Sunday, March 14, 2010

A Festivus for the Rest of Us

Economy taking fun out of festivals

A stagnant economy means there are fewer reasons to celebrate this summer for some communities, or at least fewer resources to do it.

Faced with budget woes and potential business sponsors who may have more pressing concerns than getting their name slapped on a community event, the slice of Americana that is summer food-tasting events and July 4 fireworks extravaganzas is set to get thinner for many jurisdictions.


That's where the Festivus pole comes in.

Governor Doyle's Festivus Pole

Unadorned and lusterless. These are typically not adjectives used to market festive holiday decorations. However, this 6-foot aluminum Festivus pole is not your everyday holiday decoration. The Wagner Companies of Milwaukee produced this pole and gave it to Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle in 2005. The governor displayed it in the family room of the Executive Residence in Madison, Wisconsin during that holiday season. "Festivus" is a holiday popularized by the television show Seinfeld, with the pole, which must be unadorned and lusterless, being the primary decoration associated with the event.

11 comments:

G.H. said...

So, first I look up the word "Festivus". Yeah, really I do, because I don't know it. So...

Festivus: Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23. It was created by writer Dan O'Keefe...

OK, so what. Let's continue...

"Faced with budget woes and potential business sponsors who may have more pressing concerns than getting their name slapped on a community event"

Well, one thing's for sure, this sure as hell dont include HONDA! Have you watched the latest Daytona Supercross?!

I didn't watch the video (I'm dialup, DON'T LAUGH) but I'm wondering if the "Festivus" was the only "thing" Governor Doyle "displayed" in the the family room of the "executive residence". Don't claim I have a dirty mind, I simply have a dirty view of politicians. Thank you.

Stagflationary Mark said...

G.H.,

I think you are thinking of the Carmen Electra Pole Dancing Kit.

http://www.amazon.com/Carmen-Electra-Pole-Dancing-Kit/product-reviews/B0025AW312/ref=dp_db_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

If you are going to buy a pole, don't waste your money on this one, and remember: you get what you pay for. When we set up the pole, we could not get it to support any weight without either the top or the bottom moving. When we grabbed the pole and pulled, the pole shifted and eventually fell down. No matter how much we tightened it, the pole still moved, which is obviously not something you want when spinning. And the bottom piece that is used to make the pole longer was made of plastic. We eventually stripped the threads trying to tighten the pole to make it sturdy enough to stop moving. We tried to put the pole on both tile and carpet flooring and neither worked. If you want a decent pole that you can trust to stay put, spend the extra money and get one that won't fall over. If you do decide to get this one, watch the dvd instructions and don't bother trying to assemble it with the written ones. It will take you all day to figure out something that should take less than 30 minutes to do.

I can't believe I went there. Sorry!!!

G.H. said...

"If you want a decent pole that you can trust to stay put, spend the extra money and get one that won't fall over."

And why would that be? Because the stripper doesn't have health care???

Aetna, glad I met one of your representatives in a strip bar!

mab said...

Stag,

After watching your Seinfeld festivus link, I accidentally clicked on this video (I'm glad I did, lol).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQdhMSEqhfg&feature=player_embedded

I personally believe that U.S. Americans.......

Breathe in, breathe out (from a joke you posted way back). Woah.

We need more maps! Of course, "maps" is spam spelled backwards. They're laughing at us.

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab (& G.H.),

I think I shall spend the day beating my forehead against my desk.

Festivus is cancelled until further notice.

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/03/pelosi-we-have-to-pass-health-care-bill.html

"We have to pass the health care bill so that you can find out what is in it." - Nancy Pelosi

watchtower said...

$#$# it!

You can't just go and cancel Festivus.

I demand a retraction!

-----------------------------------

Off topic but here goes:

This just came out about an hour ago, what do you make of it?

China Kept Selling U.S. Debt in January

"WASHINGTON—China continued selling U.S. Treasurys in January, although it remained the largest foreign holder following revisions that showed it never actually lost the top spot to Japan, the Treasury Department said."

http://tinyurl.com/yj2nsqg

I don't know how to phrase my question other than this:

Is this really the end of the world if China continues to unload our debt little by little, or maybe this is just a fluke and they will start buying again one day?

Any thoughts?

Stagflationary Mark said...

watchtower,

Festivus is cancelled in China too. As much as they'd like to buy more of our debt, the've found something else to do with our cash.

Rumor has it that they'll be burying it in the back yard to prepare for their coming real estate crash.

I should know, I'm starting the rumor, lol.

I'm so glad I'm not a Chinese blogger. Sarcasm, heckling, and puns are not aloud, um, allowed.

EconomicDisconnect said...

No worries on the China thing, they just buy through the UK.

mab said...

Stag,

"We have to pass the health care bill so that you can find out what is in it." - Nancy Pelosi

Nancy might be on to something. I've been curious as to just how bad the proposed sick care bill really is. Maybe we should pass it so we can find out.

And hu knows? It might help to get debt...I mean credit flowing again.

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC & mab,

We have our health bills.
China has our treasury bills.

Genius!!

mab said...

China has our treasury bills.

Well, at least we still have our health (bills).