Tea Party Movement
During last night’s Super Bowl broadcast, there was an ad for Tim Burton’s new Alice in Wonderland movie, but the Tea Party I’m going to explain has nothing to do with Burton’s “leafless tree in the forest” imagery.
Over the weekend, a newer group who opposes big government, astronomical tax rates, and bailouts held a convention in Tennessee. The group calls themselves the Tea Party and is the latest in a series of movements over the years that gain steam when the general public is dissatisfied with both major political parties.
The Tea Party willingly has no leader and doesn’t appear to have any political aspirations other than to create a displeasurable voice loud enough to make change, but Sarah Palin was paid to speak at the convention on Saturday. Make of that what you will.
Much of the Tea Party movement was set in motion as a result of the stimulus package that was unveiled last year. These followers didn’t like the idea of a nation in debt throwing around money to private companies also in debt, so a coalition was formed.
You’ll probably be hearing more of the Tea Party before hearing less of them in the coming year or two, so at least now you will be prepared.
Read on:
CSMonitor.com – ‘Tea party’ movement: Who are they and what do they want?
NYTimes.com – Analysis: ‘Tea Party’ Is Democracy at Work
(image above taken from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tea_Party_-_Pennsylvania_Avenue.jpg)
Super Bowl 44 prep
It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and for many of us, nothing else matters today. If you are not one of the die hards, however, you will still end up at a Super Bowl party, so you’d better know a few things. Dinner Topics is here to make sure you know what’s going on around you when the game starts and one person is going crazy after the first field goal, starting with a couple common gambling options at Super Bowl parties.
Squares
If you invest in a “square” today, that means you will get a number for the Saints and a number for the Colts. Those numbers represent the last number in their score. For example, if you have a 4 for the Saints and a 7 for the Colts, then you’re hoping for a final score of something like Colts 27, Saints 24. Payouts differ depending on who is running it, but in general, you will win something if your numbers are the correct ones at the end of any quarter. Some people also pay out for any change in score or sometimes if your square is touching the square of someone that wins. Ask the person running the game, and at least you’ll have something to root for.
strip card
Strip Card
This game is even easier: only ten people play and each gets a random number between 0 through 9 (from an official “strip card” or playing cards or simply drawing numbers from a hat). If your number is the last number in the combined total score at the end of the game, you win. Sometimes there’s also a payout for getting the halftime score as well. Example: if you get a 4 and the final score is 21-13, you win because the total is 34.
Need some trivial pieces of info about the game?
- 72% of the time, the taller quarterback has won the Super Bowl.
- Mel Kiper Jr. (football expert) thinks that more than 70 points will be scored today.
- The Saints average 50 more rushing yards per game than the Colts.
- Peyton Manning is the son of Archie Manning, former New Orleans Saints quarterback.
- The cost of a 30-second commercial is down this year, from $3 million to about $2.5 – $2.8 million.1
Read on:
TradeJayCutler.com – Super Bowl Answers
(image above taken from: http://www.biggamesportscards.com/)
Heinz unveils new ketchup (catsup?) packets
The Super Bowl is coming up Sunday and don’t worry, Dinner Topics will give you a quick primer with some interesting tidbits later this weekend. For now, though, there are more pressing matters that you need to know before your night on the town later: Heinz ketchup has introduced a revolutionary new package!
This may seem trivial, but more than one reader sent this to me, so it’s obviously something you should know about. After 40 years of dealing with hard-to-open ketchup packets that were too small and accident prone, Heinz unveiled a beautiful new way (see picture) of dispensing ketchup for all your burger and fries needs.
The new packet holds three times as much ketchup and can either be used for dipping (like the barbecue packets most fast food places hand out) OR it can be squeezed out cleanly onto a burger or hot dog of your choosing. We are making strides, America, and now you know about the latest improvement in our infrastructure in making this proud country the best it can be.
As you know, at Dinner Topics, we don’t regurgitate news stories – we try to give you a little something more to bring to the table, so what better time to bring up the difference between ketchup and catsup. Sadly, there’s no interesting story behind these words, and they are merely different word variations on the same product. According to DifferenceBetween.net,
“Both the words are just two different anglicized versions of the original Malay word, ‘kechap’ which seems to have been borrowed from a Cantonese dialect.”1
However, the original version of ketchup (called “kechap”) was made of brine fish and spices and contained NO TOMATOES.2 Gross, but interesting.
Read on:
msnbc.com – After 40 years, Heinz revamps ketchup packets
(photo taken from the same linked story)
Bond Ratings
Moody’s Investor Services is in the news for threatening to lower the bond rating on U.S. debt to something other than AAA (or Aaa, as Moody’s designates it). Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) are the two most well known credit rating agencies, and bond ratings refer to the estimated risk of a debt issue.
AAA is considered the safest and least risky valuation. Along with the safety comes lower rates. In other words, if an individual wants to lend money to the U.S. (through the purchase of some kind of Treasury bond or other investment vehicle), the individual is willing to accept a lower interest payment (rate of return) in exchange for the safety of unlikely default.
A lower rating for the U.S. would mean a higher cost of borrowing for the country – possibly good for the guy investing in T-bills, but not so good for taxpayers (read: all of us) since the country’s debt suddenly comes at a greater cost. Think of it like you are managing your credit card debt one month at a time only to get a notice that your interest rate is going to rise because you have become a greater liability.
Different rating agencies using different letter and number designations to mean the same thing, but in general, AAA is the best, AA next, etc. until BBB (or Baa from Moody’s) kicks in. The lower the letter, the more speculative the debt. In exchange for that higher default risk is typically a higher return. High risk? High reward.
Bonus note: anything rated below BBB is considered to be a “junk bond,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad investment – just that it’s a highly speculative one.
Read on:
BondPickers.com – Bond Ratings Explained
Wikipedia.org – Bond credit rating
What’s going on with Toyota?
Oh what a feeling?
By now, you’ve heard of the various recalls by Toyota attempting to fix “sticky” gas pedals which have led to numerous cases of sudden acceleration. Toyota’s story has changed over the months, so here’s a quick recap so you can inform your friend with the RAV41 why she needs to bring her car to the dealer.
After some accidents resulting from sudden acceleration, Toyota determined that the floor mats were to blame, causing the gas pedal to get “trapped” in the floor mat and continue accelerating. As a result, the company recalled 3.8 millions vehicles in September 2009 to fix/replace floor mats.2 As expected, it wasn’t just the floor mats causing the problems.
Back in 2007, Toyota knew of accelerator problems with its 2006 Tundra which include some new technology in its gas pedals which used sensors rather than a physical connection to the engine. Toyota has since made some changes to correct the problem, but the error has obviously not been corrected, as the latest recall to fix the gas pedals is being blamed on “excess friction” and the current fix is to add a part (shim) to the pedal.
Will this last recall solve the entire problem? Probably not. Why? Complaints are still coming in from Toyota owners with acceleration problems on vehicles not linked to either recall.
To make matters worse, complaints are now flowing in about brake problems on the 2010 Prius. Stay tuned, because a major company’s reputation is at stake.
Read on:
WSJ.com – U.S. Transportation Secretary Seeks Meeting With Toyota CEO
- other vehicles affected by the recall are certain models of Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, Camry, Highlander, Tundra, and Sequoia ↩
- http://www.usrecallnews.com/2009/09/toyota-recalls-3-8-million-vehicles-gas-pedals-sticking.html ↩
Oscar Nominations, Ten for Best Picture
Bigelow
Oscar nominations were announced today, and while the popular categories will lead most headlines, here’s a couple tidbits to know when talking up the films, actors, and directors later today:
- The Academy doubled the amount of nominees for Best Picture from 5 to 10 for the first time since the 1943 Academy Awards, hoping to spark a little more viewer interest.
- James Cameron is nominated for Best Director for Avatar. Kathryn Bigelow is nominated for Best Director for The Hurt Locker. Who is Bigelow? Cameron’s ex-wife! Maybe after a win, Cameron will be known as “Bigelow’s ex-husband.”
- Bigelow directed Point Break back in the day and is an accomplished painter.
Read on:
NYTimes.com – The 82nd Annual Oscar Nominations
WSJ.com (Speakeasy) – 2010 Oscar Nominations Announced: “Avatar,” “The Hurt Locker” Lead the Way
Pink at the Grammys
The Grammy Awards were last night, and this time around, most of the awards were handed out before the broadcast began, leaving just nine awards and a slew of performances remaining for television viewers. Last year, I explained away some of the confusion between Record of the Year and Song of the Year, so this time around I’ll just tell you what you need to know.
The link below gives you the entire rundown on who won what awards, but you should know that Beyonce won the most awards, Taylor Swift picked up a few, U2 got shut out, and that infectious Use Somebody song by Kings of Leon won Record of the Year. Meanwhile, the talk around the coffee pot today will likely be Pink’s performance last night, singing her song Glitter in the Air while dangling and spinning from the rafters, dunked in water and wearing what looked to be a revealing outfit but was actually a full skin-colored bodysuit. The video is below.
With the name, Pink may appear to be another pop star whose image and music is created by producers and people in suits, but the reality is that Pink is an accomplished songwriter and dances to the beat of her own drum. Despite her popularity, Pink is the anti-pop star, choosing her music and other endeavors (charity work, etc.) without considering the affect it may have on her “image.” She is married to motocross racer Carey Hart and, during a difficult time in her marriage, she wrote the wildly popular song So What.
Read on:
(image above taken from: http://www.fresh1027.com/Fresh-102-7-Artist-Pink/595309)
What is a growing economy?
News stories are touting that the U.S. economy expanded in the 4th quarter of 2009 at a pace faster than any quarter in six years. All told, the economy grew at a rate of 5.7%. But what does that mean?
The rate increase refers to the increase of Gross Domestic Product. Not sure what Gross Domestic Product means? If you are a loyal Dinner Topics reader, you already know the answer. If you are a newbie or need a refresher, read this brief post back in February 2009.
Almost a year ago, the story was about the huge decrease in GDP for the 2008 4th quarter, but now quite the opposite is true. You know what that means, don’t you? That’s right, more disposable income for you to spend on Dinner Topics shirts and mugs! Shop away!
Read on:
Bloomberg.com – Economy in U.S. Grew at 5.7% Pace, Most in Six Years
