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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Too Faced Natural Eye Kit Review

I decided to do more natural eye looks for work. Since I was picking up items from, I searched around for a good natural eye palette to try. I heard of Too Faced before and ever tried buying on of their palettes at Beautycrunch back in 2008.

I just have to say I really hated these two palettes. The quality of the eye shadows, blusher and lipstick and gloss were terrible. I gave them away and since then have never been tempted to buy them. When Sephora Singapore brought in Too Faced, I didn't even bother to visit the counter to try out their items.

I have seen the Natural Eye Kit featured in two of my favourite blogs. Musing of a Muse and Makeup and Beauty Blog. You can see their raves for this palette when you click their links. I was very surprised that the shadows looked pigmented. Karen from the Makeup and Beauty Blog also did a very beautiful eye with the palette. So this became something I wanted to try.

I really liked the look of the palette straight away. It is made of hard cardboard so it is best not to put this baby in the bathroom just in case. It has a little pull out drawer which stores the applicator. I have doubts that the applicator is actually useful though. The lid is held close with a magnetic thingamagig so it closes tight.

I must say the pull out cards are very useful. It makes doing a natural eye as simple as 1 2 3.

I tried the classic look for the first day of work in 2010. I'm partial to shimmers and shine so naturally I like the Classic and Fashion look best.

Closeup pictures.

This is the day look. As you can see they are all matt colours. They felt soft and pigmented when I swatched them with my fingers on my arm.

This look I tried for work. They blended well and were smooth. With my Urban Decay Primer Potion, it lasted the whole day.

Now why did I enlarge this. Nude Beach looks almost similar to Silk Teddy but if you looked really close you will see that Nude Beach has more obvious glitters. Therefore it is a Fashion look.

This palette sells for USD$34. Thats about USD$3.80 for each eye colour. I'm happily surprised by the quality of the eye shadows. In my opinion, this is a great buy for those looking for a natural eye palette.

Ratings: 5 lipsticks.

Watch out for some EOTDs soon.

Edited to add:

I used the fashion look for the first time today. Nude Beach has chunky glitter so there was quite a bit of fall out. So be forewarned, you probably need a good does of loose powder under your eye to catch the glitter. That being said, it is a fashion look so not very appropriate for office wear.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Smashbox Arched Liner Brush #21 Review

I spreed at during December. I bought a few items. Smashbox Arched Liner Brush was one of them.

Taken from Smashbox website:

Apply liner like a pro with our best-selling precision brush. The same brush head as our popular EYE LINER BRUSH #8 with an ergonomic bend to conform to the shape of the eyes, providing better control and flawless application in one quick, easy stroke. Use it to apply CREAM EYE LINER, JET SET WATERPROOF EYE LINER, or any EYE SHADOW along the lashline and inner rim.

I am not good at lining my eyes. I prefer pencils because they are easier to control but I love using gel/cream eye liners because of the intensity of the eye line made. I always get eye lining product on my lashes when I try to line them with my Bobbi Brown Ultra fine eye liner brush. I heard that arched eye liner brushes eliminate this problem altogether so I had to test it out.

I tested it out using Stila's Smudgepot. The eyelining looked more neater and no more smudging my eye lashes too. I just wished that the brush was a little more stiffer. That would make eye lining more of a cinch for me.

This costs USD$20. I'm not sure of there is a better, cheaper arched eye liner out there though.

Ratings: 3 lipsticks.

If it had been cheaper and had a stiffer brush, I would have given it a 4 rating.

Edited to add:

I have used this a couple of times and just love how neat my eyelining has become. Everyone should own a arched eye liner even if it is not from Smashbox. It does make eye lining easier for noobs.

I have upped my ratings to 4+ lipsticks

Sunday, January 24, 2010

beautyblender Review

So what is this cute pinkie object? A beautyblender of course!

Okay I must say this again, no I did not break my new year's resolution of buying only one makeup item a month. I bought this along with other "things" at at the end of December. (I went crazy during Christmas!) I just been too busy to review and take pictures.

I don't know what made me buy this. I saw a video from youtube of a makeup application demonstration using the beautyblender. I have seen beautyblender before and have heard some raves about it. So I guess it was in the back of my mind. I think partly I also wanted something that would give me a better application for my cream blushers.

Taken from beautyblender website:

Beautyblender’s patent-pending elliptical shape makes application foolproof by allowing you to access hard-to-reach areas with stunning ease. Its suede texture is sensual to the touch and its unique curves fit the contours of your face, leaving your make up dazzling and undetectable. Beautyblender is latex free, non-allergenic and odor free.

Blend your way to a flawless face! Seeing make up is the first sign of an amateur application. Beautyblender was created without edges in order to eliminate visible lines and streaks. So go ahead, experiment fearlessly with your Beautyblender and discover the many ways its unique shape will set you free!

Bounce Beautyblender against your face when applying make up. Bouncing, called stippling in the make up world, blends make up without creating changes in the texture or tone of your skin. Use Beutyblender's pointed side for hard-to-reach spots like around the nose and mouth, and under the eyes. Use the round base for foundation and blush on the larger areas of your face such as your forehead, cheeks and chin.

If you apply make up with your fingers you'll find that Beautyblender will smooth and refine your make up to provide a clean finish.

Use Beautyblender damp when applying wet/dry make up. When Beautyblender is wet it is normal for it to expand to nearly twice its original size. Wash after use and place in the Beautyblender insert pedestal to dry. Beautyblender should not come in contact with extreme heat of any kind.

If you have problem skin Beautyblender works to cover blemishes. Use the pointed end and the stipple and twist technique to work make up into depressed areas of the face. The stippling and twisting action feathers out the make up's edges, leaving a perfect finish.

It comes with a cleanser satchet and instructions on how to use it.

I use this end for my cream blushers. I follow the instructions and dampen my sponge then dry it on tissue paper. Then I lightly bounce this end on my cream blusher. I make a smiley face and gently bounce the sponge off my cheeks. I really like the effect it gives, enough product is applied so I don't need to layer it with my powder blushers but still natural looking. Now I don't have to stick my fingers into my blusher pots.

I use this end to apply my undereye concealor. I use the same method as before. Unfortunately I don't see any difference as to the finish. It still looks the same if I used any old makeup sponge.

I do notice something really cute. After washing throughly with soap (I can't bear to use the cleanser yet) and squeezing out the water, my sponge becomes really big and can't even fit back into its container. But after a few hours it shrinks!

It is a pricy little thing! For one sponge it costs USD$19.50. The kit which comes with a bottle of cleanser and 1 sponge costs USD$34.95! Can't normal soap do the job???

Sonia Kashuk also makes a similar belnding sponge but it costs only USD$9.99. I haven't used it so can't make a fair comparison. It is blue in colour. You can see the image of it here.

So do I think it is a good buy. I'm not sure. I can't really tell yet. I probably need to see how it works with my Giorgio Armani foundation and compare that with my favourite foundation brush first.

Presents in the mail

I had a very pleasant surprise at the beginning of the week. I package packed with things. I opened it up and it came from a wonderful new friend I made over my blog. Thanks Anna!

Apart for a very beautiful face highlighter, I received many bodycare and skincare samples and a whole lot of chocolates and sweets. Yum! I'm truly blessed.

I'm going to take my time and savour these items.

This is the very pretty highlighter that also came with my package. I love the inrticate tree design inside.

I was very careful with my swatch so I used my little pinkie finger to swatch this. It is sheer and natural looking. Great to highlight my cheek bones and under my eye brows.

I love making friends. It is just so cool that makeup can bring so many ladies together.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Korres Golden Goddess Collection Abyssinia mascara review

This mascara came with the rest of the products. I'm always happy to try out mascaras that claim to be volumizing. I love thick lashes!

Taken from Korres website:

Dramatically volumizing mascara with Abyssinia Oil, for lush, incredible dramatic look

• Abyssinia Oil, rich in fatty acids ,provides Natural luster and emollient feeling on the lashes while offering excellent pigment for the most dramatic look

• Vitamin E and Provitamin B5 deeply condition lashes to prevent breakage.

• Bamboo extract strengthens and smoothes the outer layer of the lashes

This mascara has about 8 ml of product. It has a really slim brush, it reminds me of my old favourite Clinique Lash Power mascara that also had a slim brush. I love a slim brush. It is much easier to get to those lashes right at the corners of your eye. Not to mention it won't cause accidental smudges which happened to me frequently when I used Diorshow. (I'm a klutz)

It does a fair job of volumizing my lashes although I still prefer my YSL Everlong. Too bad it isn't waterproof though. I need waterproof mascara because my eyes water frequently especially when I wake up really early (like 5.15 am) to go to work. I yawn alot and my eyes water. I can't afford to have panda eyes at the start of the day. Surprisingly on my test run, it didn't smudge at all. Even though I yawned like a million times and had an almost 10 hour work day. So thumbs up!
This mascara costs USD$20 and comes in 4 colours. Black, brown, Cobalt Blue and Plum. YSL Everlong goes for USD$28.50. Perhaps this is a good cheaper alternative?
Ratings: 3 lipsticks

Korres Sale going on now!

Oh my! There is a Korres sale going on now. The best deal? $7 eye shadows. Their sunflower and evening primrose eye shadows used to sell for $16. They are now going for a song!

Check out all the sale items here!

Edited to add: I just popped by my local Korres store to check out colours and prices. My gosh the eyshadows are selling for SGD $30 and the Mango lipsticks are selling fro SGD $40. What are horrible markup!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Korres Golden Goddess Collection Cherry Oil Lip gloss review

If you have been reading my blog, you would know I simply adore Korres Cheery Oil Lip glosses. They are really wonderful products.

Taken from Korres website:

Long-lasting, creamy, semi-sheer formulas in wearable and vibrant shades. Go natural with NEW naked shades!
• Cherry Oil moisturizes lips, prolonging the wear and giving a high-shine, non-sticky finish
• The natural active Jojoba Oil smoothes fine lines and deeply hydrates the lips
• Potent antioxidant Vitamin C and E prevent free radical damage and repair the lips

This is truly no exception. I really love this colour.

Okay you know why this picture is enlarged. Just look at the gorgeous gold shimmer on this gloss.

The gold shimmer is fine so none of that gritty ugly mess. Especially after a few hours of wear. This colour just goes so well with the overall Golden Goddess look. I feel like a goddess wearing this!

Ratings: 5 lipsticks

Monday, January 18, 2010

Korres Golden Goddess Collection Soft Eyeliner Pencil review

This is Korres Soft Eyeliner Pencil in Golden.

Taken from Korres website:

Exceptionally soft, smooth and easy to apply eye liners in vivid colors, enriched with long-lasting pigment
• Deeply hydrating and smoothing liners provide precise definition without tugging or pulling the delicate skin around the eyes
• Vitamin E, a potent anti-oxidant, defends skin against free radical damaging while also providing moisture
• Macadamia oil rebalances dryness without clogging the pores or irritating the sensitive eye area

I do agree that it is soft and does not drag the lids but I guess I've been spoiled with Urban Decays 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil. I just feel that it isn't creamy enough.

I really like the bright gold colour though. But I suspect UD's Eldorado would look the same. Unfortunately, this is neither water or smudgeproof so after a while it creased on me. But not that badly.

This has about 1.13g of product and cost USD$16. UD pencils have about 1.2g of product and costs USD$17. I would definitely go for UD instead of Korres.

Ratings: 1 lipstick

Sunday, January 17, 2010

EOTD with Korres Golden Goddess Collection

I made used of most of the collection for my eyes and lips with the exception of Golden Bronze today. I love the fact that there is a how to foldout to show me how to apply my eyeshadows.

I used Urban Decay's Primer Potion to hold the shadows in place. I also added Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-on eye pencil in Honey on my lower lashline.


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5 reasons to play The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

The Bureau XCOM Declassified

2K’s upcoming XCOM shooter, The Bureau, has a mysterious past perhaps befitting its alien conspiracy nature. News of the game dried up back in 2010, but it made a strong return in 2013.

Having laid hands on some preview code, I think it’s safe to say that The Bureau isn’t a merely resurrected project, but a redefined shot at the tactical action genre.

Here are 5 reasons you should check out The Bureau: XCOM Declassified:

It’s a true-to-franchise XCOM game

Despite having a different primary title, The Bureau is a true XCOM game in the franchise.

The 1960’s setting, themes and technologies may be different from the established XCOM norm but it lives up to the franchise name in style, substance and gameplay.

The action and tactical elements are all there, and while you’re not in the traditional isometric view, you’ll feel right at home in The Bureau.

The Bureau XCOM Declassified screenshot 6

It gives you the background

For fans of the XCOM franchise, you’ll know that you’re always thrown into the middle of an alien vs. humanity war, but what about the origins of this titanic struggle?

The Bureau gives you the origin story of how The Bureau and XCOM came to be, watching it as it evolves during the first and initial alien invasion of the US in the 1960’s.

The Bureau shows you exactly how XCOM got so good at covering up the truth and hiding the knowledge of extra-terrestrials from the public, for their own good of course.

The Bureau XCOM Declassified screenshot 3

Alien concoction

If you’re a fan of mindless run-n-gun gameplay, then The Bureau is not for you – but if you like to use some brain-power in your alien-killing plans, then this is your game.

The Bureau is great for gamers who love tactical strategy games, but also harbour third-person shooters as a guilty pleasure.

You’ll have to mix up your strategies as you enter difficult situations, dictating to your team where they should move to and when they should execute their special moves, while getting your hands dirty and delivering some headshots and blowing up some aliens at the same time.

The Bureau XCOM Declassified screenshot 5

In traditional XCOM fashion, The Bureau features the gameplay mechanic of permadeath – meaning your team members stay dead if they are caught on the wrong end of an alien plasma gun.

Due to this, it raises the risk/reward element of the game, and puts the responsibility of your squad’s well-being on your shoulders.

Just in case your team does head toward the white light, you’ll need to keep recruiting squad members and sending them out on other missions, ranking them up and getting them in line just in case something happens to your preferred partners.

The Bureau XCOM Declassified screenshot 2

Twisting tale

The Bureau weaves an interesting and mysterious story, and features an interesting twist that should turn gamers on their heads.

There are many layers to the story, and even the aliens have a back-story themselves. Why are some of the aliens wearing collars? Why are they on Earth? And why are they turning humans into mindless drones?

The Bureau XCOM Declassified screenshot 1

All will be revealed when The Bureau: XCOM Declassified launches on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on 23 August 2013.

More on XCOM:

XCOM: Enemy Unknown heading to iOS

XCOM’s single-save “Iron Man” mode announced

XCOM reboot release pushed back

XCOM: Enemy Unknown details and screenshots revealed

Forum discussion

Related posts

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Get FREE Recipes & Updates!

Frittata al Tonno (Tuna Omelet)

What’s so ironic about writing about food and testing recipes all day is that I find myself looking for quicker meals to make than I ever have before. I work two steps away from my kitchen, yet most days I have very little time to make extravagent meals.

Well, I figure many others are just as busy and most people have a can of tuna around the kitchen somewhere, right?

I prefer the Italian kind or any good quality that’s packed in olive oil instead of water.

That said, I prepped this in literally 10 minutes and it cooked for approximately 20 minutes.  Et voila!– a complete, hearty meal in just 30 minutes…literally.

Add some rustic bread and a simple green salad with fresh tomatoes to this frittata. You’ll be surprised at how easy and filling this can be for dinner- and you can pack any leftovers between two pieces of bread for your brown bag lunch the next day.

Buen Provecho!

Frittata al Tonno

  • 2 Tb. olive oil
  • 1.5 cups finely julienned or shaved carrots & broccoli
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp. dried basil
  • 1 tsp. dried parsley
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 can tuna, semi-drained
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/8 cup milk
  • grated cheese, optional

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Add olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat on medium.
  3. Add broccoli and carrots and sauté for approximately 3 minutes, turning as needed.
  4. Add onion and garlic and continue to sauté for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until veggies have softened.
  5. Meanwhile, add eggs to a medium-size bowl and beat well. Add milk, dried herbs, salt and pepper.
  6. Once veggies have softened, add tuna to sauté pan. Separate tuna so that it is spread around the entire pan.
  7. Add egg and milk mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook just until eggs have set on the bottom or you see the edge of the pan begin to brown.
  8. Place entire pan in the top rack of the heated oven. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. If adding cheese, place frittata in the broiler for the last 3 minutes of cooking to brown the top.

Check Also

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Italian Wedding Soup

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  1. oh wow – i wish you had a picture of the final product. i bet this is phenomenal.

  2. everything sounds except the tuna, can we substitute with something else

  3. I agree…one of the ironies about food writing is that cooking time for the family is often compromised. I’ve mused over this many times!

    Great site…I’ll be back often.

  4. had it a few days ago, LOVED it!!! shredded chicken white meat would probably be a good substitute if you’re not a fan of tuna.

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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Marched into spring!

Cheery Spring

It's such a beautiful time of the year :)

Spring colors

Monday, March 22, 2010

Gone Fishin' !

Gone Fishin'

I may have seem to gone underground (if not fishing):D but honestly I am not giving up on this blog..not yet. Life's such a whirlwind of activity right now that blogging has taken a backseat....but not for long, I promise. Meanwhile, hope spring's beginning to show colors in your corners of the world.. It definitely has sprung here :)


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<  Seattle Seahawks

Game in Review: Seahawks 17, Packers 10

By Danny O'Neil

No doubt about this fourth-quarter touchdown catch.

Receiver Stephen Williams made sure of that when he jumped up and reached over a Green Bay cornerback for a 42-yard touchdown reception that was the decisive play in Seattle's 17-10 preseason victory Friday night.

It should be pointed out Williams used two hands for his game-winning touchdown as opposed to Golden Tate's one-handed grab in last year's Monday night game.

Stephen Williams' game-winning 45-yard touchdown catch was his third score of the preseason. (AP) | More photos
The significance: This was Seattle's eighth consecutive preseason victory. It was also the closest final score of those eight consecutive preseason victories. In fact, the Seahawks won their previous five preseason games by a combined score of 166-47, which made this an outright nailbiter that went all the way down to the fourth quarter.

Turning point: Williams nearly came down with a 45-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, losing the ball as he skidded on his back. He left no doubt about a 42-yard scoring catch in the fourth quarter, jumping up and over cornerback Loyce Means. It was Williams' third consecutive game with a touchdown catch, each one covering more than 35 yards.

Player of the game: Running back Christine Michael rushed for 97 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown run in the third quarter when he showed incredible burst. He had a nifty little one-handed catch that resulted in a 25-yard gain, too.

The good: Russell Wilson's first quarter. He completed all six passes he attempted in the period for 90 yards, leading the Seahawks on a field-goal drive. Tony McDaniel made quite an impact in his Seahawks debut, batting down a pass, getting a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and consistently getting penetration. Looks like he just might claim that job as a starting defensive tackle.

The bad: Wilson's second quarter. He completed four of nine pass attempts in the second quarter for 36 yards and was picked off twice. Seattle gained 106 yards on its first two possessions of the game, and just 14 on its final four possessions of the first half. Seattle was penalized for 182 yards in the game while allowing 201 yards in total offense to the Packers. J.R. Sweezy beat out John Moffitt to start at right guard for the Seahawks, but Moffitt wasn't penalized three times in the first half like Sweezy was. Of course, Moffitt isn't a Seahawk anymore, but that doesn't excuse the fact Sweezy was penalized twice for holding and then a bad personal foul for jumping into a pile late.

The ugly: Bad enough that Seattle was penalized six times in the first half, marking the third consecutive half in which Seattle was flagged at least six times. Then it got worse. Seattle was penalized 14 times in the game. Seattle did not commit a turnover in either of its first two preseason games, but Wilson was picked off twice in the first half. The Packers sacked Wilson three times and Brady Quinn – who was Seattle's first quarterback off the bench – was under constant pressure.

Go figure: Seattle outgained Green Bay 362 yards to 201 yards.

Did not play: TE Zach Miller, FB Michael Robinson, G James Carpenter, WR Sidney Rice, WR Bryan Walters, DE Cliff Avril, DT Jesse Williams, DT Jordan Hill, CB Ron Parker, DE Ty Powell.

PUP: WR Percy Harvin, CB Tharold Simon, DE Chris Clemons, DL Greg Scruggs.

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I bet you gonna ambush me

You know that old saying, that when people run together they avoid talking about running but when they aren’t running all they talk about is running?  I was discussing an interesting topic with a few pals during post-run coffee (tea for me because coffee, ick) last week …. in races, do you prefer to be the predator or the prey?  We seemed to be equally split.

I am a classic predator.  I start slow (too slow, probably) and I gradually overtake the faster starters.  I almost always run a negative split.  I count the number of people I pass in the final third of the race.  Not out loud.

Do you like to take the lead and try to keep ahead of the pack (no matter where in the pack you may be) or do you hold back and sneak up on other runners over the course of the race?  A handy poll is included for your replying convenience.

Title: Barracuda – Heart. 1977.

10 responses to “I bet you gonna ambush me

  1. I said I’m roadkill b/c I am a front-of-the-back-of-the-pack runner (a 60%ile finisher) so I assume someone’s killing me. But in truth, I do OK at picking a few people off at the end. It’s just that they are the fat and slow who cannot survive, so it’s hardly an accomplishment on my part.

  2. I’ve had good races where no one passed me the whole race

    And I’ve had good races where I made considerable moves on my fellow runners.

    I chose prey in the poll though, for whatever that’s worth.

  3. Voted “predator.” I love this.

  4. I chose Prey, but it’s not really as a strategy, since you seemed to imply I have the power to choose. :-) This reveals how undisciplined I am as a racer because I probably have never run a negative split. I still labor under the impression, however deluded, that it’s “money [or energy] in the bank!” when I am running well under my target pace for the first several miles of, say, a half marathon.

    The predator/prey thing for me has a lot to do with where I can seed myself at the start. I get very little satisfaction from picking off tons of people at the beginning of a crowded 5K or 10K just because I couldn’t get up front enough, which happens occasionally. I hate crowded races but do them sometimes anyway since there are certainly fun aspects to them. I felt like an arse last fall at the beginning of the Boston Half marathon because I decided right before the start that yes, it was worth staying in the portapotty line since it was chip timed and I’d probably be really uncomfortable later if I didn’t take the opportunity. So I wound up having to cross the start line with people who were aiming to run a good 3-4 min./ mi. slower than me, which means a lot of dodging, and even though it was my choice, I still was mentally appalled at people happily strolling at the start, or conversing easily, laughing even. I was thinking “you’re supposed to RUN!” but in the end, those people probably had negative splits and were happier people throughout the whole race. :-)

    I don’t even notice most people towards the end of the race since all I care about is how I feel and can I sustain this pace? I’m usually incentivized by females ahead of me who look to be in the 30-39 age range, or, depending on the race, the 30-34 range. That’s when I rev up!

    • Seeding is key. I hate getting caught in the back. I seed myself correctly, which means I’m usually surrounded by overly optimistic runners (read: slower than the seed/me) that take off too fast and I slowly reel them in. If I actually started with people at my pace I’d probably by a weird predator-prey hybrid.

      p.s. I’ve actually had other women ask me my age when I’ve passed … or when they’ve passed me.

  5. There is one guy that I have run against many times. If I out run him in the first mile then I have have him beat. If I let him lead me from the start then I am done, I won’t catch him. This has been going on for 10 years. 11 starting now…

    • That certainly adds an interesting element of competitive excitement. I wish I had a race nemesis, but all I have is Husband and he usually wins with the prey strategy. Oh, and with his faster running.

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Heard, Zengerle thanked for service
May 02, 2014 | 226 views | 0 0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend | print

I’d like to thank Dr. Mark Heard and Dr. Claire Zengerle for their 18 years of service (gratis) as Goliad County EMS Medical Directors; and would also like to apologize to them on behalf of Goliad County constituents who do not share the same view points as their own county officials.

I have never attended Commissioner’s Court because their meetings take place at 9 a.m., inconvenient for a full-time employed person. Until the last two sessions, I was clueless to the proceedings and “politics” amongst the officials: none of their antics were flattering, I was very disappointed at the non-contribution of one commissioner and outraged at the disrespectful, sarcastic attitude of our county judge when speaking to one of the commissioners, as well as the county attorney.

If you were in court you would know that not all EMS personnel were sitting with Ms. Fonseca (EMS administrator) but some were, in fact, sitting with Dr. Claire Zengerle. Why?

Ms. Fonseca is Goliad County Emergency Management Coordinator, works with Homeland Security, and is the “middleman” for setting up an ER in Goliad, but is she available for her “crew” when they need her?

The EMS Policy & Procedures, Protocols: “discrepancies and inconsistencies” were found in these. Ms. Fonseca stated they were last updated in 2011. Why so long ago?

This is in no way an attack upon Ms. Fonseca’s medical knowledge. I am questioning her availability, as EMS administrator, to perform the administrative duties assigned. From what I gathered, the issue is not the EMS system itself, but is rather the administration and supervision of that system.

I ask and plead that Goliad County constituents (taxpayers) ask their county officials hard questions and give them your thoughts on any matter, whether they take you seriously or not. Matters such as a possible “emergency room” run by a private, for profit organization (Detar Hospital); this type of medical facility is not a walk-in clinic and is definitely not cheaper than a rural health clinic.

Basically, if patients don’t pay, they don’t collect, and they can’t make money; consequently, they close the doors, thus leaving Goliad County with an empty building, with dust collecting on expensive, unused equipment furnished by the taxpayers.

Each citizen is given the awesome power to vote; make it count. God gives you a voice, let it be heard.

Delia Guerrero Semander, Goliad County
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[Video] Matt Taibbi and Yves Smith: The Wall Street Mafia

Rolling Stone editor Matt Taibbi and Yves Smith, creator of the finance and economics blog Naked Capitalism, join Bill to discuss the folly and corruption of both banks and government, and how that tag-team leaves deep wounds in our democracy. Taibbi’s latest piece is “The Scam Wall Street Learned from the Mafia.” Smith is the author of “ECONned: How Unenlightened Self Interest Undermined Democracy and Corrupted Capitalism.”

Bill Moyers: Welcome. This past week, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, was back on Capitol Hill, testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, as he had earlier done before the Senate Banking Committee. He was being questioned on how his bank had lost two billion dollars — or more — on risky trading. His reception in the House was less fawning than what he got from the senators. Although many of them also are beneficiaries of JP Morgan largesse, House members were more combative.

Barney Frank: You said you have a fortress balance sheet. That assumes there’s something special about the way you are that made us have to worry less. But we can’t assume that’s going to be the case for every financial institution.

Jamie Dimon: But I also said that we’d be solidly profitable this quarter. So relative to earnings–

Barney Frank: That’s not the question. Mr. Dimon, please don’t filibuster.

Sean Duffy: You didn’t know about these trades. You didn’t know about these losses. How do you come forward today and say the regulators should have known that — what one of the best CEOs in the industry didn’t know and couldn’t have known?

Michael Capuano: With the regulatory regime that we have today — we both agree that it’s not what we want, but it’s what we have. Do you really think it’s a smart idea to be cutting the legs out of one of those major regulators? Do you think that’s good for America?

Jamie Dimon: I have enough problems. I’m going to leave that to you.

Michael Capuano: Well, Mr. Dimon, the only reason I ask is because you have had no hesitancy whatsoever in expressing opinions on other matters. I thought you might want to take an opportunity to express one today.

Bill Moyers: Coincidentally, just before Dimon’s House testimony, Bloomberg News published data indicating that JP Morgan Chase receives a government subsidy worth about 14 billion dollars a year in taxpayer money.

Money, said Bloomberg editors, that “helps the bank pay big salaries and bonuses, and more important, distorts markets, fueling crises such as the recent subprime-lending disaster and the sovereign-debt debacle that is now threatening to destroy the euro and sink the global economy.”

With me are two guests who can guide us through the thicket of testimony and beyond. Matt Taibbi, contributing editor at “Rolling Stone” magazine, has investigated the folly and corruption of banks and government with scathing, often profane wit and perception. His book, Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America, described the events leading up to the financial meltdown in 2008. His newest piece for Rolling Stone is a chilling expose called “The Scam Wall Street Learned From the Mafia.”

Yves Smith created and runs Naked Capitalism, the popular blog on finance and economics. She once worked for Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Company, and Sumitomo Bank, and now heads a management consulting firm. You’ll want to read her book, ECONned: How Unenlightened Self Interest Undermined Democracy and Corrupted Capitalism.

Welcome to both of you.

Yves Smith: Thanks so much.

Matt Taibbi: Thank you.

Bill Moyers: So in this particular case, what is JPMorgan’s sin? That’s the question Representative David Schweikert raised on the day of the hearing. He asked, “What sin has JPMorgan committed other than being big enough to lose billions of their own money in a quarter and still turn a $4 billion profit?” Want to take a stab at answering?

Matt Taibbi: Yeah, sure. Their sin wasn’t the loss. The sin was in being a too-big-to-fail company where we can’t afford to have them go under. Why are we there in the first place? If this was a company that, if it went out of business, it wouldn’t affect our lives personally and wouldn’t have major ramification for the economy, we wouldn’t be holding hearings in the Senate and the Congress.

We would say, fine, they lost so much, a bunch of money. Too bad for them. But that’s not the case. As we saw in 2008, when these companies go down, we all end up paying for it. You know, we ended up financing of, what, five, six, seven trillion dollar bailout in 2008. And if a company like JPMorgan Chase goes under, there will certainly be some sort of federal action, which is why we have to know about it. We have to know what goes on when they have unexpected two, three billion dollar losses that affects all of us.

Yves Smith: They were guilty of gaming the system. And the way that they’ve done it is this unit was using depositor money and yet taking very large bets.

And in this unit, all the other banks similarly have similar units in their treasury department, and the purpose of these portfolios is supposed to be to have liquid assets in case there’s a run on the bank.

And Bloomberg News had a story where they actually reported that all the other banks take less risk in these portfolios. And that’s before we get to the credit default– that’s before we get to the blow-up part, just in the, even the simpler part of the portfolios. They have, they keep more in treasuries. And they have less in corporate bonds. So Dimon is already taking more risk in this unit than he should have.

And this is something which is frustrating about the testimony. There’s a sort of, you know, one of the, again, stories that Dimon was promoting was, oh, well, we didn’t find out about it. And then when we found out about it, we jumped on it and now it’s all fine. And, therefore, the regulators shouldn’t have been able, you know, how could the regulators have found about it?

And, therefore, since the regulators couldn’t found out, you know, more regulation is futile. And, in fact, you could have found this information from the outside. You could have seen that prices were moving in this instrument in a really weird way.

Bill Moyers: Was everybody looking the other way? Have we forgotten so quickly?

Matt Taibbi: Well, the entire derivatives market is essentially a gigantic black box. It’s not like the regulators have access to all this information.

Yves Smith: I think they’re not used to looking for the information.

Matt Taibbi: Right.

Yves Smith: I think it’s been acculturated that they’re used to having tea and cookies with the banks and reviewing their internal reports and not doing any type of external validation and this kind of basic external checking they could do that they’re not habituated to doing.

Bill Moyers: A very curious thing happened when the House hearings opened. Some members of that committee felt that Dimon should be sworn in. But the chairman of the committee, a Republican from Alabama, Spencer Bachus, said, no, that wasn’t necessary. Am I making too much out of that?

Matt Taibbi: I thought that was an incredible moment for a couple of reasons. Obviously, the reason there was a hullabaloo over that was because of what happened when Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, came and testified before the Senate a couple of years ago. There later was a controversy over whether or not he had perjured himself in those hearings.

So the question was if, you know, Jamie Dimon is going to be sworn in, whether he would have to tell the truth, would be obligated, or whether it would just be a friendly conversation. But what was amazing about that, was that it Spencer Bachus who came to Jamie Dimon’s defense. Spencer Bachus is the congressman for the Birmingham, Alabama, region which has been decimated by the Jefferson County swap disaster, which was caused by Chase, which was fined $700 million by the SEC.

So here’s a guy who represents the county that has been most affected by Chase’s bad behavior, and he comes to Chase’s defense in the hearing, which I thought was– it set the tone for the whole thing.

Yves Smith: Matt mentioned the toxic swaps. Jefferson County isn’t the only example.

There have been a whole series of, you know, since Jefferson County and other municipalities blew up by deals they did before the crisis, there have been a series of swaps done after the crisis with transit authorities, where they are losing a tremendous amount of money. You can look at the way JPMorgan has serviced mortgage loans.

You know, they had to get up and admit that they had been basically breaking the law, and there were criminal penalties associated with this law, by foreclosing on servicemen in Iraq and not giving them rate breaks that they were entitled to. And there are some egregious cases.

Matt Taibbi: There’s $228 million fine that they paid last year for municipal bond bid rigging. There was another $153 million fine that they paid for failure to, for fraud in CDO trades. I mean, there are case after case after case that involve these criminal charges. And what I thought was amazing about these hearings is that nobody brought any of those things up.

Bill Moyers: Both of you have mentioned the Jefferson County story. Give me a quick summary of what JPMorgan did in Jefferson County, Alabama.

Matt Taibbi: Well, Jefferson County had to build a new sewer system. And they had to borrow a bunch of money to do that. And it was originally a $300 million project. But they got into a series of swap deals with JPMorgan Chase to basically push their financing into the future. But the deals were heavily mispriced in Chase’s favor. And Chase actually bribed another bank to stay away from Chase because they wanted that business. They wanted to give the–

Bill Moyers: Bribed them?

Matt Taibbi: They bribed them.

Bill Moyers: That’s against the law, isn’t it?

Matt Taibbi: Yes, yes.

Yves Smith: Yeah.

Matt Taibbi: And they were caught for it. A couple of their executives were caught for it, and they were heavily fined by the SEC for doing it. And this resulted in this disaster where Jefferson County’s going to be bankrupt for a generation. It ended up costing them $3 billion out of what was originally, what, $300 million?

Yves Smith: Million dollar, yeah, yeah, yeah. What got to be $2.9 billion deal in the end. And on top of that, my mother happens to live in Jefferson County.

Bill Moyers: Oh, I didn’t know that.

Yves Smith: You have the average person in– basically you cannot have access to the sewage system and not pay more than– and not pay less than 50 bucks a month. So there are people in the poor areas who are deciding what they’re going to have: electricity, water, or sewer. I mean, you can’t– they can’t afford all three.

Bill Moyers: Why is that JPMorgan’s fault that they have to make that choice?

Matt Taibbi: They basically got them into these onerous toxic swap deals that were poorly understood by the local politicians. And they bribed the local politicians to accept the swap deals. They did it through middleman companies that bribed the–

Yves Smith: The consultant on the deal is in jail. The former mayor was involved in other improprieties, too. But the former mayor’s in prison. You know, this is–

Matt Taibbi: For signing off on these deals.

Bill Moyers: Is there a question you would have asked Dimon if you had been on either of those committees that was not asked?

Matt Taibbi: The question I wanted to ask is, was, really more about the criminality. I mean, none of the members in either the House or the Senate really got into the issue of all the different offenses that these banks have committed in the last few years. You know, or, an ordinary person, if he commits welfare fraud, never gets a food stamp again in his life.

So given that these banks have systematically and repeatedly committed fraud, repeatedly been caught, you know, in situations like Jefferson County, municipal bid rigging, why should we still give them billions and billions of dollars in emergency lending from the Fed, bailouts, all of this aid from the government? How come there’s no consequences for them and there are consequences for ordinary people?

Yves Smith: I would have asked questions more having to do with what’s the justification for complex banking at all? That why do we need, why shouldn’t banks be run on the utility basis? Why should we have people like Dimon and his, the members of the CIO unit, most of which he’s fired, what the justification for literally that hundreds of millions of bonuses were paid collectively to those people.

And now he says they didn’t know what they were doing. There’s no justification for this, the sort of level of compensation that we generally have on Wall Street. And I would like to see that myth starting to be punctured in more public places.

Bill Moyers: What do you mean when you say banks should be more like a utility?

Yves Smith: Banks, more than any other business, more than military contractors, live off the government. They depend on government backstopping. They exist only by way of government issued licenses, which if you had open entry you’d see much lower fees. And they get some confidence from the public from the fact that they are regulated. Oh, and the most important thing is they have access to–

Matt Taibbi: The Federal Reserve.

Yves Smith: –the Federal Reserve.

Matt Taibbi: They’re getting huge amounts of free money.

Yves Smith: Well, not just the free money. The Federal Reserve basically guarantees the payment system. You know, that’s the really critical architecture that banks control is that, you know, we write checks to each other. We have credit cards. They clear through banks.

But the fact that banks can exchange money with each other confidently is because the Fed stands behind that. So there’s a much– there’s another layer of Fed backstopping beyond what we think of the way they step in in a crisis or the way they’re now intervening to help the banks. So the fact that these institution really depend in a very fundamental way on government support means they don’t have any right to the upside.

I mean, they should really be paid like public servants. I mean, I’m not kidding. I mean, and if they had been, if the pay had been ratcheted down after the crisis, I would have had a lot more sympathy for them, even if they just behaved for a couple of years. You know, they were bailed out. And then in 2009 the industry went and paid itself record bonuses, higher than 2007 instead of rebuilding their balance sheets. I mean, this was just a slap in the face for the public.

Bill Moyers: And there’s no shame.

Yves Smith: No.

Bill Moyers: You’re describing a corrupt financial and political system. And both of you in recent writings, your current article in “Rolling Stone,” which is devastating on the scam that the “Wall Street learned from the Mafia,” and a recent column you wrote about the mafia state, you’re both using that metaphor to apply to our financial and political system. When I read your pieces, you’re not playing with words there. You mean it.

Yves Smith: Yeah.

Bill Moyers: Why do you mean it?

Yves Smith: Well, the mafia, when it gets to be big enough, first thing it has services that people feel they need if they’re in a difficult situation. So, for example, loan sharking. If you really need money, they do have the money. And people enter into these loan shark deals even though they know it’s going to be very difficult to pay 20 percent or more interest and they’ll have their legs broken if they don’t pay back.

And the banks actually behave very much in that manner when they find people who really need money. So you see this with credit cards, you know, that, or, and with mortgages. That if you hit– it’s not this if you hit any tripwire, that, you know, become in arrears, the banks basically act in this very extortionate manner and don’t cut any breaks.

Matt Taibbi: And I think that there’s also this, they are the mafia because of their vast criminality in Wall Street now is that it’s bribery, theft, fraud, bid rigging, price fixing, gambling, loan sharking. All of these things, it’s all organized.

I mean, the story I just wrote about, which was about the systematic rigging of municipal bond auctions, which affected every community in every state in the country and all of the major banks were involved, including Chase.

They were rigging the auctions that were designed to create a fair rate of return on the investments that towns were getting on their– the money they borrowed for municipal bonds. And this is not like something that the mafia does. This is what the mafia does. The mafia has historically, it’s one of their staple businesses, is bid rigging for construction or garbage or, you know, street cleaning services, whatever it is.

They’re doing exactly the same thing. The only thing that’s different is there’s no violence involved. But what their method of control is that they’re ubiquitous. They have this incredible political power that the mafia never had.

Yves Smith: And they also have what amounts to an oligopoly. I mean, for many of these services, you have a great deal of difficulty going beyond the five biggest banks, you know? This is– it’s the consequence of too big to fail is that when, you know, some of the smaller players, again, you know, like– JPMorgan buying Bear Stearns.

In the crisis, when the smaller players got sick, they were merged into the bigger players. So now if you want– for a lot of these services, there aren’t that many players for you to go to. You really have no choice in– other than to deal with the big banks.

Bill Moyers: Congress is paid to be informed and to hold these guys accountable. Why don’t they ask the kind of questions you’re dealing with here?

Matt Taibbi: People refuse to look at these banks and think of them as organized crime organizations.

They in their eyes, organized crime is always either the Italian mafia or the Irish mafia. This isn’t what it looks like. But that is who they are. And I think that they’re treated with a kind of deference and respect, because traditionally that’s not who they were. They were these icons of finance who helped build this country.

But that’s not who they are anymore. And I think, it’s hard for people to wrap their heads around that and treat them the way they should be treated.

Yves Smith: Well, I think people don’t want to think that there’s something wrong with leaders. And CEOs are leaders of the business community. If you really believe that CEOs of businesses that are really fundamental to the economy are corrupt, you have to think of a very serious restructuring of the business and financial system.

And even if people kind of intellectually might be willing to contemplate that, they don’t really want to go to what the implications are. So it’s much easier for them to block out that thought.

Bill Moyers: Both of you have been writing a great deal lately about the crisis in Europe. So explain to us simply what hand Wall Street has in what’s going on in Italy, Greece, and Spain today and why we should care.

Yves Smith: Well, I almost want to go one step of abstraction higher because people tend to focus on the immediate ways Wall Street was involved like Goldman Sachs helped Greece cover up how serious its deficits were.

Matt Taibbi: Which in the situation, it was very similar to Jefferson County, by the way.

Yves Smith: Right. But the more important story is much higher, which is that the reason the big reason that all, you have basically a sovereign debt crisis, that the governments in Europe, many of them had to borrow a tremendous amount of money in the wake of the crisis. And the euro zone is not well set up to adapt to that. I could go into technical reasons why, but it’s not unlike a state.

You know, when a state has a budget problem that suddenly they have to think about, you know, cutting costs and doing all kinds of draconian measures. And while maybe a state or a city can do that, you can’t have the biggest economy in the world. I mean, Europe is the biggest economy in the world doing that and not have it basically turn into a down spiral, that you cut spending and then that leads to less income.

And your deficits get worse rather than better. So, but the reason they had that problem is, in fact, very directly the result of the financial crisis. That you had countries that weren’t running deficits, government deficits like Ireland and Spain, that were held up as poster children before the crisis of doing things right.

And that when the crisis hit, you both had a big drop in tax revenues. You had bank bailouts. And these countries had decent social safety nets so that, you know, things like, you know, unemployment insurance went up. And so the budget crisis they’re having is the direct result of the financial crisis. And yet it’s somehow being treated as if they’re separate events. Like somehow these governments were profligate and that borrowers were irresponsible –

Matt Taibbi: Social safety net.

Yves Smith: Safety net.

Matt Taibbi: Exactly. Right. That’s clearly going to be the place that is going to take the brunt of the damage. I mean, I think the most direct example here in America was a lot of unions and state pension funds were primary victims of the sort of broad fraud scheme to sell fraudulent mortgage backed securities.

So they, a lot of these institutional investors were buying these bad mortgages, huge pools of mortgages from all these, the usual suspects, the big banks. And then when they decreased in value and suddenly there they don’t have, it’s harder for them to meet their obligation and suddenly the finger is pointed at them and everyone saying, “Oh, look at those pens, the state pensioners or look at those union employees, they’re they cost too much money. We have to cut their services. We have to cut pensions. We have to do all these things.”

Whereas, in fact, they were buying a fraudulent product from Wall Street and that’s why they’re in such bad shape now. And I think, but politically, the direction is always going to be let’s blame-

Bill Moyers: The poor.

Matt Taibbi: That person. The poor.

Bill Moyers: The guy on the pension. The woman on the pension –

Matt Taibbi: Right. And we’ll never point the finger in the other direction.

Yves Smith: Well, in fact, the implications, that’s true. But the implications are actually quite grim, and they’re not being discussed honestly. We’re talking about old people dying faster. We’re talking about children being homeless and not getting education, and we’re talking about grim outcomes like that.

And they’re not even part of the discourse. I mean, you look, Greece is the extreme example. But in Greece, the hospitals are breaking down. Garbage is not being picked up. And if you look at the results of the last election, what you saw is even with the efforts to scare people into staying in the euro, you see this polarization where the Nazi Party got seven percent of the vote even after there was an incident in a TV station where there was literally an on-air fight where a Nazi Party member beat up on somebody basically I think it was on camera, you know?

So you’ve got a real social polarization with radicalization going on. And I’ve seen a number of reports out of Greece saying that it’s basically on knife edge of breakdown.

Bill Moyers: Could it happen here?

Yves Smith: If things, if we have another crisis and things aren’t addressed, I could see this definitely happening maybe not nationally but in significant regional pockets. I mean, you know, this is a country full of guns. And people don’t like to think about what happens when people are pushed, you know, I mean, the kind of random violence, the sort of, you know, going postal phenomena?

Matt Taibbi: When I was in a foreclosure court last year. I spent a week in a foreclosure court in Jacksonville.

Bill Moyers: Reporting on it.

Matt Taibbi: Reporting on it. And the amount of raw anger that you see in these proceedings from people who have lost their homes, they have no illusions about who’s to blame for the situation. They know exactly, you know, where the problem is. And I–

Bill Moyers: And it’s where?

Matt Taibbi: It’s with these banks that sold them these mortgages. And I think there’s a growing awareness out there in the public, more and more people have had a personal problem on some front with Wall Street, whether it’s credit card debt or a mortgage debt or they’ve lost their jobs. And I think there’s anger and it’s starting to become more organized.

Bill Moyers: Both of you trace this back to what you call fraudulent debt. Is that right?

Matt Taibbi: In the case of the mortgage markets, absolutely. I think what a lot of these, this was a fraud scheme. It’s the same scam that you see here in the streets of New York when somebody’s selling a phony Prada bag or a phony Rolex watch in the street. These banks were selling phony mortgages that were, they were selling them as triple A rated instruments when, in fact, they were essentially worthless.

They were highly risky, toxic instruments. And they knew it. They were buying, they were in cahoots with companies like Countrywide and Long Beach, these sort of fly-by-night mortgage operations who went out and they gave mortgages to everybody and everybody who had a pulse. They took these mortgages. They bundled them. They waved a whole bunch of phony hocus-pocus math over them and reconfigured them into triple A rated investments.

Then they went out into the world and they sold them to every customer all over the world, pensions, unions, foreign trade unions, foreign governments. And they–

Yves Smith: Trade councils in Australia. I mean, real know nothings.

Matt Taibbi: Everybody. Everybody bought this stuff. It all blew up like, everybody who was in on it knew it eventually would because they were betting against the stuff as they were selling it. And, and the, and that’s why we have this, this situation that we’re in now.

Yves Smith: Yeah, but even the most even if I’m giving Wall Street more credit than it deserves. But even if you take out the bad creation and selling of the product, you also have the fact that Wall Street basically demands an asymmetrical deal with contracts, that if you have a credit card deal or if you have a mortgage, if you make the tiniest, little violation, you know, we get to take our pound of flesh.

And yet if you’re a union member, it’s perfectly fine to break your contract. You know, our contracts count, but we can break all the other contracts in society to get our obligations honored. I mean, this is just crazy.

Matt Taibbi: But they genuinely think that they earn their money. And I think that was one of the illuminating things not only about the Dimon hearings but also the Lloyd Blankfein, slash, Goldman Sachs hearings a couple of years ago. These guys really think that they’re, they have a unique and special genius that entitles them to earn the vast sums of money that they pay themselves, that somehow that they’re creating all this wealth for themselves.

And they really genuinely don’t think that they’re getting their money– from all of us. And to them it’s irrelevant that they’re getting all their money for free from the Fed and that they’re lending it all out to us at five percent, 10 percent, 20 percent, you know, 25 percent. They think they deserve the money. And I think that’s the scariest part.

Bill Moyers: There’s a definition of a sociopath as being radically deprived of empathy. Do you see characteristics of sociopathic behavior on Wall Street?

Matt Taibbi: Absolutely.

Yves Smith: Yes.

Matt Taibbi: I’m sorry, just what Yves was talking about with, you know, the old people who were dying earlier now, people who don’t have kids, who aren’t going to school, garbage that’s being left in the streets. That’s all because some guy was sitting up in a skyscraper in Wall Street and knowingly selling some communities, some municipality a fraudulent, toxic mortgage backed security.

I mean, he knows that that instrument is going to blow up in, you know, six months, a year. But he’s selling it to them anyway. But he doesn’t care, you know, because he can’t see it, you know? I think in the eyes of a lot of these guys if they can’t see the effect, it doesn’t really exist. And to me, that’s classic sociopathic behavior when you’re blind, you’re willingly blind to the consequences.

Yves Smith: I mean, it’s really the growth of the trading culture. You know, in the old days, I worked on Wall Street when Wall Street really was only criminal around the margins. I mean, you really, Goldman Sachs in those days had the expression long-term greedy which meant you didn’t kill the–

Bill Moyers: Long-term what?

Yves Smith: Long-term greedy. That they were long-term greedy. And that meant you didn’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg. You know, you wouldn’t put your customer into egregiously bad deal. If you took a little extra, you only took it when the customer was making money, too, so if they ever figured it out they wouldn’t be really upset.

That attitude has changed completely. And I attribute it significantly to the growth of derivatives. Over-the-counter derivatives where you can’t see the price on an exchange. You can’t see the history.

And they’re much more complicated. And those started growing really in the early ’90s and became, and it becomes very interwoven in the practice of finance. Because the derivatives are so complicated, you can’t price compare. The risks are often bundled in within formulas that the buyers can’t understand. And so they can load all kinds of basically what’s equivalent to hidden fees in these things by the way they structure the risks in the terms.

So they’re the perfect vehicle for stealing because you’re selling, no, you’re selling somebody something they can’t evaluate.

Bill Moyers: When you come back, I want you to take the whole hour and explain to me what a derivative is and how it works. Okay? Is that a promise?

Matt Taibbi: Absolutely.

Bill Moyers: Alright, Yves and Matt, thank you very much for joining us.

Matt Taibbi: Thank you.

Yves Smith: Thank you.

Veteran journalist Bill Moyers is the host of “Moyers & Company,” airing weekly on public television. Matt Taibbi is a writer for Rolling Stone. Yves Smith is the creator of the finance and economics blog Naked Capitalism.

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Tallgrass Market Research - Getting Paid Is Like Pulling Teeth

Market Research Study - Complaint
Review by paularthurebeling on 2013-08-24
Rating: StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty Star
OVERLAND PARK, MISSOURI -- Tallgrass recruited me for a market research study earlier in the summer. It was for a national gas station chain. I was promised payment for the study itself, as well as a finder's fee for referrals (2) that I sent them for the study.

After the study concluded, I spent several weeks trying to get my payment. They were terrible at communication. They never return phone calls... instead, you're lucky if they email you back. They always have an excuse of why checks haven't gone out, or say they did and then they don't show up.

Eventually, several other participants and myself contacted the company that hired them to recruit for the study. We told them that nobody had been paid for that study and they put their legal dept on the case. Eventually, they paid us themselves and informed us that Tallgrass had been paid before the study even commenced and that they had not abided by the terms of their contract.

However......... the referral fees ($100) are the responsibility of Tallgrass, not the company that hired them to recruit. I was told that these checks would go out by August 19 at the latest. As of August 24... nothing. I have spent a week trying to get ahold of them, to no avail. They don't return phone calls or respond to emails. I even went to their "office" in person to ask. Their "office suite" is, in fact, a UPS store mailbox.

Don't trust anything Tallgrass says....
Comments:3 Replies - Latest reply on 2013-08-27
Posted by cmthru on 2013-08-24:
Corporate address:

9218 Metcalf Suite 264
Overland Park, KS 66212
ph: 913-906-8457
Posted by Soaring Consumer on 2013-08-25:
Time to take them to court.
Posted by paularthurebeling on 2013-08-27:
^^ That "corporate address" is a UPS store.

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GotGame: We chat with producer, Sebastian Enrique, and he tells us what’s new with this years FIFA. He tells us how they’ve listened to criticism and what they’ve improved for FIFA 14. (FIFA 14, PS3, Xbox 360)

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Submitted by Eonjay 551d ago | rumor

Global Weekly Chart Week Ending 12/14/2013

Gen 8 Hardware Lifetime Totals:
PS4 374,879 (+40%) 2,753,910
XOne 306,436 (+19%) 2,126,782
WiiU 264,627 (+53%) 4,749,539

Gen 8 Software Lifetime Totals:
WiiU 1,403,817 (+42%) 15,983, 418
PS4 1,000,956 (+11%) 6,531,17 2
XOne 818,064 (+34%) 5,203,605

1. Call of Duty: Ghosts (X360) Activision, Shooter 550,854
2. Puzzle & Dragons Z (3DS) GungHo, Puzzle 540,821
3. Call of Duty: Ghosts (PS3) Activision, Shooter 495,843
4. Pokemon X/Y (3DS) Nintendo, Role-Playing 451,019
5. Just Dance 2014 (Wii) Ubisoft, Misc 434,064 (Call of Duty, Just Dance 2014, Pokemon X and Y, PS3, PS4, Puzzle & Dragons Z, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One)

Hard to tell
Is this rumor true? Rumor votes 37
Eonjay  +   551d ago
Sony may be one week away from 3 million calendar 2013 goal.
Also, interesting that Wii U is leading hardware. When you think about it the Wii U is not selling to poorly compared to the other systems. If the Wii U can keep this up (and if Sony can't ever restock supply) the Wii U may be able to retain that lead for a longer time than people think.
NYC_Gamer  +   551d ago
The PS4/X1 just have higher demand compared to Wii U based on early sales of hardware..I'm just happy the console market is in good shape to be honest.
#1.1 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(22) | Disagree(4) | Report | Reply
DejectedJeff  +   551d ago
well keep in mind the wii u's a year older too. a lot of people were saying all the nintendo fans went out and bought one and it wouldn't sell near the other consoles this christmas
mikeslemonade  +   551d ago
Soon the X1 sales will plateau and it will take atleast 2 years in total to surpass the WiiU. $499.99 just isn't viable enough to start off. Price drops won't work either because the competition is always gonna be cheaper.
avengers1978  +   551d ago
It will be interesting to see what the numbers are for the last couple weeks, as all 3 consoles were selling well leading upto Christmas
Hicken  +   551d ago
Keep in mind, these numbers are two weeks old, now. It includes none of the systems restocked and subsequently sold in the days just prior to Christmas.

(And, of course, VGChartz is only an estimate, not a definite.)

That said, I do believe 3 million sales will be surpassed before the end of the year. I imagine that the Wii U will be just around 5 million sales(demand just doesn't seem to be all that strong, though it has picked up during the holidays). I expect the XB1 to be in the 2.5 million range.
Ol_G  +   551d ago
you do understand it did more than 100k last week in japan only if you count us and europe christmas sales i think it's safe to say they surpassed the 5 million easily

#1.2.1 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(12) | Disagree(4) | Report
mikeslemonade  +   551d ago
Does it really matter? 5 million in one more than one year is pitiful.
Theyellowflash30  +   551d ago
But more than 2 million in a couple months is good. And that's where the Wii U right now.

It had its problems. But things are clearly looking up. Nintendo's 2014 software is going to be big. Smash Bros, Donkey Kong, Mario Kart, Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2, Monolith Soft's X, to name a few.

Nintendo will easily sell more than 5 million units next year.
Skip_Bayless  +   551d ago
5 million next year?? That's a pretty slim chance considering WiiU launch window sales, year one holiday sales, and then year 2 holiday sales.
#1.2.4 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(3) | Disagree(3) | Report
Tito08  +   551d ago
The question is if they gonna reach the 9 million they projected for the fiscal year which I totally doubt the will, but if they do, good for them.
#1.2.5 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(1) | Disagree(0) | Report
PSNrandom15  +   551d ago
At Ol_G. Wii U sold well in japan 1. because of holidays and 2 because the wii U has no next gen competition in japan is either get a wii U for xmas or a ps3 or xbox.
Sharky231  +   551d ago
How is it interesting that Wii U is leading? They only had a year head start.
Eonjay  +   551d ago
Agreed. I meant to say leading software. It sold more software this week than PS4 and Xbox One.
Shnazzyone  +   551d ago
nevermind that the #1 console was 3ds by a mile. it sold almost 900k last week. 1.4 million in game sales for wii U ain't bad either.

At this point, if nintendo is doomed, then the entire gaming industry is doomed.
FamilyGuy  +   551d ago
Probably already over 3 million by now, this was the two weeks ago after all.
showtimefolks  +   551d ago
i am glad for nintendo and wiiu, system is good and we will get to play nintendo games in HD. $299 is a very good price

but ps4/xbox one will sell that much better. we could have a situation where:

ps4 sells 85-100 million
xbox one 75-90 million
wiiu 35-50 million

that's a huge gap between 2nd and 3rd considering wii sold 100 plus million
Shnazzyone  +   550d ago
Are you a time traveler? No way you wanna risk predicting 5 years from now. I'd comment on the numbers but it's funny you think wii U will be that far behind and ps3 didn't even hit 100mil before ps4 hit. Wii was LUCKY to break 100 million before its life was up and that was the blockbuster console last gen,
#1.7.1 (Edited 550d ago ) | Agree(1) | Disagree(0) | Report
showtimefolks  +   550d ago

i didn't say 5 years, i am looking at it throughout the whole next gen. so more like 7-10 years. Both ps3 and xbox360 will sell somewhere 95-100 million range

PS4 and xbox one are up to a very hot start, wiiu isn't gonna be able to compete with either so that's why i see a huge number difference. Most gaming pundits are actually saying under 40 million for wiiu

why pay $299 for wiiu when for $399 you can get a ps4, that's the million dollar question
xtremeimport  +   551d ago
People are STILL buying CoD games...I can't understand why..

to each their own.
PSN-JeRzYzFyNeSt  +   551d ago
i feel like vgchartz right isn't so accurate..

i feel like its missing a lot of sales
Eonjay  +   551d ago
It doesn't track digital sales.
B1663r  +   551d ago
They don't track anything. They make up numbers based on some hidden calculus that they won't show anyone.

Their numbers are CONSISTENTLY wildly off base, then they stealth edit their website to reflect the changes when real data becomes available done by real market research firms.
Geobros  +   551d ago
Its not easy to track everything. Though, I think its the only site for video games sales....I wish to see another one in the future.
ThatCanadianGuy514  +   551d ago
They don't track anything.It's all "educated" guesses.
Skip_Bayless  +   551d ago
I don't care what any of you guys say. It's ballpark numbers and they are close enough. And then they edit their numbers once they get reliable sales data from outside sources.

The fact is the numbers tell the same story. And it's just dumb how when the numbers favor X1, the X1 fans all of sudden believe the numbers are "kinda" correct and then vice versa for PS4 fans. At the end of the day the numbers are basically correct and tell the same story. "Law of very large numbers" people..
Ju  +   551d ago
I agree with you there, Skip_Bayless. They show a trend. For our amusement they are accurate enough, for people interested in real numbers those are edited when more accurate numbers are available. Nobody tracks weekly sales accurately anyway.

But one thing, though. Global 374K, Europe 174K and USA 144K. Where's the rest? ~60K are missing

USA doesn't include Canada? but 60 is to much there, Europe includes EMEA? (which is Australasia/Middle East?).
insomnium2  +   551d ago

I'm a Sony guy and VGC is NEVER right. They should be banned from this site no matter how much they show PS4 winning over XBone. Capish?
Skip_Bayless  +   551d ago
Well it beats waiting weeks longer to brag. Eh?
insomnium2  +   550d ago

Brag? GTFO who gives a s*it about bragging unless they are a 10 yo?
showtimefolks  +   551d ago
They take bunch of guesses and are usually wrong, but its a great site if you want to find out exact number for past years. Their present numbers are always wrong till they actually get all their facts in at the end of the year and update everything again

but look atleast its a site working hard to provide some data
urwifeminder  +   551d ago
Any news on new games or is this news for nasdaq gamers now lol.
B1663r  +   551d ago
I will now make up some imaginary numbers as well...

The square root of negative 3.
xboner   551d ago | Trolling | show | Replies(7)
GrandpaSnake  +   551d ago
can someone try and explain how the ps4 has over 1mil software sales than x1 but the hardware is only up a few hundred thou?
Eonjay  +   551d ago
Because the system is cheaper, people can afford (quite literally) to purchase more games.
GrandpaSnake  +   551d ago
that makes sense thx peeps
ABeastNamedTariq  +   551d ago
A lot of people buy multiple games.

EDIT: Well played, Eonjay. I was literally a half-second too late, lol.
#6.2 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(7) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
AceBlazer13  +   551d ago
People game on PlayStation and watch tv on xbox.

Lol, i joke. Eonjay is most likely correct.
Evilsnuggle  +   551d ago
PS4 600000 more sold than x1 and counting. The PS4 is going to hit 3 million consoles sold before the New Year. I think this generation PS4 120-160 million x1 40-60 wii u 40-20 million. SONY made a far superior product compared to the x1 and wii u. The 360 and PS3 were competitive because both had strengths and weaknesses. Michael Patcher said if PS4 is cheaper and more powerful than x1 it will destroyed x1 in sales.
gnothe1  +   551d ago
evilsnuggle...do you really believe the PS4 will outsell the xbox one by 80 million plus....smmfh...the PS3 couldn't do it coming off a super strong PS2 what makes you think they can do it now?......
Skip_Bayless  +   551d ago
Evilnugs is correct.

40Wii U

Just look at this trend. Xbox 360 80 mil but X1 lacks all the advantages the 360 had. While PS3 sold 81 million but PS4 has all the advantages going into this generation. It's obvious PS4 will go over 100+ million because they've done that with 3 out of the 5 of the systems. And considering WiiU is gonna falter some of those casual gamers will buy the PS4 because it's cheaper.

And further more just look at early trend this generation. While the 360 led 3 to 1 and then 2 to 1 in the U.S. the PS4 on short supply is already beating the X1. So all you have to account is that the PS4 will automatically get a bonus 10-20 million bonus install base based on that alone.
#7.1.1 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(8) | Disagree(7) | Report
JodyCones  +   551d ago
Probably the fact that it's not releasing a year late and a higher price point like the PS3. The PS4 has a good reputation. And everyone remembers the PS2 with its 150 million units sold worldwide.
lifeisgamesok  +   551d ago
Dude No. If you honestly think the PS4 will sell 80-100 million more consoles than Xbox One when it has only sold $600,000 more so far you've been smoking too many drugs
#7.2 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(4) | Disagree(12) | Report | Reply
Vames  +   551d ago
Nonsense!!! The PS4 is in 32 markets right now and the Xbox One only in 13 markets. So what do we have here? The PS4 available in more than 2 times the market as the Xbox One, yet it is unable to completely outclass the more expensive Xbox One.

The numbers are not far away.

I'd say the Xbox One is doing really really well, all things considered. If Microsoft had managed to launch in the same amount of markets, I believe things would have been very different.

Edit: No offense to you brother, but you have the thought process of a child due to your sales estimation. If you're older than 20, then there's something seriously wrong with you lol.
#7.3 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(3) | Disagree(12) | Report | Reply
scott182  +   551d ago
In every single individual market that both are available Sony has sold more, not just combined worldwide. Once Sony can keep these things in stock in larger markets, they will explode even faster in sales.
#7.3.1 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(11) | Disagree(1) | Report
Hicken  +   551d ago
Don't go thinking you're too much more advanced than he is, mentally.

Middle schoolers should be able to recognize that it doesn't matter how many markets you're in if you're selling the same amount as somebody else.

If you and I both sell cookies, and I can sell them in 10 neighborhoods, while you can only sell them in two, that doesn't mean I should sell more cookies than you. Reasons?

1. Preference. Some people in some neighborhoods just may like the cookies you sell better than mine.

2. Demand. Despite you only having two neighborhoods, they may contain some big cookie eaters. On the other hand, my neighborhoods may not have such fanatics.

3. Supply. We might sell out of cookies at the same time, but if it takes me longer to get more, then you can sell more. Or you might not get as many in the next time around. Or I might get more than you next time.

And all these things affect each other. That's how the PS4 can be out in more markets, be sold out more frequently, and sell more; but it's also why such a thing isn't guaranteed: it's all variables.
rayzorn  +   551d ago
damn now im hungry for cookies.
YodaCracker  +   551d ago
It's completely ridiculous to make sales predictions so early in the generation. Virtually anything could happen in the coming years. No one can accurately predict how things will turn out, not even industry analysts, let alone random Internet fanboys. What you get are predictions like this:

#7.4 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(4) | Disagree(4) | Report | Reply
SpitFireAce85  +   551d ago
Good numbers over all but Sony cant meet demand
It would have sold a lot more then that
DanielGearSolid  +   551d ago
After all those mediocore reviews KZ:SF is the only nextgen exclusive at a million sold
Ol_G  +   551d ago
you seem to have missed mario 3d world

Killzone: Shadow Fall

Global Total as of 14th Dec 2013 (units): 0.92m

Super Mario 3D World

Global Total as of 14th Dec 2013 (units): 1.02m
#9.1 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(10) | Disagree(7) | Report | Reply
DanielGearSolid  +   551d ago
Sorry.. Of the two consoles that recently launched
Ju  +   551d ago
WiiU has twice the install base to date...hm...and it's 10k ahead?

While PS4 launched with 3 FPS and 2 free shooters.
#9.1.2 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(3) | Disagree(1) | Report
Ol_G  +   551d ago
okay :)
Ju  +   551d ago
KZ is #2 globally just a few behind CoD:

and almost matches CoD on XBo (their top seller):

EasilyTheBest  +   551d ago
Shouldn't the PS4 Be on around 4.4 million worldwide by now or even 6.6 million or even 8.8 million.
Isn't that a 2:1 or 3:1 or even 4:1 ratio for PS4 worldwide?
What happened. Ain't the PS4 for sale in over double the countries?
If its stock levels I think you should be giving credit to Microsoft for only launching in fewer places.
Again, what happened? Some ppl were posting 6:1 worldwide....
Oh, and I'm only aiming these questions on the ppl who posted the ratio Sony was going to dominate.
#10 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(4) | Disagree(10) | Report | Reply
Bigpappy  +   551d ago
It was supposed to happen is the U.S. That didn't work out, so they said those 4:1 and 6:1 are in E.U. Still nothing there. Here we are looking at global, and VGchartz refuses to verify any of the madness, so VGchartz will now fell the raft of the rabid PS4 fanboyz. It is actually funny to watch. Sony should be ecstatic to have fans that love their product even more than they themselves do.
#10.1 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(2) | Disagree(7) | Report | Reply
DoesUs  +   551d ago
Why do you even respond to such comments? You're as bad as them by tit for tatting.
Letthewookiewin  +   551d ago
The X1 is going to nose dive between now and March. There are only 8 games releasing in that time. Theres about 25 for PS4. This is a picture of how the new gen is going to be.
#11 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(5) | Disagree(7) | Report | Reply
ATi_Elite  +   551d ago
If you are on here COMPLAINING and BAD MOUTHING Vgchartz sales figures then PLEASE post us a link of where we can better and more accurate sales figures other than reading a companies investor reports.
insomnium2  +   551d ago
Why would you need the sales figures that badly? We get quarterly reports from Sony,MS and Nintendo themselves. Isn't that enough?
#12.1 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(0) | Disagree(2) | Report | Reply
Ju  +   551d ago
You are in here, aren't you? Look into the mirror.
insomnium2  +   551d ago

Soooooo I can't be here without being interested in the numbers in this article?

I think the only reason I'm here is to defunk the myth that every single one of us is a hypocrite claiming these numbers are valid only when they favour their choise of console. I'm a Sony guy, VGC shows PS4 leading over XBone and not a single eff was given by me. These numbers are still as much BS as they have allways been.

I think we went through this BS about VGC being crap already back in 2007-2008. The war was fierce and shots were fired. However VGC was proven to be BS all those years ago so it kinda pisses me off to hear some deuchebag say that I would be a hypocrite. Not that Ati ever did that directly at me buy I still fealt the need to reply to him. How's that for a motive huh?

edit: All this was started with skip's comment above there and it seems that you were the one agreeing and commenting with him so you must know what I'm talking about. Read skip's comment again and then come back here and tell me to look in the mirror.
#12.1.2 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(0) | Disagree(1) | Report
Theyellowflash30  +   551d ago
The 3DS, is killing the everybody...with Nintendo first party games for the most part.

I wonder if what would happen if third party companies got behind the 3DS like they should? The 3DS would even be selling more than it is.
DoesUs  +   551d ago
People have to remember that initial sales of new hardware is purchased in the main by the hardcore section. Only when the masses start to buy will the gap increase exponentially.
NeloAnjelo  +   551d ago
That Call of Duty... People keep buying it!
jholden3249  +   551d ago
Of course people buy it. Many people find it to be a fun game. Most of my co-workers only play a few games a year- Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed and maybe one other, probably GTA. Why? These are pop-games, similar to pop-music. Many people play them because that's what's advertised the most to them. The way of the world, it is.
NeloAnjelo  +   550d ago
Yeah I know, and agree. I haven't touched COD since MW:3.

I wish these pple played more games though, rather than just the same ones.
wishingW3L  +   551d ago
weird that after retailers saying that the PS4's selling much faster than the XB1 that both of them have nearly the same WW numbers. It makes no sense at all. Especially when you consider that on certain parts of the world like Spain the PS4's outselling the XB1 3 to 1. In fact, the XB1 is not winning on any territory which make this be even more strange.
#16 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(1) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply
SpinalRemains138  +   551d ago
That's because the numbers are wrong.
AKR  +   551d ago
Don't know how close these numbers are to the actual real-time figures; but it does show one thing ~ all three home systems are doing quite well, which is good.

I'm surprised XBOX One is selling so much. I thought the name was going to throw people off, and the price-tag to boot. But good, nonetheless.
bornsinner  +   551d ago
vgchartz LOL

true or not i still expected ps4 to beat xbone since ps4 is available in 48 countries vs 13 countries
DoggyBiscuit  +   551d ago
I'm glad the Wii U is doing better I want success for all 3 consoles
3dmariofan68  +   551d ago
Funny, How all the people say nintendo is doomed and yet in world wide sales NO PS4 OR XBOX ONE GAME could out sell Super mario 3d world or Super mario Bros.U A YEAR OLD TITLE!! why shouldn't every ps4 game and x box one game have out sold mario three to one?? HUH, guess the haters are wrong. looks like the wii u can last, and wait until you see what happens with Donkey Kong tropical freeze, Mario Kart 8, and Smash Bros.U, the false predictions will keep on coming, but Reality will always win, the wii U WILL LAST.
#20 (Edited 551d ago ) | Agree(2) | Disagree(3) | Report | Reply
zerog  +   551d ago
Let's just assume the numbers are accurate or at least close enough. It shows th x1 is selling 22.7% less then ps4 or ps4 is selling 29.4% more then x1 take your pick or just cut it down the middle and say 25%. Either way for every 3 x1 sold there are 4 ps4 sold worldwide right now. People can say the numbers aren't that far apart but think about how people go crazy on black Friday to save 25% on a new tv. 25% is a noticeable number in the real world and you better believe that devs are taking notice and for any 3rd party looking to make an exclusive it will be really noticeable.
Ju  +   551d ago
Especially if you look at the SW numbers which already shows the PS4 with more than 1M ahead. This is what makes developers money. If this keeps going on, this gap will only increase.
jholden3249  +   550d ago
Doesn't matter. As long as there's enough of an install base they'll bring games to both systems. Doesn't matter if PS4 has twice the install base, all that matters is if Xbox One has enough of a base that bringing the game will be profitable. We're going to see less and less 3rd party exclusives over the years, especially with Valve entering the scene.
jholden3249  +   550d ago
Wow, the Nintendo 3DS sold more units than PS4, Xbox One and PS Vita combined!

And Super Mario 3D World broke 1 million sold. Where was Knack at again? I didn't see it on the list...
Gamerita  +   550d ago
vgchartz is a cheating website created by xbox fan he reduces sony sales numbers while increases microsoft ones. PS4 is selling at least double the xbone numbers globally.

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Asthma and Allergy Education for Worksite Clinicians

AAFA has developed a program to educate worksite clinicians seeking to help employees control their asthma and allergies.  Communities can use this resource to train health professionals about worksite control interventions.

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Chronic Disease Prevention Toolkit

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Chronic Disease

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The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

The NACCHO Toolbox is a repository of available resources to help local public health practitioners. Tools are produced by local, state, and federal agencies, as well as academic institutions and other stakeholders. The contents of this Toolbox are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect any official recommendations of NACCHO. NACCHO makes no express or implied warranty with respect to the contents and disclaims liability for any damages arising from or connected to the use of the material in this Toolbox.


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Wednesday, July 02, 2014

ObamaCare coverage for millions in jeopardy as watchdog finds widespread data flaws

Fox News reports:
The Obama administration is struggling to resolve data discrepancies that could jeopardize coverage for millions who sought health insurance on the federal exchange, according to a watchdog report on the still-rocky implementation of ObamaCare.

Though the system's troubles have faded from the headlines since the problem-plagued launch last October, a report from the health department inspector general provided the first independent look at widespread issues the government is having effectively fact-checking the information applicants are putting in the system.

According to the report, the administration was unable to resolve 2.6 million so-called "inconsistencies" out of a total of 2.9 million such problems from October through December 2013.
Will you suffer death by ObamaCare?


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Names Searched Right Now:
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  1. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by charlieandperry1 View Post
    Yeah I'd steer clear of Mr Kipling, especially as they make 'French Fancies'. Are you in the UK/will you be spending much time here? Because I do think it's a tad silly here, sorry! I don't think it sounds right with Leo and Juliet anyway. Could make a good MN though.

    I think Cosmo is great He fits right in and doesn't sound too Italian at all (I didn't even realise it was Italian!) Everyone will recognise it and spell it correctly. It feels very international to me- I recently read a book about a Greek guy called Cosmo. Personally, I connect it far more with the actual name rather than the magazine, but then I don't read them that much. Basically I think it's best out of your 3!

    I do like Bastien (I like Sebastien slightly more), and Rafael also, and I think all 3 could work, but Cosmo wins for me For some other names that could work internationally, how about: Oscar, Hugo, Felix, Julian, Anton, Marco, Reuben, Orlando, Florian, Vincent, Roscoe, Hector, Martin, Dominic, Fabian, Percival, Stefan, Gabriel, Simon, Daniel, Roman, Bruno, Cedric, Otto?
    Oh God - I hadn't even thought of the French Fancies! Definitely not Kipling, then!

    Thanks for the suggestions, I really like most of them but the hard part is finding something that's not too French, not too English - so Hector and Percival, plus Florian and Anton are out; I would use Montgomery in a heart beat if I could! We've considered a few of these - Oscar, Reuben, Dominic, Bruno, Gabriel. None of them feel right though.

    Léonard Cyrille (Leo) 08/11 - Juliet Sylvia Perrine (Letty) 09/13

    Breeding program incomplete! Planning for next bebe and heading to Southern France 2016.
    Flora Sixtine / Emmanuelle Beatrix ''Manou'' / Isaline Franseza / Erminie Eleanor
    Sacha James / Elouan Raphael / William Bastien / Bruno George

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