ANYTHING BUT TAXES!

SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOOD NIGHT

2008-08-25T07:05:00.003-04:00

I have come to the realization that I have spread myself too thin with my multiple blogs, tax and otherwise. I have decided to pull the plug on ASK THE TAX PRO and ANYTHING BUT TAXES.

I will occasionally post comments, ramblings and resources on topics from blogging to cats, personal finance, politics, religion, television, theatre, and travel here also – most prominently narratives of my travels and theatre reviews at THE WANDERING TAX PRO.

I will continue to maintain my THE FLACH REPORT blog for Schedule C filers and the NJ TAX PRACTICE BLOG for tax professionals preparing NJ returns, and will attempt to post to them more often in the future.

TAF!

THE TELEPHONE HOUR

2008-08-13T06:51:00.002-04:00

Telephone Scam Alert - Jury Duty Scam!

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I recently received this email scam alert:

”This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below). Please pass this on to everyone in your email address book. It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call.

Most of us take those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced.

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The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo; your identity was just stolen.

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The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma , Illinois , and Colorado . This (swindle) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they are with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.”

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Check it out here: http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm and here: http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp

TTYL

SORRY...GRATEFUL

2008-08-12T10:13:00.006-04:00

I just heard of the passing of George Furth (see also here).

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Although probably best known as a collaborator of Stephen Sondheim – he wrote the book for Sondheim musicals COMPANY (an all-time favorite of mine – I produced it in Hudson County in 1973), for which he won a Tony and Drama Desk Award (I do seem to recall the COMPANY started out as a series of one-act plays by Furth), and MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG and co-wrote with SS the murder mystery GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER (which I saw during its brief Broadway run) – I remember him best as a character actor from television of the 1960s and early 1970s. He appeared in 85 tv episodes and movies from 1962 through 1998.

I was in the audience of a Broadway show, I do not remember which one, sitting behind two Hollywood legends (one was Jane Powell, but I do not recall the name of the other). During intermission George Furth came over to talk to the ladies.

Furth also wrote the book for Kander and Ebb’s 1977 Liza Minelli vehicle THE ACT and the play TWIGS.

George will live on forever in sitcom reruns.

TTYL

AIN’T BROADWAY GRAND!

2008-08-04T06:56:00.000-04:00

This year’s free "Broadway on Broadway" concert, held each year in Times Square to launch the beginning of each Broadway season, has been scheduled for Sunday, September 14th.

This concert gives potential audiences a sneak preview of new musicals, performances from long-running favorites, and special appearances from current Broadway stars.

Co-sponsored by the Broadway League and the Times Square Alliance, "Broadway on Broadway" begins at 11:30am, but you should arrive a couple hours early if you want to get up close to the stage.

The concert is generally broadcast on television – on Channel 4 (NBC) locally I believe.

TTYL

THE TWO GREATEST WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE – MUSICAL COMEDY!

2008-08-01T10:01:00.006-04:00

Here is a listing of some of the shows that will be offered by this year’s New York Musical Theatre Festival.

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FYI, the venues selected for the 2008 NYMF musicals include: American Theater of Actors -Chernuchin Theatre (314 W. 54th Street), The Barrow Group Theater (312 W. 36th Street), The 45th Street Theatre (354 W. 45th Street), 37 Arts (450 W. 37th Street), and The Zipper Factory (337 W. 37th Street).

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Bonnie & Clyde

Book by Hunter Foster; Music and Lyrics by Rick Crom

Bonnie & Clyde is a toe-tappin', gun-slingin', cross-dressin' romp through the Depression-era Southwest, where America's most famous criminal duo find themselves runnin’ from J. Edgar Hoover and straight into each other’s arms…as long as they don’t kill each other first.

The Bubble: A Musical Dot-Comedy

Book by Karen J. Paull, Music by David Pack; Lyrics by Karen J. Paull and David Pack

Welcome to Silicon Valley, circa 1999, a magical place packed with scooter parks, massage parlors…and “options”…in something called…THE DOT COM. Nobody knows what it is but everybody wants a piece, including Matt. Will his greed get the better of him? Or will he flush his future down the toilet to join hottie hippie Harmony’s quest to save the oh-so-rare yellow-bellied hoo-doo?

College: The Musical

Book, Music and Lyrics by Drew Fornarola & Scott Elmegreen

Endless parties. Skipping classes. Drunken hook-ups. And…um…finding yourself? Welcome to College: The Musical, a slice of contemporary dorm life and one hook-up you WILL remember the next morning.

The Fancy Boys Follies

Book and Lyrics by David Pevsner, Music by Michael Skloff, Jamie Forsyth, Michael Orland, Mark Hummel, Chris Lavely & David Pevsner

Down and dirty meets brains and heart as five sexy men sing, dance, and strip in this hilarious low-rent gay "Ziegfeld Follies" from one of the creators of "Naked Boys Singing". Filthy...but FABULOUS!!!

The Hatpin

Book and Lyrics by James Millar, Music by Peter Rutherford

When impoverished single Australian mother Amber Murray finds herself with no choice but to board her ailing son with a kindly rich couple, she unknowingly embarks on a journey that will change the lives of women everywhere. Uncover the grim secret behind The Hatpin in this gut-wrenching musical drama inspired by a true story from the late 19th century.

Heaven in Your Pocket

Book by Mark Houston, Francis J. Cullinan & Dianne Sposito, Music and Lyrics by Mark Houston

What’s a broad to do when her no-good ex-husband dies and leaves their daughter his run-down Kansas City juke joint in his will? Tap your toes and clap along as you watch the incorrigible Arlene Davis pack the other two members of the “Heavenly Belles” singing trio – her daughter Kay Lee and her best friend Celeste – into the pickup and high-tail it to Kansas City for a fresh start!

I Come For Love

Book, Music and Lyrics by Terrence Atkins and Jeffery Lyle Segal

A jaded reporter in search of a story. An adorable alien looking for love. A small town diner in need of a waitress. Intergalactic sparks and saucers fly in this screwball comedy that might just turn out to be the story of the century.

Idaho!

Book and Lyrics by Buddy Sheffield, Music by Buddy Sheffield and Keith Thompson

Whip Masters, Jed Strunk, Slim Johnson, Aunt Pearlie and the rest of the good folks from IDAHO! are rarin’ to introduce you to potato country’s simplest pleasures -- spud-peelin', dancin' and devirginizin’ – in this bawdy new musical that satirizes and pays homage to Broadway’s most beloved classics.

Max and the Truffle Pig

Book by Suzanne Bradbeer, Music by Bert Draesel and Lyrics by Nancy Leeds, Based on the story by Judith Gwyn Brown

A 9-year-old aspiring chef and his beloved pig Suzette head deep into the French woods in search of the legendary…the elusive…the absolutely positively most delicious of all delicious foods…the truffle. Will they find it in time for the Countess’s royal dinner? The answer lies in this oinkingly delightful new musical based on the book by the author of “The Mask of the Dancing Princess.”

Play It Cool

Book by Larry Dean Harris and Martin Casella, Lyrics by Mark Winkler, Music by Phillip Swann, with additional musical contributions by David Benoit, Michael Cruz, Marilyn Harris, Robert Kraft, Emilio Palame, Joe Pasquale and Dan Siegel. Directed by Sharon Rosen

It’s 1953 and there’s only one jazz club in town for boys seeking boys and girls seeking girls: Mary’s Hideaway. Welcome to Hollywood, a steamy almost-fairyland where everyone you meet wants to be a star and a few of ‘em might damn well make it…just as long as they PLAY IT COOL.

She Can’t Believe She Said That!

Book, Music and Lyrics by Matt Prager

The original Kathie Lee-sical. Watch as our plucky heroine converts, cajoles and connives her way through churches, recording studios and one very special long-running talk show to national fame...and international infamy. Take two cups of EVITA, add a gooey pound of cheese and take a big bite of VELVEVITA goodness with this loony satire from one of the writers of SOUTH PARK!

That Other Woman’s Child

Book, Music and Lyrics by Sherry Landrum & George S. Clinton

When the Hanovers hear their long-lost big city half-sister – “that other woman’s child” – is coming to claim her share of the farm, all heck breaks loose! Little do they know that she’s actually coming to connect with the family she never knew…That Other Woman’s Child is a joyful, bluegrass-laced look at the trials and tribulations of the ties that bind.

The Road to Ruin

Book, Music and Lyrics by William Zeffiro

Welcome to The Road To Ruin (The 1928 Exploitation Musical)…where sex, bad mommies, worse daddies, bottled water and Christians conspire to bring down Little Sally Canfield, ‘The Nicest Girl at Central High.’

Villa Diodati

Book by Collette Inez & Mira J. Spektor, Music & Additional Lyrics by Mira J. Spektor, Lyrics by Colette Inez, Additional Lyrics by Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Wordsworth

Switzerland, 1816. Two of literature’s most romantic and haunted couples -- Mary and Percy Bysshe Shelley and their friends Lord Byron and his mistress Claire – spend a summer writing, sailing, telling ghost stories and discovering the joys and tragedies of love in this new chamber musical.

So far I am thinking of seeing BEDBUGS, COLLEGE: THE MUSICAL, HEAVEN IN YOUR POCKET, I COME FOR LOVE, and THE ROAD TO RUIN.

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TTYL

WHY DO THE WRONG PEOPLE TRAVEL?

2008-07-28T09:41:00.004-04:00

Yesterday afternoon I braved the heat (it wasn’t too bad) for a trip to NYC to see the revival of the British comedy SOME AMERICANS ABROAD by Richard Nelson at the Second Stage Theatre on 43rd Street.

I learned about the show when its star, Tom Cavanaugh (tv’s ED), appeared on the CW11 morning news program. I did not at all recall the original production, which appeared at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in May and June of 1990 with a cast that included Nathan Lane, Kate Burton and a young Elisabeth Shue in a small role.

From the television interview I gathered the play was about a college-sponsored student trip to England. However as it turned out it was not at all what I had thought it would be.

I had expected a story about college students and their reactions to British culture and their interaction with their professors in a different setting. My cousin and her husband, a college art professor, have been escorting student excursions throughout the world for years, and my friend Ann did the same when she taught art at Beaver College (she also once escorted a trip of upper class New Jersey suburbanites to Italy as Director of the now-named Visual Art Center of NJ), and both have many interesting and humorous stories to tell.

But there was barely a student in sight. Instead it dealt with the professors, members of the English department of an un-named New England college led by new Department Chairman Cavanaugh, on an apparent annual pilgrimage to worship at the temples of their “gods” of English literature and theatre that is disguised as a summer course.

The only college students in the play were the Chairman’s daughter, who because of her parentage is forced to spend more time than I am sure she would like in uncomfortable social settings with the professors, and, briefly, a truant girl who gets involved in a “she said, he said” sexual harassment issue in the second Act.

Included among the instructors on the trip is an arse-kissing professor (played by Nathan Lane in the 1990 production), accompanied by his wife, who have paid their own way in the hopes their participation will increase his chances of extending his teaching contract for one more year, knowing full well that he is not on “tenure track”.

To be honest this play is nothing to write home about. In the beginning it was almost difficult to watch. For the most part the professors are typical pompous arseholes who enjoy the sound of their own voice, although you do feel some sympathy for the arse-kisser whose only failing is that he did not graduate from a prestigious enough university. The show, almost twenty years old, did not appear dated – I am sure that college professors of this ilk have not changed much over the years – but was an odd choice to revive.

It has its share of laughs, mostly resulting from interaction with the more secondary characters – the bigoted former department Chairman (excellently played by Broadway veteran John Cunningham), apparently a former professor and mentor of the current tenured profs from whom they still seek advice, who has retired with his wife to England, a bubbly former female student of the current Chairman who has also relocated to the UK and now purchases the theatre tickets for the trip (just as I do when in London it appears that the group attends 2 plays a day), and an “ugly” American tourist who the Chairman encounters during intermission at a Shakespeare play in Stratford-on-Avon.

The professors are certainly cheap. At the end of dinners in a Covent Garden restaurant that begin and end the play they attempt to split the bill literally based on what each had ordered, down to counting how many glasses of wine each had – the arse-kisser’s wife pointing out that the retired Chairman had more than the one bottle of wine he has claimed as the play ends.

As usual I purchased my ticket through tdf for $27.00. My seats were in the third row, again on the extreme aisle, but then no seat in this theatre is bad (I had only been here once before to see a revival of THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON). At $27.00 for the ticket it was an afternoon’s diversion, not distasteful but also not memorable.

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA

2008-07-22T11:10:00.002-04:00

Sorry I have not been posting here lately – but I have been busy with the GD extensions and my other blogs. Here is some “stuff” you might find interesting.

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+ FIVE CENT NICKEL reports that a "Brothel Offers Free Gas to Customers".

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+ Did you know - you might be a redneck if you think “loading the dishwasher” means getting your wife drunk.

+ Prompted by the IndyMac Bank failure, Kay Bell of DON’T MESS WITH TAXES gives a good overview of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in her post “A Look at FDIC Coverage”.

+ Want to know the real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse? You cannot post “Thou Shalt Not Steal” and “Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery” in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians.

+ According to an article in the entertainment section of my mail.com homepage, talk show host Wendy Williams called Trump’s buddy Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth "a delusional, D-list, pathetic woman" after the two went at it on Williams’ show. Delusional and pathetic pretty much describes every participant in a “so-called” reality tv show – man or woman!

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TTYL

A FAMILY AFFAIR

2008-07-03T08:42:00.002-04:00

What a cast! Bette Davis, Ernest Borgnine, Barry Fitzgerald, Debbie Reynolds and Rod Taylor. I am speaking of course of the 1956 movie A CATERED AFFAIR, directed by Richard Brooks. It was written by Gore Vidal and adapted, like Ernest Borgnine’s movie MARTY, from a television play by Paddy Chayefsky, which appeared on the PHILCO TELEVISION PLAYHOUSE in 1955. I had seen the movie many years ago on tv.

Despite the assembled talent it was a small movie with a small story - a story that was not unique for its time. It is a different take on the Spencer Tracy/Elizabeth Taylor FATHER OF THE BRIDE tale, this time told from the perspective of a working class family living in the tenements of the inner city.

It has been turned into a small musical by Harvey Fierstein, who takes on the Barry Fitzgerald role, with words and music by John Bucchino - which I saw Tuesday night, via TDF, at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

According to the synopsis appearing on most Broadway sites, “In 1953, relationships are strained to the limit when a Bronx couple must choose whether to spend their life savings on a family business or to launch their only daughter's marriage with a lavish catered affair”.

While I had been interested in the musical when first announced, being a fan of the film, I was not planning to run to see it. However the closing notice (it will close following the Sunday, July 27 matinee) reported on the Broadway Blog sent me to the TDF site to book a ticket before the final curtain.

I was certainly glad I did!

I said above that it is a “small” musical. As Clive Barnes said in his 4-Star review, “it emerges less like a musical and more like a play with music”. There is no chorus, no big production numbers, a minimalist set, no “bells and whistles” – just a good story (as Clive Barnes says “with an honest heart”) told and acted well.

Parents of the bride Faith Prince and Tom Wopat are certainly not the typical Broadway musical couple. They give wonderful, touching performances in roles quite different from what we are used to seeing them in.

Tom Wopat’s character sums up the frustration of most fathers of the bride faced with paying for “a catered affair” – “A life savings flushed down the drain to feed dinner to a bunch of strangers!”

Harvey Fierstein, as one would expect, sparkles. As he wrote the book, with I expect himself in mind for the character of Winston, Harvey has made the live-in brother-in-law (he sleeps on the pull-out couch) gay – although, in keeping with the setting and context of the story, not “flamboyantly” or stereotypically so.

“This is what we do best,” Winston says as he takes over the details for the catered affair from his overwhelmed sister. “You mean the Irish?” asks the caterer.

The future bride and groom, Leslie Kritzer and Matt Cavenaugh, are also very good. I may have seen Leslie in THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL – I will have to dig out my playbill.

The “Who’s Who” bios, which I read while waiting for the show to start, are usually pretty boiler plate. But the entry for Kristine Zbornik, one of the supportive players, caught my eye –

“The NY Daily News called her a ‘madcap mix of Merman, Bette Midler and Lucille Ball’. Her Dad called her ‘a lazy piece of s**t that wouldn’t amount to anything”. You decide. Theatre: An Evening With Joan Crawford (1980), A Catered Affair (2008) and a whole bunch in between. I have a close relationship with Jesus, and he’s a nice guy.”

As is common today there are a dozen separate producers, a few of which are multi-named groups. I guess the days of the David Merrick or Alex Cohen are gone.

The Tuesday evening performance has a unique 7:00 pm curtain, and the show is performed without an intermission. This worked out very well. I had no traffic coming over on the “bootleg” bus (I made it from the Jersey City heights to Port Authority in about a half hour), the restaurant I chose for my “pre-theatre” dinner, a return to La Revista on Restaurant Row for Veal Bolognese (I did not have to teach this bartender how to make a Stinger) was more than half-empty, and I was back in my apartment at a little after 9:30!

My seat, at the TDF price of $39.00, was in the 2nd row on the extreme left – though not too extreme. Not one that I would have necessarily picked, but not bad at all. Lately I have done well with TDF seats – I haven’t risked a nose bleed in quite a while now.

It is a true shame that this “small” musical had to close after such a short run. Pardon my continued rant, but I cannot see why a show such as this cannot survive while RUDE AWAKENING, from what I have seen of it basically teen-agers screaming and cursing for two hours, plays on.

According to Harvey Fierstein’s blog at the show’s listing on Broadwayworld.com - “Unfortunately, the numbers just don't match up with the enthusiasm and, although we have the MOST generous producers on Broadway, this is still a profit-making business and the numbers tell the tale.”

If you are looking for a enjoyable evening at the theatre you should try to see A CATERED AFFAIR before it closes.

TTYL

IDIOT'S DELIGHT

2008-07-02T08:10:00.001-04:00

As Hollywoodlife.net reports in the article “Celebrity Feud: The Donald Disses Hathaway” – perennial arsehole “Donald Trump seems to feel the need to express an opinion about everything”, this time weighing in, as if anyone cared, on the recent split between Anne Hathaway and boyfriend Rafaello Follieri, who was recently arrested for fraud.

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Trump, who certainly knows about defrauding, or at least screwing, investors, supports Follieri, saying of Hathaway, “She hasn’t remained very loyal to him, has she? So when he had plenty of money, she liked him, but then after that, not as good, right?”

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The article replies, “Personally we think four years of standing by him with all the shady dealings going on was more than enough”.

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A word to the tonsorially-challenged idiot – Donald, no one gives a damn about what you think about this, or anything else for that matter.

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TTYL

CARNIVAL BALLET

2008-06-30T11:29:00.001-04:00

The “Movie Monday Blog Carnival Edition #61” is up over at Missy Frye’s OBSERVATIONS FROM MISSY’S WINDOW.

My posting SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, A COMEDY TONIGHT is the first entry on the list – the only under the category of” Commentary”. It looks like Missy read my post.

BY THE SEA, BY THE SEA, BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA

2008-06-30T06:40:00.002-04:00

This whole trip came about from seeing an ad for the Blue Bay Inn, a “European style boutique hotel” in Atlantic Highlands, in the playbill for the musical I had seen in Red Bank at the end of May. I investigated the website, just curious, and while there, in the site’s section on “Getaway Packages”, I discovered the First Avenue Playhouse and learned that the next production was ROOMMATES, a comedy, with the following description:

“This is the first comedy by our own resident playwright Joe Simonelli, and the one for which The Asbury Park Press dubbed him 'the next Neil Simon'. Self styled ladies man Frank Avino, a divorced, forty something accountant and aspiring writer lets his pretentious friend Tom move in with him 'temporarily' only to find that Tom won't leave. Throw into the mix Frank's eccentric mother from Brooklyn and his latest flame and you have a recipe for fun.”

I next checked out the Playhouse site and found that they offered dinner theatre packages – “Start off the evening with a great dinner at 6:30 pm, and then on to the First Avenue Playhouse, for dessert, coffee and a great show”. Dinner was available at three area restaurants – Memphis Pig Out, Julia’s and Gianna’s.

The Blue Bay Inn site “Destination Information” section mentioned the Atlantic Highland Princess, which offered “Victorian Style Riverboat sailing the Navesink & Shrewsbury Rivers”. Presumably the two rivers of the Two Rivers Theatre Company in Red Bank. A sightseeing Cruise was offered on Friday afternoons.

And it turned out that everything, the theatre, the restaurants, the inn, and the cruise, was within walking distance on the same street – First Avenue (as one would deduce from the name of the Playhouse). The Avenue even has a movie theatre. So I decided to book an overnight trip – choosing a Thursday evening performance, as I figured that the room rate would be less expensive mid-week. After investigating the three dining choices online I selected Julia’s, “an elegant dining experience with an Italian Mediterranean inspired menu”.

I have a friend and client who had lived in Atlantic Highlands, a retired fire chief who I first met while on one of the Railroad Passenger Services Corporation escorted cross-country rail trips in the 1980s. Learning of my weekly visits to Ocean Grove to see my parents, he had invited me to stop in and visit him. But it was too late to see him on this trip, as he moved to Georgia last year.

After a hearty breakfast at the diner on Route 440 I headed out on Routes 1+9 to 35 to 36. I located First Avenue and checked it before going back to Route 36 South. As check-in was not until 3:00 pm, and there was no afternoon cruise on Thursday, I was off to the multiplex on Route 35, near Neptune, to see GET SMART.

My previous experience with Route 36 was taking it briefly each tax season to pick up a return in Union Beach (the First Avenue turn-off was about 8 miles from Union Beach), and taking it from Route 35 to the Monmouth Park racetrack a few years ago. I had never been in between, so I thought I would take 36 South to Route 35.

After passing Sandy Hook it turned into a leisurely drive along the ocean through several Monmouth county communities. At Long Branch Route 36 North and South suddenly became Route 36 East and West at a right turn, which soon brought me to Route 35 by the Monmouth Mall.

Returning to Atlantic Highlands I checked into Blue Bay Inn and found myself with a small but comfortable room on the second floor overlooking First Avenue. I then went out to explore the area, walking down to the Municipal Marina at the bottom of First Avenue to see where I would be taking the cruise. The marina also has a ferry that shuttles back and forth to Manhattan.

The menu offerings at Julia’s were quite interesting, but, as anticipated, since I was on a theatre package I was given a special menu with choice of salad (Caesar) and a limited selection of entrees (Crab Cake). I taught another bartender (I have lost count) how to make a Stinger, which he did very well – so well I had a second. The dinner, from the rolls to the salad with a tasty dressing to the crab cake, was excellent, served in a relaxing but formal setting with a tape of Michael Buble playing in the background. I will certainly return here in the future, and next time I will not limit my dining choices.

The First Avenue Playhouse is a “desert theatre”, as was mentioned on the website. The seating is “Las Vegas style” (at least the old-fashioned Las Vegas style of my earlier visits to Nevada), with tables of various sizes set in front of the stage instead of traditional theatre seating. Upon presenting my ticket I was directed to a private table and took a paper plate with carrot cake from a counter on the way. A pot of coffee was placed on the table. The carrot cake was quite good. At intermission we were given plastic glasses of soda.

As one would expect from the title and description, ROOMMATES is a poor man’s ODD COUPLE (I wonder if this is why the Asbury Park Press referred to the author as “the next Neil Simon”?). The lead even refers to his roommate as “Felix Unger” in the play. It certainly is not up to the level of a Neil Simon, although it had some chuckles and amusing situations. The stereotypical nagging mother was perhaps a highlight. She would write to the Pope each week and believed she received his response in code in the local parish priest’s sermons.

The production was obviously amateur, which is not always bad. The “divorced, forty something accountant and aspiring writer” was portrayed by the play’s author. While ROOMMATES is supposedly “semi-autobiographical”, he was not necessarily the best choice for the part.

Bottom line – just about everything in the play has already been done much better elsewhere. Although with more polished actors and direction I might have found the show funnier.

The theatre also needs some technical upgrades. The stage manager would signal the lighting man in the back of the room by means of a flashlight stuck out of the side of the curtain.

The Playhouse will be doing the political drama THE BEST MAN in July and another comedy by Joe Simonelli, this time with him directing, titled MEN ARE DOGS in August. I am not sure if I will return for either, although I do want to give the company another chance before writing it off.

FYI, the theatre also presents productions of the “Paper Moon Puppet Theatre” every Saturday at 2 p.m. The current show is THE WIZARD OF OZ.

The next morning was extremely hot and humid. After the complimentary continental breakfast (nothing special – just orange juice, coffee and two types of pastries) I decided to pass on the afternoon cruise and return home early. Check out time was 11:00 am and I didn’t want to hang around and sweat for a couple of hours. Unlike Ocean Grove, I could not sit in the shade on the boardwalk and read a mystery – no boardwalk here. Besides I was concerned about leaving Nosey in a hot apartment for another full day.

I will wait until perhaps the early fall to return for the cruise and another dinner at Julia’s.

TTYL

NO CURE LIKE TRAVEL

2008-06-29T07:24:00.001-04:00

Here is some good news for travelers in the New York City metropolitan area.

I was saddened when BISS TOURS closed its doors a few years ago. BISS, which got into financial trouble when it took over PARKER TOURS, had offered one, two, three-day and longer escorted bus tours of the US and Canada with a pick-up point in Hoboken. I had taken a few which, for the most part, were enjoyable and came off with minimal “hitches”.

With BISS gone my only alternative for escorted motorcoach travel was to schlep all the way down to Trenton for STARR TOURS, which I had done before discovering PARKER and BISS. This requires either rising before the sun to take the train from Newark or incurring additional expense by staying overnight in a motel on Route 1 and again rising in the dark to take a taxi to Trenton.

I enjoy escorted bus trips. You only need to book, pack your bag, and board the bus; everything is taken care of for you. And the cost is relatively all-inclusive and extremely reasonable, even with the single supplement – a substantial savings over doing it all on one’s own.

Just as I was about to request the latest STARR TOURS catalog I saw an ad in the Sunday News for CROSBY TOURS - “New York’s premier tour operator.” As soon as I was back at my computer I checked out the website and discovered that CROSBY had taken up where BISS left off. I promptly ordered a catalog, which just arrived.

It is obvious from the lay-out of the catalog, the description of the trips and tours, and the location of the pick-up points that CROSBY is a re-organized BISS.

Several one-day, two-day and three-day tours have caught my eye – and I will be sure to post the trip narratives here at ABT after I have taken them.

In the meanwhile I suggest that you go to the website and request a copy of the catalog.

TTYL

CARNIVAL BALLET

2008-06-28T07:18:00.001-04:00

“The Carnival of Cinema: Episode 80 - The Blog Guru” hosted by GOOD NEWS FILM REVIEWS.

I submitted my post SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, A COMEDY TONIGHT for consideration, and it is included. Although I doubt that the host read the post. Here is how it is introduced –

“For more on great comedies, head over to ANYTHING BUT TAXES! There Richard D. Flach has a list of some wonderful comedic gems.”

Huh? And, by the way, it is Robert, not Richard!

TTYL

I HOPE I GET IT

2008-06-24T07:54:00.002-04:00

Here is a Broadway trivia question.
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I recently saw the latest Broadway revival of GYPSY with Patti LuPone as Mama Rose. You can read my review at “Let Me Entertain You”. GYPSY is “loosely” based on the life of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.
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The character of Gypsy Rose Lee – not the actual person herself - has appeared in two Broadway musicals over the years. Obviously the first was GYPSY. What was the other one?
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No, it is not FORBIDDEN BROADWAY. That review has never been “on” Broadway.
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The first person to email me the correct answer at rdftaxpro@mail.com, with “ABT Trivia Answer” in the “subject” line, will get a prize!
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TTYL

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, A COMEDY TONIGHT

2008-06-23T06:58:00.001-04:00

Contrary to the popular belief of people who make movies today, the various secretions, excretions and expulsions of the human body are not funny. Neither are human genitalia or violence thereto.

Well actually in the right hands anything can be funny. In the right context, with the right set-up and direction, and with the right actor, passing gas or stepping in shit can actually be humorous.

The operative words above are “in the right hands”. Trust me, the likes of Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Ben Stiller and others, who have made careers out of playing down to the level of pre-teen boys, and the writers and directors who they team with, do not have the right hands.

IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD is perhaps the funniest movie ever made. At the very least it has the best cast of any comedy ever made. It featured just about every well-known comic that was breathing at the time, including Joe E Lewis and the 3 Stooges. {As an aside – it could never be remade in today’s world considering the salary demands of the equivalent level of actors and comics. There have been a few pitiful attempts at making a similar film, with affordable B, C and D level comics and poor direction and writing.} As I recall there was not a single fart in the film.

Nor do I recall either Tony Curtis or Jack Lemmon being kicked in the groin in SOME LIKE IT HOT.

Neither Hope and Crosby, Abbott and Costello nor Martin and Lewis had to resort to bathroom humor to make funny, and profitable, movies.

Back in the days of the popularity of Andrew Dice Clay it was my considered opinion that yuppies had no wit. But if you said “fuck” or “shit” every fifth or sixth word they would think you were hysterical. It seems that today’s movie audiences are the ones without wit. Their sense of humor stopped developing in the 5th and 6th grades.

It is a sad commentary that even a film like Walt Disney’s recent ENCHANTED, with a truly unique idea and witty execution, had to be spoiled by a totally unnecessary and humorless chipmunk shit sight gag.

That is not to say that there are no more truly witty comedies being made. But they are getting fewer and farther between.

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA

2008-06-21T07:39:00.001-04:00

Just a few items:

+ WTF is this Amy Whinehouse who is constantly appearing in the entertainment headlines on my Mail.com and Comcast.net homepages? From what I can tell she is nothing but a crack addict (I took the high ground and refrained from using “ho”). Can someone tell me if she is anything other than the British version of Paris Hilton?

+ CRY BABY: THE MUSICAL, which I blogged about in “Jukebox Jamboree“, will close tomorrow (Sunday) after 68 performances. The show, which was nominated for 4 Tonys including Best Musical, walked away empty-handed last Sunday. While not as good as the musical comedy verion of HAIRSPRAY it was entertaining and deserved a longer life, considering something like RUDE AWAKENING (which I have not seen, and do not expect to) with teen-agers screaming and cursing for 2+ hours plays on.

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+ I also learned via Playbill.com that A CATERED AFFAIR, the new musical by John Bucchino and Harvey Fierstein, who also co-stars, will close on July 27. I may try to see it via tdf before it goes.

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TTYL

LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU

2008-06-16T09:11:00.004-04:00

I have seen every Broadway production of GYPSY except for the 1959 original with Ethel Merman and Jack Klugman. I have experienced Angela Lansbury (1974), Tyne Daly (1990) and Bernadette Peters (2003) as Mama Rose. My introduction to the musical was the 1962 movie version with Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood, and Karl Malden (I seem to recall reading that the show’s creators did not like this version – although I could not find fault). And of course there was Bette Midler’s 1993 television version, and the 1998 Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn NJ) production with Betty Buckley (and Deborah Gibson as Louise) So it is only natural that I would see the latest incarnation with Patti LuPone – specifically this past Saturday’s matinee.

Mama Rose is perhaps the ultimate female role of the Broadway theatre – a role that is coveted by just about every actress. It has been said that the part, in musical theater terms, rivals "Hamlet." Every Mama Rose has been nominated for the Tony as Best Actress in a Musical, but only Angela Lansbury and Tyne Daly, and now Patti LuPone, have walked home with the statue. Ether Merman lost to Mary Martin in SOUND OF MUSIC and Bernadette Peters lost to Marissa Jaret Winokur in HAIRSPRAY.

The Patti LuPone production came with advanced buzz. During his annual tax season visit this past March a client told me of his housemate’s (he is in “the business”) running into Stephen Sondheim one evening at Sardi’s. SS gave the current production and its star two thumbs way up.

I did not see EVITA on Broadway. My introduction to Patti LuPone (whom I had enjoyed on the television series LIFE GOES ON) as a musical star was the London production of SUNSET BOULEVARD, which I saw while on a Theatre Guild tour in 1993.

This production of GYPSY is perhaps the best I have seen, and Patti LuPone is the best Mama Rose (with the reminder that I did not see Ethel Merman’s performance – I was considered too young at the time – although I did see “the Merm” in the 1966 Lincoln Center revival of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN). As I imagine Ethel Merman to have been, LuPone is indeed a force to be reckoned with as the ultimate stage mother. She received a rare truly spontaneous and heart-felt standing ovation during the closing Rose’s Turn” number, the audience unable to wait until the curtain call.

The supporting cast was also in top form. It seemed to me that their performances were more nuanced and intense, if that is the word, than previous productions, especially Herbie and the “elder” June and Louise. As LuPone sang in SUNSET BOULEVARD, “with one look” they expressed volumes about their intertwined relationships and feelings. Perhaps I was just seeing new things in a familiar show, or it was the talent of the individual actors, or director Arthur Laurents, also the book writer, giving new emphasis (he directed the first two of the earlier revivals and, it seems, was not a fan of the Sam Mendes-directed Bernadette Peters’ version).

Prior to the now standard announcement to turn off cell phones we were told that Patti LuPone’s feet hurt and that she would be doing the performance wearing “isotoners”. I did happen to notice that she was in flats for the entire show. It certainly did not affect her performance – it just highlighted the difference in height between her and other cast members - especially Boyd Gaines (Herbie) and Laura Benanti (Louise).

As is true more often than not, the weatherman was wrong in his prediction that midtown New York City would avoid predicted thundershowers until after dark. Sounds of thunder during the last 15 minutes or so of the show previewed the pouring rain we found ourselves faced with as we exited the St James Theatre. Luckily, due to the continuous construction on 8th Avenue, we were able to stay relatively dry under scaffolding as we hurried from 44th Street to 46th Street for an excellent dinner at the “La Rivista” (The Review”) Italian restaurant on “Restaurant Row”. It had been a long time since I had dined there. I recommend the Veal Bolognese.

The rain had stopped by the time we finished our meal. However, the very minute we “de-bused” in Jersey City it started to pour again. I was soaked almost to the bone by the time I was greeted by Nosey in my apartment a long block from the bus stop.

Seeing GYSPY, and thinking about the current revival of SOUTH PACIFIC, points up what a truly difficult, and disappearing, art it is to write a great Broadway score – a dozen or so individual and distinctive musical numbers that fit perfectly into the show to advance the action of the play, yet can each stand alone as a potential popular standard. Think Richard Rogers, Cole Porter, Frederick Lowe, Jerry Herman, Stephen Sondheim, and, in this case, Jule Styne, and their lyric-writing partners (a young Stephen Sondheim here). Is it just me, or do the individual songs of many a Broadway score today all sound pretty much the same?

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA

2008-06-14T06:57:00.001-04:00

+ Fellow Jersey City native Nathan Lane is a hard man to replace. The June 10th posting at BROADWAY BLOG reports that “November To Close On Broadway July 13”. Lane had previously announced that July 13th would be his final performance. Now the David Mamet comedy (see my post “It Gets Lonely In The White House”) has announced that it will close on July 13th.

+ Like BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCIAL PROSPERITY, the Silicon Valley Blogger’s THE DIGERATI LIFE is a goldmine of helpful advice and information. A recent post tells you how to “Help Your Kids Get Rich: Invest Early”.

+ THE FIVE CENT NICKEL, another consistently interesting personal finance blog, provides some information on "What Goes Into the Price of Gas?".

+ FYI, as promised I watched the original John Waters film CRY BABY with Johnny Depp on Comcast ON DEMAND (in the “Free Movies” section). While the Broadway musical adaptation kept some of the characters, images and plot lines from the film, it thankfully reworked, and improved, the story for more “accessibility”. The movie showed us the parents of the delinquents, among them David Nelson, Troy Donahue and Joey Heatherton - so you can see why they turned out so FU-ed - but these characters were cut for the musical.

This afternoon I will be in NYC again for a matinee performance of GYPSY. Look for my review sometime tomorrow.

TTYL

WHERE THE FAKAWI?

2008-06-13T09:48:00.001-04:00

I have come down with a serious case of “manana”! I continue to put off to tomorrow (and the day after, and so on) the GD extensions that I should be working on today!

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Drastic measures are called for. Since I spent two weeks “1040 Free” I must now “re-hiate” (is that a word?) and spend a full week “Blog Free”.

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For the entire week beginning Monday, June 16th I will be “locked behind closed doors” catching up on the GD extensions. I will be working at tax season pace.

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I will not be posting to THE WANDERING TAX PRO, ASK THE TAX PRO, THE FLACH REPORT, NJ TAX PRACTICE, or ANYTHING BUT TAXES during this period (unless there is world-shaking breaking news, such as the Supreme Court declares the federal income tax unconstitutional). I also will not be “wandering” the web or dealing with non-essential emails.

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I will post a WHAT’S THE BUZZ entry Saturday at THE WANDERING TAX PRO, and hope to post my review of GYPSY here on Sunday.

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To the handful of clients whose GD extensions have fallen victim to my “manana-disorder” I apologize and thank you for your patience and understanding.

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It is my hope to end the month of June with all GD extensions either done and out or red-filed.

JUKEBOX JAMBOREE

2008-06-13T09:32:00.001-04:00

The huge success of the musical adaptation of Mel Brook’s THE PRODUCERS begat the “musicalization” of John Water’s HAIRSPRAY. And just as THE PRODUCERS led to the inevitable YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN musical, the success of HAIRSPRAY led to CRY BABY: THE MUSICAL, which I saw last night at the Marquis Theatre.

I enjoyed the movie version of the HAIRSPRAY musical (although I have not yet seen either the HAIRSPRAY Broadway musical or the original HAIRSPRAY or CRY BABY films) so I thought I would take a chance on CRY BABY when it was presented as a Theatre Development Fund (tdf) offering.

The ticket was only $38.50 and the seats were not bad at all for tdf – 11th row on the extreme right aisle. I have had both good and bad luck with tdf seats – occasionally risking a nose bleed in some of the older theatres.

I knew nothing about CRY BABY, other than the fact that it took place in the 1950s and the movie helped make a star out of then tv heartthrob Johnny Depp, who played a teen-age delinquent like those who high school teachers Glenn Ford and Dick Clark tried to help in THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE and its clone BECAUSE THEY’RE YOUNG.

Set in Baltimore (where else for a John Waters story) in 1954, the musical tells the Romeo and Juliet-esque tale of “squeaky clean” square, class-conscious preppies versus misunderstood delinquent freaks, as square blonde “never been kissed” debutante Allison Vernon-Williams (Elizabeth Stanley – the ditzy stewardess April in the recent COMPANY revival), tired of being a “good girl”, becomes fascinated with “bad boy” Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker (James Snyder). We see them fall in love during the tender love song “Girl, Can I Kiss You With Tongue”.

The show also stars Harriet Harris (who I remember from tv way before she was FRASER’s agent – as one of Marc Cherry’s original “desperate housewives” in 1994’s unfortunately short-lived sitcom THE 5 MRS BUCHANANS) as Allison’s grandmother Mrs. Vernon-Williams, the queen of Baltimore society, who “Did Something Wrong…Once” (besides that liaison with Hitler).

The score is chock-a-block with energetic toe-tapping 50’s rock and roll music and some witty lyrics (when I could hear them), although nothing memorable (one does not walk out of the theatre humming “Watch Your Ass” or “Screw Loose”).

While not as good as the HAIRSPRAY musical (from what I can tell from having seen only the movie version) with its civil rights theme and drag gimmick, at my $38.50 tdf ticket price it was an entertaining show with a fine cast – well worth the price. However I doubt I would feel the same if I had paid $115.00 for the ticket. I expect that it will make a good movie, if they get around to once again following HAIRSPRAY.

I recently noticed that the original John Waters movie is available for free via Comcast’s ON DEMAND, and now that I have seen the musical I think I will watch it before locking myself behind closed doors next week to catch up on the GD extensions.

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2008-06-10T10:49:00.006-04:00

It's too damned hot!

Today is the anniversary of the birth of Frederick Lowe. I am certainly glad he was born!

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+ The May 31, 2008 edition of the Carnival of Financial Planning at The Skilled Investor’s PERSONAL FINANCE BLOG led me to a posting that may be helpful for those with college-age children (thankfully I am not one – no children of any age) - “Financial Aid Calculator: Using Fafsa4Caster.com to Estimate Your Federal Aid” by Ken Clark at ABOUT.COM: SAVING FOR COLLEGE.

+ The TV SQUAD blog is reporting that “Dark Shadows Comes to the Big Screen”. The word is that Johnny Depp will play Barnabas Collins, the role originated on the ABC soap of the early 70s by Jonathan Frid, and the film will be directed by Tim Burton.

+ The BROADWAY BLOG’s June 8th post reports that Cameron McIntosh is thinking about making a new film of the Broadway classic MY FAIR LADY, perhaps with Keira Knightley as Eliza Doolittle. As the post suggests it certainly does seem a “strange idea to remake one of the best film musicals of all time”. And, for my money, as with just about every other attempted remake of a classic film, a totally unnecessary and unwelcome move. You can’t improve on perfection!

TTYL

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOY!

2008-06-09T06:34:00.001-04:00

Kudos to former Kid in the Hall and star of the tv sitcom NEWS RADIO Dave Foley for his recent comments on so-called “reality” television!

Foley is quoted in Sunday’s THIS JUST IN feature of the New York News VUE television magazine as saying –

“It’s not real. The situations aren’t real. The only real reality TV is the evening news. It takes a real actor to act real. You put just anyone in front of a camera and what they deliver will look phony. In terms of comedy, I like something skillfully put together, and not with someone making an ass of himself.”

Foley wishes, like any intelligent person, that “reality would just go away.”

I wish more actors and performers would come out against the steaming pile of excrement that reality tv is.

TTYL

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

2008-06-03T06:21:00.001-04:00

I finally got down to “the Grave”, or actually Neptune, for at least an overnight. It was a fitting end to two wonderful weeks that were completely “1040 Free”!

I drove down Saturday morning, stopping for breakfast at a diner on Route 9 South. When I got to Ocean Grove I found that it was the day of the Giant Spring Flea Market on Ocean Pathway. As a result just about every parking space in town was taken. Instead of sitting on the boardwalk and reading comic books I sat on a bench alongside Fletcher Lake at the South End border and read.

I also checked out the Asbury Park boardwalk, but there was much construction going on to the various buildings and storefronts. I did discover that Tony Bennett would be doing a benefit concert for the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County at the Paramount Theatre on Saturday, June 28th.

It started to rain so I headed to the Crystal Inn at the Routes 35+66 circle, where I had booked a room through hotel.com, to change clothes.

The major reason for this trip was to see the Two River Theatre Company’s production of the original musical MARK TWAIN’S A MURDER, A MYSTERY & A MARRIAGE, with book and lyrics by TRTC Artistic Director Aaron Posner (who also directed) and music by James Sugg, in Red Bank – the final production of the company’s 2007-2008 Theatre Series.

I bought my ticket for the 3:00 pm matinee “at the door” ($38.00) and got an excellent 6th row center seat – I couldn’t have asked for a better one.

The bluegrass musical, which had its world premiere in April 2006 at the Delaware Theatre Company, takes place in Deer Lick, Missouri. It is based on a short story written by Mark Twain in 1876. The small cast, which included an original member of the 50’s singing group The Diamonds (Little Darlin’), did a great job in a very entertaining show. Two thumbs up! They even managed to plug the new 2008-2009 season subscription and advise the audience to turn off cell phones and refrain from opening candy wrappers during the show as part of the opening number.

For dinner I decided to try the newly opened “Old Man Rafferty’s”, which is in the renovated Steinbach Building on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park. I had a good Meat Loaf dinner and treated myself to Oreo Cookie Cheesecake.

After dining I headed to the Beach Cinema in Bradley Beach, a true “old-fashioned” small town movie theatre, for the 7:00 PM showing of IRON MAN. The ticket price had increased since I last visited – it was now $5.75!

After checking out on Sunday morning I headed to Ocean Grove, where the parking was back to normal, and breakfast of Oatmeal and Pancakes at “The Starving Artist”. I read the paper on the Boardwalk before taking in what turned out to be a private showing of the new INDIANA JONES movie at the multiplex on Route 35 at 11:00 AM.

I had considered taking in the Sunday 3:00 pm matinee of the world premiere of the Billy Van Zandt (brother of rocker Steve Van Zandt and husband of Adrienne Barbeau) and Jane Milmore farce WRONG WINDOW at Brookdale Community College, but decided to head home to my hungry cat instead.

Billy and Jane have written tons of such slapstick farces, a la tv’s THREE’S COMPANY (although not as good). Actually they have written one basic farce and changed the characters and titles some 20+ times. I have seen several of their plays at the Ritz Company Playhouse in Hawley PA, and will probably be able to see this one there in a year or two.

Now that I am back I must take up the GD extensions again, and hopefully have them all done by the end of June!

TTYL

CARNIVAL BALLET

2008-06-01T15:22:00.003-04:00

I just returned from an overnight to Nepture and discovered that mMy post on EVERYBODY OUGHT TO HAVE A WILL appears in the Carnival of Everything Finance: # 18 at EVERYTHING FINANCE by Tushar Mathur. Look for it under the “Everything Else Finance” category.

While you are there check out Mad Madeline Kane’s poem DEAR IRS from her MAD KANE HUMOR BLOG.

TTYL

PS - I will post about my trip Monday or Tuesday.

FRIDAY AT McDONALDS WITH THE STAR LEDGER

2008-05-30T11:06:00.002-04:00

I thought this would be a good place for a semi-regular feature of musings and ramblings on what is in the news.

* The first section I go to in Friday’s Star Ledger is TICKET. Today it had a review of the SEX AND THE CITY movie by often witty Stephen Whitty titled “Dressed for Excess”. What it boiled down to was basically - “It’s not really a movie. It’s a clothes catalog that talks.”

You can bet that I am going to pass on this movie. I found the television series practically impossible to sit through on the very few occasions I tried to watch it in hotel rooms while at tax conferences and conventions (I do not subscribe to HBO, Showtime or any of the “premium” movie channels).

It will be an interesting experiment to see if a movie can “make it” with an exclusively female audience. I can’t imagine any straight man actually wanting to see it. I suppose there are also many, many women who would not want to sit through an installment of the DIE HARD franchise.

* TICKET also identified movies that will be opening next Friday. Included was DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN. Another movie on which I will definitely pass. I refuse to see any movie that stars Adam Sandler.

While this conviction is long standing, it was set in stone when Sandler had the unmitigated balls to remake two classic movies (granted one of more stature than the other) in his standard pre-teen fart-humor style. Of course I am talking about MISTER DEEDS GOES TO TOWN and THE LONGEST YARD. What makes this cafone think he can come close to remaking such iconic stars (again, one more than the other) as Gary Cooper or Burt Reynolds. To quote one review of the Deeds remake, “Adam Sandler is to Gary Cooper what a gnat is to a racehorse”.

I also refuse to see any movie that stars Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara’s boy. He did not inherit his parents’ level of talent.

I have found that you will not be disappointed if you avoid any movie that stars a “regular” of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE from any season other than the first two.

* I always enjoy Chris Cassett and Gary Brookins’ SHOE comic strip, especially when it features a press conference by “the Senator”. In today’s installment the Senator tells the press that “I work out every day to clear my mind”. The reporters reply, “It’s working Senator…Everyone agrees it’s completely empty!”

*The front page highlighted the latest “episode” of the McGreevey divorce trial under the headline “McGreevey’s Wife Endures The Heat”.

Dina Matos’ testimony “also discussed the impact of their subsequent separation on her lifestyle, down to where she shopped for her daughter’s clothes: Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Talbots were replaced by the Children’s Place, the Gap and Marshalls”. Gee, ain’t that tuff!

Matos complained about having to “stay inside my house with the shades drawn for up to six hours because I had reporters and photographers sitting outside.” But McGreevey’s lawyer countered with the fact that Matos has been a “frequent guest on a variety of high-profile news programs after other political scandals.”

“She testifies she wants to be press-free and photographer-free, and every time there’s a camera she runs right towards it.”

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To be fair, Matos is, to some degree, the “injured party” in this divorce action. And her testimony correctly portrays her ex-husband as “a man consumed by political success”. He was, after all, a professional politician.

However I would not be surprised if her only attraction to McGreevey in the first place was his potential for rising up the political ladder, and the various “perks” that the wife of such a politician would enjoy. It would explain her “cluelessness” to any possible signs of the former governor’s “gaiety” prior to his public outing (half the state, myself included, knew about McGreevey before Dina).

Let us set the record straight (no pun intended). McGreevey did not resign because he was Gay. Being gay is not a crime, or a condition that should preclude one from holding political office – nor is hiding the fact from the public. McGreevey resigned because he was about to be investigated by federal agencies for legal and not social improprieties.

The only crime connected with McGreevey’s gaiety is the fact that he hired his boyfriend Golan “I Am Not Gay” Cipel for a high paying high level government security position. After all, Spitzer did not appoint his “escort” to a New York State commission, nor did Slick Willy make Monica his Secretary of the Interior.

The bottom line – I have no sympathy for either party in this action. They both made their own beds.

* There was an item inside the first section on the controversy of paying retiring state employees for all of the unused sick days that has accumulated during their entire tenure of employment. This came to attention when it was discovered that outgoing Keansburg Superintendent of Schools Barbara Trzeszkowski would be getting $170,137 for 235.5 unused sick days as part of a $740,000 severance package (in addition to a $120,000 per year pension).

This is nothing new - and is not limited to school superintendents. I recall that about a dozen years ago the final W-2s for several retiring upper-rank Jersey City police officers, who happened to be tax clients, were be in excess of a quarter of a million dollars ($250,000). The bulk of this was pay, at current rates, for unused sick pay. I also recall that the resident police station “tax pros” of the day were touting the theory that the payment for accumulated unused sick pay should be taxed under the highly preferential “Ten-Year Averaging” method that was available at that time.

Sick pay is not an “entitlement”. It is an “accommodation” made by the employer. It should be, as it is for the most part in the business world, a “use it or lose it” benefit. A law should be passed that no employee of the State of New Jersey or any political subdivision thereof, will not be able to “bank” unused sick pay for more than (at most) 24 months – and not go back 30 years!

Just another reason why the State of New Jersey is in such a mucking fess, and why I will be moving to Pennsylvania as soon as my parents go to their final audit.

* While I did not see it in today’s Star Ledger, the story about Rachael Ray’s supposed “faux pas” appeared under the Show Biz Buzz heading on my Comcast.net homepage as well as elsewhere around the internet. This story falls under the YHGTBFK category (a free copy of my special report SURFIN’ USA to the first reader who can “translate” this acronym).

It seems that, according to the Boston Globe, Dunkin’ Donuts, for whom Rach is a spokesperson, promptly pulled an ad in which she wore a black and white patterned scarf that somewhat resembles a “keffiyeh” - a traditional headdress worn by Arab men - after conservative commentators became enraged by the ad and even threatened to boycott the company.

What utter nonsense. Give me a break!

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2008-05-29T10:47:00.002-04:00

+ A friend recently pointed me to an item from 1999 at The Daily Howler that sets the record straight about the Al Gore and the claim that he invented the internet.

It is true that Gore could have phrased the comment a bit differently. But this shows what “journalists” can do with a partial or out of context quote.

BTW, the url address for this page ends in “shtml”. WTF does shtml stand for? I assume not the obvious.

+ I do not like annuities – and advise anyone who asks against them. However brokers and other salesmen (remember that a broker is a salesman first) love them because they pay high commissions.

Paul B Farrell over at MARKET WATCH wrote an excellent article on the subject a while back- “Clip Job - Still Bashing Annuities After All These Years, With Good Reason”.

Paul reports that, “In fact annuities have countless, hidden flaws that all too often remain undisclosed until it's too late: excessive commissions, lower returns, payout delays, surrender fees and long lock-ins.” He points out that, “Sales commissions are lucrative for annuity sales agents, some as high as 14%. As a result, the industry attracts aggressive hustlers with questionable ethics preying on vulnerable customers, especially the elderly, a pattern that gives the rest of the industry a bad name.”

He provides an excellent alternative to purchasing an annuity - “Solution: Buy the insurance and the securities separately. Otherwise you're just making your broker richer and yourself broker."

+ Here is an interesting new site I came across in my “wanderings” on the web – Infoplease.com. It is a source of “all the knowledge you need”. It is an online almanac, atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia and thesaurus, etc.

One special feature is an almanac for the year you were born. Click here to read about the year I entered the world.

+ Jim of BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCIAL PROSPERITY discusses “Do It Yourself Identity Theft Protection”.

TTYL

THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS

2008-05-27T14:57:00.004-04:00

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced the first 12 musicals selected for its 5th year. They include –

* About Face - book and lyrics by David Arthur and music by Jeffrey Lodin - Suggested by Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing and set amid the sexually charged hijinks of a mid-1950s college campus, this rollicking, romantic comedy finds Coach Benedick and English Literature Professor Beatrice Stanton waging their "merry war of wits.”

* Bedbugs!! The Musical - book and lyrics by Fred Sauter and music by Paul Leschen - A hell-bent exterminator must save New York City from the mutant bedbugs she accidentally creates in this 80's inspired rock musical fantasy.

* Fucking Up Everything: The Musical - book, music and lyrics by Eric Davis – [No, this is not a musical about the George W Bush presidency! - rdf] What’s the difference between fucking up everything and getting everything you ever fucking wanted? Find out in this boy-meets-girl comedy of errors packed with nasty lyrics, tasty hooks and a dash of punk rock.

Click here to see what else is on the list.

NYMF is great. You can see lots of never-before-seen musicals in small intimate theatres around NYC at a great price. You should become a member!

TTYL

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

2008-05-26T08:07:00.002-04:00

Last fall I paid a “successful” visit to the Hotel Thayer via a Short Line overnight package, so I thought I would try another one. This time I chose the Historic Newburgh trip.

The tour package, which cost only $190.00 for a Single, was described as follows - “Enjoy the Newburgh waterfront, take a two-hour cruise on the Hudson River, dine at a fine restaurant, and spend time relaxing”. Looking back, the trip was a bit of a jinx – but it certainly could have been a lot worse.

As with all such Short Line offerings, the trip begins at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in NYC. I had two options for departure - 8:30 AM and 10:00 AM. I decided not to have to rise at the crack of dawn, so I selected the later departure time. When booking I was also given the choice of staying at a Ramada Inn or a local bed and breakfast. I chose the Ramada Inn.

I arrived at the Port Authority well ahead of time and had breakfast at Deli Plus before checking in at the Short Line window on the 2nd floor to pick up my instructions, tickets and vouchers. I must point out that I was not given any mention or warning of what might occur by the agent.

The bus, of the Orange County line, was also the one for Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, which apparently is a very popular stop. The lines at Gate 310 were constant, and at one point almost “out the door”. At about 9:45 AM I checked with the gate to see if the current line for my bus. I was told yes and when I asked if I had to go all the way to the end of the line (which was long enough to fill two complete buses) I was asked for my ticket and allowed to board ahead of the “unwashed masses”. So far, so good.

We left on time and took the Lincoln Tunnel to NJ and eventually to Routes 17, 287, and 87 North in New York State. The first stop was Woodbury Common, where all but 7 passengers “debussed”. At about 11:50 AM we were let off at the Short Line Terminal in Newburgh.

The online description of the trip said that I would first go from the Terminal to the Ramada Inn. However the instructions I received that morning said I should call for a free taxi to Newburgh Landing where I would board the Pride of the Hudson for a 2-hour narrated cruise scheduled to leave at 1:00 PM.

According to the Hudson River Adventures website, I would be treated to a cruise on the Hudson with narration by the Captain of the sights along the River including Mt. Beacon, Bannerman Island, Storm King Mountain, Breakneck Mountain, The Catskill Aqueduct, World's End, Cold Spring, and West Point.

I got to the waterfront and located the Pride of the Hudson, but was told that (1) on Thursdays the cruise began at 2:30 PM (it does not run at all on Monday or Tuesday) and (2) there may not be enough passengers to justify running the cruise. Because I was booked in advance by Short Line the ship would go out with just me if I so insisted. I said that I certainly did not want to make them run the cruise just for me and was offered as an alternative the Bannerman Island Cruise and Walking Tour, which apparently was definitely going out, also at 2:30. I was told to go have lunch and return a little after 2:00 to see what was what.

I was actually glad that the cruise departure would be 2:30 instead of 1:00. The package included a $15.00 discount coupon for lunch at the nearby Torches on the Hudson Restaurant and Bar, and I would much prefer lunch at 1:00 to waiting until after 3:00.

I walked to Torches and had an excellent lunch of Seafood Chowder, Crab Cake Sandwich, and Apple Cobbler a la mode. The restaurant’s “Aqua Bar” is the talk of the town, as it features a huge 6,000 gallon salt water aquarium which houses 30 varieties of fish. While dining I overheard someone from another table mentioning that the Bannerman Island excursion involved lots of climbing and walking on steep and rocky ground – so I decided that I would not accept this as an alternative.

I got back to the dock and was told that the ship would not go out unless I insisted and asked, with hopeful anticipation, if I would accept the alternative cruise. I reiterated that I did not want to make the ship waste money if I was the only passenger, but also said that I did not feel like traipsing around an island that I had never heard of, especially as I was schlepping my overnight bag (there were no lockers for storing baggage at the small Short Line Terminal). I said not to worry – I would write to Short Line when I returned and get a “rain check” of some sort.

The ship’s representative was appreciative of my reaction and gave me two (2) gift certificates for a future offering of the cruise and her card so I could get a complimentary cocktail at the ship’s open bar when I came back.

As an aside, my trip to the Hotel Thayer last year was also supposed to include a Hudson River cruise – but the cruise was also not running during my booking and I received a voucher for a free lunch at the hotel instead.

I next decided to explore the waterfront, which, according to the online tour description, “is enjoying a renaissance with 4 new restaurants offering both indoor and outdoor dining, great shops, spa and a shoreline walkway that offers spectacular views”. I discovered only restaurants and bars and a liquor store (where I could get a 10% discount) – but no “great shops”.

The weather all that morning and afternoon was odd. It would start to drizzle, then pour for about 5 minutes, then stop while the sun came out – and continue this process again soon thereafter. I did not have an umbrella, but did not get soaked as timing was with me.

With nothing to do at the waterfront, and the downtown area a long uphill climb away, I decided to go to the hotel. The instructions told me to call for a free taxi back to the Short Line Terminal and then call the hotel to request a pick up by their free shuttle van. I looked for a pay phone, but could not find one.

I went back to Torches where I was told by a bus boy (the host/hostess was away from the station) that there were no pay phones in the restaurant (he did not offer to have someone make a call for me)! I walked up and down the waterfront area again looking for a pay phone with no luck. I stuck my head into a few of the other restaurants and bars along the way and asked if they had a pay phone – but there were none.

Frustrated and tired I walked back to the Torches. This time there was a person at the host station. I mentioned that I had lunch there earlier and needed to call for a taxi – but could not find a pay phone. The host called the Short Line’s designed Bob’s Taxi for me. After thanking the host for his service I asked why there were no pay phones at the waterfront – a public park. He alluded to the assumption that none were needed as everyone now had cell phones. Not so, my friend!

When the taxi arrived I decided not to go through the rigmarole of going back to the Terminal and calling for the shuttle and headed directly for the Ramada Inn Hotel and Conference Center Newburgh/West Point. The hotel was outside of town, on Route 300, not a long trip but certainly not close-by. I was pleasantly surprised when the cabbie told me the fare was only $5.00! It would have been at least three times that much in Jersey City – and more in NYC. It was well worth it to avoid the free but time consuming method in my instructions.

The hotel was pleasant and comfortable. But one more comment on the trip’s online description, which read “The hotel offers great entertainment at their lounge/restaurant for you to enjoy!” - there was Karaoke (if that can truly be called entertainment) on Wednesday nights and a band or DJ on the week-ends – but nothing on Thursday nights.

Similarly, the West Point trip description misled one not familiar with the hotel to think that the Eisenhower Theatre was a part of the Thayer and offered nightly entertainment, when in reality it is a separate building on the West Point campus, similar to the PAC in Newark. Short Line needs to be more accurate in its tour descriptions.

I rested in my room and enjoyed the movie MUSIC AND LYRICS (not to be confused with WORDS AND MUSIC – the fictionalized story of the songwriting partnership of Rodgers and Hart with Mickey Rooney and Tom Drake) on HBO before dining in the hotel’s Café International Restaurant. At first I had the dining room entirely to myself, but was soon joined (in the room and not at my table) by another gentleman dining alone, and then another, and eventually a couple. I taught another bartender how to make a Stinger (Brandy and While Crème de Menthe, 3-to-1) and had Chicken Cordon Bleu, with ice cream for dessert.

In the morning I slept in and had a free continental breakfast in the dining room – again relatively empty. It was not what one would call sumptuous, but it was more than sufficient for me.

The main purpose of the trip was basically to get away from New Jersey and the GD extensions, sleep in a large, comfortable bed (a change from my futon) and hopefully have a leisurely bath (my tub is barely big enough to wash my cat). I succeeded in all but the last – as, while bigger than my apartment tub, the facility was not big enough to comfortably satisfy one of my “girth”.

I checked out at 11:00-ish and sat down in the lobby to do some reading, including proof-reading a tax report I had recently compiled (MY BEST TAX ADVICE). The trip description had said, “When you are ready to return to New York City . . . take any of the regularly scheduled departures” from the Short Line Terminal. I had printed out the schedule beforehand and, as there was nothing to do within walking distance, decided to take the 1:30 bus, which would have me back at the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 3:00 PM. I asked the desk if I could get a ride to the Newburgh Terminal via their shuttle at 12:45 or thereabouts.

There were free copies of the local Times Herald-Record newspaper available in the lobby so I picked one up to read. The front page had a picture of a COACH USA (Short Line) bus with the headline “Nightmare commute – Thousands of families scramble as bus drivers strike.” Going inside I found an item “Short Line workers go out on strike”!

Oi vey! I was supposed to get back to NYC on Short Line – this was, after all, a Short Line package tour. I had not read or heard about a possible strike anywhere before leaving the previous morning (not that I was particularly looking for such information) or that morning as a matter of fact, and, as I said at the beginning, I was given no notice or warning that such an action was eminent, or even possible, when I checked in at Port Authority.

I asked the desk if they had any information and was told that they did not know any more than I did. The article mentioned that Short Line was providing free shuttles to train stations at some bus terminals. There was a train station across the Hudson from Newburgh, a $10.00 taxi ride from the hotel. Worst case scenario, if there was no transportation to the train provided I could call the hotel and their shuttle would come back for me and take me to the local small Stewart International Airport where I could get an inexpensive shuttle bus to the train station.

I decided to “play dumb” (no comments please), take the hotel shuttle to the bus terminal as originally planned, and see what Short Line would tell me. It was my firm belief that, as I was booked on a Short Line tour package and not just some “poor slob” commuter, the bus line was obligated to get me back to NYC at no additional cost. If there were any additional “out of pocket” I would certainly have sent the receipts to Short Line headquarters for reimbursement.

I got to the Short Line Terminal at about 12:45 PM and was told that Trailways would be honoring Short Line tickets, and a Trailways bus would be arriving shortly to take me to NYC. The actual only inconvenience incurred was having to walk the entire length of the parking lot to the revised bus pick-up point (again the inconvenience resulting from my “girth”).

A bus came at 1:00 and I boarded for a non-stop return trip. I was in NYC by 2:30 – a half hour earlier than planned – and by 3:20 I was being greeted at the door to my apartment by a hungry cat!

As I said in the beginning – it could have been a lot worse! Kudos to Short Line and Trailways for working out a deal so that I was not in any way affected by the strike.

While I would book another Short Line overnight in the future, I would make sure to do a lot more homework on the destination and itinerary before doing so.

TTYL

PERFUME CAN COVER A STENCH. THAT’S WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE FRENCH.

2008-05-24T07:06:00.002-04:00

Shame on USA TODAY for giving any kind of credibility to the VH1 “celeb-reality” garbage, such as “Rock of Love”, “I Love New York”, and “Flavor of Live”, with a Cover Story on the front page of Thursday’s LIFE section.

All the perfume in France could not cover up the stench coming from this collection of soft-core porn steaming piles of excrement.

Speaking of excrement, when a panel of “stars” from VH1 was asked about the most memorable moments from the shows, Flavor Flav said, “One of the most memorable moments in the history of reality TV was when that girl shit on my floor.”

Someone else responded, “No, I’d say it’s Mini-Me pissing on the carpet” from “The Surreal Life”.

TTYL

IF I RULED THE WORLD (OR AT LEAST NEW JERSEY)

2008-05-20T07:49:00.001-04:00

Do you want to know how to solve the State of New Jersey’s budget crisis? Pass the following laws:

(1) No individual may simultaneously hold more than two paying positions in which the wages are funded directly or indirectly by the State of New Jersey, or any Department or Division thereof, or any political subdivision thereof (i.e. county or municipality). [You can be a councilman and a freeholder or a councilman and a state senator at the same time, but you cannot be a councilman, a freeholder, a state senator, and a paid member of the school board or police department at the same time]

(2) An individual who simultaneously holds two paying positions in which the wages are funded directly or indirectly by the State of New Jersey, or any Department or Division thereof, or any political subdivision thereof will be eligible for only one set of health insurance benefits. The individual will be eligible for the higher level of benefit of the two positions.

(3) If an individual who holds a paying position in which the wages are funded directly or indirectly by the State of New Jersey, or any Department or Division thereof, or any political subdivision thereof is currently covered under the health insurance benefits of a spouse who holds a paying position in which the wages are funded directly or indirectly by the State of New Jersey, or any Department or Division thereof, or any political subdivision thereof he/she is not eligible for health insurance benefits, or additional compensation in lieu of benefits, from his/her position.

(4) An individual who simultaneously holds two paying positions in which the wages are funded directly or indirectly by the State of New Jersey or any Department or Division thereof, or any political subdivision thereof will be eligible for only one pension from the New Jersey Division of Pensions based on the higher paying position. The wages shall not be combined in determining pension benefits.

(5) If an individual who holds a paying position in which wages are funded directly or indirectly by the State of New Jersey, or any Department or Division, or political subdivision thereof elects to waive health insurance benefits in lieu of benefits provided elsewhere his additional compensation will be limited to the “out of pocket” cost, if any, of the alternative benefits.

(6) An individual who holds a paying position in which wages are funded directly or indirectly by the State of New Jersey, or any Department or Division, or political subdivision thereof will not be able to collect pension benefits from the New Jersey Division of Pensions while employed in and receiving wages from such position.

That would probably solve the entire problem and then some without cutting any essential services! I expect we could even decrease the state sales tax rate.

TTYL

WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS MAN

2008-05-19T07:04:00.001-04:00

I just got this email as a bulk “forward” -

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“It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'! For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's where she purchased the coffee. You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy. These are also the people that vote in this country! Here are the Stella's for the past year:

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7TH PLACE- Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.

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6TH PLACE - Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps. Go ahead, grab your head scratcher.

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5TH PLACE - Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT, days on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish. Keep scratching. There are more...

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4TH PLACE - Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun. Grrrrr ..... Scratch, scratch.

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3RD PLACE - Third place goes to Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions? Scratch, scratch, scratch. Hang in there; there are only two more Stellas to go...

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2ND PLACE - Kara Walton, of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000.... oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.

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1ST PLACE - (May I have a fanfare played on 50 kazoos please) This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home from an OU football game, having driven onto the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich.. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down, $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.”

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The solution to this kind of nonsense? As I quoted in a recent THE WANDERING TAX PRO posting on class action suits – “The first thing we do is kill all the lawyers!”

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TTYL

IS A PUZZLEMENT - PART II

2008-05-16T06:59:00.002-04:00

Here is the answer to the question posed in yesterday’s posting.

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She was hoping the guy would appear at the funeral again.

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If you answered this correctly you think like a psychopath.

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According to the email, this was a test by a famous American Psychologist used to determine if someone has the same mentality as a killer. Many arrested serial killers took part in the test and answered the question correctly.

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If you didn't answer the question correctly good for you!

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If you got the answer correct, please let me know so I can avoid future contact.

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TTYL

IS A PUZZLEMENT - PART I

2008-05-15T08:15:00.000-04:00

I recently received an email with the question posed below.

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This is not a trick question. It is as it reads.

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Here goes -

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A woman, while at the funeral of her mother, met a man who she did not previously know. She thought he was amazing. She believed him to be her dream partner so much that she fell in love with him right there, but never asked for his number and could not find him after the funeral. A few days later she killed her sister.

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Question: What was her motive for killing her sister?

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Give this some thought. I will post the answer tomorrow.

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FYI, my longtime friend Carmen "the Bear" told me he got the answer correct.

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TTYL

EVERYBODY OUGHT TO HAVE A WILL

2008-05-14T07:12:00.003-04:00

I do believe that just about everyone should have a will of some kind.

You do not have to spend lots of money on an expensive lawyer (redundant). There are many will kits available online and at office supply stores that will do just fine if your finances and family situation are relatively simple. I should point out that the laws regarding wills and estates vary from state to state and you should make sure that any will kit you purchase will apply to your particular state regulations.

Those with more complicated situations should consult a professional.

It is very, very, very important that once you have written a will you review it periodically as your situation, and that of your executor or beneficiaries, changes. This is especially important for elderly individuals. A recent real-life situation emphasized this fact for me.

Money can totally destroy family relationships and lifelong friendships. In this particular case family relationships have been irrevocable damaged beyond repair.

The will in this situation was for an elderly widow with no children. In it she named her brother as executor. However her brother had passed away several years before. No contingent executor was named.

First of all, while not applicable to this specific situation, I firmly believe that you should never make a lawyer your executor. Your executor can decide to retain a lawyer for assistance if appropriate. This is just my personal opinion. I have no problem with naming a financial professional or the Trust Department of your bank as an executor – I am just against choosing a lawyer.

Every will should list a contingent executor, or executrix, in case the primary one cannot fulfill his/her duties. In this particular case the will should have been revised upon the death of the brother. However if a contingent executor had been named it would have been “more better”.

One of the beneficiaries of the estate, which was in six figures, was a sister who was currently living in a nursing home paid for by state Medicaid funds. Any monies inherited by this person would eventually go directly to Medicaid. I expect that the deceased, a 1040 client of mine, did not intend to have any of her savings go to Medicaid. The will should have been revised when it was determined that the sister would be a permanent resident of a nursing home.

The problems began when the person who could be identified as her “caregiver” – the only one of several nieces and nephews who attempted to take care of her in her old age, who held her Power of Attorney, and who advanced all the money for her funeral expenses – upon discovering her will among her personal effects consulted an attorney. Without going into specifics, the lawyer eventually, in my opinion, stabbed this person (a close personal friend) in the back – and he ended up substantially “out of pocket” for his own legal fees.

What this person should have done upon discovering the will, again in my opinion, was take it directly to the county Surrogate’s office and explain that he was the deceased’s caregiver and held Power of Attorney and that the executor named in the will had predeceased his aunt. The County Surrogate would have probably named this person the Administrator of the estate, as should have been.

Unfortunately involving a lawyer ended up making the situation truly FUBAR. Forget about "beware of Greeks bearing gifts" - beware of lawyers, period!

So if you don’t have a will, get one. If you do, review it. And tell your elderly relatives (parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles) and friends to review theirs.

Any comments?

TTYL

AIN'T BROADWAY GRAND!

2008-05-13T09:41:00.002-04:00

The American Theatre Wing has announced the nominations for 2008 Tony Awards.

Lightning has not struck twice. While Mel Brook’s THE PRODUCERS broke all records taking home just about every Tony for a musical, and deservedly so, his YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN only got three (3) nominations – Featured Actor, Featured Actress and Scenic Design.

THE HEIGHTS got the most nominations for a musical – 13. The revival of SOUTH PACIFIC, the first Broadway revival since the original production, came in second with 11. SUNDAY IN THE PARK ETC got 9, GYPSY 7 and PASSING STRANGE also 7. I have yet to see any of the musicals which opened this season – but will be going to GYPSY this summer.

The word on GYPSY is great from all sources. The house-mate of a long-time client is "in the business" and ran into Stephen Sondheim in SARDI's one evening. SS raved about Patti Lupone and the production.

Speaking of SS - he will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award this year. The Regional Theatre Award will go to the Chicago Shakespeare Company.

The only plays I have seen this “season” were BOEING-BOEING and NOVEMBER. I was surprised that Nathan Lane was not nominated for NOVEMBER. The show’s only nomination was for Laurie Metcalf as Featured Actress.

BOEING-BOEING was nominated for Leading Actor (Mark Rylance – from the original West End production), Featured Actress (Mary McCormack), Director (Matthew Warchus), and Costume and Sound Design.

The Tony Awards will air at 8:00 PM on Sunday, June 15th on CBS.

Click here for the complete list of nominees.

TTYL

SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOOD NIGHT!

2008-02-01T06:44:00.000-05:00

As is my custom, due to the demands of the tax filing season I will not be posting to ANYTHING BUT TAXES, or my other blogs, until the end of April.

Between now and April 15th I barely have time to relieve myself let alone blog!

“Talk” to you when it is all over!

TTYATS

THE GUILTY ONES

2008-01-28T08:26:00.000-05:00

They have got to be kidding!

An article on my mail.com home page on Saturday reported:

“The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $1.4 million fine against 52 ABC Television Network stations over a 2003 broadcast of cop drama NYPD Blue.

The fine is for a scene where a boy surprises a woman as she prepares to take a shower. The scene depicted 'multiple, close-up views' of the woman's 'nude buttocks' according to an agency order issued late Friday.

FCC's definition of indecent content requires that the broadcast ‘depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities' in a ‘patently offensive way’ and is aired between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The agency said the show was indecent because ‘it depicts sexual organs and excretory organs -- specifically an adult woman's buttocks.’

The agency rejected the network's argument that ‘the buttocks are not a sexual organ.’”

The fact that this scene was telecast almost 5 years ago aside, this is ridiculous!

If the definition of “indecent content” requires that the broadcast “depicts excretory activities in a patently offensive way” than just about every show in the genre of “reality tv” should be fined. After all, what is reality tv but the product of an “excretory activity”. And reality tv shows are without a doubt “patently offensive”?

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2008-01-26T07:53:00.000-05:00

+ The inside back cover of my Playbill for NOVEMBER had an ad for www.PlaybillRadio.com – “Broadcasting the music you live from the heart of Broadway. 1000s of songs. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Exclusive news and interviews. It’s all FREE!”

This is great. It has replaced “The Music of Your Life” syndicated radio for my daily online music streaming. It plays nothing but songs from Original Cast Recordings and other Broadway-related albums and dvds (i.e Barbra Steisand's "The Broadway Album") – past and present. Plus it has Broadway news.

As I have been typing this posts I have heard “Rosemary” from HOW TO SUCCEED, “Meadowlark” from THE BAKERS WIFE, and “Poor Everybody Else” from SEASAW. I have also heard selections from HAIRSPRAY and the recent revivals of COMPANY and SWEENEY TODD.

+ Have you checked out “Pigasus” the NJ Flying Pig from NJ 101.5 FM radio? Click here for a picture of Pigasus, and here for information on the Flying Pig Coalition.

+ Jim over at BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCIAL PROSPERITY has posted “50 Fun Facts About Banks”. According to the post “Flatbush National Bank of Brooklyn NY was the first bank to issue a credit card in 1946. I wonder if they had any idea of what they were starting?

TTYL

IT GETS LONELY IN THE WHITE HOUSE

2008-01-25T14:30:00.000-05:00

Last night I journeyed out in the cold to 47th Street in NYC to see fellow Jersey City native Nathan (formerly Joseph) Lane in David Mamet’s new political comedy NOVEMBER at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

I had purchased the ticket for $78.00 through BroadwayOffers.com (code SAVE13). My seat was in the front orchestra, 5th row on the aisle. It was the wrong aisle – and I wasn’t actually on the aisle but locked against a wall. However it turned out to be a very good seat, with full view of all the action.

Nathan Lane plays President Charles H.P. “Chuck” Smith (the "H.P." is never identified) who is losing badly in his re-election bid. The only way he will win is if everyone stays home on Election Day. Why? As his lawyer, played by Dylan Baker, tells him during the first minutes of the play, “You FU-ed up the country!” Sound like anyone we know?

Mamet has been quoted as saying Lane’s character is not meant to be George W. – and President Smith bears absolutely no physical or other resemblance or connection to the current occupant of the Oval Office, other than invading a country and sending suspected terrorists to hidden offshore locations for torture (“Chuck” constantly threatens to banish those who defy him on the "piggy plane" to a secret detention camp in Bulgaria in manacles with bags over their heads).

As “the Committee” has abandoned him with not enough money for even a Presidential Library, Smith attempts to use blackmail and a chain of “quid pro quos” to get enough money for one last ditch effort to keep his job for 4 more years.

Unlike Lane’s turn as Sheridan Whiteside in the Roundabout Theatre’s revival of the classic THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, I doubt this production will be broadcast on PBS. This is because of Mamet’s affection for the grand-daddy of all four-letter words, used prominently throughout the show. Lane has commented that one presumably little old lady wrote to him to say the title of the play should be changed to F_ _ K, as the word is used so much in the dialogue (I wasn’t sure if I could use all four letters in a blog).

During the course of the play, Lane’s President Smith manages to hilariously offend just about every ethnic, religious, and racial group from women, Jews and Native Americans to adopted Chinese children and Scandinavians,

In addition to Dylan Baker as Lane’s straight man the cast also includes Roseanne’s Laurie Metcalf as a liberal-leaning lesbian speechwriter who has just returned from China where she and her partner have “bought” a Chinese baby, Ethan Phillips, Star Trek Voyager’s Neelix, as a representative of the turkey farmers’ association who is constantly asking Lane to let the two turkeys (one back-up in case the original does not make it until Thanksgiving) about to be pardoned smell his hands (“the turkeys are very sensitive”), and Michael Nichols as a poison dart blowpipe carrying Indian chief who wants President Smith to turn over the National Wildlife Preserve on Nantucket to his tribe so they can build a 4000-room hotel and casino.

The show was a scream, and Nathan Lane, who is onstage the entire time, is perfect in the role. It is as if it were written especially for him. Nathan’s performance is manic, but not over-the-top like his Sid Caesar-inspired role in LAUGHTER ON THE 23rd FLOOR. The entire cast is great. The plot is a bit silly, with President Smith threatening to replace turkey as the traditional Thanksgiving main course with first pork (“What about the Jews?”, “Do they celebrate Thanksgiving?”) and then tuna, but it works.

The show does point out one truism of politics – everyone, even the liberal-leaning lesbian (say that 5 times fast), has his/her price, that one thing that he/she wants badly enough to compromise or pay for.

Two thumbs way up. Go see it!

Two semi-related items:

(1) A phrased used several times in the play reminded me of a true story.

A friend’s car broke down while in Jersey City and he called the auto club for a tow. The tow truck that eventually arrived had “IDGAF TOWING” printed on the door.

My friend asked the driver if the initials represented the names of the owners - i.e. Irving, David, Gary, Adam and Ferdinand.

“No”, replied the driver. “It stands for I Don’t Give A F _ _ k!”

(2) Many, many years ago I was holding open auditions for a local production of Stephen Sondheim’s COMPANY at the Five Corners branch of the Jersey City Public Library about the same time that Joseph Lane was an upperclassman at St Peter’s Prep. I did not keep the “sign-in” sheets – my director, who has since gone on to his final audition, took them.

I have always wondered if Joe Lane had auditioned for the musical. He certainly wasn’t in the cast. I have vowed to kick myself if I ever do get to ask Nathan Lane the question and receive an affirmative answer.

TTYL

IS IT ALL GOING IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER?

2008-01-24T03:36:00.000-05:00

Whenever an individual who is in financial trouble goes to a credit counselor the first thing the counselor does is cut up the individual’s “plastic” – i.e. credit cards. No more borrowing!

The second thing is to set up a “bare-bones budget”, cutting out all unnecessary spending.

Good advice for an individual in financial trouble.

The advice is equally good for a State in financial trouble – like New Jersey.

“Uncle Jon”, are you listening?

TTYL

YOU CAN SELL SHIT AND GET THANKS – THAT’S WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE YANKS

2008-01-22T10:34:00.000-05:00

The ongoing writers’ strike may end up doing more damage to the television landscape than one might expect.

As the networks run out of “scripted” shows, and viewers tire of re-runs, they are turning to “reality tv” excrement and dumbed-down game shows (we are not talking about What’s My Line or Password here) and hybrid crap like American Gladiator to fill their timeslots.

In many cases the replacements are doing almost as good, and sometimes better, than the real entertainment that they are replacing. And, as they involve no creative talent, they are a lot cheaper to produce.

In an article on the front page of the LIFE section of USA Today last Wednesday, CBS program planning chief Kelly Kahl is quoted as saying, “When you can do better than the shows you’re replacing at a fraction of the cost, it’s going to drive you to do more. And as time goes by, writers can end up losing slots for scripted shows.”

The writers won’t be the only losers. Their fellow artisans - actors, directors, stunt people, etc, etc, etc - will also find less work. And, as I have always said when it comes to the so-called “reality” offerings, the biggest losers will be the American public, who will be denied the option of true entertaining and educational television. We will be forced to choose between watching excessively fat people be berated while going through hoops trying to lose weight fast, or total “cafones” swapping wives for other than sex, or nothing.

I have heard word that “Challenge of the Network Stars" is returning. Oi vey!

And don’t think cable will offer many alternatives. With the need to fill 24 hours a day with something, cable stations, mostly subsidiaries of broadcast channels, are producing what is undoubtedly the worst steaming piles of human waste ever shown on the small screen (watch THE SOUP on “E” to see clips of just how horrible tv can be).

Forget “wardrobe malfunctions” – cable stations VH1, MTV, Oxygen and even “E” (which at least pokes fun at itself on THE SOUP – probably the only show on that station worth watching) should be fined for its content, which does more harm to impressionable younger viewers than a brief peak at a singer’s tit.

Thank God I just found Fan Cast!

TTYL

EXTRA! EXTRA! HEY LOOK AT THE HEADLINE

2008-01-21T11:23:00.000-05:00

Just a "quickie" to let you know that Jeremy Vohwinkle of ABOUT.COM: FINANCIAL PLANNING reports that Kiplinger is running a campaign to help people jump-start their retirement plan by offering a day of free financial advice on January 25th. This is a live discussion either online or via telephone with members of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). Click on Jeremy's blog for more details.

TTYL

F-R-E-E, FREE!

2008-01-19T07:33:00.000-05:00

Last night while at my Comcast.net home page I discovered a small text link on the top of the page that read “Full Episodes of 150 TV Shows - Watch Free Online!“.

I clicked and was taken to Fancast, where you can watch full episodes of a large and varied selection of series from Adam 12, Airwolf and Alfred Hitchcock to Land of the Giants, Lou Grant and Lost in Space, to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Weird Science. The list includes current shows such as Monk, Psych, Bones, House, Heroes, the 3 CSIs, and How I Met Your Mother, and obscure syndicated shows like Team Knight Rider, Jack of All Trades, and Cleopatra 2525. Comedies, sci-fi, police and action shows, cartoons, and soap operas. Even, unfortunately, reality excrement.

I selected the pilot for the police 1992 police series Tequila and Bonetti (1992), which I vaguely remembered, created by Donald Bellisario (MAGNUM PI, JAG, NCIS). According to Wikepedia –

“Nico ("Nick") Bonetti (Jack Scalia), is a policeman from New York City who is proud of his Italian heritage and very fond of his vintage rose-colored Cadillac convertible, which he inherited from his father. After he erroneously shoots a young girl during a gunfight, he relocates to a beachfront Los Angeles precinct on temporary assignment. Here he meets his new partners, Tequila (a large, burrito-eating dog voiced by Brad Sanders), and Officer Angela Garcia (Mariska Hargitay), who joined the police after her policeman husband's death. Their boss is Captain Midian Knight (Charles Rocket) {Capt Midnight, get it – rdf} , who is almost as interested in selling a screenplay as he is in police work. The series shows their investigations about crimes and the relations between the characters. This show has the peculiarity that television viewers are able to hear Tequila's thoughts.”

I also watched an episode of Team Knight Rider, a syndicated spin-off of Knight Rider, which appeared to be a pilot for a series Girl Spies that would eventually become the similarly syndicated She Spies.

Like the other online options for watching past and present tv episodes there are commercials – but only one brief one separating each of the 4 “Acts” of the teleplay. And, of course, you can pause, fast forward and fast back.

Check out Fancast – and look to see if your favorite series of the past is included in its list of episodes.

TTYL

THE THEATRE, THE THEATRE

2008-01-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

I just ordered a ticket for the new David Mamet political comedy NOVEMBER starring fellow Jersey City native Nathan Lane, ROSEANNE’s Laurie Metcalf and Dylan Baker for next Thursday night. One last night out on the town before I am chained to my home office desk for the two and a half months of the tax filing season!

I hadn’t heard of the show until a friend gave me a booklet of discount coupons at lunch yesterday.

The coupon promised a 30% savings for a price of only $69.00. Of course the price of the ticket was not $69.00 - with the various “service charges” it ended up at $78.00. Still, that’s better than the $99.50 box-office price. Now watch - NOVEMBER will be included in my next tdf offering for only $35.00! But then my $78.00 ticket is for the 5th row of the orchestra – while a tdf $35.00 ticket could be in the nosebleed section.

Anyway, to get the discount I went to www.broadwayoffers.com and typed in promotion code SAVE13. This discount is not just for NOVEMBER, but for most current Broadway offerings.

I also signed up my email address over at www.20at20.com to be notified of the next “20 at 20” promotion. Apparently during this promotion you can see an off-Broadway show for only $20.00 if you but the ticket 20 minutes before curtain. This promotion is offered by www.OFFBROADWAY.com. I learned about this in the same booklet that contained all the coupons.

TTYL

GREY SKIES ARE GOING TO CLEAR UP – PUT ON A HAPPY FACE!

2008-01-16T07:52:00.000-05:00

HAVE YOU HEARD THE ONE ABOUT…

A tourist walks into a curio shop in San Francisco. He notices a very lifelike life-sized bronze statue of a rat. It has no price tag, but is so striking that he decides he must have it.

He takes it to the owner and asks, “How much is the bronze rat?”

The owner replies, “$12 for the rat and $100 for the story.”

The tourist gives the man $12 and says, “I’ll just take the rat. You can keep the story.”

As he walks down the street carrying his bronze rat, he notices that a few real rats have crawled out of the alleys and sewers and begun following him down the street.

This is disconcerting, and he begins to walk faster. But within a couple of blocks the herd of rats behind him has grown to hundreds, and they begin squealing. He starts to trot towards the Bay, looking a-round to see that the rats now number in the THOUSANDS, and are racing toward him.

Concerned, even scared, he runs to the edge of the Bay and throws the bronze rat as far out into the water as he can. Amazingly, the thousands of rats all jump into the Bay after it, and are all drowned.

The man walks back to the curio shop.

“Aha,” says the owner. “You are back for the story.”

“No,” says the man. “I came back to see if you have a bronze lawyer!”

TTYL

ON THAT GREAT COME AND GET IT DAY

2008-01-15T08:36:00.000-05:00

On Saturday I attended the annual NJ State Tax Seminar sponsored by the NJ chapter of the National Association of Tax Professionals held each year at the Woodbridge Hilton. One of the speakers was from the NJ office of “Unclaimed Property”.

The speaker estimated that 1 in 10 New Jersey residents have “unclaimed property” being held for them by the State of New Jersey or another state.

I was able to find $4,500+ in “unclaimed property” for my father last year through the NJ Unclaimed Property office. Check out my WANDERING TAX PRO postings on “How I Made Over $4,500 by Watching Good Morning America” Part I and Part II.

NJ residents should go here to begin a search for unclaimed property. Each state has a similar office of Unclaimed or Abandoned Property. Check out the home page of your state’s website, or the website of the Revenue or Taxation department or division of your state.

TTYL

MY BOY, BILL! HE’LL BE TALL AND AS TOUGH AS A TREE

2008-01-14T08:51:00.000-05:00

I recently received a forwarded email with the following story about a speech that Bill Gates recently gave to high school students. If you ask me his talk contained some good advice for today’s youth:

“Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1 - Life is not fair - get used to it!

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Rule 2 - The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

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Rule 3 - You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

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Rule 4 - If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

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Rule 5 - Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

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Rule 6 - If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 - Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

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Rule 8 - Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

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Rule 9 - Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

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Rule 10 - Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 - Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.”

TTYL

CAN YOU USE ANY MONEY TODAY?

2008-01-11T14:53:00.000-05:00

“If there is a better plan . . . put it on the table.”

So challenged New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine in his State of the State address on Tuesday.

Instead of following the annual custom of balancing the budget by nickel and diming NJ residents and businesses with a variety of tax and fee increases, Corzine has chosen put all his increases in one place by raising the tolls on the NJ Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and the Atlantic City Expressway by about 800% over the next 14 years!

Well I certainly have a better plan – cut spending!

Corzine’s reply to this was “Pigs will fly over the Statehouse before there is a realistic level of … spending cuts that can fix this mess.” He estimated that to achieve his goal with spending cuts would mean cutting $5 Billion, or 15%, of the state budget.

So what – so cut! You don’t mean to tell me that the NJ budget does not contain at least 20% in pork! What about all the politicians with two and three paying jobs that are getting double and triple health and pension benefits? What about the fact that while 99% of employees in the private sector are paying at least a portion of their own health insurance premiums through payroll deduction, NJ state and local employees continue to get excellent coverage 100% free of charge?

As I have said in my blogs time and time again – the typical response of the politician to budget gaps nowadays, on all government levels, is to raise taxes and fees and never to cut expenses.

Corzine has proven to be a great disappointment. Many of us in New Jersey were pleased that an “outsider” - someone from the private financial industry - was elected to such a high office. His inaugural address was full of promises of fiscal responsibility and getting rid of the corruption that has existed for decades throughout New Jersey government. But he has done none of what he promised. Any reforms that have managed to pass during his tenure have been so watered down so as to accomplish nothing of any consequence.

The increased homestead rebate checks were a joke. Corzine paid for them with an increase in the sales tax – so “Uncle Jon” took money out of your right pocket so he could put it in your left pocket! Real estate taxes continue to rise in NJ.

As I have said before, as soon as my parents go on to their final audit I am moving to Pennsylvania!

TTYL

WHAT KIND OF FOOL IS HE?

2008-01-09T05:34:00.000-05:00

I couldn’t wait until the next “A LITTLE THIS-A…” posting to report an article I discovered on the home page of my email provider Mail.com titled “Dr. Phil Criticized for Britney Brouhaha”.

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According to the article, the professional psychiatric community has echoed my concerns about the jury consultant’s intrusion into Britney’s problems. The article quotes Dr. Jeffrey Sugar, chief of child and adolescent psychiatry, crisis and emergency service for the University of Southern California (who, by the way, does not have his own talk show):

"It's true people sometimes need to be placed under involuntary mental health treatment because they can't take care of themselves. But there's a difference between being detained involuntarily for psychological treatment and being forced to endure Dr. Phil involuntarily."

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2008-01-08T06:59:00.000-05:00

+ The AARP BULLETIN provides a good review of reverse mortgages in “Making Your House Work”. Jim of BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCIAL PROSPERITY also discusses the issue in “What Is A Reverse Mortgage?”.

Speaking of the association for retired persons, AARP can now join AARP as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the organization.

+ Chris Pummer’s column “Shades of Green” at MARKET WATCH brings us some disturbing news with “Cracking the Whip: Credit-Card Issuers Sock Late Payers with 30%-Plus Default Rates”

Chris reports that, “Faced with mounting account delinquencies, major U.S. banks are penalizing credit-card customers late on payments by hiking their accounts to maximum default interest rates of 30% and more -- even those with good credit records”

+ Here’s a good idea – start 2008 off right by setting up an automatic savings plan. Jeremy Vohwinkle of ABOUT.COM: FINANCIAL PLANNING tells you how in his post “Make Saving Automatic”.

+ MARKET WATCH reports that “Treasury Plans Social Security Debit Card”. According to the article –

“The Direct Express debit card, set to be announced today, will be introduced in a handful of states this spring and rolled out nationwide by the end of the summer. Dallas-based Comerica Inc.'s Comerica Bank has been selected as the card issuer for the program, which is targeted at Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients who don't have a bank account.”

I am not quite aboard with this new idea. I am concerned that this creates another card that can be stolen. SS beneficiaries with a bank account can have their check directly deposited and then use their bank’s own debit card. And it also creates additional bank processing fees for seniors. I can, however, see a possible benefit for recipients who do not have a regular bank account.

+ I noticed a headline on my Comcast home page on Monday that indicated that Britney Spears may not have been pleased with jury consultant “Dr Phil” sticking his nose in her business.

McGraw was correct when he said that Ms Spears needs professional medical and psychological help. However what she does not need is for Phil to try to pull a “Pat O’Brien” and exploit Britney’s woes to get himself another truly unnecessary prime time special.

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2008-01-05T07:17:00.000-05:00

+ When I tuned in to KIXI-FM streaming online from Seattle WA on the morning of New Year’s Day guess what I found?

HOA, Herb Oscar Anderson, has joined the roll of syndicated MUSIC OF YOUR LIFE radio hosts – replacing Deanna Martin (Dino’s daughter) and husband in the 6:00–10:00 AM est slot. Deanna and husband have moved to the noon to 3:00 pm est spot.

Those of you who grew up in the 60s in the NY metropolitan area are certainly familiar with the former WABC-AM “Morning Mayor”, father of Dynasty’s John James.

Welcome back HOA! It’s déjà vu all over again.

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+ The DOUGH ROLLER takes an interesting slant on personal financial planning in his post “To Make Good Decisions, Think Like Mr. Spock but Act Like Captain Kirk”.

+ An article on the MARKET WATCH list of the 10 best personal finance stories of 2007 reported that, based on an annual Relocate-America survey, “Asheville, N.C., Tops America's Best Places to Live”.

I visited Asheville a few years back to attend an NSTP year-end tax update seminar. Actually I celebrated the 50th anniversary of my birth in Asheville. It was certainly a nice place to visit, but at the time I was not looking to relocate. It is the home of the humongous Biltmore Estate.

The article lists America's Top 10 places to live for 2007” from the survey. The list includes Chicago and San Francisco. I was not surprised that the top 10 didn’t include anyplace in New Jersey.

+ The PERSONAL FINANCE MORON rightly points out what a bad idea a “Home Equity Debit/Credit Card” is. Moron states “It's bad enough that there are millions of people that can't use an Unsecured Credit Card responsibly, but now the banks are going to make it as easy, and as tempting as possible, to access every last dime of your home equity. No wonder the financial sector, particularly the lenders, are in such trouble right now”.

+ Kristine McKinley of FINANCIAL TIPS FOR WAHMS reports that “2007 A Winning Year on Wall Street”.

Kristine also provides a good review of “What Makes Up Your Credit Score?”

TTYL

SWEET CHARITY

2008-01-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

While I know the holiday gift-giving season is over, here is an interesting alternative to giving a store gift card. You can give a gift card for a donation to charity.

Tisbest.org sells charity gift cards that work just like other online gift cards, except that instead of buying stuff in a store, the recipient spends it to support a charity, or charities, of their choice.

You purchase a card in someone else’s name online at Tisbest.org for between $10 and $5,000. You can choose from 50 meaningful images for your Charity Gift Card, and each card can include a personal message from you. Tisbest.org will deliver the gift card via email to the “giftee”, who can choose to whom to donate the money from among 200 carefully chosen and responsible charities representing a wide range of causes, from animals to arts to environmental preservation to education and humanitarian efforts.

The 200 charities include the Red Cross, Amnesty International, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, American Diabetes Association, ASPCA, and National Public Radio.

There is a flat $3.95 transaction fee regardless of the amount of the card and a 3% credit card processing fee. So if you chose to give a $100.00 Charity Gift Card, the charities will ultimately receive $93.05. The person who buys the card will receive a receipt for a $100.00 contribution, which may be tax deductible if the charity qualifies as a tax-exempt “501(c)(3)” organization.

As I have pointed out in THE WANDERING TAX PRO in the past, the person who pays for the donation is entitled to the tax deduction, and not the person in whose name the donation is made, or, or in this case, the recipient of the Charity Gift Card.

TTYL

IS ANYBODY THERE? DOES ANYBODY CARE?

2008-01-02T06:11:00.000-05:00

On November 30th I posted the first ANYTHING BUT TAXES online trivia contest.

Here is what I asked:

(1) What was my source material for the titles of the November (and future) posting to ANYTHING BUT TAXES?

(2) One of the titles strays a bit from the source material, although there is a definite link. Identify the title and explain why it is different.

I did not receive a single entry!

I don’t think my questions were that hard. I guess you guys aren’t interested in such a contest – so it will be a long time before I post another one.

For anyone who is interested, here are the answers:

(1) Each title of a posting to ANYTHING BUT TAXES from its beginning through the end of December was either the title of or a lyric from a musical number that appeared in a Broadway musical.

For example - the title of my initial post, “WILLKOMMEN, BIENVENUE, WELCOME!”, was from CABARET, as was “"WELL, THAT’S WHAT COMES FROM TOO MUCH PILLS AND LIQUOR” (from the title song). ”EVERYONE WILL LOVE YOU IF YOU BE A SANTA CLAUS!” is from the song “Be A Santa” from SUBWAYS ARE SLEEPING. The title of the post introducing the contest, “WILL EVERYONE HERE KINDLY STEP TO THE REAR AND LET A WINNER LEAD THE WAY” is from HOW NOW DOW JONES. And “A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA” is a song from DAMN YANKEES.

(2) The one posting title that strayed a bit was “ONCE, YES, ONCE IS DELICIOUS – BUT TWICE WOULD BE VICIOUS, OR JUST REPETITIOUS". This was from the song “I Never Do Anything Twice” written by Stephen Sondheim - not for a Broadway musical but for the Sherlock Holmes movie THE SEVEN PERCENT SOLUTION. The link to Broadway is, of course, Stephen Sondheim.

It has been fun searching for Broadway song titles or lyrics to use as the titles for my posts, but not always easy. Since I am becoming much busier as I prepare for the upcoming tax filing season I will take a break from this practice. While I will attempt to continue to try to use song titles or lyrics for my titles, they will not always be from Broadway.

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Hey, can anyone out there tell me what Broadway musical had a song with the lyrics “LBJ TOOK THE IRT DOWN TO 4th STREET USA. WHEN HE GOT THERE WHAT DID HE SEE? THE YOUTH OF AMERICA ON LSD!", the title of my November 23rd posting on acronyms? Same prize!

TTYL

CARNIVAL BALLET

2007-12-31T11:37:00.000-05:00

ANYTHING BUT TAXES is represented in “Tax Carnival #27: Waiting for the Tax Ball to Drop” compiled by Kay Bell of DON’T MESS WITH TAXES. As Kay states, “in ‘Won't You Take This Advice I Hand You Like a Brother’ he discusses the burden of proof during an audit, particularly when it comes to the cost basis of an investment sale.”

Actually, I start the Carnival off with a posting from my tax blog. According to Kay, “As the traditional Auld Lang Syne says, let's not forget the old acquaintance of this soon-to-end tax year. To that end, Robert D Flach, aka THE WANDERING TAX PRO, brings us a review of 2007's tax happenings.”

The same post from THE WANDERING TAX PRO is also in the “Carnival of Personal Finance #133 - Last of 2007 Edition” over at WE’RE IN DEBT.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEARS, NEW YEAR’S EVE?

2007-12-31T06:33:00.000-05:00

I am all set for New Year’s Eve – day and night.

Like Christmas Eve, I will be spending the day typing W-2s for clients.

As for the evening – I have my frozen cocktail franks, potato skins and pizza rolls, my Ritz Crackers and Temptee Whipped Cream Cheese, a bottle of Jack Daniels (an annual birthday gift from a friend/client) and a large plastic bottle of Coca Cola, and a handful of cigars - so I am good to go (although I am not actually going anywhere)! It will be just me, Nosey, and Dick Clark.

I started dining on hors d’oeuvres many New Year’s Eves ago when we lived in what was then pretty much “the country” in Stirling and Warren Townships, and have continued the tradition ever since.

I haven’t gone out on a New Year’s Eve since the beginning of the 1980s! On purpose – not because I wasn’t invited anywhere. I did my couple of years at Times Square as a young man, so I can say, “been there – done that”.

I remember one NYE in NYC. We were in the crowd on the corner of Broadway and 45th Street. Once the ball dropped we were swept up in a wave and carried toward 42nd Street under the momentum of the crowd. One of my friends fell in the street and the “wave” continued to “flow” over him as he smiled, waved, and called out “Happy New Year” to those walking over him.

BTW, I always know where one of my 1040 clients will be on New Year’s Eve. He works the machinery that drops the ball from the top of One Times Square!

Happy New Year to all!

TTYNY

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2007-12-29T08:10:00.000-05:00

+ Robert Powell over at MARKET WATCH provides some interesting numbers in his article “Lies, Damn Lies and (Retirement) Statistics: Reluctant Retirement Savers May be Scared Straight by These Data”.

The moral of his story –

If you are among the 150 million who are not saving for retirement, now would be a good time to do so.

If you are among the 50 million who are saving for retirement, now would be a good time to save more.

+ Brad Trechak of TV SQUAD gives us a preview of the upcoming “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” Fox series in his post “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles -- An Early Look”. The sci-fi show premieres on Sunday, January 13, at 8 PM before settling into its normal timeslot on Monday, January 14, at 9 PM.

+ TV SQUAD also reports that “David Letterman has struck a deal with the Writers Guild of America, and both his show and “The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson” (both produced by Letterman's Worldwide Pants) will return next Wednesday, January 2.”

No big news. The David Letterman show is not funny!

If I am watching tv at 11:30 at night it is usually Jay Leno. After his monologue and nightly “bit” (I especially like his “Headlines”, but am sick of “Jay Walking”) I usually switch over to CBS to hear Letterman’s “Top Ten List”.

While waiting one evening I had to sit through a bit in which the crew threw a safe off the top of the building. It landed on and flattened a car. So what? Was this supposed to be funny? If so, the humor was certainly lost on me.

Apparently David Letterman often has items thrown off the top of his building. Can someone tell me why?

The David Letterman Show makes a habit of beating a lame bit, at most mildly amusing the first time, to death. Some bits eventually end (for a while he had a different person lock up The Late Show Bear each night - stupid indeed) while some go on forever ("Will It Float" - who gives a f - - -?).

I have not seen a David Letterman monologue and I have not viewed any of his interviews, so I can't comment on these portions of the program. With the exception of the occasional Top Ten entry I have found very little of what I have seen to be even marginally humorous. I can't, for the life of me, understand why he has been on the air for so long.

+ It was recently announced that the publishers have “delayed” indefinitely publication of a book of parenting advice (“Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World”) by Lynne Spears, mother of the infamous Britney and Jamie Lynn, after 16-year old Jamie Lynn, of “Zoey 101”, announced that she was pregnant.

Having Lynne Spears write a book on parenting is like having a young John McEnroe write a book on anger management, or Charlie Sheen write about the benefits of sexual abstinence.

I wish Rance and Jean Howard had written a book on the proper way to raise a child star. I don’t remember ever reading about Ron Howard’s trips to Rehab or Clint Howard’s bouts with drugs and alcohol.

While Lynne Spears should not take all the blame for her daughters’ behavior, she certainly deserves a big chunk of it, as do the parents of the other popular tabloid darlings.

Guess who has come to her defense? Why all-knowing Dr. Phil! The jury consultant and professional tv finger-wagger has said "An asset that Britney and Jamie Lynn both have is a great and dedicated mother" and that her kids are lucky to have her. Phil, shut up!

TTYL

CARNIVAL BALLET

2007-12-27T19:18:00.000-05:00

I just got the word – the latest edition of the “Carnival of Financial Planning” is now up at The Skilled Investor’s PERSONAL FINANCE BLOG.

The “Carnival of Financial Planning” takes a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals and families. The focus is on efficient and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.

My post “WON’T YOU TAKE THIS ADVICE I HAND YOU LIKE A BROTHER” appears in the Investing section of the Carnival.

YOU CAN NEVER GO BACK

2007-12-27T10:02:00.000-05:00

The movies are famous for sequels. Most, as I have discussed here, are “at best unnecessary and at worst an insult to the originals”. However, while there are often revivals (more successful than movie remakes), Broadway musicals are not known for spawning sequels.

There has been no “West Side Story – The Next Generation”, “Return of the Music Man”, “Cabaret II – Back to Berlin”, or “Guys and Dolls and a Baby”.

But there have been, to my knowledge, three actual Broadway musical “sequels” – new musicals with the same characters and similar situations that take place after the original production. Since you have probably not heard of them you can correctly assume they were not box office, or critical, successes. Only two actually made it to Broadway.

I would have used this as another trivia contest, but, judging on the response to my first one, it appears you would not be interested. So I’ll just tell you about them.

The first is “Bring Back Birdie”, obviously a sequel to the classic “Bye Bye Birdie”, which had 31 previews and only 4 performances (the original had 607) back in early 1981 at the Martin Beck Theatre. It reunited the creative team of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams and librettist Michael Stewart. Chita Rivera reprised her roll as Rosie, but Albert and Mae Peterson, originally Dick Van Dyke and Kay Medford, were played here by Donald O’Connor and Maria Karnilova. There was no sign of the Peterson family from the original, the patriarch of which was Paul Lynde.

In the sequel, 20 years after the end of the original, Albert is offered twenty thousand dollars if he can find Conrad, who has disappeared into obscurity, and persuade him to perform on a television show. Albert takes a leave of absence from his job teaching English and locates Conrad, now overweight and the mayor of Bent River Junction, Arizona.

I was in the audience for one of the 35 performances. There was an unsuccessful try at updating the innovative “Telephone Hour” production number idea using videos. And Donald O’Connor almost attempted to reprise his “Singing in the Rain” off the wall back flip during one of his solo numbers – but thought better of it considering his age.

Despite its short run, Chita Rivera was nominated for a Tony and a Drama Desk Award as Best Actress in a Musical for BBB2. The original “Bye Bye Birdie” was nominated for, and won, many Tonys 20 years earlier, including a win as Best Musical, a nomination for Chita Rivera as Best Featured Actress in a Musical and wins for Gower Champion as Best Direction and Best Choreography. Dick Van Dyke also won a Tony.

Ken Mandelbaum writes in his book “Not Since Carrie, 40 Years of Broadway Flop” – “’Bring Back Birdie’ may rank as the worst Broadway musical ever to be created by top-level professionals. The book was tasteless and ridiculous.”

I met BBB librettist Michael Stewart, who also wrote the books for “Hello Dolly” and “42nd Street”, when he was a guest lecturer on one of my post-tax season transatlantic crossings on the QE 2 back in the 1980s. I saw the original "Bye Bye Birdie" during its Broadway run, but with "Match Game" host Gene Rayburn and not Dick Van Dyke.

“Annie”, which first promised Broadway audiences in early 1977 that “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow”, had not one but two attempts at a sequel. The first was “Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge”, which opened at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. in December 1989 to “universally disastrous reviews”. Wikepedia reports that “extensive reworking of the script and score proved futile, and the project was aborted before reaching Broadway”. The second attempt was made in 1993, with a completely different plot and score. “Annie Warbucks” opened off-Broadway at the Variety Arts Theatre, where it ran for 200 performances. It never made the transition to Broadway. I have not seen either sequel.

It is a coincidence that the music for “Annie” and “Annie Warbucks” was also written by Charles Strouse, although the lyrics were by Martin Charnin.

The third Broadway musical sequel, which did briefly make it to Broadway, was “The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public”, which ran for 28 previews and 16 performances in the spring of 1994. The same creative team returned for the sequel, including Tommy Tune as co-director and co-choreographer. This musical told the tale of the best little whorehouse in Las Vegas.

Miss Mona, “madam” of the original Texas “Chicken Ranch”, is coaxed out of retirement to take over Las Vegas brothel “Stallion Fields”, which has been seized by the government and is being run by the IRS in the hope of recovering $26 million in back taxes. Mona is once again at odds with a zealous right-wing politician trying to close the “house” down.

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The New York Times review indicated that, while it had all the glitz one expects from Las Vegas - and even had Siegfried and Roy (portrayed by one actor, half of whom is made up as Siegfried, the other half as Roy) - “What it ain't got is fun”.

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Dee Hoty, “Miss Mona”, was nominated for a 1994 Tony as Best Actress in a Musical. I also did not see this apparent fiasco.

While “Lorelei”, which I did see, opens and ends years after the original “Gentlemen Prefer Blonds” story takes place, is not so much a sequel as a revival of GPB – created to capitalize on the popularity of Carol Channing after “Hello Dolly”. So it doesn’t count. Lorelei remembers her earlier Atlantic crossing while embarking on another after many years of marriage.

“Lorelei” opened January 27, 1974, at the Palace Theatre and ran 320 performances. While it has updated lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and a new book by Kenny Solms and Gail Parent, it is really just the original "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" by Anita Loos and Joseph A. Fields with lyrics by Leo Robin with a few new scenes and songs thrown in to book-end the original story and score. The show also featured Peter Palmer (Broadway’s “Lil Abner”), Dody Goodman, and Lee Roy Reams, who would many years later again appear with Carol in one of her revivals of Dolly.

So there you have it – the extent of Broadway’s experimentation with sequels. Did I miss any?

TTYL

SLICE UP THE FRUITCAKE - IT’S TIME WE HANG SOME TINSEL ON THAT EVERGREEN BOUGH

2007-12-26T07:35:00.000-05:00

I trust you all had a “successful” Christmas!

As promised, and as has been my custom for many years now, I spent Christmas Eve closing out and reconciling payroll and typing W-2s for my clients. Three sets down and three to go! My biggest client, a doctor with three corporations that have employees, does payroll bi-weekly (every other week) and this year it worked out that I did the final payroll for the year this past Sunday. I have done the local Social Security union, headed up by a friend of mine since probably the 5th grade, and two of the doctor’s companies. I will do the third company on New Years Eve (another tradition) once I have determined how much I will pay the doctor herself for the year after reviewing the situation next Sunday. I also have a bar and a deli to do – but will not have all the info for them until January.

For, I believe, the first time since I was a newborn I “dined” in on Christmas Eve. As a family we would always dine out on Christmas Eve (originally at a place called “Ray Grimes” on the Boulevard in Union City). Lately, while the folks were still in Jersey City, we would go to the “Lincoln Inn” in the Jersey City heights. Two years ago was my first CE on my own – it was when I discovered the hidden treasure “Renato’s” behind the “Pizza Master’s” next to the heights police station. Last year it was Burger King – hey it was still “out”.

We would have our “home-cooked” meal on Christmas Day, at the home of my paternal grandparents while they were alive, and then it moved to our home. This year our Christmas dinner was cooked by “the home”- my sister and I dined with the folks at the Francis Asbury Manor, their current residence, which is a United Methodist Homes assisted living facility in Ocean Grove. As with the mid-day Thanksgiving dinner there, it was not exactly a “sumptuous” meal, but satisfactory considering it was free.

Today I am going back to the home for my father's birthday. As we discovered last year, IHOP will give you a free dinner on your birthday!

Then it is back to work. Year-end "stuff", finishing up my 2007 1040 work, and a Form 1041 to do. And then there is my annual January client mailing to get out and forms and worksheets to update and prepare for the new tax-filing season, etc, etc, etc. Hopefully I can get a few days of leisure in before the deluge begins on February 1st!

TTYL

TRADITION

2007-12-24T07:28:00.000-05:00

Whoop de do and dickory dock – Don’t forget to hang up your sock!

As has become my annual custom, I will be spending Christmas Eve typing W-2s!

Happy Holidays to All!

TTFN

IF I HAD MY DRUTHERS

2007-12-22T07:17:00.000-05:00

Do you want to know what I want for Christmas? I would like all the steaming piles of excrement of the “reality tv” genre banned from broadcast and cable television by the FCC.

Granted “little people”, while faced with some unique challenges, are just like anyone else, and have families and lives just like anyone else. But I do not want to watch them go about their everyday life.

I do not want to watch a woman give birth, or a family raise children.

I do not want to watch the lower classes bicker at work, whether at a beauty parlor or one of several tattoo parlors.

I do not want to watch brain dead college drop-outs living and playing together.

I do not want to watch the work and personal lives of anyone unfold, regardless of their level of income or degree of celebrity.

I do not want to watch total idiots degrade themselves for the sake of greed or to get a mate.

Pardon my “French”, but there is really no other word that describes what America has mis-named reality television than shit – human excrement.

At its worst it is gross soft-core pornography (i.e. the VH1, MTV, and E! offerings) and at its basic bad it is people of low intelligence and no self-esteem being humiliated. None of these offerings have an ounce of entertainment, educational, or socially redeeming value. And I challenge anyone to provide an intelligent explanation otherwise.

So Santa, do you have any pull at the FCC?

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2007-12-19T07:55:00.000-05:00

+ I have never read or watched alleged financial guru-ess Suze Orman, The word I have seen on the blogosphere and heard from other professional financial speakers is basically that she is an idiot who doesn’t know her arse from a hole in the ground (a speaker said something to that affect at a tax seminar). The PERSONAL FINANCE MORON confirms what I have heard elsewhere – that, to say the least, “Suze Orman is Annoying”.

The Moron (the blog author, not Orman) makes a good point, that also applies to tax planning-

“I‘m a firm believer that Personal Finance is a very personal thing and there is no one solution that fits everyone’s personal situation.”

+ My tax blog THE WANDERING TAX PRO is the tenth awardee of the TICK MARK blog’s “Twelve Blogs of Christmas”! Blog author Dan Meyer of Tennessee writes that my “’What's the Buzz’ column, included at least weekly, is a good review of tax posts”.

+ FIVE CENT NICKEL (is there any other kind?) suggests a good year-end activity in his post “Clearing Out Your House for Fun and Profit”. Apparently this posting is part of the Money Blog Network Group’s Writing Project on year end money moves. The rest of the Group also provides some good year-end ideas.

+ Dawn of FRUGAL FOR LIFE discusses the concept of “re-gifting” with some good advice in her post “Re-Gifting In 4 Simple Steps”. While I no longer really exchange gifts at Christmas any more, I do often find myself in a position where I bring a “token” gift, and also receive such gifts myself. I have often received perfectly good “stuff” for which I have absolutely no use and have on occasion done what, according to this post, apparently a lot of people do. I think that “re-gifting” is fine as long as it is done properly, following the advice in Dawn’s post.

+ JLP of ALL FINANCIAL MATTERS offers some truly sound advice in his post “Solid Advice: ALWAYS Question Commissioned Salesmen!” Just as I said in an earlier post that there are times when you can say NEVER, there are also times when you should say ALWAYS.

+ Thanks to Dave of MY TWO DOLLARS for mentioning my Cabaret of Common Sense Advice in his weekly Blog Carnival and Festival update! So far he is the only “common sense advisor” who has done so.

+ Don't forget to check out the ANYTHING BUT TAXES December trivia contest!

TTYL

WON’T YOU TAKE THIS ADVICE I HAND YOU LIKE A BROTHER

2007-12-18T15:14:00.000-05:00

Did you know that, in the event of an IRS audit, the burden of proof for the cost basis of an investment sale you have reported on Schedule D is with the taxpayer. As per T.C. Memo 2003-259, if a taxpayer cannot provide proof of the cost basis of a stock or other investment sold it will be considered to have a "0" cost basis. As a result, the entire gross proceeds will be fully taxable!

It is very very important that you hold onto the "confirmation" slip you receive from your broker for the purchase of an investment for as long as you own that investment, and four (4) years thereafter. You should also save the monthly brokerage account statements that show the initial and subsequent purchases, notices of splits, and any dividend reinvestments for stocks, and the annual year-end account statements that list all the activity for the year for mutual funds for the same period of time.

I would recommend setting up a separate file folder or pocket in an accordion file for each individual investment you own. Start with the paperwork for the initial purchase (i.e. the confirm) and add any appropriate statements and documentation each year. If you invest in a limited partnership put the Form K-1 you receive each year in the file. When you sell all or a part of the investment put the sale confirm in the file and give the file to your preparer at tax time.

The cost basis of an investment you receive as a gift is generally what the person making the gift paid for it. If you receive a gift of stock, a bond or mutual fund shares ask the person giving you the gift for a copy of the purchase confirmation slip for your file. Also make a note of the date you received the gift and place it in the file. If you are gifting an investment to a relative you should give that person, or his/her parents if a minor, a copy of your purchase confirm.

The cost basis of an investment you inherit is the “fair market value” of the investment on the decedent’s date of death. This is the “mean average” price of the investment on that date. It is also the value reported for the investment on the decedent’s federal estate or state inheritance tax re-turn. If you can, get a photocopy of the page of the estate or inheritance tax return that lists the value. If this is not available to you, you can go to www.bigcharts.com and look up the price for the date of death. You will need to know the “ticker symbol” of the investment. Print out the result and put it in your file for the investment. You should also be able to get the information from your broker, or possibly the Executor of the estate.

If you inherit real estate you should also document the date of death fair market value for your re-cords as soon as you can. Again, this value will be in the estate or inheritance tax return and you should be able to get it by contacting the Executor.

Any questions?

TTYL

PITIFUL CREATURE OF DARKNESS

2007-12-15T07:14:00.000-05:00

One of the “Hot Topics” on my Comcast.net home page was the article “Vick Letter Sought Mercy”.

According to the article, “Michael Vick declared ‘I am not the bad person or beast I've been made out to be’ and asked for leniency in a letter to the federal judge who sentenced him to 23 months in prison for a dogfighting conspiracy.”

If there is anyone who does not deserve leniency it is this arsehole. I truly hope that the shower is crowded in prison when he drops the soap – and he learns a new perspective to the term “doggy style”! He deserves every indignity, indecency and humiliation that he will experience in prison. His life and career deserve to be destroyed as payment for his despicable and indefensible behavior.

TTYL

WHAT HAVE I GOT A GREAT BIG LACK OF?

2007-12-14T08:29:00.000-05:00

So what did I do wrong?

A traditional Blog Carnival is a post that provides a series of individual postings from other blogs on a specific topic, category or theme. The postings are submitted to the “host” by individual bloggers, and, for the most part, the host includes all submitted posts in the Carnival, unless there is no obvious connection to the topic, category or theme.

There is only one Tax Carnival, hosted by Kay Bell of DON'T MESS WITH TAXES, but there are many Blog Carnivals on Personal Finance issues.

With a Blog Carnival everyone wins. The individual blogger gets his blog exposed to many new readers, as does the host of the Carnival, which is generally mentioned in each of the blogs whose postings are included. And the reader of the blog is exposed to many new blogs, and a wealth of possible helpful information and advice.

I wanted to take the concept of the Blog Carnival one step further and created the Cabaret of Common Sense Advice. Rather than just printing submitted posts, I wanted to focus on specific posts that I have personally selected. I did not solicit postings for the Cabaret ahead of time. I chose postings that I found during my “wanderings” in the web.

I had used this concept originally when I was the “guest-host” of TAX CARNIVAL #10 in January of this year. I chose a specific tax topic, getting ready to prepare your 2006 federal tax return, for my installment of the Carnival. While I reviewed all the postings submitted, I did not automatically include them. In some instances I used different postings then the ones submitted by the individual bloggers. For example, Blogger A submitted post B, but I used his post C instead.

Whenever one of my posts from THE WANDERING TAX PRO or ANYTHING BUT TAXES has been included in a Blog Carnival I am sent an email from the host to notify me and to request that I publicize the Carnival on my blog. After reviewing the Carnival I immediately publish a posting identifying and linking to the particular Carnival.

After publishing my first Cabaret of Common Sense Advice I sent an email to the authors of the postings that I chose to include telling them about the Cabaret, announcing the fact that one of their posts is included, and closing with “I would appreciate any coverage you can provide the 1st ‘Cabaret of Common Sense Advice’, my blog ANYTHING BUT TAXES, and/or my other blog THE WANDERING TAX PRO in your blog.”

I did not receive any replies to my email. As of this writing, none of the authors whose posts I included have made any mention of either the Cabaret or ANYTING BUT TAXES in their individual blog. MY TWO DOLLARS and WORK AT HOME MOMMA did post comments here, but there was no mention of the Cabaret on their blogs.

So I ask you once again – what did I do wrong?

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2007-12-13T11:07:00.000-05:00

+ The BROADWAY BLOG reports tht “The Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider is to be the latest in a very long line of former TV celebrities to join the cast of the Broadway revival of Chicago. On January 14, Schneider will begin a two-month stint in the role of Billy Flynn, the too-slick lawyer who knows how to razzle dazzle a courtroom.”

The BB also reports that “Broadway Revival of Company To Air in February” - February 20, 2008 to be exact, on PBS as a part of its "Great Performances" series. Check out my review of the revival at “Phone Rings, Door Chimes, In Comes Company".

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+ JD of GET RICH SLOWLY and Jim of BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCIAL PROSPERITY have “dueling posts” on the subject of using home equity (secured) debt to pay off credit (unsecured) debt. So what do you think?

+ Kevin Geary of CHANGE YOUR TREE reminds us that we are in control of our lives and provides advice to “help guide you through taking back control over your life” in his post "Your Life Sucks Because You Expect It To Suck (and 10 Ways to Improve It Right Now".

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Just a note on his #7 “Suppress Drama and Embrace Reality” - this certainly does not apply to television! Just the opposite!

+ Kristen Sample over at TV SQUAD reports that NBC has a “two-hour television movie Knight Rider set to air on February 17 at 9 p.m. ET. This modern-day sequel to the iconic 1980's show stars Justin Bruening (Cold Case), Deanna Russo (The Young and the Restless), Sydney Tamiia Poitier (Veronica Mars), and Bruce Davison (Breach). Will Arnett (Arrested Development) will play the voice of KITT. And don't worry, the Hoff will make a guest appearance as Michael Knight” in her post “New KITT Car for Knight Rider Movie Unveiled”.

+ NO CREDIT NEEDED, one of Dan Meyer’s (of TICK MARKS) “12 Blogs of Christmas” in the Personal Finance category, provides some interesting spread sheets on what you would have if you saved $1.00 - $10.00 per day every day for up to 50 years, figuring in 5% annual interest, in his post "$10 A Day Equals 3/4 Of A Million Dollars". I start with $1.00 per day today!

TTYL

LIFE IS A CABARET, OLD CHUM. COME TO THE CABARET.

2007-12-11T07:15:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the very first “Cabaret of Common Sense Advice”!

My Cabaret is somewhat like a traditional Blog “Carnival” in that it contains postings from many different blogs on a similar topic or theme. However, it is different in that, rather than printing whatever posts have been submitted by bloggers, I have personally chosen the posts in the Cabaret from my “wanderings” on the internet.

I will begin the Cabaret with some of my own postings.

+ While the title of this blog is ANYTHING BUT TAXES, I will stray a bit with my post from THE WANDERING TAX PRO on “My Best Tax Advice”.

+ And from this very blog, I will show you that there are times when you can, and should, say NEVER in my post “In Never Never Land”.

And now, on to some common sense advice from others.

+ Laura Spencer, a WORK FROM HOME MOMMA, answers the question "Should You Set Your Initial Price Low to Get Clients?“ for WAHMs as well as any other self-employed professional.

+ And speaking of home-based businesses, Mary Emma Allen of HOME BIZ NOTES provides “5 Tips for Success In Your Home Business”.

+ I am a big fan of Jim’s BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCIAL PROSPERITY blog, and often feature his postings on my WHAT’S THE BUZZ and A LITTLE THIS-A postings. He suggests “7 Responsible Ways to Spend Your Holiday Bonus.” I also recommend that you take his advice to “Ignore Personal Finance Experts”.

+ JLP at ALL FINANCIAL MATTERS helps to provide an answer to the question “How Much Mortgage Can You Realistically Afford?"

+ The Silicon Valley Blogger provides “12 Money Moves for Your Year End Financial Checklist” at her blog THE DIGERATI LIFE. I must point out that prepaying real estate of estimated state income taxes may backfire if you will be a victim of the dreaded AMT (and at this point you cannot determine this with certainty) for 2007.

+ Trent at THE SIMPLE DOLLAR provides some good advice in “Facing A Difficult Personal Finance Decision (Or Other Major Decision)? Try These Seven Techniques".

+ JD over at the GET RICH SLOWLY blog gives some timely holiday advice in his post “The Pros and Cons of Gift Cards”.

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+ Kevin Geary over at CHANGE YOUR TREE advises you to “Teach Your Children The Four Basics of Smart Money Management”.

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+ David of MY TWO DOLLARS rounds out the Cabaret with his post “Make A New Year's Resolution To Get Organized - A Step By Step Guide”. He advises “Whether it be your finances, your house or your life in general, getting organized can only make things better.” This is especially true when it comes to your tax records!

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So there you have it – an even dozen postings of common sense advice.

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While I have your attention – do you know that I am hosting a contest here at ANYTHING BUT TAXES? Click here to find out more!

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TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2007-12-05T07:43:00.000-05:00

+ Several weeks ago I came across a new weekly syndicated radio show that fit my tastes perfectly – “Radio Deluxe”.

Every weekend NJ’s John Pizzarelli and his wife and co-host, singer Jessica Molaskey, play music, mostly “American popular standards”, and entertain guests in their "deluxe living room." It is very similar to the week-end WNYC-FM shows of John’s good friend Jonathan Schwartz. This week’s guest was Los Angeles Times jazz critic Don Heckman.

I listened to it this past Sunday at 4:00 PM eastern time online via WTRI "Vegas Radio" 1520 AM Frederick, Maryland, “the online home of the greatest music ever made, by the coolest cats to ever enter a recording studio”.

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FYI, the JOHN PIZZARELLI QUARTET will perform live at Shanghai Jazz in Madison, New Jersey on Sunday, December 16, 2007.

Many, many years ago, at the beginning of my long tenure as accountant for the then Summit Art Center (later the NJ Center for Visual Arts, and now the Center for Visual Arts of NJ), the center hosted an annual Sunday jazz series. One of the offerings featured father and son Bucky and John Pizzarelli performing together. Unfortunately I was unable to hear the performance as I was working as the receptionist that particular Sunday (a position affectionately referred to as “the Bimbo”), although I did meet John when he used our inner office as a dressing room.

+ One of the news items on my mail.com “homepage” last Sunday was an excellent tribute article on the classic television drama LOU GRANT, one of the best written and acted television shows of the 1970s and 80s, which premiered on CBS 30 years ago. It was a nice change from the “who gives a damn” items on Britney’s or Lindsay’s latest FU that usually appear as entertainment news.

Thinking back on shows like LOU GRANT, television that actually provided entertainment and caused viewers to think at the same time, makes one realize just how truly despicable the steaming piles of excrement of today’s “reality” genre really are. For every reality piece of shit that appears on the network schedule we are deprived of what could be another LOU GRANT.

+ Hugh at COOL INVESTING provides a good basic introduction to 529 College Plans in “More on 529 Plans and Saving For College”. And GLG over at GINA’S TAX ARTICLES answers the important tax question in “Deductibility of 529 Plans”.

+ FYI, I will be off to Atlantic City for a year-end tax update seminar on Thursday and Friday, returning to Resorts after a long absence, so there will be no posts until I get back.

TTYL

CARNIVAL BALLET

2007-12-03T14:34:00.000-05:00

My posting “In Never Never Land” is included in the Everything Else Finance section of “Carnival of Everything Finance #8 - Investment Education Edition” compiled by Blain Reinkensmeyer at STOCK TRADING TO GO. The Carnival covers investing tips, tricks, picks, and education from market professionals and also includes 10 great ways to learn investing in the stock market.

The Carnival contains lots of interesting posts. Check it out!

I LOVE A FILM CLICHE

2007-12-03T08:34:00.000-05:00

I still have tax work waiting to be done, but it has been hard to get motivated considering the distractions offered by the Turner Classic Movies cable tv station’s daily line-up of films. For the past few weeks TCM has filled its daytime schedule with continuous episodes of classic detective movie series of the 30s and 40s. Another reason why TCM is the absolute best cable, or broadcast, television station around now that American Movie Classics (AMC) has “sold out”.

The offerings have included -

· Two famous film series about literary detectives that began with George Sanders as the star – The Saint, more famous as a British tv series with Roger Moore, and The Falcon. Interestingly enough, after making 3 Falcon films Sanders decided to retire from the role, and in the 4th of the series, THE FALCON’S BROTHER, Sanders was killed in the end and his fictional brother, played by Sanders real-life brother Tom Conway, took over as the new Falcon and continued for all but the last three of the 16-film series. A point of information – when called in one title THE GAY FALCON the reference was not to the detective’s sexual preference. Back then gay meant something else entirely.

· The adventures of retired jewel thief Boston Blackie, brought to life by Chester Morris, a real-life amateur magician who shared the hobby with his screen character, and his sidekick “Runt”. I had seen many of the Blackie movies during my youth on Saturday afternoon television. It was one of the few series in which the same actor played the lead throughout the run.

· The Perry Mason series, which, while keeping the actual ESG mysteries intact, took too many liberties with the characters, portraying Perry as a drunk bon vivant amateur chef who marries Della Street in one episode, a far cry from the more true to the books portrayal of Raymond Burr with which all boomers are familiar, and Paul Drake as a typical bumbling movie sidekick nicknamed “Spudzy”.

· Another retired jewel thief who appeared in a series of 15 files over 14 years – Michael Lanyard, aka the Lone Wolf. This literary detective’s nickname was actually the source of the popular term “lone wolf”, used to describe “one who prefers to go without the company or assistance of others.”

· The uniquely named debonair detective Philo Vance, whose initial entry, THE CANARY MURDER CASE was completed as a silent film and hastily adapted for sound for its 1929 release. This series included THE GRACIE ALLEN MURDER CASE, not among the TCM offerings, written especially for the comedienne by Vance’s creator S.S. Van Dine. A later entry in the series, CALLING PHILO VANCE, was actually a remake of the earlier THE KENNEL MURDER CASE, both of which were shown by TCM.

· A very interesting series I had never heard of before about Nick and Nora–ish rare booksellers Joel and Garda Sloane, from a novel by famous screenwriter Harvey Kurnitz writing as Marco Page. There were three films with three separate sets of actors playing the couple – Melvyn Douglas and Florence Rice in FAST COMPANY, Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell in FAST AND LOOSE, and Franchot Tone and Ann Sothern in FAST AND FURIOUS, directed by Busby Berkeley.

· And of course, the father of all such detective series – William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. Of course you do know by now that the Thin Man was not Nick Charles but a character in the first book that never reappeared, despite the movies’ titles.

While the individual detectives had their unique quirks and subtle differences, to be perfectly honest in many cases the characters and stories are interchangeable. All the heroes are handsome, urbane, witty, and intelligent, generally with some kind of shady past or underworld connection. They usually have a comic relief sidekick and, even if married, are often in the company of a beautiful dame. And they are frequently at odds with a hard-boiled police lieutenant or inspector with a blundering sergeant. They become involved in the mystery or adventure to help a friend, or one of the aforementioned beautiful dames, or to clear themselves of wrongful charges. As some of the films were made during the war years, the heroes occasionally tangled with Nazis and foreign spies.

While these films were considered to be “b” films they often featured actors and actresses who would later go on to greater fame on the big and and small screens early in their careers. One young dame who crossed paths with Boston Blackie was Harriet Hilliard, who would marry a band leader named Nelson and raise her two boys on radio and television.

As with any genre, some series were better than others. And as with any episodic series, some entries, usually the earlier ones (although not always), were better than others. With few exceptions, different actors portrayed the various detectives during the runs of the individual series, and some casting choices were far superior to others. But they all were entertaining.

A few of the movie series were later translated to the small screen – Boston Blackie, The Thin Man (which starred Peter Lawford as Nick Charles), and of course Perry Mason and the Saint.

TCM also offered the comic series about radio detective The Fox, which starred Red Skeleton “Whistling” in Dixie, Brooklyn and the Dark, and Margaret Rutherford’s classic run as Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple, all of which I had seen many times before. Some bits of movie trivia – Joan Hickson, who played Miss Marple in the first BBC series, had a minor supporting role in MURDER SHE SAID (not Wrote). And did you know that before she updated the Marple retired school teacher detective character to modern day Jessica Fletcher, Angela Lansbury was Jane Marple in the 1980 film THE MIRROR CRACK’D, whose cast included Rock Hudson, Liz Taylor, Kim Novak, Tony Curtis and Pierce Brosnan.

On some week-days TCM also featured episodes of non-detective movie series such as the Mexican Spitfire (Lupe Velez), Maisie (Ann Sothern), and Judge Hardy’s family.

I wish TCM would stop this so I could get back to work!

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2007-12-01T08:05:00.000-05:00

+ I recently came across the BROADWAY BLOG, which “covers all the news and gossip about Broadway shows now appearing on Broadway in New York City”. It is the blog of NYTix.com, which provides discount Broadway tickets, free TV Show tickets, discount parking, and other NYC offers. During the recent stagehands strike the blog kept readers up-to-date on developments and reported on Broadway shows that were open despite the strike. The site also has a section that provides a brief summary of all current musicals.

A recent post reports that another revival of GYPSY is headed for Broadway – this time with Patti LuPone as Mama Rose. Broadway’s original Rose was, of course, Ethel Merman, with subsequent productions starring Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daily, and Bernadette Peters. I saw all but the original, and I expect that I will go to the Patti LuPone revival as well. Bette Midler was Rose in the television adaptation, and Rosalind Russell played her in the movie. While it was apparently not well liked by the show’s creators, the movie version was my introduction to the show and I could not find fault. Liza Minelli has always wanted to play the famous stage mother, so there may still be another revival yet.

+ BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCIAL PROSPERITY is a great personal finance blog. In his post “Ignore Personal Finance Experts”, Jim asks the question: What do the likes of supposed “experts” Suze Orman, Robert Kiyosaki, and David Bach have in common? “They don’t know you but they know exactly what’s wrong with you and how to fix it.” He rightly tells you to ignore these “cafones”, whose only purpose is to sell you a book or a program, and that you will get much better advice and information from personal finance blogs.

+ It appears that this past week Ellen DeGeneres called tv’s current BACHELOR a jerk. I thought – great, an idiot reality tv spade finally being called the spade that he/she is! I wish more tv personalities (Jay, Dave, Regis, etc) would call these idiots what they truly are – especially to their faces when due to required network cross promotion they are booked as guests. But I learned that the reason Ellen called him a jerk was not the fact that he appeared on a reality tv program, but because he did not pick one of the bimbos that the network pimps provided for his pleasure to be his mate. A reality tv person actually did something real! Then I learned that Ellen apologized for calling him a jerk, although she still thought he was wrong in not choosing one of the bimbos. If Ellen takes this crap seriously then it is she who is the real jerk!

TTYL

WILL EVERYONE HERE KINDLY STEP TO THE REAR AND LET A WINNER LEAD THE WAY

2007-11-30T11:58:00.000-05:00

You may have noticed that the titles of my postings here at ANYTHING BUT TAXES are a bit “unique”. I will use these titles to kick off what will become a monthly contest.

So here goes:

(1) What was my source material for the titles of the November (and all future) postings to ANYTHING BUT TAXES?

(2) One of the titles strays a bit from the source material, although there is a definite link. Identify the title and explain why it is different.

Submit your answers to rdftaxpro@mail.com with “ANYTHING BUT TAXES CONTEST” in the “Subject Line”.

The first five readers who provide the correct answers will receive, as a pdf email attachment, a free copy of my special report SURFIN’ USA.

TTYL

IT HASN’T SNOWED A SINGLE FLURY, BUT SANTA, DEAR, WE’RE IN A HURRY!

2007-11-29T08:07:00.000-05:00

It’s that time of year again – when PNC Wealth Management releases its “Christmas Price Index” and we learn the cost of the gifts in the holiday classic “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. Each year I report on the Christmas Price Index in THE WANDERING TAX PRO – and now I will move this report to ANYTHING BUT TAXES.

According to the 23rd annual survey, the cost for “The Twelve Days of Christmas” for 2007 is $19,507, a 3/1% increase over 2006. PNC points out that this increase mirrors the US Consumer Price Index. The CPI is up 2.8% so far this year.
The cost of the individual items are:

* Partridge ($15) in a Pear Tree ($164.99)

* Two turtle doves ($40)

* Three French hens ($45)

* Four calling birds ($599.96)

* Five gold rings ($395)

* Six geese a-laying ($360)

* Seven swans a-swimming ($4,200)

* Eight maids a-milking ($46.80)

* Nine ladies dancing ($4,759)

* Ten lords a-leaping ($4,285.06)

* Eleven pipers piping ($2,213.40)

* Twelve drummers drumming ($2,397.85)

The price of the 5 gold rings is up 21.5% from 2006. According to PNC, this “reflects the general trend of increasing commodity prices in the Consumer Price Index, including gold, In addition, increased fears about inflation and the value of the dollar may have led investors to turn to gold as a safer place to invest their money.”

As “unskilled labor” the eight maids a-milking earn the minimum wage, which has finally been increased for the first time since 1997. Thanks to Congress, the cost of the maids is up 13.6%. This cost will also increase in 2008 and 2009, as the minimum wage increase was a 3-year process.

Most of the “skilled” labor, leapers, pipers and drummers, only saw a small 3-4% increase in their pay. The dancing ladies pay was the same as last year. As I point out each year, the performing artists’ union does a better job for its members than the musician’s union – as the dancers and leapers earn about twice as much as the pipers and drummers.

The price of the four calling birds (aka canaries) is up 25% and that of the six geese-a-laying is up 20% over 2006, while the price of the other birds (partridge, turtle dove, French hen, and swan) remained even with last year’s rates. Food prices have increased over the last year which has had an impact on birds traditionally served as food, like geese. The calling bird increase is a result of higher demand and increased shipping costs.

As part of the annual tradition, PNC also calculates the “true” cost of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – the total cost of the items gifted as repeated in the verses of the song (i.e. on the 2nd day the giftee received 2 turtle doves and another partridge in a pear tree). The wealthy “True Love” in the song would pay $78,100 this year for all 364 items – up about 4% from last year’s cost of $75,122.

TTYL

EVERYONE WILL LOVE YOU IF YOU BE A SANTA CLAUS!

2007-11-28T06:49:00.000-05:00

It appears that this past “Cyber Monday” (the Monday after Thanksgiving) broke all records for online shopping.

As a youth my family was always very organized and efficient when it came to holiday gift giving. I exchanged gifts with my parents, my sister, my bachelor Uncle Ted (my father’s brother), and my “old maid” Great-Aunt Tess (my father and Ted’s aunt). Each Thanksgiving after dinner at a local restaurant we would return to my uncle’s house and exchange “Christmas Lists” on which we each identified exactly what we wanted for Christmas. Considering my sister’s and my limited spending allowance, the lists of the grown-ups always contained several inexpensive items. Each person would, in turn, leave the room while the others would decide who would purchase what.

This was a great system. I never had to wonder what to get my family for Christmas, and, unless there was a size issue, no gifts were ever returned. Plus I was assured that I would get at least some of what I really wanted each year.

We continued with this system through my adult life, after my aunt and uncle went on to their final audit, until we finally decided to no longer exchange gifts at Christmas several years ago (although my mother would still give my sister, my father and I a “stocking” with mostly nominal items – up until they moved into an Assisted Living facility last August).

In my adult life I only added three people to my annual gift list – and also used the list system, at least where my shopping was concerned. I was given a selection of items to choose from, most of which could be purchased online. I would complete my shopping in front of my computer early in December. Now that two of the three have moved to Florida I no longer purchase any Christmas presents for anyone.

For those of you who still shop – you may want to check out the “Jeremy Vohwinkle's Financial Planning Blog” posting on “Tips to Save Money This Holiday Season”.

TTYL

"WELL, THAT’S WHAT COMES FROM TOO MUCH PILLS AND LIQUOR”

2007-11-27T06:07:00.000-05:00

The NOW section of this past Sunday’s edition of New York City’s DAILY NEWS featured the “Useless Celebrity Index” – and calculated 2007’s “biggest waste of space”.

The winner was someone I have never heard of – Heidi Montag. She apparently is from the MTV “fake” reality show (aren’t they all?) THE HILLS, which I have also never heard of, and currently makes her living getting paid for appearing at parties and acting badly (the others on the list do it for free). #2, an appropriate distinction, was Kim Kardashian, another stranger to me. She is the daughter of late OJ Simpson lawyer Robert Kardashian and is famous for a sex-tape leaked on the internet.

Speaking of sex-tapes on the internet, as expected Paris Hilton also make the list. Like the top two space wasters, Hilton has absolutely no talent and is basically just “famous for being famous”.

Tabloid darlings Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, also as expected, rounded out the feature. Spears, a once moderately talented singer of bland generic pop songs, is a has-been at age 26. I expect her career, other than as a party girl, is over. Lindsay Lohan is actually a talented actress when sober, and could make something of her life if she cleans up.

Considering Britney and Lindsay’s initial claims to fame, one hopes that Billy Ray Cyrus is a better parent than the Spears and Lohans were!

Where was “the Donald” on the list? Trump certainly wastes as much space in the media as the 5 girls. Like most of them, he is also someone who is famous for being famous. In discussing his latest useless book he said Rosie O'Donnell (he is obsessed with her) ate like a pig at his wedding, Joy Behar has no talent (what does Trump know of talent – he has none himself), George Clooney is short, and Angelina Jolie is no great beauty (what – did she turn him down?). “I really understand beauty. And I will tell you, she’s not - I do own Miss Universe. I do own Miss USA. I mean I own a lot of different things. I do understand beauty, and she’s not,” the arsehole told Larry King.

I am sick and tired of being bombarded with celebrity non-news everywhere I turn. I don’t need to know, and don’t care, that Hulk Hogan’s wife wants a divorce, or that Paris Hilton did a pole dance at a New York City club, or that “Dog” the bounty hunter still loves the son who sold him out, or anything about anyone who ever appeared on a so-called “reality tv” show. Any person who appears on a piece of excrement from the reality tv genre is a total idiot with no self-respect, someone with absolutely no value – certainly not “newsworthy”.

Supposed entertainment news shows such as “Entertainment Tonight” have really hit bottom. They are nothing more than video tabloids, spending as much time on the likes of the woman addicted to plastic surgery or sad anorexic victims as they do on real movie stars. When “ET” first appeared I would watch it every night – now I never do.

Entertainment news is not “Former 'Bachelor' Contestant Arrested” or “Dennis Rodman Sued Again in Las Vegas”. It is “’Enchanted' Casts $50M Box-Office Spell” or “Producers and Broadway Stagehands Resume Talks” or “At 90, Borgnine Stars in Christmas Film”.

TTYL

MY HEART WILL BE BLESSED WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC

2007-11-26T06:29:00.000-05:00

My mentor, Jim Gill, would play NYC radio station WRFM - home of "American Popular Standards" - all the time in the office at Journal Square. I learned the art of tax preparation listening to radio personalities Jim Branch and Jim Alewood (sp?), the music of Andy Williams, Jack Jones, Steve Lawrence, Mantovani, Henry Mancini, Barbra Streisand, Perry Como, Nat King Cole and Frank, Dean and Sammy, and learning "Things No One Ever Told You".

The music was relaxing and helped us cope with the stress and frustration of the tax season. To this day I must have music on when I am working - I cannot work in silence.

When WRFM changed to WNSR and soft rock in 1986, after we had moved from Journal Square to Newark Avenue, we switched to WNEW-AM. When WNEW-AM was replaced by Bloomberg we switched to WQEW-AM until Disney took over in 1998. I then tuned in to WMTR-AM from Morristown, whose signal was not always strong enough to get in Jersey City. But that station changed its format to oldies. "American Popular Standards" had disappeared from my radio!

Nowadays with streaming radio playing on the internet one is not limited to the stations that can be picked up on the office radio. In my wanderings on the web I came across Radio Locator, the most comprehensive radio station search engine on the internet. This site has links to over 10,000 radio station web pages and over 2500 audio streams from radio stations in the U.S. and around the world. You enter a “format” (i.e. adult contemporary, country, hip hop, jazz, oldies, rock, top-40, and so on) and get a listing of radio stations from across the USA that feature that format.

This is how I eventually found AM 880 KIXI radio from Seattle Washington, which is a member of the “Music of Your Life” syndicated radio network, where “disc jockeys” Peter Marshall of “Hollywood Squares”, legendary singer Pat Boone, Gary Owens of “Laugh-In”, and Dean Martin’s daughter Deana and her husband play the “music of your life” and reminisce.

I had seen Peter Marshall, Julie Harris and Charles Nelson Reilly in the Broadway musical “Skyscraper” (music and lyrics by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn and book by Peter Stone) over 40 years ago. On the anniversary of its opening in 1965 Peter Marshall played several of the songs from the musical and talked about his memories of the show.

I also discovered WJAS 1320 AM, an oldies station from Pittsburg PA that every Saturday morning at 9:00 am plays an original cast album on THE BEST OF BROADWAY. This show features Broadway musicals from the 50’s through today. This past Saturday was WICKED. Previous Saturdays have included CALL ME MADAM, THE KING AND I, CAN CAN, GODSPELL, ME AND MY GIRL, THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG, MISS SAIGON, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and HAIRSPRAY.

And of course on Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon to 4:00 PM it is Jonathan Schwartz on WNYC 109.3 FM.

I can now play American Popular Standards and listen to Jack, Steve, Henry, Barbra, Perry, Nat, Frank, Dean and Sammy while I work once again!

As I am writing this post I am listening to Jack Jones singing “Lollipops and Roses”.

TTYL

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2007-11-24T07:19:00.000-05:00

Very little, actually.

+ There was no traffic on the way down to my parents’ assisted living facility at the Jersey shore via Rt 1+9, 9 and 18 on Thursday. And I left at 3:00 PM to avoid traffic on the Parkway on the way home - and did so.

The mid-day meal at the home was good, but not exactly “sumptuous”. Not what I had been used to in the past for a Thanksgiving dinner, but certainly better than last year’s meal from Dunkin’ Donuts! My evening meal was from NATHAN’s at the Parkway rest stop en route home.

+ Jim of BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCIAL PROSPERITY provides a brief primer on the "History of the Indices: Dow, Nasdaq, S&P & More".

+ Say it isn’t so! It seems that the steaming pile of excrement known as “The Apprentice” is returning – this time with “celebrity” contestants. Their careers must really be heading for the toilet if they have to stoop to licking Trump’s boots.

+ Each year in December I report on the annual Christmas Price Index – the cost of the items gifted in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – over at THE WANDERING TAX PRO. Little did I know that there is a similar Thanksgiving Price Index. Kay Bell, the yellow rose of taxes over at DON’T MESS WITH TAXES reports in her posting “Cranberry Thanks” that “The American Farm Bureau Federation says that menu items for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner -- turkey, stuffing or dressing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the trimmings -- will cost more this year. According to the group's 22nd annual informal survey of the prices of turkey day dinner items, the average cost to feed a table of 10 this year is $42.26. That's $4.16 more than last year’s average of $38.10.”

TTYL

LBJ TOOK THE IRT DOWN TO 4th STREET USA. WHEN HE GOT THERE WHAT DID HE SEE? THE YOUTH OF AMERICA ON LSD!

2007-11-23T07:30:00.000-05:00

Americans, or at least most of us, are fascinated with acronyms – “a word formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term”. Like FYI for For Your Information.

The world of emails and text messaging has created a whole new appreciation for and vocabulary of acronyms – BTW (By The Way), LOL (Laughing Out Loud), MIRL (Meet In Real Life), TFB (guess). I found an online Internet Acronyms Dictionary and discovered that AAAAA was not a group for drunk drivers but the American Association Against Acronym Abuse.

Government, at all levels, has always been famous for its acronyms. We all know what the FBI, the CIA, and the DMV are. And, thanks to television, we are also aware of SWAT, JAG, CSI and NCIS. The military is especially enamored of the practice. A PFC could be promoted to become a CPO. In military speak PABST does not refer to Blue Ribbon Beer but to Primary Adhesive Bonded Structure Technology. And let’s not forget the infamous WMDs – Weapons of Mass Destruction. Click here for a Military Acronym Directory.

A lonely SSM (Single Straight Male) might place a personal ad for a SWF (Single White Female. Or he might surf the “escort” sites to look for a BBW (Big Beautiful Woman) who provides a GFE (Girl Friend Experience).

Some acronyms have become actual words. A classic example is “snafu”, a military acronym for Situation Normal, All Fouled (not the original word) Up. The word “radar” is actually an acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging, as the word “laser” is for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

I was told many years ago by, I think, a teacher that the “n” word for persons of Puerto Rican extraction came from a US Immigration category stamped on the papers of certain individuals arriving on Ellis Island – Spanish, Portuguese, Indian and Colored - although I cannot find any real documentation of this online. I do know for a fact that I am a WASP (While Anglo Saxon Protestant).

It is, however, an “urban legend” that the “n” word for Italians came from the fact that, as illegal aliens in the 30s and 40s, they were With Out Papers, or With Out Passport. The real derivation of “wop”, according to Wikepedia, “is the Neapolitan ‘guappo’, meaning dude or thug. The word defines those who belong to the Guapperia o ‘Camorra’, a criminal organization similar to the Sicilian Mafia located mostly in the province of Campania.”

Acronyms are certainly in frequent use in my profession – taxes. The AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) has been around for at least as long as I have been in the business, and is now paired with the non-gift bearing MAGI (Modified Adjusted Gross Income). We have all become familiar with the dreaded AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) lately.

TRA 86 (the Tax Reform Act of 1986) created a whole new set of acronyms. Under TRA 86 a PAL (Passive Activity Loss) needs a PIG (Positive Income Generator). There is ACRS (Accelerated Cost Recovery System) and MACRS (Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System), both the result of FACRS (Foolhardy Acts of Congress under the Ruse of Simplification).

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Many taxpayers save for retirement with either an IRA (Individual Retirement Account), a SEP (Simplified Employee Pension plan) or a SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match PLan for Employees). One of the more complicated areas of the Tax Code concerns the NOL (Net Operating Loss).

As I have said before at THE WANDERING TAX PRO, I have often found errors in tax returns prepared by a CPA.

I belong to the NATP (National Association of Tax Professionals) and the NSTP (National Society of Tax Professionals) – as well as AAA (Automobile Association of America) and AARP (American Association of Retired Persons). Over the years I have also briefly belonged to the ASTP (American Society of Tax Professionals) and the NSA (National Society of Accountants). I have often attended tax seminars sponsored by the CSEA (California Society of Enrolled Agents).

I have been having fun with acronyms for years. During my 20+ years as the accountant for the NJ Center for Visual Arts in Summit (formerly the Summit Art Center, and now the Center for Visual Arts of New Jersey) I used them on checks, memos and cards to colleagues. It all started when a payday happened to fall on February 14th and I wrote “HVD” on the memo line of the employees’ checks. It took them a while to realize that I was saying “Happy Valentine’s Day”. If payday fell on an employee’s birthday I would write “HASB” (Have A Successful Birthday) or something to that effect on the check. It got to a point that we would send each other messages in only initials and the fun was trying to figure out what was being said.

Back before my mentor Jim Gill retired and handed me his tax practice he had given me a return to work on. Included with the client’s “stuff” was a listing of deductions on which there was one item whose nature I was unsure of. So I wrote “WTF?” next to it and put it in the “Need More Information” box. A few days later Jim said that the client had been in and they were not sure what I had meant – but thought it might be “What’s This For?”. I told him he was close, but it actually stood for “What The F***?”

I use certain specific acronyms in my blog postings. Those of you who read THE WANDERING TAX PRO are aware that I hate GD extensions. A client asked what the GD stood for and I told him “exactly what you think it stands for!” It is not Government Deferred or anything like that. I often speak ill of the DFB’s in Trenton or Washington, a reference to our federal and state elected representatives, and provide the “clean” version as Damned Fool Bureaucrats, although that is not really what it stands for. When I discuss a FU you could interpret this as a Foul Up, but you would be wrong. Again, it is exactly what you think it stands for. FFR is For Future Reference and SGTM is Sounds Good To Me.

Depending on which blog of mine you are visiting, I end each day’s postings with either TTFN (Ta Ta For Now – THE WANDERING TAX PRO), TAFN (That’s All For Now – NJ TAX PRACTICE BLOG), or, as you will see below, TTYL (Talk To You Later).

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FYI, you can find out what any acronym, abbreviation, or initialism stands for at Acronym Finder or Abbreviations.com.

TTYL

CARNIVAL BALLET

2007-11-22T17:22:00.000-05:00

While I was driving down Route 1+9 toward the Jersey shore to visit with my folks this morning CREDIT CARD LOWDOWN was posting the 23rd edition of the “Carnival of Money, Growth and Happiness”, which includes my post on Debit vs Credit cards.

2007-11-22T07:35:00.000-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A LITTLE THIS-A AND A LITTLE THAT-A – WITH THE EMPHASIS ON THE LATTA!

2007-11-21T06:42:00.000-05:00

+ The production of “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” by John Bishop at the Bickford Theatre (actually in Morristown and not Madison) on Sunday was entertaining, but…..

The set, a library in a Westchester NY mansion with multiple secret passages, was excellent. The actors were all well cast professionals. I was familiar with the director, Deirdre Yates, from her past work with the Seton Hall Summer Theatre-In-The-Round program, and she is no stranger to comedy or mystery. The script contained a lot of witty dialogue and “inside” theatre and movie jokes, and the plot, involving a serial killer, Nazi saboteurs, undercover agents, and Broadway show people, was relatively plausible and its unfolding handled well. It is just that it somehow seemed a bit slow, particularly the First Act. I really can’t put my finger on it.

I was a bit surprised at the number of empty seats in the audience for the performance, especially as it is not a large theatre like the Paper Mill.

I must point out one glaring historical FU in the script. The radio broadcast that opened the play and set up a part of the plot referred to the FBI and the CIA. While the FBI was around, there was no CIA in 1940. The CIA grew out of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a military intelligence agency that itself was not established until June 1942.

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+ I was looking something up on the Internet Broadway Database site, which provides records of productions from the beginnings of New York theatre until today, when I noticed a “Born On This Date” listing among the items in the right hand margin.

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I looked up November 18 and discovered that I share the birthday with W.S Gilbert (of “…and Sullivan), Imogene Coca, Johnny Mercer Brenda Vaccaro (who I saw on Broadway in HOW NOW DOW JONES – I seem to recall she spent most of the show dressed in only a towel), and Walter Bobbie (who I saw as Nicely Nicely Johnson in the Nathan Lane revival of GUYS AND DOLLS – his last show as an actor before he went on to become a director). No one on the list was born in the same year. An impressive group!

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+ Just thought I would let those of you who are interested know that the annual Jonathan Schwartz radio “Christmas Party”, a tradition since 1970, will be broadcast on Sunday, December 16th on WNYC.FM – New York Public Radio at 93.9 on the FM dial. Jonathan’s Christmas shows always have a very eclectic collection of musical, literary and other guests.

+ I discovered the BankDeals Blog site in a book on the “financial blogosphere”. This blog will keep you updated on the latest deals and news with banks and credit unions. lt lets you know which banks have the best interest rates and who offers the best sign-up bonuses.

I have been telling clients and readers for a while now that online banks offer much higher interest liquid savings alternatives to the pitiful interest offered by local “brick and mortar” banks. My family and I have online savings accounts with ING Direct, Amboy Direct and Emigrant Direct. Many online banks have incentive programs that will give existing accountholders a “referral fee”, and the person you refer a “signing bonus”, for recommending new customers. If you are interested in opening an account with ING, Amboy or Emigrant let me know and I will refer you.

I think I will include the BankDeals Blog in my special report SURFING USA the next time I update it. FYI, SURFING USA is a compilation of useful, interesting and humorous sites I have come across during my travels on the web. The report identifies and describes links to free online calculators, sites on Personal Finance, Tax Planning and Preparation, and the World of Entertainment, as well as websites that are Just For Fun. For only $1.00 I will send you SURFING USA as a “pdf” email attachment.

+ The “Think Smart” page of this past Sunday’s USA Weekend reported on the top ten names for cats. They are, in order, Max, Chloe, Lucy, Tigger, Tiger, Smokey, Oliver, Bella, Sophie, and Princess.

I have had multiple cats, as many as 4 at a time, since my teens. Their names have included Boo, Feeble, George, Sebastian and Irving (from a line in a play “Butterflies Are Free”, a production of which I was working the lights for at the time), Sam, Thelma and Louise (named by my sister – I would probably have chosen June and Louise myself), Sneezey, and, my current roommate, Nosey. I have also shared accommodations with a Fatty and a Nutsie (both cats).

+ Give me a break! Last Sunday’s edition of the NPR game show “Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!” reported that Australian shopping mall Santa’s are being told to no longer say “Ho! Ho! Ho!” because it could be offensive to women.

+ I will be spending Thanksgiving with my sister and parents at mater and pater's assisted living facility. Last year we ended up having Thanksgiving dinner from Dunkin' Donuts (don’t ask), so this year we will be having our holiday meal mid-day at the facility.

TTYL

CARNIVAL BALLET

2007-11-20T08:04:00.000-05:00

I have just started ANYTHING BUT TAXES and already it is featured in a blog carnival – the "Festival of Frugality #101 - Highway To Frugal Living Edition" at the RATHER BE SHOPPING BLOG.

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Author Kyle, from Redding, California, tours scenic Highway 101 while bringing you the carnival’s, or rather festival’s, entries. I especially enjoyed the entry “8 Holiday Shopping Tips from The Baglady”, one of the “editor’s picks”.

Check it out!

ONCE, YES, ONCE IS DELICIOUS – BUT TWICE WOULD BE VICIOUS, OR JUST REPETICIOUS

2007-11-20T06:51:00.000-05:00

I mentioned the remake of THUNDERBALL in yesterday’s post, which also starred Sean Connery as James Bond.

Most remakes are at best unnecessary and at worst an insult to the originals. Yet Hollywood continues to crank out mediocre remakes featuring actors who are inferior to the stars of the originals (I am waiting for an announcement that THE WIZARD OF OZ will be remade with Hillary Duff).

While not a bad movie, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN was totally unnecessary. The sole motivation for making the movie was money – to cash in on Sean Connery returning to the role of James Bond for one last time.

Adam Sandler is no Burt Reynolds, let alone a Gary Cooper (one critic wrote, “Adam Sandler is to Gary Cooper what a gnat is to a racehorse.”). His remake of THE LONGEST YARD was totally unnecessary and his remake of MR DEEDS GOES TO TOWN was an insult to a classic movie.

A literal shot-by-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO added absolutely nothing to the original.

There was even a remake of the classic Cary Grant-Audrey Hepburn romantic thriller CHARADE, perhaps "the" classic film of its genre, titled THE TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE, which lasted about a day and a half in the theatres, and rightfully so.

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Some remakes are not really remakes - they simply steal the title and a basic plot idea. The producers hope to boost the box office of their movie by evoking memories of a far superior film. The Steve Martin CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN films had absolutely nothing to do with the Clifton Webb original other than the fact that both films are about a family with 12 children, and was, to say the least, an inferior film.

Don’t get me wrong. There have been remakes that have improved and expanded on the original film – though this is the exception and not the rule. In two of the best examples of this exception the remake was done by the same director. Alfred Hitchcock remade his THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH some 22 years after the original. And Frank Capra remade his 1933 film LADY FOR A DAY as POCKETFUL OF MIRALCES in 1961. Although I have not seen the original films, the remakes are certainly top notch classic films.

KING KONG was remade twice. The 1933 original was a breakthrough masterpiece. The first remake, made in 1976, was totally unnecessary, and inferior in every way, even though I was in the film (my friend Howard Bernstein and I were among the crowd that ran across the top of the World Trade Center tower to avoid a falling Kong). The recent “threemake” was better, and relatively respectful to the original.

So, does anyone out there want to suggest a movie sequel that you think was better than the original?

TTYL

IN NEVER NEVER LAND

2007-11-19T06:42:00.000-05:00

Forget what the title of the remake of “Thunderball” [aside – a rare, if not the only, occasion where the star, Sean Connery, plays the same main character, James Bond, in both the original and the remake] tells you – there are times when you can, and should, say NEVER.

For example:

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use a debit card to make an online purchase!

A debit card allows you access to the available cash in your checking account to make a purchase. A credit card allows you to borrow money, often at usurious interest rates, to make purchases. With a debit card you cannot spend more than you have.

Several years ago I cut up my credit cards to avoid falling deep into debt at the above mentioned usurious interest rates. I vowed to only use my debit cards, one for my business checking account and one for my personal checking account. I soon learned that there is an important difference between debit and credit cards, and now I use both.

In the past, whenever I had a problem with a credit card charge I would notify the card provider and on my say-so the charge would be automatically removed from my account. On the other side of the aisle, I have heard horror stories from business clients regarding credit card payments for their goods and services.

A client who provided escorted rail travel told me about one of his customers who charged a trip to her credit card. The customer went on the trip and received everything promised in the trip itinerary. However, for some reason the customer did not enjoy the trip as much as expected and told her credit card company to reverse the charge for the fee, which it did. My client was out his fee for the trip after laying out all the costs of travel and accommodations for the unhappy customer. He had to fight long and hard with the credit card company to get his money back.

When I had a problem with a debit card charge a while ago my bank was not as accommodating as the credit card providers had been. It would not automatically remove the debit to my account. I was told I had to resolve the matter with the vendor, and eventually had to sign all kinds of forms to get restitution. I had to fight long and hard with the bank to get my money back.

In the case of a credit card charge the customer receives the benefit of the doubt and the merchant or vendor must prove that the charge was valid, as it should be. With a debit card charge the merchant or vendor receives the benefit of the doubt and the bank customer who was cheated or shorted must prove the charge was invalid.

As the website www.collegeplastic.com points out in an article on debit vs credit cards, "It is much easier to dispute a charge on a credit card than on a debit card. A credit card issuer will remove the charge until a resolution is made, but a debit card charge will not be removed without dealing directly with the merchant."

The reason for the different treatment is because credit card charges are covered under federal and state consumer protection laws, while debit card charges, like ATM activity, are covered under banking laws that pertain to the electronic transfer of funds.

A debit card, which is basically a cash card, should only be used in places where you would normally pay in cash - at restaurants, local supermarkets, stores and theatres, and hotels and motels - instances where you are actually receiving the product or service "in hand" at the point of purchase. A credit card should be used in all cases when you are making a payment in advance, both online and offline, for products or services to be delivered in the future. This way if the product or service is not received as promised it will be much easier to get your money back.

So now, when should you use your debit card to make an online purchase?

NEVER!

Another never - NEVER order printed checks from your bank. You will generally pay through the nose (sounds painful). There are many online and mail order options for check printing that will save you more than 50%!

Click on the “Need Checks” ad in the left hand margin of this blog for a wide selection of checks at great savings over what your bank would charge you.

TTYL

WILLKOMMEN, BIENVENUE, WELCOME!

2007-11-18T07:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my new blog!

My other blog THE WANDERING TAX PRO is concerned with individual federal and state tax issues. I will use this new blog to discuss other topics of interest to me – pretty much anything but taxes.

Narratives of my post tax-season trips and theatre reviews, which I had in the past posted at THE WANDERING TAX PRO, will now appear here.

Many of the posts to this blog will be in the nature of my regular Saturday WHAT’S THE BUZZ feature at TWTP – links to and comments on news items, blog postings, and websites and pages of interest that I have come across during my “wanderings” on the internet. There will also be a regular feature of RAMBLINGS – general commentary and ranting on all kinds of issues.

Your comments on, questions about and suggestions for this blog’s postings are always welcome.

Today is the anniversary of my birth – so I am off to celebrate by attending the matinee performance of “The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940” at the Bickford Theatre in the Morris Museum (I will post a review here next week), followed by a couple of greasy cheeseburgers at “Marco Polo Restaurant” in Summit.

TTYL