... never see the cliff until it's too late. *Edit: There's a b-side to this one, it can be found here: Nothing fancy, just some toys I haven't had a chance to play with yet. Also, a chance to put the "A" back into "T&A". That said, if you MUST find some meaning in this image, ponder on this: 1.The cliff is economic, social, and environmental collapse. 2.The elf's golden armour is completely impracticable for fighting monsters, or even for being out in a meadow. Why'd she buy it? who knows? Why do we buy diamond rings, SUVs or quad-core computers? 3.The monster is an economic bailout package (or lackthereof), the sub prime mortgage, the pre-approved credit card, the Christmas SHOPPING season, vegas, greed on the level of avarice! It'll hem us in, lead onto certain courses, self-destructive ones, if we let it... 4.Her sweet sweet ass? Well my friends, that there is socialism. Everyone contributes according to their ability, everyone gets back based on what they contribute. You can't get rich playing shell games with other people's money. Yep, that ass looks pretty good right now... So.. layers within layers. In all seriousness though if you haven't read Das Kapital and the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels I would highly recommend it. As much as they were out to lunch on many things, their theories on the destructive tendencies of capitalism still ring true today, eerily so... Schumpeter wasn't bad either, ditto on Keynes, though in all cases they based their works on the state of affairs they experienced. Even Adam Smith (if people stop to actually read him instead of just revere him as the poster boy of unbridled capitalism) has some important points that still ring true today. While you're at it, go read some Hobbes, Machiavelli, Darwin, Herman and Chomsky, and other products of their time as well. Don't worry, the usual diversions will still be around when you're done. [Comments are always welcome - You probably aren't reading this]