They (ie. powers that be) are expecting deflationary reports. I suspect they will be off mark.

There is a huge amount of people out there that refuse to believe the official numbers for things like CPI, and it is in the governments favour to make us think inflation is lower than it is…

I suspect the inflation rate is going to be higher than people think. The spending is out of control and that has to show up sooner or later.

They might be able to dodge it this time, but I doubt it.

Here is an excerpt from the link.

U.S. inflation numbers for March will be released Wednesday, and some are expecting the annualized rate to be negative for the first time since the mid- 1950s. TD’s forecast is for a drop of 0.4 per cent, while CIBC is calling for a 0.3 per cent decline.

Mulraine said the U.S. could see a negative string of inflation numbers for a number of months, but it will not be the “deflationary spiral” some fear, with prices rising again before the end of this year.

http://www.canada.com/Coming+week+data+could+provide+false+hope+economists/1490989/story.html

The U.K. music scene has been pretty bad for a long time no?

At one point the U.K. was the trendsetter for popular music. In the 60’s, bands were turning out classic songs like they were factory workers turning out widgets.

Recently though, the U.K. hasn’t been on the map…(at least in North America)

As a U.K. music fan I keep my ear tuned to what’s going on over there and I think it’s safe to say that the one word explanation is…not much.

When The Killers are unofficially known as America’s best British band…you know you have a problem.

So why am I predicting a resurrection in U.K. pop?

The recession.

The U.K. is being hammered. Banks, housing, jobs, debt….it’s bad.

Culturally however, it’s good…

For this post I will focus only on the music.

The last big recession occurred in the early 90’s. Below is a chart showing the U.K. economy during this time.

Now compare that with a list of bands who started during that time…

Suede – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suede_(band)

Oasis – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oasis_band

Blur – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blur_(band)

Verve – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_verve

Radiohead – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiohead

Massive Attack – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massive_attack

Cranberries (Irish, but hey…) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cranberries

Chemical Brothers – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_brothers

The Prodigy – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prodigy

So while grunge was booming in the U.S. and dominating the immediacy of the recession spirit, the U.K. was planting seeds for some of the greatest rock and roll bands of the decade.

Now contrast that with the output since the economic boom of ‘Cool Britianna’ around the time Tony Blair got elected in 1997.

Spice Girls, S Club 7, Robbie Williams, Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, The Editors…I don’t know, I’m trying to come up with stuff off the top of my head and even that is difficult…Libertines? Pete Doherty?

Ultimately…no contest…sorry…

I think when easy money and lot’s of material gain isn’t readily available, it makes for more struggle and introspection and cheaper thrills and more direct living. This reflects itself in the music and makes things more universal and emotionally honest.

I’ll leave you with this song…Before Noel Gallagher went on welfare he was working a construction job for a gas company and dropped a pipe on his foot. With a busted foot he couldn’t work a job site, so they stuck him in the office by himself. It was so slow that he started bringing his guitar to work and consquently wrote this song.

The sweeping ambition, hopeful longing, and hungry immediacy are evident from the struggles of the times. Oasis don’t write songs like this anymore…maybe if the recession hits hard enough in England…they will again!

Need a little reminder/advice on what it means to be a man?

In modern Western society we can sometimes be taken down a wrong path by false liberal cultural teachings.

One of the biggest problems facing Western Civilization is that men are being trained and rewarded for not being men.

A nation full of schmucks and frat boys and overgrown moronic ‘dudes’ is not the stuff of civilization.

You can have a wide variety of personal inclinations and traits that make you unique, but certain universal principles are important for the development of all men.

Read this…

http://artofmanliness.com/2008/06/08/7-vital-characteristics-of-a-man/