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DOW 10,000: "We suspect the food is tainted..."

The stock rally could have legs after a line of better-than-expected third-quarter earnings reports, but Art Cashin, head of floor operations at UBS, said he isn't yet convinced.

"The banquet looks stupendous, I hear the wine is great," he said. "You guys can party on, but some of us are going to sit on the sideline like wallflowers."

High Places (((revisited)))

The Birdmen

In the latest craze that has killed several extreme adventurers, men don wing suits, jump off mountain tops and glide at speeds of 140 miles per hour.

60 Minutes' Steve Kroft reports, "Some people call them "birdmen," -- and we first learned about them on the Internet."

Transcript:

To the extent that Holmes and the others ever get nervous, it usually comes at a time that many people might consider one of the most mundane legs of the trip, when the end is in sight.

When asked what the most dangerous part of the jump is, Holmes said, "The most important thing is to open that parachute, you know. Just that moment, when you reach back. And throw the pilot chute out there, which extracts your parachute. That's the most critical thing. I mean, if you don't do that, you're not gonna live through it."

But getting down the mountain, which only takes a minute or so, is just part of the extreme sport. The much longer and arduous part involves scaling the mountains you are going to jump off.

"How long does it take to get up to the ledge where you go from?" Kroft asked.

"This one's about an hour and a half. But, you know, some of 'em are up to four, five, six hours for the big, big mountains around here," Holmes explained.

There are no chairlifts, which explains why Holmes, Julian Boulle, and Tom Erik Heiman are members of such a small and exclusive club. You have to be a skilled climber, an accomplished skydiver and an experienced outdoorsman to even attempt to do this.

"You know, it's that first view, looking over the edge that really hits you. You're like, 'Whoa, cool. This is an amazing spot to fly,'" Holmes said.

"Money can't buy you this experience," Boulle explained. "You've got to have the passion to do your time. If you haven't done the time, you just can't get there. You can't arrive with like $10,000 and buy a wingsuit experience."

"What do you have to know? What kind of skills do you have to have to be able to do what you do?" Kroft asked.

"You need to just have some mountain sense. You know, 'How long am I gonna be? What if something goes wrong? How long is it gonna be until I can get back if the weather comes in?' You need to know yourself. 'How much water do I need to have? Can I realistically walk up this mountain for two hours? Or is that not within my physical capabilities?'" Holmes said.

It looks spontaneous, but the birdmen put together a detailed plan every time they jump.

Full Transcript at CBS.com


(((Older Post)))

(((Base Jumping)))

Something you will never see

Not Your Ordinary Love Story:(

Capitalism: A Love Story is the newly released title of Oscar-winner Michael Moore’s latest documentary feature. In Capitalism, Moore returns to the issue that began his career: the disastrous impact that corporate dominance and out-of-control profit motives have on the lives of Americans and citizens of the world.

Moore has said that this film was made for an audience of one. When asked, what he means by that, Moore answered, "I wanted to scare Obama. I didn't make this for the general audience, I made it for him. I want him to know that we know, and that he is on notice. If he ultimately sides with Wall Street in all of this, my next film will make Fahrenheit look like a Disney movie."

So when all is said and done, I suppose we can look forward to at least one more docudrama from Michael Moore. May I suggest a working title? How 'bout calling it 'OOPS!'.

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"The main point Moore wants to make, the thing that drives him craziest, is his notion that capitalism, far from being a system that rewards excellence, is a scheme set up to make a profit on absolutely anything. "

Los Angeles Times
- Kenneth Turan

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"No matter what side of the political fence you're on or what you think of Moore as an activist and provocateur, a film that explores the economic meltdown and its historical roots is something most of us can get our heads around."

USA Today
- Claudia Puig

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Capitalism: A Love Story
Opened October 2, 2009 -- Runtime:2 hr. 7 min.
Rated R (language)