WATCHING:
Too Big to Fail
Starring: (everyone)

Let’s get beyond the obvious: This made-for-TV (HBO) is filled with stars. Amazing.

But what’s more amazing is that the story is very well told – another movie about the housing, subprime, derivative or whatever meltdown of 2008. Bottom line, no one saw this coming.

Not the companies that would be bailed out (AIG, for example).

Not the companies that were allowed to fail (Lehman Brothers).

Not the government entities/personnel that we all entrusted to, uh, make sure stuff like this didn’t happen.

While I don’t disagree with the decisions Paulson – and others – made in real life (I don’t necessarily like some, but sometimes there’s only a bad choice and a really bad choice…), but this movie – to me – highlights that the choices were made because the hand was off the tiller for so long. It could be due to deregulation of financial firms (signed under Clinton; championed by the right), of which Paulson was a big part. Or it could be due to, well, people are idiots. Why would real estate drop? Nah…

Good movie; I can’t vouch for the veracity of its contents. If even close to the truth, well, be very afraid.

All movies

We had a good March – a little weird in that there was about a week of 70 degree weather. Then is got appropriately colder and (sometimes) wetter.

Here in the early part of August, we are looking at a horrible summer.

Virtually no rain. Hotter than hell – many 90°+ days. The hostas are dying – and that’s a bad sign.

We did get some rain yesterday. And since it’s been about a month (honest) since I cut the grass, I cut it today.

What a joke – hard to tell where I’ve cut (little green; just seed heads and weeds). More like cutting straw, especially in the front yard (less shade).

As I said, when hostas are suffering, things are dire: they are tough plants.

This is the weakest year for our Monarda (bee balm), Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan) and other so-called Prairie plants, that are supposed to handle hot/dry weather.

Obviously, only to a certain degree.

Our Joe Pye Weed – another Prairie plant – is still doing well, but it’s a bigger plant with deeper roots.

I like our yard in summer, with the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Not so much this year. Sad.

Let it rain! To be honest, it wouldn’t matter that much at this point. We need a moister winter (not too cold, please) to get something in the water table, and then a normal spring. April showers and all that.

But ya can’t fix weather; you can only roll with it. Let’s see what we gets.