Deep-Fried WHAT?!!

Led Zappole, Manhattan
Interesting name of the place itself, will plan a visit here when I drop say, 20 kilos. (think: never)

What do you do when you are given an oreo cookie? You eat it.

What do you do when you are given a snickers bar? You feel a little guilty, and then eat it.

What do you do when you are given a slice of pizza? You ponder, feel guilty, and then eat it.

What does an American do when they are given any of the above? Deep-fry them!

This is it. I have concluded that Americans will eat anything. Anything that is fried and deep-fried and covered in oil-and-grease or sugar! Let me re-phrase. Not only will they eat anything that is fried, they will find a new thing each day that can possibly be fried and then deep-fry it till it doesn’t even resemble the original product.

Whoever thinks of frying Oreo cookies? Snickers? Pizza, for heaven’s sake?! 400 calories a slice ain’t good enough for you? Let’s dunk it in oil and make it a round 1000!

I think my arteries clogged up just by looking at the sign-board above. Now excuse me while I write to the Association of Diabetes Specialists or whatever organization it was that named India is the Diabetes Capital of the World. 

Pretty Darn Fucked

United States Capitol
Capitol Hill; Washinton, DC

America is a funny country. Here’s just one example why:

Two days after S&P downgraded the American economy’s rating from AAA to AA, President Barack Obama essentially dismissed the credit rating:

“Markets will rise and fall. But this is the United States of America. No matter what some agency may say, we've always been and always will be a triple-A country"-

President Obama

If that statement doesn’t exude confidence, I don’t know what does. Or wait, is the word to be used here ‘denial’? For, even as global markets shriek alarms of economic calamity, Obama, our man stands at a lectern to give a speech that could easily be mistaken for a campaign speech. At best, a press briefing. But nothing to speak as warning of a nation on its fiscal tenterhooks, struggling to tame a staggering accumulation of debt.

And yet, on the other hand, is the former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Obama’s one time confidante, Christina Romer who didn’t mince any words when speaking of the situation on television said that the credit downgrade was a sign that the country was “pretty darn fucked”

While I’m far from any sort of expertise on financial matters (I barely manage to understand my own), I do know that the credit downgrade is not the end of it. It is, if anything, the proverbial ‘beginning’.

On that, I shall keep my rant continuing, but a photograph of the day that I found to be most appropriate – almost like the closest physical visual of the saga – Capitol Hill.

While Capitol Hill is actually a neighborhood in the District of Columbia (DC), where the Congress building resides, it has come to be a metonym for the United States Congress. The actual congress building, as seen above is called the United States Capitol. 

Its all about the money, honey

US Treasury Building
Washington, DC

Is there something about Washington, DC and crises? After giving me a health crisis to grapple with last week, it's now plunged the American economy, and might I say the entire world into dealing with a debt crisis that can apparently snowball to cripple the world economy.  

I find it a little uncanny that I happened to be at DC, right outside the US treasury building only a week before the drama unfolded. Im known to have a pretty crazy imagination. So when the building was pointed out to me as the treasury, I envisioned huge halls stashed away with piles and piles of dollar upon dollar. Naive? Well maybe, but then that's what made Alice, Alice right? 

Now as I hear the jargon fly around me- #creditrating #downgrading #stocks #buylowsellhigh -on TV, in the news, on twitter, on facebook even, I can't help but wonder if some colossal meeting was taking place inside the structure at the same time as I was staring at its walls, taking pictures; if the decisions being now thrown at bewildered Americans, were being analyzed right then, if somebody at that minute said to Obama, "hey boy, easy, don't bite off more than you can chew or the vultures will come out to get you."

If only I could have stepped in to know what really goes on in the coffers of the treasury of the (so far) greatest economy on earth and what will be its fate. 

Sigh! I guess I have to be content with the picture I got then; pretty impressive structure though, what say? 

PS. I found these posts to be pretty useful in understanding the debt crisis issue - 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathanmiller/debt-ceiling-for-dummies-_b_907847.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathanmiller/credit-downgrade-for-dummies_b_920116.html