HEROES & WHORES

With the new Netflix documentary about the Madoff fraud out, I thought reposting my take on the Wall Street scumbags who perpetuated this fraud and the corrupt losers at the SEC who turned a blind eye, would be worthwhile. Written 5 years ago.

“Certainly one of the most important things I learned is that numbers can be deceiving. There is a logic to mathematics, but there is also the underlying human element that must be considered. Numbers can’t lie, but the people who create those numbers can and do. As so many people have learned, forgetting to include human nature in an equation can be devastating.”Harry Markopolos, No One Would Listen

Harry Markopolos: The man who hunted Madoff - Feb. 25, 2010

The quote I used from Harry Markopolos’ No One Would Listen book about the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme in my last article triggered a bittersweet recollection. For me, the experience captured the true nature of our warped financial markets, a culture  glorifying wealthy arrogant criminal assholes, while ignoring or ridiculing honest, hard working, highly intelligent truth tellers.

Continue reading “HEROES & WHORES”

JERSEY BOYS

My mom had not been to a movie theater since seeing Meet the Parents with my dad in 2000. His prolonged battle with alzheimers made it impossible. My sister took her to see Jersey Boys on stage a couple years ago. She hinted strongly that she wanted to see the new movie, directed by Clint Eastwood. So, we piled into the minivan last night and drove to Rio Grande to see the movie.

It was well worth the trip. I love The Four Seasons music. It is timeless and holds up to this day. I didn’t know the back story behind the band. It was a fascinating character analysis. Clint Eastwood should be up for best director, and the movie should get Oscar consideration. The musical numbers were fantastic. Even my teenage sons liked the movie and the music.

John Lloyd Young as Franky Valli does an outstanding job. His singing is as close as you can get to Franky Valli’s unmistakeable sound. Christopher Walken is funny and understated as the man behind the scenes, protecting the group. Vincent Piazza does a great job as the bad boy that breaks up the group. I bet you didn’t know Joe Pesci had a major role in the formation of the Four Seasons.

Of course, Avalon had a personal connection to the movie. On one of her Daily Show excursions to NYC a month ago, her and her friend entered an unassuming Irish Pub and sat at the bar. The guy next to them asked if they wanted to play some sort of dice game. They said sure. Eventually his girlfriend arrived and they continued to talk. The girlfriend then revealed that his name was Donnie Kehr and he was in the Jersey Boys movie, after appearing in the Broadway version. He played the mob guy who Tommy owed $162,000. It’s a small world for Avalon.

Here are some of my favorite Four Seasons tunes on Fourth of July: