She enlightened me. She made me laugh. Her writing expressed a powerful spirit, a powerful mind. Like all the great ones, she can't be replaced--only missed and mourned.
Extremely sad news, she was simply the best and shall live on in the memory of everyone who has ever visited here. So increadibly sad to go so soon. Sweet dreams princess of mortgages, may you dwell with the angels for ever more.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre,
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity....
I've heard it said that every interaction with another person is an opportunity to learn or to teach. As a willing pupil, I have learned much coming to this blog. I am glad to hear that writing for this blog was an enjoyable experience for her.
Her life and writings were gifts and I am sorry to her that she has passed away. She will be missed.
Very unfortunate. A great loss to her family, the CR community, and the whole nation, which definitely needs a lot more people with her blend of financial acumen, honesty, and humor right now. Condolences.
I am relative new to CR (suggested to me by a blogger in South America)...but...I wish instead of Tanta being gone, that not a few Wall Street bastards would have been called by the real Cerberus's master.
My condolences to her family; Tanta was a wonderful teacher, and I will miss the tutelage, but she will leave a bigger hole their lives. Very sad news, I too had hoped it was only a temporary absence.
what a loss. She was a brilliant writer and analyst. I was looking for information on "fianacial toxic waste" when I stumbled on this blog and her post on the subject. I was concerned about what I was seeing and her explanation properly scared the hell out of me. Rest in peace blessed counselor.
We as a community are worse off for the passing of a luminary such as Tanta. Those of us in her line of work were enriched for the wisdom and insight she passed along with her wit. I've searched for good material, that is, the musings of a clear and hardworking mind, on other blogs but found what I was looking for here.
My sincerest hope for her and her family is that wherever she may be, she's all prime now! (that, and perhaps a funky pixellated pig is flying around somewhere confounding Cerberus).
I'm very sorry to hear this. This is the second time one of my favorite bloggers has gone down prematurely. Steve Gilliard went down at a young age too.
This is just horrible. Tanta was such a vital force on this blog, and -- you could tell -- in "real life." I'm very saddened to hear this. Her writing just jumped off the screen at times, with both sharp edges and warm humor.
Steel-toed bunny slippers sums up my image of Tanta.
My condolences to her family, CR, and all affected by this.
Words fail to express my shock at reading about Tanta's passing. Peace be the journey. Tanta will be missed for her wit, her expertise, and her ability to make the most complex and obscure topics fun to read and easier to understand. Condolences to her family and friends.
I had a very serious crush on Tanta.I only Emailed her once.Her reply to me was so kind and thoughtful that I printed and framed it.I will miss her greatly,and find it somehow Appropriate that her biggest contribution to the world occurred after she was diagnosed with a terminal cancer.My condolences to all who knew and loved her,what a Babe!
Out of so many things I admired about her, the one that shines through most brightly was her deep and thoughtful humanity. She refused to demonize or denigrate anyone out of hand - spending paragraphs and pages walking through the details of fallible humanity so vividly displayed on all sides of the mortgage mess. Even when ultimately arriving at a stern judgment, she passed it with resigned acerbic delicacy rather than harsh rhetoric. Her great soul was always visible.
My condolences, she will be sorely missed. A person who choses in their last days to help better the world for the rest rather than themself is more than an angel. May her light and writing help guide us to better times.
I am new to CR but have been reading some older Tanta explanations of mortages and foreclosures and reading the appreciation and affection to her by the old-timers on the board. Please accept my deepest condolences. I am terribly sorry for the loss to her family.
I can't stop crying.
What a tragedy and so young too! She really taught us and our understanding of the mortgage world is much better thanks to her. She will be greatly missed.
Tanta you were a giant and always will be...
What if a trillion dollars was spent on curing cancer instead of bailing banks? What a world it would be if we could end this sort of sadness.
I am sorry for all who were close to Doris, it is a great loss.
mp(Excellent) writes:
Tanta, please sell me a lock of your hair for my conjure bag. I'm convinced that, if you do, it will improve the ability of my toad bones and ground-up dog balls to predict the turning points in agencies.
I promise to never feed it gin, only small amounts of very dry straight-up vodka martinis.
mp | 07.08.07 - 12:55 pm | #
Tanta(Excellent) writes:
Thanks for the recipe, George, but I don't understand this part:
serves 12 - 18
mp, I've only just had hair again since about March, so I'm not yet ready to remove any of it, even for a good cause. (It's getting so long it's almost not even butch anymore.) Could I just send you some toenail clippings instead?
My favorite summertime recipe:
Bourbon Slurpee
Pour 2 cups boiling water and 4 tea bags into large bowl; steep 5 min. Remove teabags and stir in 2 cups sugar, 7 cups cold water, 2 cups bourbon, 2 6-oz cans frozen limeade concentrate and 1 6-oz can frozen lemonade concentrate. Pour into one or more plastic containers and freeze. I'm told it keeps for a long time.
There are two ways to serve this. One: spoon into crystal julep glasses, garnish with a sprig of mint, and serve with a dessert spoon. Two: spoon into a clean mason jar, stick a long straw into it, and slurp your way into oblivion. I prefer the latter, but some of you may have more couth than I.
Tanta | 07.08.07 - 1:24 pm | #
I am so sad. I looked forward to reading what she wrote more than the words of any other blogger over the past few years. She will be missed by so many people in this world.
I am incredibly saddened. I can't express how much I learned from the ubernerd postings. Tanta's insights helped me understand and confirm my understanding of the real estate bubble in a factual manner.
God Bless Tanta, and my condolences to the CR, CRCC, and Tanta's family
I really feel for Tanta's family. I hope that they are reading now, for if so, they may gain some solace witnessing the wave of mutual grief that is resonating through cyberspace. My keyboard is one of hundreds, soon to be thousands, moistened by tears as we type.
Tanta was a titanic figure, larger than life. Not because of her intellect, or her wit, though those were fantastic. I was most impressed with her integrity in a financial world where that quality seemed abandoned. My cynical tendencies will be forever tempered by the knowledge, gained through Tanta's example, that there remain people with honesty, altruism, and high standards all at once. All that, and she handled her final affliction with incredible poise and grace.
CR. thanks for keeping us updated regarding Tanta. I was hoping for resolution as opposed to never knowing what happened to her.
Never met her, but going to miss her. Thanks for the picture too.
I am stunned and saddened beyond words. I am so grateful for the insightful and clear analysis that Tanta provided to the CR blog. This would have been an incredible gift to the world under normal circumstances. That she undertook this task while facing such personal challenges is simply remarkable.
Crewman writes:
What if a trillion dollars was spent on curing cancer instead of bailing banks? What a world it would be if we could end this sort of sadness.
I am sorry for all who were close to Doris, it is a great loss.
Crewman | 11.30.08 - 10:19 pm |
Amen Crewman and RIP Doris
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
Albert Einstei
i am so sorry. she was the reason that i started coming here. she explained cds and cdos in a way that i understood what they were.
she will be missed.
Tanta's writing, wit and analysis helped to uncover the complexities of the mortgage industry.
Being in the escrow business afforded a front lines in-the-trenches perspective of all the mania gone wrong. Tanta helped to educate me on so much within the world of finance that I didn't understand or know about.
God Bless from up in the Pacific Northwest and condolences to the family during this time.
I am stunned and extremely sad. Tanta, I will miss you. You were an amazing writer and a cherished resource in my life. My thoughts and prayers to your family...
It's good to know that Tanta was able to be together with her family on what would be her last Thanksgiving. I recall the Thanksgiving chat here among the CRCC exactly a year ago. That really felt like the point I really sensed a true 'bond' with a number of the regulars, with Tanta at the head of the table.
Godspeed, Doris. I'll always remember your incomparable spirit.
Rest in Peace, Doris Dungey. I enjoyed corresponding with you via e-mail and reading your columns. You will be sorely missed. Thank you for sharing your insights with us. A LOT of people learned quite a bit from you and were entertained in the process.
I hope that Tanta knew that at the end of her life she was a powerful voice for truth. It was her truth that helped me to see what the future could bring. Her truth enabled me to protect the financial well being of many members of my family.
I am sorry to hear her pass away. Please accept my condolences. I hope this site will continue as a way to reflect her commitment to telling the truths and insights about the mortgage industry.
We will miss our UberNerd, our literary blogger, our teacher, and our clever, witty blogger, and not the least, our excel cartoonist and her character "Mortgage Pig".
I enjoyed your wit, ability to explain things, and your insight into our problems.
To Tanta's family, we are so sorry for your loss, she was a great one.
A mortgage nerd with the soul of a poet. Tanta was someone I never expected to run into. I am also apparently the only person who ever called her "delicate"...
Last spring Tanta woke up one morning brimming with joie de vivre, and calculatedrisk had (as far as I know) its first and only open poetry thread. I will think of her again this spring when April comes around:
when more than was lost has been found has been found
and having is giving and giving is living-
but keeping is darkness and winter and cringing
-it's spring(all our night becomes day)o,it's spring!
all the pretty birds dive to the heart of the sky
all the little fish climb through the mind of the sea
(all the mountains are dancing;are dancing)
My condolences to her family, who I hope comes to read our farewells, to see how many were touched by her words. Her ubernerd work is really a monument.
I'm crying too. And I don't remember crying for anyone else I have lost. What a shock.
Tanta thought she was anonymous, but for those of us who loved her writing it was clear she was intelligent with a strong moral compass, and funny. I may not have known her name or her person, but what do I know of reality except labels and actions? Anyone with any perception knew she was quality thorough and through.
I enjoyed Tanta's posts tremendously. She was funny, insightful and kind. Although there are many financial blogs, her voice was unique, and I will miss it. It will not be the same without her.
Thanks CR for this post. My condolences to her family and CR.
I'm saddened by her loss and cannot help but cry for someone I only knew online (I didn't even email her). I guess unlike news media journalists, it seems that I feel more "in touch" with a blogger, when both the ups and downs are made public over time (even if that person was blogging anonymously). I'll post more of my thoughts at my blog on this as I think about it (maybe not today)....
Tanta returned to comment on the CR site, mid augugst of 06, (am i remembering that right?) after a lengthy absence.
Tanta had developed quite a following for her no nonsense and insightful observations. Tanta was a regular contributor to the comments threads prior to the time she was away.
When she returned people were ecstatic to hear from her again, and find out she was re-gaining her good health.
Even back then, it was plain to the "regulars", that Tanta could see the mortgage industries situation and the implications for the larger economy with an un-equaled clarity.
Upon her return she was feisty as ever.
Tanta's humor, intelligence, and diligence enabled many of us to better understand the very complex world of finance, mortgage and economics.
I never met her, but on these pages felt I came to know her well, a gem of a person.
I'm glad to have known her and very sorry at her passing.
I'm so sorry. Tanta added so much to our national conversation about finance and economics issues at a critical time. I learned so much from her very well written and descriptive articles.
My condolences to her family and to all the CR community. You will be missed, Tanta.
so many more visible and identifiable people have taken credit for being one of the first, if not the first for calling the housing bubble for what it was, namely Ivy Zelman and Meredith Whitney to name a couple.
no one called it earlier than Tanta and CR. its a shame she never identified herself and claimed her due credit.
I don't remember now how I stumbled upon this blog almost three years ago. I do remember how impressed I was by CR's graphs and by his refreshingly unassuming attitude, as well as by the surprisingly elevated level of the general comments.
But what really blew my socks off was Tanta. She offered us a place to stand on (as in "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth") in a world adrift, and she did it with grace and humor.
Tanta writes:
rsj, I have what you might call omnivorous tastes in poetry. I like Moore. I also like Edwin Arlington Robinson, and Moore hated Robinson.
Nonetheless, I've been muttering "Drink to the Bird!" for several days. It has to do with a minor but very messy episode of flooding in my apartment.
"graduate degree in English" Awesome! I enjoyed the challenge of crunching through the logic in her posts and trying not to miss any details. But, when I missed something obvious, she'd let you know! Tanta, you can shout ALL CAPS on me anytime!
Words ring hollow in times like these. I will miss Tanta's intelligence, sharp wit, and her voice of reason. She was a bright spot in my day and a source of incredible insights, tempered with optimism. I offer my condolences to her family; I hope they realize how many lives she touched through her numerous contributions.
She will live on my thoughts and memories, as well as those of numerous other readers of this blog.
Rest in peace Tanta -- you will be greatly missed!
I, as many people here, have only known Tanta through her posts, but I feel as if we all have lost someone truly special. It must be a great honor and loss for those who knew her personally.
In times such as these, her loss is magnified by the fact that now, more than ever, we need her insight, cleverness, and most of all, a dash of her levity to help us make sense of this crisis.
I conduct financial research professionally for a federal agency and when I started reading Tanta religiously about a year and half ago she stood out against other sources as not only exceptionally informed and clear in her writing but also as someone both compellingly witty while still remaining humane.
There's really just not anyone else out there willing to explain the details of the housing food chain so clearly while still humanizing the interests of the people involved.
Finally, through the moral suasion of example she forced me to think and write more clearly to help my audiences better understand the central financial issue of our era.
I miss her already and send my great sympathy and gratitude to her family. Her contributions really were extraordinary.
She was a great writer. She made boring subjects interesting. She had a rock solid moral compass. She had clear vision and could see to the heart of the matter. She was funny as hell. She was a good teacher.
I am indeed shocked and saddened. I never knew the exact nature of her illness, but I had assumed that the strength of will and character that comes through in all her writings would also help her somehow win her battle against cancer. My condolences to her family, and to the CR community.
This tragic news reminds us that we are, above all, all mortals.
I don't talk much here, but I want to say how sad and terrible this news makes me feel.
I am sorry for CR himself and the whole crew here, as well as for all of Tanta's loved ones. My thoughts are with you as you grieve.
As a young, proud and unapologetic UberNerd, I looked up to her so much. And she'll never know because I was too shy to have told her.
Goodbye, Tanta. And thank you for all of the learning and laughter. Though we were strangers in life, you made an impression on me that will never go away.
My condolences to Tanta's family, to CR, and all her friends here and elsewhere. It was a joy to read her posts here. Her wit and wisdom will not be forgotten.
CR, please, I have been here in the last couple of months, you can turn grief into strength. There is an alchemy there. It works, I know it.
In my country, we have a saying about our speaking position, our ground from which we speak. It is turangawaewae. This is the place we always come from, always hail, and always love and hanker for.
Our turangawaewae includes the collective memory, and its embedding.
I am going to celebrate that, in my way, through my cultural origins.
Tanta was a very important voice in the econ/finance blogosphere because she had actually been in the trenches where all the crazy stuff was happening. Her perspective was not filtered by academic jargon or political nuances.
I have a couple of her best posts saved and occasionally look back when I want to know what really went on in the industry.
On many occasions after reading one of her posts, I thought to myself that the world would be a better place if we have a few more like her in every line of work to tell it like it is the way she did.
I will light a candle for her at the next Relay for Life in which I participate.
Have learned more about finance from Tanta (and CR, but especially Tanta) than I have in 15 years as a lawyer, including buying and selling multiple houses. Her contributions were enormous, and though she'll be missed - most by those who knew her best - I hope she and they can take some comfort in knowing how many people she helped while she was here.
I am stunned and saddened. I have been here such a little time and have returned mostly to lurking and hoping for a Tanta post.
A woman of immeasurable spirit and courage, with a wit like a sharp nife. At the same time you could feel her delicacy and humanity through her writing.
My condolences to you CR, to Tanta's family and to all who will not have the benefit of learning from a great lady.
Thank you Tanta. You will be deeply missed by many many people, this longtime CR lurker included.
Through her contributions to this site, Tanta displayed tremendous qualities of humanity, humor and intelligence. Few people leave this world having touched as many people as Tanta did, just through this blog in the past 2 years. I can only imagine the grief of those who knew and loved her in person. Hopefully the outpouring of affection and appreciation shown on this site and in mass media outlets will provide some small degree of solace to her loved ones- she left her mark in a very positive way and will be missed and remembered by thousands of people.
As a reader of Tanta's for the past year or so, she was amazing in her ability to both humanize and critique (in a suitably snarky way) the most involved and complex issues. Many of us have been students of Tanta, and I mourn her passing in a way that is hard to put into words.
John Donne
Meditation 17
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee...
As so many others have said, I'm stunned. I feel I'm really going to miss someone I never knew. Someone who wrote about mortgage finance, no less, and I'm a renter. What an amazing wit and writer. Thanks so much.
I am very much saddened by the news, and my thoughts go out to her family. However, I can be heartened by the fact that she was able to grace the world with her presence, and make it a better place. She will be missed.
Tanta's posts were a breath of fresh air. She was someone with the courage, integrity, and intelligence to set the record straight and write honestly about an industry that had gone off the rails.
what a sad day. I will really miss her wit and wisdom. My condolences to her family and friends.
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
To Tanta's family and to CR, I am so sorry for this terrible loss. Words fail me, but someone wrote a note at 10:16 pm that captures what I remember and respect most about her:
"Out of so many things I admired about her, the one that shines through most brightly was her deep and thoughtful humanity. She refused to demonize or denigrate anyone out of hand - spending paragraphs and pages walking through the details of fallible humanity so vividly displayed on all sides of the mortgage mess. Even when ultimately arriving at a stern judgment, she passed it with resigned acerbic delicacy rather than harsh rhetoric. Her great soul was always visible."
Re: "I hope she and they can take some comfort in knowing how many people she helped while she was here."
Tanta has left a great legacy in her writing here at CR -- but perhaps her honest and heartfelt work can be consolidated into a reference guide which can continue to enlighten people.
My condolences to her family and friends. Was very saddened to hear of this.
CR and especially Tanta's writings peeked my interest greatly as I found this blog early on. She had a easy way of describing details and tying them together.
I learned more from CR on mortgages than I ever did on the job or during the job when working in Mortgage Backed Securities area.
Shock is not even enough to describe my emotions right now.
Tanta was a blessing for readers of CR. This is very sad news but I am thankful for the wealth of knowledge that I gained from Tanta's writings.
My condolences and prayers to her family and dear friends.
I know that she is in a better place now, at peace, and that she made her mark in this world. Thank you Bill for bringing us Tanta, and Tanta, THANK YOU!
This is such shocking news, it is hard to believe it is real. I spent part of Thanksgiving re-reading some of Tanta's posts and was amazed at how detailed and prophetic they were. I learned a long time ago not to attempt to drink coffee or anything else you do not want to spray your keyboard with while reading her posts, because they were absolutely hilarious.
I am so very sorry for Tanta's family. She was extraordinary and will be profoundly missed.
I have been a lurker for the last year and a half. I have accessed tis blog daily. I am so sorry to hear this very sad news. My best wishes to her family. I know the great spirit watches out for her own.
How sad. I hope she knew how much so many of us appreciated her and her work and, in particular, her wit. Please tell her family that there are hundreds of reader whom she entertained and educated. We will all miss her and the Mortgage Pig.
I was blessed to be able to learn from her knowledge....for free. I was already missing her commentary wondering where she was? Now I am stunned at the loss.
I came in toward the later postings of Tanta. I have a great amount of respect and admiration for her. Not only did my experience come personally, but also through the mass of comments of others who truly missed her presence.
May comfort and grace be with her family and those close to her.
That's really tragic. It comes at a time when her knowledge and clarity are most solely needed. I know I learned a lot from reading her work. It's a shame she won't be able to continue to shine a light for others on this issues, as she did for me. I'll miss her.
I'm so sorry for your loss, CR, and the loss for Tanta's family. For those of us who had the pleasure of reading Tanta's posts, we were so very fortunate. We had the gift of her keen inteligence and generous wit -- One of the best examples I can name of why blog's in general and CR in particular are changing the way people get information. All of this is why we readers were lucky, and we will miss Tanta's insight tremendously. For those closest to her, though, the loss is so much worse. We lost a voice and a source of light -- you lost a friend. All I can say is,again, that I'm sorry for your loss, and let us know if you need anything.
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you In the palm of His hand.
There must be many a bankster fearing for his immortal soul at the very thought that heaven has a new supervisor watching their books.
A true tragedy. Tanta's writings helped me to understand much of the present financial crisis before it truly unfolded. She was an educator and a brilliant satirist. She will be missed.
For the last couple of years, Tanta has used her remaining strength to push ideas and conversations that were more important than her. They were not always popular, but I think history will judge them righter than most. She has shared her industry knowledge and experience with us so that we might benefit, even though she must have known that she would not.
I will miss reading her. I will miss engaging with her. I will miss the Pig. I will curse cancer for taking bright young people from us before they can fully contribute to our public conversation.
Curse you, cancer. Tante Vive!
Adding, for CR:
To the extent that my non-sophisticated, non-finance brain has been able to understand the current financial crisis, all credit goes to Tanta.
I have (mostly) followed and (to some extent) engaged in the debate at CR for a couple of years regarding the finance industry. On an occasion or two I have dialogued with Tanta and I now feel privileged to have done so.
I feel empowered by the knowledge that Tanta has shared with us. I feel powerless by the system that knowledge sheds light upon.
But to the extent I hold hope for a brighter future, it is because Tanta has given us all the knowledge to fight for something better.
--
I am an athiest. I hold no hope for a peaceful afterlife for Tanta. This life is all there is.
But Tanta gave this life all she had. She passed her knowledge to us that we might benefit. She did so selfishly, knowing that she might not ever benfit.
Curse you, cancer. Thank you, Tanta. Tanta Vive!
Because Tanta touched us all, and we all carry Tanta's voice into the future.
I'll miss you terribly, Tanta. Thank you for your joy and skill in sharing intricate and often difficult truths. In your hands the mortgage marketplace wasn't an arid exchange of credit and dollars; it played out as a grand drama of hubris, greed and stupidity that didn't just make all the nerdy details easy to understand but explained exactly why it all mattered. My life and work have been enriched by your fierce commitment.
Such a tragic loss, she will be sorely missed. She was so smart, so funny, and so generous to share her knowledge and research with the rest of us. It was always clear that she genuinely wanted to help the rest of us understand what was going on in this crazy world, and we were all very fortunate that she chose to spend some of her limited time and energy here. Truly a unique talent and a wonderful person. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.
When cancer took my friend Jean Wong about a year and a half ago, I found this video... I looped it and played it for hours, as I thought about her. I haven't played it since then. The words aren't perfect, and the art was done for a commercial, but I loved the imagery and guitar.
Some one said earlier, 'How is it that we know anyone, really?' ... so it's true.. what we knew of Tanta, we'll miss tragically. Tragically.
If you want to see what prescient and straight ahead smart look like..
here is Tanta's post upon the return from her long absence
as you read this think about how right on she was more than two years ago...a genius
Hey, CR. I hope I find you well.
I was a regular commenter on your wonderful site until late last year, after which I kinda disappeared without saying goodbye, which is rude. I apologize. Fact is, I got diagnosed with ovarian cancer and I have been in the process of working myself out of "cancer patient" status and into "cancer survivor" status. It's a long and drug-filled road, and I have surgical scars that look like some of your more interesting graphs. However, I'm getting more and more able to sit up at a desk and do non-essential things like surf the web and revisit some old favorites, so here I am. I sure hope you've been doing better than I have.
Back to business: the mortgage insurers can raise rates all day long and it won't do dog for them or anyone else. The whole problem is, precisely, that the "piggyback" mortgage was designed to get around MI. As long as there are second-lien lenders willing to price them cheaper than MI--and perhaps we're seeing the beginning of the end of that--the MIs just lose business entirely in a credit bubble, since they've been burned before and haven't been willing to follow the pricing down to ruin again. They remember the early 90s better than the regulators do (or did, maybe).
The real point is they have two dogs in this fight: they have lost market share because competitors (second lien and 100% lenders) have been willing to underprice risk, and they are at risk for the book of business they do have because increasing foreclosures and bubble-deflating in their market areas drag down values on insured as well as uninsured collateral. A lot of lenders and RE brokers have been dismissing the MIs for years now on the grounds that they're just crying over lost business, but in my unhumble opinion the MIs have been pretty good risk managers in an irrational market for a long time, meaning they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. The fact that their interest in all this isn't quite public-spirited altruism doesn't mean they aren't right. (If you remember, I've often made that argument about Fannie and Freddie.)
As I have been saying for years now, the reports from the MI companies ought to scare the crap out of Alt-A RMBS holders, but it never seems to. If the sector of the industry whose whole function is to underwrite default risk won't touch that stuff at the (then) current market price, what makes anyone think the risk is adequately managed by a structured security? What are we going to do here, "make it up on volume"? (Inside joke: mortgage lenders always think they can keep slicing off risk premiums and "make it up on volume.")
The chickens are coming home to roost. The effects will not be pretty, but I have to admit that both personal and professional circumstances are conspiring to make me say: I TOLD YOU SO! I TOLD YOU SO! I SO TOLD YOU SO!
There. I think I got that out of my system. Nice to be back, CR.
Tanta | 08.19.06 - 6:39 am | #
It is often too sad that the best of us go too soon. She was a gift only given to us by the great love of her friends, family, and loved ones, and she reciprocated as their greatest investment. I can only hope that time breeds endless people of such character. As a younger reader of this blog, I can only hope to have such great leadership now passed on to those who would feel her calling. I will try to do so myself.
Tanta made a significant contribution to the debate regarding subprime mortgages and other toxic mortgage products. She will be deeply missed. I thank her for her help in understanding the disaster before many realized a problem existed.
My condolences on Tanta's death. Her intelligence, willingness to share knowledge, and sharp wit will be missed greatly.
My favorite posts were the UberNerd because of the patience, attention to detail, and time spent on educating and informing. Nobel prize-winning economist Herbert Simon said, "A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention." Tanta helped to focus readers on what was important.
My prayers go to her family. Please take comfort in the ways that she positively touched many people's lives.
I'm a finance guy, and I learned a great deal from Tanta in the couple of years that I've been reading this blog. I remember reading her posts as my former employer continued down the primrose path that led to its recent demise. As I watched and more than occasionally railed against the stupidity of the decision making, I started to refer colleagues and bosses more and more frequently to Tanta's posts. They blew them off as "internet message board" stuff.
Then Krugman linked to CR, and the world started to collapse, and suddenly even the idiot top brass started sneaking a peek occasionally.
I'm terribly sad to hear of Tanta's passing. She was my favorite writer during these crazy financial times.
Tanta gave us some early warnings of a financial crisis in the comments to this blog (August 2005). Her writing style was witty, informative and entertaining. She will be missed.
To the new people, you don't know what you missed. With the two of them posting - CR grounded and agenda-free; Tanta with laser like analysis and an edge to boot - it was a marriage made in heaven.
And, believe me, the woman's verbal artillery had no equal. The bodies of foolish comment posters were not suffered gladly, (actually they weren't suffered at all, though this was one of CR's qualities - his graciousness - that she hoped to emulate.)
Oh and every Saturday you were treated to Tanta's you-tube music video known as "Saturday Rock Blogging." Search the archives for a taste.
We are all grateful for you introducing her to us, CR. Tanta was truly special. Some have brains and book smarts, some have common sense and some have humor. But it is rare to get all 3 in the same package. She was the real deal. Not only will she be greatly missed, she will not be able to be replaced.
I am thankful she chose to share herself with us and we are smarter and wiser for her generosity.
I'm very saddened to hear this - I've been lurking here since early 2006, and I've found her posts, particularly the Ubernerd entries, to be invaluable sources of insight on this intriguingly screwed-up financial world we find ourselves in.
This is very very sad. There are so few with the gift of clear honest analysis and fewer still willing to share that freely. She was a gift to us all. God speed Tanta.
Bear with me while I ask some stupid questions, Tanta wrote.
Tanta liked to chew on the follies of regulators, the idiocies of lenders and a particular favorite clueless reporters, which according to her was just about all of them.
This explains why her writing appeals to me. The combination of Midwestern common sense with the courage to question the establishment. Continuing to ask stupid questions of the authorities may be the best way we can honor her life.
Although she was never my friend in a personal sense, I sure feel as if I've lost one. What a outstanding person she must have been up close and personal!
Few people possessed the background to judge Tanta's industry insights, but like anyone who stumbled upon CR and Tanta's writings, I was taken aback by the quality of the rhetoric and often just savored the writing. It was also clear that her work elicited "more better thinking" from everyone who engaged her on line.
What a compelling person. I cannot help think that Tanta's contribution has re-defined what blogging means.
My condolences go out to you CR for the loss of a dear friend. My heartfelt sympathies go to Tanta's family. Tanta was so incredibly gifted with knowledge, a sense of humanity and it is incredible that she was able to share her scholarly writings with the severe illness that she was battling at the same time.
I'm in awe of her talent and sad for our loss of such a beautiful human being.
Such sad sad news. Our condolences to Tanta's family and to CR. The blogosphere and mainstream media have lost a genius commentator.
As a regional bubbleblog we rely on CalculatedRISK for bigpicturing, wisdom, forecasts, perspectives, and Tanta's humor. We learned a huge amount from her. It's small condolence, but a truth, that a part of her will live on in cyberspace.
I didn't know Tanta except through her posts and comments. I really did not know her at all. I do know that Doris was willing to share her knowledge, her humor, her courage and at times her exasperation to all the readers here. And she gave so much to the readers on this site.
The economic events of the past 2 months have been shocking at times and have made me wonder about my future and the future my loved ones. But no post will ever sadden me like this one. What a terrible loss.
My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. And my condolences to you as well Bill.
My condolences to her family and all who knew her in real life. I was not one of you but I still will miss her and her willingness to share her knowledge and experience with those such as myself who lacked both.
Please post the choice of charity at your earliest knowledge.
And thank you for finally naming her.
I've actually thought about her every time that I've come on and wondered how she's doing. She was an excellent writer and a great example of how this should be done.
Please post the choice of charity at your earliest knowledge.
And thank you for finally naming her.
I've actually thought about her every time that I've come on and wondered how she's doing. She was an excellent writer and a great example of how this should be done.
I am so very sorry. My condolences to her family and to you, CR.
I'm so sorry to hear this! Tanta will be missed!
A sad tragedy. Words are inadequate.
Stunned. Godspeed Doris.
Tanta.
My condolences.
Very sad news. You & Tanta's family are in my thoughts and prayers.
Honestly, I felt like I knew her. My god, this is awful... I feel for her family and 'real time' friends. I'm speechless, just speechless..
My condolences to her family. I hope they can appreciate how many of us she touched
I am so sad to hear this news. Condolences to her family and all who loved her.
I am very saddened by the news.
Jeebus, looks, brains, and personality. Life is truly a bitch.
You stretched my brain, Tanta.
Tanta was a breathe of fesh air. Condolences to the family. CR, thanks for introducing her to us.
A giant. Peace.
Wow, sad night. I had hoped her absence was temporary.
My deepest condolences to her family.
Cinch
Tanta - You left a mark in lives of many people, many of whom you've never met. Thank you! Thank you...
Sorry to hear this sad news... may she rest in peace
She enlightened me. She made me laugh. Her writing expressed a powerful spirit, a powerful mind. Like all the great ones, she can't be replaced--only missed and mourned.
RIP Tanta! You were one of the very best & brightest!!
Extremely sad news, she was simply the best and shall live on in the memory of everyone who has ever visited here. So increadibly sad to go so soon. Sweet dreams princess of mortgages, may you dwell with the angels for ever more.
A truly sad day and a huge loss in so many ways.
We'll miss you Tanta.
Can only imagine how the people who knew you in the real world must be feeling. My condolences to you all.
The Second Coming
William Butler Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre,
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity....
I've heard it said that every interaction with another person is an opportunity to learn or to teach. As a willing pupil, I have learned much coming to this blog. I am glad to hear that writing for this blog was an enjoyable experience for her.
Her life and writings were gifts and I am sorry to her that she has passed away. She will be missed.
My condolences to her family and friends.
Very unfortunate. A great loss to her family, the CR community, and the whole nation, which definitely needs a lot more people with her blend of financial acumen, honesty, and humor right now. Condolences.
Tanta,
Thank you very much.
We will miss you.
My condolences to Tanta's family, CR and the CRCC. She will be missed by many.
We will all miss her. Blog on, Tanta, blog on!
Wow... not sure I've ever been shocked by the passing of someone I didn't know before, but this did it.
She will be missed.
Thanks for your contribution Tanta. We will miss you.
I am crushed. Tanta was amazing. I had a feeling things were bad.
She had the most amazing mind and wit I've ever known -- even being sick. Pure genius.
Condolences to her family and to you CR. Thank you for posting her picture, finally. Put a face to the name we loved so well.
This is truly a sad day.
I too would like to express my deepest condolences to her family and friends. That includes you CR, who lost your teammate and close friend.
-Jim
My deepest condolences to her family.
This is stunning news. We have lost someone very special.
Her words and wisdom live on here forever.
Cherish them.
Every day is a gift.
I thoroughly enjoyed your commentary, T-.
May the Good Lord take you up in his loving arms.
What an extraordinary woman.
A great loss of a great teacher. The sympathies of a grateful student go to her family and friends.
WISHFUL THINKING.
I am relative new to CR (suggested to me by a blogger in South America)...but...I wish instead of Tanta being gone, that not a few Wall Street bastards would have been called by the real Cerberus's master.
May God bless her always!
I'm very sad she is gone but happy to have known her through this site. She was incredible.
Rest In Peace.
you will be missed
her name is Doris Dungey
peace be with you Doris
Tanta,
We'll just postpone that pique-nique.
You will indeed be missed.
My condolences to her family; Tanta was a wonderful teacher, and I will miss the tutelage, but she will leave a bigger hole their lives. Very sad news, I too had hoped it was only a temporary absence.
what a loss. She was a brilliant writer and analyst. I was looking for information on "fianacial toxic waste" when I stumbled on this blog and her post on the subject. I was concerned about what I was seeing and her explanation properly scared the hell out of me. Rest in peace blessed counselor.
Well, that just sucks.
Condolences to her family, and to CR.
sorry.
YouTube - Mozart - Requiem - Lacrimosa - 05/12: 218th anniversary of Mozart's death
Thread music. Lacrimosa from Mozart's Reqiuem.
cr,
could you create a link to all of her posts?
She was my hero; smart, funny, strong moral compass, and way out in front of the pack. Thank you for sharing her name and making her real.
We as a community are worse off for the passing of a luminary such as Tanta. Those of us in her line of work were enriched for the wisdom and insight she passed along with her wit. I've searched for good material, that is, the musings of a clear and hardworking mind, on other blogs but found what I was looking for here.
My sincerest hope for her and her family is that wherever she may be, she's all prime now! (that, and perhaps a funky pixellated pig is flying around somewhere confounding Cerberus).
K
This is so sad. And we really didn't know her at all.
The sadness will lessen with time, but never disappear.
Take care, everyone.
I'm very sorry to hear this. This is the second time one of my favorite bloggers has gone down prematurely. Steve Gilliard went down at a young age too.
I will miss them both.
Tanta, now Heaven's Mortgage Czar.
All, thanks. This is a very sad day - Tanta started back on chemo in October, and she seemed to be doing better until just a few days ago.
I'd like to thank David Streitfeld (a Tanta fan!) for writing about her in the NY Times.
Tanta initially didn't want to write for the blog because she felt she would die soon. But look at how much she gave all of us! And me especially ...
Best to all.
It is amazing how sad I feel for someone I've never met--may she rest in eternal peace.
This is just horrible. Tanta was such a vital force on this blog, and -- you could tell -- in "real life." I'm very saddened to hear this. Her writing just jumped off the screen at times, with both sharp edges and warm humor.
Steel-toed bunny slippers sums up my image of Tanta.
My condolences to her family, CR, and all affected by this.
My deep condolences to your and her family.
heaven is a better place today.
unless of course you're an ignorant reporter up there that has been getting off scot free all this time.
Words fail to express my shock at reading about Tanta's passing. Peace be the journey. Tanta will be missed for her wit, her expertise, and her ability to make the most complex and obscure topics fun to read and easier to understand. Condolences to her family and friends.
I had a very serious crush on Tanta.I only Emailed her once.Her reply to me was so kind and thoughtful that I printed and framed it.I will miss her greatly,and find it somehow Appropriate that her biggest contribution to the world occurred after she was diagnosed with a terminal cancer.My condolences to all who knew and loved her,what a Babe!
This is really sad news. I will miss u tanta.
My condolences to family and friends.
Regards
Out of so many things I admired about her, the one that shines through most brightly was her deep and thoughtful humanity. She refused to demonize or denigrate anyone out of hand - spending paragraphs and pages walking through the details of fallible humanity so vividly displayed on all sides of the mortgage mess. Even when ultimately arriving at a stern judgment, she passed it with resigned acerbic delicacy rather than harsh rhetoric. Her great soul was always visible.
My condolences, she will be sorely missed. A person who choses in their last days to help better the world for the rest rather than themself is more than an angel. May her light and writing help guide us to better times.
Geez, what can anyone say to such a loss. From whereever you're reading this Tanta, thank you for you posts. We'll miss you!
I am new to CR but have been reading some older Tanta explanations of mortages and foreclosures and reading the appreciation and affection to her by the old-timers on the board. Please accept my deepest condolences. I am terribly sorry for the loss to her family.
"Now you will not swell the rout
Of lads that wore their honours out"
I can't say how floored I am by this. I really thought she was turning around. She was so incredibly intelligent and wifty. She will be missed.
I miss Saturday rock blogging.
YouTube -
I'm sorry, CR. Give my best to her family and friends. She was a treasure.
Oh, no! I will miss Tanta's snarkiness, wit, and ability to communicate clearly about some highly complex subjects.
Damn.
Please pass on my sympathies to her family.
Tanta meme -
Google Trends: tanta
Almost all of that is probably from Tanta.
I can't stop crying.
What a tragedy and so young too! She really taught us and our understanding of the mortgage world is much better thanks to her. She will be greatly missed.
Tanta you were a giant and always will be...
I'm so sorry.
It's such a shame losing such a brilliant voice at such a young age, just like losing Steve Gilliard.
What if a trillion dollars was spent on curing cancer instead of bailing banks? What a world it would be if we could end this sort of sadness.
I am sorry for all who were close to Doris, it is a great loss.
From a post linked to in the Ubernerd directory:
Here's to sipping a straw in your honor, Tanta...
mp(Excellent) writes:
Tanta, please sell me a lock of your hair for my conjure bag. I'm convinced that, if you do, it will improve the ability of my toad bones and ground-up dog balls to predict the turning points in agencies.
I promise to never feed it gin, only small amounts of very dry straight-up vodka martinis.
mp | 07.08.07 - 12:55 pm | #
Tanta(Excellent) writes:
Thanks for the recipe, George, but I don't understand this part:
serves 12 - 18
mp, I've only just had hair again since about March, so I'm not yet ready to remove any of it, even for a good cause. (It's getting so long it's almost not even butch anymore.) Could I just send you some toenail clippings instead?
My favorite summertime recipe:
Bourbon Slurpee
Pour 2 cups boiling water and 4 tea bags into large bowl; steep 5 min. Remove teabags and stir in 2 cups sugar, 7 cups cold water, 2 cups bourbon, 2 6-oz cans frozen limeade concentrate and 1 6-oz can frozen lemonade concentrate. Pour into one or more plastic containers and freeze. I'm told it keeps for a long time.
There are two ways to serve this. One: spoon into crystal julep glasses, garnish with a sprig of mint, and serve with a dessert spoon. Two: spoon into a clean mason jar, stick a long straw into it, and slurp your way into oblivion. I prefer the latter, but some of you may have more couth than I.
Tanta | 07.08.07 - 1:24 pm | #
This hurts a lot..what a great teacher, good soul...condolences and peace to family and friends everywhere.
I am so sad. I looked forward to reading what she wrote more than the words of any other blogger over the past few years. She will be missed by so many people in this world.
She was a great lady.
Thanks for all you do here CR!
More thread music:
Sheryl Crow-Hallelujah (HQ)
YouTube -
I am incredibly saddened. I can't express how much I learned from the ubernerd postings. Tanta's insights helped me understand and confirm my understanding of the real estate bubble in a factual manner.
God Bless Tanta, and my condolences to the CR, CRCC, and Tanta's family
CR said "she thought she would die soon." I can't imagine her thinking that, down to the last minute.
"Rage, rage, against the dieing of the light."
I'm so sorry to read this.
Rest in peace, Tanta. My thoughts to her family and her wide circle of friends. You'll be very much missed. :
No subprime in Elysium. Hope she inherits her most cherished hopes and dreams while finding a peace elusive in flesh and bone.
I really feel for Tanta's family. I hope that they are reading now, for if so, they may gain some solace witnessing the wave of mutual grief that is resonating through cyberspace. My keyboard is one of hundreds, soon to be thousands, moistened by tears as we type.
Tanta was a titanic figure, larger than life. Not because of her intellect, or her wit, though those were fantastic. I was most impressed with her integrity in a financial world where that quality seemed abandoned. My cynical tendencies will be forever tempered by the knowledge, gained through Tanta's example, that there remain people with honesty, altruism, and high standards all at once. All that, and she handled her final affliction with incredible poise and grace.
Tanta, we will miss you dearly.
A sad tragedy.
May she rest in peace!
CR. thanks for keeping us updated regarding Tanta. I was hoping for resolution as opposed to never knowing what happened to her.
Never met her, but going to miss her. Thanks for the picture too.
I am stunned and saddened beyond words. I am so grateful for the insightful and clear analysis that Tanta provided to the CR blog. This would have been an incredible gift to the world under normal circumstances. That she undertook this task while facing such personal challenges is simply remarkable.
Thank you, Tanta.
How tragic. Tanta wrote poetically about very dry subjects. Something almost impossible to do. She is missed. Rest in peace.
Crewman writes:
What if a trillion dollars was spent on curing cancer instead of bailing banks? What a world it would be if we could end this sort of sadness.
I am sorry for all who were close to Doris, it is a great loss.
Crewman | 11.30.08 - 10:19 pm |
Amen Crewman and RIP Doris
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
Albert Einstei
RIP Tanta, you made an impact on my life and brain. Steel Toed Bunny Slippers forever! See ya on the other side. . .
i am so sorry. she was the reason that i started coming here. she explained cds and cdos in a way that i understood what they were.
she will be missed.
She was so smart, so young, and so pretty.
May she rest in peace, and may the knowledge she imparted help lead the way to better times.
Indeed, Rest in peace.
I am very sad at this news.
Tanta's writing, wit and analysis helped to uncover the complexities of the mortgage industry.
Being in the escrow business afforded a front lines in-the-trenches perspective of all the mania gone wrong. Tanta helped to educate me on so much within the world of finance that I didn't understand or know about.
God Bless from up in the Pacific Northwest and condolences to the family during this time.
Tim Kane
Legacy Escrow Service, Inc.
She accomplished a lot in a short life. My condolences to all.
The world is a poorer place.
there are absolutely no words to express my sadness. Tanta will be truly missed not only for her intellect but her wit and humor.
i learned so much from her and owe much of my financial success to her.
God will be with you Doris.
let us not take CR for granted.
i am just so sad. i can't contain it...
I am stunned and extremely sad. Tanta, I will miss you. You were an amazing writer and a cherished resource in my life. My thoughts and prayers to your family...
Please accept the condolences of an anonymous internet person who has been greatly affected by the work on this blog.
Deepest of condolences to all.
God bless her soul.
This is terrible, from the silence around her I had a feeling this morning about her illness ... we miss you Tanta!
It's good to know that Tanta was able to be together with her family on what would be her last Thanksgiving. I recall the Thanksgiving chat here among the CRCC exactly a year ago. That really felt like the point I really sensed a true 'bond' with a number of the regulars, with Tanta at the head of the table.
Godspeed, Doris. I'll always remember your incomparable spirit.
Rest in Peace, Doris Dungey. I enjoyed corresponding with you via e-mail and reading your columns. You will be sorely missed. Thank you for sharing your insights with us. A LOT of people learned quite a bit from you and were entertained in the process.
Goodbye Tanta.
Thank you for sharing yourself with us.
Peace.
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
-John Donne
Condolences all. I am diminished.
I hope that Tanta knew that at the end of her life she was a powerful voice for truth. It was her truth that helped me to see what the future could bring. Her truth enabled me to protect the financial well being of many members of my family.
Hat tip to you Tanta.
I am sorry to hear her pass away. Please accept my condolences. I hope this site will continue as a way to reflect her commitment to telling the truths and insights about the mortgage industry.
CR, my condolences to you and to her family.
Ovarian cancer has taken a few of the women I admire, and now, another is gone.
The pseudonym "Tanta" made me think it was a woman of my age (69 or so)... but, no, that form of cancer rips young women, too.
Words cannot express how much I would like to believe that cancer will be eliminated someday.
EK
We will miss our UberNerd, our literary blogger, our teacher, and our clever, witty blogger, and not the least, our excel cartoonist and her character "Mortgage Pig".
I enjoyed your wit, ability to explain things, and your insight into our problems.
To Tanta's family, we are so sorry for your loss, she was a great one.
So very sad.
Just a nobody here, who learned insightful things from a great teacher. Tanta, you will be missed.
A mortgage nerd with the soul of a poet. Tanta was someone I never expected to run into. I am also apparently the only person who ever called her "delicate"...
Last spring Tanta woke up one morning brimming with joie de vivre, and calculatedrisk had (as far as I know) its first and only open poetry thread. I will think of her again this spring when April comes around:
when more than was lost has been found has been found
and having is giving and giving is living-
but keeping is darkness and winter and cringing
-it's spring(all our night becomes day)o,it's spring!
all the pretty birds dive to the heart of the sky
all the little fish climb through the mind of the sea
(all the mountains are dancing;are dancing)
My condolences to her family, who I hope comes to read our farewells, to see how many were touched by her words. Her ubernerd work is really a monument.
I'm crying too. And I don't remember crying for anyone else I have lost. What a shock.
Tanta thought she was anonymous, but for those of us who loved her writing it was clear she was intelligent with a strong moral compass, and funny. I may not have known her name or her person, but what do I know of reality except labels and actions? Anyone with any perception knew she was quality thorough and through.
My condolences to her friends and family. Her contributions to this blog and to society as a whole will surely be missed. Rest in Peace Doris Dungey.
My condolences to Tanta's family.
I enjoyed Tanta's posts tremendously. She was funny, insightful and kind. Although there are many financial blogs, her voice was unique, and I will miss it. It will not be the same without her.
Rest in peace, cyber-friend.
God bless
Thanks CR for this post. My condolences to her family and CR.
I'm saddened by her loss and cannot help but cry for someone I only knew online (I didn't even email her). I guess unlike news media journalists, it seems that I feel more "in touch" with a blogger, when both the ups and downs are made public over time (even if that person was blogging anonymously). I'll post more of my thoughts at my blog on this as I think about it (maybe not today)....
Tanta returned to comment on the CR site, mid augugst of 06, (am i remembering that right?) after a lengthy absence.
Tanta had developed quite a following for her no nonsense and insightful observations. Tanta was a regular contributor to the comments threads prior to the time she was away.
When she returned people were ecstatic to hear from her again, and find out she was re-gaining her good health.
Even back then, it was plain to the "regulars", that Tanta could see the mortgage industries situation and the implications for the larger economy with an un-equaled clarity.
Upon her return she was feisty as ever.
Tanta's humor, intelligence, and diligence enabled many of us to better understand the very complex world of finance, mortgage and economics.
I never met her, but on these pages felt I came to know her well, a gem of a person.
I'm glad to have known her and very sorry at her passing.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with all of us. You will be missed Tanta
I feel like a family member has gone to the great beyond. Godspeed Tanta!
I'm so sorry. Tanta added so much to our national conversation about finance and economics issues at a critical time. I learned so much from her very well written and descriptive articles.
My condolences to her family and to all the CR community. You will be missed, Tanta.
Tanta was special. The world was a better place with her in it. I believe the blog helped her a lot (as she helped the blog a lot).
CR, I also want to send my thoughts/prayers to you. I am sure you have a lot on your mind.
I will speak for all of us here to say we're behind you and will help in any way we can.
Please, let us know if there is anything we can do.
Thank you.
I am so sorry for her family's loss. I read her regularly, and I will miss her very much
We'll have to stop looking for Tanta's next post now.
My condolences to Doris' family and friends, and Bill.
so many more visible and identifiable people have taken credit for being one of the first, if not the first for calling the housing bubble for what it was, namely Ivy Zelman and Meredith Whitney to name a couple.
no one called it earlier than Tanta and CR. its a shame she never identified herself and claimed her due credit.
I'm so sorry.This is a real loss.She will be greatly missed..........Yours in Peace
Deepest condolences to her family and many dear friends. A great loss to our world.
Very sad. What about a day of no news posts to honor her? I'm sure the world won't fall apart in one day, though, it seems to be gathering speed.
I don't remember now how I stumbled upon this blog almost three years ago. I do remember how impressed I was by CR's graphs and by his refreshingly unassuming attitude, as well as by the surprisingly elevated level of the general comments.
But what really blew my socks off was Tanta. She offered us a place to stand on (as in "Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the Earth") in a world adrift, and she did it with grace and humor.
Thank you, Tanta!
Flori
Tears here.
Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads
Calculated Risk: Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads
my grief is deep.
her commitment to truth and to fallible humans at the same time --- all with a good dose of humor ---- was something I loved and admired.
a public intellectual for the internet age, putting our leaders and authorities to shame.
may she rest in peace.
Tanta writes:
rsj, I have what you might call omnivorous tastes in poetry. I like Moore. I also like Edwin Arlington Robinson, and Moore hated Robinson.
Nonetheless, I've been muttering "Drink to the Bird!" for several days. It has to do with a minor but very messy episode of flooding in my apartment.
If you like tragicomedy, this is a good one:
Poem: Mr. Flood's Party
Tanta | 04.10.08 - 8:01 am
"graduate degree in English" Awesome! I enjoyed the challenge of crunching through the logic in her posts and trying not to miss any details. But, when I missed something obvious, she'd let you know! Tanta, you can shout ALL CAPS on me anytime!
She'll be sorely missed, but I'm happy to have known her through CR.
I've learned a lot from her writings. I lurked for ~1 year before I contributed my first post. Fittingly, it was a Tanta thread.
I came know and appreciate Tanta's writing and knowledge early last year and will miss her postings. My condolences to her friends and family.
She will be missed by many. God Bless Tanta.
Scott
Rest in peace. May we the CR community carry on your spirit.
Words ring hollow in times like these. I will miss Tanta's intelligence, sharp wit, and her voice of reason. She was a bright spot in my day and a source of incredible insights, tempered with optimism. I offer my condolences to her family; I hope they realize how many lives she touched through her numerous contributions.
She will live on my thoughts and memories, as well as those of numerous other readers of this blog.
Rest in peace Tanta -- you will be greatly missed!
I, as many people here, have only known Tanta through her posts, but I feel as if we all have lost someone truly special. It must be a great honor and loss for those who knew her personally.
In times such as these, her loss is magnified by the fact that now, more than ever, we need her insight, cleverness, and most of all, a dash of her levity to help us make sense of this crisis.
She will be sorely missed.
I conduct financial research professionally for a federal agency and when I started reading Tanta religiously about a year and half ago she stood out against other sources as not only exceptionally informed and clear in her writing but also as someone both compellingly witty while still remaining humane.
There's really just not anyone else out there willing to explain the details of the housing food chain so clearly while still humanizing the interests of the people involved.
Finally, through the moral suasion of example she forced me to think and write more clearly to help my audiences better understand the central financial issue of our era.
I miss her already and send my great sympathy and gratitude to her family. Her contributions really were extraordinary.
Ja
My condolences to CR and Tanta's family. Her passing is a loss for all of us.
She is a hero.
We are all subprime now for reals.
She was a great writer. She made boring subjects interesting. She had a rock solid moral compass. She had clear vision and could see to the heart of the matter. She was funny as hell. She was a good teacher.
My condolences to her family and friends.
Rest in peace.
It is sad news. My condolences.
really sorry to hear about this, we all miss her
I am sorry to hear this, I owe her a great debt for the information she provided me. She will be missed.
I am indeed shocked and saddened. I never knew the exact nature of her illness, but I had assumed that the strength of will and character that comes through in all her writings would also help her somehow win her battle against cancer. My condolences to her family, and to the CR community.
This tragic news reminds us that we are, above all, all mortals.
Im so very sorry to hear this. She will be greatly missed.
I don't talk much here, but I want to say how sad and terrible this news makes me feel.
I am sorry for CR himself and the whole crew here, as well as for all of Tanta's loved ones. My thoughts are with you as you grieve.
As a young, proud and unapologetic UberNerd, I looked up to her so much. And she'll never know because I was too shy to have told her.
Goodbye, Tanta. And thank you for all of the learning and laughter. Though we were strangers in life, you made an impression on me that will never go away.
Tanta, we miss you.
Condolences again.
In tribute, I went back and read an ubernerd post that I had not read before, on reverse mortgages, a supposedly dry subject.
I am now better educated and have laughed out loud a couple of times while reading about mortgages.
Recommended for all.
My condolences to Tanta's family, to CR, and all her friends here and elsewhere. It was a joy to read her posts here. Her wit and wisdom will not be forgotten.
Just a short while ago, google found Tanta for me.
Too short of time and so very sad.
From last thread, repeated:
CR, please, I have been here in the last couple of months, you can turn grief into strength. There is an alchemy there. It works, I know it.
In my country, we have a saying about our speaking position, our ground from which we speak. It is turangawaewae. This is the place we always come from, always hail, and always love and hanker for.
Our turangawaewae includes the collective memory, and its embedding.
I am going to celebrate that, in my way, through my cultural origins.
C
Counterpointer | 11.30.08 - 10:35 pm | #
Tanta was a very important voice in the econ/finance blogosphere because she had actually been in the trenches where all the crazy stuff was happening. Her perspective was not filtered by academic jargon or political nuances.
I have a couple of her best posts saved and occasionally look back when I want to know what really went on in the industry.
On many occasions after reading one of her posts, I thought to myself that the world would be a better place if we have a few more like her in every line of work to tell it like it is the way she did.
I will light a candle for her at the next Relay for Life in which I participate.
My condolences. Tanta's writings and blog discussions carried a unique combination of knowledge, wit, and spirit. She will be missed.
Words fail me - my deepest sympathies to Tanta's family and all who loved her.
Been lurking for years, this is my first comment.
Have learned more about finance from Tanta (and CR, but especially Tanta) than I have in 15 years as a lawyer, including buying and selling multiple houses. Her contributions were enormous, and though she'll be missed - most by those who knew her best - I hope she and they can take some comfort in knowing how many people she helped while she was here.
why does an anonymous blogger generate such sadness and emotion of thousands of bloggers whom she never met?
if a CNBC chick passed (heaven forbid) i would feel a touch of sadness and remorse but quickly get over it.
but with Tanta it is different. she spoke the TRUTH.
she also gave of herself in a passionate educational way unlike the mass media folks.
TRUTH, or the lack thereof, goes to heart of all that is wrong with America these days.
I am so so sorry. I always looked forward to her posts. so funny and informative. She will be missed.
I am stunned and saddened. I have been here such a little time and have returned mostly to lurking and hoping for a Tanta post.
A woman of immeasurable spirit and courage, with a wit like a sharp nife. At the same time you could feel her delicacy and humanity through her writing.
My condolences to you CR, to Tanta's family and to all who will not have the benefit of learning from a great lady.
I learned more from her than anyone over the past 5 years. Thanks, if it's not too late.
She will be very much missed. Lame as that sounds...
Thank you Tanta. You will be deeply missed by many many people, this longtime CR lurker included.
Through her contributions to this site, Tanta displayed tremendous qualities of humanity, humor and intelligence. Few people leave this world having touched as many people as Tanta did, just through this blog in the past 2 years. I can only imagine the grief of those who knew and loved her in person. Hopefully the outpouring of affection and appreciation shown on this site and in mass media outlets will provide some small degree of solace to her loved ones- she left her mark in a very positive way and will be missed and remembered by thousands of people.
I'm sorry to read of the death of your friend. She must have been a wonderful person.
Thread music, Let the mystery be
YouTube -
Prayers for her family and many friends on this sad occasion.
CR (and bacon dreamz), I am so very sorry.
Stunned doesn't describe the feeling of knowing that one of the first finance bloggers I've "known" has written her last post in this world.
May all of us who write on the web strive to be half the writer that she was. The world is a better place because of her.
Tom Vanderwell
As a reader of Tanta's for the past year or so, she was amazing in her ability to both humanize and critique (in a suitably snarky way) the most involved and complex issues. Many of us have been students of Tanta, and I mourn her passing in a way that is hard to put into words.
I am very sorry to hear about Tanta.
My condolences.
John Donne
Meditation 17
Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee...
My condolences to Tanta and her family, and to her fellow blogger CR. My thoughts are with them this weekend.
R.I.P.
A very sad day indeed. We will miss you, Tanta.
As so many others have said, I'm stunned. I feel I'm really going to miss someone I never knew. Someone who wrote about mortgage finance, no less, and I'm a renter. What an amazing wit and writer. Thanks so much.
Such sad news. The financial blogosphere has lost a true giant.
Condolences to her family and the CR community. We were privileged to have known her.
I am very much saddened by the news, and my thoughts go out to her family. However, I can be heartened by the fact that she was able to grace the world with her presence, and make it a better place. She will be missed.
A little music from Jackson Browne, YouTube -
Settled is the final lease,
Rest now and well in peace.
Tanta's posts were a breath of fresh air. She was someone with the courage, integrity, and intelligence to set the record straight and write honestly about an industry that had gone off the rails.
what a sad day. I will really miss her wit and wisdom. My condolences to her family and friends.
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds, and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air. . . .
Up, up the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or ever eagle flew
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
To Tanta's family and to CR, I am so sorry for this terrible loss. Words fail me, but someone wrote a note at 10:16 pm that captures what I remember and respect most about her:
"Out of so many things I admired about her, the one that shines through most brightly was her deep and thoughtful humanity. She refused to demonize or denigrate anyone out of hand - spending paragraphs and pages walking through the details of fallible humanity so vividly displayed on all sides of the mortgage mess. Even when ultimately arriving at a stern judgment, she passed it with resigned acerbic delicacy rather than harsh rhetoric. Her great soul was always visible."
Gentle hugs to all who mourn for her.
I just don't have the words.
Re: "I hope she and they can take some comfort in knowing how many people she helped while she was here."
o bloody hell. i am so very sorry. i hate this dreadful world anymore. everything is wrong. everything.
We were all richer for knowing her through her writing. She will be dearly missed.
My condolences to her family and friends. Was very saddened to hear of this.
CR and especially Tanta's writings peeked my interest greatly as I found this blog early on. She had a easy way of describing details and tying them together.
I learned more from CR on mortgages than I ever did on the job or during the job when working in Mortgage Backed Securities area.
May God Bless You and Keep You, and Shine His Countenance Upon You.
Been lurking for over a year and learned a great deal, especially from Tanta. RIP.
Man, this ****ing lame. I hate cancer.
May Tanta RIP. Her presence will definitely be missed.
Shock is not even enough to describe my emotions right now.
Tanta was a blessing for readers of CR. This is very sad news but I am thankful for the wealth of knowledge that I gained from Tanta's writings.
My condolences and prayers to her family and dear friends.
I know that she is in a better place now, at peace, and that she made her mark in this world. Thank you Bill for bringing us Tanta, and Tanta, THANK YOU!
This is such shocking news, it is hard to believe it is real. I spent part of Thanksgiving re-reading some of Tanta's posts and was amazed at how detailed and prophetic they were. I learned a long time ago not to attempt to drink coffee or anything else you do not want to spray your keyboard with while reading her posts, because they were absolutely hilarious.
I am so very sorry for Tanta's family. She was extraordinary and will be profoundly missed.
Sorry to hear it. Condolences
It's a sad day. My condolences to Tanta's family and CR. We'll miss her very very much.
I have been a lurker for the last year and a half. I have accessed tis blog daily. I am so sorry to hear this very sad news. My best wishes to her family. I know the great spirit watches out for her own.
So sad to see this. My condolences to all.
This is sad news. My condolences to her friends and family. I will miss reading her insights here.
Amazing how these things hit me emotionally even though I didn't really know her. I'm sure I'm not alone, but it makes me very sad.
Sujal
My condolences to all...
I'm very sorry to hear this news. I started reading your blog about a year ago and loved Tanta's blogs. My condolences to her family.
Ted
How terribly sad. Somehow I had pretended she was not as ill as that.
I miss you, Tanta.
Why good people (with integrity and honor) go first?
And bad people last long?
I am shocked to hear of Tanta's passing. She was an inspiration. My deepest sympathy to her friends and family. Goodbye, Doris, I will miss you.
Tanta saudade
How sad. I hope she knew how much so many of us appreciated her and her work and, in particular, her wit. Please tell her family that there are hundreds of reader whom she entertained and educated. We will all miss her and the Mortgage Pig.
Speechless.
I will remember her with great fondness.
I hope she enjoyed her time on CR.
Thank you for your time and your wit Tanta!
Good bye.
she taught me soooo much!
I am so sorry.
Rest in peace Tanta.
I was blessed to be able to learn from her knowledge....for free. I was already missing her commentary wondering where she was? Now I am stunned at the loss.
Godspeed.
I am so so sorry. My condolences to the Dungey family and friends of Tanta.
She will be sorely missed.
Break, break, break,
On thy cold gray stones, O sea!
And I would that my tongue could utter
The thoughts that arise in me.
O, well for the fisherman's boy,
That he shouts with his sister at play!
O, well for the sailor lad,
That he sings in his boat on the bay!
And the stately ships go on
To their haven under the hill;
But O for the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still!
Break, break, break,
At the foot of thy crags, O sea!
But the tender grace of a day that is dead
Will never come back to me.
\t-- Alfred, Lord Tennyso
I am absolutly speechless. She will be missed and I feel so lucky to have known her. Thank you for leaving us with your knowledge Tanta.
I came in toward the later postings of Tanta. I have a great amount of respect and admiration for her. Not only did my experience come personally, but also through the mass of comments of others who truly missed her presence.
May comfort and grace be with her family and those close to her.
I am saddened. She was a light.
Anonymous writes:
I was there, at the core of the Bricolage moment with Tanta....what a thrill!
Anonymous | 04.24.08 - 7:41 pm
About how I feel right now:
YouTube -
C, weeping.
Here's to Doris,
She never did bore us;
With posts deep and wise,
Here Tanta lies.
God Bless.
Such an enormous loss.
To her family, my condolences. She touched so many of our lives and made us richer in the only true sense.
A light has gone out and the world is darker for it.
Rest in peace.
So sad.
Condolences to her friends and family and to you, CR.
Godspeed, Tanta!
That's really tragic. It comes at a time when her knowledge and clarity are most solely needed. I know I learned a lot from reading her work. It's a shame she won't be able to continue to shine a light for others on this issues, as she did for me. I'll miss her.
I'm so sorry for your loss, CR, and the loss for Tanta's family. For those of us who had the pleasure of reading Tanta's posts, we were so very fortunate. We had the gift of her keen inteligence and generous wit -- One of the best examples I can name of why blog's in general and CR in particular are changing the way people get information. All of this is why we readers were lucky, and we will miss Tanta's insight tremendously. For those closest to her, though, the loss is so much worse. We lost a voice and a source of light -- you lost a friend. All I can say is,again, that I'm sorry for your loss, and let us know if you need anything.
Very very sad news - my prayers and thoughts to go Tanta's family - and of course you CR.
take care.
Thanks Tanta. We learned so much.
RIP
I am very sad.
Howard
Oh boy, thats sooo bad and sad news.
Rest in peace, Tanta, we all appreciate your company here.
Rest in Peace Doris Dungey "Tanta"
Rest in Peace Doris Dungey "Tanta" - J. Bradford DeLong's Grasping Reality with All Eight Tentacles
Best wishes to everyone who knew Tanta, CR....
A wish upon a fallen star
Spirit light,
Spirit bright,
Spirit guiding us through night,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Thank you for your keen insight.
--
Go with God, Tanta.
And keep a candle burning for us, your fans, who will follow all too soon. --Charles
Tanta,
may God bless you and thank you for your time here.
God Bless Tanta.
We were so, so lucky to have her knowledge and wit to guide us through the events of the past couple years.
We will miss you -badly!- Tanta!
Condolences. What a loss. She taught all of us a great deal.
She left her mark.
Very sad. Words cannot express.
So sad. May she rest in peace.
An Irish Blessing:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again
May God hold you In the palm of His hand.
There must be many a bankster fearing for his immortal soul at the very thought that heaven has a new supervisor watching their books.
A true tragedy. Tanta's writings helped me to understand much of the present financial crisis before it truly unfolded. She was an educator and a brilliant satirist. She will be missed.
xposted at Delong:
Sad, sad news...47 is far too young.
For the last couple of years, Tanta has used her remaining strength to push ideas and conversations that were more important than her. They were not always popular, but I think history will judge them righter than most. She has shared her industry knowledge and experience with us so that we might benefit, even though she must have known that she would not.
I will miss reading her. I will miss engaging with her. I will miss the Pig. I will curse cancer for taking bright young people from us before they can fully contribute to our public conversation.
Curse you, cancer. Tante Vive!
Adding, for CR:
To the extent that my non-sophisticated, non-finance brain has been able to understand the current financial crisis, all credit goes to Tanta.
I have (mostly) followed and (to some extent) engaged in the debate at CR for a couple of years regarding the finance industry. On an occasion or two I have dialogued with Tanta and I now feel privileged to have done so.
I feel empowered by the knowledge that Tanta has shared with us. I feel powerless by the system that knowledge sheds light upon.
But to the extent I hold hope for a brighter future, it is because Tanta has given us all the knowledge to fight for something better.
--
I am an athiest. I hold no hope for a peaceful afterlife for Tanta. This life is all there is.
But Tanta gave this life all she had. She passed her knowledge to us that we might benefit. She did so selfishly, knowing that she might not ever benfit.
Curse you, cancer. Thank you, Tanta. Tanta Vive!
Because Tanta touched us all, and we all carry Tanta's voice into the future.
I'll miss you terribly, Tanta. Thank you for your joy and skill in sharing intricate and often difficult truths. In your hands the mortgage marketplace wasn't an arid exchange of credit and dollars; it played out as a grand drama of hubris, greed and stupidity that didn't just make all the nerdy details easy to understand but explained exactly why it all mattered. My life and work have been enriched by your fierce commitment.
I always enjoyed the Bricolage stories!!
Calculated Risk: Bricolage
I am so sorry. I kept wondering when Tanta would come back to post - she had been so quiet lately. Condolences to her many friends and family.
Such a tragic loss, she will be sorely missed. She was so smart, so funny, and so generous to share her knowledge and research with the rest of us. It was always clear that she genuinely wanted to help the rest of us understand what was going on in this crazy world, and we were all very fortunate that she chose to spend some of her limited time and energy here. Truly a unique talent and a wonderful person. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.
Thanks to Tanta for all of the edification she's provided to us. She's been a great teacher.
When cancer took my friend Jean Wong about a year and a half ago, I found this video... I looped it and played it for hours, as I thought about her. I haven't played it since then. The words aren't perfect, and the art was done for a commercial, but I loved the imagery and guitar.
Some one said earlier, 'How is it that we know anyone, really?' ... so it's true.. what we knew of Tanta, we'll miss tragically. Tragically.
YouTube - sony bravia (bouncy balls)
wow. thank you tanta.
Rob - thanks for the old country post. Still sends chills up my back. In a good way.
C
What a great loss.
It's a sad day indeed. Her insight, passion and wit will be sadly missed.
If you want to see what prescient and straight ahead smart look like..
here is Tanta's post upon the return from her long absence
as you read this think about how right on she was more than two years ago...a genius
Hey, CR. I hope I find you well.
I was a regular commenter on your wonderful site until late last year, after which I kinda disappeared without saying goodbye, which is rude. I apologize. Fact is, I got diagnosed with ovarian cancer and I have been in the process of working myself out of "cancer patient" status and into "cancer survivor" status. It's a long and drug-filled road, and I have surgical scars that look like some of your more interesting graphs. However, I'm getting more and more able to sit up at a desk and do non-essential things like surf the web and revisit some old favorites, so here I am. I sure hope you've been doing better than I have.
Back to business: the mortgage insurers can raise rates all day long and it won't do dog for them or anyone else. The whole problem is, precisely, that the "piggyback" mortgage was designed to get around MI. As long as there are second-lien lenders willing to price them cheaper than MI--and perhaps we're seeing the beginning of the end of that--the MIs just lose business entirely in a credit bubble, since they've been burned before and haven't been willing to follow the pricing down to ruin again. They remember the early 90s better than the regulators do (or did, maybe).
The real point is they have two dogs in this fight: they have lost market share because competitors (second lien and 100% lenders) have been willing to underprice risk, and they are at risk for the book of business they do have because increasing foreclosures and bubble-deflating in their market areas drag down values on insured as well as uninsured collateral. A lot of lenders and RE brokers have been dismissing the MIs for years now on the grounds that they're just crying over lost business, but in my unhumble opinion the MIs have been pretty good risk managers in an irrational market for a long time, meaning they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. The fact that their interest in all this isn't quite public-spirited altruism doesn't mean they aren't right. (If you remember, I've often made that argument about Fannie and Freddie.)
As I have been saying for years now, the reports from the MI companies ought to scare the crap out of Alt-A RMBS holders, but it never seems to. If the sector of the industry whose whole function is to underwrite default risk won't touch that stuff at the (then) current market price, what makes anyone think the risk is adequately managed by a structured security? What are we going to do here, "make it up on volume"? (Inside joke: mortgage lenders always think they can keep slicing off risk premiums and "make it up on volume.")
The chickens are coming home to roost. The effects will not be pretty, but I have to admit that both personal and professional circumstances are conspiring to make me say: I TOLD YOU SO! I TOLD YOU SO! I SO TOLD YOU SO!
There. I think I got that out of my system. Nice to be back, CR.
Tanta | 08.19.06 - 6:39 am | #
Greg
I am simply speechless.
That the wit, honour, honesty and integrity was ripped away.
That so many fools remain morbid on this earth.
That someone I never knew or met could contribute so much to me.
A loss for me, for us, and for the world that is interested in truth, fiarness, and for the world's peace of mind getting the story right.
A saving grace, the obid in NYTimes was not written by Gretchen.
Got to go. Can not be here right now.
Peace.
Warmest to her family. My thoughts are with them.
Tanta will always be remembered here on CR. Thank you so much for your insight, humor and goodwill. You will be surely missed, by many.
Tanta, you will be missed dearly. Thank you, for all that you shared with us.
I offer my condolences to CR and your family.
Damn.
RIP friend
Never has so much mortgage wisdom been gathered together in one room as when Tanta studied alone.
A sad day, indeed.
Condolences to all of Tanta's family and readers.
It is often too sad that the best of us go too soon. She was a gift only given to us by the great love of her friends, family, and loved ones, and she reciprocated as their greatest investment. I can only hope that time breeds endless people of such character. As a younger reader of this blog, I can only hope to have such great leadership now passed on to those who would feel her calling. I will try to do so myself.
Blessings to you, Tanta. Thanks for all you did for the rest of us. Namaste.
Tanta made a significant contribution to the debate regarding subprime mortgages and other toxic mortgage products. She will be deeply missed. I thank her for her help in understanding the disaster before many realized a problem existed.
My condolences on Tanta's death. Her intelligence, willingness to share knowledge, and sharp wit will be missed greatly.
My favorite posts were the UberNerd because of the patience, attention to detail, and time spent on educating and informing. Nobel prize-winning economist Herbert Simon said, "A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention." Tanta helped to focus readers on what was important.
My prayers go to her family. Please take comfort in the ways that she positively touched many people's lives.
I'm a finance guy, and I learned a great deal from Tanta in the couple of years that I've been reading this blog. I remember reading her posts as my former employer continued down the primrose path that led to its recent demise. As I watched and more than occasionally railed against the stupidity of the decision making, I started to refer colleagues and bosses more and more frequently to Tanta's posts. They blew them off as "internet message board" stuff.
Then Krugman linked to CR, and the world started to collapse, and suddenly even the idiot top brass started sneaking a peek occasionally.
I'm terribly sad to hear of Tanta's passing. She was my favorite writer during these crazy financial times.
My condolences to her family and friends.
-Price Stout
Tanta gave us some early warnings of a financial crisis in the comments to this blog (August 2005). Her writing style was witty, informative and entertaining. She will be missed.
To the new people, you don't know what you missed. With the two of them posting - CR grounded and agenda-free; Tanta with laser like analysis and an edge to boot - it was a marriage made in heaven.
And, believe me, the woman's verbal artillery had no equal. The bodies of foolish comment posters were not suffered gladly, (actually they weren't suffered at all, though this was one of CR's qualities - his graciousness - that she hoped to emulate.)
Oh and every Saturday you were treated to Tanta's you-tube music video known as "Saturday Rock Blogging." Search the archives for a taste.
We are all grateful for you introducing her to us, CR. Tanta was truly special. Some have brains and book smarts, some have common sense and some have humor. But it is rare to get all 3 in the same package. She was the real deal. Not only will she be greatly missed, she will not be able to be replaced.
I am thankful she chose to share herself with us and we are smarter and wiser for her generosity.
A deeply saddened Yankee
Having lost a father to cancer my condolences to Tanta's family. I was meaning to give a tip but will donate extra to the cancer society this year.
Wow. What a tremendous loss.
Tanta,
Rest in peace. Know that you have been right. I really enjoyed your posts over the years.
Carol
My condolences to Tanta's family and CR.
I appreciated her work greatly
I'm very saddened to hear this - I've been lurking here since early 2006, and I've found her posts, particularly the Ubernerd entries, to be invaluable sources of insight on this intriguingly screwed-up financial world we find ourselves in.
So glad that I got to listen to her voice through this blog. Will miss the XCell pigs n' such.
Godspeed.
Best wishes to her family and CR. Way too young to go.
GOOD NIGHT SWEET PRINCESS AND MAY A HOST OF ANGELS SING THEE TO THY REST.
She was an excellent writer with an excellent wit. We will all miss her. What unfortunate news about someone who gave others the fortune of knowledge.
Amor fati.
This is very very sad. There are so few with the gift of clear honest analysis and fewer still willing to share that freely. She was a gift to us all. God speed Tanta.
Tanta was wonderful. She will be dearly missed.
So sorry to hear of this sad news. RIP Tanta.
Three quotes from the New York Times:
Ms. Dungey was raised in Bloomington-Normal, Ill.
Bear with me while I ask some stupid questions, Tanta wrote.
Tanta liked to chew on the follies of regulators, the idiocies of lenders and a particular favorite clueless reporters, which according to her was just about all of them.
This explains why her writing appeals to me. The combination of Midwestern common sense with the courage to question the establishment. Continuing to ask stupid questions of the authorities may be the best way we can honor her life.
A great loss. My sympathies and condolences to her friends and family.
Very sad indeed. We were lucky to have been able to share time with her here. She will be dearly missed.
I don't pray or I would. My condolences and sincerest of best wishes to her family.
Wow, Tanta you will be missed.
Thank you for the help and the education.
--Coli
I am so very sad and shocked to read this news. My condolences to you and to Tanta's family.
Thoughts and prayers for all.
I'll miss Tanta. She was a shining light.
My condolences to Tanta's family and friends.
Although she was never my friend in a personal sense, I sure feel as if I've lost one. What a outstanding person she must have been up close and personal!
Few people possessed the background to judge Tanta's industry insights, but like anyone who stumbled upon CR and Tanta's writings, I was taken aback by the quality of the rhetoric and often just savored the writing. It was also clear that her work elicited "more better thinking" from everyone who engaged her on line.
What a compelling person. I cannot help think that Tanta's contribution has re-defined what blogging means.
This is just so sad. What a loss to all of us mini-nerds.
My condolences go out to you CR for the loss of a dear friend. My heartfelt sympathies go to Tanta's family. Tanta was so incredibly gifted with knowledge, a sense of humanity and it is incredible that she was able to share her scholarly writings with the severe illness that she was battling at the same time.
I'm in awe of her talent and sad for our loss of such a beautiful human being.
Carry on in spirit Tanta.
Tanta Vive!
This is very sad. I loved her insight, the snark and the wit. Tanta will be truly missed.
God Bless.
Just awful news. My deepest sympathies to her friends and family.
Such sad sad news. Our condolences to Tanta's family and to CR. The blogosphere and mainstream media have lost a genius commentator.
As a regional bubbleblog we rely on CalculatedRISK for bigpicturing, wisdom, forecasts, perspectives, and Tanta's humor. We learned a huge amount from her. It's small condolence, but a truth, that a part of her will live on in cyberspace.
RIP, Tanta.
I don't post often here, but read religiously. We are all grateful she shared as much of her time as she was able.
There aren't many people that can reach out and touch you through the toobz, but Tanta could.
I am saddened by this news. Also surprised to see the Bill McBride himself was outed in the same NY Times article.
My condolences. I will miss Tanta's posts.
I can't understand how Citi managed to outlive Tanta. A sad day.
Tanta, your insight and influence will live on.
Wow. That's just so sad.
I feel blessed that she shared herself with this poor minion yearning to breathe free.
Baruch Dayan haEmet. I am very sorry to have squandered so much of the opportunity to learn from Tanta.
Tanta was our guru in many ways, brilliant, focused, principled and funny. yay.
Hosshin, 13th century wrote:
Coming, all is clear, no
doubt about it. Going, all is
clear, without a doubt.
What, then, is all?
Hosshin's last word was "Katsu!" which signifies the attainment of enlightenment.
Hers was some of the best writing I've ever read, internet or otherwise.
Thanks, Tanta, for the wonderful lessons.
Tears to follow.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom Tantachka,
You will be missed.
Rest in Peace, Tanta.
CR,
I didn't know Tanta except through her posts and comments. I really did not know her at all. I do know that Doris was willing to share her knowledge, her humor, her courage and at times her exasperation to all the readers here. And she gave so much to the readers on this site.
The economic events of the past 2 months have been shocking at times and have made me wonder about my future and the future my loved ones. But no post will ever sadden me like this one. What a terrible loss.
My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. And my condolences to you as well Bill.
Oh Tanta - I will miss you very much.
Terrible. Terrible.
My condolences to her family and all who knew her in real life. I was not one of you but I still will miss her and her willingness to share her knowledge and experience with those such as myself who lacked both.
Please post the choice of charity at your earliest knowledge.
And thank you for finally naming her.
I've actually thought about her every time that I've come on and wondered how she's doing. She was an excellent writer and a great example of how this should be done.
Yes, she will be remembered.
Please post the choice of charity at your earliest knowledge.
And thank you for finally naming her.
I've actually thought about her every time that I've come on and wondered how she's doing. She was an excellent writer and a great example of how this should be done.
Yes, she will be remembered.
Her insight will be missed. We are all better off for having known her.
God speed.