Left of the Dial micro review

This is a documentary about the first year of Air America Radio, now playing on HBO. I liked it. It tells a simple, tight story.

At first it's a study in igriness with a focus on technical screwups and prima-donna explosions. But then a Great Crisis (investors pulling out and checks bouncing after two weeks of airtime) brings everyone together, and the station manages somehow to survive... right into the crushing blow of the November election. But it comes out of that even stronger, more galvanized! And there they are today.

My favorite thing is the clear development of comedian Mark Riley's role with the station. At first, in the weeks of preparation prior to the station's actual launch he's depicted as a no-confidence drama queen who has to be continually talked off the ledge by a station manager. A clear transformation takes him once he actually experiences the thrill of airtime, though, and by the end he is clearly committed heart and soul to the project. Not sure how much of this is the result of selective editing, but it's a great story either way.

Confused about IRAs

My bank is being zzz-slow getting back to me with a time-sensitive question I have about IRAs, so I thought I'd turn to LazyWeb.

( If you've got more financial knowledge than me (not saying much) and a minute to spare I could use some halp )

(no subject)

Thanks to magid, leighjen and poeticserenity for the IRA info & clarifications.

After confirming that the it doesn't affect what I owe either way, I've decided to just punt and not claim any 2004 contributions. I have started looking into some more interesting things to put into my IRA instead (for one thing, rolling the traditional CD, which matured a while ago, into my Roth account). Given what I hope to be doing soon, it's probably good to learn more about finances again, anyway.

This let me finish my filing... flusssh. I really love TurboTax's Web app. I'm sure I'll lean even harder on it next year.