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STOCK MARKET --- STONES --- STORIES
STRANGE --- STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
STRANGERS

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STOCK MARKET

see "CAPITALISM" for related links
see "MONEY" for related links


A stockbroker is someone who invests
other people's money until it's all gone.
--attributed to a href="http://www.filmmakers.com/artists/woodyallen/biography/index.htm">Woody Allen [Allen Stewart Konigsberg] (1935— )
American actor, screenwriter, and director.

Investment must be rational. If you can't
understand it, don't do it.
--Warren Buffett (1930— )
American businessman.
In _Wit and Wisdom from the World's Greatest Investor_,
ed. Janet Lowe [1997].

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Men have been swindled by other men on many occasions.
The autumn of 1929 was, perhaps, the first occasion when
men succeeded on a large scale in swindling themselves.
--John Kenneth Galbraith (1908—2006)
American economist.
_The Great Crash, 1929_ [1955]


By eleven o'clock [24 October 1929] the market had degenerated
into a wild, mad scramble to sell. In the crowded boardrooms across
the country the ticker told of a frightful collapse ... By eleven thirty
the market had surrendered to blind, relentless fear. This, indeed,
was panic.
--John Kenneth Galbraith (1908—2006)
American economist.
_The Great Crash, 1929_ [1955]

The Crash of 1929

-

^

Jay Gould (1836—1892)
American financier and railroad magnate.

The rector of Gould's church sought the magnate's
advice concerning the investment of his life's
savings, amounting to about $30,000. Gould
suggested, in the strictest confidence, that he
should buy Missouri Pacific. The preacher followed
this advice and the stock began to rise steadily,
only to fall disastrously some months later. The
preacher complained to Gould that he had lost
all his savings. He was somewhat taken aback
when Gould promptly presented him with a check
for $40,000 to cover his looses. Guiltily he
confessed that he had also told several members
of his congregation about Gould's tip. 'Oh, I know
that,' said Gould. 'They were the ones I was after.'

--_Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes_
edited by Clifton Fadiman and Andrι Bernard [2000 ed.]

^

How do we know when irrational exuberance has unduly escalated
[stock market] values, which then become subject to unexpected
and prolonged contractions as they have in Japan over the last
decade?
--Alan Greenspan (1926— )
American economist and former Chairman of the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve [1987—2006].

The 88% rise in Microsoft stock in 1996
meant [Bill Gates] made on paper more
than $10.9 billion, or about $30 million
a day. That makes him the world's richest
person, by far. But he's more than that.
He has become the Edison and Ford of our
age. A technologist turned entrepreneur,
he embodies the digital era.
--Walter Isaacson (1952— )
American journalist and author.
"In Search of the Real Bill Gates"
"Time" [13 January 1997]

^

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917—1963)
American politician, 35th President of
the United States [1961-1963].

Shortly after Kennedy blocked the hike in steel
prices in 1961, he was visited by a businessman
who expressed wariness about the national
economy. 'Things look great,' said JFK. 'Why,
if I wasn't President, I'd be buying stock myself.'

'If you weren't President,' said the businessman,
'so would I.'

--_Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes_
edited by Clifton Fadiman and Andrι Bernard [2000 ed.]

^

[Widespread] speculation for profit leads away from normal, rational
behavior to what has been described as 'manias' or 'bubbles.' The
word 'mania' emphasizes the irrationality; 'bubble' foreshadows the
bursting.
--Charles P. Kindleberger (1910—2003)
American economist, teacher, and author.
_Manias, Panics and Crashes_ [1978]

For example, in any large stockbroker's office
there is a modern medicine man known as "Mr.
Odd Lots." His magical function is to study the
daily purchases and sales of the small buyers
on the big exchanges. Long experience has shown
that these small buyers are wrong 80 per cent
of the time. A statistical profile of the failure
of the little man to be in touch enables the big
operators to be about 80 per cent right. Thus
from error comes truth; and from poverty, riches,
thanks to numbers.
--H. (Herbert) Marshall McLuhan (1911—1980)
Canadian professor and author.
_Understanding Media_ [1964]

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kap posting to USENET:

[. . . ] A few years ago I wanted to get my kids interested in the stock market
so I got a bunch of books from the library; condensed each one into 15-20
typewriten pages, and sent the 'book reports' to my two kids. I must have
sent them 20 reports which took me about 6 months to complete. Anyway,
after about the 5th report, I thought, "Let me see if either of them is reading
these."

So early on in the 5th report I listed six or so assets and said, "whichever of
you can tell me which asset is worth the most wins all six." Then I listed them:

1 share of General Electric
500 Mexican pesos
6 ounces of silver
etc.

All they had to do was to look up the values in the newspaper — it would have
taken them less than thirty minutes. Alas, neither called. About a year later I
told the both of them what I had done, and we had a good laugh. But even
then neither of them got back to me — because they must have thrown the
darn things away.

--kap

-

Anyone who thinks there's safety in numbers
hasn't looked at the stock market pages.
--Irene Peter (b. 1945 )
American writer.

It's just as I have been constantly telling you, 'Don't gamble'; take
all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes
up, then sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it.
--Will Rogers [William Penn Adair Rogers] (1879—1935)
American humorist and actor.
[31 October 1929], two days after the stock market crash,
in _The Autobiography of Will Rogers_.

Wall Street indexes predicted nine
out of the last five recessions.
--Paul Samuelson (1915— )
American economist,
winner of the 1970 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics.
Column in "Newsweek" [19 September 1966].

Wer gar zu viel bedenkt, wird wenig leisten.
(He that is overcautious will accomplish nothing.)
--Friedrich von Schiller (1759—1805)
German poet, historian, and dramatist.
_Wilhelm Tell_ [1804]

Wall Street Lays an Egg.
--Sime Silverman (1873—1933)
Founder and editor of "Variety."
(Headline on the stock market crash [October 1929].)

The question is not whether an
earthquake will occur. It will.
The only question is when, and
whether it occurs as one big
shock or as a series of smaller
shocks that do less damage. But
when conditions have existed for
a long period of time and nothing
happens, humans, being human,
begin to believe that it is
possible to defy economic gravity
forever.... But let no one doubt
that this earthquake will
happen.... The forces on each
side of the fault are enormous.
--Lester Thurow (1938— )
American economist and author.
_The Future of Capitalism_ [1995],
in "Asia: The Collapse and the Cure"
_New York Review of Books_ [5 February 1998].

October. This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months
to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January,
September, April, November, May, March, June, December,
August and February.
--Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835—1910)
American humorist, novelist, journalist, and river pilot.




Click picture to ZOOM
STONES
(WILL BREAK YOUR BONES)

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.

see "DIFFICULTIES"


Anyone who proposes to do good must not expect people
to roll stones out of his way, but must accept his lot
calmly, even if they roll a few more upon it.
--Albert Schweitzer (1875—1965)
Franco-German theologian, philosopher, and mission doctor.

He always praises the first production of each
season, being reluctant to stone the first cast.
--Walter Winchell (1897—1972)
American journalist.

-----

lapidary [LAP-uh-dair-ee], adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to the art of cutting stones or engraving
on them.
2. Engraved in stone.
3. Of or pertaining to the refined or terse style associated
with inscriptions on monumental stone.
4. One who cuts, polishes, and engraves precious stones.
5. A dealer in precious stones.




STORIES

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see "EXPERIENCE"
see: "MEMORIES"
see "COMMUNICATION" for other related links


There is no greater agony than bearing
an untold story inside you.
--Maya Angelou (1928— )
American author and poet.

There are only two or three human stories,
and they go on repeating themselves as
fiercely as if they had never happened
before.
--Willa Silbert Cather (1873—1947)
American novelist.
_O Pioneers!_ [1913] pt. II, ch. 4

Dead men tell no tales.
--John Dryden (1631—1700)
English poet, critic, and dramatist.
_Absalom and Achitophel_ [1681]

It is tedious to tell again
tales already plainly told.
--Homer (c. 850? BC)
Greek epic poet.
_The Iliad_, bk. XII

... a really quite likely story, founded, to a certain
extent, on an all but true episode, which had actually
happened in a modified degree some years ago to friends
of ours.
--Jerome K Jerome (1859—1927)
English novelist and playwright.

The man scarce lives who is not more credulous than he
ought to be, and who does not, upon many occasions, give
credit to tales, which not only turn out to be perfectly false,
but which a very moderate degree of reflection and attention
might have taught him could not well be true. The natural
disposition is always to believe. It is acquired wisdom and
experience only that teach incredulity, and they very seldom
teach it enough. The wisest and most cautious of us all
frequently gives credit to stories which he himself is
afterwards both ashamed and astonished that he could
possibly think of believing.
--Adam Smith (1723—1790)
Scottish economist.
_The Theory of Moral Sentiments_ [1759], pt. VII , sec. IV

That's another story, replied my father.
--Laurence Sterne (1713—1768)
English novelist.
_Tristram Shandy_ [1760]

Ay, now the plot thickens very
much upon us.
--George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
(1628—1687) English politician.
_The Rehearsal_ [written 1663, performed 1671]

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DID I TELL YOU ABOUT THE TIME...

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jeremiad [jair-uh-MY-uhd], noun:
A tale of sorrow, disappointment, or complaint;
a doleful story; also, a dolorous or angry tirade.

raconteur (noun):
One who excels in telling stories and anecdotes.
Korda's tone of voice is affectionate and urbane, his manner
that of the accomplished raconteur who never spoils the
story with a heavy-handed moral, relying for his effect on
the telling anecdote and the apt phrase.
--Lewis Lapham, "Adventures in the Book Trade,"
_New York Times_, [23 May 1999]





STRANGE

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see: "WEIRD"


No affectation of peculiarity can conceal a commonplace mind.
--W. Somerset Maugham (1874—1965)
English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer.
_The Moon and Sixpence_ [1919], ch. 17

All the world is queer save me and thee; and sometimes
I think thee is a little queer.
--Attributed to a Quaker, speaking to his wife

Five thousand copies of Steinbeck's novel _The
Wayward Bus_ were destroyed by fire when the truck
carrying them from the bindery was involved in a
collision. The cause of the accident was a wayward
bus, traveling on the wrong side of the road.
--Book-of-the-Month Club News [May 1947]

-----

aberrant [a-BERR-unt; AB-ur-unt], adj.:
Markedly different from an accepted norm;
Deviating from the ordinary or natural type; abnormal.

crotchet (noun)
An odd, whimsical, or stubborn notion.
Synonyms: oddity, queerness, quirk

eldritch [EL-drich], adjective:
Strange; unearthly; weird; eerie.
Ex. 1 : In the eldritch light of evening in Nevada's Black Rock
Desert, the eye plays tricks on the brain.
--Thom Stark, "Something's Burning,"
_Boardwatch_ [November 2000]




STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

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No matter what side of the argument you are on,
you always find people on your side that you
wish were on the other.
--Jascha Heifetz (1901—1987)
Russian-born American violinist.





STRANGERS

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Strangers . . . are just family you have yet to come
to know.
--Mitch Albom (1958— )
American sportswriter, novelist and newspaper columnist.
_The Five People You Meet in Heaven_ [2003],
"The First Lesson"

Call no man foe, but never love a stranger.
--Stella Benson (1892—1933)
English novelist and poet.

I do desire we may be better strangers.
--William Shakespeare (1564—1616)
English dramatist.
_As You Like It_ [1599]

^

Paul Verlaine (1844—1896)
French poet.

Poet and painter F.A. Cazals, a friend of Verlaine,
arranged to meet the poet at a cafι, but was
unavoidably late. When he finally did arrive, he
was a trifle nervous, for Verlaine drunk was
unpreditable. A mutual friend met Cazals at the
door and warned him that Verlaine, hopelessly
drunk, was 'furious with you.' Cazals entered to
find Verlaine surrounded by his acolytes, but a
little less drunk than he had been described.
Cazals took courage: 'I hear that you were
abusing me just a few minutes ago.'

'Who told you that?' cried the furious Verlaine.

'Somebody you don't know,' replied Cazals
prudently.

'Somebody I don't know!' exclaimed Verlaine.
He began to weave his way through the
crowded cafι. 'I'm going outside, and the
first passerby I don't know, I'll--I'll-- *smash
his jaw*!'

--_Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes_
edited by Clifton Fadiman and Andrι Bernard [2000 ed.]

^

I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.
--Tennessee Williams [Thomas Lanier Williams] (1911—1983)
American dramatist.
Blanche DuBois' final words, in "A Streetcar Named Desire".


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