Celebration!

Maya and Aaron got married last Sunday! The religous ceremony was fantastic for the fact that it was so personal and jovial! As soon as the marriage ceremony was completed, Aaron stamped on glass, the Rabbi exclaimed "Mazal Tov!", and the band started playing. What a fantastic way to break the tension and start your married life together.

On a side note, Nik has developed a crush for a blonde hunk. He is scattered about the photos below. Hint: Look out for the long blonde locks! I give up - I know I can't compete with someone who looks that cute...

Diet of a Champion

Michael Phelps won his 8th gold medal of the 2008 Beijing Olympics this morning. Absolutely incredible!

What I found more amazing was his diet - According to the BBC, this is what fuels the most succesful Olympian of all time:

Breakfast: Three fried egg sandwiches; cheese; tomatoes; lettuce; fried onions; mayonnaise; three chocolate-chip pancakes; five-egg omelette; three sugar-coated slices of French toast; bowl of grits; two cups of coffee

Lunch: Half-kilogram (one pound) of enriched pasta; two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise on white bread; energy drinks

Dinner: Half-kilogram of pasta, with carbonara sauce; large pizza; energy drinks

This is the reason why I'm not an olympic swimmer - I just don't eat enough junkfood!

(The link to the BBC article is here)

False Dawn?

Did you read about the US Dollar really strengthening this week because people believe that the US is ahead of everyone else in the economic cycle - and is hence further along the road to recovery? I find it absolutely amazing that the very same people who brought this financial crisis upon us (i.e. investors / speculators) are demonstrating this kind of optimism. My extremely cynical view is that it sucks because it is precisely this kind of gung-ho optimistic behaviour that created the last asset bubble in the first place - and consequently screwed the man in the street over.

The truth of the matter is that market optimism does not change the state of the real economy. No one can run away from the fact that the American banks will suffer from credit defaults in the coming months - people in my line of work just choose not to see it. The sucky thing is that the actions of people in the convoluted financial world do affect the man on the street. I just dont like the idea of false dawns tricking people into thinking that everything is hunky dory when they arent, especially when people need to trade down their standards of living.

Just my personal 2 cents worth...