kidmercury

First, I wanted to include the video below from Peter Schiff. Regular readers will recall that Schiff is one of my favorite economists (see our song for Schiff), and my public market investment strategy is very much consistent with Schiff's investment outlook.

In the video below, Schiff notes the following:

1. Dollar and long-term Treasury bonds are both on the precipice. I'm playing this by selling US dollars against Canadian dollars. If USDCAD breaks below 1.1400, which it is currently close to doing, it paves the way for a much larger drop in the dollar. What Schiff is forewarning, and what I think is quite possible as well, is the dollar is in a position now where it could steadily keep falling, and will eventually lead to a run on the dollar. I actually expected this to happen when the stock market crashed last year, but instead international investors flew back into US dollars because they thought that was a safe haven, temporarily strengthening the US dollar while the stock market collapsed. Of course, Obama/Bernanke have taken insane monetary policy to a new level, and thus it is becoming harder and harder to deny that the US dollar itself has become a toxic asset. The consequence of this will not be pretty.

2. Schiff also notes how foreign economies are in the midst of separating themselves from their dependence on the US economy. This concept is referred to as "decoupling." I have been a decoupling enthusiast as well, though a bit more cautious about in comparison to Schiff. However, I'm starting to become a bigger believer in the concept.


Naturally, I'll Now Begin Discussing American Idol

I've become a closet fan. (But I'm going to kick the habit, I promise).

Shameful, I know. But hey, at least I'm upfront and telling you about it. And it's only been recent, and it was a bit accidental: I tuned in last week to see Slash. I tuned in this week because I view it as part of the future of music and media, so I want to analyze it and study it from that perspective (I stand by my conclusion that in the future we will see artists launch their own version of American Idol based on their fan communities, and that this will be how artists launch record labels, and thus will be a key part of how the music industry gets completely rewired). But in the process of watching American Idol for these other reasons, I've become something of a fan of the show, I shamefully confess. But I won't allow it, for reasons I'll get to shortly.

Here are my thoughts:

1. Last night was the grande finale, with two dudes up against each other. One dude looked like a little boy, the other one was a goth dude. I'm rooting for Goth Dude. I was impressed with his talent, I think he deserves to succeed, and that he will really be able to do a great job of singing certain songs. As for Little Boy...well, I'm sure his mother loves him.


2. The product placement in American Idol is outta control! I'm actually a believer in product placement advertisement, I view it as part of the merger of content and advertising, which in turn I view as something the universe will be ripe to experience as we approach 2012 and experience the end of warring dualities (see our previous post on this subject). But the way American Idol does it is the sneaky approach, they try to sneak it by you, and are remarkably unsubtle about it; as such, I view their approach as insulting. In my opinion, the real approach is to make it an overt ad and a recommendation. People care about what their influencers and trusted sources genuinely like.

3. Obviously, the most disgusting part of American Idol, and why I truly despise it and will probably force myself to avoid watching it regularly and becoming a real fan, is the standardization it engenders. To put it intuitively: do you ever think in a million years an artist like Sinead O'Connor will get on American Idol? And do you think they'd allow her to be herself and win? When thinking about that, remember two things: (1) Sinead O'Connor ripped up a picture of the Pope on live television and (2) she is truly an amazing singer, definitely in my top five singers of all time, probably in my top three, maybe even top two (Axl of course gets the top spot in my book, so it's a battle for number two....depending on the day of the week, the answer could be Sinead O'Connor). So it's not like she doesn't deserve it.

And so I find it wildly entertaining that so many musicians who have attained a wide degree of popularity will constantly bitch and moan about how evil their record label is, and how they are a real artist who is being hurt by The Man, will have no qualms whatsoever about going on American Idol, a show that reinforces everything they are whining about. Hahahahahaha. The hypocrisy is overwhelming. But I know, I know, it's all about marketing. And like we discussed yesterday, the whole world has sold out, so why not?

Well, as the dollar system collapses, and as you ask yourself how did America go from being the best country in the world to an impoverished and corrupt nation where honest business becomes increasingly difficult, you'll find the answer to that question.

The song for the post is, of course, Sinead O'Connor's cover of Bob Marley's "War," which she concludes by ripping up a picture of the Pope and attacking the Catholic church for child abuse on live television. NBC, owned by General Electric (one of the largest defense contractors and beneficiaries from the war agenda), won't air this performance again.

graham j

i can clearly see u admire american idol...you admire how disgusting it is. but yes dualities a muck...mommas boy vs goth boy...american pie idol wins. yaaaahooooo

kidmercury

last night was the worst....Little Boy somehow beat Goth Dude (his mom probably rigged it for him), and Brian May appeared on the show...Slash then Brian May, the only way this could be worse was if Axl and Sinead went on.....I would cry if that happened

i can never watch that show again....last night was so ridiculous, such controlled "art"....terrible