A fair number of broadcast premiers.  Tonight’s playoff action on TBS, Yankees @ Twins, Braves @ Giants.

As a capitulation (since I haven’t yet) Rangers are poised to take down the Rays in 3 straight with a 2 nothing lead and dominating performances (5 – 1. 6 – 0). Phillies no hit the Reds (Don Larsen, who is still alive, sent congratulations).  Braves haven’t been tested against the Giants yet.  The Yankees Win!  Theeeeeeeeee Yankees Win!  Seriously, the Twins are outclassed here.

My predictions?  Rangers over Rays, Phillies over Reds, Braves over Giants, Yankees over Twins.  Yankees over Rangers, Phillies over Braves.  Phillies.

There, I’ve said it.

• ABC Family– A collection of Pixar short animated films
• AMC– The Perfect Storm
• Disney– Return to Halloweentown
• ESPN– College Throwball, Nebraska at Kansas State
• Food– Alton x 2 (including Tempura Frying premier)
• FX– Baby Mama, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The League (premiers)
• Lifetime– Project Runway, On the Road With Austin & Santino (premiers)
• Turner Classic– Forbidden Planet, Alien
• TLC– Sr. v. Jr. (last week’s penultimate and Season Finale), Kick Off Cook Off x 2 (premiers)
• TNT– Why Did I Get Married? (why is Tyler Perry famous again?)
• Travel– Man v. Food marathon
• USA– NCIS marathon
• Vs.– Hockey, Flyers @ Penguins, Blackhawks @ Avalanche

Later-

• AMC– Volcano, Mad Men (this week’s)
• Sci Fi– WCG Ultimate Gamer (Season Finale)
• Speed– Japanese Grand Prix, Practice
• Style– Pride & Prejudice
• Turner Classic– Countdown
• Toon– Delocated (premier)

Dave has Stephen Colbert performing against himself, Johnny Knoxville, and Gorillaz.  Jon has Naomi Watts, Stephen Davis Guggenheim.  No Alton.  No Boondocks.

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 Hungary toxic sludge spill reaches Danube

by Geza Molnar, AFP

Thu Oct 7, 11:38 am ET

You know, with it I can move the world.

So I think we need to distiguish between paper and paper.

Currency of any kind is an illusion, you can eat gold but you’ll starve to death on it.  It’s a medium of exchange and a store of value.  As tasty as a vinagette makes it there’s no nutrition.  But people will trade potatoes for it so there is some utility.

And then there is leverage.  All I need is my down payment and then it’s all a cash flow problem Ponzi scheme.  These bets may be backed by the kind of insurance AIG offers but the illusion is gone.

These are nothing but desperate bets on black and even double zeros are not providing the margin the house needs to stay open.

In simulation I like playing Craps because the odds are good on certain bets if you have a big enough wallet to sustain some modest losses.

You know, a system.

Mine is based on Place Bets and Buy Bets on the 5, 6, 8, and 9 and their favorable odds rate entirely depends on if they’re off during the Come Out roll (if you didn’t understand all of that you should stay out of dank back alleys and brightly lit casinos).

In the maths a Derivative is the rate of change on a curve and our Wall Street Croupiers have decided that they can securitize a bet on on that change and with a compliant Ratings Agency sell that to you as something with value.

They’re nucking futz.

When we talk about “de-leveraging” this is what we’re talking about.  This fictional valuation disappears as do your table stakes which is why you always take your winnings away.  There’s hardly any retail investment in equities because the market is crooked to the core.

Only sucker bets and quick money on the felt now.

More Economics 101

Let’s say I have an asset, a lottery payout, a bond, a judgement, a mortgage note, something that is guaranteed to pay out a specific amount of revenue over time.

Well, I can sell that for cash money right now at a certain amount of risk surcharge (not that I do, but it’s a common practice).  I can bundle large quantities of them to reduce my risk surcharge, I can group them from the most to least risky and sell them at market.

Caveat Emptor.

The Ratings Agencies will criminally overvalue them and the tranching will pollute the title so the underlying debt is potentially uncollectable.  23 States think so.  Quite a hair trim!

I’m surprised there’s a housing market at all.

Accountancy is supposed to be boring!

More broadcast premiers.  Great Performances has Patick Stewart as Macbeth.  TBS has the Division Series, Reds @ Phillies, Yankees @ Twins.

• Bravo– Top Chef (premier)
• Disney– Halloweentown High
• Comedy– Season Premier of South Park, a show that has long since jumped the shark.  Ugly Americans (premier)
• Discovery– Mythbusters x 2 (premiers with Season Premier), Bad Universe (Series Premier)
• E!– Scary Movie
• ESPN– College Throwball, Alabama-Birmingham @ Central Florida
• ESPN2– Women’s Football, United States v. China
• Food– Next Iron Chef (this week’s)
• FX– Leatherheads, Terriers (premier)
• Oxygen– Monster In Law x 2
• Turner Classic– Citizen Kane, The Seventh Seal (not stinting on the classics, a real bit of counter programming)
• Toon– Regular Show, MAD (repeats)
• Travel– Man v. Food marathon (with premier)
• USA– NCIS marathon
• Vs.– Even I’m getting fucking tired of Slap Shot, find another movie.

Later-

• AMC– Rubicon (this week’s)
• Sci Fi– Friday the 13th: The Series
• Turner Classic– The Third Man
• USA– Ocean’s Thirteen

Dave hosts David Axelrod and Julie Chen.  Jon has Phillip Dray, Stephen Mavis Staples and Jeff Tweedy.  No Alton.

Boondocks– The Real.

Don’t be so gloomy. After all it’s not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. So long Holly.

If you could’ve found out what Rosebud meant, I bet that would’ve explained everything.

No, I don’t think so; no. Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn’t get, or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn’t have explained anything… I don’t think any word can explain a man’s life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a… piece in a jigsaw puzzle… a missing piece.

Zap2it TV Listings, Yahoo TV Listings

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 Pakistan Taliban attacks destroy more than 40 NATO vehicles

AFP

1 hr 4 mins ago

Well, last I remember Cylon Zoe was tearing apart a transport van in an acid trip remake of Short Circuit.  I’m still not sure how I feel about Caprica even after an entire season because of the ultimate failure of Galactica (and please, what a frakking cop out it was).  The only admirable characters are the Adamas and it’s kind of like rooting for the Corleones (not that I don’t root for the Corleones).  Stargate Universe is more of the same only now we have Lucian Alliance characters to wear red shirts and ignore.  And what was the point of the fantasy alien baby kidnapping sequence?  To make us feel better?  Babies die all the time, they can’t help themselves.  I don’t know why it was part of the plot in the first place.

I think sometimes writers don’t have a clue and just make stuff up for shock value and then try to dig themselves out of a hole.

A night of broadcast premiers none of which are remotely worth watching.

• ABC Family– Melissa & Joey (premier), Ever After
• A&E– Billy the Exterminator marathon (2 premiers)
• AMC– Wild Wild West, Life
• Disney– Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge
• Discovery– Swords: Life on the Line (premier)
• ESPN– World Series of Poker (premiers)
• ESPN2– College Throwball, Troy @ Middle Tennessee State
• Food– Chopped (premier)
• FX– Ghost Rider
• Oxygen– Bad Girls Club, Hair Battle Spectacular
• Speed– Monster Jam!
• Turner Classic– Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
• Vs.– Slap Shot

Later-

• FX– Terriers (this week’s)
• Sci Fi– Friday the 13th: The Series Quilt of Hathor
• Turner Classic– I Married A Witch

Dave hosts Tony Blair, Mavis Staples, and Jeff Tweedy.  Jon has Bruce Willis (unwatchable), Stephen Leon Botstein.  No Alton.

Boondocks– Granddad’s Fight

Tony Blair-

• Liar
• Murderer
• War Criminal

May he end his long, long life of suffering locked in a dank cell at Spandau, despised and forgotten.

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 French rogue trader Kerviel jailed, fined billions

by Annie Thomas, AFP

38 mins ago

(E)ither Biden got played, or he lied.  Either they didn’t have the votes in the first place, or they couldn’t hold them.  In either case, there is nothing preventing the President, as the Commander in Chief, from suspending Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell discharges pending the Pentagon review if he’s sincere and that’s what he really wants.  He could do it today.

Obama says liberals are hurting Democrats and depressing turnout when they criticize him.  Well, he’s not up for reelection in November, and we’re doing plenty to support Democrats.  We’ve raised nearly $40,000 for Russ Feingold in the past week alone.

But right before an election is the time that the public is supposed to express their concerns and hold their representatives accountable.  That’s why we have elections in the first place.  It’s the last chance people will have to push their elected officials on how they plan to vote on the Catfood Commission’s recommendations in December, which members of the commission say will include cuts in Social Security benefits.  A bill that Obama plans to sign.

Anyone who tells people to be silent now is telling you to give up your last chance to fight to keep Congress from voting to reduce the deficit on the backs of senior citizens.

But Obama’s not talking about the fact that people are unhappy about his Catfood Commission plans.  He says that people expect too much too soon, but that’s a straw man.  That’s not what’s happening at all.

People understand when they’re being played.  And they don’t like it.