Happy Fourth of July!

It is July Fourth--Independence Day! In celebration of our nation's independence, how about a little Schoolhouse Rocks Fireworks. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Telegraph Line

For today's Monday Schoolhouse Rock, let us send some telegrams via the nervous system. In fact, medical schools have requested this song to give a graphic way on how the nervous system works to their first-year medical students. So let us send some telegrams. Music and lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens. The song is performed by Jaime Aff and Christine Langner. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Energy Blues

This Schoolhouse Rock video seems appropriate enough--considering that oil is now at $116.00 a barrel.

Time to fill up them gas guzzling SUVs!

Music and lyrics are by George R. Newall, the song is performed by Jack Sheldon. From YouTube:



Energy...
Sometimes I think I'm runnin' out of energy
Seems like we use an awful lot for
Heatin' and lightin' and drivin'
Readin' and writin' and jivin'
Energy ... You'd think we'd be savin' it up.

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Busy Prepositions

For today's Monday Schoolhouse Rocks, we've got some Busy Prepositions. This had a very catchy tune with a bunch of soldier ants marching on to give us a prepositional phrase. The animation was especially good with a great use of color and background imagery. Contrast Busy Prepositions, which first aired in 1993, with some of the early 1970s Schoolhouse Rock songs like My Hero Zero or Interjections, which had very simple animation and very little background imagery. You can really see just how far Schoolhouse Rock has come. And whether they were produced in the 1970s or 1990s, they still work in teaching children the basic concepts of mathematics, English grammar, science, and history. Music and lyrics for Busy Prepositions were created by Bob Dorough, while the song was performed by Jack Sheldon and Bob Dorough. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Tyrannosaurus Debt

Here is a great Schoolhouse Rock song for you to munch on--Tyrannosaurus Debt! What is especially ironic is that when the cartoon was made, the U.S. debt was at around $5 trillion dollars. Currently, the U.S. debt is now at over $9.3 trillion dollars--thank you King George The Deciderer and Darth Cheney! And the debt is still growing, as you can see here:

The Gross National Debt:

Music and lyrics are by Tom Yohe. The song is performed by Bob Dorough and Bob Kaliban. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Do The Circulation

Here is a catchy Monday Schoolhouse Rock song to get you up and moving--we're talking Do The Circulation! Music and lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens. The song is performed by Joshie Armstead, Mary Sue Berry, and Maeretha Stewart. From YouTube:



So come on, everybody, get it on, everybody.
Circulation!

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--The Four-Legged Zoo

This is a cute Schoolhouse Rock video which teaches us how to count by fours. And what is a better way to count by fours, than to go to a zoo and look at all the four-legged animals. What makes this Schoolhouse Rock video especially appealing is that Bob Dorough performed the song with a chorus of children. Dorough also wrote the music and lyrics. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rock--Dollars and Sense

For today's Monday Schoolhouse Rocks, it is time to learn about the concepts of interest and loans with Dollars and Sense. Yes, Dollars and Sense teaches you about the concept of interest, and how interest applies with saving money and earning interest on that money, or with taking out loans, and how you pay interest on top of the loan. In the Schoolhouse Rock video, Becky-Sue is going to need "a guitar, an amp, and some quadraphonics. And several hundred dollars' worth of electronics," if she is ever going to make it as country western star. And as simple as the concept is, I thought I would look at the real world situation with "Dollars and Sense." It is not as innocent and simplistic as Becky-Sue learned from her banker.

First, let us look at the interest paid, by the bank, on savings accounts. I'm going to look at four banks here--Bank of America, Citibank, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo. I have chosen these four banks simply because they were the top four banks listed in the Yahoo search. First, I looked at the interest rates being paid on a standard passbook savings accounts for these four banks.

Here are the APY interest rates for standard passbook savings accounts:

Bank of America..........0.20 percent.
Citibank........................0.70 percent.
Wachovia......................0.45 percent for balances between $0.00 to $9,999.00.
Wells Fargo...................0.10 percent.

So in other words, for the entire year that you keep your money into these four banks' standard passbook savings accounts, you will earn between 0.10 to 0.70 percent compounded interest on your money in these accounts. You are basically parking your money into these banks for free. Now I know that the banks also provide some checking plus interest accounts here, but even the APY interest rates here are especially low:

Bank of America............0.05 percent.
Citibank........................0.25 percent average balance of $6,000 across any of these linked Citi accounts.
Wachovia......................0.16 for balances between $0.00 to $7,499.00.
Wells Fargo...................0.05 percent for balances of $500 or more.

And lest I forget, while you are only earning between 0.05 to 0.70 percent interest per year, on any of these passbook savings or interest checking accounts, the annual rate of inflation in the United States in 2007 was 2.85 percent. If you had parked your money in any of these interest-bearing savings or passbook accounts, you would have lost 2.85 percent of the value of your money in these accounts due to price increases in 2007. The interest you earned in these savings or interest-checking accounts for the 2007 year were pretty much wiped out by the inflation rate.

Becky-Sue will never become a country-western star today, just on the interest savings of her passbook account.

So where are you going to find a savings rate in a bank account that is above the rate of inflation? How about a Certificate of Deposit? Here are the APY rates for a one-year CD:

Bank of America............3.10 percent, 9-month CD, minimum $5,000 deposit.
Citibank.........................2.40 percent, 12-month CD, minimum $500 opening deposit.
Wachovia......................1.90 percent, 12-month CD, $1,000 to $9,999 deposit.
Wells Fargo...................2.0 percent, 12-month CD, minimum deposit 2,500.

What surprises me here is that Bank of America has the best rate for a CD here--3.1 percent APY for a 9-month CD. Bank of America did not offer a 12-month certificate of Deposit. But aside from Bank of America, a 12-month CD return for the three other banks are still possibly below the rate of inflation, if the inflation rate stays at the 2007 level of 2.85 percent. You are never going to get ahead putting money into any bank savings or CD account. The banks are paying you crap for using your money for free.

So let us look at the other end of Dollars and Sense. Instead of putting your money away at the bank to save up for your music equipment to become the next Dolly Parton, you can always get a loan to purchase your equipment now, and pay the bank back later. Now here is the fun part about loans. The banks offer all sorts of loans--home loans, auto loans, business loans, personal loans. You can go crazy just looking through all the different interest rates, fees, loan balances and such. So in keeping with the spirit of Becky-Sue getting her several hundred dollars worth of electronics, so she could become the country music star in Dollars and Sense, I'm just going to look at the personal loans, and what the APR interest rates are for the banks:

Bank of America............8.99 percent APR, $10,000 borrowed, 60-month term, $216 per month.
Citibank........................10.55 percent to 25.99 percent APR with up to $10,000 borrowed.
Wachovia......................No information available.
Wells Fargo...................14.36 percent APR, $10,000 borrowed, 60-month term, $234.55 per month.

Well, the banks are paying anywhere between 9 percent to 14 percent APR for a $10,000 dollar loan for a period of 5 years. The monthly payments are ranging between $216.00 to $235.00 per month. They are charging about 3-5 times as much in interest on their personal loans as they are paying interest on their CDs. That is a pretty hefty interest payment Becky-Sue is making on her electronics loan--especially compared to the pittance the banks are charging on their savings accounts, let alone their CDs. And remember, this is just for the personal loans here--I won't even go into their credit card APRs, which you can find here for Bank of America, Citibank, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo. I know that banks are out to make a profit, but comparing the difference between what the banks are paying in interest to savings accounts, and what they are charging for loans (and even credit cards), I have to wonder if the banks are out to completely screw the customer here. Or was I just too naive in believing the simplistic explanation of interest and loans from this Schoolhouse Rock video? Either way, it doesn't matter. The banks have already screwed us. For now, let us enjoy the reminiscing of our childhood with this great Schoolhouse Rock song. Music and lyrics are by Dave Frishberg. The song was performed by Val Hawk and Bob Dorough. From YouTube:



Are you sure Dolly Parton started this way?

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Where the Money Goes

This is a fun little Schoolhouse Rock cartoon, titled Where the Money Goes. This was part of the Money Rock series on paying our bills. Music and lyrics are by Rich Mendoza. Performed by Jack Sheldon. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Victim of Gravity

Today we are all victims. Yes, we are all victims--of gravity! According to Sir Issac Newton's Law of Gravity, every object in the universe exerts force on every other object. The bigger the object, the stronger the pull. But the greater the distance between the objects, the weaker the pull becomes. Consider this Schoolhouse Rock video Victim of Gravity, as it shows how we end up falling down, rather than falling up. Music and lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens, while the song is performed by The Tokens. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--$7.50 Once a Week

How about some allowance--$7.50 Once a Week! This is a fun Schoolhouse Rock video about budgeting your money. Music, lyrics, and performance is by Dave Frishberg. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Walkin' on Wall Street

I've been watching some of the economic stories coming out of the mainstream media here, over the past three days. We've got Wall Street looking out for signs of recession, while the Nation’s jobless rate hits 5 percent. President Bush says financial markets ‘strong, solid,’ but the Dow, S&P close up, Nasdaq ends day down. In other words, there is a lot of economic uncertainty to start off on this new year.

And with all this economic uncertainty, I though it would be fun to bring out that Schoolhouse Rock classic--Walkin' on Wall Street. Maybe I'm just getting a little too cynical to compare the economic problems this country is facing with this Wall Street rah-rah "educational" cartoon. Music, lyrics, and performance is by Dave Frishberg. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Lucky Seven Sampson

This is just a fun Schoolhouse Rock song--Lucky Seven Sampson. Music, lyrics and performance is by Bob Dorough. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--The Body Machine

For today's Monday Schoolhouse Rocks, let's take a little trip into The Body Machine, where we can learn just what happens to all that turkey and stuffing we'll be eating on Thanksgiving. Music and lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens, while the song is performed by Bob Dorough and Jack Sheldon. From YouTube:



For your high-powered, revved-up body machine.

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla

For this morning's Monday Schoolhouse Rocks, I thought it would be important to instruct the class in the importance of pronouns. I mean--how many times can you say Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla, before you get worn down? Music is by Bob Dorough, lyrics are by Kathy Mandary, and the song is performed by Jack Sheldon. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Them-Not-So-Dry-Bones

In celebration of Halloween, I think it is only appropriate that we learn about Them-Not-So-Dry-Bones. I mean, look at all the skeleton costumes and decorations in haunted houses we come across on that spooky day? Music and lyrics are by George Newall, and the song is performed by Jack Sheldon. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Little Twelvetoes

This Monday Schoolhouse Rocks song will certainly make your head spin. Say hello to Little Twelvetoes, or the duodecimal (base-12) numbering system. The duodecimal system is a numeral system that uses the number 12 as its base, rather than the decimal (base-10) numbering system that we use all the time. I'll admit that the duodecimal system can get a little complicated here, but this Schoolhouse Rock song does give you a little introduction to this numbering system. And the song is pretty cool. Music, lyrics and performance is by Bob Dorough. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--The Greatest Show on Earth!

For today's somewhat late Monday Schoolhouse Rocks, I thought it would be appropriate to show The Greatest Show on Earth in honor of Al Gore's winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on global warming. This is an especially interesting Schoolhouse Rock video, since it was rarely shown on ABC. According to Wikipedia, ABC stopped showing The Greatest Show on Earth after Ringling Bros. Barnum & Baily Circus filed a lawsuit against ABC due to trademark infringement since Ringling Bros. had trademarked the phrase, "the Greatest Show on Earth. On the 30th anniversary DVD set, ABC provided both the edited version of the cartoon, which removed the offending phrase, and the unedited version. So here is the Greatest Show on Earth. Music and lyrics are by Lynn Ahrens, and the song is performed by Bob Kaliban. From YouTube:

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Sufferin' Till Suffrage

Let's talk about Sufferin' Till Suffrage! This is a great Schoolhouse Rock song providing the lesson of how women recieved the right to vote in the United States. Music is by Bob Dorough, lyrics are by Tom Yohe, and the song was performed by Essra Mohawk. The one question I do have about this video is how dizzy did the rock, votin' Essra Mohawk get while performing her song? From YouTube:



Yes the 19th Amendment
Struck down that restrictive rule.
Since 1920...
Sisters, unite!
Vote on!

Monday Schoolhouse Rocks--Nouns

This Monday Schoolhouse Rocks video is just pure, classic nostalgia. A noun is a person, place or thing. I'm sure you can hum this tune, or perhaps even sing the entire song. Music, lyrics, and performance is by Lynn Ahrens. From YouTube:



A noun's a special kind of word,
It's any name you ever heard,
I find it quite interesting,
A noun's a person, place, or thing.

A noun is a person, place or thing.