This is a review of the 2009 movie Knowing, starring Nicholas Cage.
Plot Synopsis: Astrophysicist and grieving widower, Professor John Koestler, studies a sheet of paper from a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; on it ...
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Evaluating the Cost of Extreme Frugality
Earlier this month one of my favorite personal finance bloggers, Bret Frohlich, wrote a terrific piece where he declared war on frugality and explained why frugality doesn't always pay.
In fact, Bret's post got me thinking about those who choose ...
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Drive-By Movie Review: The Women
This is a review of the 2008 movie The Women, starring Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, and Eva Mendes.
Plot Synopsis: A group of close-knit women try to figure out how to help their friend when she finds out that her husband of 13 years is having an ...
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Drive-By Movie Review: Gran Torino
There is nothing more irritating for me than eagerly settling down with the Honeybee to watch a movie we've rented that, ten minutes after the opening credits, makes me realize I should have chosen to do something a lot more entertaining with my ...
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Bernard Madoff Starts His 150-year Sentence
Good. ...
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Kids and Money: Our Decision to Let Our Impulsive Spender Fail
I've written in this space before about just how difficult it is to teach kids financial literacy. For every kid, that seems to have a natural ability to grasp the value of a dollar and a real determination to save as much as they can, there is ...
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Parents: Before You Name Your Baby, Learn How to Spell.
Igor: Dr. Frankenstein...
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: It's "Fronkensteen."
Igor: You're putting me on.
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: No, it's pronounced "Fronkensteen."
Igor: Do you also say "Froaderick"?
Dr. Frederick Frankenstein: No... ...
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18 Facts You Didn’t Know About The Federal Reserve System
1. The Federal Reserve System is the United States' version of a central bank. Central banks, also known as reserve banks, are the entities responsible for the monetary policy of a country. The United States has not always had a central banking ...
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Does Anybody Know the Going Rate for the Tooth Fairy?
My 9-year-old daughter, Lenina, lost another tooth today!
Of course, most everyone knows custom dictates that when a child loses a tooth they dutifully place it under their pillow knowing that the Tooth Fairy will come and take it in exchange for ...
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Celebrating My 100th Post!
You know, they say a milestone is anything that gives you a personal sense of accomplishment and helps you move forward. Amazingly enough, after just over six months I reached an important blogging milestone of my own today: post number 100! ...
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The 5 Worst Jobs For Teenagers
With summer here, schools are now on hiatus for vacation in most places around the country and teenagers are scurrying to find temporary jobs to earn some extra money. With that in mind, some parents may be interested to know that the National ...
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Paying Off the Mortgage Early? Not So Fast …
In January 2009 I wrote one of my most popular posts to-date entitled Paying Off Your Mortgage Early Is A No-Brainer. In that post I did a detailed analysis that justified why paying down my mortgage was the right thing to do.
That Was Then, This ...
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9 Personal Finance Lessons I Learned from Watching The Simpsons
Twenty years ago the series premier of arguably the greatest cartoon ever, The Simpsons, debuted in the United States. Over that time I have watched countless episodes chronicling the lives of Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa Simpson and all of their ...
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How to Avoid Neighbor Conflicts When It’s Time for a New Fence (Part 2)
This is the second part of a two-part series. Click here for part one.
As I noted in part one, over the years I have personally talked to several friends of mine who told me they would rather spend a couple hours in the dentist chair having their ...
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How to Avoid Neighbor Conflicts When It’s Time for a New Fence
Being a homeowner has a lot of responsibilities that renters never have to deal with. Many of the responsibilities are no big deal; others can be extremely unpleasant. One of the most painful homeowner tasks is dealing with the neighbors when a ...
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Inflation: How China May Be Forced To Use The Nuclear Option
It's Inflation Week at Len Penzo dot Com. Follow me over the next several days as I explore the multiple facets and facts about this insidious scourge, the probability of its resurgence, its potential impacts on us, and strategies for protecting ...
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Inflation: Your Four Best Defenses For Preserving Your Wealth
I kicked off this series on inflation with a warning about why all of us should fear inflation and why the US government needs it to take root in our economy. But I'm not the only one who thinks so.
Forbes posted an excellent article on the coming ...
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Inflation: Why You Should Fear It, And Why The US Wants It
Ronald Reagan accurately warned us in 1984 to be vigilant against inflation because it can come, "like a thief in the night to rob our savings, rob our earnings, and take the bread off our tables."
For this reason, the government is usually on ...
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Does Buying Your Gas In The Early Morning Really Save Money?
I've already written about the folly of trying to save a few cents per gallon when shopping for gas.
But did you know there are times when you don't get exactly what you pay for when you fill up your gasoline tank at the local station? It's not ...
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A Few Minutes With Personal Finance Genius Rich Livingston
Occasionally, I enjoy reading enlightening conversations with respected personal finance experts. But after making numerous interview requests over the past couple of months, it was obvious to me that most of those respected experts still didn't ...
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