Wizards of Money Part 15: Homeland Securitizations And Overseas Vacations… A Journey Through The Financial Twilight Zone
by Smithy/Unwelcome Guests

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Part Summary: In this, the fifteenth edition of Wizards, we are going to take a look at the adventures that financial institutions send their financial instruments on – both at home and abroad. On this journey through the “Financial Twilight Zone” we’ll look at some of the financial tricks receiving attention in today’s corporate and banking scandals, as well as the rescue packages available for homeland capital getting into trouble in its overseas adventures.

Series Summary: The Wizards of Money is an educational series that questions the validity of the global monetary system. Listen and discover amazing facts about the world-wide debt system we’ve all been enslaved by, and how this system produces economic disparity and the massive poverty conditions in which most people find themselves today.

About the Host: Smithy has degrees in mathematics and economics. She works as a consultant calculating investment risk for financial institutions, therefore she does not reveal her real name.

Audio/Transcripts hosted online at http://www.antiscia.com/wizardsofmoney/

Let it snow Let it snow Let it snow

Winter gave us an extra month off this year (as opposed for the “Hey welcome to Indiana we are going to start snowing the first week of November and not stop until March” welcome we received last year). But today the snow started falling and it will keep falling off and on for a couple of days. Oh well, I am prepared this year. For my birthday I got a new ski coat, some serious boots, and a new comfy sweatshirt for when I come home each day. I even have my snow blower gassed up and ready to go. Oh man, I really sound like I am from Indiana now.

Continued Disappointment

After the weekend my sports teams had I have to vent for a moment. I will do so briefly and without typing in caps.

The Skins, as awfully as they started the season should be 6-6 and trying to make a playoff push. Instead they are 3-9 and thinking about what to do in the draft and who will be doing the drafting. Yesterday’s game, however, was simply finding unbelievable ways to lose a game. I was so frustrated watching it my daughter kept trying to console me. (While patting my leg…”Daddy it is okay, no one is going to die, it will be alright, we can play games together instead of watching this.”)

The Terps had a good shot at beating a really good Villanova team but they can’t rebound and Villanova was insanely hot from 3 in the first half. They will finish 9-7 in conference and squeak into the tournament, but unless Vasquez starts making at least 40% of his shots this will be a lost season. They look better when he isn’t on the court right now.

The Wizards are simply stinky. They need Mike Miller back and they need to play some defense. I can’t believe I am putting our season on the return from injury on a white guy with a ponytail, that says enough doesn’t it.

Barna on Mainline Churches

The last 50 years haven’t been kind to mainline denominations. George Barna’s new report offers interesting insight into what is really happening in these churches. While attendance and giving numbers have not been nearly as bad as some have thought, the future is not looking bright. Attendance and giving are no longer equaling participation in the life of the church. Barna calls this “softer commitments” from those who are part of mainline congregations. Check out the study it is really interesting.

Anglicans Elect Lesbian Bishop

Intentionally ignoring the pleas of the worldwide Anglican Church, the Episcopal Diocese in Los Angeles elected Rev. Mary Glasspool as assistant Bishop. This move doesn’t surprise me, the ordination of homosexuals in the Episcopal church seems to be a decision not to be soon overturned. What grabbed me in the article was this quote from the Bishop elect.

“Any group of people who have been oppressed because of any one, isolated aspect of their persons yearns for justice and equal rights,” Glasspool said in a statement, thanking the diocese for choosing her.

Any group of people who have been oppressed because of any one, isolated aspect of their persons!?!? Regardless of where you stand on the whole debate, how is our sexuality isolated from any other aspect of our lives. There are many arguments being offered around this issue, but let’s not be ridiculous. Our sexuality is an integral not isolate part of who we are. Isn’t that why scripture talks about it all the time. If it was isolated then it wouldn’t affect our spiritual walk or our emotional state or our physical well being or our soul. But we can no more isolate our sexuality than we can isolate our personality or our physical state from the rest of our person. You can have lots of conversations around this issue but that is not one aspect that there should be much conversation about.

Neerah pulled back from the Pyramid of Echoes crystal, her face as red as the setting sun. She understood Ionee’s curiosity, yet she couldn’t help but find the whole experience a bit embarrassing. Neerah was beginning to understand the problems that drove Ionee and DaeNoth apart. It wasn’t that either of them had been wrong, exactly, it was more that neither of them had really considered the other when making choices.

Looking around to make sure she was alone, she took several deep breaths before going back into Ionee’s memories. She hoped she could skip some of them, now that she had made a partial connection to the problem, because some of these were just too personal and too embarrassing.

*****

Ionee was back in the human settlement just watching the people as they came and went. Two men stopped and began arguing about something, while several women walked by, some with children. Ionee was especially fascinated by the children. She was making silly faces at a little girl, whose mother had stopped to chat with one of the other women, and was surprised when the child responded back. It had never occurred to her, that anyone could see her, but evidently the little girl could. She was just kneeling down to be on the same level with the girl, when she felt herself jerked backwards.

There was a tug on her midsection, then a feeling as if she were falling. Suddenly she opened her eyes and found herself in her own bedroom lying on the lounge, DaeNoth standing next to her.

Startled, she snapped at him, “What are you doing here?”

“I…um…you asked me to awaken you for evening meal.”

Realizing that her anger was out of proportion to his actions, she apologized, “Yes, I did. I am sorry. I did not mean to snap at you,” she smiled pleasantly at DaeNoth. “You startled me that is all. I was dreaming, then suddenly the world was shaking.”

“What were you dreaming about?” DaeNoth asked, apparently happy now that Ionee was no longer angry with him.

“Um…I am not sure, now, it all seems to vague,” she responded as the stood up. She couldn’t tell him that she had been experimenting with essence projection again. Actually, she had been doing it now for several months, but he would never understand, especially since it was because of him that she was doing it at all. He was so overprotective. She couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without him tagging along, and if he thought that what she wanted to do was too dangerous or too risky, he would keep her from it. Who was he to dictate to her what she could and could not do. She had come to Danaria to find out what it was like to be physical, instead she had become a prisoner in the world of Aurisens.

*****

Ionee stood near the café and watched a young couple emerge. It was the same young man she had observed many times before over the past few months, but again he was with a different woman. While she watched them walk towards the corner, she longed to be the woman with him—to feel his touch, and to smell the evening. As that thought flew through her mind, she found herself looking out through someone else’s eyes, and walking with someone else’s body. Stopping, she looked down and realized that she was somehow inside the body of the woman who had just strolled past her. Briefly, she wondered where the woman was, but was soon too fascinated with her surroundings and her companion. She touched the fabric of the dress, sliding her fingers up and down the sleek and shiny smoothness of it. Then, catching a sweet, yet musky scent, she sniffed the evening air. There were so many smells; it was marvelous. The Forest of Reflections was so bland compared to this. Instead of just the aroma of flowers and grasses, here there were a great many odors that she didn’t even recognize. She turned toward the young man accompanying her, and marveled at how blue his eyes were and how soft his golden hair looked. Reaching out, she twined a lock of his hair around her finger, and smiled. It was soft, like the downy flower seeds.

The man reached up and took her hand from his hair, then pulling her close he kissed her. Ionee was in heaven. Her body—no, her borrowed body—trembled, and she felt as if her legs would no longer support her. She moaned deep in her throat, and the man pressed himself against her more fully. She could smell his musky scent mixed with the fragrance of some subtle perfume, though she didn’t know if it was his or hers. It didn’t really matter. Her senses were reeling from all the stimuli, yet she didn’t want it to stop.

Breathless, the young man eased himself away from her, “I fear you are almost too impatient, my dear. My place is just around the corner.” Taking her hand again, he began to lead her down the street.

Ionee, wanting to experience those strange breathless quiverings again, stopped and tried to kiss the man again.

“You are not only impatient, but quite forward. Something I find most intriguing,” he said when her lips nibbled on his ear lobe.

Just as he began to kiss her again, Ionee found herself back to being an essence projection again. The young lady, now returned to her own body, slapped her date, and stalked off. As Ionee watched the woman’s bewildered date rub his cheek, she knew she would have to find another way to visit. Her vicarious existence no longer satisfied her, she wanted to experience everything—every last nuance of life.

Dissatisfied yet determined, she returned to her own body.

*****

Neerah experienced several more memories in which Ionee stole someone else’s body. Stole was a harsh word, but Neerah felt that what Ionee had done was no better than what d’Oessler had done to Darkwind.

She shuddered at the thought of pushing someone out of their body just so she could go and have fun. It wasn’t right. Each time Ionee had stolen someone’s body she had returned it, but that still didn’t make it right. She was stealing part of their life and taking away their choices.

Neerah was growing despondent. She had always believed all the legends and stories regarding Ionee of Starfall. But they had painted her as the victim not the victimizer. Now, seeing the truth as to who Ionee had been—who she had really been—depressed her. She wasn’t sure that the Ionee she was coming to know was someone she liked very much.

If only Ionee hadn’t been so insensitive or DaeNoth so demanding and controlling, she sighed.

Sorry my recent posts haven’t been up to my standards in terms of content.  At least my picks are winning though.  I’ve been very busy and unable to have time to do research and make a good, full post.  Obviously research trumps time for making a post look cool.  I’ll give you what I have for tomorrow because I think they’re good ones.  I may be back for more tomorrow morning.

Here is a strong NBA pick for tomorrow:

DETROIT -3 (VS WASH)

This is the only NBA game that is good at the given spread. I haven’t looked into O/Us or teasers yet but I’m at least going with that one.

Good NFL games:
SD -11.5 (vs CLE)
CIN -13 (vs DET)
PIT -5 (vs OAK)

That’s all I’ve looked at so far.

Back in the win column

Alright, now that’s a start. Hedo Turkoglu made his first big shot as a Raptor tonight, nailing a tough baseline fadeaway at the shot clock horn late in overtime to give Toronto a 109-107 win in Washington, snapping a five-game skid in the process. That, after missing a three at the buzzer in regulation after one of the worst drawn-up plays out of a timeout you’ll ever see. Keep at those X’s & O’s, Jay Triano.

Anyway, Turk’s big shot saved the Raps from a near choke in OT — they led by five with the ball with just over a minute to go before a couple blown possessions and a Gilbert Arenas three evened it up. Arenas also had a shot to tie at the buzzer, but had a layup in traffic glance off the rim. In the end, Agent Zero finished with a game-high 34, though I’ll take Chris Bosh’s 31 and 16 boards and a win on this night. Credit to CB for keeping the boys together when this one looked like it was slipping away in the fourth, and I guess thanks to Antoine Wright for not playing overly horrible to cost us the game. A true leader, that Wright is.

The big shot included, Turkoglu had one of his best nights as a Raptor, finishing with 20 on 6-of-12 with nine rebounds and two steals. Jose Calderon was efficient on his favourite end of the court, scoring 15 and adding nine assists with just one turnover. Some love to DeMar DeRozan as well — the rookie chipped in 16 on 6-of-10 in 27 minutes, his fourth double-digit outing in his last six times out.

This one runs Toronto’s record to 8-13, which remarkably is still good for second in the division and two games above the next challenger, the Iversons. The Raptors are in Chicago tomorrow night, looking to make it two straight before coming home to face the T-Wolves on Tuesday.

Time to step up, RuPaul

Bad news: It’s gameday. Fresh off a pounding at the hands of the Hawks, the Raptors are in Washington to face a Wizards squad that beat them at the ACC Tuesday and followed it with a 104-102 home win over Milwaukee on Wednesday. For the best preview in the biz and to find out more about how the Raps have ruined our lives the past month, check in at Raptors Republic.

Washington certainly comes in to this one in better shape than they did in Toronto Tuesday, which doesn’t bode well for our boys. Then again, nothing bodes well for our boys these days. Gilbert Arenas picked up where he left off against Toronto on Wednesday with 24 and nine assists against the Bucks, carrying the load with Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison having off-nights. Don’t count on that happening again tonight against our ferocious D. If the Raps can hold these guys under 180, they might have a shot.

As for the Raptors, it’ll be interesting to see how they respond after coughing up 146 to Atlanta on Wednesday. Given the way they’ve responded to other embarrassing losses thus far, I’m not counting on much. Here it is though, CB — if there’s a time to prove you’re a leader in this league, it’s now. Even though you’re likely out the door first chance you get, it’ll go a ways in proving yourself to the next team that decides to waste its time on you.

This one gets underway at seven, and I’m sure hoping there’s another game on at the same time.

The disturbing thing about having a world where anything can happen (like the Wizard world, to which Kev and Peony are distantly attached) is that anything can happen. I’ve been thinking about gremlaur (the part elf, part dwarf creepy warlike race from Warped Christmast world ["Savior Coming"]) and suddenly a little story popped into my head while I was being driven back to school. But the trick is that I’m pretty sure the story involves the chick from “Wizards and Peanuts,” who, if you remember, was last seen vanishing down an inter-dimensional rift with a couple of hair-brained wizard brothers. Where has she been? What has she been doing? I don’t know, but now she’s meeting a gremlaur, and I’m disturbed, because Wizard world and Christmas world seem to be wanting to creep together.

This is my secret for huge, sprawling, incredibly intricate universes. I constantly make up little ideas, worlds, characters, and gradually the ideas that have enough in common drift toward each other, until one day they fuse, and begin creating their own ideas. Rather like making dust from stars.

But I really think that Wizard and Christmas world have nothing in common and should stay as far away from each other as possible. They have completely contrasting tones, the characters have nothing in common, the plots are structured completely differently, and yet both worlds have these disturbing little feelers that are moving closer and closer to each other, like two sea creatures following pleasing pheromones (I don’t think sea creatures actually follow pheromones, but I thought the analogy was cool anyway).

Enough complaining. Here’s the story/fragment/moment/exploration of characters:

    –   —   — 

The light rain falling on my nose woke me, and I sat up jerkily, my heart racing as though ready to jump out and start punching people. My stomach sloshed, my head pounded, and hallucinations danced on the edges of my eyes. I shut them, the eyes that is, and wondered with dull terror what I had done

For a second I thought the little man roasting meat six feet away from me was another hallucination. I once saw pink mice scampering around my feet for half an hour after a power seizure. Then he looked up at me, his long pointed ears twitching slightly, and smiled a cheerful but carefully close-lipped smile.

“Meat?” he asked.

For a second I thought he was wondering if I was some, and then he held up a burnt portion of some animal. Hunger warred with nausea in my stomach, and for a second I had to fight to keep the bile down. “What is it?”

His eyes scrunched together in amusement. “If you have to ask, you probably don’t want any.

He put his meal back on the fire and watched it somberly, like one of those creepy gargoyles on old churches, the ones that look like they are planning how to get down to the ground without getting completely smashed. I thought about his comment for a second, turning possibilities over in my head, and then checked myself for missing limbs.

Amused, he watched me from the corner of his eye and turned the meat on the spit.

He ended up surprising me by breaking the silence first. “Thank you, by the way,” he said.

“For what?” I asked.

He raised his eyebrows, surprised in turn, and nodded beyond the fire.

You might think it horrible of me, but that was the first time I noticed the bodies. But then again, you haven’t had the last few weeks I’d had. At that point, I had barely enough energy to feel a dull, steady pulse of horror that wasn’t even enough to reawaken the slowly subsiding nausea. Cast in the red glow of his fire, covered in darkened blood and soft drips of new rain, they looked like so many wax figures left over from a slasher movie. A feeling of horror beat in my brain along with the headache and just made me want to cry.

There were at least five of them, men, sprawled in various levels of damage. They were all pale skinned, but tanned, and dressed in rough leathers. Their weapons were good quality (at least as much as I could tell from the week I’d been worrying about these things). Most had died of some kind of slashing wound, but a couple had flesh burns across their faces. I would bet those were mine.

“What exactly did I do?” I asked, just to be sure.

He tested the meat again and then set it aside. “You stumbled upon us. Literally stumbled, I saw you trip as you entered. But when you realized that the sons of dogs were trying to do to me, you got a beautiful look on your face. I swear the goddess walked with you for that second, because you lit up like her blade in the winter sky.” I must have looked confused, because he pointed into the cloudy night. “The ribbon of light, greens and blues that appears in the winter, that’s her blade. The ones closest began burning. While they were distracted, I managed to get out my sword and start gutting the bastards. So, for the distraction, I thank you. Humans call me Niski. I assume that will do for you as well.”

I’d been called a lot of things since starting this unwilling journey. Demon, prophecy and “Hey, you!” were some of the top rankers, but I’d never been a blade of the goddess before. I looked at the bodies again, more carefully this time. All of them, even the two with facial burns, had been slashed across the throat. A couple had their chests snapped open, as though someone had cut through the ribs just to be absolutely sure the heart wasn’t beating. This guy, whoever he was, was certainly good at killing people.

“Niski, are you heading somewhere in particular?”

He swallowed a bit of his meat. “Anywhere but home. You?”

“I’m trying to get to Central City. I have an issue with seizures, as you’ve seen, and I could uses someone as backup when I’m passed out.” As long as you’re not an illusion, I thought. “And you’ve obviously useful in a fight.”

He shrugged off the complement, as one shrugs off facts. Your eyes are blue, your ears are pointed, you can kill five men while they are recovering from an easy distraction.

“I could travel in that direction for a bit,” he said. “And it would be a pleasure to travel beside one who seemed, for a moment, the blade of the goddess

I laughed tiredly. Odd little man, I thought. Odd, creepy little monster. The rain had stopped, the nausea and the headache were almost gone and the horror had fallen away again. In my calmer moments, I worried how easily I got over my disgust and revulsion. I ended up feeling hollow and unnaturally calm, surrounded by so much death.

“Tell me true,” I said, remembering the cracked-open corpses. “What kind of meat are you cooking?”

He took another big bite and swallowed it after barely chewing. Then he grinned at me, flashing every last razor sharp, pearly tooth in his unnaturally wide mouth. “Carrion,” he said.

I should have been shocked or frightened, but it had been a long week, and for the first time since the power seizures started hitting I was amused and almost felt safe. After all, if he had wanted to kill and eat me, it would have made more sense while I was knocked out

“Do you always eat carrion?” I asked

“Well, it’s always dead when I cut it up,” he answered. I nodded, tired again. “That’s good enough for me. If you don’t mind, Niski, I’m going to go back to sleep.”

The power seizures always make me exhausted. You’d think that anything that completely knocks you out for hours (the wizards had told me I was out for an average of two and a half hours after each attack) would let you rest up while you were unconscious, but I dream each time, and with lights, colors and nightmares running through my mind, I can’t rest. The dreams are almost worse than the seizures.

He nodded in reply. “I’ll shout if anything shows up.”

Gremlaur, I thought as I settled back into sleep. He’s a gremlaur, and I should watch myself until those wizard brothers find me again. And even then I knew it was the prophecy talking, because I knew what it meant. But I couldn’t really care that the little, elfin man was very dangerous, and shouldn’t be in my story to begin with. As far as I was concerned, I didn’t belong in this story either. I relaxed and curled up next to the fire before the part of me that is power could work up a proper panic. And as easily as that, consciousness went the way of horror and slipped softly away.

Ionee gazed about in fascination. She really was in a human settlement. The buildings were so different from what she was used to. They were so…plain. Yes, she thought, that was a good way to describe these solid, box-like structures. Most of them were some shade of gray with small bursts of color around the windows, doors or on the signs they all bore. And there were so many signs. She started reading each of them, wondering what some of them meant. There was a tavern, an inn, a mercantile, and a haberdashery—that was an odd one, she thought. The sign on the building behind her said Café, and she reached over to touch the gilded lettering. Her hand passed right through the sign and the wall of the building, startling her. She had forgotten that she was here only as an essence projection. Because of that, she couldn’t really experience everything.

She could see the physical world around her, although it was slightly blurry and out of focus, and she could hear the noises and sounds created in the world around her. Even those were muffled, though, since she wasn’t really a part of the physical world. As an essence projection, she was not fully part of the physical world, yet she wasn’t part of the Ethereal world, either. It was sort of a between state.

Just then a young man with golden hair and a dashing smile strolled out of the eatery accompanied by a beautiful, tawny-haired woman. The woman wore a peach colored gown of some soft-looking material, which was decorated with lace and small pearl-like buttons. Ionee tried to touch the fabric, but again her hand failed to connect with the object. Sighing, she wished she could touch the world around her.

Frustrated, yet still curious, she drifted down the street behind the couple for a short way. They walked hand-in-hand, laughing together at something the man whispered into the woman’s ear. As they came to the corner, they turned, and Ionee’s attention was diverted by another couple emerging from the nearby tavern.

This couple was also laughing, but their laughter was harsh and seemed to offend the ears. The man clutched at the woman’s bosom while slobbering on her neck and face. Puzzled and intrigued, Ionee decided to follow them instead of the first couple. They stumbled their way up a tall set of wooden stairs at the side of the building marked tavern. At the top of the stairs, they disappeared through a door. Ionee paused at the door, but then realized that in her present state of being, the door was no barrier.

When she stepped through the door she saw a long dark hallway with many doors on either side. Most of the doors were closed, so she drifted down the corridor listening to the sounds coming through them. The first few were silent and she poked her head through one of them and saw only shadowy shapes of furniture.

At the next door she heard giggles and a rhythmic squeaking. Curious, she poked her head through that door and was greeted with the sight of a copulating couple. More intrigued then ever, she came all the way into the room. This was definitely something she needed to learn more about, she decided as she watched the writhing couple.

Miss

Tonight’s Raptors loss is an easy one to stomach, you know, since they were playing such a great team. Oh wait, they were facing the Wizards? The Washington Wizards? Oh, okay…I guess this means the Raptors officially blow. In case you missed it, crunch time superstar Hedo Turkododo disappeared for the 19th straight fourth quarter and Toronto fell 106-102 at the ACC.

Honestly, I don’t even know what else to say at this point. Turkoglu, for one, has been a travesty, and not just in crunch time. And what happened to Chris Bosh not settling for jumpers this season? That was about all he did tonight, finishing 7-of-22. Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani were the only effective Raptors on the offensive end tonight, each finishing with 20. Still, it would’ve been nicer to see Calderon attack the basket more considering he was doing it with ease.

If nothing else came from this one, I’m at least happy Jay Triano has apparently realized that Antoine Wright sucks — the “defensive stopper” only saw seven minutes of action, which limited his production to one missed shot, one turnover and one Gilbert Arenas blow-by. Hey Antoine, you’re horrible whether you’re wearing a headband or not.

Anyway, this one drops Toronto to 7-12 with a road date in Atlanta tomorrow, followed by a back-to-back in Washington and Chicago on Friday and Saturday. So yeah, it’s gonna get uglier.

Arenas, looking to make a rare pass

Hey boys, how about you start winning some games riiiiiight about…NOW! At 7-11 and coming off three straight losses, the Raptors are home tonight to face a team with similar expectations that’s fared even worse thus far, the Washington Wizards. As always, check in at Raptors Republic for the big boy preview, featuring my infamous game simulation.

I actually had the Gilbert Arenas-led Wizards pegged for a rough season, so I’m not too surprised to see them at 5-10 a month in, though that has a little to do with Antawn Jamison missing the first nine games due to injury. Since Jamison’s return, they’re 3-3 with a convincing home win over the Cavs and a roadie in Miami, though they dropped a home decision to the suddenly-surging Bobcats on Saturday. Washington is a threat but is definitely beatable, especially if Arenas decides to jack 20 shots to the tune of 35%. Another factor is Caron Butler, who’s having a down year (16.4 points, 41.2% from the field) with Arenas back in the mix. He’s due to break out — I’m just hoping it doesn’t happen tonight.

I’m not sure what to say about the Raptors. Play hard, maybe? Perhaps throw some D at these guys? Actually, if the team as a whole would step up and play defense, maybe Antoine Wright would never have to play again. Isn’t that motivation enough?

Despite some hideous play of late, I’ve got the Raps coming out with a win in this one. The game tips at seven from the ACC.

#1 – Los Angeles Lakers

THE best team in the NBA offensively.

#2 – Phoenix Suns

They got back from where they used to be three years ago. We should expect this show to continue throughout the regular season but on the playoffs they will face the same problems that always broke their heart.

#3 – Cleveland Cavaliers

Shaq returned and they lost a game to Charlotte. I wonder if there is a connection there.

#4 – Orlando Magic

With Rashard Lewis back to game shape, they are such a tough team to defend. The Hawks have played the most consistent basketball on the league and saw a decent lead disappear on the second half of Thursday’s game. As Carter starts to fit into the system, they are as dangerous as last year.

#5 – Atlanta Hawks

The loss to Orlando exposed a couple of issues. Their outside defense is OK but they don’t have anybody able to stop an inside presence like Dwight Howard.

#6 – Denver Nuggets

Carmelo is taking to the next level. If that continues, behind him, they could go further than we think.

#7 – Boston Celtics

As the season progresses, they start to look older and older.

#8 – Houston Rockets

T-Mac is almost back. I hope he doesn’t screw up the good chemistry the team has so far.

#9 – Portland Trail Blazers

With Outlaw gone for a while, maybe it’s time to trade Miller and get somebody to provide the matchup issues that Travis brings up.

#10 – Dallas Mavericks

The loss to Golden State was unforgivable. On a game when Dirk Nowitzki scores 28 and Jason Terry scores 21, the Mavericks have to win which they didn’t against the Warriors and brings up doubts about the ability to score from the rest of the roster.

#11 – Utah Jazz

If you watch them play with everybody healthy, you get amazed how they click together. They are way more talented than 9-7.

#12 – Oklahoma City Thunder

Sam Presti was right. James Harden is the perfect fit for that team because he provides an offense off the bench that fits with Durant, Green and Westbrook, also Thabo Sefalosha does deserve the two year deal because he’s an awesome defender.

#13 – San Antonio Spurs

They are slowly becoming who we thought they would be at this point of the season.

#14 – Toronto Raptors

They are becoming a one way team.

#15 – Miami Heat

They have such a tough time generating offense when Dwayne Wade is not involved and that is what will kill them again this season.

#16 – Milwaukee Bucks

The Jenningsmania is down a little bit, the Rookie is back to Earth and we’ve seen what they really have. No playoff material.

#17 – Chicago Bulls

They are always bad on the circus trip.

#18 – Sacramento Kings

They won 50% of their games. It’s unbelievable. Are Tyreke Evans and Omir Caspi that good of an influence, on and off the court?

#19 – Detroit Pistons

125 year old Ben Wallace has been superb working on the boards and has been their best player throughout the month. That indicates how bad they have been. It should be mentioned that losing Prince, Hamilton, Gordon and now Villanueva is a beating that no team can recover from.

#20 –Los Angeles Clippers

They are slowly becoming who we thought they would be at this point of the season.

#21 – Golden State Warriors

Without Don Nelson, they are dedicated, they fight and they have been successful lately. I wonder if there is a connection there.

P.S: Anthony Morrow is a must watch. He’s unbelievable shooting the ball.

#22 – New Orleans Hornets

No CP3, do they still exist?

#23 – Charlotte Bobcats

Stephen Jackson did made the offense better however the win streak is all about Gerard Wallace. He is back playing the way he did last year on both offense and defense, not a playoff team though.

#24 – Indiana Pacers

With Dunleavy Jr. back we should expect them to make their run to the playoffs now.

#25 – Washington Wizards

They should be better than 5-10.

#26 – Memphis Grizzlies

They can’t translate talent into wins.

#27 – Philadelphia 76ers

Allen Iverson doesn’t play defense, so I don’t see how signing him will fix the many problems they have.

#28 – Minnesota Timberwolves

2-15. they are who we thought they were.

#29 – New York Knicks

When does the rebuilding process begin?

#30 –New Jersey Nets

They fired Lawrence Frank whom we all know wasn’t the problem, that being said, they are on pace for an NBA record for futility. It’s a throwaway season for them anyway.

Check More at: MVN

Power Rankings IV: http://basketballoutsider.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/power-rankings-iv/

Yesterday was another great day for me as I added up a total daily record of 9-3-1.  I even hit my 3-team NHL parlay.

For NBA, I went 3-0 SU, 2-2 O/U, and 1-1-1 ATS.  The tie came from the Bucks game at -2.  The spread opened at -2 and I jumped on it right away because I knew it would just go up from there.  Many people asked me if -3 would be okay and I simply told them that they could do whatever they want but my system doesn’t even like -2.5 so I’m sticking with -2.  I didn’t win but at least I didn’t lose either.

In NHL I went 3-0 on all my picks.  Not much I can say about that, I think the zero losses speaks for itself.

I have started to get more serious about O/Us for NBA so you should start paying more attention to those numbers in the future.  I have developed a system that already backtested at 60% over 130 NBA games this season. I’m not satisfied with 60%, but it sure is a good baseline.

As for today’s picks, I only have one 7pt teaser worth anything so here it is:

7pt Teaser:

POR (0) (vs MIA)

PHO (0) (vs NY)

WAS (+14) (vs TOR)

My straight up picks for tomorrow are as follows:

Denver, Lakers, Portland, and Phoenix.

Over/Unders:

Boston: OVER 178.5

Denver: UNDER 233.5

Portland: OVER 185

3 of the 4 NHL games are looking good too:

MON (vs TOR)

CHI (vs CBJ)

SJ (vs OTT)

I’ll probably be playing these as a parlay but if the lines are good enough I’ll take them straight as well.

Good Luck!

After a near seven year odyssey, visionary director Peter Jackson concludes his epic “tour-de-force” telling of “The Lord of the Rings”. His three part epic has brought audiences to their feet as each chapter pushed the envelope on how long a feature film presentation could be.

Probably the biggest box office gamble in Hollywood history finally concludes. But is the final installment worth waiting for or is it just some halfling dropping a ring into molten lava?

The third chapter picks up close to the conclusion of last winter’s “The Two Towers”. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) are still being escorted by the waif and tormented Gollum (Andy Serkis) deep into enemy territory as the stranglehold of evil still threatens to overcome Frodo.

Meanwhile, Gandalf (Ian McKellan), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) come upon Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) after the defeat of Saruman. The heroes return to Rohan where they are welcomed by King Theoden (Bernard Hill) and Eowyn (Miranda Otto).

But rising ever so quickly, the evil forces of Sauron look towards the weakening kingdom of Gondor for an epic defeat. Gondor’s capital Minas Tirith, homeland of fallen comrade Boromir (Sean Bean), is a classic warrior based city which has seen its powerful leadership wean with Boromir’s father and the kingdom’s steward, Denethor (John Noble).

If Gondor falls, the whole of Middle Earth will fall beside it. The heroes, the hobbits and the people of Rohan must once more lock swords with the evil of Sauron in hopes of securing of regal destiny for one of the heroes and the freedom of Middle Earth.

Can one small insignificant hobbit finally achieve his destiny? Can the forces of Sauron finally be destroyed? It comes down to this free-for-all and may the best man, woman, elf, dwarf, orc or hobbit win.

Peter Jackson’s conclusion is as long and drawn out as his previous films. Jackson begins his third chapter with a lot of slow key story points and eventually emerges into the epic battle for Minas Tirith. This battle is probably the best battle of the trilogy and is utter magic. The problem with this sequence being so good is that overshadows a lot of the rest of the film.

The struggle between Sam and Gollum is brilliant as Astin shows range he hasn’t used since the under-appreciated “Rudy”. Sean Astin’s Sam is a crowning achievement in this film. He so deserves an Oscar nomination for his powerful performance. He brings that character to another level beyond that of any hobbit in the film.

The Andy Serkis-Gollum CGI creation keeps getting more and more precious. (Please, forgive the pun!) I also loved the CGI creation of the giant spider. It was seamless and the whole sequence was amazing.

I also really enjoyed the separation of Merry and Pippin. It really allowed for each actor to show a different side of the hobbits. Each of their individual storylines was fun and it made for a more interesting journey this time around. I always felt they were under used and were insignificant compared to Sam and Frodo.

My biggest concern with the film was the ending. The film reaches about 7 different conclusions before the end credits. Each ending felt longer than the next because there was no flow or cohesion as we see a lot more than was needed. We love these characters but did we really need that extra 30 minutes?

I love the world of Middle Earth and all that dwell there. Peter Jackson has done what no other filmmaker ever dreamed of accomplishing with this project. Thanks, Pete for a wonderful journey.

4.5 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer.

Written: December 2003

The Washington Area lost one of the pillars of the community last week with the death of Washington Wizards Owner Abe Pollin of a degenerative brain condition. He is survived by his wife Irene and celebrated by not just fans of the Wizards/Bullets franchise, but fans of the Washington Capitals, who he founded in 1974 then sold to AOL Executive Ted Leonsis, but also all of the good people of this Metro Area that were genuinely touched either by his philanthropic efforts, or even had a chance to work for/with him. From all Ive heard from numerous people, he was a great man with an even greater heart and he will be sorely missed.

Now, his beloved Wizards have started the season very poorly which isnt out of the norm, what IS out of the norm is the below average play from 2 of its Big 3. Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas NEED to be playing at optimal level for this team to succeed and right now, that is not occurring. Gil has been out for 2 years with that knee so to expect him to be “Gil of 2006″ isnt fair, but being paid the way he is, he will take a brunt of the criticism. He must cut down his turnover and once his legs/handle returns to normal, I really dont have to worry about what he can contribute on that court. Caron on the other hand seems to look lost. Where is the Tough Juice that we all came to love? Remember how hard he used to attack the basket? It seems like since he’s developed a jumpshot, his one-on-one game has severely slipped with lots of turnovers and charge calls. If we can EVER get THAT Tough Juice back, we should be fine. The NBA did not give the Wizards any favors in scheduling and having so many injuries early on didnt help. Once Mike Miller returns in a couple of weeks, by the All Star break, this team could be the type of team that can make a solid 7-8 game run and get right back into the race for a middle playoff seed.

Wizards of Money Part 14: The Trade Federation And The InterGalactic Banking Clan
by Smithy/Unwelcome Guests

View Transcript

Part Summary: In this, the fourteenth edition of Wizards, we are going to take a look at the Earthly versions of the Star Wars Movies troublemakers known as the Trade Federation and the Intergalactic Banking Clan, responsible for starting and financing the Clone Wars. Our modern earthly descendants are known as the World Trade Organization and the US Coalition of Services Industries, founded by financial services giants in the early 1980s. These two bodies have formed strong alliances over the past two decades to bring us a very special and powerful trade agreement known as the GATS – which stands for General Agreement on Trade in Services. This agreement is said to cover international trade in anything you can’t “drop on your foot” – that means anything from banking to healthcare, childcare and education to communications and media to the postal service to water treatment services.

Series Summary: The Wizards of Money is an educational series that questions the validity of the global monetary system. Listen and discover amazing facts about the world-wide debt system we’ve all been enslaved by, and how this system produces economic disparity and the massive poverty conditions in which most people find themselves today.

About the Host: Smithy has degrees in mathematics and economics. She works as a consultant calculating investment risk for financial institutions, therefore she does not reveal her real name.

Audio/Transcripts hosted online at http://www.antiscia.com/wizardsofmoney/

The Magician

It’s taken me some time to check in with a recap of this one, because to be honest, Raptors basketball is making me pretty, pretty sad these days. The boys extended their losing streak to three and dropped to 7-11 on the season yesterday, falling 113-94 to Steve Nash and the Suns at the ACC.

The Raptors never led in this one and let it get away in — you guessed it — the third quarter. After trailing by just one at the half, Toronto quickly let the Suns extend their lead to 19 before coming within eight on a Hedo Turkoglu three-point play at the end of the quarter. After starting the fourth with another and-one, Turkoglu proceeded to finish the way he’s finished every game this season — by doing nothing in crunch time. Our prized free agent finished 4-of-14 for 10 points in yet another uninspired effort.

It’s too bad, because strong games from Turkoglu and Jose Calderon (two points, seven assists) would’ve given the Raptors a shot at handling one of the league’s top teams. Chris Bosh was terrific, finishing with 30 points and 17 boards, and Andrea Bargnani kept Toronto afloat with a strong start en route to 24 points and seven boards. The Raps’ main downfall was the long ball — they finished a dreadful 1-of-20 from three-point land, compared to the 13 long range bombs the Suns dropped. If you’re a team that relies on shooting, you’re never gonna win with outings like that.

Of course, I can’t leave without mentioning the masterpiece of an effort by that young Canadian kid, Steve Nash. Nash finished with 20 points and 16 dimes, nailing that patented little fadeaway in the paint a couple times in the fourth to help put it away. The man is incredible.

Anyway, it gets a bit easier with Gilbert Arenas and the washout Wizards in town Tuesday to help the Raptors get back on track. It better be a win, because afterward it’s road time for three games.

It’s always hardest to do the middle film in a proposed trilogy of films.

The second film is always the maker or breaker of a franchise. In some of the most successful franchises of all time, the second film has gone on to eclipse its predecessor. Examples of these stellar sequels are series like “Aliens”, “Star Trek”, “Star Wars” and even James Bond.

The hurdle that director and Tolkien visionary Peter Jackson had to endure was making a middle film in his epic trilogy that has neither a beginning or ending. It is like filming a middle chapter of an unfinished novel. In some ways that is exactly what it is.

People expecting a recap of “Fellowship” will be disappointed since Jackson dives straight into the story almost with out pause. The story picks up within seconds of where “Fellowship” left off.

The Fellowship has been split. Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) are off to Mordor to deliver the ring into Mount Doom. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) are off to save hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) who have been captured by a troop of Orcs.

In the sequel, we find Frodo and Samwise lost in the Misty Mountains as they find themselves striking up a symbiotic friendship and alliance with the waif, Gollum (Andy Serkis). Gollum was driven insane when he possessed the “ring of power” now all he wants is to reclaim his “precious”. Can this creature be trusted or will this creature be the death of Frodo and Sam?

On the other front of the story, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli track their comrades to the kingdom of Mohan where they find a besieged kingdom that is about to overrun by the armies of the evil Saruman (Christopher Lee). A resurrected Gandalf (Ian McKellan) encourages the trio to join with King Theoden (Bernard Hill) to defend Rohan. Theoden leads his people and the trio to the legendary fortress Helm’s Deep where the final confrontation will be waged. Who will survive this battle? Will the fortress of Helm’s Deep fall? What did happen to Merry and Pippin and how will they figure into this chapter?

“Two Towers” is essentially three stories bridging the gap between the beginning and final confrontation with evil.

Jackson understands the scope of Tolkien’s Middle Earth as he finds a unique look for each of the kingdoms seen in this second Tolkien film. Tolkien and his master craftsmen built the castle of Rohan from scratch and etched out the fortress of Helm’s Deep from the walls of a rock quarry. They are truly amazing structures and Jackson uses them with passion and finesse.

The key performance of this film is the wonderful fully-digital Gollum. For once a computerized character seems to have a soul. The performance of the actor beneath the pixels shines through and he is amazing to watch in every frame. There is some humor in Gollum’s madness as he struggles with his loyalties but it’s the scenes where Gollum reacts and does things on his own that are more remarkable than his obvious psychological struggle. You can’t but feel for this misplaced creature.

I always thought that the first film took way to long to build momentum. I also felt the same about the novel. In the second film, Jackson continues the momentum he built in the third act of Fellowship. There are definitely lulls in a film of this length but Jackson never allows his audience to be bored as he delivers new and exciting things to look at in awe. The shame is that there are a lot of these spectacles that take away from the actors.

I continue to sing Viggo Mortensen’s praises in this film as I did the previous one. I also really started to enjoy John Rhys-Davies performances as Gimli the dwarf. I also have always loved the forever creepy actor Brad Dourif and I am positive there is no one out there who could have been as oozy as Brad was playing Grima Wormtongue. I liked Miranda Otto’s damsel Eowyn but I wish there were more meat in the role for this capable actress.

The biggest fault of this part of the epic trilogy is that it is the middle film. There are a lot of signs where the film could have gotten lost but Jackson stayed his course. I am sure that when we finally see the end of this epic journey the middle film will be looked on as a great bridge. There is a lot to be celebrated in this film but for people who aren’t familiar with the material they will be lost.

4.25 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer.

Written: December 2002

New Zealand director and visionary Peter Jackson spent over two years of filming time to bring forth the vision created by fantasy guru J.R.R Tolkien. His epic masterpiece was deemed unfilmable in its whole but Jackson’s passion helped him begin an epic quest of his own. The first of three books of Tolkien’s masterpiece is the “Fellowship of the Ring”.

Young Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) is a hobbit. Hobbits are curious little people who live the simple life in a far off pocket known as the Shire in the world known as Middle Earth. Frodo welcomes the wise wizard Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellan) to his town of Hobbiton on the eve of his Uncle Bilbo’s (Ian Holm) 118th birthday. Uncle Bilbo is an adventurer and the most curious of all the hobbits in Hobbiton. But Bilbo hides a secret that could undo the very fabric of Middle Earth itself.

3000 years previous, an evil sorcerer Sauron wielded a “ring” that could destroy armies and bring Middle Earth to its knees. In the wake of that victory, a desperate human general slices off Sauron’s fingers and the ring falls into his hands. The ring is pure evil and it can bring even the strongest man to his knees. The elves plead with the general to destroy the ring but to no avail. Eventually the ring is lost and thought destroyed after the general is killed and over the course of time it falls into Bilbo’s hands. It is this ring that could destroy all of Middle Earth.

Gandalf confronts Bilbo after his birthday party about the ring and Bilbo reluctantly gives it up. Gandalf begins to realize which ring it is and isn’t sure what he must do to destroy it. All he knows is that the powers of darkness are building to reclaim the ring and bring the Dark Lord Sauron back to power.

Eventually Gandalf and the elves develop a nine member fellowship to bring the ring deep into Sauron’s domain and destroy it the fires of Mount Doom. Among that fellowship is Frodo, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Boromir (Sean Bean), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) the dwarf, Legolas (Orlando Bloom) the elf, Merry (Dominic Monaghan) the hobbit, Pippin (Billy Boyd) the hobbit and Samwise (Sean Astin), Frodo’s ever reliable friend. For the next three years we will follow these adventurers through Middle Earth as they embark on their epic quest.

Peter Jackson’s epic storytelling deserves the hype the Hollywood machine has been able to push behind it. From the truly evil monsters to the brilliant sets, “Fellowship” embraces the Tolkien vision with passion. You can tell that this film was created by people who loved the books. There is richness and eye-candy in this film like none seen this year.

The first amazing thing I noticed was how cleverly the film depicts the differences in heights of the hobbits, humans, dwarves and elves. I was always a curious to see if they could pull that feat off. They do it with flawless brilliance. The almost giant Gandalf stumbling around Bilbo’s house and thrilling battles involving a lot of different sized people.

I did love Jackson’s craftsmanship of the creatures in the film. They are utterly brilliant. I liked how each one is something we have never seen before. I loved the Black Riders and the Cave Troll. This troll is the way a troll is supposed to be and he is so more believable than say the troll in “Harry Potter”. I loved the whole troll sequence.

Jackson’s epic beginning isn’t without its faults. It truly is a site to behold if you can handle the enormous running time of 178 minutes. Theatres should acquire “lazy-boys” for this theatric experience. Tolkien’s epic masterpiece was deemed unfilmable because of the tome of content housed in the trilogy. The running time is what deemed it that. For any filmmaker it is truly hard to overcome that challenge. What makes the film’s epic running time bearable at times is the powerful score by Howard Shore. This truly is an amazing piece of filmmaking but even the most brilliant and beautiful can wear out their welcome.

Having heard the books read by my mother and having fond memories of the Ralph Bakshi version of the books, I was puzzled with the film’s depiction of Boromir. For me, Boromir was a valiant, courageous and honorable warrior who dreamed of bringing honor back to his homeland of Gondor. It isn’t until he touches the ring that his honor begins to subside and he begins a conflict of honor and desire. In the books, as I remember, Boromir was the fiercest of the Fellowship and did all he could to protect the ring and the hobbits.

Jackson’s vision of Boromir comes off as a twisted, scheming warrior who has an ulterior motive throughout. Where is the Boromir I knew? I won’t hold this factor against the film because Tolkien characters can be interpreted in different ways. I also had problems with the depiction of Elrond but that could be just me as well.

Jackson’s “Fellowship” is an utterly beautiful beginning and should be commended on a film that delivers on the hype surrounding it. “Fellowship” is all I wanted in the epic telling of the classic quest-story but being so close to the trilogy it wasn’t any more or less than I thought it would be. That truly is a compliment in these days of over-hyped extravaganzas.

4.5 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer.

Final Note: I would like to make a short statement on how this film is being handled for its release. Some of us in the press core have had a hard time seeing this film and thus the reason for my narrowly early review. I am not laying any blame. In fact I would like to commend the people who worked on the project because of the hype surrounding it has been insane. No vision this extraordinaire should be held back. My question mainly lies in will we be going through this for the next two installments? Tolkien’s vision is about honor and overcoming overwhelming odds shouldn’t we as humans aspire to this vision.

Written: December 2001

Hey everybody! Just posting up a piece that just got released from Dragon magazine #381. Don’t really like this one… Lots of stuff wrong but I’ll try and fix those problems in my later pieces!

Started working straight color after I did this and have had a much better time… So hopefully the next few will sit better with me D:.

Metal! Kraken – ‘The Curse’

Nice looking Building in DC. Great access to the Metro. Located in downtown Washington DC there are plenty of nearby pre and post game activities (restaurants, bars and entertainment).