The move marks Washington's most dramatic attempt yet to shore up the nation's housing market, which is suffering from record foreclosures and falling prices.

The sweeping plan, announced by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, places the two companies into a "conservatorship" to be overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Under conservatorship, the government would temporarily run Fannie and Freddie until they are on stronger footing.

"A failure [of Fannie and Freddie] would affect the ability of Americans to get home loans, auto loans and other consumer credit and business finance," Paulson said at a press conference in Washington. "And a failure would be harmful to economic growth and job creation."

Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) and Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500), which were created by the U.S. government, have been badly hurt in the last year by the sharp decline in home prices and the rise in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, racking up about $12 billion in losses.

On Sunday, officials stressed that both Fannie and Freddie will be open for business on Monday morning, although the firms will have undergone a dramatic facelift.

Freddie CEO Richard Syron and Fannie CEO Daniel Mudd will no longer run the agencies, while the FHFA will assume control of the boards of both companies. Regulators took care not to foist blame on the two men, adding that they would remain with the firms to help with the transition.

Syron and Mudd will be replaced by two finance veterans charged with restoring the mortgage titans to health. Herb Allison, the former chairman and CEO of pension provider TIAA-CREF, will head Fannie Mae. Allison formerly served as president of Merrill Lynch.

David Moffett, who served as vice chairman and chief financial officer of U.S. Bancorp until early 2007 and then joined the Carlyle Group private-equity firm as a senior advisor, will take over Freddie Mac.

At the same time, dividends on both common and preferred shares will be eliminated in an effort to conserve about $2 billion annually. All of the firms' lobbying and political activities will be halted immediately and charitable activities reviewed.

In addition, the Treasury Department announced a series of moves targeted at providing relief to both housing and financial markets.

Paulson said Treasury would boost mortgages by purchasing mortgage-backed securities from Freddie and Fannie, as well as offering to lend money to the companies and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks. The home loan banks advance funds to more than 8,000 member banks. (Read what Paulson said)

The Treasury, with fellow regulator FHFA, will also buy preferred stock in Fannie and Freddie to provide security to the companies' debt holders and bolster housing finance.

Sunday's decision culminates weeks of meetings and analysis by top federal regulators and management teams assessing the health of the companies.

"We examined all options available, and determined that this comprehensive and complementary set of actions best meets our three objectives of market stability, mortgage availability and taxpayer protection," Paulson said.

The two firms buy loans, attach a guarantee, then sell securities backed by the loans' income stream. All told, they own or back $5.4 trillion worth of home debt - half the mortgage debt in the country.

At the same time, Fannie and Freddie have become virtually the only source of funding for banks and other home lenders looking to make home loans. Their ability to do so is crucial to the recovery of the battered home market and the broader U.S. economy.

In mid-July, the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve announced steps in to make funds available to the firms if necessary and Congress approved the sweeping proposals later that month.

Shares of both companies are down more than 80% so far this year.

The cost of the government intervention remains unclear. Experts argue that it will depend in large part on the structure of the rescue, the direction of home prices and mortgage default rates.

Still it seems almost certain it will run into the billions and will most likely eclipse such other high-profile government bailouts including than the Federal Reserve's $29 billion backing of Bear Stearns assets when it was taken over by J.P. Morgan Chase.

In his remarks, Paulson said that the cost to taxpayers would largely depend on how Freddie and Fannie perform.

Another unintended yet unavoidable consequence may be the impact to the nation's banks.

Some of the nation's largest financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Sovereign Bancorp (SOV, Fortune 500) own a big chunk of the estimated $36 billion in preferred shares of Fannie and Freddie, which are at risk of being wiped out should Fannie and Freddie do end up getting a cash infusion from the Treasury Department. 

To find out exactly who Freddy is, check out the first post of the series here.

To see all of the posts, click the link in the bar to the right.

24.) "Do you know that this is Grandpa? He told Freddy that it was too cold for him to help deliver the papers."

25.) "Freddy said 'I can draw a picture.' Look what he drew. Do you like to draw?"

26.) "Andy came over to play with Freddy. He let Freddy wear his fireman hat. Freddy will let him sit in his chair next."

27.) "Grandpa and Freddy think it is funny for Freddy to put Grandma's bra on his head."

"Tudo bem que eu não estava na minha melhor noite, mas pelo menos eu marquei! Se não me quiserem por aqui, tenho certeza de que muitos outros clubes vão adorar contar com minha técnica", bradou o atleta. Por causa dessa declaração, a reportagem foi atrás do presidente sosaitchiano, Rob, que admitiu estar negociando Freddy. "O São Paulo está em busca de um jogador para se reforçar para a Libertadores. E parece que, por causa do cabelo, eles confundiram o Freddy com um argentino", avaliou.

Apesar disso, a diretoria do Sosaitch acredita que conseguirá mantê-lo no elenco. Mas André, vice-presidente, fez uma ressalva. "Se ele ficar com mais um bum-bum-bum, vai ser difícil segurá-lo. Para vocês terem uma idéia, ele começou um tratamento psicológico após a nomeação de bum-bum-bum", admitiu.

Nós esperamos que Freddy se recupere do baque e que, na próxima semana, volte a jogar o futebol que lhe rendeu o título de "O Filho do Vento".

If I constantly recorded conversation in my group, I could have a mighty impressive record for HR. I can’t give you any examples; sorry. I can, however, give you a mild conversation that I got a kick out of, between Freddy and the Boss.

Boss: I wear underwears, too… in case you’re interested… and deodorant.

Freddy: Why?

Boss: It’s company policy.

I knew there was a reason our company policy was so specific, but I also know people who either need new deodorant or who are deliberately breaking rules. And, of course, they work in IT.

He listed off some chores, taking the wife’s car to the shop, not much else.

McJosh said he’d be playing with his kids.

Freddy mentioned the he doesn’t really like to make plans.

I waited patiently for them to all take their turns and then ask me what I was up to.

I kept waiting.

I’m still waiting.

I’m just going to tell myself that they never asked because they didn’t want to be JEALOUS.

Seriously. My weekend was a bit jam packed.

LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT IT.

Friday night, I enjoyed a delectable dinner of macaroni and cheese with hot dogs. Yum. Then I convinced Mern not to take a nap and instead go to an Olympus High School football game with me. Really. Just because I didn’t go to football games when I attended East High School doesn’t mean I don’t want to go to a former rival high school’s football game nearly 10 years after graduating. (I’m not old; I’m experienced.)

We went to watch our nieces who were performing with a drill team camp at half time. Little Jane, the three-year-old, stole the show. Her t-shirt was nearly the same size as her, her hair just barely fit into pig-tails and she was the best little hip shaker on the field. Annie and Emma did a great job, too, of course.

We left after the show (before the football game finished) and then I stalled by taking Mern to buy kitty treats at Dan’s because I REALLY needed to get them NOW. By the time I returned Mern home, all the lights were off and she noticed a few little heads peeking out the window. We walked in and the kids yelled, “Surprise!” They were so excited to be in on the secret. Especially Abe and Jane who previously only knew that they were going to have a sleep over… SOME WHERE.

The rest of the surprise birthday sleep over went as follows: pizza, decorating cup cakes, laughing in the front room, watching All Dogs Go To Heaven, almost sleeping, waking up to a sick Jane, not particularly enjoying the mattress that I slept on, and eating McDonald’s breakfast with ibuprofen.

When I got home, I really considered taking a nap before remembering how much I hate waking up – if I fall asleep now, I might not want to get up and clean up (myself and my home) before the swimming party / pot luck.

So I managed to stay awake by cleaning the kitchen. We’re talking about really cleaning here, too. Spraying the sink and counters down with Lysol, letting it soak, and scrubbing it clean; vacuuming then mopping the floor; wiping down the stovetop and microwave; cleaning the dishes and loading the dishwasher. I also cleaned the laundry room which mostly meant sweeping up kitty litter that those darn cats had tracked out of the box. Now I can walk barefoot in there again.

Eventually, I got my place cleaned up, cleaned up myself then went to the store to pick up food. That’s a lot of getting up when I really just wanted to lie down.

Before long, the party was happening at my place when Bean and her little cutey, Adie came over. We, of course, played with Pogi and Adie got the giggles playing fetch while Bean was changing into her swimsuit in the bathroom. Just as we were finished getting ready to go out to the pool, Kow, J and their three little girls pulled up. Yes, it’s true, internet. I like to hang out with married people and their kids. We had a fabulous time.

After swimming, we chowed down on sandwiches—croissants from Costco are delightful. Then my fabulous friends helped clean up and we sent Bean and Adie on their way. Kow, J, the girls and I then went for a little ride over to Iceberg for shakes, which we ate in my parking lot while waiting for Nettie and Dave to stop by and say hi. Eventually, all of the married people left and Joel-in-the-box came over to finish my shake. Have you seen the size of the ‘mini’ shakes? Trying to describe it with the word “huge” would be an understatement.

I then made Joel-in-the-box come with me to my indoor soccer game (at 11:10 p.m.) where I scored a couple of goals in the first half and therefore assigned myself to play defense in the second half. Yes, I scored in defense, too from just over the half line. I think the goalie was trying to guard a player instead of his goal. After soccer, we finished off the evening watching the US men bring home the gold in basketball.

Okay, are you still with me? We’re on to Sunday now. I’ll make this day short: breakfast at Mern’s, church where two people talked to me (I sort of gave up making an effort anymore), dinner at the parents’, birthday cake and presents, then home to feed the cats and water the plants.

So there you go, internet. That was my weekend.

Anyways, back to the Nightmare on Elm Street series. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: Dream Master is the next movie in the series. Kristen (played by Tuesday Knight this time), Joey, and Kincaid, have been released from the mental hospital and are now living normal lives and attending high school. Kristen has managed to make some new friends: Alice, who is a bright, young girl and frequent daydreamer; Sheila, a brainy, quiet girl with asthma; and Debbie, a tough girl who hates bugs for some reason. She has also found herself a boyfriend, Rick, who happens to be Alice's brother and is extremely obnoxious and knows karate. Kristen begins to have bad dreams and feels as though Freddy has once again come back from the dead. She then pulls Kincaid and Joey into her dream, which then leads to their deaths and Kristen's. Freddy is back! Right before Kristen dies, some how she sends her power to pull people into dreams to Alice. Then Alice's friends begin the be picked off one by one. The only cool deaths in this one are when Sheila gets all her insides sucked out and when Debbie is turned into a bug. Alice somehow figures out that this rhyme called "The Dream Master" will destroy Freddy by making him see the true evil inside him and set the souls free. At the end, Alice and Dan (now her boyfriend) are by a pond and Alice makes a wish. As they walk away Freddy's image appears in the ripples left in the fountain from the tossed coin.

This film isn't as good as 1 and 3, but is better than 2. Freddy is getting more campy and comical, but its still gruesome and funny. Most of the new characters this time aren't great, but i like the character Alice and i was glad her lame brother dies. The next film, Nightmare on Elm Street 5: Dream Child, takes place a year later as Alice and Dan are graduating high school. Alice is starting to have nightmares again, but of an asylum and she see's Amanda Krueger being locked in a room full of maniacs. She then sees Amanda giving birth on a table.  The baby breaks free from the doctors and escapes the room. Alice follows it into the same church Alice had defeated Freddy in before. Before she can stop him, the baby finds Freddy's clothes and quickly grows into an adult. Amanda shows up to help Alice, but she's disrupted when Freddy slams the church doors closed on her. Freddy's back again. Dan is on the road and falls asleep and in his sleep Freddy kills him. Alice then finds out she is pregnant with Dan's baby, but little does she know that Freddy is using her unborn baby's dreams to get into here friends dreams. Alice sees here unborn child (at like age 7) in here dreams and he helps her defeat Freddy. This one is to me the worst of the series and i do not really want to discuss it any more. 

Now onto Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare...which like this blog, isn't really the last in this series. Freddy Krueger has somehow returned again and has been successful in killing almost all of the Elm Street kids in Springwood. Only one survivor remains, John Doe, a boy who Freddy use's to track down his child. Freddy drops John off at a place for troubled teens where he meets some new friends and a doctor named Maggie. To find out more on John, Maggie takes him to Springwood, not knowing the other 3 kids are in the van too. Once there we find out that Freddy had a daughter back when he was alive. That daughter just so happens so be Maggie. Everyone is killed in Springwood except Maggie and this other girl Tacy. They go back to the shelter and run in to Doc, who is the only one who remembers anything because he figured out how to control his dreams. Doc tells Maggie that he found out in his dream that Freddy is using her to get to another town to kill more teens. Doc also discovers Freddy's power comes from the dream demons who continually revive him, and that Freddy can be killed if he's pulled into the real world. Maggie decides to get dear old dad and goes into dream world with 3D glasses on. The next 10 min. of the movie are actually in 3D and it is pretty sweet, especially any scene with pointy objects, Freddy's glove, and the dream demons. Maggie pulls Freddy into the real world and they have a fist fight. She then stabs him with his own glove and sticks a pipe bomb in him as she says "Happy Fathers Day" and Freddy says "Kids...". As Maggie escapes the explosion she says "Freddy's Dead!" The movie ends and they show a montage of all the deaths through out the film series history. 

Though we now think he is dead after 7 years of killing (1984-1991), we are dead wrong. Three years later Wes Craven returns to his original creation for, what might be the best film in the series. And after that, Freddy faces off against another horror icon....Jason! BoombaSnake out!!

Three years, four months and 11 days ago, I started working at my current company as a prodigious, exceptional secretary. (And you thought we didn’t use that term as a job title anymore.) It was then that I had to depend on Diet Coke breaks with Janet to get my scoop on what was going on in the mighty IT groups for whom I was only doing their filing. She hinted at all of the humorous, bordering-on-reporting-to-HR activities in her group. One of these activities happened to be simply updating a word document with sayings from one particular team member. They called them Fredisms.

I am now in the Fredism group; nice (four positions in three years is how Larrie climbs the corporate ladder). And even though Janet has left me to take Diet Coke breaks on my own, the word document continues to get updated. After our meeting today, one more Fredism was added to the list:

“If you’re unscrewed, good for you.”

Wouldn’t you like a taste of a few more Fredisms? Here are some highlights from that cherished document—enjoy:

• I remembered to forget.
• Maybe Yes. Maybe Know.
• If a tree falls in the forest and you’re not there, will it fall on you?
• If you don’t drink, the memory of knowing things sucks.
• The ball is now in her arena.
• He is a giant Midget.
• We want to be as professional as possible. In our head, we have things.
• MaWoman (referring to a hermaphrodite)
• It used to could. It’s no longer coulding.
• You say but why?
• Me and God talk all the time.
• You should listen to me; I am like a God.
• I am attending your school of lazy.
• The difference is the same.

Last time I mainly talked about the first movie and how I think that Freddy is one of the greatest villains ever. I also forgot to mention that the first Nightmare was Johnny Depp's first movie. Well now I would like to go into my thoughts on the sequel and the upcoming remake of this movie. As these movies went on they did get very campy (with the exception of New Nightmare and maybe Nightmare Part 5), but they still had very inventive death scenes and you learned more about Freddy's past. At the end of the first movie Nancy realizes that she cam bring Freddy through to the real world by holding onto him as she wakes up. She does this and shows him that she is not afraid which drains his power and "kills him." The next morning we assume everything was a dream until Freddy posses the car she is in and her mom is pulled through a window by a claw.

Now the second movie takes place 5 years after the events of the first one and we are ntroduced to Jesse who has moved into Nancy's old house. This is the only movie in the series that doesn't afterwards because they pretty much act like it almost never happened. Granted this movie is kind of lame and might be my least favorite in the series, but it had some good things about it too. The scene where Freddy comes out of Jesse is an amazing and extremely scary sequence, the way he just starts bursting out of his body is nuts. But the one thing i hate about this film is that nothing really happens in anyones nightmares, just Jesse's. Freddy only uses Jesse to get to the other kids, and I don't understand how at the end when Freddy attacks at the pool party, just how he was now scene in the real world but had like supernatural powers still. I mean i understand he used Jesse, but it was not explained well. Also, the way the "kill" Freddy in this one is just blah and I won't even explain it.

Next, we have Nightmare Part 3: Dream Warriors, which features an "awesome" them song by Dokken with the song title the same as the movie. I highly suggest looking the music video up on YouTube, it's very funny. Anyways, we kind of get back in the whole nightmare groove again when were introduced to Kristen, who sees the house from the first 2 movies in her dreams and freaks out. This movie also takes place 6 years after the original. She is then taken to some sort of mental institute, after a nightmare she has where her wrists a slit, where there are kids with similar dreams being kept there. Here we also are re-introduced to Nancy from the first movie. Anyways, I enjoyed all of the characters in this movie and thought the concept was really cool how they could connect there dreams and battle Freddy there with these "powers" they had only in there dreams. It gets corny when the one doctor (who's name I don't feel like looking up) and Nancy's dad are burying Freddy's bones and then his skeleton comes alive, but granted the effects aren't the best due to the time period. The other kids who join Kristen to fight Freddy are Joey, Kincaid, Jennifer, Will, Philip, and Taryn. Also, the character Kincaid seemed to me like a fat (maybe straight) version of Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds, but maybe thats just me. Anyways, inside the dreamworld Nancy dies, but soon after the doctor buries Freddy's bones and throws holy water on them, which burns Freddy and bright light pours out from within his body. The doctor takes a crucifix from his pocket and places it on the skull. A cross shape is burned into Freddy's head, killing him.At the end, the doctor falls asleep with a toy of Nancy's house next to his head, and the lights suddenly come on in it, just before the credits roll.

Nightmare part 3 also has one of my favorite Freddy lines. It is when he kills Jennifer and right before he smashes her head into the TV he says "Welcome to prime-time bitch!" Alright, I need some sleep, hopefully I will finish the whole Nightmare series next post, since the others wont be so in-depth. BoombaSnake out!

To find out exactly who Freddy is, check out the first post of the series here.

To see all of the posts, click the link in the bar to the right.

21.) " 'Merry Christmas to everyone!' says Freddy. He wonders what is in the pretty box. Do you know?"

22.) "Grandpa and Freddy made a snowman. Do you think he looks like Grandpa? Freddy is so tired."

23.) "Freddy likes to play hide and seek when it is too cold to play outside. Look! Grandpa found him. 'There you are.' "

I was really excited to hear that the hits "Leave" and "Too Little Too Late" singer will be bringing out a single very soon and her album entitled "All I Want Is Everything" will be released early 2009. So there's the information for you, right there, all those that thought JoJo was dead just 'cause she ain't been on the scene for some while.

But anyway, i was even more excited, shocked and surprised to find that she's now dating band member, Jeremiah Mcconico. She's only been out of a relation with footballer, Freddy Adu, who she claimed to have been her first real love, for nearly a year now?

Surprising considering she claimed that she was broken up about the separation. And some people may be saying right now, "It could just be a rumour. Most celebrity dating stories are a rumour, right?". Well, here's the proof ;):

[gallery]

For anyone who doesn't know what the series is about, I'll give you a little plot synopsis. The franchise is based on the fictional character of Freddy Krueger, who wears a glove with knives on it and stalks and kills teenagers in their dreams; if Freddy kills the teenager in the dream world then they are ultimately killed in the real world. His motives were to seek revenge on their parents, who had burned him alive years before the events of the first Nightmare film. The first movie came out in 1984 and was created by Wes Craven. After the success of the first movie came 6 sequels (not including Freddy vs Jason); even though the movies got campier as they went on, they still had some god things about them. This film series can also be credited to the rise of New Line Films. Also, if you need some help remembering things about this movie or want to know more about it check out the Wikipedia page on the film, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_nightmare_on_elm_street. 

A Nightmare on Elm Street is easily one of my favorite horror movies ever. This is a movie i still get kind of scared from, the fact that you could go to sleep and then die in your dreams is one of the craziest things ever. I learned that Wes Craven actually came up with the idea from some true stories of a small group of kids in India not wanting to sleep do to fear of dying in there sleep and once they did they died. Most slasher movies at the time were just here is a guy who is going to kill people with a knife and I am not trying to knock Jason, Leatherface, or Michael Myers, but Freddy's style of killing is so unique. The deaths in the first film are so creative and unlike anything done before it's time. I remember seeing this when i was younger being so freaked out seeing Tina being dragged across the walls and ceiling. Something else that also scared me shitless was Freddy's look. Wow for the budget they had, the make-up effects on Freddy were amazing.

Speaking of Freddy, he is easily my favorite villain from any movie ever. He is a cocky, sadistic asshole who just doesn't care what anyone tries to do to him because he will just find some way to come back and kill some more. Whether its in their nightmares, coming out through someone else's body, or even using an unborn babies dreams, the man just doesn't give up. He is pure evil; I'd say even more evil that Pinhead and the Cenobites from Hellraiser, which is another film I'm sure I will discuss sometime on here. Also, Freddy's look is almost just as iconic as his habits. The glove, the sweater, the hat, and his nasty burnt skin, they are all so recognizable. I also love how Freddy loves to crack jokes and be goofy while killing his prey. Even though some of the jokes got cornier, they were still amazing and the way he killed was like no other.

Ok, enough about Freddy for now, I need to get some sleep. The next post will be a little more on the Nightmare series. BoombaSnake out!

The compulsion I experienced to enter into this intellectual dialogue was powerful beyond my ability to resist, but to parry these eloquently articulated, meticulously formulated opinions, I was forced to mount, with the aid of my younger brother, a two-pronged attack of sorts.

Will the inevitable Chinatown remake be produced by Michael Bay as this film is? I don't know, but what I do know is: franchise. 

- Gothicus Maximus

Ce dont je me fout moins, c'est les absurdités autour de cette histoire. Un groupe, Montréal-Nord Républik (bravo, vous avez rendu le nom de votre groupe beaucoup plus beau grâce à la terminaison) réclame la démission du maire de l'arrondissement. La réaction du maire a du bien être spéciale...

Selon LCN, "Le groupe réclame aussi une enquête publique et transparente sur la mort du jeune Fredy Villanueva et la fin des pratiques abusives des policiers." Moi, je réclame l'arrêt de la médiatisation de cette histoire jusqu'au résultat de l'enquête.

Vous avez probablement déjà entendu des blagues racistes de noirs qui volent des télévisions (si non, vous avez des amis très politiquement corrects). LCN, le poste de télévision que j'écoute le plus et que je devrais écouter le moins pour écouter RDI ou quelque chose de plus respectable et avec moins de conneries, a montré des images de l'émeute. On pouvait voir plusieurs noirs (et des blancs) voler des commerces. Deux courraient avec des télévisions... Belle manière de penser : "Une personne de notre communauté est morte, je vais aller faire une manifestation et voler une télévision". Ceux-là, c'est des vrais cons et j'espère juste que ceux qui parlent aux médias et qui font des déclarations publiques n'ont rien à se reprocher lors de la manifestation.

Dans la même histoire, la famille demande l'aide de la communauté pour payer les frais des funérailles. Bien oui, c'est publique notre malheur, pourquoi pas demander de l'argent à tout le monde quant à y être. Et puis, quant à faire, on laisse faire le deuil dans la tranquillité, on parlera aux médias le plus possible pour avoir toute l'attention qu'on désire. Le frère de la victime a donné un entrevue à LCN, le poste que je dois arrêter de regarder prochainement, où on pouvait voir qu'il possédait des bagues de valeurs. Ça a pas l'air d'une famille pauvre, en tout cas.

Ça m'a l'air d'une histoire de marde où on n'apprendra jamais la vérité sur l'honnêteté de la population, de la famille, de la police... J'm'en fout de l'inconnu. Parler de ça et grossir l'histoire à ce point, c'est aussi ridicule que si on parlerait de la conspiration qui prédit une fin du monde le 21 décembre 2012. J'y reviendrais...