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According to the Associated Press: JPMorgan announced a broad $13.1 billion settlement with the Justice Department earlier this week over the bank's activities leading up to the financial crisis of 2008. This settlement is is part of that deal.
What I wonder is: Where does the $13.1 billion go: Who takes charge of all that money? To whom is it paid? Does anyone reading this know the answer?
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A couple days ago I found myself debating whether to download to my Kindle a new adventure novel of some sort, such as a legal thriller, a Science Fiction classic, or perhaps a Stephen King type of horror story. Then I decided instead to search for something a little more in the way of literature.
On the blog, The Dish under the heading The "Anti-Gatsby," I read "Tim Kreider praises John Williams’s Stoner as "a great, chronically under appreciated American novel" -- this spurred me to seek out a review of Stoner.
From The New Yorker
THE GREATEST AMERICAN NOVEL YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF
It turned out that this was more than a simple review. It was a complete article. The first paragraph begins: In one of those few gratifying instances of belated artistic justice, John Williams’s "Stoner" has become an unexpected bestseller in Europe after being translated and championed by the French writer Anna Gavalda. Once every decade or so, someone like me tries to do the same service for it in the U.S., writing an essay arguing that "Stoner" is a great, chronically under appreciated American novel.
I read the entire article and, as you might suspect, then visited Amazon and read the 'Look Inside' preview. Of course, I downloaded the Kindle version of the book. If it turns out to be as satisfactory as I hope it will be, I'll announce it in a future blog entry.
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Did You Know . . .?
Hershey's Kisses are called that because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.
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HISTORICAL EVENT
Chuck Berry was one of the biggest pop stars of the late 1950s when he began to have legal problems. While charges in yet another Mann Act violation were pending (which were dismissed in 1960), Berry met Janice Escalante, a 14-year-old Native American. According to Berry, who took the young woman on the road with his traveling rock show, Escalante claimed to be 21 years old. After there was a falling out between the two, Escalante complained about Berry to the authorities.
During his second trial, Berry was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. After a short stretch in Leavenworth Federal Prison, he was transferred to a Missouri jail, where he spent his time writing songs. Among the songs he wrote before his release from prison in October 1963 was "No Particular Place to Go".
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WORD FOR TODAY
genuine [JEN'-yoo-ihn]
adjective
1. Actually possessing the alleged or apparent attribute or character: genuine leather.
2. Not spurious or counterfeit; authentic.
3.
a. Honestly felt or experienced: genuine devotion.
b. Actual; real: a genuine dilemma.
4. Free from hypocrisy or dishonesty; sincere.
5. Being of pure or original stock: a genuine Hawaiian.
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CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS
(born October 28, 1955)
Bill Gates is an American business magnate, investor, programmer, inventor and philanthropist. Gates is the former chief executive and current chairman of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computer software company, which he co-founded with Paul Allen.
(born October 28, 1967)
Julia Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman (1990), which grossed $464 million worldwide. After receiving Golden Globe Awards and Academy Award nominations for Steel Magnolias (1989) and Pretty Woman, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Erin Brockovich (2000). Her films Mystic Pizza (1988), The Pelican Brief (1993), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Notting Hill (1999), Runaway Bride (1999), Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004), Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Valentine's Day (2010), Eat Pray Love (2010), and Mirror Mirror (2012) have collectively brought box office receipts of over $2.6 billion, making her one of the most successful actresses in terms of box office receipts
(born October 28, 1944)
Dennis Franz is an American actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a hard-boiled police detective, in the television series NYPD Blue. He previously appeared as Lt. Norman Buntz on Hill Street Blues, and earlier played Detective Benedetto on the same show.
(born October 28, 1963)
Lauren Holly is an American-born Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Deputy Sheriff Maxine Stewart in the TV series Picket Fences, as Mary Swanson in the 1994 film Dumb & Dumber, and as Jenny Shepard on the TV series NCIS. She was married to comic actor Jim Carrey from 1996 to 1997.
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The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation.
--Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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