Bernie McSherry

Stop wasting my time
You know what I want
You know what I need
Or maybe you don't (more)

In the late nineteenth century, public health in Chicago was suffering. The city’s industrial waste and sewage from its upstream neighbors was befouling the Chicago River, and a disgusted populace blamed it for outbreaks of typhoid and other forms of pestilence. City leaders, under pressure to “do something,” eventually conceived of an audacious idea: Why not reverse the course of the “stinking river” and send the polluted waters downstream to the Mississippi? As unthinkable as that proposal sounds to modern ears, in those days no one had even conceived of an environmental impact study and upstream towns along the river turned out to be no match for big city political power. The Army Corps of Engineers was engaged to build the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, in what was then the largest earth moving effort in North American history. On January 17, 1900, the locks of the canal were opened and water began to flow from Lake Michigan downstream towards New Orleans. The filth had become someone else’s problem. (more)

There is some disagreement over when the word “jawboning” first entered the English language. Some believe that its initial use characterized Herbert Hoover’s attempt to convince employers to maintain wage levels after the crash of 1929, while others believe it was first used during the Second World War, when officials at the U.S. Office of Price Administration and Civilian Supply attempted to restrain wartime profiteering. Politicians since at least the Johnson administration have engaged in the technique, and while its etymological origins may be in dispute, the term has since entered wide use, referring to a form of moral suasion, usually by government officials attempting to alter behavior or influence markets. (more)

In January 1973, undisputed world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier defended his crown against largely untested Olympic gold medalist George Foreman in Kingston, Jamaica. As legend has it, boxing promoter Don King entered the arena on the night of the fight with Frazier’s entourage, glad-handing everyone in sight before taking a seat on the left-hand side of the first ringside row. Foreman awaited Frazier in the ring and the challenger’s people were seated on the right-hand side of the same row as the promoter with the electrified hair. At the time, Foreman was a 3-1 underdog and few in the crowd expected to be in their seats for very long. (more)

The current economic environment reminds me of the great old soul singers who used to drop to their knees to scream, beg and shout as they pleaded for their baby's love. Sadly, the likes of Ray Charles, James Brown and Solomon Burke are gone, but there has been plenty of pleading, begging and beseeching afoot as central bankers, government officials and ordinary citizens lament the woeful state of the world's economy. For the last two years the volume has been rising and the only thing missing seems to be a chorus of back-up singers like the Raelettes. I wonder if Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd can carry a tune? We may be about to find out. (more)

Long ago, in the days before passenger ships featured climbing walls, ice rinks, onboard zip lines, and nonstop gastronomic gorging sessions, stately ocean liners plied the transatlantic route between London and New York. It was on this date in 1938 that the largest liner of its era was launched in Clydebank, Scotland. Christened the RMS Queen Elizabeth, the vessel was pressed into service as a troopship during the Second World War and later operated as half of Cunard’s transatlantic service along with her seafaring sibling, the RMS Queen Mary. In 1969, she was replaced by the RMS Queen Elizabeth 2, commonly known as the “QE2” during its long run that concluded in 2008. For a generation of cruise passengers, the acronym QE2 represented the last survivor of the age of the transatlantic passage, but today’s Fed watchers have given it an entirely new meaning. (more)

It’s one of the most hackneyed of movie clichés: The hero is chasing an armed bad guy on foot and they are periodically trading shots. Both the pursuer and the pursued are remarkably bad shots, firing wildly without effect, apart from the occasional upper arm flesh wound. At some point during the pursuit, the villain runs out of bullets, and just in case subtlety is lost on the audience, the now desperate villain throws his gun in the general direction of his pursuer and runs for his life. Mayhem ensues, and the now-unarmed heavy is usually captured alive. (more)

The “reality” show megahit “Jersey Shore” returns to the airwaves Thursday evening and the media hype machine is in full swing. As part of the promotional buildup, the cast of the show rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange this morning and they drew the biggest trading floor crowd since Abbie Hoffman rained dollar bills down from the visitor’s gallery in 1967. This season the cast members, almost exclusively comprised of New Yorkers (only Sammi Sweetheart actually hails from the Garden State), will be shown adjusting to a new scene while they spend an extended sojourn in Miami’s swanky South Beach district. The “fish out of water” scenario should make for compelling television. Sort of the “Masterpiece Theatre” of bad taste. (more)

Today marks the 150^th birthday of Lizzie Borden, the Massachusetts spinster who was accused of brutally murdering her father and stepmother with a hatchet on August 4, 1892. Lizzie’s fame soared during the nationally publicized courtroom drama, the O.J. Simpson trial of its day. Despite incriminating circumstances and inconsistent testimony from the accused, the prosecutors were hampered by their failure to incontrovertibly produce a murder weapon or blood evidence tying Lizzie to the crime, and she was acquitted after only an hour and a half of jury deliberations.  Amid widespread public belief in her guilt, Lizzie went on to become an American Folklore legend, her notoriety sealed by the children’s rhyme coined by an anonymous newspaper reporter: (more)

After a quarter in which investors appeared to be having a bad romance with stocks, the market has been reeling off hits at a pace that would make even Lady Gaga envious. Now threatening to conclude its seventh consecutive winning session, the market appears to be shrugging off investor's fears of a double-dip recession, instead focusing on the growing number of indications that economic activity is continuing to expand. Intel’s report that business spending on PCs is strengthening has fueled early buying this morning, although weakening retail sales and deflationary worries may pose a threat to the winning streak. (more)

This week marks the 35th anniversary of the release of “Jaws”, the smash hit film that dramatically altered America's movie and beach going habits. Recognized as the original summer blockbuster, "Jaws" was the first film that opened in wide release and its stunning success ended the traditional staged-release practices that had previously predominated. After "Jaws", big summer films would henceforth be opened upon a thousand or more screens simultaneously. So in case you were wondering, you can thank "Jaws" for providing you with the opportunity to view “Toy Story 3” on 10 screens at 5 different multiplexes within a fifteen minute drive from your home this weekend. (more)

In Stanley Kramer’s hit ensemble comedy “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World,” a troupe of early 1960’s mid-level comedy stars are sent racing across the Mojave Desert after learning of buried treasure from a dying roadside accident victim. That victim, played by Jimmy Durante, told the assembled group that a fortune lay buried beneath a “big W” on a San Diego beach just before he literally kicked the bucket. The ensuing scramble to be the first to locate the treasure provided the plot vehicle that permitted the director to wreck airplanes, service stations and cars aplenty in an epic comedic genre that later spawned movies like “1941” and “The Blues Brothers.” (more)

At the beginning of “National Lampoon’s European Vacation” the Griswold family appeared on a game show called “Pig in a Poke” standing cheek-to-jowl in matching pink pig costumes as Chevy Chase, portraying the clueless family head Clark Griswold, brashly decided to risk the family’s winnings by playing for the grand prize. Unexpectedly pitted against the show’s all-time winningest family, things looked bleak for the Griswolds when they were asked to name the lieutenant who led the famous expedition to the Pacific Northwest in 1804. Completely stumped when asked for the final answer, Ellen Griswold (played by Beverly D’Angelo), certain that the family would lose everything, turned to her husband and plaintively addressed him, saying “Clark.” Of course, that turned out to be the correct answer and the family found themselves the winners of an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe. Mayhem ensued as the family, completely unfamiliar with European customs, stumbled across the continent in a series of madcap escapades before returning home to the good ol’ USA. (more)