Buy some stuff, will ‘ya?

This recession talk is killing my 401K.

Strong evidence is emerging that consumer spending, a bulwark against recession over the last year even as energy prices surged and the housing market sputtered, has begun to slow sharply at every level of the American economy, from the working class to the wealthy.

The abrupt pullback raises the possibility that the country may be experiencing a rare decline in personal consumption, not just a slower rate of growth. Such a decline would be the first since 1991, and it would almost certainly push the entire economy into a recession in the middle of an election year.

The New York Times

Meanwhile, in Monday’s column Paul Krugman takes a look at the presidential candidates reaction to the pending economic doom and gloom — and doesn’t say “a word about their hairstyles.”

How do you rate?

Via Hullabaloo, Roger Ailes’s “Political Junkie Year In Review Contest.” Good stuff.

Ten bucks!?

Cat’s Mom Tanya reports:

My elder child, Cat, age 5, is currently fascinated with the Tooth Fairy. Some of her friends and classmates have started to lose their teeth and some have fetched as high as $10 and a jibbet for their nocturnal submission to the Tooth Fairy.

Alas, unfortunately for Cat, she has all of her baby teeth and they all appear inclined to stick around for a while. Cat, having my patience, or lack thereof, is trying to expedite the Fairy’s visit.

Tonight, as I was tucking her in, I noticed her stuffing something under her pillow. I asked her what it was and she replied, “A tiny piece of old soap that I shaped to look like a tooth. I am sticking it under my pillow to see if I can fool the Tooth Fairy. Maybe she will leave me some cash or a Squeeze-A-Burp toy.”

I told Cat that I thought the Tooth Fairy was too smart for that and might leave her Monopoly money instead of the real thing.

“That’s okay, mom,” she said. “We all have to start somewhere.”

I am now going in search of my old Monopoly set…..

January 13th

Billy Gray, the kid that befriended Klaatu in the classic 1951 sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still, is 70 today. Billy’s old enough to play Professor Barnhardt this time around. Gray was Bud on the 50s sitcom Father Knows Best.

Richard Moll of Night Court is 65.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is 47.

Patrick Dempsey is 42.

Orlando Bloom is 31.

The Last of the Red Hot Mamas

“I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor; Believe me, honey, rich is better.”

Sophia Kalish was born at a farm house along the road in Russia as her mother was emigrating to America on this date in 1884. As Sophie Tucker she was one of the great stars of vaudeville, the Ziegfeld Follies and early movies. In the 1930s she brought elements of nostalgia for the early years of 20th century into her show. She was billed as “The Last of the Red Hot Mamas.” Her hearty sexual appetite was a frequent subject of her songs, unusual for female performers of the era.

In addition to her performing, Sophie Tucker was active in efforts to unionize professional actors, and was elected president of the American Federation of Actors in 1938.

From birth to age eighteen, a girl needs good parents. From eighteen to thirty-five, she needs good looks. From thirty-five to fifty-five, she needs a good personality. From fifty-five on, she needs good cash.

Sophie Tucker

The Library of Congress has more.

School day$

First posted here two years ago today:

With son number three due this spring, Jill, official oldest daughter of NewMexiKen, and Byron, official husband of Jill, are calculating costs. According to their financial advisor, here are some estimates for the cost of four years of college when the boys reach that age:

University of Virginia………………$486,715
College of William and Mary……$512,956
University of Notre Dame……$1,454,963
Stanford University………………$1,599,440

NewMexiKen, official grandpa of Jill’s three sons, can only offer these four words of wisdom:

Linebacker
Quarterback
Point Guard