Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

Christmas Special Rerun

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Well, since I spent part of this morning crying through Frosty the Snowman with my little girl – a yearly tradition for me – I'd like to offer this repost from last year on an important topic: the Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials……..

As a Gen-X child, I offer you The Truth:

  • + The original R-B special, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, is the best. And I think it's time, as a nation, we recognize the fact that a large part of this country's current sex drive had its beginnings with Clarice the Reindeer. (I'm cuuuuuuuuute! – – followed by a none-too-subtle thrust into the open air, which is apparently quite surprising for such a young buck. Not a stitch of clothing on either, by the way.)
  • Yukon Cornelius rules.
  • Hermey has always had a special place in my heart. I guess the whole misfit thing does it – – if he were real, he'd probably hang out on Slope.
  • + You just know that the blonde-topped Fireball is going to wind up dating other bucks once he comes of age. It's obvious. My gaydar is effective even on trans-species analysis.
  • + As a father, Donner sucks. He castigates his newborn son for a minor genetic deformity….and morbidly-obese Santa doesn't help a bit either after he catches the family trying their best to mask the red nose ("Donner! You should be ashamed of yourself!") What a couple of dickweeds.
  • +The Little Drummer Boy should be banned as a song. End of story.
  • + To this day, Frosty still brings tears to my eyes. Which part? Well, obviously, the part where Karen is crying. What, you don't cry then? You probably don't like puppies, either.
  • + As R-B started rolling in dough and the 70s emerged, the quality of the specials started dropping precipitously. Witness Santa Claus is Comin' to Town. Yes, the Fred Astaire character at least provided inspiration for Mr. Hanky's special many years later, but having Santa represented by some red-headed punk still gets on my nerves.
  • + One exception to the curse of the 70s is The Year Without a Santa Claus, and that's only because of Heat Miser and Cold Miser. Which one do I prefer? Oh, come on, do you really have to ask?
  • + The other specials – – dreck such as Nestor – – don't merit any analysis. This is really all ye need know.

1208-clarice

Weekly Sector Report | 11/26/10 (by Leisa)

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An interrupted trading week:  interrupted by our American Thanksgiving tradition, some spit spat between N/S Korea as well as continued concerns about sovereign debt.  The broad market index was down .61% with quite a bit of push and tug in the underlying sectors.  Here's the sector summary (click all images to make larger):

  Banks, Financial Services and Financials were hardest hit.  With the USD strengthening in the wake of these concerns, Basic Materials and Resources also suffered.  Retail stood tall, and the results of Black Friday will certainly impact this sector. Let's take a look at the weekly chart of the total stock market index:

It was a light volume week due to the holiday, and the market continues to consolidate at this level. It is going to go one way or the other.  Would that I had a crystal ball!  Mine's in shards; perhaps yours is in better shape.

I want to point out the the lower part of the chart  where I've consolidated two indicators (that show up on the detail charts).  The purple dashed line shows the performance of this index for the time period shown (Jan 07- current).  The broad market is still 20% below those highs.  It is a cogent reminder that "not-losing" is the key to winning.

The market is gathering energy through this consolidation for a move.  I don't mind being marginally committed (a/k/a standing aside) to see which way that might be. If the N/S Korean conflict and the sovereign debt issues get cleared, the move is likely to be up.  If not, a pullback will be in store. I've prepared a chart book for you which you can access here.  It is a large file, so please be patient with the download.