Recently in Culture Category

I watched President Bush's State of the Union Address on CNN before heading off to the gym last night. I found his comments regarding a reduction in gasoline consumption to be aggressive. And I am not sure that ethanol is the answer. That said, I hope that the U.S. is able to reduce its gasoline consumption by 20 percent over the next decade. I am sure other nations would follow and that would be good for our tiny planet as a whole.

Aside from the energy discussion, which has implications to energy related stocks, I did not find much noteworthy in terms of investments.

I just finished watching The Apprentice Season 6: Los Angeles third episode. Prior to the show, I had hoped Michelle would perform and do well. Unfortunately, her confidence was shattered and she could not function properly. She had no confidence to lead and to take command, nor was she able to think strategically. Consequently, her team failed to execute well. And then she unraveled in the boardroom where she just quit.

While I understand Trump's passion for fighting until death, I am not sure that kicking a person when he or she is down serves any purpose. He could have delivered the message more diplomatically. Michelle had clearly given up, and she was not about to retract her resignation.

I hope the teams are changed for next week's show. The teams are now becoming lopsided in terms of the numbers. If the teams are changed, that will make for some interesting dynamics.

I just finished watching The Apprentice Season 6: Los Angeles. Completely agree that Carey deserved to go. Was there any doubt? Carey's supreme overconfidence coupled with his ugly swimsuit design was a surefire way to lose.

Heidi's smugness is beginning to bother me. As I expressed after the premiere, I did not like that the winning manager is also the manager again in the following task. I doubt that Heidi is the strongest member amongst her team, yet she is getting all the accolades and face time with Trump. And from a viewer's perspective, I am not being given the opportunity to learn about the rest of the team members as quickly as I otherwise would.

I also do not like watching Heidi's team listening intently while the other team is sorting out its dirty laundry. Why would people be so intent on listening to the other team's discussions about who should go and who should stay when the discussion is often emotionally charged and irrational? This is a little too voyeuristic for my tastes. If I were Trump, I would want my team to rise above that ugly stuff. When it comes time to fight mano-o-mano to save yourself, fine. But the schadenfreude is a little much for me.

Be sure to read Nadine Heintz's assessment over at The Inc.com's Blog. Nadine always provides excellent commentary after each episode.

Update

Because I have not seen Nadine's assessment by late Tuesday, I am assuming that she has skipped this second episode.

I just finished watching The Apprentice Season 6: Los Angeles premiere. Quick initial thoughts are that are as follows: 1) I would have fired both Martin and Frank, Martin for lack of hustle and Frank for lack of thinking; 2) I would prefer to have both groups share the same accommodations so that there is more interaction among all the members; and 3) I am not wild about having the winning project manager remain project manager for the next task. The last point deserves further clarification. If there is a strong team, then it might keep winning in spite of the winning manager. Yet the winning manager gets the accolades, access to the boardroom as a key player, and a strong win loss score. The other members are not able to display their leadership talents. I prefer where the leadership roles rotate so that everyone has an opportunity to demonstrate his or her strengths.

That said, I like this season so far. I get the impression that the candidates are stronger than those from some of the previous seasons. And I like the diversity of the people. This season should be entertaining.

Update

I liked reading Nadine Heintz's assessment over at The Inc.com's Blog. I always read her article after every The Apprentice show.

A further update: I have not seen Nadine's articles for a long time. My guess is that she is no longer with Inc.

If you click on The Apprentice tag below, you will see a list of all my articles relating to The Apprentice.

• Earlier I had commented on Overstock.com, Inc. (OSTK). If interested, you will have to use the search feature to find my prior posts. There was and likely still is a battle raging on between the bulls and the bears on this stock. Today, Overstock.com fell $3.19 to $14.59 for a 17.94% drop. As I had mentioned then, I was not and have not been involved in any manner, either long or short, but after seeing the fall in the stock, I wish I had been short. Next time.

• Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts (FS) is being taken private according to the Wall Street Journal article CEO Aims to Take Four Seasons Private With $3.7 Billion Leveraged Buyout (subscription required).

  NEW YORK -- Four Seasons Hotels Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Isadore Sharp has offered to take the luxury hotel and resort company private in a $3.7 billion buyout backed by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud and by Cascade Investment LLC, which is owned by Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates.

  The group is offering to pay $82 a share in cash for the company's limited-voting shares, Four Seasons said, a 28% premium to Four Seasons' closing price Friday and 21% above the stock's 52-week high. The company's shares were up 31% at $83.59 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

  Mr. Sharp, who would retain the titles of chairman and chief executive, said during a conference call that the deal would result in no change in strategic direction or management for the company. "It's only a proposed change in our ownership structure from a publicly traded to a privately held company," Mr. Sharp said.

  I have some Four Seasons shares as part of my portfolio, unfortunately too small a portion to make a meaningful difference. I am surprised at the offer because the offer is at a 47 P/E multiple, a high value, of next year's earnings.

• I continue to be amazed at the strength of the markets. The S&P is up about 1.13 percent today. Despite geopolitical issues, U.S. political uncertainty in front of the elections, and high energy prices, the markets just keep marching forward. Amazing.

The above picture is hosted at Flickr. If you click on the picture of Paula Anddrade, you will directed to a larger version of her picture at Flickr. Paula Anddrade owns the copyright to the image. She has posted many more amazing photographs of herself and other beautiful Brazilian women at her Flickr site. As the weather becomes cold and ugly here in Calgary, I dream of living in a tropical paradise in South America where it is warm and beautiful.