Cracked: 5 Homeless Guys Who Accomplished Amazing Things

Excerpt:

Formerly a businessman who lost every penny he had and apparently went over the edge as a result, Norton proclaimed himself “His Imperial Majesty Emperor Norton I.” He declared that he was the Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico back in 1859. He reigned for over 20 years, walking the streets of San Francisco in full military uniform on a daily basis.

He was known for making proclamations and giving orders on how the country was to be run, such as issuing an order that Congress be dissolved by force, demanding that a League of Nations be formed and that a bridge be built connecting Oakland to San Francisco. Is it a coincidence that two of those things have since happened? Well, yeah probably.

I even found a book about this guy… there are probably others.

And maybe we can use some of these ideas about learning to become superheroes in 2009.

Also, I updated a previous economic post with some new material I’ve scrounged over the past few weeks.

This is the sort’ve common sense Ross Perot brought to the state of the union in 92 (as well as Ron Paul in 2007 before anyone was talking about the economy). It makes you wonder how someone can be so different (some would say insane) while campaigning but become so reasonable when outside of the political sphere.

Also, now that there’s (about to be) a Democrat in office, Jon Stewart asks, “Who will be the administration’s mouthpiece, and what will Fox News do?”:

And, finally (via Kottke), Roger Ebert rails against the media’s celebrity worship.

The AP, long considered obligatory to the task of running a North American newspaper, has been hit with some cancellations lately, and no doubt has been informed what its customers want: Affairs, divorces, addiction, disease, success, failure, death watches, tirades, arrests, hissy fits, scandals, who has been “seen with” somebody, who has been “spotted with” somebody, and “top ten” lists of the above. (Celebs “seen with” desire to be seen, celebs “spotted with” do not desire to be seen.)

The CelebCult virus is eating our culture alive, and newspapers voluntarily expose themselves to it. It teaches shabby values to young people, festers unwholesome curiosity, violates privacy, and is indifferent to meaningful achievement. One of the TV celeb shows has announced it will cover the Obama family as “a Hollywood story.” I want to smash something against a wall.

If you’re curious about how Lehman Brothers, AIG, and other big insurance and investment firms have failed, you could do worse than listening to Mr. Hirsch. If you only have time for a few videos, I recommend watching the pieces on Collateralized Debt Obligations and Credit Default Swaps and the excellent 60 Minute specials linked below as well. All the videos will make your knowledge quite formidable and probably help you lose sleep.

If you want to dig really deep into the fundamentals, Chris Martenson’s Crash Course is the best material you will find.  I’m trying to keep the resources mentioned here relegated to the more politically neutral, as issues surrounding economics and energy can be very politically divisive, however, you’ll see some editorializing from commentators here and there. Use your own brain to make judgments though!

Understanding Collateralized Debt Obligations

Crisis explainer: Uncorking CDOs from Marketplace on Vimeo.

Understanding Credit Default Swaps

Untangling credit default swaps from Marketplace on Vimeo.

The Credit Crisis as Antarctic Expedition

The credit crisis as Antarctic expedition from Marketplace on Vimeo.

Understanding Naked Short Selling

Getting naked in short selling from Marketplace on Vimeo.

Understanding the Exchange Market versus the Over the Counter Market

Over-the-counter, over the top from Marketplace on Vimeo.

Excellent 60 Minutes specials on Credit Default Swaps and AIG (Where was this reporting two years ago?)

Wall-Street’s Shadow Market

The Bet that Blew Up Wall-Street

A Second Mortgage Disaster on the Horizon?

Where to Follow Ongoing Economic News

These sources have been much more reliable than the mainstream media, as I was following a few of these well before “The Credit Crisis” was a christened term.

• Mish Hedlock
• Michael Panzner
• Chris Martenson
• George Ure
• Automatic Earth
• Solari
• James Kunstler (Updated every Monday. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes depressing, always controversial, but usually right about Big Picture issues.)

The End

And once you feel like you’ve learned enough to be dangerous, you can read Michael Lewis’s homage to Wall-Street: The End. Michael Lewis is probably the best financial writer out there, and one of the better writers period — and this piece is mind-blowing.

Updated: 12/21/2008:

Not to be outdone, Niall Ferguson, author of The Ascent of Money, writes Wall-Street Lays Another Egg.

Also, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan, on PBS is worth the watch.

Wouldn’t life be boring if there were never any challenges?