Here's a statement of the obvious: The opinions expressed here are those of the participants, not those of the Mutual Fund Observer. We cannot vouch for the accuracy or appropriateness of any of it, though we do encourage civility and good humor.
But the distinction has blurred in recent weeks. I’m living in a thin glass house myself … so shouldn’t condemn anyone else for flirting with the structural foundations of mfo. Rules are meant to be broken. And who in H opposes fathers or Fathers’ Day?
Stories about celebrities, murders, suicides, fires, car crashes and marital infidelity sell. Took over local broadcast news in the 70s or 80s, than CNN in the 90s and now even the national network news. (Tonight’s was all about Britney Spears.) So on a board like ours I’d expect those types of stories to catch eyeballs - if only momentarily.
A bit of history may be helpful here. In the past, there have been postings, typically with aggressive political overtones, by a very few individuals who drew the ire of a significant number of MFO readers and posters. This escalated until David Snowball was besieged with complaints. He spent a significant amount of time attempting to deal with those situations... time which he did not have in abundance, and which certainly could have been spent more usefully.
This resulted in a complete shutdown of the Off-Topic board sections for a period of time. Some of us who, as @Hank mentions, live in thin glass houses regarding the Off-Topic arena, convinced Dr. Snowball that with certain modifications to the operation of the website, the Off-Topic section could be isolated in such a way as to never be seen by those members who did not wish to do so, while still providing an unobtrusive area for those of us who more frequently post regarding non-financial subjects.
Like Hank, I've noticed in recent weeks the "blurring" of the distinction. The subjects have not been controversial, so this has not been particularly troubling.
But, it definitely creates the potential for a reversion to past troubles. All that it would take is one new person coming to the discussion boards with unsuitable argumentative subject matter. If others here are bending the rules, then there will be no effective way to deal with that situation, as any effort to do so would be seen as discriminatory.
It's in the interest of all of us to help maintain a peaceful operation, especially in this crucial period as Dr. Snowball attempts to find someone to replace him at the helm of MFO. The last thing that we need right now is to make things more difficult in any way for those who keep this site rolling.
I view O.T. as a few tables in the corner of the MFO Bar and Grill; where other topics may be discussed or non-investment questions may be answered. O.T. is another form of the MFO community.
@hank et al The below video pretty much covers a lot of the tv news, but with a beat. My first exposure to "reaction" tv was with/via KSAT, San Antonio, 1970.
"Dirty Laundry" is a song written by Don Henley and Danny Kortchmar, from Henley's debut solo album I Can't Stand Still, released in 1982.
Sorry if this is out of the flow. - Chewing on a lot of other things other than the board right now. However, I’m wondering if we could create a new discussion corner labeled “Dirty Laundry” (or Dirty Linen) for those stories that may pertain to the less seemly sides of those in the financial, investing, business community?
I’m sure there’s no shortage of stories about matters criminal as well as the non-criminal things like marital problems, emotional stability, inter-family conflicts, alleged abuse of colleagues, spending habits, drug & alcohol abuse, etc.
I can promise it would attract a lot of eyeballs. Probably a lot more than cutting through the risk inherent in a boring mutual fund by examinining its assets close up.
@Catch22 - Great lyrics. Do you remember Bill Bonds? I remember one of his arrests somewhere on Orchard Lake road it seems …
PS - Having fun watching reruns of the 1970s Mary Tylor Moore show. Great acting by Ted Knight as the in-house 6 o’clock TV “anchor man.” However, at that time the news hadn’t been corrupted. So, poor Ted Baxter attempts in his bafoonish way to read serious (and relevant) news stories. Funny as hell.
@hank and everyone: MTM was great. First time I ever heard ANYWHERE, the line: "Get outa here before I eat your face." It was Lou to Ted. That's AFTER he said to Mary, who was sort of "in" but sort of "out" of that conversation: "Mary, here's $20.00. Go buy me a gun." Inflation, eh? Not to mention that this kind of hysterically funny dialogue is now effectively banned because of the the work of the Political Correctness Warriors. Hyperbole is a thing the PCWs refuse to recognize, acknowledge, or even assent to its very reality--- in case OTHER people might find it funny. They want the very idea of hyperbole expunged.
("If I told you once, I told you six trillion times! Stop using so much hyperbole!") ..... That entire series got off to a fabulous start, with Mary's initial job interview.
@Crash. $10 at Amazon Prime buys an entire season (20 shows). But the first two seasons are more consistently the best. (Their writers seemed to wreck some episodes later on.) Yes, Ed Asner was highly gifted (as were Knight and Moore). Cloris Leachman playing “snobbish neighbor” Gladice was a former Miss America contestant link. What’s fascinating is she played the lonely (and sensuous) wife of the dippy high school coach in The Last Picture Show from 1970. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend (B&W for artistic reasons). With Leachman it’s all about those riveting eyes! Just awesome..
@hank I remember "The Last Picture Show" extremely well! Great film. I loved her explosion near the end, with Tim Bottoms. Or was it Sam Bottoms? At the time, Cybill Shepherd could have enslaved me. It would have been worth it. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067328/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Comments
But the distinction has blurred in recent weeks. I’m living in a thin glass house myself … so shouldn’t condemn anyone else for flirting with the structural foundations of mfo. Rules are meant to be broken. And who in H opposes fathers or Fathers’ Day?
Stories about celebrities, murders, suicides, fires, car crashes and marital infidelity sell. Took over local broadcast news in the 70s or 80s, than CNN in the 90s and now even the national network news. (Tonight’s was all about Britney Spears.) So on a board like ours I’d expect those types of stories to catch eyeballs - if only momentarily.
But than again - Those of us in glass houses …
This resulted in a complete shutdown of the Off-Topic board sections for a period of time. Some of us who, as @Hank mentions, live in thin glass houses regarding the Off-Topic arena, convinced Dr. Snowball that with certain modifications to the operation of the website, the Off-Topic section could be isolated in such a way as to never be seen by those members who did not wish to do so, while still providing an unobtrusive area for those of us who more frequently post regarding non-financial subjects.
Like Hank, I've noticed in recent weeks the "blurring" of the distinction. The subjects have not been controversial, so this has not been particularly troubling.
But, it definitely creates the potential for a reversion to past troubles. All that it would take is one new person coming to the discussion boards with unsuitable argumentative subject matter. If others here are bending the rules, then there will be no effective way to deal with that situation, as any effort to do so would be seen as discriminatory.
It's in the interest of all of us to help maintain a peaceful operation, especially in this crucial period as Dr. Snowball attempts to find someone to replace him at the helm of MFO. The last thing that we need right now is to make things more difficult in any way for those who keep this site rolling.
Respectfully to all- OJ
https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/06/24/news/britney-spears-tells-judge-i-want-my-life-back/1804451
@hank et al
The below video pretty much covers a lot of the tv news, but with a beat. My first exposure to "reaction" tv was with/via KSAT, San Antonio, 1970.
"Dirty Laundry" is a song written by Don Henley and Danny Kortchmar, from Henley's debut solo album I Can't Stand Still, released in 1982.
I’m sure there’s no shortage of stories about matters criminal as well as the non-criminal things like marital problems, emotional stability, inter-family conflicts, alleged abuse of colleagues, spending habits, drug & alcohol abuse, etc.
I can promise it would attract a lot of eyeballs. Probably a lot more than cutting through the risk inherent in a boring mutual fund by examinining its assets close up.
@Catch22 - Great lyrics.
PS - Having fun watching reruns of the 1970s Mary Tylor Moore show. Great acting by Ted Knight as the in-house 6 o’clock TV “anchor man.” However, at that time the news hadn’t been corrupted. So, poor Ted Baxter attempts in his bafoonish way to read serious (and relevant) news stories. Funny as hell.
Inflation, eh? Not to mention that this kind of hysterically funny dialogue is now effectively banned because of the the work of the Political Correctness Warriors. Hyperbole is a thing the PCWs refuse to recognize, acknowledge, or even assent to its very reality--- in case OTHER people might find it funny. They want the very idea of hyperbole expunged.
("If I told you once, I told you six trillion times! Stop using so much hyperbole!")
..... That entire series got off to a fabulous start, with Mary's initial job interview.
At the time, Cybill Shepherd could have enslaved me. It would have been worth it.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067328/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0