I finally got around to seeing "The Dark Knight" this weekend and I noticed there was quite a lot of the dialogue I didn't pick up. My initial fear is that I spent way too much time with headphones plugged into my ears and was now paying the price with a hearing loss (but I only listen to talk radio podcasts with the volume extremely low!). Immediately after the movie, The Girlfriend said how much she loved the movie. "The only thing I didn't like was the score: it was too loud and it drummed out a lot of the dialogue."

Thank goodness! I didn't wanna say nothing at first because it would like admitting I'm starting to go deaf. But when she confirmed the same problem I had, it meant either we were losing our hearing or there was something seriously off with the audio ratios of the movie. Either way, I'm happy. If I'm gonna go deaf with someone, it might as well be the person I'm going to marry.

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I was at the Wal-Mart recently when I heard a six-year old kid say to his mom "Can we buy it? It's only $300."

What kinda world is this kid living where $300 registers as "only?" When I was six, I setting the table for a penny and sweeping the floor for a nickel (my mom was very into cheap labor). Even as an adult, there's very few items that would be "only $300"--like maybe a house or a new car. Three hundred dollars is a lot of money--even to grownups. And even more curious: if this kid was born with such a silver spoon that $300 is nothing, why the hell is his family shopping at Wal-Mart?

Clearly, this Wal-Mart twerp hadn't learned the value of money. His parents are probably broke and he's destined to a lifetime of excess credit card debt. Even if he wanted to buy a toy for "only" $3, the kid had it way wrong. Children should never learn the word "only." There is no "only"--everything comes at a price. Whether it's $3 or $300, that's less money you have for other things in the future. A lot of folks don't realize that. Kids hafta learn young: you can't have everything. And if you justify a purchase because it's "only" X-amount of dollars, you're not being smart with your money. Make purchases based on need; not perceived value.

And watch "The Suze Orman Show."

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