Those Zany Talkies

I thought I would take a break from all of the economic gloom and doom I've been writing about recently to write about an excellent movie that I watched with my brother last night.  I'd been putting off seeing it.  I thought I knew what to expect, but at the same time I wasn't sure.  It's won various awards in the run-up to the Oscars, including ones for film and acting.  So here goes...


When I sat down with my brother last night to watch "The Artist," I had heard many things about it.  Some said it was boring and weird, while others said it was a work of cinematic genius. Having watched it only once, though, I must agree with the latter view.  In fact, I'm putting my money on it to win Best Picture at the Oscars, along with Best Actor for Jean Dujardin.  I saw "The Descendants."  Clooney was his usual...ok.  

Although I knew that the film was silent, unlike some idiots in England who didn't realize this, went to see it, were outraged since they didn't know it was silent and demanded their money back, I thought I'd give it a try.  I'd seen other silent films on TMC or AMC or one of those older movie channels and I usually watch them for a few minutes and laugh as the people on screen in black and white prattle on about something while a moment later, a sign pops up reading "Surely you Jest!" or something equally ridiculous that didn't begin to describe the conversation they were having.

But this film was different.  When I saw Jean Dujardin speak at the Golden Globe Awards to accept his award for Best Actor in a comedy or musical, I assumed that since he was French that the film was in French.  I assumed that it would be a silent film with french title cards subsequently subtitled in English. 

I was very surprised when the cards were in English, and not only that, there were some big names in the film, namely John Goodman and James Cromwell.  Penelope Ann Miller and Missy Pyle (I saw her on Broadway as the German part of the love quadrangle in the hilarious "Boeing, Boeing") also had small roles.

While I won't give away any of the ending or most of the plot, I will gloss over some of the main plot points to combat any doubters and hopefully encourage some of you to see the film.  The film opens with a wide eyed, soon to be starlet descending upon Hollywood/Los Angeles to make her mark (the lovely Berenice Bejo as the upstart, chipper Peppy Miller).

She ends up literally bumping into Dujardin her first day outside the studio as part of a gawking crowd waiting for him to exit the stage (he plays George Valentin, the era's star of the silents), and causes a stir that lands her on the cover of that week's Variety with him.  While initially embarrassing and causing those gossipy tongues around Hollywood to wag about Valentin's love life, it eventually lands her a part in one of his films in 1927.  

Long story short, we flash to 1929 with a rising Peppy Miller who has taken on lead roles in these new so-called talking pictures, while George Valentin remains locked in the past and soon is unable to find work because he refuses to let go of the silent film era.  He thinks that talkies are not the future and we see his self-doubt at making the leap from silent film era star to movie sensation.

The film chronicles Miller's and Valentin's careers, lives, and special bond that they form and ends with what I will term, something perfectly appropriate.  The film, in black and white, is nearly all silent.  However, if you can get past the first few minutes and let the musical score take you back to the era of Hollywood glitz and glamor, flappers and starlets, you will not be disappointed.  

The music guides the film, along with the title cards that pop up occasionally to alert the viewer as to what is transpiring.  It's all brilliantly done.  Is there any dialogue aside from the title cards?  I guess you'll have to watch it.  Plus, there's Dujardin's adorable dog who is right there throughout the film.  It clocks in at about an hour and a half, and if you don't believe me, it got a 97% on RottenTomatoes.com.  

Thanks for reading and if you're trying to decide which Oscar contenders for Best Picture to watch in anticipation of trying to see the film that won so you can talk to all of your friends about it, definitely choose "The Artist." It is beautiful, brilliant, happy, sad, heartbreaking, and it's something I think you'll want to see again.  Enjoy!

Protect yourself from Financial Meltdown

As I mentioned yesterday with my blog on fiat currency, you need to start protecting yourself for the future in case the economy gets worse.  Word has it in inner circles of Bilderberg (look it up and form your opinion about it) there was a debate ongoing among the power elite whether to have the world suffer a slow, painful recession drawn out over many years, or a Great Depression that went for the jugular and hurt people much more quickly. 

It appears, at least for now, that we are in the midst of a longer and soon to be worse recession.  If you read the news, the World Bank (think one-world banking system) has scaled back its economic growth prospects for developed nations in the Eurozone and the United States.  A lot.  If that doesn't hint of recession coming in fuller force, I don't know what does. 

The dollar, incidentally, has lost over 41% of its value in the past ten years alone.  Other currencies are gradually climbing against it in value, if you take a look at the foreign exchange (forex) charts.  In other words, it seems like each day the dollar is losing value, even in small bits.

But how can you protect yourself?  Here are some ways...

1. In the short term, invest in foreign currency.  If you have the ability, open up an Everbank account.  They have CDs available in 3, 6, 9, and 12 month terms in the currency of your choice.  They also offer CDs labeled "Market Basket" CDs that are a few different currencies at varying percentages.  For example, you could buy an Emerging Markets CD with 40% Brazilian Real, 30% South African Rand, and 30% Indian Rupee.  It's a good hedge against the dollar.





However, if you cannot or do not open a CD, even exchanging some of your money at your local bank for Swiss francs and Norwegian kroner (my favorites) just to have that alternative currency is a good idea.  If you have pounds or euros left over from a recent trip to Europe, I would either convert them at your bank or at least take the cash and invest them in something else. 

It might be a little more costly to get the francs, but your dollar gets you 5.8 kroner as of early morning today. Check your exchange rates.  If the dollar does melt down at least you'll have something to use for exchange.

2. Buy gold and silver!  I know gold is expensive at the moment, but its value usually increases inversely with the dollar.  Why do you think your purchasing power with a dollar is so low, while gold has skyrocketed?  Silver is also extremely cheap right now ($40 or so per ounce), and its value is also related inversely to the dollar.  You can expect it to go up much more in the future.

  Gold and silver will always retain their value simply because they are seen as valuable to the general populace.  

Also, cash for gold is a SCAM!!!  Not only do most of the companies short you (go to a bank or to a local, reputable coin dealer if you need the scratch that badly).  These people only want your gold and silver because they know you're desperate for dollars, and they can sell it easily for a 10-20% markup to someone else.

3. If you can, pay off additional mortgage principal or, if possible, try to pay off your mortgage commitment in the next few years.  Real Estate is a GREAT tangible asset to have.  And one more thing. 

The mortgage game...doesn't it seem unfair (we know bankers love their money) that by the end of your lifetime after you've taken out, let's say, a $100,000 mortgage, that you pay 2 to 3 times that back to the bank for the privilege of them "lending" you the money?  That, to me, if we're speaking about the power elite, seems like the greatest con of all.  We accept it as adults if we can afford to buy a home because we learn that that is what one does.

You need to get a mortgage, but why?  Well, your parents did, their parents did, etc.  It's quite normal, but think about the actual financial burden placed on you for life assuming a 30 year loan.  It's a lot and I think more and more people are realizing this.  It's often called the "middle class trap," but how is it avoidable?  It's not really, for almost all of us.  Sad but true.

4. Spend your dollars while you have them.  Tangible property is going to be HUGE in the future!  Treat yourself now. Refinish that basement.  Buy that refrigerator.  Remodel that deck.  Everything that people deem to be valuable (nice houses, gold, silver, foreign currency) has worth because people will always believe it to be, regardless of the economy. 

The Power Elite and the Economic Downturn

A week ago, I said that I was going to write about a few topics of potential interest to conspiracy theorists, and I decided for this entry I would write about the Illuminati through the guise of our financial system.  Again, only you can think for yourself and decide whether or not so-called "Illuminati" exist in your construct, but for now enjoy the ride and let's get to it.

Who are the Illuminati? 

The Illuminati is a term given to any number of secret societies who work behind the scenes and who allegedly hope to establish a new world order with one government.  More importantly they hope to establish a one world fiat (paper) currency for the world to use, according to some. Unlike today's currencies, though, this currency would be backed by something.

 While I am not certain about the idea of ultimately having a one-world government, I do believe that the modern day Illuminati could be construed as bankers and governments, working together to control the money supply.

Think about this: we have been raised in a capitalist society where our core values as Americans are to make as much money as we can and buy as many things as we can, even if we don't need them. Spending money makes us happy, even if it means working longer hours and sacrificing time with the family unit or our own health so that we can gain wealth. 

I again post, for your information, a picture of our one dollar bill as seen above, and below it, an Illuminati symbol:



Whether or not you believe in the catchall phrase Illuminati to describe what is going on in our world right now economically and politically, I do find it creepy that the symbol the Federal Reserve (something that is technically unconstitutional...look it up!) chose to use on our money  is similar to a key Illuminati symbol.  Do you hold US dollars, or federal reserve dollars?  Look carefully.

That brings me to the main point that I wanted to write about, which is that this power elite we see before us on the news, led by Ben Bernanke, the World Bank, the IMF (International Monetary Fund, or Illuminati Monetary Fund to some), and others in the Bilderberg group, seem to think that printing more Euros, dollars, or [name that currency!] is going to solve the debt crisis in Europe and the building one in the United States.

"Money" is what these people tell you it is.  It used to be that most paper currency was backed by some measure of gold, silver, or other commodity.  What is today's money backed by anywhere in the world?  Faith in banks and the financial systems that surround them, I suppose.

Since the Roman Empire it has been shown that fiat currency fails at some point, as mounting debt cannot simply be eradicated by printing more money (think the Fed's new panacea, "Quantitative Easing").  The debt is eventually so unsustainable that the paper currency ends up being worth only the paper it's written on, literally, at the end of its lifespan.



I've been doing a lot of research on this lately and it appears that two very important events are happening concurrently: one is the devaluation of the dollar, and the second is the rise in prices of commodities, particularly metals.  In the end, those metals and other commodities are really going to be the only thing that have intrinsic value and will help get you through an economic crunch.

From what I've been reading, the devaluation of the Euro throughout this European debt crisis is eventually going to lead to its demise.  The demise of the dollar may still be a few years off, but it seems that it will follow the fall of the Euro at some point.  As you know the dollar is the world's reserve currency at the moment, so if the dollar collapses, other world currencies will follow.

What do we do then?  Remember, I am just presenting a different side of an argument and it is up to you whether or not to believe it.  I do believe, as history has shown time immemorial, that we will see an end to fiat currencies some day.  So I do hold some stock in what others are saying.  I hold enough stock in it that tomorrow I will be writing of things that YOU can get now as an alternative to insure yourself against any monetary meltdown  [insert capitalist irony here].

But what does that even mean?

The back of your one dollar bill.  Here's a challenge: can you spot the hidden owl on the front of the bill? What does that mean?

"We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected the promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But, the world is now more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a world-government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries."

David Rockefeller, Trilateral Commission Address, June 1991

In "A Scandal in Bohemia," Sherlock Holmes chides his sidekick, Watson, for not knowing how many steps lead from the outside of his apartment on 221-B Baker Street to the top. "You see, but you do not observe," he says.  How many of us have done this?  We walk through the construct that is our world, living with the comfort of routine.  We see (or hear), but we do not observe (listen), whether because of our own choosing, or because we have become so comfortable with the world and its conventions as they are, that we often fail to observe what some say is right in front of us.

A friend of mine in the financial sector (who shall remain anonymous) recently sent me some well, let's just call it "new and deliberately not being covered by the media" information regarding the prospects for the US and ultimately world economy in 2012 and the following years.  It unnerved me and once I did some research on this information, I began, like Neo in "The Matrix," to dig my way down the rabbit hole to see how far it went.  Search words or videos on youtube suddenly led to other redirects, and my internet hunting began.

While I am not one to be easily influenced by propaganda or fear-mongering, this information certainly got me thinking and piqued me enough to share.  I have decided to write a mini blog series regarding these ideas and events I have learned about after my initial search, and this blog entry serves as an introduction to what I will be covering.

I am not saying that I believe every single thing that is being written with regard to the economy, the US, and the world at large, but it is food for thought. Some of the ideas, once I started doing my research, gave me pause.  Some theories I outright reject.

I thought it would be fun to present these things and hear what others have to say about them.  Please leave whatever comments you like.  All I ask is that you retain your ability to think critically when you read these. Choose to believe what you want.  I just ask that you think.  

Here are some of the topics I'll be writing about in the near future, in what little free time I have between work and other activities, although not necessarily in any particular order...

1) The Georgia Guidestones (google it), a.k.a. "The American Stonehenge."  I had never heard of them. Who had the time to carve all that into stone?  Let alone what person thinks these are governing principles?  Yoko Ono said they were good to live by.  Maybe that's reason enough to dismiss them. She did break up the Beatles lol.

2) The Illuminati and Masons.  Sure, most of us have read "Angels and Demons," right?  But what do you think of this video? 

3) CHEM Trails.  Did you ever notice it seems like there are a lot more planes in the air? What is HAARP?






4) What's up with people in the music and movie industries making these various hand symbols???   

You two too, Jay-Z and Beyonce?

Rihanna? Is that you?

Ok, you get the point.  One symbol looks similar to the "I love you" sign in ASL, but notice the difference with regard to the thumb.

5) What is the Bilderberg group?  How do they relate to the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission?  Why do they meet in secret every year, and some politicians, against US law, attend?  How does this relate to the Federal Reserve System, which technically isn't sanctioned by the US government?

 6) You've heard of the European Union, which is in the midst of chaos and disorder.  You know, seemingly now a borderless continent with one currency, the Euro.  Have you ever heard of the North American Union with the Amero as currency for the US, Mexico, and Canada?  Me neither.

7) Corporate Logos...is there any hidden symbolism?  Do you notice anything?

These are just some of the topics I will be writing about in the future.  Again, don't necessarily believe everything you read but I hope you enjoy what I present.  Welcome to 2012 everyone!

My Heckler

Happy 2012 everyone!

Soon enough, I knew it would happen. When you upload public videos for everyone to see, you'll eventually get that one loser who trolls the Internet for said videos so they can trash the people in them and make asinine comments.

So this blog is about hecklers and my thoughts on them, including how to handle them.

Comedians and celebrities deal with hecklers and naysayers constantly.  You know the type.  The loser who is probably in their 30s or 40s, is unemployed, lives in mommy and daddy's basement playing World of War Craft all day, and trolling the Internet trying to make fun of other people because they aren't happy with who they are.

My heckler goes by the handle MikeDitka100 and posted several nasty comments about my videos and me personally.  Words can hurt, but you've got to get over it.  If you don't like the YouTube channel, change it, bitch.  I'm looking at you MikeDitka100.

Hecklers are an interesting breed.  My guy decided to post several comments and click "dislike" on many videos, presumably around midnight so that I would see them Christmas Eve morning.  But thankfully I saw them as they were posted, so it didn't upset me too much once I got over the initial shock.

Hecklers aim for below the belt, personal attacks on you because they're not happy with their own lives.  I am happy with my life.  I have a great family, friends, a house, and a job.  Pretty much the American Dream, right?

So I wonder about MikeDitka100.  Does he fit the stereotypical characteristics of what I described regarding cyber hecklers, or is he someone who was not loved as a child, like Voldemort?

I was at a comedy show in Atlantic City recently where there was this one heckler whose last name was McGedigan who would not leave this one comic alone.  The comic employed techniques in response that left this kid, who was celebrating his bachelor party, almost in tears.  It was great to see him get his comeuppance and be embarrassed in front of the whole crowd, as in the clip above.

There's no need to personally attack the heckler; just attack their logic.  When they're calling you names like asshole or bitch, they're just resorting to the negative to try to tear you down. Ask them: and so what if I am wearing an Eagles shirt with cats in the background in a house?  To me that says I am successful and have pets and a house.

You've gotta have thick skin and realize that these people (admit it, we all encounter hecklers in our everyday lives) have no life and are basically using the only comeback they know because they are stupid losers: "Are too, nanny nanny boo boo!"  It's funny to see how pathetic they are.

So I guess don't let anyone tear you down.  You know how awesome you are and how awesome other people think you are.  That's all that matters. MikeDitka100 went away like the Internet troll he is but it's crazy what people will do for attention. Imagine, I actually took the time to write about it.

Have a great New Year's and I hope 2012 is a better year for everyone!

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bathroom

We had our doubters.  Our naysayers.  Those who said it couldn't be done.  But damned if my brother and I didn't gut our bathroom and install the toilet.  The sink to come should be the easier part.

So it all started a few weeks ago when my brother and I decided (along with my mom) that we needed to do something about the bathroom downstairs.  It was out of date.  It was like something out of "The Brady Bunch" and since this is my house and I'll be living in it for the foreseeable future, we decided that we would replace the flooring, get rid of the old toilets and sink, and put in new ones.

A shopping trip (more like a couple, actually) to Lowe's ensued and eventually again, with style points going to my mother, we had everything that we needed to remodel a bathroom.  I'll admit that the stuff sat in the garage for a while, mainly because of my insanely busy work schedule.  Not getting home till 8:30 or 9 every night tends to make you want to be lazy for this couple hours you have in the evening until you have to get up early the next day and do it all over again.  And that usually includes Saturday.

Bathroom remodeling has been the subject of many sitcoms since sitcoms immemorial, and in each episode part of the physical humor and shtick is that it is impossible for the characters to do; ergo, they make a mess and eventually have to hire someone.  See the clip below from "The Golden Girls."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_3xmrNPDMI

But, given the desire to save money in this economy, we decided that we would attempt to install it ourselves.  The first step was gutting the bathroom, which was actually kind of fun in that we got to take the toilet apart and the sink off the wall.  That was the easy part. Removing the old wax ring, however, was kind of gross.

Next, we had to open up the box to the new toilet and yes, all of the parts were there.  However, before we could install and make operational the new toilet, we had to lay down the new flooring which, as you can see, is black with patterns of small stones (like granite, I guess?).  Luckily this tiling had peel away paper on the back of it so it was simply a matter of cleaning the floor, drying it, and putting down the majority of the pieces.

Once the main parts of the floor were down, there was only a little bit of cutting involved to fill out the rest of the floor which was divided into slender, long rectangular pieces.  We then let that set and turned up the heat a little to melt the rest of the glue.

Next up, after installing the floor around the hole in it that makes a complete connection with the toilet, it was time to install the bottom part sans commode.  This was a little painstaking as there were some parts that had to be screwed in prior to putting the bolts in the holes in the floor, but once that was done and with some guidance of the bolts into those holes (which did take a while).

But then came the fun part.  To make sure that everything was set and the toilet level, I got to sit on top of it to try to use my weight to knock everything down into place.  I've lost some weight recently so it wasn't as easy as it used to be.  Just kidding.  Sort of.

However, we had to remove the water-on valve in order to use a ratchet once we turned it back on since we would be unable to spin it with the toilet where it was.  The toilet was in the only place it could be, so we had to remove the valve.

Next step was to put on the commode, which fit like a glove.  Put on the lid and Bob's your uncle.  Since we turned off the water after initially draining the toilet, we had to turn it back on.  Here came the real test and the point in this toilet project at which we wee the most nervous.  My brother went to the basement and I waited, towels in hand, in case something went wrong.

I heard the valve turn and the water rush, and to my surprise, I must admit, the toilet filled.  My brother and I were glad.  Now, to try the flush.  And you know what?  It flushed fine.  There was a little problem wherein we initially heard a whooshing sound of water every five minutes, but this was easily remedied by lifting up the lid of the commode and moving the ball unit a little.  No problems since.

So don't be daunted by home projects.  Even installing a toilet (painstaking sometimes, maybe) is not that difficult if you have someone to help you.  So my new slogan is this: Welcome to Jack's Depot.  You can do it.

It's the Economy, Stupid!

This mantra swept Bill Clinton and Al Gore to an upset victory over a president whose popularity tanked not only because of the bad economy but also because he was viewed as being out of touch with everyday Americans.  Oh yeah, and did I mention he also decided it would be a good idea not to visit hurricane victims in Florida until like a week after the storm?

As I've mentioned before, this generation has seen the worst downturn and seemingly perpetual gloomy economic outlook and environment since the Great Depression.  The media and other pundits have labeled our current climate as "The Great Recession," which I think is neither cute nor great.

Every day I think to myself, when the hell are we going to get back to the good old days of the 90s and aughts (I bet you didn't know that's what the decade from 2000-2009 was called, did you?) when the dotcom boom made millionaires overnight?

But, as crummy as the economic atmosphere is and as tired as we are all of it, there are ways around it.  I tire of the people I hear about who say they can't get jobs (and ergo make any money) and therefore are relying on unemployment benefits that will likely run out soon.  Jobs are not the only way to make money.  I'm not saying these people have easy access to jobs, because in most cases it's very difficult to get a job right now.  But we need to get back to what made America: creativity, ingenuity, and self-startedness.

 

What happened to traditional American characteristics?  We grew up learning about the American Dream: the ability to do anything and do well for yourself regardless of where you started socioeconomically.  So you can't find a job.  There are millions like you.  But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be thinking of other ways outside the strictures of the work-get paid-pay bills cycle.  So here is a list of a few ways to earn some extra cash in this rotten economy. 

Don't throw it away if you can make money off it!

When I lived in Worcester, every now and again I would clean out my apartment.  Any old furniture, books, or dvds I didn't think I would want any more, I would just leave at the end of the hall for others to take, which they almost always did.  I was more concerned with getting rid of unwanted things rather than thinking about how to cash in on them.

I'd even throw away my old cell phone once I got a new one.  In hindsight, especially since I was a student at the time, I could have tried to sell them on Amazon or Ebay and made some extra scratch. 

I learned my lesson and began selling things I didn't want any more.  Even yesterday, someone bought my Droid (who needs a Droid when you have a new iPhone 4S?) on Amazon and I netted $74.99.  No, it's not going to make me rich but it's money I didn't have before.  Hmm, $0 if I get rid of it and $74.99 if I sell it.   Tough choice.

There are plenty of things that you probably have around your apartment or house that you might be able to sell.  You may not get a ton of money for it, but if you sell a few dvds and let's say an old phone, you probably have enough money to pay your electric bill for the month. 

This also goes along with my idea of getting rid of that which you don't need.  If you haven't used it and don't plan on using it, sell it and make some cheese. 


Selling, Part 2: Don't use Craigslist

I learned this the hard way.  Initially (a few years ago) people on Craigslist were true to their word.  If you had something they wanted to buy and they set up an appointment with you, they came by.  But nowadays they are so inconsiderate of people's schedules that it is simply a waste of time.  Plus they try to lowball you on what is probably a reasonable price you set.   They're not the nicest people in the world, either.

Selling, Part 3: Consign it!

Consign-It Furniture is a store in Kennett Square, PA that I have used to unload a lot of stuff.  I have made probably close to $1000 with all of the things I have consigned there.  It is true that when you consign something, you are only getting a portion of the profit if it sells (60% in this case), but stores like these have experts there who know what sells and what doesn't (and they'll let you know, believe me). Most importantly, they know how to price the items. 

It's also a great place to find some terrific bargains, as the price of each item decreases 10% each month until the end of your contract, which is for three months.  Do you really have the time or want to spend it trying to sell furniture on CraigsList to people who are just trying to get you to lower your price and throw in something extra?  Are you really going to put an ad in the paper for that old desk you inherited from your grandmother and think it's time to part with?  Doubtful.  Consign it.  You get rid of stuff and you make money.

Be Creative!

In the United States, where is the most money made, if you can do it right?  In my opinion (I have nothing to back this opinion up, but I bet these are some of the top cash cows) it's all about movies and tv, books, or music.  If you have an idea, write about it.  In fact just this morning on the Jason Ellis Show (Sirius Starz

Not everyone is an artist but here's food for thought: do you have an interesting story to tell?  Has anything unique, death defying, ironic, hilarious, etc. ever happened to you?  Write about it!  The US has a ton of contests looking for short fiction.  If you go on Wikipedia, you can see the long list of feature films that were made from short stories and other forms of short fiction including "Apocalypse Now," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Blade Runner," and "Total Recall," just to name a few. 

I'm writing a short novel about a week of events that took place in New York City when I was there one week 5 summers ago.  It's a unique story, it only happened to me, and I've told the story only twice to a few people I am very close to.  Each time, I held the attention of everyone in the room.  They had so many questions and were just utterly shocked at all that had happened.

That being said, I thought why not write about it?  I've seen enough movies and tv shows, and I've read enough books to know (at least I think) what makes a good story so I'm giving it a go.  Again, if you are reading this and want the URL, let me know. 

If you can't get a job, make one up

Back to the idea of the American dream: you can pilot your own life.  I know that sounds more like an infomercial than anything else, but it is true.   Create something for yourself to do.  If you like antiques, spend time doing research and yard sale hopping on the weekend.  How do you know when you'll buy something worth a lot of money from someone who's selling it on the cheap?

Invent a business for yourself involving something you love.  You could do odd jobs on the side--selling things on ebay or Amazon, jobs around the house, and oh yeah.  It doesn't matter.  As long as you're doing something you enjoy and are able to turn a profit, however small, it's worth it. 

Now get out there and be Americans...live the dream.  It's not dead yet.