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Money matters: Wall Street’s crystal ball reveals overcast in 2005 (Part
two)
Graham Macdonald
MBMG International Ltd.
As we have already seen, the Street is
much more bullish than MBMG about the prospects of the equity markets in
2005. How well founded is this optimism? Let’s look at each analyst’s
views and the basis for these views:
Oak Associates
Edward Yardeni, chief investment strategist
Akron, Ohio
S&P 500: 1385; DJIA: 11700
Fed-funds rate: 3%
10-year Treasury yield: 4.5%
Dollar: The euro at $1.45 in the first half
“The most critical element of my forecast is my very
benign outlook for inflation,” writes Mr. Yardeni, who predicts
inflation as measured by the consumer price index will hold steady at
around 2% - for the rest of the decade. That’s some forecast. He offers
several reasons to back it up. The end of the Cold War and China’s
admission to the World Trade Organization accelerated globalization, he
argues, spurring the integration of national markets around the world.
That development acts as a catalyst to free trade, which helps keep down
inflation through increased open competition. In other words, writes Mr.
Yardeni “Prosperity, like love, conquers all.”
MBMG view – there is a very strong risk that the
deflation much feared only last year has not gone away but simply been
deferred. Mr. Yardeni’s inflation numbers may actually exceed the
2000-2010 decade average so he certainly isn’t going out on a limb
there. Quite how he can equate such deflation/disinflation with prosperity
is beyond us – take the blinkers off and it indicates the opposite, a
lack of wealth liquidity and capital. To us Mr. Yardeni is like a man who,
in 1927, would have stood on Wall Street, sniffed the air and deduced
prosperity from the lack of sustained inflationary pressure.
Wells Capital Management
James W. Paulsen, chief investment strategist
Minneapolis
S&P 500: 1325
Fed-funds: 4%
10-year yield: 5.5% to 6%
Near the top of many market watchers’ lists of danger
signs is the relatively weak spending by consumers during the holidays.
While luxury goods flew of the shelves, low-income
consumers, crimped by a slack job environment and rising energy prices,
have hurt discount retailers such as Wal-Mart, which in November ratcheted
down its holiday sales-growth forecast to 1% - 3% growth from 2% - 4%. And
with interest rates on the rise, the days of cheap credit could be coming
to an end. Mr. Paulsen, however, thinks consumer spending will continue
strong into 2005. “In the last year, wages and salaries have risen by
about 5%,” he says, while the core personal-consumption-inflation rate
has gone up by just 1%. Household net worth in the last year has grown at
a 10.2% rate, according to his calculations, primarily because property
values have skyrocketed. One figure Mr. Paulsen expects to focus on in
2005 is the U.S. trade deficit. “The surprise of 2005 is going to be
that the trade deficit improves,” he says. “That’s why I think
growth is going to be stronger than people think and that job creation and
profits will be stronger than people think.”
What does that mean for the market? “Stocks go quite
a bit higher,” he says.
The extent of the self-delusion on the Street is a
constant source of amazement to MBMG. Any improvement in the trade deficit
in 2005 can only come as a result of the utter impoverishment of the US
consumer. Sadly we see this as a near certainty. Re-mortgages have
dwindled, house prices are on the verge of collapse, the job numbers are
extremely worrying and the increase in personal net worth has seen an
accompanying rise in indebtedness that Mr. Paulsen simply ignores.
Exhibiting such an inability to interpret the symptoms in front of him,
we’re glad that Mr. Paulsen isn’t a physician.
Goldman Sachs
Abbey Joseph Cohen, chief investment strategist
New York
S&P 500: 1325; Dow: 11800
Real gross domestic product: 3.4%
Ms. Cohen also sees the spending-weary consumer as a
potential red flag heading into 2005. In recent years, “we’ve been
fortunate in that consumers have done what they do best, and that is
consume,” she says. “But that has to be followed up by businesses
being willing to spend.” As businesses start unloading all the extra
cash sitting on their balance sheets in 2005, job growth should pick up,
says Ms. Cohen. Since “balance sheets are in their best shape in a long
time,” that will lead to increased M&A activity, more dividends,
share buybacks and job expansion. Clearly the rate of job expansion has
been disappointing, and we’re going to be waiting to see what companies
do in 2005,” she says. “We’re hoping that there will be somewhat
better job creation in 2005.”
MBMG thinks that Abbey’s hopes hint of desperation. The balance
sheets are indeed in good shape but unless there are new customers out
there there’ll be no new investment. Cash-rich companies should perform
relatively well defensively when the recession bites. Abbey sounds like
she knows that but is hoping that we won’t see that in ’05. Whether
she’s right and disaster doesn’t actually strike until ’06 is the
real question for equity markets for the year ahead.
The above data and research was compiled from sources believed to be
reliable. However, neither MBMG International Ltd nor its officers can
accept any liability for any errors or omissions in the above article nor
bear any responsibility for any losses achieved as a result of any actions
taken or not taken as a consequence of reading the above article. For more
information please contact Graham Macdonald on [email protected]
Snap Shots: Get in close – but try to avoid being killed
by Harry Flashman
When war photographers are being discussed, one name
will always be mentioned amongst the bravest, and that is Robert Capa. In
December 1938, the publication Picture Post featured what they headlined
as “The Greatest War Photographer in the World: Robert Capa” with a
pictorial spread of 26 photographs taken during the Spanish Civil War.
It was also war photographer Robert Capa who said,
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough,”
and that in a nut-shell encapsulates photojournalism, particularly shots
taken in war-times, but actually relevant to almost all photographs.
“Step several meters closer,” has been one of my catch-cries for many
years for amateur photographers who want to improve their images.
While Robert Capa is remembered as the intrepid
American war photographer, he was actually a Hungarian Jew who did not
espouse war. Born in 1913 in Budapest, his real name was Andre Friedman.
He became politically active as a teenager and had to leave his homeland
and studied political science at the Deutsche Hochschule fr
Politik in Berlin (1931-33). To finance this, he worked part-time in a
photo lab; however, the rise of the Nazi party drove him out of Germany
and into France.
In France he became conversant with the artistic
community including Picasso and Hemingway and met the female journalist
and photographer, Gerda Taro. It was with Gerda that Andre came up with
the name “Robert Capa an American photographer” and sold his prints
under that name. Artistic license was well entrenched at that time in
France.
By 1936, “Andre Friedman” had been supplanted by
the new alter ego, “Robert Capa” and it was under this new name that
he went to Spain to cover the Spanish Civil War, with his photographs
being syndicated to several continental magazines and newspapers.
His 1936 photo showing the final seconds of an unnamed
Spanish Loyalist soldier as he falls to the ground has become one of the
most powerful symbols of war time tragedy. This really brought his
reputation (or that of Robert Capa) to the fore. Unfortunately the same
Spanish Civil War saw his friend Gerda Taro (Gerda Pohorylles) being
killed as well, which apparently was to have a lasting effect upon him.
Capa, now a sadder soul, left Europe and went to China
but then immigrated to New York in 1939. From 1939-45 he photographed
World War II as a Life and Collier’s correspondent in Europe, from the
perspective of the American Allies, including the landing of American
troops in Omaha Beach, the Liberation of Paris and the battle of the
Bulge, and he received the Medal of Freedom Citation from General Dwight
D. Eisenhower. He was known for running onto the beaches shoulder to
shoulder with American troops, photographing while those around him were
firing. Capa was always in the thick of all the action, even though
sometimes he would be so shaken it was difficult for him to reload his
cameras. He certainly was close enough. And it was through this that his
reputation as a war photographer was sealed.
After the war, in 1947, along with the leading lights
of photography Henri Cartier-Bresson, David Seymour (Chim), George Rodger
and William Vandivert, he founded Magnum Pictures, one of the foremost
photo libraries in the world, which is still in existence today.
During the initial phases of Magnum, it was necessary
for them all to bring in award winning standard shots, which Capa did
photographing the post-war “good” times with his friends, including
Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck, with whom he traveled to
Russia and then to Israel with Irwin Shaw.
With it looking as if Capa, the war photographer, was behind him, there
came a fateful call for him to stand in for an assignment. He had been
visiting pre-war friends in Japan when he was called to replace the other
photographer on a LIFE assignment in Indochina. Capa took the job, and was
killed after stepping on a land mine, the first American correspondent to
die in Indochina. This time he had gone just too close.
Modern Medicine: MRI, the non-invasive,
non-radiating imaging
by Dr. Iain Corness, Consultant
We are all conversant with X-Rays, those
invisible rays that can look through our bodies and end up as images on special
X-Ray film. When we first started using these as an aid to diagnosis, we thought
that it just couldn’t get any better. Of course we were wrong!
Since those early days we now have much more sophisticated
techniques, and one of these is MRI, which stands for Magnetic Resonance
Imaging. This aid to diagnosis has seen tremendous improvements over the past
few years with continued advances in technology. One of these improvements is in
the power of the magnetic field (measured in a unit called Teslas, named after
inventor Nikola Tesla). The greater the magnetic force, the better images that
result.
MRI simply uses radio waves in combination with a strong
magnetic field looking at the interaction between the radio waves and the
hydrogen atoms in the body fluids. Remembering that we are 95 percent water, and
that water is made up of two hydrogen atoms to every one oxygen atom, there are
enough for the MRI unit to focus on.
The strong magnetic field lines up the hydrogen atoms in the
same direction, and then the bombarding radio waves make the hydrogen atoms give
off a signal. This signal is then picked up by the MRI scanner computer and
turned into images that look like X-Rays, but in actual fact are not.
It is important to note that because the equipment uses radio
waves which are harmless (after all, we are surrounded by radio waves every day
that you tune your radio into) and a magnetic field which is also harmless,
there is not the danger from this technique as there is compared to the usual
ionising radiation.
A magnet strength of around 1.5 Tesla or greater, allows for
special examinations, including the assessment of acute brain haemorrhage
strokes), brain infarcts (another type of strokes), and brain lesions such as
tumours and infections. Other examples include extremely detailed imaging of the
eyes, inner ears, pituitary gland, temporo-mandibular joint, uterus and ovaries,
the heart, arteries of the abdomen, kidneys, legs, neck, and head, and even the
wrist.
MRI technology also allows MRA (magnetic resonance
angiography) which looks at blood vessels and blood flow in virtually any part
of the body, generally without injection of contrast medium. This is important,
as the contrast medium used in conventional angiography can be very dangerous.
It is important to also understand the differences between CT
scans and MRI. Both MRI and CT make cross-sectional images (slices) of almost
any area of the body using a sophisticated computer system. The major difference
is that while an MRI uses a large magnet and radio waves to produce images, a CT
scanner uses ionising radiation. With the MRI studies, there is no exposure to
ionising radiation and there are no known side effects. Both systems have their
inherent strengths and weaknesses, however CT can only directly acquire
transverse and coronal images, whereas MRI can directly acquire slices in any
plane and is superior when it comes to soft tissue contrast.
Any part of the body can be scanned on the MR scanner. The
part being scanned must be in the centre of the scanner and near the scanner
coil which is usually shaped so that the body part will just fit into it. MRI
machines come with many different coils designed for imaging different parts of
the body - knees, shoulders, wrists, heads, necks - you name your body part and
we can look inside it - safely!
Learn to Live to Learn: Poetry in Motion
with Andrew Watson
Those lucky hundreds crammed into the
Vibhavadee Ballroom at the Sofitel Central Plaza in Bangkok three weeks ago to
witness a series of lectures by Doctor Howard Gardner were treated to a true
visionary sharing his wisdom.
His work on ‘Multiple Intelligences’ over the past twenty
years has had a profound impact on thinking and practice in education and yet,
Dr Gardner claims, he is not an ‘educationalist’, rather a psychologist.
Perhaps what he shares with the world of education is the
desire to change the world for the better and to help create the conditions for
such change. Thus he echoes Ghandi, who proclaimed, “Be the change you want to
see in the world.”
Dr Gardner is not at all complimentary about the I.Q. test,
regarding it as antiquated and claiming that it only measures a certain kind of
intelligence, that which will make good logical practitioners of law. He is seen
as radical in some quarters and his philosophy, one can be reasonably sure,
would not endear him to President Bush.
He is, for instance, entirely dismissive of creation theory,
or anything that has no empirical base. He can be seen as trying to change the
world in two distinct ways. Firstly, through empirical investigation, he has
identified nine ‘intelligences’ which create the possibility of allowing
human kind to negotiate their way through an environment that in order to
survive, let alone succeed in, we have hitherto happily sentenced our children
to sixteen to eighteen years of a certain kind of schooling.
Secondly, for the last ten years he has been investigating
the concept of ‘Leadership and ethics’, unearthing characteristics of what
he considers constitute ‘Good Work’.
Dr Gardner’s nine intelligences are: Linguistic
intelligence: sensitivity to the meaning and order of words.
Logical-mathematical intelligence: ability in mathematics and other complex
logical systems. Musical intelligence: the ability to understand and create
music. Spatial intelligence: the ability to “think in pictures,” to perceive
the visual world accurately, and recreate (or alter) it in the mind or on paper.
Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: the ability to use one’s body in a skilled
way, for self-expression or toward a goal. Interpersonal intelligence: an
ability to perceive and understand other individuals — their moods, desires,
and motivations. Intrapersonal intelligence: an understanding of one’s own
emotions. Naturalist intelligence: refers to the ability to recognize and
classify plants, minerals, and animals, including rocks and grass and all
variety of flora and fauna. The ability to recognize cultural artifacts like
cars or sneakers may also depend on the naturalist intelligence. Existential
intelligence: Sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human
existence such as the meaning of life and why we die.
In schools which embrace the Gardner philosophy, the
exciting, revolutionary implication for education is that teachers are not only
freed from restrictions, they are encouraged to use a variety of ways of
presenting topics. So rather than being bound by regulation and narrow curricula
definitions of what learning is and how learning happens, teachers can be
creative, inventive and imaginative in their presentation. In short, they must
engage in their vocation.
An example? Consider Paul Gascoigne, an English soccer player
of distinctive genius who was once unkindly labelled ‘World’s most stupid
footballer’. Gardner would argue that Gascoigne possessed a number of
fantastically well developed intelligences, including, ‘Bodily-kinesthetic’
intelligence.
In terms of decision making when he was on the field,
‘Gazza’ was the brightest of the bunch – seeing angles, passes,
possibilities that others couldn’t, displaying technical skill which
demonstrated profound levels of understanding. The fact that he seemed to be as
incoherent, often as a result of fluid, off the field, as he was coherent and
fluid on it, only serves to illustrate Gardner’s theory further.
It’s a wonderfully egalitarian theory, which necessarily
embraces everyone – by recognizing that we are all intelligent, in one, two or
however many ways. Thus, one starts to realize the implications for schools,
especially those who promise in their mission statements something like, that
they “allow each and every child to achieve their full potential.”
In everyday classroom practice, instead of teaching literacy
and numeracy by rote which is usually the result of either recurrent national
political pressure or stagnant pedagogy, aspects of literacy and numeracy can be
included in thematic study.
So, let’s take Gazza again. How could you teach Gazza the
child, numeracy? How about by appealing to his area of particular interest,
soccer, and telling him to juggle the ball? You could assign different values to
each part of the body he was juggling the ball with and ask him to keep count.
The point is that you appeal to one (or more) of his
intelligences to assist him in gaining knowledge and understanding in others.
It’s not hocus-pocus, you know.
Visual, Creative Arts and Management require creative
and imaginative approaches. I see the effects of Gardner-oriented teacher
delivery on a daily basis and it’s revitalising to witness.
Next week: Where Good Work and the IBO meet
 Heart to Heart with Hillary
Dear Hillary,
This is a sensitive subject, so I must choose my words carefully. The
subject is condoms. Do you realize that none of the brands on offer at local
pharmacies have instructions on how to use them?! Being a lifelong bachelor,
I rely on the ladies that staff the beer bars for female companionship. But
because of my hang-ups involving condoms, I never get past the stage of
carrying on conversation and drinking the obligatory booze until I fall off
my stool. This has earned me the nick-name “Khee Mau” at these places.
Here’s my problem with buying and using condoms: First; all pharmacies
have female clerks that ring up purchases. Being the shy type, I just glance
at the condom rack, and end up buying band-aids. Second; I am aware that
certain condoms are more reliable than others, but to stand at the condom
rack reading the labels while there are others in the store would embarrass
me. Third, of course is the aforementioned lack of instructions on the
package. I am pretty sure that if I can use the condom properly, I have a
good chance of scoring with one of these lovelies. Can you advise me on a
text or website that covers this subject? I want to limit my drinking and
get on with the more important reasons for visiting beer bars.
K. Mau
Dear K. Mau,
My poor Petal! What a fix you have managed to get yourself into. It is
appalling that this state of affairs has developed into psychological
hang-ups, though in your case it sounds more like ‘hang-downs’ doesn’t
it. Another victim of ‘Brewer’s droop’ it seems? But not to worry, my
shrinking Petal, you don’t need a web-site to help you work out which way
is up, while preparing for use - Hillary will tell you how it is done. You
have first off forgotten that your lady drinking companions are often
referred to as ‘service girls’ in the pulp press, aren’t they? Now
part of that ‘service’ can not only be just in pouring your beers, but
also helping you on and off with your jacket, and even later, your overcoat!
Another part of the service is supply and personal fitting. Since the best
quality is even more important from their point of view, you can safely let
them do the choosing and purchasing, and I’m sure they’ll be able to
correctly guesstimate the size you’ll need as well. By the way, please do
not ever consider repairing these items with the vast supply of band-aids
that you obviously have at home. They are single use and throw away items,
and please dispose of them properly, that’s a good chap.
Dear Hillary,
I recently had the opportunity to visit your great city for a look and see.
I stayed in a local hotel for one week. You have some of the prettiest girls
(ladies) in the world. I say this as a retired US Navy sailor that has
sailed the world over. This trip was a short one to see if Thailand really
had what I wanted in retirement. I gotta tell you, I continually tripped
over my feet staring at all the beautiful girls so fit and trim. I am
looking forward to returning to Thailand and establishing a home away from
home. In addition to opportunities to meet attractive ladies, I look forward
to deep-sea fishing, travel and shopping. I am really not interested in
hanging out in the nightspots though. Where is a good place to meet lovely
ladies?
Ron
Dear Ron,
There are lovely ladies in every city in the world, not just Thai cities.
How would you go about meeting attractive ladies in your own country?
Hanging around the bars and nightspots turns up the same sort of ladies
everywhere - the more ‘professional’ girls, and Thailand is no
exception. If you are serious about meeting a soul mate, you will find one
in groups that have similar interests to yourself. When you come here, then
join the groups and clubs and become active in the community. However, if
your interest is merely in propping up a bar while draped with a gorgeous
bar girl and discussing the downsides of the Thai society, you will get what
you deserve. It’s up to you, my Petal.
Dear Hillary,
My girlfriend is becoming a pain, complaining if I go out for more than two
nights in succession. She accuses me of having other ladies and then will
not talk to me for days on end. I never complain when she goes home to see
her children and family. I have been a good partner to her and have taken
care of Mama and Papa and every month I give her 30,000 baht pocket money
for herself, but she still complains. What do you suggest? Please not more
money as I am running low!
Tired Tim
Dear Tired Tim,
You have to accept the fact that she is the way she is, and she considers
two nights in a row is too much temptation. You have to make the choice.
Domestic quiet or disco duck twice a week. The answer does not lie in
spending more money, my Petal, the answer lies in spending less. There is no
point in flogging a dead horse with thousand baht notes. It will still be a
dead horse.
Psychological Perspectives: When the driving habits of others seem to drive us crazy
by Michael Catalanello,
Ph.D.
A common complaint heard in Thailand,
particularly when in the company of “farangs,” concerns the
unconventional (in the experience of some) driving habits of many of the
local inhabitants.
Negotiating one’s way through dense herds of unruly
motorcycles roaming the urban roadways of this country represents a
distinct challenge to some drivers. The number of passengers carried by
those motorcycles is frequently in violation of legal regulations, not to
mention the laws of physics. The tender age of many passengers, some of
whom are mere babes in mothers’ arms, further contributes to the
dangerous mix. Additionally, those motorcyclists often seem inclined to
tempt fate by traveling against the conventional flow of traffic. Those
acculturated to local driving norms appear quite unconcerned. For those of
us accustomed to a different set of norms, however, the experience can be
quite unnerving.
Driving hazards are not confined to those of the
motorcycle variety. Certain routine practices by those driving cars,
trucks, vans, farm vehicles, and motorized contraptions which defy
description can become a cause of concern for those unfamiliar, and even
some long familiar, with such dangerous behavior.
Most critics of local drivers, it seems, appear to treat
this problem with acceptance, resignation and occasionally a bit of humor:
The Thai phrase, “Mai pen rai” seems the operative attitude of many.
Although they may find local driving experiences frightening and, of course
dangerous, these individuals respond to the problem merely with annoyance,
and perhaps take special precautions to drive more cautiously or
defensively as a result.
Other drivers respond quite differently. They can easily
become quite upset by others’ driving habits, shouting, cursing, and
using the rich and expressive language of gestures to convey their contempt
for their errant fellow motorists. At the extreme, some drivers have been
known to retaliate against thoughtless or discourteous drivers by
threatening them, chasing them down, running them off the road, and even
physically assaulting them as the opportunity arises.
What distinguishes those whose emotions become volatile
in response to driving norms from the “Mai pen rai” crowd? While the
reckless behavior of motorists is an important factor, it alone cannot
explain the response of those who become emotionally upset and respond with
homicidal rage. We are, all of us, dealing with virtually the same driving
behavior, yet we are not all responding the same emotionally and
behaviorally.
A key difference between emotionally hot and emotionally
cool drivers is the way they think about their driving experiences.
Our thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs about other motorists’ dangerous
driving habits are instrumental in producing our emotional response. For
example, if I entertain the notion that people MUST drive the way I very
much prefer that they drive, I am likely to upset myself when they
don’t. If I instead decide that I merely prefer that they drive
according to my standards, I will likely be annoyed when they
don’t. I will, however, spare myself the pain and emotional distress that
I experience when my absolute demands are not met.
The idea that we humans are very talented in creating
and maintaining emotional disturbance by entertaining irrational and
disturbing thoughts is a key feature of an elegant and influential modern
theory of human emotional disturbance developed by psychologist Albert
Ellis called Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT).
In Ellis’s view, it is possible for someone who
habitually finds himself yelling, cursing, and experiencing homicidal
thoughts to defuse his hostility and respond more appropriately to various
adversities. We can, with effort, gain control over our emotional responses
by learning to recognize the irrational thoughts which give rise to our
emotional upsets. We can then learn techniques for disputing irrational
beliefs, and replace them with ideas that are more compatible with
appropriate, non-disturbed emotions, and more rational and effective
behavior.
For more on Ellis and REBT, pick up “The Road to Tolerance,” (2004)
the latest in over 75 books produced by this prolific and influential
modern thinker.
Dr. Catalanello is a licensed psychologist in his home
State of Louisiana, USA. He is a member of the Faculty of Liberal Arts at
Asian University, Chonburi. Address questions and comments to him at [email protected]
Sound and Vision
By Justin
Trousers
Following the extensive coverage of the Oscars in the
Pattaya Mail last week, I would like to offer you a review of Million
Dollar Baby. Sadly, film distributors in Thailand have been slow to
bring the nominated movies into the Kingdom, and they are even slower at
bringing them down to Pattaya. While we wait; let’s look at a movie
that has had a load of hype (but no Oscar nominations).
 Movies
Open Water
I have a quiz for you:
Question: Two objectionable, self-obsessed yuppies
are floating in the ocean. Which one is the first to be eaten by a
shark?
Answer: Who gives a damn?
And there lies the main problem with Open Water. The
limited time we spend with the two lead characters before they are left
behind by their dive boat on a diving trip does not endear us to them.
Once they find themselves alone and an unwilling rubber-wrapped floating
shark buffet, their endless bickering and complaining does not engender
further sympathy. Personally, I could not wait for both of them to shut
up whining at each other and be dragged beneath the waves.
I really wanted to like this movie. Made on weekends
and holidays for $130,000 by a husband and wife team, using unknown
actors who spent 120 hours in the water during production (imagine the
wrinkly fingers!), they deserve to succeed; and indeed they have
garnered much praise and awards, but it did not work for me. Miss Julie
pronounced herself seasick half way through; and “mai sanuk” at the
end, and it doesn’t get more damning than that.
DVD
Bad Santa
Another recently released budget title for less than
200 baht; for a film that was in the cinemas here only a couple of
months ago.
In the absence of a film rating system in Thailand,
people have to make their own judgments as to what is suitable viewing
for their families. When we went to see Bad Santa there were a number of
parents who had obviously looked at the title and seen the word
“Santa” and had decided it would be a cosy Xmas treat for their
kiddies. They should have taken the adjective into consideration because
Bad Santa is not a children’s movie; it is not a movie for anyone of
any age who is easily offended. It is rude, crude, lude and deliciously
funny, and a refreshing change from the usual festive nonsense.
 Billy Bob Thornton is in his element as a
foul-mouthed, alcoholic loser called Willie Stokes who takes a job as
Santa in large shopping malls with the sole intention of robbing the
Xmas takings. His behaviour, even with the children, is outrageous and I
found myself regularly thinking “he didn’t just say that…” or
“surely he won’t do that…”, but he did, and he does. In spite of
his behaviour, Thornton makes Willie Stokes a likeable character, and
there is some redemption for him at the end; but not enough to tarnish
the subversive style of the movie. Directed by Terry Zwigoff and
co-produced by the Coen brothers, Bad Santa is bad in the best possible
way.
With a degree in English, Miss Julie has an extensive
collection of English words at her disposal. In addition, I like to feel
that sitting with me in the car as I express my feelings about the
behaviour of other road users on Thepprasit Road has added some
expletives to her vocabulary that she would never have learned at
university. Even so, when we’d finished watching Bad Santa she had a
number of new words and phrases in her head; and I swear she blushed
when I explained some of them. What really amazed me was that none of
the people who had brought their kids left before the end of the movie;
they must have been asked some really challenging questions on their way
home!
Excellent entertainment; just be careful who you
watch it with!
Music
Scissor Sisters
Making a totally irreverent movie about the Xmas
season is one way to upset people. Another approach is to find a song
that is an iconic untouchable to many, Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd
for example, and make a totally irreverent cover version. Ladies and
Gentlemen, please welcome the Scissor Sisters.
At this point I should declare my interest in
Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd; I love it. I have been known to declare,
after being suitably refreshed, that if I fail to leap around and wield
my air guitar when it is being played, then I am probably dead and can
be buried forthwith. Then along comes this cover version which sounds
like the Bee Gees in extra-tight trousers on a cocktail of drugs in a
disco that is about to be raided by the police. Should we be apoplectic
with rage or surprisingly delighted? Well, lighten up people, this is
only pop music and Scissor Sisters have something to offer if you give
them a chance.
 Scissor Sisters are a five piece band from New York
and their self-titled debut album is stuffed full of great tunes, funky
grooves and clever lyrics (and the cover version of Comfortably Numb).
There is plenty of variety in the music on offer, but it is all
refreshing and fun. Bowie and Elton John are obvious influences on some
tracks (and Elton must be pleased because he has asked them to write a
song for his Billy Elliot musical), and there’s a 70s throwback feel
in places; but this is still original, clever music. They are huge in
Europe, their home country is waking up to them, and you can buy their
album in Pattaya and decide for yourself.
And Comfortably Numb? I still prefer the original but admire the
swagger and cheek of the cover version. For further emotion stirring
covers you can also try the Sex Pistols giving My Way the treatment it
should be receiving in every karaoke bar, Marilyn Manson putting an
extra dose of tainted into Tainted Love (originally recorded by Gloria
Jones and then covered by Soft Cell) or most recently, Limp Bizkit
offering a more mellow version of The Who song, Behind Blue Eyes. Best
of all; seek out the Celine Dion cover of Motorhead’s Ace of Spades,
sung in French (just joking; but that would be worth a listen!).
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