LennyH wrote:Did you see Looper? That's a sci-fi film that I enjoyed a lot more.

Yeah I liked Looper. The younger actor's face in that movie almost made me think it was enhanced/altered by CGI, so I found that a bit diverting.

I truly miss when the boards had more active participation. I sometimes enjoy reading stuff other people post on Facebook, but I still feel clumsy and awkward there personally. The posts that turn into mini threads are enjoyable. Videos of cats frying eggs, not so much.

Hi Rita - thanks for doing the heavy lifting. I agree with all that, and would add a bunch more about how it was far too family-oriented in terms of style (aka treacly), not to mention the "science" part of the fiction was muddled nonsense. My beef is really with Nolan. I loved Memento so ...

Loved Birdman, hated Interstellar (don't even get me started).

I was fond of him, and his writing. Seemed like a truthful man. Very sad to see the headline.

No, but it sure looks like it could be good.

I'd choose John Coltrane over Corea, but that's just me.

Yes. Very good show about Danish politics and media. Not always consistent, I think it veered off a bit after season one, but worthwhile nonetheless.

LennyH wrote:
Or we could really screw them and do a reverse mortgage .

No kids here to leave anything to, so if my plans work out, I will reverse mortgage the hell out of this property. Six more years before that option becomes available.

"Under The Skin" was good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io92j2qqEGk

I believe you can contribute pre-tax quite a bit more with a SEP-IRA. When I was freelancing, I thought about setting one up, but I couldn't even hit the $5,000 or so minimum under the plain vanilla IRA when I was freelancing. I might have not even EARNED that much a year. Fidelity linked me to one...

Jeff, I found out something interesting a couple of years before I retired. Hopefully, Pat will correct me if I'm wrong. The 20,000 dollar plus maximum contribution is only for "before tax" contributions. If I'm understanding what I read at the time, the law/IRS rules allows one to contri...

REITs are expensive now. Throw up a weekly chart of IYR and see the rise. They are as expensive as much of the other fixed income assets. It is understandable given the current state of affairs, but I am not seeing a compelling risk/reward scenario. If I had to allocate to fixed income I would do it...

BFrank wrote:About when to claim SS, I've heard good arguments both ways. I think everyone needs to evaluate their own situation to make that decision. I'm currently holding off until I reach 66, because I don't need the cash yet.

Bingo. So, enjoy your 8% annual deferred annuity courtesy of SS admin..

Jeff - Annuities like the ones offered through the large brokerages (Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, Morgan Stanley, etc...) are defintely not a good deal now, and haven't been for quite a number of years. With future expected returns across broad asset classes running 2-4%, then factoring in the hefty ...

Frank is available via streaming from Netflix right now. Pretty terrific. The last scene is mesmerizing; I watched it like 5 times. The film has really stuck with me since I watched it last night. There are videos of the band (from the film) playing live, including on The Colbert Report. Fun stuff....

Not to derail this thread, but one of the instances it does make sense to wait to claim SS benefits is when your cash flow exceeds your needs before SS is factored in..because what delaying SS means is similar to holding an 8% lifetime annuity...holding off SS equals 8% annual guaranteed returns up ...

I can relate to everything posted in this thread. I worked in large corporations since college but from day one I knew it wasn't for me. I developed a savings/investment plan to get me out and it all came to fruition in 1999. Having no children made it possible, but I never wanted them anyway. I con...

Some recent viewings: Alamar (very good; great setting...somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico). Only Lovers Left Alive - must-see for any Tilda Swinton fan. Moody atmospheric Jim Jarmusch flick. The Disappearance of Alice Creed - Shitty one about kidnapping an heiress. Everlasting Moments - Wonderful per...

Looking forward to whenever they air a second season of The Fall . Netflix put up season two today. Looking forward to watching it soon. Been enjoying a show on Comedy Central called Broad City. This snippet from a review describes it better than I can: Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer play best frie...

The one I am enjoying the most these days is The Bridge. I have the hots for the blonde Swede who plays a detective with a good dose of Aspberger's. Excellent show! Bummed that it's been cancelled. That was the American version. I believe Jeff is watching the original Swedish show. Which coincident...

Fairly valid observation, considering.

A few weeks ago I pondered a post that basically pointed out how the front page of the forum contained so many RIP threads, and why I thought so. Obviously jazz has been around a long time so deaths will continue on an unfortunately frequent basis. I believe the multitude of RIP threads speaks more ...

Actually I'd like to cheat and add a 4th, Michael Marcus playing all sorts of horns (all saxophone-ish) at the Knit, 2001.

My top 3 are David S. Ware at The Blue Note of all places, Greg Osby at the Village Vanguard, and Henry Threadgill at the Knitting Factory, all circa 2000-2002.