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The Bubble and the Bear
(A modern fable for modern children)
by Edgar J. Steele
July 12, 2002
Once upon a time, in fabulous Bubbleland, where the streets were paved with
gold, there lived a lovely little bubble named Dowe. She was a delightful
creature,
reflecting the light of the times and driven by the energy of her youth.
Her father, Mr. Greenjeans, doted upon his little bubble, giving her
everything
she desired.
Nothing, it seemed, was too much for the little bubble. She grew, and grew,
and grew.
Never had there been such a bubble, through all of history.
And there were other little bubbles, too, growing throughout the land. Some
grew even faster than Dowe, like Nasdaque and Nikkee, but they quickly
tired
and fell back. Not little Dowe, however, because she was the apple of Mr.
Greenjeans'
eye.
Mr. Greenjeans, respected throughout all of Bubbleland, was Chosen to be
entrusted
with the savings of all the people of Bubbleland, who knew he would look
after
them and help them to prosper like little Dowe.
And so they did. But the Bubbleonians did not know that every night Mr.
Greenjeans
was secretly feeding the savings of the people to the ever-growing Dowe,
whose
ravenous appetite consumed all that Mr. Greenjeans gathered each day.
To celebrate their wealth and advanced state of evolution, the Bubbleonians
raised up a Tower of Bubble to the sky, as proof that they had become as
Gods,
themselves. But evildoers flung mighty airplanes, not to mention
strategically-placed
static charges, against the Tower and brought it low. Fortunately, many
were
Chosen to be absent that day, so that the loss of Bubbleonians was far less
than could have been expected.
In response, the ruler of Bubbleland, King George, proclaimed that there
was
to be a grand parade of the finest of Bubbleland's constabulary through the
middle of the eastern part of a neighboring kingdom, led by no other than
himself.
"The evildoers must learn that I have the freedom to do as I wish,"
explained
the king.
"I must have a new uniform for the parade," said King George. "Send in the
royal tailors!" In rushed Anders' son and Endrun, who measured the king
for
his grand new suit of clothes.
The day for the grand parade arrived and King George sent for his tailors
to
bring his new uniform. In they marched, with empty arms outstretched.
"Where are my fine new clothes?" demanded King George.
"They are here, your highness," replied Anders' son. "We have employed our
greatest talents and produced cloth so fine that one must squint just right
to see the thread employed in its manufacture. Don't worry, though, because
they are made according to the rules of our guild. "
The king squinted and squinted but, being exceptionally nearsighted, not to
mention dumb as a box of rocks, was unable to make out the patterns of the
clothing held forth by his tailors. Not wishing to appear less perceptive
than his subjects, the King said, "Oh, yes - well, help me on with them, as
I must take my position at the head of the grand parade at once. " And he
removed
his robe. So pleased was he that he rewarded Anders' son and Endrun
magnificently
and sent them on their way.
As the king took his position at the head of the parade, there arose a
great
muttering among the Bubbleonians, some of who openly claimed that King
George
was without the apparent support necessary to undertake so visible a
journey.
Other Bubbleonians who recently had learned that their accounts with Mr.
Greenjeans
had inexplicably shrunk in recent days also were quick to notice the king's
apparent lack of clothing.
These traitors were all immediately taken out and shot by the king's
General
Attorney.
All the rest of the citizens nervously cheered as the King marched off with
his parade in tow, vowing to make the world safe for his way of thinking.
Along the route, Mr. Greenjeans and his beloved Dowe awaited the arrival of
King George and the parade. Before long Dowe, who had grown truly enormous
of late, spied them in the distance. "Here he comes," shouted Dowe
excitedly.
As the king drew abreast of Dowe and Mr. Greenjeans, she cried out, "He has
no clothes... the king has no clothes!" In that moment, all within earshot
realized what they had suspected, including King George.
In the ensuing furor, Dowe was thrust against the bare King George, who
became
aroused in the close proximity of so much of the citizens' money which
Dowe,
of course, had consumed. Dowe fell and, though she staggered to her feet a
time or two, soon was trampelled beneath the feet of the frantic
Bubbleonians.
And all the peoples' savings were gone, just like that.
Which is what always happens to the Dowe when it meets a bare, of course.
Desperate to keep the Bubbleonians distracted from the fact that Mr.
Greenjeans
had stolen all their savings, King George nuked the **** out of the rest of
the world.
And he lived happily ever after.
-ed
p. s. -
It may mean nothing, but everybody seems to have forgotten that the stock
market
was in free fall just before Sep 11. A free fall just like this past
week's.
Once again, we stand at a critical juncture.
Chartists, who have discerned a classic "head and shoulders" formation in
index
movement, say that the next move to the downside should be precipitous.
Fundamentalists
talk of "capitulation" in explaining the mood of investors who finally
flick
it in at this stage of things.
The bulk of the decline in a major bear market almost always occurs in just
a handful of days, usually at about this point in the proceedings. A mere
retracement to the historical mean would result in a 50% decline, about the
same level that a price-earnings ratio of 12-15 would call for, as well.
The
current PE of 30 is about twice the historical average; twice the level
that
makes stocks marginally more attractive an investment than bonds. Of
course,
Enron and its progeny have shown that reported earnings are grossly
overstated,
so the decline could be even worse. And, none of this allows for a "dead
cat
bounce," either.
In other words, things on Wall Street could be about to get a whole lot
worse
than anybody is letting on is possible. Of course, 911 served to distract
everybody, close the stock market for several days and create a boom in
several
industries connected to the military. Greenspan's pushing the money supply
out of sight didn't hurt, either. Some say that merely delayed the
inevitable...
Could there be another "event" about to occur?
Nobody listens to the government terrorist alerts any more, and for good
reason.
However, I am now issuing a ConspiracyPenPal Stage 1 Alert of Possible
False
Flag Citizen Terror, to be in effect for the next seven days... .
-ed
"I didn't say it would be easy. I just said it would be the truth. "
- Morpheus
Copyright © Edgar J. Steele, 2002
The Bubble and the Bear
(A modern fable for modern children)
by Edgar J. Steele
July 12, 2002
Once upon a time, in fabulous Bubbleland, where the streets were paved with
gold, there lived a lovely little bubble named Dowe. She was a delightful
creature,
reflecting the light of the times and driven by the energy of her youth.
Her father, Mr. Greenjeans, doted upon his little bubble, giving her
everything
she desired.
Nothing, it seemed, was too much for the little bubble. She grew, and grew,
and grew.
Never had there been such a bubble, through all of history.
And there were other little bubbles, too, growing throughout the land. Some
grew even faster than Dowe, like Nasdaque and Nikkee, but they quickly
tired
and fell back. Not little Dowe, however, because she was the apple of Mr.
Greenjeans'
eye.
Mr. Greenjeans, respected throughout all of Bubbleland, was Chosen to be
entrusted
with the savings of all the people of Bubbleland, who knew he would look
after
them and help them to prosper like little Dowe.
And so they did. But the Bubbleonians did not know that every night Mr.
Greenjeans
was secretly feeding the savings of the people to the ever-growing Dowe,
whose
ravenous appetite consumed all that Mr. Greenjeans gathered each day.
To celebrate their wealth and advanced state of evolution, the Bubbleonians
raised up a Tower of Bubble to the sky, as proof that they had become as
Gods,
themselves. But evildoers flung mighty airplanes, not to mention
strategically-placed
static charges, against the Tower and brought it low. Fortunately, many
were
Chosen to be absent that day, so that the loss of Bubbleonians was far less
than could have been expected.
In response, the ruler of Bubbleland, King George, proclaimed that there
was
to be a grand parade of the finest of Bubbleland's constabulary through the
middle of the eastern part of a neighboring kingdom, led by no other than
himself.
"The evildoers must learn that I have the freedom to do as I wish,"
explained
the king.
"I must have a new uniform for the parade," said King George. "Send in the
royal tailors!" In rushed Anders' son and Endrun, who measured the king
for
his grand new suit of clothes.
The day for the grand parade arrived and King George sent for his tailors
to
bring his new uniform. In they marched, with empty arms outstretched.
"Where are my fine new clothes?" demanded King George.
"They are here, your highness," replied Anders' son. "We have employed our
greatest talents and produced cloth so fine that one must squint just right
to see the thread employed in its manufacture. Don't worry, though, because
they are made according to the rules of our guild. "
The king squinted and squinted but, being exceptionally nearsighted, not to
mention dumb as a box of rocks, was unable to make out the patterns of the
clothing held forth by his tailors. Not wishing to appear less perceptive
than his subjects, the King said, "Oh, yes - well, help me on with them, as
I must take my position at the head of the grand parade at once. " And he
removed
his robe. So pleased was he that he rewarded Anders' son and Endrun
magnificently
and sent them on their way.
As the king took his position at the head of the parade, there arose a
great
muttering among the Bubbleonians, some of who openly claimed that King
George
was without the apparent support necessary to undertake so visible a
journey.
Other Bubbleonians who recently had learned that their accounts with Mr.
Greenjeans
had inexplicably shrunk in recent days also were quick to notice the king's
apparent lack of clothing.
These traitors were all immediately taken out and shot by the king's
General
Attorney.
All the rest of the citizens nervously cheered as the King marched off with
his parade in tow, vowing to make the world safe for his way of thinking.
Along the route, Mr. Greenjeans and his beloved Dowe awaited the arrival of
King George and the parade. Before long Dowe, who had grown truly enormous
of late, spied them in the distance. "Here he comes," shouted Dowe
excitedly.
As the king drew abreast of Dowe and Mr. Greenjeans, she cried out, "He has
no clothes... the king has no clothes!" In that moment, all within earshot
realized what they had suspected, including King George.
In the ensuing furor, Dowe was thrust against the bare King George, who
became
aroused in the close proximity of so much of the citizens' money which
Dowe,
of course, had consumed. Dowe fell and, though she staggered to her feet a
time or two, soon was trampelled beneath the feet of the frantic
Bubbleonians.
And all the peoples' savings were gone, just like that.
Which is what always happens to the Dowe when it meets a bare, of course.
Desperate to keep the Bubbleonians distracted from the fact that Mr.
Greenjeans
had stolen all their savings, King George nuked the **** out of the rest of
the world.
And he lived happily ever after.
-ed
p. s. -
It may mean nothing, but everybody seems to have forgotten that the stock
market
was in free fall just before Sep 11. A free fall just like this past
week's.
Once again, we stand at a critical juncture.
Chartists, who have discerned a classic "head and shoulders" formation in
index
movement, say that the next move to the downside should be precipitous.
Fundamentalists
talk of "capitulation" in explaining the mood of investors who finally
flick
it in at this stage of things.
The bulk of the decline in a major bear market almost always occurs in just
a handful of days, usually at about this point in the proceedings. A mere
retracement to the historical mean would result in a 50% decline, about the
same level that a price-earnings ratio of 12-15 would call for, as well.
The
current PE of 30 is about twice the historical average; twice the level
that
makes stocks marginally more attractive an investment than bonds. Of
course,
Enron and its progeny have shown that reported earnings are grossly
overstated,
so the decline could be even worse. And, none of this allows for a "dead
cat
bounce," either.
In other words, things on Wall Street could be about to get a whole lot
worse
than anybody is letting on is possible. Of course, 911 served to distract
everybody, close the stock market for several days and create a boom in
several
industries connected to the military. Greenspan's pushing the money supply
out of sight didn't hurt, either. Some say that merely delayed the
inevitable...
Could there be another "event" about to occur?
Nobody listens to the government terrorist alerts any more, and for good
reason.
However, I am now issuing a ConspiracyPenPal Stage 1 Alert of Possible
False
Flag Citizen Terror, to be in effect for the next seven days... .
-ed
"I didn't say it would be easy. I just said it would be the truth. "
- Morpheus
Copyright © Edgar J. Steele, 2002
