An Empire of Relationships

I have a theory about men: Men are empire builders.

I’m not talking about Nero, Constatine, or Caesar (though he created a great salad).  Empire building on a worldwide scale kind of went out of favor in the 19th century… I’m talking about local empire building.  I’m taking about men who build an empire in the immediate vicinity of their own being.

A man’s empire consists of the things he loves and values most.  Most of his satisfaction and joy is derived from watching that empire grow.

Let me give you a few examples:

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Picking a Fight Online

I’ve been enjoying Stallion Cornell’s recent blog series, recounting his decade-long online brawl with Languatron, both of whom are WAY too into Battlestar Galactica for my tastes.

The internet is a great place to pick a fight for nerds like me.  (I would say us, but I didn’t want to speak for you, Stallion)  I’ve been pretty good with words for most of my life, but never very good at fighting in real life.  In real fighting, I usually let my temper get the best of me and I end up making a fool out of myself, which tends to end up in just laughter.  Online fighting, however, favors those who can carefully (and quickly) type a few words or phrases that pack a nice zing.

However, I must be careful to use my powers for good and not evil… (right, wifey?)

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Thoughts on Cosmetic Surgery

My friend, McKay Coppins, wrote an article today which is sure to get the Mormon Times humming, and may even explode a bomb in his email inbox.  The article: Plastic Surgery.

Since he asked me to email him my thoughts on the subject (well, not me personally – he asked all his readers – but I take my assignments from Mr. Coppins very seriously), I obliged.  I was somewhat surprised by my own findings as I talked about the subject.  Here is my response to him.

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American Idol – Top 6

Big Mike was awesome last night.

That’s all I really have to say about Idol. I kind of hope they cancel it after this season. I’m just not into it as much anymore. I think the contestants this season are lame, and I don’t get excited to watch it anymore. Seeing Simon every week is my only motivation to watch it.

Something tells me that even after Cowell leaves the show, some idiot executive at Fox is going to come up with a spreadsheet that convinces them to do it for ONE more dreadful, money-making season, just to prove to everyone that it’s dead.

Update on Market Riggers

Yesterday, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Goldman Sachs for selling collateralized debt obligations (the CDOs I referred to in my previous post) without properly informing the investors of the risks. They have emails and other communications between Goldman and the hedge fund Paulson & Company where both parties knew they were creating really risky CDOs and then selling them to the market as triple-A rated securities.

I hope the fact that the SEC filed the suit (rather than settling) means that they have a solid case. It will be very hard to prove intent, even with ‘smoking gun’ emails.

Whether or not they win or lose the suit, we should prosecute Goldman and these hedge funds in the court of public opinion. It is clear that they value their own bonuses and bottom lines over the security and health of their customer’s investments. I will never invest a dime with these companies, even if they are the last ones standing.