“When a person knows and can’t make the others understand, what does he do?. . . Get drunk, huh? . . . But listen! Wherever you look there’s meanness and corruption. This room, this bottle of grape wine, these fruits in the basket, are all products of profit and loss. A fellow can’t live without giving his passive acceptance to meanness. Somebody wears his tail to a frazzle for every mouthful we eat and every stitch we wear–and nobody seems to know. Everybody is blind, dumb, and blunt-headed–stupid and mean.”
The angry Mr. Jake Blount, Carson McCullers “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”

BTW: there’s a Blue Moon on NY Eve. Maybe it’s a good sign? I can only hope.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/29dec_bluemoon.htm

This is a site where the replies are often just as encouraging, and this thread has a number of profound observations. I’m stoked.

“Everything evolves.” – Bruce Lee

“Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them, well…I have others.”
-Groucho Marx

“In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “If you don’t work you die.”

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four—
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man—
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began:—
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool’s bandaged finger goes wobbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!”

I’d have too say, it seems, after much research, Federal Reserve and Central banks cannot stop the cycle of booms and busts, or irrational exuberance, or utter gloom, yet, since there creation one could say they totally influence the focus of the global mind.

I often say you can describe humanity in one word….progress.

So, we’ve gone from Tulip Mania, which produced nothing for humanity too a better global focus. In the 1860′s it was railroads, in the 20′s it was electricity, auto’s, planes, phones………….in the ’90′s, computers, cell phones, the internet………….in the 00′s, globalization and standards of worldwide living are in the forefront………………….now one thing you can say, at least these irrationalities were here too stay and money well spent…………….of course, only in hindsight.