Tag: people

New post up at 123ish: The Putin-Trump Madness Vortex!

I know the story has dominated the front page and top of the news hour for the past two years now, but I fear most of you out there just haven’t been impressed with what a huge global thing this Putin-Trump collusion thing is. Visit my recap of the most insane depths of the story by way of conspiracy theories rotating around Vladimir Trump, Donald Putin, or both. In my tribute to the late, great Robert Anton Wilson, I just dig up the rumors and mix them all up in a tasty crazy salad and serve them cold.

You think you’ve heard it all about this story, but did you hear about the time traveler theory? The killer mutant robot squid-octopus? The slave-children of Mars? I rounded up more crazy theories than a Russian hooker can pee on. If you’re scared from realizing you don’t know what’s truth and what’s fiction anymore – you’re not nearly scared enough!

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New at 123ish.com: Let Comedians Say What They Want – That’s Their Job!

Are you offended by what Louis C.K. says? Or Aziz Ansari, or Kathy Griffin, or, for another example I forgot to include, Bill Maher and his ill-timed rant about comics right after Stan Lee passed?

So am I! I’m offended every day, but I have discovered a wonderful secret to cure perpetual offended syndrome! It’s a hard cure, you have to work for it. Here’s a meme to pass around social media and help others find this path to enlightenment:

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The Top Five Most Remarkable Commemorative US Coins

This is part of a series of blog posts I wrote for a coin collecting site circa ~2015 that seems to have disappeared off the Internet. Note any prices mentioned in this series are from 2015.

Commemorative coins exist in a strange twilight of monetary policy. Three committees of Congress oversee the decisions for whom and what gets commemorated, namely, the Committee on Housing, Banking, and Urban Affairs; the Committee on Banking and Financial Services of the House; and the Citizens’ Coin Advisory Committee. One can well imagine the kinds of spirited debates that take place as everybody pushes their own pet project.

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A Biography of Warren Buffett

Originally published 2007, part of a series I did for a biography website. Can’t even remember who now, but it’s long gone.

Warren Buffett is consistently ranked by Forbes magazine in the top-ten richest people on Earth, with a net worth last clocked at $84 billion USD. So, how did he manage that?

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A Biography of Casino Tycoon Sheldon Adelson

Originally published 2007, part of a series I did for a biography website. Can’t even remember who now, but it’s long gone.

Sheldon Adelson is currently the fifteenth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of $33 billion USD. This comes as no surprise when you consider that he is in the United States, and his business is casinos. He is the CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corporation and its subsidiaries. Casinos and resorts currently owned by Sand Corp. include the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, the Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino, and the Sands Expo and Convention Center, all three in Las Vegas, USA, the Sands Macao and the The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, both in Macau, China, and the Sands BethWorks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

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A Biography of Saudi Royal Tycoon Prince Al-Waleed

Originally published 2007, part of a series I did for a biography website. Can’t even remember who now, but it’s long gone.

His full name is “Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al Saud”, and one could imagine that with a name like that, you’d have to be rich. He is among the richest people in the world with a current net worth of $15 billion USD, and is the second richest man in royalty next to the Sultan of Brunei. Time magazine has called him “the Arabian Warren Buffett.”

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A Biography of Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska

Originally published 2007, part of a series I did for a biography website. Can’t even remember who now, but it’s long gone.

Oleg Deripaska was once the tenth richest billionaire in the world, with a personal net worth around $28 billion USD. He has since been knocked back to $3.3 billion in the wake of the 2007-08 Great Recession. He has also been the richest person in all of Russia and the Chairman of the Board – not the CEO – of United Company RusAl (Russian Aluminum), the world’s largest aluminum company.

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A Biography of India’s Business Magnates Mukesh and Anil Ambani

Originally published 2007, part of a series I did for a biography website. Can’t even remember who now, but it’s long gone.

Mukesh Ambani is the world’s eighteenth richest person, with an estimated net worth of $44 billion USD.
His father, Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani, was himself one of India’s greatest business tycoons and the founder of Reliance Industries, India’s largest private sector conglomerate. Born in relative poverty, Dhirajlal worked his way up and built the business empire, which his sons Mukesh and Anil have since taken over to spur on to even greater success.

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A Biography of Dell Inc. Founder Michael Dell

Originally published 2007, part of a series I did for a biography website. Can’t even remember who now, but it’s long gone.

Michael Dell is among the top 100 richest persons in the world and the founder and CEO of the computer company Dell, Inc. His net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $28 billion USD.

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A Biography of Oracle Founder Larry Ellison

Originally published 2007, part of a series I did for a biography website. Can’t even remember who now, but it’s long gone.

Larry Ellison is currently the fifth-richest billionaire in the world, with a net worth of $54 billion USD. He is the co-founder and CEO of Oracle Corporation, a computer software company which specializes in developing database management systems and other enterprise software products. If this sounds like a dry and boring way to make your fortune, that business is offset by the colorful and extravagant personality behind it.

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