Paul Newman (1925-2008)

This blog takes pause to honor a great actor, humanitarian, and philantrophist.

I first saw Paul Newman in the movie The Towering Inferno (1974) at the old Quezon Theater in Cubao, Quezon City. At that young age, I wasn't aware of the fact that he was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. I only found out that he was through my parents, especially my mom who was a big fan.

In the many years that followed, I got to know a lot more about this fine actor. Thanks to cable television stations like Turner Classic Movies and American Movie Classics, I was able to see a number of his early movies, especially the ones that made him a star. Films like Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), Paris Blues (1961), The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), and Cool Hand Luke (1967) showed the range of his acting capabilities.

The last movie of his that I saw in a movie theater in Manila was The Color of Money (1986) where he co-starred with a young Tom Cruise. This movie was a sequel to The Hustler. In the States, the last two movies I saw in theaters were The Road to Perdition (2002) which he co-starred with Tom Hanks and Cars (2006) where his was the voice behind the character of Doc Hudson.

Aside from being a fine actor, Mr. Newman was also a noted humanitarian and a philantrophist. A strong and lifelong supporter of Democratic Party causes, in the 1960s, he, along with other Hollywood celebrities such as Marlon Brando and Charlton Heston helped champion and support the Civil Rights movement. He was also a staunch opponent of the US involvement in the Vietnam War. He supported gun control and advocated nuclear disarmament. In his later years, he also came out in support of gay marriage.

In the 1980s, he co-founded a business that released a line of food products that carried his name. It was called Newman's Own. Its most popular products were salad dressings and microwaveable popcorn. Aside from its products, this company gained fame and respect for its support of a variety of charitable causes. As a matter of corporate policy, it donates all profits after taxes to charity. When he was asked in an interview back in the early 1990s as to why he was donating every penny of his company's profits to charity, Paul Newman was said to have answered simply, "I don't need it."

Aside from acting, Mr. Newman was also an accomplished professional race car driver.

He passed away last Friday, September 26, after a long bout with cancer. With his death, the world not only lost one of its greatest actors but also a man who used his craft and his fame to spread a message of love and respect for his fellowmen. He will certainly be missed.

Photo credit: Getty Images

A Morning in Boston - Part 2

Faneuil Hall is actually part of a four-building shopping complex called the Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Once one steps out at the rear of the hall, one will immediately see the other three buildings that make up the complex: the Quincy Market, the North Market, and the South Market. The photo below shows the Quincy and South Market buildings. I took this photo a few moments after I stepped out of Faneuil Hall.


The complex has more or less 100 stores within its four buildings. Aside from the small souvenir shops and food stalls that cater to tourists, the complex also houses big name stores such as Crate & Barrel, the Sunglass Hut, Victoria's Secret, Nine West, and Urban Outfitters, to name a few.

The complex also has a few restaurants in it. The following photo is of a bar called Cheers that was named after a hugely popular television sitcom that ran on American television from 1982 to 1993. Too bad that I did this trip in the morning for if I had done it either in the late afternoon or evening, I would have gone in to enjoy a few rounds of drinks.


The following shows the patio between Quincy Market and the South Market building. It has a few park benches where people can sit and hang out. The patio also has a few stands selling snacks, souvenirs and various other knickknacks.


Another shot of the patio and the South Market building.


This semi-circular part of the shopping complex marks its Eastern end. About two or three blocks beyond its exit lies historic Boston Harbor. However, noon was approaching at this point and yours truly was getting rather famished. Plus, my flight back to New York was only a few hours away. Thus, I decided to skip the trip to Boston Harbor and just hang out in this area for a few more minutes to take a few more pictures.


The following is a shot of the North Market building, the fourth building within the Faneuil Hall Marketplace complex.


Another shot of the North Market building with Quincy Market on the left. I ended up buying a little souvenir at one of the shops within this building.


From Faneuil Hall, a colleague and I decided to have lunch at a Boston landmark called The Union Oyster House. Located on Union Street, this restaurant was only a block away from Faneuil Hall. The place specializes in seafood dishes and was highly recommended by another colleague of ours who lived in Boston for two years. The following is a shot of the front of the restaurant.


The photo below shows a plaque that was posted by one of the restaurant's windows. It shows that this place has been designated as a historical landmark as one of the oldest continually operated restaurants in the United States.

The following photo shows the corner of Union Street (the street where cars were parked) and Marsh Lane. The red brick building at the center of this photo houses another Boston landmark called the Bell In The Hand Tavern.


The following photo shows the Bell In The Hand Tavern's proximity to the Union Oyster House (foreground).


Below is a plaque that's posted by the tavern's main doors. It commemorates the Bell In The Hand tavern's significance to local Boston history.


The following photo was taken from the other end of Marsh Lane. This small, cobble-stoned street was preserved to show the way it looked back in the late 18th century. From this vantage point, one sees Union Oyster House at the far end of the street on the left side while the Bell In The Hand Tavern is on the right.


After taking the photo above, my colleague and I walked into the Union Oyster House to finally have our lunch. I had shrimp scampi served over a bed of linguine. I also had their New England clam chowder which I enjoyed very much. I was quite hungry by that time that I was no longer in the mood to take more photographs. My apologies for that. But you can find more information about this restaurant here.

The following was the last shot I took before leaving for the airport. It shows the rooftop of the North Market building and was taken from the 6th floor of a parking garage.


Boston is a city that has a lot to offer in terms of history and culture. Too bad that I only had a few hours to spend that Friday morning. If I wasn't pressed for time, I would have visited other historic sites as well such as Paul Revere's House and historic Boston Harbor. Maybe next time.

Fall of the High and Mighty

The New York Times (NYT), in its Sunday issue (September 21), came up with a piece that showed the effects the recent bloodbath in Wall Street has had on the shareholdings of a number of Wall Street CEOs, both former and current. To illustrate such effect, the NYT article showed the values of the CEOs' shareholdings at the beginning of January 2007 and compared it to the value of their shareholdings after the financial markets closed last Friday, September 19.

In the interest of full disclosure, the figures represent the stocks owned by the individuals listed and does not include the value of their stock options. Anyway, here are some of the names that were listed: (Each line shows the CEO Name, the Firm he either heads or used to head, the Value of his Shareholdings as of 1/1/2007, and the Value of his Shareholdings after the markets closed on 9/19/08.)

Maurice R. Greenberg, Former CEO (AIG), $1.25 billion, $49.6 million
James E. Cayne, Former CEO (Bear Stearns), $1.06 billion, $61.2 million
Sanford I. Weill, Former CEO (Citigroup), $914.9 million, $342 million
Richard S. Fuld Jr., CEO (Lehman Brothers), $827.1 million, $2.3 million
E. Stanley O' Neal, Former CEO (Merrill Lynch), $127.7 million, $40.2 million
John Mack, CEO (Morgan Stanley), $224.6 million, $80.4 million
Martin J. Sullivan, Former CEO (AIG), $3.2 million, $173,000
Daniel H. Mudd, Former CEO (Fannie Mae), $26.5 million, $476,000
Richard F. Syron, Former CEO (Freddie Mac), $10.6 million, $130,000

The above individuals I chose to list here are the ones whose shareholdings took the biggest hits as the crisis in Wall Street worsened. For a complete list of the CEOs, you can find the New York Times chart here.

According to some government estimates, US taxpayers will be on the hook for $1.5 trillion to bail these financial institutions out. The bill that US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke submitted to the Congress seeks $700 billion to be made available to help financial institutions rid themselves of failed or illiquid securities. Those illiquid securities were based on subprime mortgages whose debtors failed to pay.

Thus, millions of American taxpayers will now end up footing the bill for these guys' avarice and greed. I don't mean to sound insensitive or mean but I do not feel sorry for any of the guys above. A majority of them still have millions of dollars of wealth available. Except for a black mark on their reputations and maybe some social ostracism that they will suffer, these guys won't have any problems finding money for their next meal.

I don't even feel sorry for their direct reports and the senior managers of their firms. Those groups of officers earned millions of dollars in bonuses ANNUALLY. Living in the New York metro area, I always read about how the bonuses these guys make every year average about two to three times their annual salary.

But what's more worrisome for me are the ripple effects from the crisis in Wall Street.

First, a lot of establishments and businesses, small and medium-sized, depend on Wall Street firms and employees for a good portion of their business. Revenues of tailors, barbershops, hair salons, spas, restaurants, laundromats, and theaters, to name a few, will certainly suffer as a result of the job losses. In fact, some of these smaller businesses may even end up letting go of some of their employees too.

Second, the crisis will definitely lead to tighter credit. A humbled and tightly regulated Wall Street means a more conservative Wall Street. Tighter credit will definitely lead to higher quality loans extended to higher quality debtors. However, tighter credit could lead to reduced economic activity. People and businesses could buy and invest less. And once the American consumer tightens his/her belt, the whole world will certainly feel it. As of this writing, a number of US banks have started reducing the credit limits of thousands of those credit cardholders with less than stellar credit histories.

Some economic experts say that the worst isn't over yet. To a person, all of the economists are worried about the ripple effects through the rest of the economy. So far, we've only read about the big players in the banking industry. Apart from those, there are also big regional banks that have not yet revealed the extent of their losses on subprime mortgages.

To be honest though, people also share part of the blame here. And by "people", I'm referring to those who bought homes at prices that were clearly way beyond their means. Banks can be blamed for tempting these people with "exotic" types of mortgages such as "interest only" mortgages and "adjustable rate" mortgages. However, at the end of the day, the transaction would not have pushed through if upon due assessment of his/her financial position, the buyer had wisely decided not to proceed with the purchase.

Both banks and the buyers can delude themselves all they want through such creative schemes but the bottomline remains the same: there is still a debt that needs to be paid and that a buyer still doesn't acquire full title to a property until such time he/she has paid both principal and interest on a debt. Financing has always operated on this principle for centuries and will always do.

As I end this post, word just came out that the last two large investment banks. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, in an effort to gain Federal protection from the crisis, have obtained the approval of the Federal Reserve to change their status from investment banks to bank holding companies. As such, both institutions can now operate commercial banks and take deposits. The change in status subjects both institutions to tighter government regulation. However, tighter regulation is a rather small price to pay when in exchange, they can avail themselves of the government's bailout program.

A Morning in Boston - Part 1

I was in Boston a month ago for a two-week assignment. I haven't been to Boston in a long while. Prior to this trip, the last time I was in this historic city was back in the early 90s when I spent Thanksgiving weekend there with some friends. It was a bit cold and rainy that time. It was mid-autumn and winter was just around the corner. Thus, due to the cold and wet weather, I didn't get to enjoy the place that much.

Thus, I was quite elated when I learned a couple of months ago that Boston was where my next assignment was going to be. It was August and it was summer. I felt that it would be great to finally tour this historic city since I expected to have quite a bit of time in my hands after work. Thus, I drew up a list of places to visit and I made sure that I brought my camera with me.

But to paraphrase what Robert Burns wrote in his classic poem To A Mouse, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Well, go awry my plans certainly did. Cold rain and wind greeted me as soon as my plane landed in Boston and both unfortunately stayed with me through the rest of my two-week stay. It wasn't until our last day in the area when the rains finally stopped and I finally got to enjoy a fairly decent amount of sunshine. It was a good thing that I had completed my work on Thursday of that second week. Since my return flight wasn't scheduled until early Friday afternoon, I had the entire morning to myself and that's when I finally got to make my long-awaited trip to downtown Boston.

Faneuil Hall was at the top of my places to visit. I first read about this place back in 1983, in the days after former Senator Benigno Aquino's assassination. I saw that famous picture of him, smiling and dressed in a pin-striped suit with Faneuil Hall in the background. The picture was taken earlier that year when he and his family still lived in the city of Newton in the Boston suburbs. That particular photograph was used as a cover on one of those Mr. and Ms. Special Edition magazine issues that came out right after his death.

Faneuil Hall was originally built in 1742 and housed a market and an assembly room. This Hall was where the doctrine of "no taxation without representation" was established when colonists protested the Sugar Act of 1764. The law, passed by the British Parliament, aimed to increase taxes on molasses produced by the New England colonies, as the Northeastern part of the United States was then called. Revenues from the tax were supposed to fund the British defense of the colonies. However, the imposition of the tax came at a time when the colonies were in the middle of an economic depression. Thus, the tax became unpopular and was one of those events that gradually led the colonists to revolt against the British a decade later.

The following photo shows the front of Faneuil Hall. In the square in front of it stands a monument to Samuel Adams,fourth governor of Massachusetts and one of the country's Founding Fathers.


The following is a shot of Faneuil Hall from the rear.


I walked through one of those doors and up the stairs to the second floor where the assembly room/meeting hall was located. The following is a shot of the assembly room taken from its main entry doors.


The picture below will show that front and center on the stage is a painting called Webster's Reply to Hayne done by the American painter, George P.A. Healy (1813-1894). The Mr. Webster who was the subject of the painting was the great American orator and senator Daniel Webster (1782-1852) who represented the state of Massachusetts in the U.S Senate from 1827 to 1841. One of the stands at the foot of the stage shows a diagram that identifies each person whose face is shown on the painting.


The following two photographs shows the left and right sides of this meeting hall. They show balconies on the upper sections to allow for more seating and better viewing.


The photo above and the one below show that the place has abundant natural lighting judging from the number of large windows we see on both sides of this hall.


The following is a shot of the rear section and it also shows a balcony section on the upper floor. The lady sitting by the door is a security person who works for the National Parks Office, a federal agency tasked with managing national parks and monuments.


This last shot shows Faneuil Hall's staircase. I took this photo on my way out of the building.


More recently, Faneuil Hall was the site where Senator John Kerry made his concession speech in 2004 after losing the presidential election to George W. Bush.

This meeting hall was my first stop that Friday morning. My next piece will show the marketplace and shops around this building.

Political Humor Break

With the entry of Sarah Palin into the political ring, she has become the subject of many newspaper reports both for and against her. She has also become the subject of late night comedy shows.

The following is a video clip of a comedy sketch from Saturday Night Live that was shown last night (September 13). The sketch features Tina Fey as Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton in what is supposed to be a joint appearance to impart a non-partisan message. Enjoy. :-)