{"id":6388,"date":"2009-01-11T18:28:15","date_gmt":"2009-01-12T01:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/?p=6388"},"modified":"2009-01-19T17:43:01","modified_gmt":"2009-01-20T00:43:01","slug":"screenplay-i-am-switzerlandwith-a-french-75-chaser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/6388\/screenplay-i-am-switzerlandwith-a-french-75-chaser\/","title":{"rendered":"Screenplay: I am Switzerland…(with a French 75 chaser)"},"content":{"rendered":"

No.\u00a0 Upon final rewrite, make that Lichtenstein, a\u00a0 tiny cinematic metaphor freezing its alpine ass off smack in the middle of a much larger, tempestuous world money market.\u00a0 I’ll declare the Swiss Franc my new currency—diminutive, but not to the point as to be completely overlooked at the box office; still along the lines of cinema verite <\/em>mind you, but hedging toward a safer ‘middle’\u00a0 ground.\u00a0 For, to be artistically and financially agnostic, is to be, as Studs Terkel once put it, “merely a cowardly atheist.”\u00a0 It’s like trying to sift layman sense from a Steely Dan\u00a0 harangue sans the jazzy guitar rides….sober. ‘Careful what you carry…’<\/em><\/p>\n

So I go to the movies to willingly suspend disbelief.<\/p>\n

I walk past the marquee, daring only a brief, side-swiped glimpse at my own bankable image in the reflection. Until witnessing in person, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button<\/em>, I never thought I could ever <\/em>bear a resemblance to Brad Pitt.\u00a0 But Voila!<\/em>….there I was, up on the silver shroud, lurking (the first hour only, to be sure) like the penny pinching AARPer<\/em> I’m becoming.\u00a0 An old man on the surface, picking through the Big Board rubble for some common retirement ground, I search for my own safe spot\u00a0 in Pharmaceuticals or Technologies.\u00a0 But, alas,\u00a0 feeling the\u00a0 Fourth Quarter financial shiver in my brittle bones,\u00a0 I panic like every other old man on my ward at 4PM Eastern Time on Fridays and sell.\u00a0 Like the French, I retreat and quickly convert to cash.\u00a0 Where do people in the South of France run to at the end of the trading week, I wonder?\u00a0\u00a0 If still around this summer, I’m taking the entire month of August off, I decide. If only I were bright and wealthy enough to meld into the European Intelligentsia (does it still exist?) for good, or romantic and brave enough to join the Foreign Legion for even a short stint.\u00a0 If only….<\/p>\n

I’d drink stiff coffee, talk shit all day long with the expatriates, and take cover only when truly necessary.\u00a0 I’d jot caustic notes on the backs of napkins (and into my iPhone Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No.\u00a0 Upon final rewrite, make that Lichtenstein, a\u00a0 tiny cinematic metaphor freezing its alpine ass off smack in the middle of a much larger, tempestuous world money market.\u00a0 I’ll declare the Swiss Franc my new currency—diminutive, but not to the point as to be completely overlooked at the box office; still along the lines of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6388","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"hentry","6":"category-disintermediation","7":"category-real-estate","9":"no-featured-image"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13439,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/13439\/core-beliefs-and-the-middle-of-the-road\/","url_meta":{"origin":6388,"position":0},"title":"Core Beliefs and The Middle of the Road","author":"Jeff Brown","date":"October 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"When it comes to core beliefs, it's difficult to take someone seriously, who claims to hold a 'middle of the road' position. This isn't about where you or I stand politically, spiritually, or any other way. Furthermore, I don't much care where you are on those subjects. I hope you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/general\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":461,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/461\/blogoff-post-84-give-your-weblog-posts-a-magic-middle\/","url_meta":{"origin":6388,"position":1},"title":"Blogoff Post #84: Give your weblog posts a magic middle . . . ?","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 26, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"From the Problogger \u2018How To\u2026\u2019 Group Writing Project, Business Blogwire serves up \"5 Tips on How to Give Your Blog Posts a Magic Middle\":1. Think meat and potatoes. 2. Transitions are crucial. 3. Make your theme abundantly clear. 4. Read your post carefully before publishing it. 5. Whatever you do,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blogging"","block_context":{"text":"Blogging","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/blogging\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17659,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/17659\/overnight-news-first-the-rich-tricked-the-middle-class-into-funding-their-security-then-they-sided-with-the-crooks-against-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":6388,"position":2},"title":"Overnight News: First the rich tricked the middle class into funding their security \u2013 then they sided with the crooks against\u00a0them.","author":"Greg Swann","date":"December 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The idea of a \"police force\" is ancient. Rich people needed security, but poor people had nothing to secure. The middle class needed what it couldn't pay for, and the rich, as always, wanted someone else to pay its way. Enter the police under various names, with politics, ultimately, turning\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ya think it's easy?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/BHBNewTopImage-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3362,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/3362\/the-disappearing-stressed-middle-class-where-are-they-going\/","url_meta":{"origin":6388,"position":3},"title":"The Disappearing (Stressed) Middle Class — Where Are They Going?","author":"Jeff Brown","date":"July 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"David Shafer at Uncommon Financial Wisdom is smarter than the average bear, as Yogi used to say. We met online, though I don't remember exactly how. Over time you discover he's the real deal. After half a dozen conversations with him you're not surprised to learn he's also earned a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Real Estate"","block_context":{"text":"Real Estate","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/real-estate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17993,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/17993\/overnight-news-trump-delivered-peace-in-the-middle-east-china-joe-yearns-to-screw-that-up-too\/","url_meta":{"origin":6388,"position":4},"title":"Overnight News: Trump delivered peace in the Middle East. China Joe yearns to screw that up,\u00a0too.","author":"Greg Swann","date":"March 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Donald Trump was a president of great consequence, most of which was buried under daily fusillades of hysterical hatred. His greatest accomplishment, best obscured, was peace in the Middle East \u2013 which China Joe is doing his best to undo, of course. China first \u2013 always \u2013 but The War\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ya think it's easy?","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/BHBNewTopImage-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17060,"url":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/17060\/overnight-news-mocking-redfin-about-the-dystemperors-new-unriots-is-funny-until-you-think-about-what-our-studied-negligence-is-doing-to-the-black-middle-class\/","url_meta":{"origin":6388,"position":5},"title":"Overnight News: Mocking Redfin about The Dystemperor\u2019s New Unriots is funny \u2013 until you think about what our studied negligence is doing to the black middle\u00a0class.","author":"Greg Swann","date":"September 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"As I noted yesterday, these are not just riots we are seeing across the country, they are carefully-mismanaged riots. Where the police department is allowed to function according to well-understood crowd-control theory, there are no riots. Cf., e.g., Detroit. As with acknowledging the riots themselves, taking note of this deliberate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Group Therapy"","block_context":{"text":"Group Therapy","link":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/category\/group-therapy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/BHBNewTopImage-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6388"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6505,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6388\/revisions\/6505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bloodhoundrealty.com\/BloodhoundBlog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}