Fire the AIG Management

Philip Greenspun:

We (the taxpayers) own AIG. We should fire the top 20 managers immediately as an example to the rest.

This whole bonus bogus makes no sense to me at all. Why would a company give out “retention incentives” to employees who screwed up the company? It sounds to me like an encouragement to incompetence. Your performance almost bankrupted the company, but here are some bonuses for you to stick around.

Billie Holiday: True Jazz Singer

I know I have praised her numerous of time already, but Billie Holiday was a true jazz legend. The more I listen to her the more I discover her unique talent. In addition to her ability to express every word she sang, she broke many rules. Unlike many jazz singers, Lady Day never scatted or altered the lyrics. Instead, she improvised on the timing, the phrasing and the placing of notes. As a result, she could turn any standard into her own no matter how many times the tune had been covered.

Lady In Satin is one of my personal favorite Billie’s records. At this point in her career, she only seemed to be interested in expressing the lyrics and her interpretation of “The End of a Love Affair” is simply heartbreaking. To my astonishment, Billie didn’t even know the song. In a bonus track, which captures the recording session of “The End of a Love Affair,” Billie told the producer, “I don’t know it. Mel, please try to put much noise as you can and loud as you can. I don’t know the tune.”

Although Billie didn’t know the song, she recorded it right on the spot. Like an instrumentalist, she listened to the band playing and then sang along behind the beat with her very own interpretation. Now that is some serious improvisations.

Luan Vu & Thanh Nha

I am digging the swinging rendition of Ngo Thuy Mien’s “Niem Khuc Cuoi” performed by violinist Luan Vu and the young, beautiful pianist Thanh Nha. She has some really nice syncopations going there. Check out more duets and interviews at Radio VNCR.

Obama Slams AIG

Obama speaks on AIG’s outrageous $165 million in bonuses:

But I think Mr. Liddy and certainly everybody involved needs to understand this is not just a matter of dollars and cents. It’s about our fundamental values. All across the country, there are people who are working hard and meeting their responsibilities every day, without the benefit of government bailouts or multi-million dollar bonuses. You’ve got a bunch of small business people here who are struggling just to keep their credit line open — that they are foregoing pay, as one of our entrepreneurs talked about, they are in some cases mortgaging their homes, and doing a whole host of things just in order to keep things afloat. All they ask is that everyone, from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, play by the same rules. And that is an ethic that we have to demand.

How these guys can even sleep at night is beyond me.