Archive for September, 2010
Dow Jones has a satisfying September
For one reason or another, the stock market often takes a breather in September, but not this year. Despite a couple down days to finish the month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 7.7% for September, the best September since 1939! The real debate is whether the market will sustain these gains, but at [...]
Wait… there’s a Coffee Party too?
Dinner Topics has mentioned the Tea Party in a few posts over the past year, usually because a candidate was involved in an upcoming election. What many people may not realize is that there’s a yin to the Tea Party’s yang, namely the Coffee Party. If you consider the Tea Party to be the rightest [...]
Wrong Way on a Segway?
Yesterday, 62-year-old British millionaire Jimi Heselden, owner of Segway Inc., was found dead in the River Wharfe in Northern England. A rugged-country version of his Segway vehicle was found near his feet, and officials speculate he rode the scooter off a cliff to his death in the most improbable of freak accidents. Unveiled in 2001, [...]
Oktoberfest: a 200-yr tradition!
It’s the weekend – what better time for a frosty cold one, and what better time of year to enjoy that cold one than during Oktoberfest? Today’s Dinner Topic tells you everything you want to know about Oktoberfest, including the age old question: why is Oktoberfest in September? Oktoberfest as defined by: Encyclopedia Britannica [...]
Movie Overload: Wall Street, Facebook movie and more
The summer blockbusters have pretty much come to an end, and now some of the more intriguing movies are being released in theaters. Last week, The Town, directed by Ben Affleck, was the box office champ, but this week there are several movies worth knowing about because they will likely be a topic of conversation [...]
Groupon = Fastest growing company…ever?
When the company’s name is starting to become a part of the daily vocabulary (“hey, I got a ‘Groupon’ for that place”), you know the business is taking off. Groupon’s CEO and Founder, Andrew Mason, “has managed to build the fastest-growing company in Web history,” according to Forbes Magazine. “The company is on track to pass $500 [...]
Where is Bermuda?
The damage was small, but Hurricane Igor passed through Bermuda over the weekend. If you’re not familiar with Bermuda’s location, it’s a series of islands east (wayyyyy east) of South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean. CIA.gov compares Bermuda’s size to about 1/3 of Washington, D.C., and the population sits at less than 70,000, so don’t [...]
Banning Burqas in France
The French senate approved (overwhelmingly) on Tuesday a ban on wearing any veil that covers the face including a burqa. We covered most of this topic back in May ’09, but a few new details are necessary because the subject has resurfaced. Key facts to supplement any conversation that pops up: “According to opinion polls, [...]
