banking. the pain in our society's ass.
"bürgen sie nie! und wenn sie doch dazu bereit sind, weil sie ihrem ehepartner oder ihrem kind damit helfen wollen, dann verlangen sie von ihrer bank oder sparkasse vor ihrer unterschrift eine wahrheitsgemäße und umfassende aufklärung über ihre bürgschaftsrisiken. die muss ihnen die bank geben – am besten schriftlich, notfalls in gegenwart ihres rechtsanwaltes oder steuerberaters." – schutzgemeinschaft für bankkunden e.v.
while preparing his high school graduation a good friend was persuaded to bail for the parents to grant them a huge credit from the bank. murphy rearing his ugly head, the unexpected hit the fan and now he will pay back the parent's debt his whole life long. except he will make a large amount of money at once.
remarkable besides the irresponsibility or at least naïveté of the parents regarding their innocent child, human destiny and money issues in general, is the incredibly perky immorality of the banking system. but is it not the real power that governs, anyway? in fact, they do decide on the existence of even the most inconsiderable citizens without any democratic legitimation.
you can bet that the issue already has had its psychological effects on his personal state of mind and even has put some tension on the relationship to his long-time girl-friend. all the best wishes from me.
still reading and evaluating...
thomas h. greco, jr.: transforming the planet through alternative economy.
the josef hasslberger page: "economy and social organisation – current economic policy is rotten. that is the simple and direct message we can glean from a study of economic and monetary matters against historical sources and against the backdrop of social organisation in our time, which is conditionedt o a large degree by economy".
transaction.net: how money systems work.
alternative ökonomie?! with a newsletter collection of the monetary freedom network.
ratenkredit-vergleich.de: "mehr als 75% aller kreditgesuche in deutschland werden durch die banken abgesagt. eine dramatische zahl." (please also note the advertising for dr. klein & co. ratenkredite).
how to write english letters.
sex and politics and rock'n'roll: popo.at is result #9 when searching google for "titten". found via referrer stats.
today for the first time i held a one euro (or "öro" for the austrian at heart, heheh) coin in my hand. just to let you know.
it looks quite ugly. like its paper siblings do. it is just much heavier, unlike its soon-to-be ancient uncles. but hey, it's just money. it does not have to be beautiful. it's good to have it. no need to worship.
"when the going gets tough the tough goes shopping to buy something a little nothing to fill up the hole in his heart." – tuxedo moon, "egypt".
"memento". a classic movie with a first class website. i have seen it two weeks ago or so. totally gravitating. "lost highway" without the jade perfume commercial gusto (ie. better).
two great links at schoda: "friede ist nicht selbstverständlich" (peace is not granted) illustrates the austrian army.
a real illustrator is worth a kingdom, then: pet gotohda, "an aspiring young man manoeuvers his way into the heart of a heteropteran".
an emphasising example of the previous posting: once in a while the word "razzamatazz" crossed my way. e.g. in the lyrics of meat beat manifesto's "99%".
at the time, i was not able to translate the word or find out its meaning (hey, me no internet in 1990). it became a myth to me just as i became more and more excited about it. writing the previous lines it sprung back into my mind to finally get solved step by step.
in the end, razzamatazz also stands for "a confusing or colorful often gaudy action or display". but then, what a disappointment.
pimi pointed me to this part of the warp website showing slightly photoshopped portraits. a something (show? group? project?) called "blue jam", a guy whose name is chris morris and these faces. slightly disturbing, too.
as usual when i stumble over something i hardly comprehend, yet, at least not in these tiny time frames we got used to being occupied by communication technologies at the speed of light, when something is as bewildering as it is deeply fascinating, but i don't get the secret i suspect behind it, it makes me even more willing to figure it out but also a little bit furious. not to mention that the alleged secret could turn out to be another most disenchanting mock (like those bloody sea monkeys).
so here's a source that at least describes something about chris morris, his radio show "blue jam" and why it is related to warp records.
probably, if i was in front of a radio at a time and a place such shows are broadcast, if i could participate a little more often, then i could take it easier. probably.
jeff goodell: "the rise and fall of apple computer", part 1 & 2.
jeff goodell regularly writes for rolling stone and the new york times magazine.