• Home
  • About
  • Articles
  • Interviews
  • Models
  • Slides
  • Blog
Unconventional Wisdom
  • Home
  • About
  • Articles
  • Interviews
  • Models
  • Slides
  • Blog

We Have Met the Enemy...

1/31/2013

0 Comments

 
We have met the enemy and it is not liberal or conservative. It is not Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or even Atheist. Our greatest threat does not come in the form of crime or terror. We cannot blame it on sex, drugs or guns. Nor can we blame it on communism, capitalism or even totalitarianism. It is not about the NRA, CIA or the AFL-CIO. The most brutal dictators of history pale in comparison to our most formidable foe, which is our own indifference.

Steve Saenz, Atlanta, GA / 31January2013
Picture
0 Comments

RAM vs RIM: A Dreadful Cantata (aka, Monkberry vs Crackberry)

1/30/2013

0 Comments

 
So, what can we learn from a dreadful cantata*? 

The answer lies in the lyrics to Monkberry Moon Delight below. Hopefully, you will get the gist of this letter...

In the way of context, Research In Motion (RIM) today released its long-anticipated Blackberry 10 and changed its official name to Blackberry Limited. This is my personal tribute to the folks who brought us, what has affectionately come to be known as the Crackberry.

BlackBerry Limited (NASDAQ: RIMM and TSX: RIM), formerly known as Research in Motion (RIM), is a Canadian telecommunication equipment company best known as the developer of the BlackBerry smartphone and tablet.

The company is headquartered in Waterloo, ON.
RAM is an album by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, released in 1971, the only album credited to the pair. Set against the backdrop of the legal action taking place in Britain's High Court with the dissolution of The Beatles partnership, following their break-up the year before, Ram was the second of two albums McCartney released between quitting The Beatles and forming Wings, whose future drummer Denny Seiwell played on the record.

Monkberry Moon Delight (featured in the video below) is the second cut on Side 2 of the LP, which you can listen to in its entirety using the Spotify player above. IMHO, this album is getting better with age...

WHERE IS UNCLE ALBERT WHEN WE NEED HIM???

"Monkberry Moon Delight by Paul & Linda McCartney (1971)

So I sat in the attic,
A piano up my nose,
And the wind played a dreadful cantata (cantata, cantata).
Sore was I from the crack of an enemy's hose,
And the horrible sound of tomato (tomato, tomato).

Catchup! (Catchup)
Soup puree (Soup puree),
Don't get left behind (get left behind)
Catchup! (Catchup)
Soup puree (Soup puree),
Don't get left behind (get left behind, get left behind, get left behind)...

When a rattle of rats had awoken,
The sinews, the nerves, and the veins.
My piano was boldly outspoken, in attempts to repeat its refrain.

So I stood with a knot in my stomach,
And I gazed at that terrible sight
Of two youngsters concealed in a barrel,
Sucking monkberry moon delight.

Monkberry moon delight,
Monkberry moon delight,
Monkberry moon delight,
Monkberry moon delight.

Well, I know my banana is older than the rest,
And my hair is a tangled beretta.
When I leave my pajamas to Billy Budapest,
And I don't get the gist of your letter (your letter, your letter...).

Catch up! (catch up),
Cats and kittens (cats and kittens),
Don't get left behind (get left behind)
Catch up! (catch up),
Cats and kittens (cats and kittens),
Don't get left behind (get left behind, get left behind, get left behind)...

Monkberry moon delight,
Monkberry moon delight,
Monkberry moon delight,
Monkberry moon delight,
Monkberry moon delight,
Monkberry moon delight...
Video below by created by DeNavarro
"I know my banana is older than the rest... Don't get left behind... Catch up! ~ Paul & Linda McCartney from Monkberry Moon Delight
Picture
Picture
Picture
Center fold of the original LP jacket

RIMM Chart

RIMM data by YCharts

Picture
Picture
Picture
Crackberry 10

* CANTATA (from Italian cantare, “to sing”), originally, a musical composition intended to be sung, as opposed to a sonata, a composition played instrumentally; now, loosely, any work for voices and instruments.
0 Comments

And He Sees, Set It Free, Let It Shine

1/27/2013

0 Comments

 
"I think the Earth Mother and all of her creatures could use a little hope in this day and age. This is very simple; just join in the choruses. The first chorus is, 'And He Sees.' The second chorus is, 'Set It Free.' The third chorus is 'Let It Shine.' When we get there, let's take the roof off this place!" ~ Dan Fogelberg

There's A Place In the World for A Gambler, Dan Fogelberg*

There's a place in the world 
For a gambler 
There's a burden that only 
He can bear 
There's a place in the world 
For a gambler, 

And he sees 
Oh, yes he sees... 
And he sees 
Oh, yes he sees...

There's a song in the heart 
Of a woman 
That only the truest of loves 
Can release. 
There's a song in the heart 
Of a woman.

Set it free 
Oh, set it free 
Set it free 
Oh, set it free 
Set it free 
Oh, set it free. 

There's a light in the depths 
Of your darkness 
There's a calm at the eye 
Of every storm. 
There's a light in the depths 
Of your darkness. 

Let is shine 
Oh, let it shine 
Let is shine 
Oh, let it shine 
Let is shine 
Oh, let it shine. 

Let it shine
This is my favorite song by one of my favorite songwriters of all time. The lyrics are prophetic and this live performance by Dan Fogelberg is simply magnificent. Unfortunately, I could not find any video of this performance but the audio is of outstanding quality. Video by this YouTube member.  
Picture
* From Dan Fogelberg Live: Greetings From The West 
Released October 1991 by Epic Records. It was recorded live at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri on June 25, 1991. Greetings From The West is also available as a full length Sony Music video and DVD.
0 Comments

Charts, Cliffs and Cavemen...

1/4/2013

8 Comments

 
People in the financial services industry LOVE charts, especially ones with upward sloping lines. Charts, replete with disclaimers basically saying that you should not pay any attention to charts, have been the go-to-sales-tool for financial professionals since I can remember. For all I know, our great great great ancestors drew charts on their cave walls in an effort to persuade (er, advise) their cave mates.

However, this is not a history lesson about charts, per se. Rather, it is a non-academic (caveman's) look at what we can learn from going over a cliff. The series of charts below tell a rather interesting, albeit anecdotal, story. The moral of that story is that our perceptions (and resulting decisions) are often influenced by our current reality. 
Picture
Illustration by Andertoons
Those who study behavioral finance sometimes refer to this as extrapolation bias. It's damn hard to see a 6,000-point rally coming when you have just witnessed (suffered) a 7,000-point blood letting. The paradox is that, the closer you are to action, the more difficult it is to see around the bend.

Speaking of seeing around the bend, I had the good fortune of meeting and interviewing a man by the name of Verne Wheelwright several years ago. Verne wrote a terrific book called, It's Your Future: Make It A Good One. According to the World Future Society, an organization to which Verne and I both belong, FORESIGHT, is the most important skill one can develop for the 21st Century. I could not agree more, which is why I included this as a category in my new Wealth Management Bookstore.

In any event, the purpose of this slog post (as always) is to get you thinking. Hope you find this helpful.

Click on images to enlarge...

Looking back from the far side of the chasm...

Picture
It's twue, it's twue, hindsight IS 20/20

View from the top...

Picture
I feel good! Think I'll go to a seminar and learn how to flip real estate...

Click on images to enlarge...

View from the bottom...

Picture
Damn, that hurt. I think the world is coming to end...

Déjà vu all over again...

Picture
The World Future Society says that the most important skill one can in the 21st Century is "foresight." Maybe I should look into this...

Explore Some More

  • Behavioral Finance, Bloomberg
  • Behavioral Finance: The High Cost of Emotional Investing, CFA Institute
  • Psychology and the Financial Crisis of 2007-2008, Nicholas Barberis, Yale School of Management
  • U.S. household wealth falls $11.2 trillion in 2008, Reuters
  • It's Your Future: Make It A Good One, Verne Wheelwright
  • Personal Futures Website, Verne Wheelwright
  • Interview with Verne Wheelwright, Author / Futurist
  • Interview with Tim Mack, World Future Society
  • Dictionary of Foresight, World Future Society
  • Books on Foresight & Related Topics, WealthManagementBooks.com
  • World Future Society

Advisor Survey Conducted at Market Bottom
8 Comments

Self-Renewal by John W. Gardner

1/3/2013

0 Comments

 
"Exploration of the full range of our own potentialities is not something that we can safely leave to the chances of life. It is something to be pursued avidly to the end of our days. We should look forward to an endless and unpredictable dialogue between our own potentialities and the claims of life -- not only the claims we encounter, but the claims we invent. And by potentialities I mean not just skills, but the full range of our capacities for sensing, wondering, learning, understanding, loving, and aspiring."

~ John Gardner on Self-Renewal

Picture
Click on image for rest of story
Picture
Click on the image for the rest of the story
0 Comments

    RAMBLE ON

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    RAMBLE ON, the name of my SLOG was inspired by the Led Zeppelin song with the same name. It also describes the content, which reflects my very random observations about life, work and my endless pursuit of the sublime. See tag list below...

    Archives

    November 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    Tags

    All
    3rd Alternative
    Aaron Hernandez
    Abuelito
    Advisors Fees
    Andrew Zolli
    Angela Maiers
    Anniversary
    Aspen Institute
    Asset Based Fees
    Asset Class
    A To B Syndrome
    Attitude
    Authenticity
    Best Band Ever
    Blackberry
    Blown Away Guy
    Book Reviews
    Books
    Bookstore
    Brain
    Brene Brown
    Brother David Steindl-Rast
    Business Optimization
    Cavemen
    Charts
    Child Development
    Clay Christensen
    Client Advocacy
    Client Experience
    Cliff
    Clouds
    Coaching
    Coffee Is For Closers
    Communication
    Competition
    Consulting
    Content Marketing
    Copernicus Radio
    Coral Gables
    Crying Cow
    Culture Narrative
    Curiosity
    Dan Ariely
    Dan Fogelberg
    Dishonesty
    Education
    Einstein
    Election
    Environment
    Epicurean Friends
    Exit
    Experience
    Extrapolation Bias
    Farm Bill
    Fast Cars
    Fee-based
    Financial Advisor Iq
    Financial Advisors
    Finra
    Fiscal Cliff
    Foresight
    Fusion Impact
    Gambler
    Glengarry Glen Ross
    Google
    Governance
    Gratitude
    Health
    Humor
    Indifference
    Infrastructure
    Innovation
    Inspired Thinking
    Investment Policy
    I Wonder
    Janisse Ray
    Jim Brown
    John Gardner
    Joni Mitchell
    Krista Tippett
    Leadership
    Led Zeppelin
    Let It Shine
    Listening
    Loyalty
    Marketing
    Market Timing
    Mark Kelly
    Maxell
    Merrill Lynch
    Miami
    Michelangelo
    Monkberry Moon Delight
    Nasa
    National Nutrition Month
    New York
    Nobel Prize
    Nutrition
    Obama
    On Being
    Philosophy
    Pieta
    Politicians
    Practice Management
    Pricing Anomolies
    Productivity
    Ram
    Ramble On
    Reich
    Resilience Thinking
    Rim
    Romney
    Schwartzberg
    Sculptors
    Self-renewal
    Slog
    Social Media
    Space
    Sports
    Stephen Covey
    Storytelling
    Strategy
    Sustainability
    Talking White Paper
    Teachers
    Team Building
    Technology
    Ted
    Templeton
    Think Outside Box
    Time In Vs Timing
    Travel
    Truth
    Unconventional Wisdom
    Video
    Voice
    Vulnerability
    Wealth Management
    What Is A Slog?
    Win-win
    You Matter


    My "Fiscal Cliff" Playlist

    Sonos Wireless Music Player

    1 FREE Audiobook RISK-FREE from Audible


    Picture
    "When you realize how little you know, you have become a philosopher."
    ~ Socrates ~


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
Picture
Articles & Papers | Talking White Papers | Conceptual Models | Radio Interviews | Slides & Training
  • Home
  • About
  • Articles
  • Interviews
  • Models
  • Slides
  • Blog