A Wonderful Christmas in a Strange and Unusual Year

Merry Christmas!  I hope all of you are doing well and that your celebrations  were filled with happiness, laughter, and good food! For our part, this year marked the 20th Christmas that Aaron and I have spent together.  Like every one of those other Christmases, it was one of the best days of my life (despite the unusual circumstances and challenges this year has brought).  We decided that with the world feeling so uncertain, and the need to remain socially distanced from others, it would be the perfect opportunity to stay home, wear knitted sweaters and jeans, and enjoy a classic early-to-mid twentieth century dinner; pure, old-school comfort food that envoked a sense of warmth and safety, friends and family, prosperity and peace.  

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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim “Ultimate Vinyl Edition” 4 LP Box Set “Sweet Roll” Variant by SpaceLab9

We recently discovered that in 2017, the SpaceLab9 booth at New York Comic Con sold an extremely limited edition Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Ultimate Vinyl collection etched to look like the famous sweet rolls from the game. The collection, which was limited to only 95 copies, contains the full 52-tracks found in the game. The moment we learned it existed, we knew we had to have it. After some searching, in June 2020 we were able to track down one of those boxed sets. We immediately bought it for our music collection.

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Thinking About Investing and the Economy Post-Pandemic

Keeping an eye on numerous individual companies, as well as a broad array of economic data, I am far more optimistic about the next ten years than I was this time last month. Yes, there will still be challenges, but it looks like much of the worst-case scenario has been averted. Now, it’s about navigating the problems we will encounter due to the specific policy decisions made in the midst of the pandemic.

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Music Recommendation: Kill the Lights – Alex Newell & DJ Cassidy with Nile Rodgers

Several incredibly talented people collaborated on a disco-style track called “Kill the Lights” that Aaron and I have been listening to on endless repeat.  The build-up to the chorus and explosion of happiness is great, especially when the volume is turned up, the sun is shining, and you’re getting stuff done.  You can’t help but dance.  It’s probably going to be the song we remember most from Spring 2020 (even thought it was released several years ago and just flew below our radar). There is just so much joy in it.

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There Will Not Be a Coronavirus Vaccine Before Society Largely Reopens

Over the past few weeks, an interesting, and rather dramatic, development has occurred: A good minority of the population, often those in possession of what they deem to be stable incomes and sufficient savings, or who are otherwise cradled by some sort of safety net so they need not worry about homelessness and destitution, have moved the goalposts of the lockdowns from “flatten the curve to buy time for the hospital system to deal with a dramatic rise in patient loads” to “shelter-in-place until a vaccine is developed so this thing doesn’t spread.” The latter is predicated upon a fundamental misunderstanding that ignores the scientific reality of what we are facing.  Looking at subsequent developments in the pandemic, it’s time to face facts based upon all available presently-known factors.

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Kennon-Green & Co. Fiduciary Financial Advisor, Wealth Management, Global Value Investing