Month: February 2025

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The Crypto Lottery Ponzi Scheme

When Bitcoin first appeared, I welcomed it.  Why?  Because at the time it appeared, I had just been involved in organizing an event in Montreal (2000) that attracted attendees from all over the world. Each of them had to pay a small fee to attend, which they had to send to the organizing committee to be deposited in a bank and then used to pay for the facilities and the talent at the event.

I thought– this should be easy, in today’s world, with the internet and all that.

I was wrong.

Many of the attendees actually mailed cash, in envelopes, to pay for their tickets.  Really?  Why?!  Why couldn’t they just go to their banks and direct them to send the money electronically, from their accounts to the organizing committee’s?  What was so hard about that?

Well they could.  But the bank-pimps demanded a lot of money to do something that naive me thought could not possibly cost very much to do.  The cost of sending money directly from their banks in Europe to my bank, BMO, in Canada was ridiculously, absurdly prohibitive.

WTF!

So the idea of Bitcoin, a currency that could bypass the banks and be used to purchase items through the internet without incurring outlandish surcharges sounded like a very good one.  I envisioned a world in which people buy and sell and get paid with this digital currency with no deposit fees or monthly bank fees or transaction fees or other such bullshit.  You do some work for a company, it deposits bitcoin in your bitcoin account (managed from your computer or smartphone) and you go buy your groceries or some shoes or a car and transfer bitcoin to the vendor and nobody pays the pimp.

It never happened.

A brief diversion: I set up an account with Coinbase to purchase about $3,000 worth of bitcoin many years ago– I forget when exactly but it was before 2010.  Bitcoin at the time was worth about $30 each. Yes, $30 for ONE Bitcoin.  I figured I could afford to lose $3,000 if it all went bad and I wanted to understand Bitcoin and the blockchain.  For unknown reasons, I was never able to connect my Coinbase account to my bank account and complete the transaction.  I didn’t feel strongly about it at the time so I gave up.

If I had succeeded, and kept the bitcoin, I would have, today, probably about 100 Bitcoin now worth about $7 million.

More likely, I would have sold part of it much earlier, but I had planned to keep about half for the long term.

Anyway, that’s what happened.  I mean that in a broad sense: that’s what happened.  Bitcoin became something other than a replacement for currency.  Nobody today buys anything with Bitcoin (for all practical purposes).  What they do is buy Bitcoin to see if it goes up, if they can make some money.

You can make money buying Bitcoin if you buy it low and sell high.  That’s it.  It has no other practical value, and even as an investment, it doesn’t have any real value, except for hackers who plant trojans on your computer and lock up your data unless you pay them, and kidnappers, and other criminals.

If Bitcoin is merely an entity of speculation, it is gambling.  It is a Ponzi scheme that only works as long as there is a continuous supply of suckers to perpetuate the demand.  The sustained viability of Bitcoin as a financial entity fundamentally depends on deception.  A sufficient number of customers must believe that it will continue to increase in value.

Inevitably, a number of investors will decide that it has peaked and will want to cash out before it crashes.  And  it will crash.  It has already crashed several times.  It is likely to crash more often as more and more ill-informed investors jump onto the bandwagon.

In the late 1920’s, an investor (some claim it was Joseph P. Kennedy) was getting his shoes shined and the shoeshine boy started chatting with him about the stocks he had invested in and offering him tips.  The shoeshine boy!  That was when, according to the anecdote, Kennedy decided to get out, because he realized that the market was being driven by foolish investors who were essentially gambling– not investing.

It’s not clear if the story is true but the point is well-taken.

When I say “suckers” I don’t mean that in a specific sense.  Some of the people buying vast amounts of Bitcoin are indeed very, very smart.  They understand what is happening, the same way a croupier at a casino understands what is happening.  Some people will become exceedingly rich from cryptocurrencies (there are now lots of them, including, ridiculously– absurdly– $Trump!!)

The meme coin, known as $Trump, was launched by the president on Jan. 17 and quickly surged, reaching a peak of over $14.5 billion in overall market value by Jan. 19, the day before his inauguration. It has since slumped by two-thirds.  From Here.

If there was a more obvious sign that the Trump administration is going to be absolutely rife with corruption, I haven’t heard it.  The fact that Trump is endorsing and even selling crypto currencies is a tell.  This administration is out to facilitate looting on a scale we haven’t seen since Coolridge.

 

 

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The Kennedy Center Honors

With Trump taking over the Kennedy Centre, we can look forward to Ted Nugent, Kid Rock, Mel Gibson, Kanye West, the Village People, and professional wrestlers receiving the honors.

That sounds like a joke, but we have learned that Trump is, in fact, a joke.  The joke is real.  He might well do the Village People.

Well, why not?  If they have previously “honored” Cher, Lucille Ball, Amy Grant, and others, why the fuck not The Village People?   (List of honorees.)

I don’t begrudge platforms out there that honor popular artists.  They have their place.  Actually, they are all over the place,  They are endless and infinite, a gigantic pool of triviality and self-infatuation that serves the masses when they want to believe that the trashy spectacle they prefer is somehow, literally “honorable”.   That the artists they love earned their way to popularity and were not the product of massive pr machinery that manipulated you into finding them interesting.

You have the Grammys, the Superbowl, the Emmys, the Hollywood Walk of Fame,  and all the banquets and dinners you could ever dream of.

And obviously, there are platforms that honor genuinely elite achievements in the arts, the Pulitzers, the Nobels, the Bookers, and numerous foundations and charities.

The Oscars straddle that uneasy compromise, trying very hard to be credible and popular at the same time.  They rewarded “Midnight Cowboy”.  They also rewarded “Avatar”, “Titanic 1997” (the awful James Cameron version),  “Rocky”, “Out of Africa”,  “Dances With Wolves”,  “Forrest Gump”,  “Braveheart”, and “Driving Miss Daisy”.  And “Gladiator”.  And “Chicago”.  Oh my– I didn’t think the list was that bad.  “The King’s Speech”.  And “Green Book”.

Okay– that’s not much of a compromise.  It’s all out craven publicity machine servitude.

In one of the most astounding acts of cultural reversal ever, the Kennedy Center even honored George Carlin in 2008 (with the Mark Twain Prize).  Yes, George Carlin of the seven words you can never say on television.   Even more shockingly, he accepted.  Shamefully, I think.  Shamelessly, I fear.

He died in June of that year.

In all seriousness, Carlin’s acceptance of the honor is one of the most depressing moments in the last 50 years.  For everyone, whether you know it or not.  The ultimate anti-establishment satirist, the caustic jester of the rich and privileged class, the man who mocked false values and hypocrisy for his entire career, feted and honored by a massive gathering of politicians, billionaires, celebrity journalists, and other privileged phonies.  And yes, of course, some legitimately honorable attendees: the bait.

Bill Cosby was honored (rescinded). The Who was honored — but they’re British.  I didn’t know they honored foreigners.

They honored both Cher and Philip Glass one year. I don’t think you could find two nominees whose audiences are less likely to overlap than those two.

The problem for Trump will be that not very many A-listers would probably be willing to make themselves available for the festivities given the current political climate. The problem solves itself because Trump’s constituency probably doesn’t believe Kid Rock and Roseanne Barr are not A-listers.

Should be interesting. Trump and Melania did not attend the annual festive night while President to not “distract” from the event with the political fall-out. (Some potential nominees would have refused the “honor”). So I presume, he plans to attend now, which means he needs a list of potential nominees who have no qualms about appearing with him (and attending the honorific dinners: Chairman’s Luncheon, State Department Dinner, White House Reception, and Honors gala performance).

Trump, while ceaselessly mocking the establishment, also craves the status and recognition that goes with hobnobbing with celebrated artists and performers. He loves to say, “look at this really smart guy and he’s hanging out with me.” I imagine he pictures himself posing for pictures with, say, previous honorees Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Yo-Yo Ma, Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg, Joni Mitchell.

It’s just hard to imagine nominees who will go along with this with Trump in office and hosting, aside from The Village People, Ted Nugent, and Kid Rock. Kanye West, definitely. Wayne Newton and Loretta Lynn. Lee Greenwood.

Not exactly A-List in any respect.

They don’t want to be too embarrassed. I suspect he’ll find some marginally respected artists who will be tempted by the exposure and the opportunity to sample hors d’oeuvres with Megyn Kelly or do the frug with Elon Musk.

 

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The Ending of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

I thought the ending as it was was rather maudlin and contrived. I rewrite it in my head every time I think about the movie.

Why is Del waiting in the station? He doesn’t (or shouldn’t) know that Neal will come back. By all the rules of the film up to then, he should be on his way somewhere else. So why is he sitting there? Because the screenwriter couldn’t think of any better way to construct that last scene. And the expression on Del’s face when Neal finds him makes me cringe. It’s all laid on a bit thick and, for me, diminishes the film. Most of us like to think we would be compassionate towards Del, if we were in that situation, but in reality most of us would find him really annoying. It’s a childish ending catering to the overflowing self-infatuation of American audiences.

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The Shambolic Church

The evangelical church in American will never be able to wash away the pungent stain of having supported Trump. He radiates sleaze, materialism, sexual immorality, selfishness, mendacity, cruelty, and ignorance.

He’s your guy.

He’s your aspiration. He’s your exemplar. He’s your totem.

All of your preaching and outward habits manifest as pure unbridled hypocrisy. You can never again stand up and claim to represent virtue and morality because we all now know that it is a sham.

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Trump the Negotiator

If you read– and believed– “the Art of the Deal” you might have come away with the impression that Trump was a brilliant negotiator. You might be surprised that he negotiated himself into 6 bankruptcies. Ironically, he made his real fortune selling himself, in the “reality” (ha ha!) tv series “The Apprentice.” As a great businessman. Most of the buildings with his name on it are owned by people who paid him for the right to stick his name on the front.

Then you won’t be surprised if he seems to get paltry returns for his “tough” negotiations on tariffs. What he got, so it appears, is stuff that was already in place in both Mexico and Canada, and a few symbolic gestures.

The EU will take note of just how serious he might or might not be.

Canada spending over $1 billion to interdict fentanyl? About 47 pounds goes over the border annually from Canada. That’s about $21.2 million a pound we are spending on this puppet show.

Does not strike me as the most efficient use of tax dollars.

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John Williams to tell you What to Feel

I keep seeing online commentators raving about John Williams musical scores.  Here’s a list of some of his projects.

    • Valley of the Dolls (1967)
    • Towering Inferno (1974)
    • Sugarland Express (1974)
    • Fiddler on the Roof (1971) *  (unfair really: the music in “Fiddler” is from the musical by Sheldon Bock and Sheldon Harnick)
    • E. T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
    • Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
    • Jurassic Park (1993)
    • Catch Me if You Can (2002)
    • Beach Blanket Bingo (just kidding)
    • Harry Potter (first three films, 2001-2004)

He has received the National Medal of the Arts (2009) and he is an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

And he is boring as hell.

I have watched a lot of movies.  I don’t think I ever thought a John Williams score was evocative or compelling in any of the films he has scored.  He is almost always bombastic, always predictable, and never striking or original or fresh.  His music is there for insecure directors who don’t have faith in their own work and want to make sure the audience knows what they are supposed to be feeling.

Here are some movies that I thought did have strong scores:

    • Amelie (Yann Tiersen, 2001)
    • Elevator to the Gallows (Miles Davis, 1958)
    • Psycho (Bernard Herrmann, 1959)
    • The Graduate (Paul Simon, 1968)
    • Blade Runner (Vangelis, 1982)
    • Once Upon a Time in America (Ennio Morricone, 1984)
    • The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Ennio Morricone, 1966)
    • Dr. Zhivago (Maurice Jarre, 1965)
    • Paris, Texas (Ry Cooder, 1984)
    • Wings of Desire (Jurgen Knieper, Nick Cave, 1987)
    • Godfather (Nina Rota, 1972)
    • The Third Man (Anton Karas, 1949)
    • To Kill a Mockingbird (Elmer Bernstein, 1961)

In most of those movies, there is at least one sequence in which the music plays a powerful role in shaping your emotional response to the action on the screen.  The wistful, luminous score of “Amelie”, for example, has tinge of melancholy that deepens our response to the loneliness and regret expressed by characters she meets in the film.  “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” gives scenes of stark tension, fear, and waste.  Maurice Jarre’s music for “Dr. Zhivago” conveys the long and desire of Zhivago for his lost love, and life.  Vangelis contribution to “Blade Runner” helps create that disorienting, broken, shabby environment of the dystopian future.  Paul’s Simon’s music accentuates the generation gap at the heart of “The Graduate”.  The moody, exhausted landscape of a broken city and culture reverberate in Anton Karas’ zither music in “The Third Man”.

I am astonished that Steven Spielberg chose John Williams to provide the music for “Schindler’s List”.  And then I am not astonished.  Spielberg is a good director of schematic action sequences, and he can give you some good drama, but he invariably sloshes into sentimentality and contrivance, as in the last scene of “Schindler’s List”, and the awful, awful last scene of “Saving Private Ryan” (Ryan, as an older man, weeping at a graveyard in Normandy).

So, yes, John Williams is perfect, for a movie maker who never trusts his audience to “get it”.  The music is there to tell you how to feel, just in case the drama itself didn’t sink in.

 

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