Making Money Scam

by Susana Polo | 4:09 pm, September 12th, 2010

There have been many effects of Eve Online’s decision to deal a large blow to the black market for their in-game currency by essentially making it purchasable for real money.  The one that we like the most, however, is that it is now really easy to quantify actions in Eve Online to people who don’t play the game.  Case in point:

In-game business machinations have lead to a player known as Bad Bobby walking away from a gutted in-game corporation with items worth $45,000.  And it was all game legal.

The plan was to set up an in-game business that turned a profit by selling copies of blueprints for Titan class starships.  90% of the profits would go to the shareholders who had bankrolled the founding of the company in the first place.  The location of the originals would be kept secret, but their ownership would be controlled by five trustees, ensuring that they could not be taken without all trustees in agreement.  Bad Bobby was a founding member of the company, Titans4U, and one of the trustees.

From Massively:

All of this security hinged on the fact that Bobby would not have access to over 50% of the company’s shares and so couldn’t vote to unlock the blueprints on his own. For over a year, this system worked amicably. In the background, however, Bobby was slowly scheming to get his hands on more shares.

To complete the scam, Bobby initiated a vote to create more shares under the guise of adding more trustees… the vote passed and more shares were created.

The other trustees presumably expected Bobby to hand over the shares when the new trustees were appointed. Instead, Bobby, with access to 50% of the shares, called for a vote to place the blueprints in his ownership at a time when only three of the other four trustees could log on to veto his request, stealing the blueprints.

According to Massively, the virtual goods were worth 850 billion Interstellar Kredits, which can be translated into a value of $45,000 US dollars, which can purchase 214 years of game time.

And yes, Eve Online is at heart an economic simulator as well as a space tactics simulator.  The game’s curators permit in-game thievery, smuggling, elaborate cons, pirates, market manipulation, bounty-hunting, corporate espionage, and racketeering; they simply warn their players to be aware of the risks and careful with their in-game possessions.  Bobby’s actions were all within the rules of the game.  The only thing he has sacrificed is his in-game reputation.

An ice cream purveyor from Staten Island has landed himself in a sticky Catch-22 after allegedly trying to "palm off" less-than-quality ice cream as Häagen-Dazs in his Bay Ridge shop. The ice cream giant is suing Steven Itkin for trademark infringement and breach of contract, and is seeking a minimum of $75,000 in damages and to shut down Itkin's Häagen-Dazs franchise. However, Itkin suggests maybe Häagen-Dazs should lay off, as their expensive ice cream made it "impossible to make money with the store."

Häagen-Dazs first caught wind of Itkin's scam when he tried to terminate his contract with the company. The contract was terminated, but Itkin was prohibited for two years from working in an ice-cream business within two miles of his store or any other Häagen-Dazs shop. Instead, he continued to operate his store, allegedly selling both Haagen-Dazs and non-Häagen-Dazs products, and used company signs to advertise a competitor's product. Itkin claims he had no choice, as times were tough and he couldn't pay the remaining $5,000 Häagen-Dazs needed. "Everybody loved the store but I was making no money," he said. "I had bills to pay."

Itkin is now giving away all the store equipment and hopes that the company will stop the suit. A judge issued a temporary restraining order on him, forbidding him to work in the ice-cream business within the boundaries in the franchise agreement. Let this be a lesson: Don't mess with the Dazs.

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by Susana Polo | 4:09 pm, September 12th, 2010

There have been many effects of Eve Online’s decision to deal a large blow to the black market for their in-game currency by essentially making it purchasable for real money.  The one that we like the most, however, is that it is now really easy to quantify actions in Eve Online to people who don’t play the game.  Case in point:

In-game business machinations have lead to a player known as Bad Bobby walking away from a gutted in-game corporation with items worth $45,000.  And it was all game legal.

The plan was to set up an in-game business that turned a profit by selling copies of blueprints for Titan class starships.  90% of the profits would go to the shareholders who had bankrolled the founding of the company in the first place.  The location of the originals would be kept secret, but their ownership would be controlled by five trustees, ensuring that they could not be taken without all trustees in agreement.  Bad Bobby was a founding member of the company, Titans4U, and one of the trustees.

From Massively:

All of this security hinged on the fact that Bobby would not have access to over 50% of the company’s shares and so couldn’t vote to unlock the blueprints on his own. For over a year, this system worked amicably. In the background, however, Bobby was slowly scheming to get his hands on more shares.

To complete the scam, Bobby initiated a vote to create more shares under the guise of adding more trustees… the vote passed and more shares were created.

The other trustees presumably expected Bobby to hand over the shares when the new trustees were appointed. Instead, Bobby, with access to 50% of the shares, called for a vote to place the blueprints in his ownership at a time when only three of the other four trustees could log on to veto his request, stealing the blueprints.

According to Massively, the virtual goods were worth 850 billion Interstellar Kredits, which can be translated into a value of $45,000 US dollars, which can purchase 214 years of game time.

And yes, Eve Online is at heart an economic simulator as well as a space tactics simulator.  The game’s curators permit in-game thievery, smuggling, elaborate cons, pirates, market manipulation, bounty-hunting, corporate espionage, and racketeering; they simply warn their players to be aware of the risks and careful with their in-game possessions.  Bobby’s actions were all within the rules of the game.  The only thing he has sacrificed is his in-game reputation.

An ice cream purveyor from Staten Island has landed himself in a sticky Catch-22 after allegedly trying to "palm off" less-than-quality ice cream as Häagen-Dazs in his Bay Ridge shop. The ice cream giant is suing Steven Itkin for trademark infringement and breach of contract, and is seeking a minimum of $75,000 in damages and to shut down Itkin's Häagen-Dazs franchise. However, Itkin suggests maybe Häagen-Dazs should lay off, as their expensive ice cream made it "impossible to make money with the store."

Häagen-Dazs first caught wind of Itkin's scam when he tried to terminate his contract with the company. The contract was terminated, but Itkin was prohibited for two years from working in an ice-cream business within two miles of his store or any other Häagen-Dazs shop. Instead, he continued to operate his store, allegedly selling both Haagen-Dazs and non-Häagen-Dazs products, and used company signs to advertise a competitor's product. Itkin claims he had no choice, as times were tough and he couldn't pay the remaining $5,000 Häagen-Dazs needed. "Everybody loved the store but I was making no money," he said. "I had bills to pay."

Itkin is now giving away all the store equipment and hopes that the company will stop the suit. A judge issued a temporary restraining order on him, forbidding him to work in the ice-cream business within the boundaries in the franchise agreement. Let this be a lesson: Don't mess with the Dazs.

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foreclosure agents

BR: Funny you say that — I referred to the NAR chief economist as Baghdad Bob in one of the “previously” links mentioned: Former NAR Economist David Lereah is a Jackass (January 6th, 2009)

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:11 am

If your stocked up on Insulin, try the ever sugary http://www.positiveonrealestate.com/ for your daily firehosing of rich, delicious Kool-Aid. You thought the NAR was hyper sunny. They’re simpletons compared to whomever runs this site.

You’ve been warned….

My .02c

Soylent Green Is People.

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:13 am

If you’re fully stocked with Insulin, try http://www.positiveonrealestate.com/ for a daily firehosing of rich, delicious Real Estate Kool-Aid. You think the NAR is hyper sunny? They’re simpletons compared to the people who run this site.

You’ve been fairly warned.

Soylent Green Is People.

ACS Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:32 am

How long before we reach Sanford’s step 12?

gavingunhold Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:45 am

I used to work at NAR. And I once time forwarded a blog post by Barry Ritholtz to Lawrence Yun, kind of just as a heads up. Lawrence was none too pleased. Heh.

JustinTheSkeptic Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:49 am

BR, you can continue with the “Bank Spin, Auto Company Spin, etc.” Take your pick….

rktbrkr Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:53 am

Take your pick…

“The manufacturing sector has maintained its momentum at least through August,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York. The report “makes clear the economy is not slipping into recession any time but it’s still reasonable to be concerned about where we’re heading over the next three to six months.”

General Motors Co.’s sales fell 25 percent last month and trailed analysts’ estimates, as the U.S. auto industry headed for its worst August in 28 years.

GM said deliveries fell to 185,176 from 246,479 last August, when the U.S. government’s “cash for clunkers” incentive program boosted sales.

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:56 am

Regrets for the double post. The first one did not show so I rewrote it again. I confess to my foolishness.

machinehead Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Since the time I bought my first house, the cry of the Realtor(TM) has been, ‘Buy now, before prices go up!’

They are Permabulls, like many Wall Street brokers — not to be taken seriously. Pay them for transacting, not for their stuck-clock market predictions.

And — until proven otherwise — don’t regard them as professionals. That’s what the idiot NAR has accomplished — to deprofessionalize the image of a group which includes some very dedicated people. It took the NAR decades of hard work to break into the circus-clown limelight. Take a bow, bozos!

lalaland Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:07 pm

I doubt it’s the NAR’s fault that people expect their homes to appreciate 10% a year. Nobody really pays attention to them outside the statistics junkies I would wager. I blame exactly the kind of stupidity that has proven to be rampant across all sectors of the economy. Oh, and, you know – unrelated – it’s time to go watch Dick Fuld.

Mark Wolfinger Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:16 pm

The news media eat up those NAR reports.

Surely you have contacts at the big media to whom you can pass along this report with the hope that someone does the right thing.

http://blog.mdwoptions.com/options_for_rookies/

Expat Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:21 pm

There is no one thing to blame for all this. The NAR is not the cause of the bubble. Wall Street is the proximate facilitator but not really the cause. Washington was a complicit beneficiary but not the cause. Assholes who bought homes that cost more than three times their income are victims and perpetrators but not truly guilty of anything but stupidity and gullibility. Lereah, Yun, and the NAR are in the unfortunate position of being mouthpieces for this mass hysteria so they are singled out.

But in reality, Lereah is no worse than any US president or member of congress when it comes to huge, important lies. What about the pope or any priest with a pulpit? The hellfire and brimstone, homophobic racists on the Bible Belt circuit? Imams calling for jihad. Etc.

Personally, I think the NAR is guilty of high crimes and treason against the US, having done more damage to our country than any blind or diabetic islamic terrorist. And what do we try to do to islamic terrorists? And what should we do to all members of the NAR? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

How the Common Man Sees It Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 1:03 pm

What do they expect when they are always selling houses as investments and not places to live? In the investing world RE is the equivalent of the summer resort if we are talking timing. What I’m saying is that the owners of a summer resort know their product is only marketable a few months out of the year and that is what they target for.

Do you think the folks in the RE industry and/or the NAR want to be telling folks their ‘investment dream’ is only a great deal a few years out of many in the investment cycle? NO! That would put them out of business for years until the crowds came back every cyclical summer

That’s not gonna happen

d4winds Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 1:31 pm

Red pill HGTV sounds like a fabulous idea–to replace that NAR of the “financial” TV, CNBC.

Julia Chestnut Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 3:04 pm

The NAR are liars, and they aren’t even very good at it. Lawrence Yun is a laughing stock. The people who need to be strung up are the corporate media outlets that just take the press releases full of whoppers along the lines of “cotton candy cures cancer!!!!!!!!” and reprinting it along side what passes for “news.”

Industry shills are industry shills and always have been. What has changed is any semblance of concern for truthful and accurate reporting of statistics, facts, and trends. Statistics, facts, and trends are considered so malleable these days, no one worries about what conflicts of interests the spinners may have – they just care how little they have to rewrite it from the NAR’s website before press/broadcast time.

Despicable.

TomL Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 4:35 pm

Why is that *every* article written by or quoting a real estate professional includes the refrain “It’s never been a better time to buy.” ?

Reminds me of the warning how do you know a politician is lying…

loganagent Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 6:55 pm

It’s so true I recently had an experience where the local newspaper quoted me, after I said that our local market was going to decline, in my blog: http://loganrealestate.blogspot.com/2010/02/number-of-logan-homes-for-sale.html The local Board President came to me and told me not to speak with the media anymore. He said those in leadership had special “training” in how to handle media.

The ironic thing is that my market falling predictions came true. But we don’t want the public to know the truth do we.

philipat Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 8:37 pm

The “Blue Pill” being Viagra. Or, in other words the NAR is saying “Up yours”?!!

Very appropriate!

IrvineRenter Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 9:30 pm

I have beaten up on RE agents a couple times over the last year:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/realtors-treated-as-lackeys-and-maids-grovel-for-6/

and

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/urgency-versus-reality-realtors-win-buyers-lose-14-jackson-irvine/

I totally agree with your assessment of the foolish way they operate. In fact, the growth of my side business as a broker is largely due to the fact that I refuse to spin BS the way they do.

BTW, thank you for the link yesterday. I greatly appreciate it, and I am flattered that you stop by and read my blog.

canoles Says:



September 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 am

“In other words, mislead the public with spin. Create false hope. Lie.” – Sir, that is NAR’s job as a trade association. Please name one trade association that does not do this.

The third wave of programming for the sixth edition of Fantastic Fest, happening September 23rd-30th in Austin, Texas, has been announced with the highlights being the US premiere of the hyper-stylized action film Bunraku, a sneak preview of Darren Bousman’s terrifying new horror-thriller Mother’s Day, and the world premiere of Agnosia, the latest film from Fantastic Fest 2005 alumnus Eugenio Mira.

A total of 20 films have been added in this latest wave, and we're including them all here, even if a few aren't strictly horror, just to give you an idea of how truly diverse Fantastic Fest is. For the other films screening that week, click here for all our Fantastic Fest 2010 coverage.

PREMIERE SCREENINGS

Agnosia (2010)

Director: Eugenio Mira, Spain, World Premiere

The producers of Pan’s Labyrinth and The Orphanage present a truly unique romantic thriller from Fantastic Fest veteran Eugenio Mira (The Birthday). “I’ve read few screenplays in my life that have impressed me as much as Agnosia,” said director Guillermo del Toro. Director Eugenio Mira will be live in person.

Bunraku (2010)

Director: Guy Moshe, USA, US Premiere

In a world with no guns, a mysterious drifter (Josh Hartnett), a young samurai and a bartender (Woody Harrelson) plot revenge against a ruthless leader (Ron Perlman) and his army of thugs, headed by nine diverse and deadly assassins. This visually stunning film is filled with uniquely choreographed action sequences of a new style that melds east with west and old school with new. Director Guy Moshe will be live in person.

Mother’s Day (2010)

Director Darren Bousman, USA, Sneak Preview

After a botched robbery, three brothers, one severely injured, burst into their mother’s house, only to find that she lost it months earlier in a foreclosure. The new owners (Jaime King and Frank Grillo) and their guests, gathered for an ill-timed birthday party, become the brothers' unwitting hostages. With the situation quickly devolving, the brothers have only one choice: call Mother (Rebecca De Mornay) to mastermind their escape. Director Darren Bousman, Rebecca DeMornay & Jaime King will be live in person.

RED (2010)

Director: Robert Schwentke, USA, Sneak Preview

Based on the cult D.C. Comics graphic novels RED is an explosive action-comedy starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren. Frank, Joe, Marvin and Victoria used to be the CIA’s top agents – but the secrets they know just made them the Agency’s top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history. Karl Urban (Star Trek, Lord of the Rings) will be live in person.

SPECIAL EVENT SCREENINGS

Class of 1984

Special screening to celebrate the debut of new book “DESTROY ALL MOVIES!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film” edited by Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly. More info on the book here.

The year is 1984. A rabid pack of rampaging punk teens run our schools, our drugs and our prostitutes. Brutality and decadence are everywhere. Enter first-year teacher Andrew Norris (Perry King), who’s forced to violently turn the tables on the bloodthirsty gang before their trashwave swallows the town alive. Writer/director Mark L. Lester’s reckless masterpiece debuted at Cannes Film Festival to severely divided reviews.

What detractors and many thrill-seeking fans both sadly overlooked was the fact that the movie had been done exactly right. Each actor turns in a memorable, convincing performance amid knifings and punk slam pits. Beloved ham Roddy McDowall pulls off what may have been his best scene of the decade. The film moves constantly forward at full speed, with humor and intelligent dialogue balancing out the horrors perpetrated by the vicious teens. Class of 1984 is a perfect exploitation film. It’s relentlessly seedy, overflowing with assault, suicide, racism, drug use and crime crime crime, all of which is perpetrated by minors! The tension of victimization and vengeance create some of the most stirring scenes of violent retribution on record. But beyond all this, there’s a bitterly absorbing air of human helplessness and leather-clad heartlessness that makes this movie the flat-out best in its genre.

Master Pancake Theater – Independence Day

During Fantastic Fest 6, the boys of Master pancake will be skewering the It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World of sci-fi disaster flicks. Featuring a massive cast of pretty good A-listers (Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum) and awesome B-listers (Judd Hirsch, Harry Connick Jr., and Brent "Data" Spiner) in the fight of their lives against a horde of invading aliens. Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle called ID4: "A gasping, bloated roller-coaster ride that veers from scenes of truly awesome destruction to stretches of numbingly bad melodrama and back again." The president himself, Bill Pullman, will be joining the Pancake team to mock the hell out of this bloated rollercoaster.

[NO PHOTO AVAILABLE]

Spaceballs Quote-Along

Mel Brooks' Star Wars parody is soooo much more than just a parody film, bursting with the sorts of jokes that the writers of all the recently-made and vastly inferior "spoof films" only wish they could dream up. If your Schwartz is as big as mine, you're probably uncomfortably excited with just the prospect of this show happening. Somewhere in space, Dot Matrix's virgin alarm is ringing loudly. For this special voyage of the Eagle V, Lone Star himself (Bill Pullman) will be live in person to kick off the fun.

[NO PHOTO AVAILABLE]

The Intergalactic Nemesis

The year is 1933. Pulitzer-winner Molly Sloan and her assistant Timmy Mendez are on the trail of a story so big, it's impossible to believe. The Intergalactic Nemesis is a truly unique live show. Imagine a modern spin on the radio serial that combines projections of 1250 hand-drawn comic illustrations, 3 voice actors performing a wide array of characters, a foley artist performing 100s of sound effects and an award winning pianist performing a riveting live score. You've never experienced anything like it!

ADDITIONAL FEATURE FILM OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

14 Blades (2010)

Director Daniel Lee, Hong Kong, Regional Premiere

Betrayed by his fellow Imperial bodyguard soldiers, Qinglong (Donny Yen) must seek out and rally the loyalists to rise and restore the Emperor to power. In his way are the deadliest assassins in the land, his former brethren, the Jinyiwei.

Bibliotheque Pascal (2010)

Director Szabolcs Hajdu, Hungary/France, Regional Premiere

In order to regain custody of her daughter, Mona sets off on a surreal journey that will take her to the shadowy world of sexual slavery in Bibliotheque Pascal, the strangest brothel you could ever conceive.

Cold Fish (2010)

Director: Sion Sono, Japan, Regional Premiere

Equal parts black humor and bloody dementia in this true crime portrait of a Japanese tropical fish dealer responsible for over forty murders.

A Horrible Way To Die (2010)

Director: Adam Wingard, USA, US Premiere

When a serial killer escapes from prison, the dangerous past of a young woman dealing with alcoholic rehab quickly begins to catch up with her. Director Adam Wingard will be live in person.

In the Attic (2009)

Director: Jiri Barta, Czech Republic, Regional Premiere

Courageous toys from an old suitcase undertake a dangerous journey through a forsaken attic to rescue their friend, Buttercup a beautiful doll who finds herself in the clutches of the all-powerful plaster Head, ruler of the Empire of Evil.

[NO PHOTO AVAILABLE]

The Last Circus (Balada Triste) (2010)

Director: Álex de la Iglesia, Spain, US Premiere

Álex de la Iglesia's genius for dark humor is at its most eloquent in his latest parody about the Spanish Civil War. Two clowns attack and disfigure one another in jealous rages over a beautiful dancer. In the name of love, they destroy the very object of their affection. Director Álex de la Iglesia will be live in person.

Mutant Girl Squad (2010)

Directors: Tak Sakaguchi, Noburu Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Japan, Regional Premiere

In 2009, Tak Sakaguchi (Be A Man! Samurai School), Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police) and Noboru Iguchi (Robogeisha), got drunk and vowed to make a movie together. One year later, here it is. This splatter-ific, fetishy, hyperactive take on the X-Men is going to shock, horrify and delight you. Director Yoshihiro Nishimura live in person.

Naan Kadavul (2009)

Director: Bala, India, North American Premiere

Naan Kadavul is like an Alejandro Jodorowsky version of a Bollywood movie. A long haired Vedic ubermensch burns corpses, lives in graveyards, smokes dope, beats up people, and proclaims himself to be God before he eventually become the savior to a collective of severely deformed beggars. Do not miss this film.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

Director: Jalmari Helander, Finland, US Premiere

Santa Claus is somewhat less than jolly - in fact, he's the stuff nightmares are made of - in Jalmari Helander's Rare Exports, an atmospheric and witty re-working of a cherished folk tale. Co-writer and co-creator Juuso Helander will be live in person.

Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission (2010)

Director: Mike Woolf, USA, Encore screening

Last year Richard Garriott became the first son of an astronaut to go to space, but this is no millionaire’s joy ride, he pioneered private space travel to make his dream come true: from his training in Russia to his launch in Kazahkstan to the dramatic, never before seen footage inside the capsule during fiery re-entry, this is a historic moment in human space travel. Richard Garriott live in person.

Summer Wars (2009)

Director: Mamoru Hosoda, Japan, Austin Premiere

When an online social networking community gets attacked by a piece of sentient malware that threatens to deliver a denial of service attack to the entire world, one girl and her massive extended family unites to restore peace to cyberspace. Gorgeously animated with tons of heart and soul to boot, Summer Wars is one of our favorite anime titles in recent years.

[NO PHOTO AVAILABLE]

Transfer (2010)

Director: Damir Lukacevic, France, North American Premiere

Herman and Anna, a wealthy aging couple decides to extend their lives by leasing the bodies of two young Africans. For one million euros, the Africans signed away their lives for 20 hours a day, but in the 4 hours a day they have back in their own bodies, they begin to regret the arrangement.

Fantastic Fest is the film festival with the boring parts cut out. Miss this one, and your regrets will agonize you for years to come. You have been warned.

For more info visit the official 2010 Fantastic Fest website.

- Uncle Creepy

VISIT THE EVILSHOP @ AMAZON!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Be fantastic in the comments section below!

Submitted by Uncle Creepy on Wed, 09/08/2010 - 4:24pm.

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Obama: Fox <b>News</b> Has A Point Of View That Is &#39;Ultimately <b>...</b>

President Obama has given a lengthy interview to Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner for the upcoming issue of the magazine. The cover story is titled Obama Fights Back and boy does he ever. At least where Fox News is concerned.

BR: Funny you say that — I referred to the NAR chief economist as Baghdad Bob in one of the “previously” links mentioned: Former NAR Economist David Lereah is a Jackass (January 6th, 2009)

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:11 am

If your stocked up on Insulin, try the ever sugary http://www.positiveonrealestate.com/ for your daily firehosing of rich, delicious Kool-Aid. You thought the NAR was hyper sunny. They’re simpletons compared to whomever runs this site.

You’ve been warned….

My .02c

Soylent Green Is People.

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:13 am

If you’re fully stocked with Insulin, try http://www.positiveonrealestate.com/ for a daily firehosing of rich, delicious Real Estate Kool-Aid. You think the NAR is hyper sunny? They’re simpletons compared to the people who run this site.

You’ve been fairly warned.

Soylent Green Is People.

ACS Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:32 am

How long before we reach Sanford’s step 12?

gavingunhold Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:45 am

I used to work at NAR. And I once time forwarded a blog post by Barry Ritholtz to Lawrence Yun, kind of just as a heads up. Lawrence was none too pleased. Heh.

JustinTheSkeptic Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:49 am

BR, you can continue with the “Bank Spin, Auto Company Spin, etc.” Take your pick….

rktbrkr Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:53 am

Take your pick…

“The manufacturing sector has maintained its momentum at least through August,” said Zach Pandl, an economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York. The report “makes clear the economy is not slipping into recession any time but it’s still reasonable to be concerned about where we’re heading over the next three to six months.”

General Motors Co.’s sales fell 25 percent last month and trailed analysts’ estimates, as the U.S. auto industry headed for its worst August in 28 years.

GM said deliveries fell to 185,176 from 246,479 last August, when the U.S. government’s “cash for clunkers” incentive program boosted sales.

Soylent Green Is People Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 11:56 am

Regrets for the double post. The first one did not show so I rewrote it again. I confess to my foolishness.

machinehead Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:02 pm

Since the time I bought my first house, the cry of the Realtor(TM) has been, ‘Buy now, before prices go up!’

They are Permabulls, like many Wall Street brokers — not to be taken seriously. Pay them for transacting, not for their stuck-clock market predictions.

And — until proven otherwise — don’t regard them as professionals. That’s what the idiot NAR has accomplished — to deprofessionalize the image of a group which includes some very dedicated people. It took the NAR decades of hard work to break into the circus-clown limelight. Take a bow, bozos!

lalaland Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:07 pm

I doubt it’s the NAR’s fault that people expect their homes to appreciate 10% a year. Nobody really pays attention to them outside the statistics junkies I would wager. I blame exactly the kind of stupidity that has proven to be rampant across all sectors of the economy. Oh, and, you know – unrelated – it’s time to go watch Dick Fuld.

Mark Wolfinger Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:16 pm

The news media eat up those NAR reports.

Surely you have contacts at the big media to whom you can pass along this report with the hope that someone does the right thing.

http://blog.mdwoptions.com/options_for_rookies/

Expat Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 12:21 pm

There is no one thing to blame for all this. The NAR is not the cause of the bubble. Wall Street is the proximate facilitator but not really the cause. Washington was a complicit beneficiary but not the cause. Assholes who bought homes that cost more than three times their income are victims and perpetrators but not truly guilty of anything but stupidity and gullibility. Lereah, Yun, and the NAR are in the unfortunate position of being mouthpieces for this mass hysteria so they are singled out.

But in reality, Lereah is no worse than any US president or member of congress when it comes to huge, important lies. What about the pope or any priest with a pulpit? The hellfire and brimstone, homophobic racists on the Bible Belt circuit? Imams calling for jihad. Etc.

Personally, I think the NAR is guilty of high crimes and treason against the US, having done more damage to our country than any blind or diabetic islamic terrorist. And what do we try to do to islamic terrorists? And what should we do to all members of the NAR? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

How the Common Man Sees It Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 1:03 pm

What do they expect when they are always selling houses as investments and not places to live? In the investing world RE is the equivalent of the summer resort if we are talking timing. What I’m saying is that the owners of a summer resort know their product is only marketable a few months out of the year and that is what they target for.

Do you think the folks in the RE industry and/or the NAR want to be telling folks their ‘investment dream’ is only a great deal a few years out of many in the investment cycle? NO! That would put them out of business for years until the crowds came back every cyclical summer

That’s not gonna happen

d4winds Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 1:31 pm

Red pill HGTV sounds like a fabulous idea–to replace that NAR of the “financial” TV, CNBC.

Julia Chestnut Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 3:04 pm

The NAR are liars, and they aren’t even very good at it. Lawrence Yun is a laughing stock. The people who need to be strung up are the corporate media outlets that just take the press releases full of whoppers along the lines of “cotton candy cures cancer!!!!!!!!” and reprinting it along side what passes for “news.”

Industry shills are industry shills and always have been. What has changed is any semblance of concern for truthful and accurate reporting of statistics, facts, and trends. Statistics, facts, and trends are considered so malleable these days, no one worries about what conflicts of interests the spinners may have – they just care how little they have to rewrite it from the NAR’s website before press/broadcast time.

Despicable.

TomL Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 4:35 pm

Why is that *every* article written by or quoting a real estate professional includes the refrain “It’s never been a better time to buy.” ?

Reminds me of the warning how do you know a politician is lying…

loganagent Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 6:55 pm

It’s so true I recently had an experience where the local newspaper quoted me, after I said that our local market was going to decline, in my blog: http://loganrealestate.blogspot.com/2010/02/number-of-logan-homes-for-sale.html The local Board President came to me and told me not to speak with the media anymore. He said those in leadership had special “training” in how to handle media.

The ironic thing is that my market falling predictions came true. But we don’t want the public to know the truth do we.

philipat Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 8:37 pm

The “Blue Pill” being Viagra. Or, in other words the NAR is saying “Up yours”?!!

Very appropriate!

IrvineRenter Says:



September 1st, 2010 at 9:30 pm

I have beaten up on RE agents a couple times over the last year:

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/realtors-treated-as-lackeys-and-maids-grovel-for-6/

and

http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/blog/comments/urgency-versus-reality-realtors-win-buyers-lose-14-jackson-irvine/

I totally agree with your assessment of the foolish way they operate. In fact, the growth of my side business as a broker is largely due to the fact that I refuse to spin BS the way they do.

BTW, thank you for the link yesterday. I greatly appreciate it, and I am flattered that you stop by and read my blog.

canoles Says:



September 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 am

“In other words, mislead the public with spin. Create false hope. Lie.” – Sir, that is NAR’s job as a trade association. Please name one trade association that does not do this.

The third wave of programming for the sixth edition of Fantastic Fest, happening September 23rd-30th in Austin, Texas, has been announced with the highlights being the US premiere of the hyper-stylized action film Bunraku, a sneak preview of Darren Bousman’s terrifying new horror-thriller Mother’s Day, and the world premiere of Agnosia, the latest film from Fantastic Fest 2005 alumnus Eugenio Mira.

A total of 20 films have been added in this latest wave, and we're including them all here, even if a few aren't strictly horror, just to give you an idea of how truly diverse Fantastic Fest is. For the other films screening that week, click here for all our Fantastic Fest 2010 coverage.

PREMIERE SCREENINGS

Agnosia (2010)

Director: Eugenio Mira, Spain, World Premiere

The producers of Pan’s Labyrinth and The Orphanage present a truly unique romantic thriller from Fantastic Fest veteran Eugenio Mira (The Birthday). “I’ve read few screenplays in my life that have impressed me as much as Agnosia,” said director Guillermo del Toro. Director Eugenio Mira will be live in person.

Bunraku (2010)

Director: Guy Moshe, USA, US Premiere

In a world with no guns, a mysterious drifter (Josh Hartnett), a young samurai and a bartender (Woody Harrelson) plot revenge against a ruthless leader (Ron Perlman) and his army of thugs, headed by nine diverse and deadly assassins. This visually stunning film is filled with uniquely choreographed action sequences of a new style that melds east with west and old school with new. Director Guy Moshe will be live in person.

Mother’s Day (2010)

Director Darren Bousman, USA, Sneak Preview

After a botched robbery, three brothers, one severely injured, burst into their mother’s house, only to find that she lost it months earlier in a foreclosure. The new owners (Jaime King and Frank Grillo) and their guests, gathered for an ill-timed birthday party, become the brothers' unwitting hostages. With the situation quickly devolving, the brothers have only one choice: call Mother (Rebecca De Mornay) to mastermind their escape. Director Darren Bousman, Rebecca DeMornay & Jaime King will be live in person.

RED (2010)

Director: Robert Schwentke, USA, Sneak Preview

Based on the cult D.C. Comics graphic novels RED is an explosive action-comedy starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren. Frank, Joe, Marvin and Victoria used to be the CIA’s top agents – but the secrets they know just made them the Agency’s top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history. Karl Urban (Star Trek, Lord of the Rings) will be live in person.

SPECIAL EVENT SCREENINGS

Class of 1984

Special screening to celebrate the debut of new book “DESTROY ALL MOVIES!!! The Complete Guide to Punks on Film” edited by Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly. More info on the book here.

The year is 1984. A rabid pack of rampaging punk teens run our schools, our drugs and our prostitutes. Brutality and decadence are everywhere. Enter first-year teacher Andrew Norris (Perry King), who’s forced to violently turn the tables on the bloodthirsty gang before their trashwave swallows the town alive. Writer/director Mark L. Lester’s reckless masterpiece debuted at Cannes Film Festival to severely divided reviews.

What detractors and many thrill-seeking fans both sadly overlooked was the fact that the movie had been done exactly right. Each actor turns in a memorable, convincing performance amid knifings and punk slam pits. Beloved ham Roddy McDowall pulls off what may have been his best scene of the decade. The film moves constantly forward at full speed, with humor and intelligent dialogue balancing out the horrors perpetrated by the vicious teens. Class of 1984 is a perfect exploitation film. It’s relentlessly seedy, overflowing with assault, suicide, racism, drug use and crime crime crime, all of which is perpetrated by minors! The tension of victimization and vengeance create some of the most stirring scenes of violent retribution on record. But beyond all this, there’s a bitterly absorbing air of human helplessness and leather-clad heartlessness that makes this movie the flat-out best in its genre.

Master Pancake Theater – Independence Day

During Fantastic Fest 6, the boys of Master pancake will be skewering the It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World of sci-fi disaster flicks. Featuring a massive cast of pretty good A-listers (Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum) and awesome B-listers (Judd Hirsch, Harry Connick Jr., and Brent "Data" Spiner) in the fight of their lives against a horde of invading aliens. Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle called ID4: "A gasping, bloated roller-coaster ride that veers from scenes of truly awesome destruction to stretches of numbingly bad melodrama and back again." The president himself, Bill Pullman, will be joining the Pancake team to mock the hell out of this bloated rollercoaster.

[NO PHOTO AVAILABLE]

Spaceballs Quote-Along

Mel Brooks' Star Wars parody is soooo much more than just a parody film, bursting with the sorts of jokes that the writers of all the recently-made and vastly inferior "spoof films" only wish they could dream up. If your Schwartz is as big as mine, you're probably uncomfortably excited with just the prospect of this show happening. Somewhere in space, Dot Matrix's virgin alarm is ringing loudly. For this special voyage of the Eagle V, Lone Star himself (Bill Pullman) will be live in person to kick off the fun.

[NO PHOTO AVAILABLE]

The Intergalactic Nemesis

The year is 1933. Pulitzer-winner Molly Sloan and her assistant Timmy Mendez are on the trail of a story so big, it's impossible to believe. The Intergalactic Nemesis is a truly unique live show. Imagine a modern spin on the radio serial that combines projections of 1250 hand-drawn comic illustrations, 3 voice actors performing a wide array of characters, a foley artist performing 100s of sound effects and an award winning pianist performing a riveting live score. You've never experienced anything like it!

ADDITIONAL FEATURE FILM OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

14 Blades (2010)

Director Daniel Lee, Hong Kong, Regional Premiere

Betrayed by his fellow Imperial bodyguard soldiers, Qinglong (Donny Yen) must seek out and rally the loyalists to rise and restore the Emperor to power. In his way are the deadliest assassins in the land, his former brethren, the Jinyiwei.

Bibliotheque Pascal (2010)

Director Szabolcs Hajdu, Hungary/France, Regional Premiere

In order to regain custody of her daughter, Mona sets off on a surreal journey that will take her to the shadowy world of sexual slavery in Bibliotheque Pascal, the strangest brothel you could ever conceive.

Cold Fish (2010)

Director: Sion Sono, Japan, Regional Premiere

Equal parts black humor and bloody dementia in this true crime portrait of a Japanese tropical fish dealer responsible for over forty murders.

A Horrible Way To Die (2010)

Director: Adam Wingard, USA, US Premiere

When a serial killer escapes from prison, the dangerous past of a young woman dealing with alcoholic rehab quickly begins to catch up with her. Director Adam Wingard will be live in person.

In the Attic (2009)

Director: Jiri Barta, Czech Republic, Regional Premiere

Courageous toys from an old suitcase undertake a dangerous journey through a forsaken attic to rescue their friend, Buttercup a beautiful doll who finds herself in the clutches of the all-powerful plaster Head, ruler of the Empire of Evil.

[NO PHOTO AVAILABLE]

The Last Circus (Balada Triste) (2010)

Director: Álex de la Iglesia, Spain, US Premiere

Álex de la Iglesia's genius for dark humor is at its most eloquent in his latest parody about the Spanish Civil War. Two clowns attack and disfigure one another in jealous rages over a beautiful dancer. In the name of love, they destroy the very object of their affection. Director Álex de la Iglesia will be live in person.

Mutant Girl Squad (2010)

Directors: Tak Sakaguchi, Noburu Iguchi, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Japan, Regional Premiere

In 2009, Tak Sakaguchi (Be A Man! Samurai School), Yoshihiro Nishimura (Tokyo Gore Police) and Noboru Iguchi (Robogeisha), got drunk and vowed to make a movie together. One year later, here it is. This splatter-ific, fetishy, hyperactive take on the X-Men is going to shock, horrify and delight you. Director Yoshihiro Nishimura live in person.

Naan Kadavul (2009)

Director: Bala, India, North American Premiere

Naan Kadavul is like an Alejandro Jodorowsky version of a Bollywood movie. A long haired Vedic ubermensch burns corpses, lives in graveyards, smokes dope, beats up people, and proclaims himself to be God before he eventually become the savior to a collective of severely deformed beggars. Do not miss this film.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

Director: Jalmari Helander, Finland, US Premiere

Santa Claus is somewhat less than jolly - in fact, he's the stuff nightmares are made of - in Jalmari Helander's Rare Exports, an atmospheric and witty re-working of a cherished folk tale. Co-writer and co-creator Juuso Helander will be live in person.

Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission (2010)

Director: Mike Woolf, USA, Encore screening

Last year Richard Garriott became the first son of an astronaut to go to space, but this is no millionaire’s joy ride, he pioneered private space travel to make his dream come true: from his training in Russia to his launch in Kazahkstan to the dramatic, never before seen footage inside the capsule during fiery re-entry, this is a historic moment in human space travel. Richard Garriott live in person.

Summer Wars (2009)

Director: Mamoru Hosoda, Japan, Austin Premiere

When an online social networking community gets attacked by a piece of sentient malware that threatens to deliver a denial of service attack to the entire world, one girl and her massive extended family unites to restore peace to cyberspace. Gorgeously animated with tons of heart and soul to boot, Summer Wars is one of our favorite anime titles in recent years.

[NO PHOTO AVAILABLE]

Transfer (2010)

Director: Damir Lukacevic, France, North American Premiere

Herman and Anna, a wealthy aging couple decides to extend their lives by leasing the bodies of two young Africans. For one million euros, the Africans signed away their lives for 20 hours a day, but in the 4 hours a day they have back in their own bodies, they begin to regret the arrangement.

Fantastic Fest is the film festival with the boring parts cut out. Miss this one, and your regrets will agonize you for years to come. You have been warned.

For more info visit the official 2010 Fantastic Fest website.

- Uncle Creepy

VISIT THE EVILSHOP @ AMAZON!

Got news? Click here to submit it!

Be fantastic in the comments section below!

Submitted by Uncle Creepy on Wed, 09/08/2010 - 4:24pm.

corporate reputation management company

Obama: Fox <b>News</b> Has A Point Of View That &#39;Is Ultimately <b>...</b>

President Obama hit out hard at Fox News in an interview with Rolling Stone. In the interview, which was released Tuesday, Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner asked Obama, "What do you think of Fox News?

Fox <b>News</b> Poll: GOPer Johnson Leads Feingold By 8 Points In WI-SEN <b>...</b>

The new Fox News poll of the Wisconsin Senate race has bad news for Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, with an eight-point lead for Republican businessman Ron Johnson.

Obama: Fox <b>News</b> Has A Point Of View That Is &#39;Ultimately <b>...</b>

President Obama has given a lengthy interview to Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner for the upcoming issue of the magazine. The cover story is titled Obama Fights Back and boy does he ever. At least where Fox News is concerned.

eric seiger

Obama: Fox <b>News</b> Has A Point Of View That &#39;Is Ultimately <b>...</b>

President Obama hit out hard at Fox News in an interview with Rolling Stone. In the interview, which was released Tuesday, Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner asked Obama, "What do you think of Fox News?

Fox <b>News</b> Poll: GOPer Johnson Leads Feingold By 8 Points In WI-SEN <b>...</b>

The new Fox News poll of the Wisconsin Senate race has bad news for Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, with an eight-point lead for Republican businessman Ron Johnson.

Obama: Fox <b>News</b> Has A Point Of View That Is &#39;Ultimately <b>...</b>

President Obama has given a lengthy interview to Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner for the upcoming issue of the magazine. The cover story is titled Obama Fights Back and boy does he ever. At least where Fox News is concerned.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

managing your personal finance

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A lot of people are unemployed in this country, 14.9 million as of the latest BLS release a couple of days ago, and for some of those people, this has become what is coyly referred to as ‘the entrepreneurial moment’, the ‘ah-ha’ light-bulb realization that if they don’t create a job for themselves, there will be no job, no income, no mortgage payment, no groceries, no light, no heat, no gas for the car, nuthin’. Since 2008, over 5 million jobs have been lost, many of which will never, ever come back.

Welcome to Labor Day, 2010.

Some of these ‘lost’ jobs have been outsourced overseas. Some have just been cut. Some companies are using their cash to invest in technologies which will insure that they will never have to hire these folks back, at least not with the skills that they had when they were given a cardboard box and five minutes to empty their desks and get out the front door.

If there are people out there who have or are considering building their own ‘life raft’ it would surprise absolutely no one; though for some folks, entrepreneurship is so scary, they can’t imagine anything other than hiring on to someone else’s deal, no matter how horrible it is.

Sometimes, though, you don’t have any choice. One thing to remember, is that many of the most successful entrepreneurs in this country have not invented fuel cells, high tech photovoltaic films, high speed transit, a cure for cancer (or the common cold), or the answer for peace in our time. They are cleaning houses, making pizza, fixing computers/ipods/iphones/cars/furnaces/plumbing/household electric, managing other people’s systems, giving advice, making clothing for people who are outside the common size ranges in the stores.

Not exactly operating a basement boiler room financial situation, doing crazy financial stuff, or stirring up the pot on international finance.

At its most basic, it’s local; at its most interesting, it might even be regional. But it is still person to person; it’s still me doing business with you. Face to face. My hands and brain doing stuff to help you. Some of this is amazingly low tech – some of it is almost medieval.

This week’s fascinating story comes from the New York Times about a family of knife sharpeners who have thrown a new curve on this ancient of trades by providing two sets of knives to butchers, restaurants, food services (in Yankee Stadium, for heaven’s sake), and calling on a weekly basis to pick up the used set and providing the newly sharpened set.

Anyone who does any real work in a kitchen at all knows that your most important tools are a good set of knives and a good frying and sauce pan. With those three things, you can do almost anything (and yes, I have made cookies in the bottom of a frying pan; thank you for asking), but if your knives are dull, cutting anything becomes horrible work and you can injure yourself badly. “Every week, the company visits more than 800 clients and collects more than 8,000 knives to be replaced with freshly sharpened blades. The service costs $2.50 to $3.50 per knife.

The business started servicing mainly butchers and meatpackers, in territories handed down from father to son. To preserve the business for his children, Mr. Ambrosi expanded it to restaurants and even Yankee Stadium, in some cases deviating from long-held tradition. Many cooks and chefs take personal pride in their knives and their ability to maintain them, and would hesitate to release them to anyone else’s care. But sharpening a knife takes time and skill — and not every chef has both.”

Having a skill and honing (sorry) that so that you can provide something that someone else can not (or will not) do, whether it is being an electrician, a plumber, a welder, a knife sharpener, a shoe repair shop, a hair dresser, whatever it is – can make the difference in today’s international economy between being able to make a living for your family and holding your head in your hands. One of America’s biggest mistakes as far as education is concerned (and others might just argue with me) is that we “jumped the shark” in terms of absorbing people coming out of colleges.

Since the 1980s, kids coming out of college have had fewer and lower level opportunities. Jobs which absorbed high schoolers, now require a 2 or 4 year degree; job that required a college degree started to require a masters degree; some jobs which required a college degree and some internal training, now require advanced degrees – I even know of jobs that now require a legal degree to be hired which 30 years ago required a college degree and passing a test. So much emphasis was placed on going to college – and vocational training and the trades were so downgraded and derided that any family with a kid with two brain cells to rub together would not even THINK of encouraging that kid to go into the trades, unless the family was already in the business.

We’re now at a situation where companies, which shot themselves in the foot by sending skilled jobs overseas and now want to bring them back because costs overseas have risen and/or they are tired of their intellectual property being stolen and sold to others, can’t find the skills they want. Not to put too fine a point on this – those same companies have not done any training themselves; nor are they willing to do so. They got into the habit a long time ago of pushing the investment in training off on others. The government for one.

The other, which has willingly and consistently provided training in the trades for years are the unions. Organized labor. The Great Satan of the industrial world. The guys everyone loves to hate. The organizations which, according to many employers, stand in their way of succeeding in business.

But still, the organization which has kept skills alive in this country despite outsourcing, overseas sourcing, attacks from business and government, and general antipathy from great swaths of the American population in certain parts of the country.

So. On this frankly very sad Labor Day, 2010, I’d like to thank the American Labor Movement for remembering what America and Americans do best and what we need to do on an increasing basis if we are to put people back to work – or if we are to have businesses to call our own: Do stuff with our hands.

Thanks folks. You’re not perfection, but you’re willing to invest in Americans.

Happy Labor Day

no big white booty

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big white booty

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personal finance money management

This post is from staff writer Sierra Black. Sierra writes about frugality, sustainable living, and getting her kids to eat kale at Childwild.com. This post is part of Book Week at Get Rich Slowly.

Since my twin victories of paying off our last credit card and funding a summer of travel, my husband has begun to show interest in personal finance.

It’s not that he wasn’t supportive of my efforts before — he just preferred to support them from a safe, ignorant distance. A distance from which I handed him an envelope of cash each week to do the grocery shopping, he didn’t ask too many questions, and somehow we were climbing out of debt. He was more than happy to adopt any frugal-living strategy I suggested, as long as he didn’t have to think about the Big Picture.

That system worked, but I longed for more active participation from him. Not only because I wanted us to share equally in the journey toward financial freedom — I do want that — but also for a selfish reason. I wanted him to participate because he’s better at this stuff than I am. He’s a whiz at spreadsheets. The man has a Ph.d in Physical Chemistry. You don’t get one of those without doing a few math problems.

Lately, I’ve been getting my wish. My husband has been talking with a financial advisor at the university he works for, and having clear, honest conversations with me about our money.

This seemed like the perfect time for me to read Mary Hunt’s How to Debt-Proof Your Marriage.

Relationship first

Hunt’s book covers the basics of personal finance and debt destruction, with a special focus on doing it as a couple. Before she even begins talking about financial management, Hunt talks about strengthening the foundations of your marriage. You can’t have financial harmony without emotional intimacy, she says.

I couldn’t agree more. It’s clear in my own marriage that spending time relaxing together on vacation helped my husband and me both chill out and have better conversations during our family finance meetings too.

Hunt and I part ways in the chapters about how to achieve that emotional intimacy, though. She bases her prescription for marital bliss on traditional gender roles. She includes chapters for each sex on how to make deposits in the other’s Love Bank — a metaphorical bank of goodwill made of small, loving gestures.

The Love Bank is an adorable idea, one I’m tempted to put into practice here in my own home. I’m pretty sure I won’t be making my deposits to my husband’s Love Bank by biting my tongue when I disagree with him, though. Likewise, I don’t expect him to express his love for me by bringing me flowers and handling all the tough decisions for me like the natural leader of our family should.

Hunt is a generation (or two) older than I am, and what works for her marriage is so foreign to my young, feminist mind that it was actually a little hard to read. But leaving aside the details of how you get to an intimate marriage, though, she and I agree wholeheartedly that it’s important to get your emotional needs met before you can effectively work together with your spouse to manage your finances.

Money second

The personal-finance half of the book will be familiar to most GRS readers. Hunt advocates an approach similar to Your Money or Your Life and Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, one that begins with calculating your net worth and tracking your expenses. From there, she covers the basics of setting up an emergency fund, creating a spending plan, and starting a debt snowball (though she uses different terms for these steps).

Like her ideal of a healthy relationship, Hunt’s financial advice seems a little dated in places. A lot of it has to do with how to organize your three-ring binders, or how to painstakingly accomplish by-hand calculations that Mint can do for you in a few minutes. If you’re a devotee of the pen-and-paper approach, though, her chapters on how to track and plan your spending are rock solid and detailed enough to easily follow.

The one thing in this book that made me want to put it down, run to my office, and implement it on the spot was, in fact, her filing system. Hunt takes a few pages to go over exactly what personal records you should be keeping, and outlines an elegant effective way to organize them. I spent an hour tearing apart my filing cabinet yesterday as soon as I read those pages. I may not want my marriage to look much like hers, but I’m delighted to have made over my filing cabinet in Mary Hunt’s image.

Different views

There are a few areas where Mary’s financial advice deviates from the usual Get Rich Slowly formula. One is the matter of the debt snowball. She encourages readers to start saving 10% of their income towards an emergency fund immediately, while still paying the minimums on their credit cards. Only after saving up a fully funded six-month emergency fund would Hunt advise you to roll those savings into your credit card payments.

Given the relative interest rates on credit cards and savings accounts, this approach will almost certainly cost you money. If it works for you psychologically, though, by all means pursue it. No matter what order you do them in, the key steps of tracking your spending, creating an emergency fund, and snowballing your debt payments will lead you to financial security.

Another place where she breaks with conventional wisdom is in her savings and spending ratios. GRS readers are familiar with the Balanced Money Formula that encourages us to use 50% of our money for living expenses, 30% for fun and 20% for savings. Hunt advises 10% for giving, 10% for saving and 80% for spending.

The order of those percentages is vital to her. A devout Christian, Hunt feels that all the money that comes into your life is a blessing from God, and promptly giving 10% of it back to God shows you can be trusted with this blessing, and more of it will come your way.

I’m not a Christian, but I admire Mary’s faith and devotion to charitable giving. It’s a goal of mine to give 10% of my income. I’ve written about that here before, and readers made a persuasive case for waiting until my debts were paid before giving so much away. For now, I give a modest amount and look forward to giving more in the future.

I think that for Hunt, the psychological benefits of giving 10% and saving 10% before you make any spending decisions at all outweigh the financial benefits of paying off your debts as fast as possible and then beginning to accumulate and donate wealth.

It’s an interesting approach, and one that might work for a lot of people. Particularly if you’re a devoted Christian and looking for a personal-finance book that reflects your values, you’ll find a lot of good in How to Debt-Proof Your Marriage. If you’re looking for a book that’s totally focused on financial savvy and relationship skills, though, this might not be your best bet.

This post is from staff writer Sierra Black. Sierra writes about frugality, sustainable living, and getting her kids to eat kale at Childwild.com. This post is part of Book Week at Get Rich Slowly.

Since my twin victories of paying off our last credit card and funding a summer of travel, my husband has begun to show interest in personal finance.

It’s not that he wasn’t supportive of my efforts before — he just preferred to support them from a safe, ignorant distance. A distance from which I handed him an envelope of cash each week to do the grocery shopping, he didn’t ask too many questions, and somehow we were climbing out of debt. He was more than happy to adopt any frugal-living strategy I suggested, as long as he didn’t have to think about the Big Picture.

That system worked, but I longed for more active participation from him. Not only because I wanted us to share equally in the journey toward financial freedom — I do want that — but also for a selfish reason. I wanted him to participate because he’s better at this stuff than I am. He’s a whiz at spreadsheets. The man has a Ph.d in Physical Chemistry. You don’t get one of those without doing a few math problems.

Lately, I’ve been getting my wish. My husband has been talking with a financial advisor at the university he works for, and having clear, honest conversations with me about our money.

This seemed like the perfect time for me to read Mary Hunt’s How to Debt-Proof Your Marriage.

Relationship first

Hunt’s book covers the basics of personal finance and debt destruction, with a special focus on doing it as a couple. Before she even begins talking about financial management, Hunt talks about strengthening the foundations of your marriage. You can’t have financial harmony without emotional intimacy, she says.

I couldn’t agree more. It’s clear in my own marriage that spending time relaxing together on vacation helped my husband and me both chill out and have better conversations during our family finance meetings too.

Hunt and I part ways in the chapters about how to achieve that emotional intimacy, though. She bases her prescription for marital bliss on traditional gender roles. She includes chapters for each sex on how to make deposits in the other’s Love Bank — a metaphorical bank of goodwill made of small, loving gestures.

The Love Bank is an adorable idea, one I’m tempted to put into practice here in my own home. I’m pretty sure I won’t be making my deposits to my husband’s Love Bank by biting my tongue when I disagree with him, though. Likewise, I don’t expect him to express his love for me by bringing me flowers and handling all the tough decisions for me like the natural leader of our family should.

Hunt is a generation (or two) older than I am, and what works for her marriage is so foreign to my young, feminist mind that it was actually a little hard to read. But leaving aside the details of how you get to an intimate marriage, though, she and I agree wholeheartedly that it’s important to get your emotional needs met before you can effectively work together with your spouse to manage your finances.

Money second

The personal-finance half of the book will be familiar to most GRS readers. Hunt advocates an approach similar to Your Money or Your Life and Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, one that begins with calculating your net worth and tracking your expenses. From there, she covers the basics of setting up an emergency fund, creating a spending plan, and starting a debt snowball (though she uses different terms for these steps).

Like her ideal of a healthy relationship, Hunt’s financial advice seems a little dated in places. A lot of it has to do with how to organize your three-ring binders, or how to painstakingly accomplish by-hand calculations that Mint can do for you in a few minutes. If you’re a devotee of the pen-and-paper approach, though, her chapters on how to track and plan your spending are rock solid and detailed enough to easily follow.

The one thing in this book that made me want to put it down, run to my office, and implement it on the spot was, in fact, her filing system. Hunt takes a few pages to go over exactly what personal records you should be keeping, and outlines an elegant effective way to organize them. I spent an hour tearing apart my filing cabinet yesterday as soon as I read those pages. I may not want my marriage to look much like hers, but I’m delighted to have made over my filing cabinet in Mary Hunt’s image.

Different views

There are a few areas where Mary’s financial advice deviates from the usual Get Rich Slowly formula. One is the matter of the debt snowball. She encourages readers to start saving 10% of their income towards an emergency fund immediately, while still paying the minimums on their credit cards. Only after saving up a fully funded six-month emergency fund would Hunt advise you to roll those savings into your credit card payments.

Given the relative interest rates on credit cards and savings accounts, this approach will almost certainly cost you money. If it works for you psychologically, though, by all means pursue it. No matter what order you do them in, the key steps of tracking your spending, creating an emergency fund, and snowballing your debt payments will lead you to financial security.

Another place where she breaks with conventional wisdom is in her savings and spending ratios. GRS readers are familiar with the Balanced Money Formula that encourages us to use 50% of our money for living expenses, 30% for fun and 20% for savings. Hunt advises 10% for giving, 10% for saving and 80% for spending.

The order of those percentages is vital to her. A devout Christian, Hunt feels that all the money that comes into your life is a blessing from God, and promptly giving 10% of it back to God shows you can be trusted with this blessing, and more of it will come your way.

I’m not a Christian, but I admire Mary’s faith and devotion to charitable giving. It’s a goal of mine to give 10% of my income. I’ve written about that here before, and readers made a persuasive case for waiting until my debts were paid before giving so much away. For now, I give a modest amount and look forward to giving more in the future.

I think that for Hunt, the psychological benefits of giving 10% and saving 10% before you make any spending decisions at all outweigh the financial benefits of paying off your debts as fast as possible and then beginning to accumulate and donate wealth.

It’s an interesting approach, and one that might work for a lot of people. Particularly if you’re a devoted Christian and looking for a personal-finance book that reflects your values, you’ll find a lot of good in How to Debt-Proof Your Marriage. If you’re looking for a book that’s totally focused on financial savvy and relationship skills, though, this might not be your best bet.

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