Friday, October 17, 2008

Return of the Giant Bowl o' Butter


If you've been reading for a while, you may recall that this is not the Giant Bowl o' Butter's first appearance on Any Given Sundry.

In these confusing economic times, I think the Giant Bowl o' Butter is a sign of hope. Or at least, a sign of faith that a large quantity of pancakes and toast will be sold today in one diner in the middle of the San Fernando Valley.

If you're wondering what the heck is going on in the economy, let me steer you toward a couple of terrific episodes of This American Life. It's an NPR radio show that you can listen to online or download to your mp3 player.

#365: Another Frightening Show About the Economy explains in a very simple way--it has to be for me to understand it!--what they're talking about when they talk about a credit freeze. It's a follow-up to #355: The Giant Pool of Money, which explains the mortgage crisis. The two are related, as you probably guessed. But there's this whole world of high finance that I never really knew about, and it's what's behind your mutual fund investments, etc.

If you want more info on the economic situation from the folks who brought us this helpful stuff, check out the Planet Money Blog.

If you want a little fascinating escapism, check out the other episodes available on This American Life. The stories are always interesting, sometimes funny, sometimes touching.

Or check out the terrific storytelling that is going on at The Moth. I recommend Richie DiSalvo's tale of his experiences with a man named Anthony the Hat in NYC.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You’re misreading the sign. It’s telling you to go to the Devil’s Tower in Wyoming and be picked up by aliens along with Richard Dreyfuss. I hope this helps. …OR…It’s either that or you’re supposed to go to Wyoming where Gibson guitars are made and pick up that Randy Travis custom model for Hydra.

Affectionately yours, Hydra

Sundry said...

Hydra - I know you. You're just trying to butter me up.

Liz Dwyer said...

LOL, I want to eat pancakes now.

Sundry said...

L.A. - The pancakes are pretty good there. And they have an early bird special that's incredible: The 2x2x2 is 2 pancakes, 2 eggs and 2 pieces of bacon or sausage WITH coffee for $4.27 including tax!