Crazy 2020 is not what this year was supposed to be about. But between the COVD-19 pandemic and the yet to be conceded presidential election, things are not back to normal by a long shot. The pandemic has gotten worse rather than better. The financial stimulus that was ‘promised’ to Americans in need is still elusive. In addition, the most preposterous circumstance is that the current President refuses to concede. He lost both the popular and electoral votes. But he insists that he won.
Brian Stauffer’s “Under Control”
RETURN TO BALANCE NEEDED
Despite all of this, we need to find balance and consistency. Towards that end, I hope to become more regular in contributing new posts to my blog. So in the hope of establishing a new normal, I offer my apologies for my long absence during Crazy 2020.
During the Vice Presidential debate a fly landed on VP Pence’s head and remained there for the duration. The fly became a symbol for the ‘V’ in vote.
A RACE OF MIXED EMOTIONS
The presidential race was emotional, even explosive at time. But some folks make it very clear what they felt needed to happen as illustrated by this priceless cartoon.
From ‘The Outsider’ the rapper 50 cent had his say
ELECTION RESULTS FAVOR #46 BUT NO CONCESSION FROM #45
According to the Financial Times, Trump refuses to concedeHis concession is not necessary to acknowledge the #BidenHarris2020 win. But historically it has always been a matter of diplomacy the the loser concedes. But then #45 has always played his own game rather than follow the rules. Does this latest tactic come as a surprise to anyone? I think not. Perhaps he will spend the lame duck administration on the golf course denying the true course of history.
WELCOME TO THE #46 TEAM
Despite the continue temper tantrums of POTUS #45, I look forward with delight to the next administration. It promises to be an Executive Team with strong leadership and the best minds that the US has to offer our country and the world.
Biden Victory Prompts Celebrations in Hillsborough County
Child actor, Ali Kaan Karasu emerges as the Intersection boy hero from the Karasu clan, an Istanbul, Turkish mafia family. Initially, Kaan’s father Ali Nejat Karasu appears to be headed to earn this honor. But Ali Nejat eventually fails to become the movie’s hero. The reasons appear as this story continues.
The youtube trailer for Kordugum aka Intersection
Aybbats Kartal Ozson plays Ali Kaan Karasu, Intersection boy hero. Photo source unknown.
ALI KAAN KARASU, OUR BOY HERO
Cherubic Kaan wins over everyone’s heart. In addition, he is an extraordinarily perceptive boy. He never ceases to amaze us with his uncanny insights and honesty.
Orphaned by the untimely death of his mother, Kaan needs to find his father. He goes to live with his maternal grandfather until Alli Nejat proves his paternity. He also admits to a brief affair with Kaan’s mother that resulted in a pregnancy.
But Ali Nejat also claims that the mother was well paid to either have an abortion or to live comfortably but alone raising Kaan. Actually, Ali Nejat assumes she got an abortion. Therefore he thought the case was closed. But the company CFO never paid the mother. He stole the money and kept it for himself.
Ibrahim Celikkol plays Ali Nejat Karasu. Picture from a YouTube interview.
ALI NEJAT KARASU, KAAN’S FATHER
Handsome and self-assured, Ali Nejat seems to have everything going for him. Initially, he is a logical choice as the story’s hero. He is the successful heir to his father’s shipbuilding empire. He is hardworking, a loyal son, a devoted brother, a gentleman, and very successful. But as the story progresses several things come to the forefront. His potential heroic status diminishes until it ends. These impediments include:
1. attempting to realize his financially risky dream of adding Turkish car design and production to the Karasu shipbuilding empire
2. prematurely accepting the legal role of a full-time single parent to Kaan
3. returning to former teenage girlfriend Eylul instead of moving forward with fiance Naz
KAAN’S RISE AS THE INTERSECTION BOY HERO ALONG WITH DADDY’S DEMISE
At first, Ali Nejat is intrigued and even proud to have an offspring. Unfortunately for Kaan, the novelty wears off and he becomes more like a pedigree pup than a well-supervised child. As a result, Ali Nejat constantly seeks babysitters for Kaan. In other cases, Kaan is simply left at the manor, the family home where a staff member feeds and casually looks after him.
When Ali Nejat is falsely accused of murder, it is Kaan at approximately age 7 who finds an honest lawyer to get him off. His father is too naive and blinded by family loyalty to see the con his family is playing.
Lastly, the novelty of parenthood and being a mature adult wear off. Ali Nejat chooses to rekindle his romance with former teenage lover Eylul. This is instead of going forward to marry Naz. Naz was the story’s heroine, as well as the woman Kaan had already adopted as his new mother.
Ali Nejat with his teen age lover. She returns to his life which raises doubts in his adult decision to marry his fiance Naz. Photo from IMDDb.
CONCLUSION
Time and again, the child fills the shoes of an adult. His father, who is supposed to be the adult reverts to teenage immaturity and irresponsibility. Although it is awe-inspiring to experience how special Kaan is, Ali Nejat is a huge disappointment. In addition, the series itself leaves us hanging in mid-air on a rooftop heliport in Istanbul without any real conclusion. The only thing that is conclusive is who the hero of this series is. Without a doubt, it is Ali Kaan Karasu.
Bittersweet love stories best describe much of the romantic love/hate relationships between Turkish actor, Engin Akyurek, and his leading ladies. Although these underlying themes are typical, they are expresses in sophisticated, literary, profound, and confounding ways as any romantically based compelling novel might be.
BITTER
Devastated Elif runs away after Omer stands her up at their wedding. Photo from the Facebook page, Black Money Love Bittersweet Updates
For example, there are Shakespearean themes, class friction, cultural mores, and deeply emotional issues. As a result, Omer gilts his fiance Elif at the altar. Although he loves her deeply, he has decided that it would be better to hurt her once with a lie than for her to have to face him daily reminded that his brother had killed her father.
NOT YET BITTERSWEET
The growing relationship between Omer and Elif is at times very frustrating. It grows from an embryonic seed to full flower, blossoming with painful thorns. There are continual conflicts, misunderstandings, and then bursts of passionate forgiveness. As a result, emotions run cold as ice then hot as fire. This conclusively leads to viewer tension in one’s belly to tingling through one’s entire body. This seems to be the pattern in some of Engin Akyurek bittersweet love stories. Indeed, it is part of what makes them so bittersweet yet so irresistible.
Engin Akyurek as Kerim in Fatmagul from YouTube
BITTERSWEET
The bittersweet is a reprieve from the bitter. Typical of this phase is the tension that builds up between Omer and Elif that leads to the relief of a romantic embrace. In addition, this is the kind of dramatic transition for Fatmagul and Kerin in FATMAGÜL’ÜN SUÇU NE?
BÖLÜM
Omer in a heated discussion with Elif from the Facebook page, Engin Akyurek Appreciation page
SWEET
In spite of those less than sweet times, we suffer through the bitter moments and even the bittersweet moments for those increasing sequences of unabashed visceral ‘oh so sweet’ passion. Using romantic creativity, an ardent Engin fan strung together a precious necklace of passion gems created by Omer and Elif romance in BLACK MONEY LOVE. This video is posted on YouTube courtesy of Sefirin Kizi.
A succession of romantic moments between Omer and Elif without stopping to take a breath. From YouTube.
CONCLUSION
BEYOND BITTERSWEET
Not all of Engin Akyurek’s acting roles have fallen into the bitter to sweet tastes. For example, in Olene Kadar, Engin starts with a promising future as a brilliant young medical student. Through a succession of tragic mishaps, including 11 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, an untrusting lost love, a child born out of wedlock found too late to bond with him, our hero ultimately dies an untimely death.
This is not your typical Engin heroic role. So when someone has the ability to capture the hearts of fans as well as his leading ladies chooses to cast aside his prizewinning charm, to play a dark role instead, he has the mark of a truly gifted and courageous actor. He exhibits extraordinary talent.
Although I prefer to be entertained by bittersweet love stories than one that ends in darkness, it is a privilege to view my favorite Turkish actor display such range and acting ability. From darkness comes new light. One can only wait with bated breath for what is in store for all of us Engin admirers in the future.
Bad-boy movie heroes have been a major attraction for celluloid audiences in the US and abroad for about 100 years. In fact, I was reminded of some of my historical favorites by my latest, Turkish actor Engin Akyurek. I have chosen four other bad-boys for this writing. In addition to my total list of these five are the reasons I have given them the name, bad-boy movie heroes. As a matter of fact, I suspect that this may be the ‘Hollywood’ formula that works as well today in 2020, as it did when it was invented. The bad-boys included here range from films made in 1944 to 2015.
Engin Akyurek from the Facebook Fan Club Group
THE BAD-BOY PERSONALITY FORMULA
A. They don’t follow the rules.
B. They are handsome, sexy, and magnetic.
C. Their behavior tends to range from rage to romance.
D. For the most part, the women they attract are ‘nice-girls’
E. These bad-boy movie heroes almost always get the ‘nice-girl’
F. In spite of their unorthodox procedures, they often become heroes.
THE BAD-BOYS
Bad-boy movie heroes, images from Google. Left to right, Dana Andrews, William Holden, Paul Newman, Bradley Cooper, Engin Akyurek
Fashions may have changed. Hairstyles may have altered as well. But one thing remains the same. That is the bad-boy movie heroes formula. Each of the following trailers illustrates the constants that make each bad-boy a movie hero.
THE MOVIES AND THEIR BAD-BOY HEROES
1.The trailer for ‘Laura’ with Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney 1944
https://youtu.be/yjeRl5lhUlU
2.The trailer for ‘Picnic’ with William Holden and Kim Novak 1955
3.The trailer for ‘The Long, Hot Summer’ with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward 1958
4.The trailer for ‘Silver Lining Playbook’ with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence 2012
5.The trailer for Kara Para Ask aka BLACK MONEY Love 2014-2015 with Engin Akyuerk and Tuba Buyukustun
The existential angst of being an Ultra-Orthodox Jewish artist is one of the main themes throughout this Israeli TV drama series, Shtisel streaming on US Netflix.
The Vimeo trailer is shown below.
https://vimeo.com/105325576
PROTAGONIST
Actor Michael Aloni plays the conflicted ultra-orthodox artist, Akiva Shtisel (Kive). His portrayal is captivating although the real-life person his character is based on, Zalmen Glauber is much less dramatic. See SOURCES & RESOURCES for details about Zalmen Glauber.
Actor Michael Aloni plays Akive, the Ultra-Orthodox artist, the protagonist in the Israeli TV series, Shtisel
CONFLICT
Akiva Shtisel attempts to follow the letter of the law of ultra-orthodox Judaism. But the conflict stems from his love of painting and his love of his faith. Although he knows in his soul that this talent is a gift from God and no conflict for him personally, it is disparaging for his father and those he loves. As a result, the series follows his trials and tribulations to unite his desire to marry as an observant Jew and his passion to express his artistic soul.
Cousins, Kive and Libbi in a more serious moment from Shtisel
COUSINS
In his desire to wed, with two previously failed engagements, Akiva has become known as the family screw-up. In spite of this, his latest potential wife, his first cousin Libbi loves him and wants to marry him. Accordingly, her father agrees to the marriage under two conditions. Akiva must abandon his art. In addition, he insists that Akiva take on a real job, managing a shady travel agency the uncle has opened. Thus, the series goes on to include efforts to follow the uncle’s demands as well as the shortcomings of it.
RESOLUTION
There seem to be additional episodes if not years to this story of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism and Akiva’s existential angst as an artist. Netflix has not made all of them available yet. It is an inevitable quality of TV series drama that necessitates more emotional roller coasters. But this season ends on a note of hope. Therefore I anticipate a positive conclusion hopefully without too many bumpy rides along the way.
Shown below is one of the lighter sides of Shtistel’s Kive and Libbi on YouTube, a ‘surprise date’ to the ice skating rink.
A popular Eva Zeisel Teapot, distinguished only be the applied pattern. The photo is from the Eva Zeisel Forum Facebook group.
The Story and Work of a Useful Object Maker
Industrial design masters, like Eva Zeisel, are very special. They are people whose work has transcended the design of everyday objects to things of beauty.
They are masters. This blog post will focus primarily on her mastery of tableware designs.
Industrial Designed Objects
Before I go any further I want to make a crucial distinction. It is the way that industrial design differs from crafts artisanship.
ID objects are meant to be machine reproduced in quantity. Yet a prototype may start out as a hand made one of a kind.
Handmade Crafts
But on the other hand, crafts are hand made. This is from start to finish.
If a craft object is reproduced, it is done so by hand. In addition, it may even stay one of a kind.
About Eva Zeisel
The details of Eva Zeisel’s life fascinate me. She spent a short time in jail for political protest. This did not dampen her enthusiasm for life. She lived to be 105. Her career included teaching Industrial design at Pratt Institute in New York. As a matter of fact, I lived near Pratt and took a course there. For an in-depth biography, read below and go to the sources and resources section of this post.
A short bio of Eva Zeisel,Industrial Design Master from Google.
Design Styles
Three fish shaped bowls by Industrial designer Eva Zeisel. Photo from the Eva Zeisel Facebook forum Group.
Eva Zeisel Colorful Teapot Designs
The picture above of the nested fish bowls may be less typical of her work than her tableware designs. Here is one that I love.
An Eva Zeisel teapot set design from her Facebook Group forum.
Teardrop Collections
Eva Zeisel’s work was well known for the teardrop shape design. Below are samples.
Future posts in the Industrial Design Masters series may include RUSSELL WRIGHT, DOROTHY, MACKENZIE-CHILDS, PORTER, and the TARGET TEAPOT DESIGNER/ARCHITECT
The CVS money-saving system is my most often used and favorite 21st-century coupon cutting and digital coupon system with its variety of traditional as well as digital money-saving tools. As a matter of fact, there are times when I make substantial purchases without having to pay hardly anything. Believe it or not, one particular trip to CVS cost me around $1 for $80 worth of merchandise.
I have been within the top 3-7% of savers in New York for several years
HOW THE CVS COUPON MONEY SAVING SYSTEM WORKS
So far this is the most comprehensive 21st Century Coupon Cutting tool I have found. It works for both online and in-store purchases. Actually, I find it to be the best program around. Therefore, I buy as much as of can of household and personal needs in addition to over the counter nutritional supplements and non-prescription drugs. Here’s how the whole system works:
21st Century CVS and other coupon cutting tags on a keychain
1. I receive an email indicating a saving of between 20% and 40% for one or all my purchases with an expiration date. From the email, I am able to send the offer to the well-worn discount card I keep on my key chain. (See photo below).
CVS 40% off email is #1
2. A postcard with a 20-40% saving is mailed to me. I provide the mailer to the cashier when I check out.
A 25% coupon mailer which I present to the cashier at check out
3.Inside the mailer are additional, individual coupons that are also presentable to the cashier at checkout.
The inside of themailer contains additional, specific coupons
4. When I go to any CVS store, I go to the machine that prints out all the savings currently available to me, in addition, to the ones stored on my plastic coupon key chain tag. See the photo below.
The CVS coupon cutting system store machine printed coupons is #3
5. At check out, I present these printed coupons to the cashier.
6.Next I swipe my tag to register with the cashier all the discounts on my card.
7. Then I swipe my OTC or over-the-counter card to see what savings I can also get up to $100/month for certain non-prescription items. The OTC card is a benefit of my health insurance plan. This plastic discount card is shown below.
My OTC card which can cover up to $100 in non-prescription items is #6.
8. There is also the 10/30 program which refunds $10 for every $30 spent on this store visit.
9. In addition, there is the new CVS ‘CarePass’ program that costs $5/month then returns $10/month. It is charged at the beginning of the month and is paid out on the 18th of each month.
CONCLUSION
As you can see, the CVS money-saving system is a mix of both traditional coupon cutting and digital coupons. Even though it can become confusing, it is clearly worth the saving we get.
COMMENT
Is there something you’d like to say about this blog post? Your comments are always welcome. Scroll down to the bottom of this page to reach the box to ‘start the discussion’.
This is what it may look like. But it is only an image of it. So be sure to find the actual one. Then please add to the discussion by commenting or replying. Thank you.
Twenty First Century coupon cutting might become the next money-saving system we need to utilize for financial survival. In other words, it could become Phase Two of the financial mountain climbing challenge we face. It would start in 2020. The reason for calling this Phase Two is that we may require another money-saving financial survival system in addition to cash reward credit cards.
This would be to offset the 2020 Medicare-Medicaid crisis that we are faced with right now. This additional financial survival system would be an addition to the cash rewards credit card financial survival system I originally devised and have been using for the last 10 years, from 2009-2019.
Climbing the mountain of financial survival again. Photo from goodfon.com
PART ONE: TOOLS FOR HELP WITH FINANCIAL CHALLENGES 2009 – 2019
To return to 2009 for a moment, our first major financial mountain climbing challenge was when we went ‘From Middle Class to One Day From Homeless’. We had to make substantial compromises to our lifestyle just to survive indoors.
There are actually four Amazon Kindle Ebooks that I wrote about that journey. Fortunately, I had discovered the benefits of the responsible use of cash reward credit cards. They can be invaluable in accumulating welcome bonuses as well as cash rewards. These are the Ebooks I wrote over this ten year period.
Our Story from 2009-2019 as told in Four Kindle Ebooks with the evolution of the Cash Rewards Credit Card Financial Survival System
PART TWO: TOOLS FOR HELP WITH FINANCIAL CUTBACKS 2020 GOING FORWARD
Now we may be facing an additional tightening of our belts. What this means is that another system besides Cash Rewards will need to come into play as part of our financial survival tools.
I am constantly being introduced to new money-saving apps. In fact, most of them do not require manual coupon cutting. Instead, the saving is sent electronically from one devise location to another devise location which can then register at purchase checkout to apply the savings.
To start, there are plastic tags with individual identity name and graphics on one side. Then there is a bar card on the back to identify each store. Savings are electronically registered on a store’s tag. Finally, that information is transferred to the cash register at purchase.
21st Century coupon cutting tags with retailer image on one side and electronically activated barcode on the other
CONCLUSION
21st Century coupon cutting is a transformation of the previous century system. In fact, the new system is digital coupons. Therefore, going forward in this series, look more and more for keywords that refer to digital coupons rather than coupon cutting. But don’t throw your scissors or coupon organizer quite yet. Instead, prepare to use them less and less. Happy savings, 21st-century style!
HOW TO MAKE A COMMENT
Is there something you’d like to say about this blog post? Your comments are always welcome. Scroll down to the bottom of this page to reach the box to ‘start the discussion’.
This is a sample of what the comment area looks like. It is active at the bottom of this page. This is a sample of what the comment area looks like. It is active at the bottom of this page.
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE TOO MANY CREDIT CARDS?
How many are too many? Is there a set rule or a prescribed limit? Apparently not from what I have read. But what I have found is that when I have to spend hours almost daily to monitor them, it is too many for me.
How many Credit Cards Should You Carry? from moneyunder30.com
HOW DID I END UP WITH SO MANY CREDIT CARDS?
When I discovered that cash reward credit cards could be a reliable way to reduce my monthly expenses, I started applying for them as often as I could. Of course, the idea was to get the largest promotional welcome bonus, the highest % of cash rewards as well as a substantial amount of available credit. Therefore for about the last three years, gathering cash reward credit cards has become a major pastime. Well, guess what? Now I have too many cards.
From creditcard.com, One Credit Card or Many? How to Decide?
THE JOURNEY TO TOO MUCH
It has been a tremendously educational experience collecting all the cards I have. Primarily, it has helped and still helps to reduce my expenses. In addition, I have written many blog posts and several Ebooks about this. Doubtless, there will be more. But the most significant comment I can make at this time is that right now I have too many. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have reached critical mass.
There are Six Primary Credit Card factors in the major FICO® scoring system as illustrated by Credit Karma®
For most of this time, my primary concern has been focusing on the 5 or 6 FICO® credit score factors that go into building a good credit score. Certain cards have taken priority for charging purchases. Then it recently occurred to me that if I did not start using all of my cards, some could be closed for inactivity. That could affect my credit score negatively by lowering my available credit, changing the average length of time I have had cards and flagging too many closures. Low and behold, that is exactly what happened this week. One of my co-branded cards was closed without notice for inactivity.
Credit Monitoring Alert from CreditSesame.com
HOW MANY CARDS DO I NEED?
I need enough cards to satisfy the FICO® score factors. Fortunately, I found a formula that I could use to determine how many cards to own, which ones to keep and those to phase out since I had surpassed critical mass. These are the factors I now consider in which cards to use:
a. the oldest aged accounts
b. those with the best credit line and lowest credit utilization ratio
c. the ones with optimal returns in my top spending categories
d. those that give me the maximum value for use with my favorite merchants, stores, airlines or hotels
Optimize the Credit Cards You Carry with A ‘ Straight Flush’
HOW MANY CARDS DO I WANT?
My sense is that I would like to have no more than ten at the most. For example, my ‘straight flush’ analogy illustrates most of them. Beyond that, I think that one or two travel cards are essential. Other than that, an additional card or two in the ‘straight flush’ formula would be OK too.
My FICO® score in September 2019 according to CreditJourney
CONCLUSION
I am at a new beginning. I have climbed the credit card mountain in excellent standing. Now it is time to descend the other side with equal care. Therefore future writings on this topic will involve reducing my load doing my best to maintain my great credit card standing while keeping also 6 FICO® score factors in balance.
‘Account Closed, SYNCHRONY NTWRK’. This is the credit monitoring alert I received on September 23, 2019 from two of my weekly lists for credit card account activity. CreditSesame posted one of them and WalletHub posted the other one. Credit Monitoring Alert from CreditSesame.com
Credit Monitoring Alert from WalletHub.com
WHAT DID AN ACCOUNT CLOSING MEAN?
These and other questions raced through my mind. The only thing that was clear was that one of four Synchrony cobranded credit card accounts were involved. The reason was that the symbol ‘SYNCHRONY NTWK’ was included. Other than that, I did not know which card had been closed. In fact, my biggest concern was not which card it was but how this would affect my credit score.
My concern involved several credit card score factors. First of all, as a result of a credit card closing, I would have less available credit. That could affect my ‘available credit ratio’ credit score factor. I could lose points on my credit score because this ratio is one of six major factors in determining one’s credit score. But let me not get ahead of myself. Before anything else, I had to figure out which card had been closed.
Details of account closing notice from CreditSesame.com
WHAT ACCOUNT HAD BEEN CLOSED?
Since I couldn’t tell from the details provided in the closing notice which card had been closed I had some searching to do. In fact, all that was clear was that it was a Synchrony card. That meant it was a co-branded card. In fact, this was the third time a co-branded card had been closed:
First was my Best Buy card co-branded with CitiBank
The Second was my Lane Bryant card co-branded with TD Bank
And now one of my cards co-branded with Synchrony Cards The Synchrony Network card that was cancelled.
THE SEARCH
I went online. One by one I checked each Synchrony cobranded account. When I came to the ‘Welcome Home’ Synchrony card, I received a response that no such account existed. Right there was my clue.
THE EVIDENCE
To be certain, I called them. Sure enough, their response was that the card had remained inactive for too long. Since I had not used it since February 3, 2017, two and a half years, they were entitled to close it without any written warning or final notice. Actually, they do not have to provide any. Instead, I had been responsible for the account closing. This is because I had not paid attention to the cobranded card closing game.
THE COBRANDED CREDIT CARD CLOSING GAME
Then I remembered that this was exactly what had happened with two of the other times there had been a card closing. A pattern began to emerge with these co-branded cards, USE IT OR LOSE IT!.
In fact, inactivity is the death knell for a co-branded card, because:
These cards are primarily designed for making large purchases to be paid over a long period of time without interest. But, the card company does earn interest when the account can’t be paid on time. In addition, this kind of purchase needs to be made on going to keep the co-branded card alive.
The infographic explanation from WalletHub of ‘Why My Credit Score Changed’.
THE EFFECT ON MY CREDIT SCORE
Fortunately, even though I have had a few closings, my credit score seems to have lost only a few points, if any. As a matter of fact, I still have a credit score of over 800. Besides that, I don’t think the ‘length of time factor’ was hurt either. Lastly, I am relieved to have one less card to worry about. Everything should return to my best score within a month or two. But this account closing reminds me of how ‘high maintenance’ a co-branded credit card can be.
There are Six Primary Credit Card factors in the major FICO® scoring system as illustrated by Credit Karma®
