Amazing. This video, I believe, has potential for a 2021 Academy Award Nomination. There's also the book All Blood Runs Red by Tom Clavin, who it seems has come out of nowhere to be one of my most read modern day authors. This is another way of saying I'm buying it and expect it to be an awesome read. Thanks much for the post of year (to date). :)
I might take a little issue with the sighting of whales being a "rare event." Especially when you consider that Nantucket was the global leader in whale oil, which during the Industrial Age was the answer for lubrication and light. Anyway, for a mesmerizing account of whaling, I would recommend reading Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Heart of the Sea, the inspiration for Moby Dick. And pay no attention to the movie of the same name.
Ant is acting like a bank but isn't regulated like one. One of its products are short-term loans with most of the money coming from commercial banks it has forged agreements with. In return it gets transaction fees and the credit risk is on the banks. Chinese banking non-performing loans are around +/- $309 Trillion with another +/- $800 trillion at risk. It's an accident waiting to happen and China's been cracking down on anyone lending money outside of traditional lending channels. And China's also a totalitarian nation so there's that. .
The writer has obviously never experienced the "joy of flying" and then there's the whole cruise ship thing. My advice is is to do what the picture above suggests - go for a walk in the woods or camping in a local State park.
One line stood out for me in this: (in 1941) "People were longing for simpler times." Hmmmm. Christmas music is caught up in the overall fragmentation of the music industry. It's out there, you just have to find it. A few favorites from my collection came immediately to mind. When I looked them up, I was surprised how old they are - but I also remember the time I spent looking for them. Over the years, I've heard none of these on any of the godawful Sirius stations, or the local 24x7 FM stations with their incredibly short and limited playlists.
A young guy goes into one of those “everything under one roof” stores looking for a job.
The manager asks “Do you have any sales experience?”
The kid says “Sure, I was a salesman back home in Texas.”
The boss likes him and gives him the job.
“Start tomorrow. I’ll come down after we close and see how you did.”
The first day was rough, but he got through it. When the store was locked up, the boss came down to see how he did.
“How many sales did you make today?”
Kid immediately replies “One.”
Boss says “Just one? Our salespeople average 20-30 per day. How much was the sale for?”
Kid says “$101,237.64”
Boss is amazed.
What? $101,237.64? What the hell did you sell?
Kid says “First I sold him a small fish hook, then a medium, and then a large fish hook. Then I sold him a new fishing rod. Then I asked him where he was going fishing and he said down the coast, so I told him he was gonna need a boat, so we went down to the boat department and I sold him that twin engine Chris Craft. Then he said he didn’t think his Honda Civic would pull it, so I took him down to Automotive and sold him that 4x4 Blazer.
Still amazed, the boss says “A guy came in here to buy a fish hook and you sold him a boat and a truck?”
Kid says “No, he came in here to buy a box of tampons for his wife and I said 'Well, your weekend’s shot, you might as well go fishing.'"
Thanks much for the post of year (to date). :)
And on the lighter sideMerry Christmas to all.
The boss likes him and gives him the job.
The first day was rough, but he got through it. When the store was locked up, the boss came down to see how he did.
Boss is amazed.