Deafening Silence

Hallowe'en Roundup, 2011

Given how scary real life has become, Hallowe'en seems a little unnecessary this year.  But, good years and bad, the calendar's pages continue to turn, so here goes:

(Image Credit: BA Daily)

 To start with, Bon Appetit Daily is running a post on Tru Blood, the imaginary blood substitute offered to metrosexual hillbilly vampires on HBO.  Apparently, someone has actually created and bottled a beverage by that name, and BA Daily gives it a review:

One bottle has a normal amount of sugar for soda, somewhere around 34 grams, but for some reason they decided to pile in a bunch of sucralose on top, too (the stuff of Splenda), along with caffeine, taurine, and some other energy drink junk that'll probably give you a monster headache. The flavor is called "Blood Orange," which, cute, but it actually tastes a little more like orange soda/Fresca suicide, or as our brave web producer/taster Erik Peterson described it, "Orangina plus a lot of Flintstones vitamins."

Vampires on energy drinks.  Heaven help us all.

This Tru Blood marketing campaign strikes me as a symbol of all that's gone wrong with Hallowe'en.  Like Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day, Hallowe'en used to be a 'micro-holiday'- a quick break in the routine without the demands of, say Christmas.  Now, according to WBUR's Here and Now (among other sources) it's big business:

The people who crunch the numbers on holiday spending say Halloween is an increasingly important day for retailers. The National Retail Federation says shoppers will spend $6.9 billion this year on Halloween confections, costumes, and doodads– up 18% over last year.

Need a rubber rat for the front lawn? It costs $22 — but it comes with blood on its teeth. Retailers are also offering Barbie pumpkin-carving kits, “boo-rific” Oreos, and a range of pet costumes.

People in my neighborhood starting decorating their houses with fake cobwebs and ghosts on October 1st this year.  Granted, my neighborhood is full of old-fashioned houses shrouded in big trees, so the decorations create quite the atmosphere.  But geez, I remember when putting up skeletons the Monday before Halloween was considered "overdoing it."

Not that I have anything against fun.  But some people have even taken to dressing up their pets, according to APP.com:

For fussy dogs (and cats), try a starter costume consisting mostly of accessories, advised Reyna Jew, who buys dog and cat apparel, shampoo, travel products and carriers for PetSmart.

Try angel, fairy or bat wings, a pirate or witch hat. If that’s still too much, there are bows that clip in the pet’s hair, necklaces and decorative collars or bandannas made of Halloween-themed fabric.

Target offers 29 costume styles for dogs, including five rider styles (a stuffed character rides on the back of the pet) designed for larger dogs and 10 partial costumes for the pet that won’t tolerate a full costume, said Kristy Welker of Target Communications in Minneapolis.

(Image Credit: Halloween24.com)

Well, ok- that one's kinda cute.

But check out this one:

(Image Credit: http://us2.picscdn.com/keyword/funny%20pet%20costumes/)

Oh, Noes!  Politically incorrect!

And very uncomfortable for poor Kitty, too.

{ Speaking of cats: please remember that Halloween can be a very dangerous holiday for cats- particularly black ones. The Humane Society even has a policy of not allowing adoptions of black cats around Halloween. as PetMD reminds us:

While Halloween may be a fun and exciting time for your kids, your cat may find it more stressful than fun. A steady stream of strangers ringing the doorbell, all wearing strange costumes and shouting "Trick or Treat," may be enough to send even the most courageous cat over the edge.

This article at PetMD lists important safety tips for your beloved kitty friend at Halloween.  They can apply to dogs as well.  It's worth looking over if you have a pet.}

(Image Credit: cohdra/MorgueFile)

Keep Kitty indoors this Halloween.  And Fido, too.  Besides, they can help scare the monsters away:

But maybe that's part of the problem of Halloween today- monsters aren't allowed to be scary anymore.  These days they're mostly presented as misunderstood minorities.  Starting with Buffy the Vampire Slayer (even earlier if you count 1987's Beauty and the Beast), vampires and werewolves turned into boyfriends.  These days vampires would rather be wed than (un)dead.

It seems like zombies are the only monsters left that still behave- well, monstrously.

(Image Credit: 96xrocks.com/Inhabitat.com)

Does this picture mean that The Marketers That Be are now working on a vegetarian zombie?  Maybe next Halloween someone will be marketing a product called Tru Brainz.  It will probably won't be a beverage, though.  More like a chewy snack.

Let's hope it's not finger food.

Hunstman Nails It

Jon Huntsman echoes Pat Robertson's objections to recent GOP antics and puts his finger squarely on the problem:

“When I see one of my colleagues, Gov. Perry, who starts talking about birtherism again, I cringe. I say, as a party if we are going to win this election we have to focus on the issues that are germane for the American family,” Huntsman told us. “That’s expanding the economy, that’s jobs, that’s our position in the world. And when we get off on those fringe issues, we lose the independents in particular. The independents are looking for a home, and the independents largely are gonna drive the outcome of the election.”

“They hear some of that chatter, some of that nonsensical talk, and it causes them to turn and walk away. And we can’t afford to have that happen,” he added. “It’s been settled folks. It’s been settled: The president is a citizen of the United States. I mean, how much more do we have to talk about it? Let’s move on to the real issues of the day.”

I've been seriously thinking about voting for Jon Huntsman, even if I have to write him in.  I don't think this country can stand another 4 years of the current administration and the other GOP candidates veer between laughable and disgusting.

I may yet change my mind, but so far Huntsman appears to be the only candidate with actual experience (at all levels of government and also overseas in China) who can reliably act like an adult- and a sane one at that.

And don't bother sneering that I'm just a RINO, because I'm not.  I'm a lifelong registered Independent.  I'm one of the voters Huntsman was talking about, and he got it exactly right.

More Pigs on the Wing

Pat Robertson thinks the GOP has gotten too extreme:

 

Quote of the Week

Juan Williams sums up a situation I've been complaining about a lot lately:

"But in the year since I was fired the political pressure on Americans to be politically correct, to never stray from the party line, and avoid saying anything that someone may call offensive continues to polarize the country.

Americans across all political, social and racial lines tell me they resent this political straitjacket. They know that if they speak their mind, admit their fears, hopes, feelings, they risk being told they are not a good Republican or not a good Democrat. They fear being told they are not a good Christian for their views on abortion; not a good Jew for their views on Israel; not a good black man if they question President Obama; not a good Muslim if they condemn Islamic terrorism without any qualification. At every turn, people fear being told they are lacking in principle for simply avoiding political boxes and opening themselves to listen to the other side of an issue and engage in honest debate. [my emphasis]"

This kind of crap is rapidly getting both ourselves and our nation exactly nowhere.  I suppose in some minds the last one standing with the purest dogma still wins- even if the prize is a wrecked country.

The Interview With the Banker

I was nervous as I drove to our local community bank to open a new account.  First, dealing with money has always made me nervous.  Second, the idea of changing banks after more than 15 years clashed with some basic values that have always served me well: Loyalty.  Patience.  Caution.

But enough was enough, I told myself.  Loyalty, patience and caution cease to be virtues when they subject you to mistreatment.

I barged through the door of the new bank, determined to get this over with.

A teller waved me over as soon as I opened the door.  Next to me another customer was discussing his situation with a different teller.  He had just assumed power of attorney for his elderly mother and obviously had a long-term relationship with this bank.  The teller asked after his mother; they discussed the difficulties of moving her to a nursing home and cleaning out her house.  The teller asked if his mother was recovering nicely from her stroke.

I thought hard, but I couldn't remember any teller at my current bank ever remembering my name, let alone asking after my family.

I opened a new checking and savings account, making the minimum deposit in each.  My plan was to drive to my current bank, withdraw all my funds, and return to deposit them in the new accounts.

On my way out, a teller called after me, "Hey, we just got our new calendars for next year!  Do you want one?"

I said "No, thanks," but the offer made me smile.  It took me back to my childhood, when my mother would stop at the local bank before she went shopping.  I always got a lollipop if I behaved.

This local bank had lollipops next to every teller window

When my current bank had redecorated their lobby this year, their lollipops vanished.

As I pulled into the parking lot of the other bank, I felt faintly guilty and worried.  I wondered if they would plead with me to reconsider, perhaps playing on my softer emotions in a please-baby-please baby kind of way. I felt squeamish about resisting such tactics.

(I was never any good at breaking up with boyfriends, either.)

I marched up to a teller, smiled and said, "I would like to withdraw all my funds and close all my accounts.  With whom should I speak?"

To my relief, the teller smiled back directed me to a waiting area.  I sat down on a puffy chair.

That was the fun part.

About two minutes later, a woman dressed in 5-inch platform heels and an expensive tweed suit strode toward me and put out her hand.  She was South-Beach-Diet-thin, her face L'oreal-painted with a mouth full of bleached-white teeth.

"How can I help you?"

Well, no sense beating around the bush.

"I would like to close all my accounts and transfer my funds to a different bank, please."

She ushered me into her office and sat behind her desk.

"Now why would you want to do that?" She asked.  She pecked at her computer keyboard and studied the screen.  "I see here that you've been with us for- a number of years now.  Hmmm, First Street Branch, South Branch... what branch do you use?" 

She looked at me with a kind of amused condescension, as if to say: Why should I trust your judgement if you can't even tell me what branch you use?  Withdrawal denied.

For a moment I was stumped.  I didn't realize I would have to pass a quiz before getting my money.

I pulled myself together and tried to explain about the abrupt closing of my old branch and the inconvenient location of the new one. 

"But you have performed some transactions here?" she said.  She gave me a skeptical look, as though to say: If you are able to get here and do your banking, you have no serious complaint.  Withdrawal denied.

"I've been in here once a month," I admitted.

"And do the tellers recognize you?  Do they call you by name?"

Great, I thought.  She's going to blame some poor teller and fire her.

"I suppose they know me by sight, if not by name," I said. 

In an effort to hurry things along, I said I was unhappy with the new fees.

She turned from her computer screen.  Another condescending smile.

"But they won't affect you," she said.  She gave her head a soft shake of gentle exasperation. You can't prove the new fees will affect you.  Withdrawal denied.

"Then why do I get a message about them every time I log onto my online account?" I said.

Another exasperated smile.

"I see the same thing when I log onto my own account," she began, with a gentle wave toward the computer screen.  There, there.  You're being irrational.  Withdrawal denied.

"You work for the bank.  Your understanding of the fees is different than mine.  And if the fees won't affect me, why hasn't anyone contacted me to tell me so?  I haven received no emails, no phone calls..."

"So you feel we haven't been communicating adequately with you?" She picked up a pen to make a note.  I noticed that she wore two bands of channel-set diamonds on one hand and a thick gold ring, also studded with diamonds, on the other.

I tried to explain that I was considering withdrawing substantial funds for a project and that this would make me eligible for the fees. She took this as an opening to extoll their small business accounts.  I then pointed out that recently several banking experts had said that new fees such as these were a sign of instability in bigger banks. 

The gloves were off now.  She was not smiling so much a baring her teeth.

"And what else have you found in your 'research'?" She asked.  She was a master of the vocal sneer quote. 

I had with a notebook emblazoned with my new bank's logo; it was now laying on her desk.  I pointed out that I had compared interest rates and the new bank's were superior.  I added that the minimum deposit was far, far lower and bought me the same type of service with no fees.

She turned to face me and pounced on the subject of interest rates. 

"We see this a lot in other banks," she said.  Another wave; more teeth.  "Particularly the smaller ones.  They pump up interest rates to get depositors in the door, and once they have a good enough balance sheet, they qualify for for a merger."  The new interest rates are a scam.  Withdrawal denied.

"You know," she added, leaning in, "How can you be sure your deposits will be safe?  After all..."

I just stared at her, remembering the bold print of the FDIC notice on my new bank's fliers.  This woman is willing to lie, I thought.

"We already have a mortgage with this other bank," I pointed out.

We looked at each other.  After a moment she reached into her desk and brought out the forms to request cashier's checks for each of my accounts. 

"And have you refinanced at the new lower rates?" She was filling out the forms, not looking at me. None shall pass!

"Yes," I said, "and we are very happy with it."

She finished filling out the forms and stood up.  "This will take a few minutes.  Can I get you some coffee or some water?"

Only if I can throw it in your face, lady.  Go get my money and bring it here.

It did take a few minutes.  I watched nervously, wondering if she would dream up yet another objection and come back empty-handed.

She didn't.  We shook hands again and I left.

I drove back to the new bank feeling shocked and rattled.  I had just spent over half an hour trapped in an office with a woman willing to lie, insinuate, threaten, bully and scold in order to keep my money.

It occured to me that she still had access to my Social Security number and other personal information. That made me nervous.

When I walked into the my new bank, the teller who had helped me before looked up from his work and exclaimed, "You're back!"

After I finished my transaction I asked to speak to the manager, and the teller pointed her out.  She looked like a grandmother.  Wisps of grey hair were escaping a plastic clip and I recognized the blazer she wore from a sale at our local Dress Barn 2 or 3 years ago.

Her only jewelry was a plain wedding band. 

I felt obligated to ask her about the bank's growth objectives. Were they angling for a merger?

She said that the bank had never deviated from its original 100-year-old charter.

"We're a community bank," she said. "Our philosophy is conservative. We don't follow fads."

She said they had been experiencing a lot of new deposits lately.  She referred to them as a "flight to safety," and said some were so big they had been forced to turn them away. 

"We can't be all things to all people," she said.

She was not surprised to hear some of the insinuations made by the other bank's manager.

"We get that a lot these days," she said. "It's jealosy."

I left feeling reassured, but I will keep an eye on this bank.  I will no longer shrug at announced changes and assume they won't affect me.

And if I am forced to change banks again, I'll bring some attitude with me.

If you want to keep an eye on your own bank (or maybe look for a new one), here's a nifty site: bankrate.com safe and sound monitor. 

And also try this one: depositaccounts.com

 This post is part 2 of 2.  Here is part 1.

Money Walks While Bullsh*t Talks

Last week I changed banks. 

I had kept my money at the previous bank for over 15 years.  When I made my first deposit, the bank was a smallish local operation.  When it was abruptly swallowed by a regional bank a few years later, I shrugged and left my money where it was.

But then the regional bank began to grow and unpleasant things began to happen.

First, they completely closed my local branch without warning or explanation.  I received a curt note in the mail with the address of my "new" branch.  I'd never heard of the place and had to spend part of a Saturday cruising around in the car, trying to track it down.

It turned out to be a walk-in counter at a supermarket on the far side of town.

My paycheck was on automatic draft and I seldom needed to actually visit the bank, so I shrugged again.

But things kept on happening.

Another curt note informed my that I was now required to accept a debit card, whether I liked it or not.  I grimaced and just kept the thing in my wallet.  A year or two later I got another message informing me that my next debit card would also function as a credit card- again, whether I liked it or not.

I had never applied for or used a credit card in my life.  I did not want one.  I did not feel my income justified using one.

I called and complained.  I was told- in polite Bankerese- "tough."

I stuck the card in my wallet and used it for debits only.  (I still do.)

When my bank initiated "online banking," I shrugged again.  I worked with computers every day; they weren't scary to me.

Then I tried to log on one day and discovered that my password was no longer valid.  Because the bank was no longer local, it wasn't clear who I needed to call.  I searched through paper statements (I was still receiving them, though I'd also been informed that their days were numbered) and squinted at the online screen. I finally dialed a number and waded through several minutes of telephone "menus" in multiple languages.

When I finally reached an actual person, I was told that I "wasn't using my online account enough," and if I didn't log on and perform a guaranteed minimum of transactions every month, my password would be considered invalid and I would have to re-register.

Re-registering took over an hour.

I may have had trouble finding the bank's number, but they had no trouble finding mine; my phone began ringing off the hook.  Chipper-sounding "representatives" I had never heard of before began calling me several times a month, pushing financial products I didn't want and didn't need.

Finally, after patiently listening to the latest pitch one day, I asked if they could send me some information on, say, CD rates.

I did not hear from them for a month.  When I did, the rates were dismal.

I went to a local bank and checked their CD rates.  They were double- in some cases more than double- my current bank's rate. 

Then came the final straw.  Last month, while scanning the comments section under a Yahoo banking story, I noticed a comment from someone claiming to use my bank.  The commenter said that my bank was about to jack up all its rates, imposing new fees on checking and debit cards, among other hikes.

In all those telephone calls, no "representative" had said a word about this to me.  I never received a single piece of mail or a single email message.

I logged on and the first screen I saw announced that if I did not choose a new account type from those listed, in just two weeks, the bank would choose one for me.

Every single account type imposed new fees.

I printed off screen captures of my current balances and surfed to the website of a local bank- the same bank that had posted superior CD rates.

It was bank Nirvana.  Lower minimum deposits.  Free everything.  A branch located within an easy drive of my house.

This bank already held our mortgage (their website prominently displays a "we never sell mortagages" pledge) and we had been happy with their service. 

It was time to change.  I discussed the idea with my sweetheart, laid out my case, and he agreed.  One morning a day or two later I gathered up all my documents, packed them in a pleather portfolio and headed toward the business district.

If I had known what I was in for, I'd have been much more nervous than I already was.

Continued  (for the "tl;dr" crowd.)

 

 

 

A Thought on the Death of M. Ghaddaffi

"Verily, the work does not end with the abolition of slavery but only begins."

Frederick Douglass

I wish Mr. Douglass was with us right now.  I wish he could fix the Libyans with a stern look and remind them that their new road will be even longer and that the new stakes will be many times higher.

Everyone seems convinced already that they'll blow it.  I won't make predictions, just wish them well.

Wow. Just Wow.

Looks like we do live in Interesting Times, to quote the old Chinese curse.

Either that, or there's at least one hedge fund manager who needs to get his coke habit under control.

This is from a Yahoo story on finance execs hiring extra security to protect them from Occupy Wall Streeters:

Even where paranoia is a cardinal virtue, there are those who seem to take caution too far. One executive contacted Insite requesting help planning his escape from the United States in the event the federal government was overthrown, said Howard A. Shapiro, Insite’s chief technology officer. The executive wanted to know how much gold to keep on hand and how to escape the United States by submarine in the event of a major incident.

Sounds like someone is sitting up in a darkened bedroom all night, sweating profusely, clutching a revolver and listening for the rumble of the approaching tumbrils.

 

Quote of the Week

Everyone who reads Deafening Silence knows how I feel about rude people on the web.  Today's Quote of the Week goes to an exchange in the comments section of Transparency Revolution wherein a commenter actually reveals himself to be a really nice person.

In the comments section below a post, one person sadly wrote:

I recently retired from a so-called “professional” career which pretty much consisted of lurching from one failure situation to another. I never really had what it took to make it in an environment in which my colleagues always ran rings around me in terms of both smarts and political savvy, not to mention my unwillingness to bend to whatever happened to be the latest fashions in political correctness.

I was lucky to the extent that I went to a CUNY unit back when it had free tuition, and broke even after financing my MA, so I was never burdened by debt the way more recent grads are. When all is said and done though, I bitterly regret that I wasted my life doing something that the market didn’t value, and that I went to college, let alone grad school.

I would have been far happier (and made not all that less money) had I pursued a blue collar job path and not tried to rise up above my family roots.

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

Several comments later, another reader saw this unhappy comment, and responded to it this way:

Only 25 guys are going to win World Series rings a couple weeks from now. Of them, only 9 are starters and maybe 6 more are regular players, but all of them get the same ring. By your description, you just retired from the “game”, and weren’t a “star”.

You made the team though.

“Family roots” is just a context from which to evaluate an action, not a limit on the action to be attempted.

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

Unless there is a form of sarcasm in this remark that I can't detect, it ranks as one of the nicest, most encouraging comments I've seen on a blog in a long time.

A round of polite applause for William Brown, please.  For just a few seconds, he made the digital world a nicer place.

Warren Jeff's Wife Flees Polygamy, FLDS

One of convicted child rapist Warren Jeff's rumored 70+ wives fled the FLDs on Monday.

The as-yet-unidentified woman is 25 years old.  She fled the FLDs stronghold of Colorado City after contacting Willie Jessop for assistance.

Jessop is a former spokesman for the FLDs who has denounced Jeffs and is no longer connected to the church.

Jessop in turn contacted local authorities. Officers from both the Washington County Sheriff's Office and the Colorado City Town Marshal's office responded.  When they arrived at Jessop's home, according to some reports, there was a tense standoff between Jessop and a number of FLDs men.  The implication is that the FLDs men were demanding the return of the 25-year-old woman.

Other reports claim that the woman was found barefoot because her shoes had been stolen by members of the group as part of an effort to prevent her escape.  There are also reports that this was her second attempt at fleeing, and that she had previously been caught and drugged to prevent another attempt.

It is also reported that she was staying with her parents.

Washington County Attorney Brock Belnap said his office will investigate all these claims and file charges if warranted by the evidence.

The escaped woman has been taken to a woman's shelter where she is receiving psychological care.

While no evidence has surfaced to support or refute much of this story, the details as reported by the press match the testimony of other FLDs women who escaped.  For example, in her book Escape, former FLDs wife Carolyn Jessop describes being "hunted like prey" by the FLDs after she fled the compound.  She also says that as soon as her betrothal to sect leader Merril Jessop was announced, her mother began sleeping in her bedroom every night to prevent the teen bride from running away before the wedding.

It is one thing for a worried community to search for a missing teen.  It is quite another for a group of men to demand the return of a legal adult. 

We will have to wait for details to emerge.

References

A Warren Jeffs Wive Flees Sect with Police Help- Mary Papenfuss/Newser

One of Warren Jeff's 70 'Wives' Flees Polygamist Enclave-Jennifer Dobner/AP

One of Warren Jeff's 78 Wives Escapes, Describes Captivity at FLDs Cult- Rob Kerby/Beliefnet News

Warren Jeff's Wife Escapes Polygamist Community-John Quinones and Kevin Dolak/Good Morning America

Police Help One of Warren Jeff's Wives Flee Polygamous Community-Lindsay Whitehurst/Salt Lake Tribune