in the neighbourhood can view the bartering board, and barter with other neighbours.

2. Matinee
Do you love the movies but hate the prices? Switch your night time show to the late afternoon or early evening matinee. The price is about 50% less and when taking an entire family, that is a nice savings. Pop your own popcorn, put in a plastic bag, and place in a large purse and make or buy your own candy, leaving only drinks to buy. Food at the theatre is outrageously priced. The next time that you head to the movies, hit the matinee, stuff those jellybeans and liquorice sticks in your purse, and enjoy the savings. Also, check for movie tickets online, which can be discounted.

3. Incentives - Reward Plan
To help you and your family spend more wisely, set up a system where rewards are given when the rules set forth are followed. For example, if a family decision was made to start making lunch and brown bagging it to work and school instead of paying each day, the incentive might be that if this is followed strictly for one month, the entire family can spend a Saturday at the Zoo or favourite theme park.

4. Check the Garbage
One woman had her teenage daughter clean her room. The daughter proudly did just that, filling two huge trash bags of things she no longer wanted. Out of curiosity, the mother peeked into one of the bags to see what was being thrown away. In shock, she found a new tube of suntan lotion, two perfectly good sweaters, makeup, lotion, a picture frame, hair curlers, all good things. The daughter did not realize that just because the items were of no interest to her, they might be to someone else. After talking to her daughter, the mom turned around and listed the items on eBay, making a profit on her daughter's "junk." My family bought several storage tubs. When we want to get rid of something we analyze it to see if it could be use to someone else. If so, we put it in a storage tub. Each summer we drag the storage tubs out and have a huge garage sale!

5. Off-Season
The next time you plan a vacation, consider off-season. Generally, the prices for airfare, hotel, and cars are substantially lower than travelling during peak time. If you look at all your options, you will find that in many cases, you can come close to the date you would like to travel. As an example, flying to Hawaii through June 8 is considered off-season while June 9 is peak. One day makes a huge difference in price.

6. Buffet Meals
When taking the family out to dinner, consider restaurants that have buffets. In many cases, the prices are outstanding and a parent can share with a small child. In addition, many buffets are "all you can eat" and of course, there is something for everyone. Buffet style restaurants have changed over the last few years. Many people are used to the old style buffet restaurants

7. Cable Networking
If you have a computer upstairs and another downstairs and you use high-speed data, have one of the computers be the primary computer and the other be the backup. This way, you are only charged once for Internet access and a small fee of to a month for the second computer. This is a great bargain! We have three computers in our house, and by networking them, we save over each month.

8. Free Entertainment
If you are tired of being bored, you will be pleased to learn that there are hundreds of things to do that do not cost a dime. For example, if you want a little Friday or Saturday night excitement, sign up at your local police department for a "ride-a-long" where you can go on duty with an officer as they respond to real calls. Community colleges are always offering free exercise classes, or coffee shops have poetry readings. Entertainment and having fun does not have to cost anything. Some cities have special areas that are popular on the weekends where you can find free concerts. Check your local paper and college to get a list for your area.

9. Telephone / Mobile Phone
First, shop around for the best deals. Second, stay away from all the fun bells and whistles and just stick with the basic plan. Some people have turned to shutting down their home telephone and are now using their mobile phones in place. Since most wireless carriers offer free long-distance, call waiting, call forwarding, caller ID, voicemail, and more, it can do the same as a regular phone but for less. Why have two phones when you can have just one?

10. Home Remedies
Before rushing off to see the doctor for a sore throat, try some home remedies or over the counter drugs instead. For a sore throat, butter mixed with ginger and sugar makes a soothing healing pate. A hot toddy before bed is great for a cold. Simply ask your family for their home remedies and try it. Sometimes a simple over the counter medication or herb will do the trick without costing you an expensive doctor's office visit.

11. Carpool
In some larger cities, carpooling is required in order to reduce smog. However, regardless of where you live, carpooling can also be a big money saver. Check with co-workers and determine who lives close enough to share a ride. By the end of the year, you will have saved several hundreds of dollars.

12. Insulation
Hundreds of dollars are wasted every year from the average home due to improper insulation. Make sure there are no drafts coming from your window, door, or fireplace. Ensure your home has the appropriate level of insulation, which will make a HUGE difference in your utility bill.

13. Cancel Subscriptions
It is always fun getting your favourite magazine or book in the mail but you should cancel them or at least most of them. If you have several subscriptions, choose one or two to keep and cancel the rest.

14. Consolidate your Errands
To save gas, organize your day of errands so you get as much done in an organized manner as possible. Stay in the same geographical area and hit as many of your errands in that area as possible to avoid excessive driving.

15. Turn your Hobby into Money
Everyone has a skill - find yours and turn it into money. For example, if you have a skill for woodworking, start creating children's toys, or curio cabinets to sell. Perhaps you are computer savvy and could teach a class at your local community college. Find something you enjoy and sell it.

16. Heating and Cooling
Make sure vents in rooms not being used or the garage are closed. Many people tend to try to heat and cool the entire home. Instead, take the time to close off areas that you are not using. You will save substantial money on your utilities.

17. Vacations
While Paris, England, or Germany offers excitement, they also cost money to visit. Unfortunately, people on a regular basis forget about the United States and even the very state in which they live. One man had lived in Arizona his entire life. At age 50, when asked by a friend what the Grand Canyon was like, he was unable to answer because he had never been there. The next time you get ready to plan your family vacation, look around where you live and consider an exciting road trip that will not only be educating but cost effective. A vacation does not have to be expensive to be fun and memorable.

18. Annual Maintenance
Make a list of all annual maintenance items for your home such as air conditioner, heater, hot water heater, etc. Once again, being prepared and working in a proactive manner can save you unnecessary expenses. If you take care of your air conditioner by getting an annual tune up then you lower the risk of something going wrong during the hot summer months when it will be quite costly to repair.

19. Automobile Care
Keep your car oil changed, tires rotated, and overall care up-to-date. First, the for your oil change will save wear and tear on your car, which could result in significant money. Second, you need your car to get to and from work. By not having your car in top working condition could put you in a bad position when it comes to required transportation.

20. Repair versus Replace
Instead of spending ,000 on that beautiful new couch, you might consider one of two options. If your couch frame is still good, you might spend 0 to have it recovered or purchase a quality slipcover for 0. Your couch will look brand new for much less, than it would to replace. Another example would be if you have a lamp that you want to replace. Consider painting it and adding a new shade rather than spending money to buy a brand new one. Perhaps you have a washer, dryer, or refrigerator that is running a little sluggish. Find out the cost of repair over that of purchasing a new one. Even if you have an appliance with the wrong colour, businesses offer fantastic paint jobs. With a little creativity, you will be amazed at how much can be repaired, thus saving you money.

21. Computer Software
In order to keep on track with your debts and credits, you need to use some type of software such as Quicken or Quick Books. This will keep you focused on your goals and tasks while you strive to achieve them. Additionally, rather than buy software programs to download, first check Download.com or Freeware.com to see if there are free versions to download.

22. Previously Viewed
Home videos and DVDs are hot items and perfect for any family entertainment. Now you can visit the major video chains and purchase previously viewed videos and DVDs for about half the cost. For example, at Blockbuster, you can purchase either one and get a 30-day warranty. This is still a wonderful way to have quality entertainment for a terrific savings. Another great option is to record your own movies either from TV or any of the popular cable channels such as HBO, Showtime or Disney. Rather than hitting the theatre every weekend, make it a special occasion. Instead, pop your popcorn, grab a soda, spread out a blanket, and create your own theatre-type atmosphere.

23. Dinner Guests
Invite friends over for dinner as a potluck. People love sharing their favourite recipe and by splitting dinner, everyone enjoys variety while saving money. In fact, make this a tradition amongst your friends.

24. Ball Games
Instead of spending your money on overpriced items at the ballgame, take your own cooler of food. Some professional stadiums no longer allow this so check before going. If you have a son or daughter that plays little league or soccer, this is a great way to save money over paying high concession stand prices.

25. Discount Books
Purchase a discount coupon book, which generally costs around . As long as you use it faithfully and base your choices on options featured in the book, you can save hundreds of dollars. These books are great for restaurants, hotels, car rentals, and tons of entertainment and provide great variety and even better discounts.

26. Pocket Change
Keep a jar or some type of container handy and each time you come home, drop in your change. Every time you break a bill, put the change in your container. You will be amazed how quickly your money will build.

27. Freebies
Check out freebie sites such as TotallyFreebies.com or SassySue.com where you will find all types of sample items ranging from cosmetics to books to clothing. Most have no shipping charges and the ones that do are minimal. By filling out a few forms, you will receive sample size soaps, lotions, shampoos and conditioners, etc., which are ideal for the traveller.

28. Rebate Programs
When you shop, always keep your eyes open for rebate programs. Although filling out the forms and clipping the UPC codes from a box is a hassle, the money you save is worth it. Some rebate items are not listed as offering a rebate. Check out AsmartShop.com or Rebateplace.com to see if any of your recent purchases offer a rebate.

Miscellaneous Money Saving Techniques

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JAY-Z "Show Me What You Got" KINGDOM COME 11.21.06

!: JAY-Z "Show Me What You Got" KINGDOM COME 11.21.06

"Show Me What You Got" Video JAY-Z Returns With "Kingdom Come" 11.21.06 THE MOST ANTICIPATED ALBUM OF THE YEAR!!!

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Sell Disney Collectibles On eBay

!: Sell Disney Collectibles On eBay

You can always tell when a collecting theme or specific collectible achieves super status on eBay, and it isn't just because such items attract heavy bidding or regularly break auction price records.

One giveaway is new terminology applied to the hobby of collecting the item. 'Philately', for example, for what was once merely called 'stamp collecting', and 'deltiology' which means collecting postcards. More recently 'eBayana' encompasses all things specifically related to eBay or carrying the eBay logo, and 'railwayana' covers train and railway collectibles.

The other most important tell-tale sign is when eBay dedicates its very own exclusive category to a popular collectible, such as Disney Collectibles, called 'Disneyana', to describe items relating to Walt Disney, his characters and worldwide operations, and also one of the fastest growing and most profitable areas on eBay to focus your business.

Disney collectibles have been hugely popular for many decades, depicting hundreds of characters and storylines and featuring thousands of different product types, such as novelty snow globes and car mascots, to more practical items like dinner services and kitchen accoutrements.

There are many unique items too, such as badges worn by famous cast members and staff on individual Disney films, props and scripts, and so on, which the Disney company often sells direct from its own Internet sites. Those items are often bought for resale on eBay where really high profits are enjoyed by few people currently aware of Disney's direct selling ventures from where many top eBay sellers obtain their high profit stock.

Disney sells countless products, with new items appearing literally daily, which are sold at their many Disney holiday and leisure resorts, so even items picked up during a family holiday have resale value on eBay and can contribute significantly to vacation expenses.

There is a lot to know about Disney collectibles, most of it quite irrelevant to making big profits on eBay, but worth learning as your business develops to help you answer bidder questions and to more accurately determine profit potential on items you consider buying to sell on eBay.

To illustrate, last week a tatty wireless with a tiny emblem depicting Mickey Mouse was valued by staff at an auction I often visit as worth between £40 and £60. It went for over £1000. Three Mickey Mouse telephones, offered as one lot, pre-valued at £100 to £150, made more than £200.

Auction staff at that event, among the most experienced in the UK, were wildly mistaken on both items, and many more Disney artefacts sold that day. The wireless transpired to be one of less than a dozen similar items known to exist, and will almost certainly fetch many thousands of pounds more on resale. That's where a little or a lot of background knowledge of your specialist subject can pay handsome dividends for the lifetime of your business.

As for the telephones, I researched them on eBay the day before the auction and found dozens listed of which most went unsold or fetched around eight quid apiece! There's another time where prior knowledge not only prevented me from bidding now and losing money later, but also revealed a great chance for me to purchase individual Disney phones on eBay to group and resell locally.

Disney collectibles have their own ageing system, also used on eBay, to determine at what stage an item ceases to be 'modern' (in Disney terminology 'contemporary' and created since 1968) and becomes 'old' ('Vintage' according to Disney jargon and covering items made between 1928 and 1967, described by Disney and eBay, somewhat confusingly, as 'pre-1968').

On UK and USA sites, Disneyana usually* goes under main category 'Collectibles' ('Collectables', wrong spelling, in the UK), with sub-categories:

- Contemporary (1968-Now)

- Vintage (Pre-1968)

* 'Usually' because some items have double collecting appeal, such as Disney Pez disenspers and Walt Disney's autograph, which also, in the UK, belong respectively, under 'Collectibles > Household > Pez Dispensers' and 'Collectibles > Autographs'.

Further sub-categories vary little between eBay country sites for 'Contemporary' but are immensely different for 'Vintage' categories which exist aplenty in the USA but number zero in the UK. In the UK all Vintage Disney items, currently just 131 listings, are lumped together under 'Collectables > Disneyana > Vintage (Pre-1968).

Sell Disney Collectibles On eBay

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Disney Princess And Me Dolls - On Every Girl's Wish List

Oh how I wish I was a child again! I roughly wish I had a puny girl so that I could taste through her the magic of the new Disney Princess and Me Dolls from Jakks Pacific. With these whopping 18″ dolls puny girls in the middle of the ages of 5 and 8 can now role play with their beloved Disney characters.

My mommy instinct already tells me these Princess & Me Dolls will be a huge hit this holiday. There is so much to do with these dolls. First of all, girls can choose from Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella and Tiana, Rapunzel or secure them all and spice up the fun. Of course to secure them all will cost a small fortune. Priced at just under at most retailers you shape out the cost to secure them all.

Disney Me Magazine

Of course no self respecting girl will want to go without her own matching dress up ball gown in order to look just like her beloved character. So parents, please allow for the matching gown for your puny princess when you buy the doll. Dresses about the same price as purchasing the doll.

Disney Princess And Me Dolls - On Every Girl's Wish List

!1: Now is the time Disney and Me Magazine (February 2010 issue #48) Order Today!

Nice Design by :Over All Rating Reviews : Great Deal : Date Created :Apr 17, 2011 17:12:31

Each doll comes with a astonishing princess gown, tiara, shoes, a princess magazine, invitation for girls to become a member of the Princess Royal family (they will get a birthday card from their beloved Princess) and princess certificate. A Royal Sleepwear Ensemble which comes with a nightgown, robe and slippers may be purchased separately. Additional Accessories comprise a Royal Wardrobe and Princess Canopy Bed.

For parents who wish to go the extra mile, the Princess & Me Ballet Recital range which includes a tutu dress, lace up ballet slippers and a headband for girls can also be purchased separately.

These Additional Accessories are about 1/3 the price of the dolls.

Are they worth it?

I say a resounding Yes! What girl will not love having her very own princess. Aside from that the potential of the doll is beyond question. From the silky long high potential hair on their heads, to the well sculpted faces and bodies, the potential of the dresses are also superb these dolls should could be priced twice the suggested retail cost.

Without a doubt each child gifted with a Disney Princess and Me Doll will love the taste of entering the magical world that Disney has created with these characters. For the parents on the budget there is much fun to be had even without the extra Accessories.

Disney Princess And Me Dolls - On Every Girl's Wish ListPQP 008: David Henrie and Jennifer Stone from WOWP (for Power of Youth)! Tube. Duration : 2.07 Mins.

Tween Celebrity Hollywood Reporter Piper Reese in one of the quirkiest yet Piper's Quick Picks! Piper absolutely did not expect to talk with David Henrie! Also ... Jennifer Stone! Jennifer is so sweet ... and so smart! Check it out y'all! www.PipersPicks.TV

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Interview ALLSTAR WEEKEND: AAKD 2010

Interview ALLSTAR WEEKEND: AAKD 2010 Video Clips. Duration : 3.52 Mins.

Read our interview with the band, All Star Weekend! Probably the single "Dance Forever" to hear, but in terms of learning more about the guys at All Star Weekend! We met the band before their performance at the 2010 Arthur Ashe Kids Day - which includes the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato! The ever-lovable, were easy on the eyes so beautiful and fun band as always - and we can say that they are all friends. Some bands can say that you can "fake" or a "conspiracy" - but withAll-Star Weekend, it is unclear why these guys get along as it seems. The band has some pretty big concerts earlier this year, as performed at Bamboozle, Arthur Ashe Kids Day - will be bigger and Good Morning America. This is definitely next year All-Star Weekend this year, and we look forward to seeing what they have in stock! Be sure to take his album "Suddenly" - out now!

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Disney Princess and Me

The 18 inch doll is ready in 5 dissimilar princesses; Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Belle from attractiveness and the Beast, Ariel from microscopic Mermaid, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog and Cinderella. Each doll comes with a ball gown, pair of shoes, pair of earrings, tiara, 4 ½" full-color, princess magazine, royal invitation and honorary princess certificate. They are priced slightly under dollars.

An exceptional concentration to information makes these dolls worth every cent. Each princess' face is handcrafted and based off the former spirited film. They use Macor eyes which include varying hues to mimic human eyes and are of the top quality. For skin, the dolls have a matte ceramics finish. The beautiful hand-rooted hair, Kanekalon, is imported from Japan and of a quality matching that of the most high-priced hair extensions and wigs.

Disney Me Magazine

The Disney Princess and Me dolls are able to move and pose in a manner which allows for hours of creative play, like tea parties, grand balls and other princess activities that her owner has imagined. The dolls have 6 dissimilar ball joints, settled at the neck, each shoulder, the waist and hips for a wide range of motion and flexibility.

Disney Princess and Me

!1: Now is the time The Hound Order Today!

Nice Design by :Over All Rating Reviews : Great Deal : Date Created :Apr 02, 2011 20:32:25

"The Hound" is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft in September 1922 and published in the February 1924 issue of Weird Tales. It contains the first mention of Lovecraft's fictional text the Necronomicon.

On September 16, 1922, Lovecraft toured the Flatbush Reformed Church in Brooklyn with his friend Rheinhart Kleiner, writing about the visit in a letter:

Around the old pile is a hoary churchyard, with internments dating from around 1730 to the middle of the nineteenth century.... From one of the crumbling gravestones--dated 1747--I chipped a small piece to carry away. It lies before me as I write--and ought to suggest some sort of horror-story. I must place it beneath my pillow as I sleep... who can say what thing might not come out of the centuried earth to exact vengeance for his desecrated tomb? And should it come, who can say what it might not resemble?

Lovecraft wrote "The Hound" shortly afterwards, using as the name of one of the main characters his nickname for his companion Kleinhart, "St. John". The grave that is fatefully robbed in the story is in a "terrible Holland churchyard"--perhaps a reference to Flatbush church being part of the Dutch Reformed Church.

Critic Steven J. Mariconda suggests that the story is a tribute to the Decadent literary movement in general and in particular Joris-Karl Huysmans' A rebours, an 1884 novel that Lovecraft greatly admired. (Huysmans is mentioned by name in the story, along with Baudelaire.) Like "The Hound"'s protagonists, victims of a "devastating ennui", the main character of A rebours suffers from an "overpowering tedium" that leads him to "imagine and then indulge in unnatural love-affairs and perverse pleasures."

Mariconda also points to the heavy debt the story owes to Edgar Allan Poe, an influence acknowledged by several borrowed phrases:

The "oblong box" exumed, the mysterious "knock on my chamber door", and the "red death" brought by the Hound all echo Poe's phraseology.

Great care has been taken to create the beautiful ball gowns. Satin, organza, velveteen and sheer fabrics consolidate to create the collection. The designers paid meticulous concentration to the glittered accents and metallic trim work. Further garments are ready to buy as well as a tea set, wardrobe, canopy bed and vanity set.

To ensure authenticity, each doll has been stamped with a trademark trust stamp. The stamp is legitimately settled on the foot. Every dress is also labeled with the same trust stamp. Customers will have no doubts that they are purchasing a real Princess and Me doll.

I would not advise the dolls for microscopic girls that aren't legitimately that curious in princesses and dolls. Only because they would not appreciate the craftsmanship and there are plenty of other versions of Disney princesses ready for a fraction of the cost.

On the other hand, these dolls are excellent for microscopic girls who love whatever Disney Princess and have a passion for dolls. The Disney Princess and Me dolls are a must have addition for collectors or avid Disney fans.

Overall, it is a high quality stock which has been crafted to be the most realistic replica of the Disney princesses on the market. They are beautiful and all things a princess doll should be.

Disney Princess and MeThe apartments - She Says Its Alright Video Tube. Duration : 3.85 Mins.

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