Exegi monumentum aere perennius
regalique situ pyramidum altius,
quod non imber edax, non Aquilo inpotens possit diruere aut innumerabilis
annorum series et fuga temporum. 5
Non omnis moriar multaque pars mei
uitabit Libitinam; usque ego postera
crescam laude recens, dum Capitolium
scandet cum tacita uirgine pontifex.
Dicar, qua uiolens obstrepit Aufidus 10
et qua pauper aquae Daunus agrestium
regnauit populorum, ex humili potens
princeps Aeolium carmen ad Italos
deduxisse modos. Sume superbiam
quaesitam meritis et mihi Delphica 15
lauro cinge uolens, Melpomene, comam.
It's been a dark, miserable, and stormy day here in Maryland, which is fitting with the loss of Doris/Tanta.
She touched so many lives with her experience, wisdom, sense of humor, and willingness to speak the truth in a time when doing so is considered "improper." She passed from this earth at far too young an age and in a way she did not deserve.
I vividly remember reading her for the first time. I thought, "Christ, what is she doing here? She belongs at the Times." No offense to CR, or his terrific site, but her writing reminded me of Mencken. God, she was so bright.
Anyway, the world works in mysterious ways and I shall miss her--a lot.
The blogosphere enables people with vision, talent and grace to create something from nothing, literally.
Not by themselves. But by placing themselves in the center of a community of their own creation and will power.
Everybody here for awhile has experienced how Tanta's will power shaped the blog, in ways different than CR's.
The blogosphere started as a luxury. Now, with the slow decay or mainstream media, it becomes more of a necessity day-by-day.
It's a little sad, but also a little joyous, that it has taken a death for some people to fully recognize the talent of one blogger and the power of the blogosphere.
Disability does not exist in the blogosphere. Only ability.
Not only did she spank butts, but she could without having the recipient be anything other than grateful. I am pleased to see that some in the msm understand the loss....
Doris was one of those rare people you feel privileged to have in your life, even if only for a short while. You're always eager to spend time with them, and slightly surprised and gratified that they seem to enjoy spending time with you.
As a believer in reincarnation, I'd like to think that our "Tanta" will someday be back with us, but I think perhaps not; hers was an old and wise soul.
Thank you, Doris, for sharing with me your knowledge, your wit, and most of all your generous and caring soul.
I've been following along in the CR-verse for about a year and a half, and in that time my understanding and interest in the world of mortgages and finance has grown immeasurably. I attribute a lot of this to CR's analysis of events and trends, and just as much to Tanta's explanations of how the sausage is made. As many others have said, she had a singular ability to take very wonkish topics and explain them in plain-enough language that people outside the world of finance could grasp the concepts and keep my attention. I am glad that in our time we have "archives" where these works can be discovered, read, studied, and preserved. I will take some solace in knowing that we still have her words to help us remember a great spirit (bourbon slurpies not withstanding). There have only been 2 "celebrities" whose loss has brought me to tears: Jerry Garcia and Tanta. Two people who made a difference in my life, though in very different ways.
My meager condolences could never equal the loss I feel of her passing. Whenever a singular voice of her stature is lost, one cannot help but feel the loss of focus that her words helped to give. My deepest regards...
The thing that always struck me about Tanta was how she could crank out these enormously eloquent, powerful, and detailed essays in a day. Imagine, a PhD term paper in one day. I hope some ivy covered university/college gives her a posthumous PhD on her lyrical works. She was department chair of mortgages at the prestigious University of Calculated Risk and should be duly and officially honored.
Barbara Walters in on Oprah discussing her sister's death from ovarian cancer...Very poignant, maybe this disease will get more recognition, that would be a fitting tribute to Tanta...
I stumbled on CR in the spring of 2005,not long after I got back into Real Estate as a loan broker,saw what was happening and screamed WTF? Tanta's humor,knowledge,and abiding faith in humanity,and Bill's steady,dispassionate analysis and quiet wit combined to provide some of the finest writing I have ever encountered on any subject.I have done very little today except grieve and be thankful.I am willing to wager that a LOT of Bourbon slurpees will be consumed the next few days,and that some charity will recieve a surprising number of donations.It has also been comforting to see a lot of familiar names in the comments,I have read all of them.Thank you Tanta,and CR.
Jesus, her writing is brilliant. A very unique and interesting person, she was. Upon reading the first 100 words of that post, I feel like she's a friend I've known for years. she connects well with her reader and that is a rare gift.
I'm just so all-over sad today, but renewed with a new vigor. She showed the rest of us the importance of keeping up the fight for every day. She made those extra days count in ways that will still be measured and found large decades from now.
I thought, "Christ, what is she doing here? She belongs at the Times." No offense to CR, or his terrific site, but her writing reminded me of Mencken.
Reminded me of HL, too. Factual, accurate, and never dry.
Hell, I'd bet her mortgage application rejection letters were worth reading; I'd guarantee anyone who got one had more respect for the truth after reading it than before.
What constitutes a person who might stand so tall as Tanta? What was it she brought to our discourse that is so endearing, so tragic, so womderful and full?
Certainly the wit of Oscar Wilde, the storytelling skills of Virgil, and the professionalism and grace of -- well in those she had no peer.
But it was something more profound, like some warm light lodged in the firmament, shining onto us all.
Simply, she let love shine across the web. Every acronym, snark, hint at her condition, joke, and exposition came imbued with a love of humanity, a hope that we could find sense in this somewhere. It is a mighty task to do this while expressing skepticism, but if you didn't sense the love coming through, you weren't listening closely enough.
She cared about justice and fairness, and stuck to her guns in the face of sometimes relentless commentary to the contrary. And when she spanked, she did it for all of us--my few spankings were deserved and stung less as I saw he sense in her arguments.
I miss her very, very, very much. It sucks without her
My condolences to all who loved her back, as I did, from across the routers.
CR, glad to see you reposted the Bourbon Slurpee recipe. I found it for the first time in the wee hours going through old posts and copied it over to my word processor software for future reference.
The blogosphere started as a luxury. Now, with the slow decay of mainstream media, it becomes more of a necessity day-by-day.
--
Rich, this is very true. Of course, the lesson to learn early on is that, as humans, we are drawn to those with whom we share interests and views with. It becomes far too easy in a tight knit blog community to shun or disregard those with which we disagree.
Tanta's willingness (read: love) to challenge the mainstream and point out its follies was a true gift. She did so in a way that could make you both laugh and think, while at the same time highlight how the misconception was born in the first place.
Let us not lose this balance. Losing her is enough.
The most hilarious one I found was her response to casual Friday HR memo violations.
Sorry no link, but it went something like Tanta went out to the cheapest clothing shop and bought a lime green mini-dress to show solidarity with the minimum wage office workers who were the targets of the policy.
I've been lurking on this website for 2+ years now... first post. I was shocked and sadden to see the news of Tanta. I know I sound like a broken record with everybody else's comments... but scanning through the comments as I read... I always did look forward to Tanta's responses. Thank you for all the knowledge you have given me Tanta/Doris. CR, keep up the great work.
I thought that she reminded me of HL Mencken. For those of you who don't know him, he was a brilliant observer of humanity and wrote sometimes hilarious, sometimes scathing articles.
Conversely, you'd read her online comments in the threads and realize that there was another side that was very warm and giving.
Yes, I will actually miss her; to have this kind of impact amongst people that would never meet her is a testament to her.
It is truly one of the greatest gifts to be touched, warmed, and thoroughly amazed by another human being. We are all blessed to have been able to share in Tanta's life and to be able to cherish her memory dearly. May her wit, grace, and je ne sais quoi live on forever. I doubt I will ever snort aloud at another snarky blog comment without thinking of Tanta.
CR, thanks for encouraging her to post and for sharing her with the rest of the Ubernerd community.
I read this blog often, although I rarely comment. This was my favorite Tanta post, and one that I tried to spread whenever anyone mentioned the Feldstein mortgage plan earlier this year.
Nemo writes:
She certainly spanked my butt on more than one occasion.
Her passing is a terrible, terrible loss.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I have an undergraduate degree in physics and one day posted an incorrect figure for the speed of light in meters/ second. Tanta called me on it. I am truly amazed at her attention to detail.
My condolences. Her posts were very enlightening - I learned a lot from her through this blog, and her humor & snarkiness kept me coming back for more.
It is just so sad. I prayed for the best for Tanta but feared the worse since I lost someone else to ovarian cancer this year. Tanta was just an amazing and talented person, and she touched us all with her writing at a time that she must have been going through personal turmoil in simply trying to survive. I hope that the banking and mortgage industry will compile her posts and comments so that people may continue to learn from the great Tanta.
Tanta didn't countenance spiritual references or pardon their interweaving into econo-dialogue. I even was unceremoniously deleted, several times, for exceeding her religious tolerance. Somehow I take pride in that.
Today, although she is gone, and another day-to-night spin on this petty globe won't be hers, I'm sure she endures. What a conundrum!
How could such a polished and minutely well-formed being just vanish? Surely the house she daily constructed of stitch and sinew...and cerebral organization, is not foreclosed, assumed, or bulldozed. Prime, prime, prime...we are all judges here. Of real estate, equities, and the magnitude of a human soul.
I've never posted a comment here before and I probably never will again. But Tanta was one of the best things on the Internet and seeing her posts was often the highlight of my day. Best wishes to her friends and family; I hope it is some small consolation that she is loved and respected by so many.
Wow. what fantastic words from everybody (even you, wsj).
In a fit of thankfulness I posted this once for her--then immediately though I overdid it. Screw it--this is how I feel and I'm sticking to it-Tanta I hope you're listening:
I am fairly new here at CR and nothing I say can add to the volumes already said.
However, in the grand scheme of things, her passing is a reminder that it is people that have value. Money, homes, things, stuff, and consumerism is just that.
While we all read and write about "stuff", people are what we should value.
Sadly, much of what goes on in this country is contrary to this. Look at all the greed and scamming that goes on in the name of capitalism.
People, esp. like Tanta, should be valued more than "stuff." Sadly, her passing reminds of this when I should already know this.
I really enjoyed her postings, and although she has passed away, her influence on all of us will not be forgotten. Not many people can say they accomplished what she has accomplished - namely keeping a very large number of people informed with keen insight on a daily basis.
I have been lurking here for a few years now and would, once in a great while,comment on one of Tanta's posts. I sent her an e-mail with an attachment to something from PACER once and got a return e-mail that read, "Thanks-T". I have kept that e-mail for over a year.
My dad was an English professor and before he passed away I used to print off and read to him some of Tanta's posts. Often he laughed out loud and he always commented that it was a shear pleasure to hear the writing of someone who had such a grasp of the English language.
Tanta, you brought the mortgage business to life for many people who may not have recognized a mortgage if it jumped up and bit them.
I dearly hope that the comments from the commenters here comfort your family in some small way.
CR, as always, you are a class act. Thank you for all you do and for sharing your friend, Tanta, with us.
Thanks CR for a beautiful tribute to her wonderful wit and incredible mind. And to Tanta, you were a great teacher to so many closet readers of this blog, we are forever indebted for the knowledge you shared. Thank you.
Tanta was the real deal: whip smart, witty, cultured, with a larger-than-most BS detector. Therefore, to honor her memory, I request that those who have posted comments (not about Tanta!) in recent months that struck this lurker as incredibly sexist cease and desist.
Again, speechless. It's so difficult to tell people in the 'real world' why I'm just moping around.
I'm glad stdfs and bacon dreamz were so articulate. I've certainly had a horrible time explaining my own grief to anyone outside this board.
Thanks, CR for sharing my stunned comments with others in the community. I feel honored to even be mentioned in a thread about The Mortgage Czarina.
And Comrade Putino.. Horace is appropriate..
"I have given you a monument more lasting than bronze,
My monument shall raise its head higher than royal pyramids:
it shall not dread corroding rain or angry North Winds... "
I was already a regular reader of CR when Tanta first appeared as a commenter.
Like a once-in-a-lifetime meteor she burst onto the scene and illuminated the landscape of mortgage lending with brilliant clarity.
And now like a meteor is suddenly gone.
I neither can nor care to stop the tears.
Others say, "Rest In Peace". But I hope she will keep on to haunt the fools and charlatans who made a travesty of the business in which she so ably and humanely made her career, driving them screaming to the gates of Hell.
Its really amazing how an anonymous blogger has made such and impact. But I guess i never felt she was anonymous, there was always a connection. Her loss has just exposed to me how great that connection was.
I think Tanta's words will forever be a part of our lexicon. Who will ever be able to forget: "We are all subprime now."?
Reading Tanta's account of "microwaving the remote" reminded me of some of the things that my father went through that I had not included in my memorial post Live Like You Were Dying. The pain killers do, in fact, make you hallucinate (esp. in geriatric cases).
I wonder how many of us will be quoting from Tanta's Ubernerd like some religious adherents quote their scripture. (Just kidding ... sort of.)
This is crazy. I can't seem to quite believe we will not hear more from Tanta. I had some moments today where I feel like a 3 year old at a funeral asking where Mommy is and when she is coming back. Don't understand.
I have been sad all day thinking about what a terrible loss we've suffered here in the land that CR built. I rarely post but come here often to absorb as much as I can from better minds than mine, to sit in on what has to be the best conversation on the web. I won't claim to have always understood everything she wrote, but I always knew that Tanta's musings were worth whatever time and energy were necessary to make it through her postings. God speed Tanta - you had a permanent and positive impact on my life and I thank you so much for your service to this world and wish you all the best in the next.
On another note, I'd also like to say that it's comforting to know that we can all put aside our differences to remember the best of this community in such a kind and touching memorial. Conservatives, liberals, free marketeers, socialists, believers and non-believers alike - the comments posted here today and last night give me hope in these darkening times. The world may be in for a rough patch over the next few years, but I believe that it will be blogs like this that will help bind us together.
Thank you CR - you're part of the path to a better future and the quality of your companions, like Tanta, is a credit to your vision. Keep up the good work and know that it is recognized and appreciated.
I imagine toes curled in slippers, ankles crossed beneath her chair, steam rising from her favorite cup placed just so near her keyboard, a slight smile gracing her lips beneath a furrowed brow, as she thought and typed a response that she knew would bring smiles and cause the reader to reflect.
She was a writer; she wrote. She made - makes - us think, about what it takes to think clearly and act nobly. Can that be her parting gift? Now, more than at any time in recent history, we must think and act with fairness, resolve, and good humor.
Thank you, Doris and Bill, for all you have done to shed light.
While remembering, I thought I'd mention the time Tanta pulled one of my comments and included it in her post. Yes she used words like "marvelous" and "jewel" which I must say made me happy. But the interesting thing to me was how she said "Our 12th Percentile". I thought it was kind that she included me in her/our circle.
UPDATE: our 12th Percentile leaves us this jewel in the comments:
We were merely making fun of David Brooks, which I feel is mostly beneath Tanta and should be left to hacks like me, but I was happy to help.
12th - I had a similar honor in a july 2007 post, where I got the "our" treatment for an article I sent Tanta on buying a home in California. But you know what sticks in my craw? Not that...it's the time she thrashed me for being lazy in a comment. And I always felt bad about it and tried to make it up by making more appropriate comments on her posts. But I could never really forgive myself for feeling like I got on her bad side, and to this day, I dont feel like I ever really got off of it.
So, it's late, but I'm sorry. But what I'd give to be able to be thrashed again for everyone else's benefit.
Oh God. She was ONLY 47. That's the same age as President-elect Obama. I believe the best was ahead of her. Maybe a gig at WSJ or Times, a mortgage mystery novel, a Pulizter . . . who knows.
In remembrance, I sure hope somebody acknowledges her at Webby Awards.
I'm very sorry to hear this news. Tanta's posts always helped me as I struggled to understand the ins and outs of the crisis and its origins. There aren't a lot of places where people can learn about this mess but Tanta's posts provided that opportunity in a thoughtful and entertaining way. I only recently got to know her work and I am deeply saddened at her loss. My condolences to her friends and family.
I am so sad about this. Tanta was really fantastic. My condolences to the family.
With the new information about Tanta's real name (and yours, CR!), I took the opportunity to make a Wikipedia page about your blog.
Been reading CR since before Tanta was promoted to the starting lineup, but I've only posted a comment a handful of times. Mostly to inadequately say "Thanks Tanta" for an enlightening, thought provoking, brilliantly written piece.
I would definately purchase her works in book form. I tend to enjoy curling up and reading with a real, honest to goodness paper book in my hands...Great idea!
I was so upset about the news of Tanta's passing that I did not even know the markets had a big down day.
Before reading this blog I was a real novice about housing and economics. I just wanted to know when the housing market would recover and when I could buy a house at a reasonable price. This blog has helped me in many ways to understand the depth of the housing and mortgage problems we face in the US. I always knew there would be problems but I never could imagine how bad they would be. Tanta's posts and comments taught me a lot!
I will miss Tanta's writings greatly. My thoughts are with her family.
CR, a beautiful, deep and elegant post - about a life that touched so many. I want to thank you personally that you extended to Tanta an invitation to blog for countless souls that appreciated her research and understanding about every subject matter she published. A privilege and honor for all of us to be part of her life.
This outpouring of emotion over the loss of someone most of us never met is truly remarkable.
I find this part from her email to Brian quite moving:
Anyway, Brian, as I once explained to our dear CR, I have been really hesitant to email people, for what may sound like insane reasons, but fighting cancer can make you a little nutty. You must understand that some day, quite possibly sooner than you'd expect, you will just not get an answer from an email to me, and that might mean I'm in the hospital, it might mean I'm in the hospice, and it might mean that God is my mail drop from now on. (It could, actually, mean I'm vacationing in Aruba , but I could warn you about that.) I have no clear idea why, but the way this strikes me is that I should be careful about inviting perfectly nice people into my personal little dilemmas, without first warning them.
We may not have been invited, but it seems we had become part of her "personal little dilemmas" in ways we never realized until she was gone.
Godspeed to Tanta and her family. CR you need to post the charities Tanta supported, so we donate in her memory. Personally, she saved me a hell of a lot of money and will make a generous donation.
"Since it's Easter Sunday, and you don't have anything better to
do than munch on Peeps and read about relitter perfidy ..."
I read those words as I sat down to read Calculated Risk, on Easter Sunday,
with a box full of Peeps. I hope Tanta had some inkling of how widespread her
influence was (but I'm afraid she didn't), and how much she helped people understand the mortgage meltdown
and the arcana of the financial system.
I've lurked on this blog for almost three years but feel I need to get out of the closet and join everyone. I've learned facts about Tanta today I never knew and find myself feeling her silence very acutely.
I read Doris Dungey's posts, due to their superb literary qualities. I wasn't surprised to hear of her advanced degree in English, but few such people make such a radical career change as to enter banking and finance.
I've been looking for short poem to share, and here's one that reflects my mood. It's from a poet in Minnesota named Robert Hedin
White Out
Here on this ridge
The only color left is you,
And soon you too will fade.
The spruce have long returned to birch
And the birch
Are quietly
Returning to snow.
The crash that accelerated in September 08 occurred after Tanta's posting had been scaled back considerably do to illness. Although macreconomics was not the focus of her comments-it was the arcane minutia of mortgage finance- I had always wanted to see her comments as some of the bailout plans were being proposed and adopted. Sadly she either was unable to comment or it was in part more macroeconomics than she was comfortable with. I know we would have all benefited if she would have been able to provide a reality check on what is continuing as an ongoing crisis and how these proposals might actually work on the ground in main street America. That unflinching grasp of reality with the great writing was the mix that made what she produced so valuable and entertaining. Writing about mortgages and being able to entertain while doinhg it-that is a rare talent indeed.
The last time I cried for someone I'd never met in person was when Molly Ivins died. Good company, that.
I never met Tanta, and am yet another (non-)random stranger she enlightened, instructed, and entertained, as we interacted assymetrically on this strange thing we call an internet.
To the extent that we are our ideas, I knew Tanta, as did you all. We knew, not her face, nor even the whole shape of her mind, but her mind in profile. She is beautiful. Her passing is not yet real. A light--of reason, and truth, and justice, and humor--has gone out of the world. Yet something so vibrant cannot simply be extinguished. She glows yet, reflected in the mind's eye of a thousand strangers who say, each and all, "I knew her. She was my friend. She was beautiful. I loved her."
Mind numbingly brilliant she was, and witty and kind and forceful and prescient and I could go on and on but I will start crying. My lurking CR will never be the same. Tanta Transcends.
I would like to thank CR for his role in bringing Tanta to the rest of us.
CR created a place that attracted and retained Tanta in the first place, but more importantly he recognized her mettle and talent and invited her to share his byline.
It's one of the things I most appreciate about CR -- secure ego.
Thanks CR for providing Tanta a platform worthy of her.
Ive been scouring the very old posts for a comment she made that had me in gutbusting laughter, but havent been able to find it yet. I will post when I do.
CR, I join the many who give thanks to you for providing Tanta the platform which she used so brilliantly and to our lasting benefit, as well as for your moving memorial to her.
In Japan, those who are The Best are recognized as Living National Treasures. Tanta was ours.
dryfly - we'll know Tanta is about when something miraculous happens in the mortgage or finance world. Happened to my better half and I after her father passed away.
To all, I finally get to shed some tears over my keyboard. Had to stop myself around five times today...
lama mentioned Tanta's writings in the comment threads...that stood out for me with her postings. I had to see what she was writing in the comments, it often expanded upon the post, it was always interesting. And it seemed to give the threads a life of their own, over which she carefully watched. At times her threads seemed to be almost a part of the postings.
It is common to place a halo over people who pass, but when you go back and look at the incredible writing from Tanta, with personality, class and brilliance, her contributions are just staggering. Not only was she prescient, but she was eloquent, classy, funny and truly one-of-a-kind.
I believe that when the history of this crash is written, that the CR blog, and CR and Tanta's contributions, will have a significant place in that history.
For a blogger on mortgage securitization and economics, where you typically see simply plain writing on an interesting but not personal topic, to establish her deep rapport with thousands of bloggers is amazing.
With regards to Tanta's names charity, please be patient, I would suspect that CR would like to confer with family, and that doesn't happen in real time. CR, assuming you have no objection, I would like to suggest that you solicit input on a lasting tribute to Tanta here. All the best.
This is very upsetting. I made it a point not to read the news or blogs over the Thanksgiving weekend, and than this! I have been weeping all day. Tanta will be deeply missed. Condolences to her family and friends and to you CR.
Ive been scouring the very old posts for a comment she made that had me in gutbusting laughter, but havent been able to find it yet. I will post when I do.
Geoff | 12.01.08 - 10:21 pm |
Geoff, if you can remember the exact text, you can find the comment section where it appears (and then search for the exact comment) by putting the text in quotes on Google.
I did that today with my "We are all sublime" comment to find Tanta's response.
Just now replicating it on the Firefox Google search attached to CR found nothing, even when limited to CR's site. Doing it again on a general Internet Explorer Yahoo search found it again. Good Luck.
thx sportsfan, but Im looking to do one search that covers all the comments to all the posts over the span of a few months of 2006 (I think that's when it was.) Sounds like your answer would only cover one post at a time - which could still, however, be helpful - see below)
Last night, in my stupor, I began from day 1 of CR's posts, and made it through June 2005, looking through each comment section for something else, but that seemed a bit tedious to continue, as the comments typically only reached 30-40 in those early days. Now, each post would take me hours.
If you have a chance, it's quite interesting to go back and read the stuff from the early days. I cant remember when I first posted, but I think I was lurking in 2005. I'll have to figure that out too.
I can find things, tell me more about what made you laugh:
Our Geoff e-mailed this to me, and I hereby claim to have read it. Only once, and at 6:30 a.m., I concede. But still, one ought to be able to read the newspaper once, in the morning, and still get something out of the experience other than a good gobsmacking.
Geoff, this has to be close, but gimmie some info on what you want!
Tanta writes:
Oh, Bob, don't be silly. Nobody is ever going to have to repair or remodel these McMansions. They're brand-new! They have granite countertops that won't scratch if you use a chainsaw to slice pastrami on them. They have blown-in insulation that has a half-life of one million jillion billion years and can survive a nuclear winter. And everybody knows that the pool fairies come at night and dump chlorine when no one is looking.
The big problem is that with all that square footage, you have to buy so many darned chairs . . .
Tanta | 04.10.07 - 10:05 am | #
I remember when there were maybe 30 posts a day on here back in 05' and 06'. CR was a nice, quiet little blog. Then Tanta showed up and threw down the gauntlet. At first, I didn't like her strong attitude. But it was that attitude that was needed to explain the situation. There was no let up. Just in-your-face commentary and explanations. And like CR, it wasn't for money or fame. It was a public service. She spun my head with insider mortgage origination information. Demystified and ripped out the guts of the loan industry for all to see. And we all know they weren't small tripes but elongated treatise on each issue as if to say straight to the eye 'Do you get it ? If not, here's a bit more....'
I'm sure many in the RE industry despised her for revealing the flaws. Just as much as we loved her and will miss her.
Thank you, sunsetbeachguy, I was looking for that comment on office dress codes and couldn't find it without your help. It was one of those that touched me deeply, where Tanta's kindness and human solidarity shone in just the right way (with the perfect knowledge that this would NOT bring the revolution, but it had to be done, anyway):
"Eek, one Thursday afternoon, having read the latest outrage from HR, I stormed out of the office like the Wrath of Goddess, and stopped at a very cheap retail outlet--in all senses of the term--to purchase a lime green sleeveless zip-front mini-dress and a pair of deep brown high-heeled platform-soled ankle-strap sandals to wear to work the next day, the holy casual Friday.
You all don't know this, but I'm not the voluptuous sort. Tall, thin. I looked about as appetizing as a half a Freon-flavored popsicle propped upright in a dollop of congealed dog poop. It was perfect.
I had decided I was tired of hectoring memos aimed at our file clerks and fax operators, those loyal dogged folks we paid just over minimum wage, and who had a bad habit of showing up on casual day a little, well, tacky sometimes. Even, perhaps, trashy. There I had been, quietly role-modeling for them all in my elegant, restrained Pendleton suits, and for some reason they didn't run right out and spend a week or two's gross for one of my tailored dresses. And, yeah, they occasionally crossed the line, taste-wise.
But that day, HR had to either pick on someone its own size or admit that it was time to address the clothing budget.
It's a wonder I never got fired.
I will never claim that childish acting out in the office will bring the revolution. Nor am I inclined to apologize for it, either."
And what MTHood says about CR's secure ego. Thank you again for everything, Bill.
And thank you, CDS, for coming over here. I do hope it is of some comfort to you, too.
"A guy like Rubin, who ran the Treasury for eight years, should under no circumstances be given a free hall pass because he didnt see this coming. Same goes for Bernanke, who has been seen recently pulling out a similar excuse.
That sort of sentiment rings doubly true for me on a day like today, when weve lost undoubtedly the most prescient writer Ive seen in any financial market, and perhaps the best voice the mortgage banking industry has ever had. I can most assuredly tell every HW reader that Tanta who I hope every one of you have had the opportunity to read saw this coming.
Frankly, on a day like today, I dont feel like letting Rubin get away with this particular brand of nonsense. Hopefully, neither do any of you."
Isabel: Don't know if you'll read this as I'm 3 hrs too late, but I remember reading that comment. It struck a deep chord & tied me to Tanta.
I was transported back to my first decent job at the front desk for the trust dept. of the Valley National Bank. I was 19 and dirt poor with a student husband & a tiny baby.
I didn't join the women's banker group because, well, I just wasn't a joiner and they went to lunch at local watering holes. That cost money I didn't have. I didn't want anyone to know how poor I was. I brown-bagged & read a book in the law library.
My clothes were "inappropriate", and I got sent home once because they didn't like the dress. I was mortified and tried to explain I had no money to buy new clothes.
It didn't matter that I was hardworking. I just didn't fit in. I eventually got buried in a cloud of heifer dust & fired. I was crushed.
I never worked for another bank, even though several tried to hire me later in life. That was more than 40 years ago.
When I read Tanta's post, I thought, I sure coulda used a co-worker like that. And I wished then I could've really known her -- as a friend.
Paradigm Lost, I've just read your comment. Yeah, there is more than one way to manifest the revolution, and Tanta knew it. It is probably one of the important things that we will remember because of her.
"My clothes were "inappropriate", and I got sent home once because they didn't like the dress. I was mortified and tried to explain I had no money to buy new clothes."
Is the world "revolution" (and pitchforks, and pikes) too strong after this??? Geezus.
And Thou art Dead, as Young and Fair
by Lord Byron (George Gordon)
And thou art dead, as young and fair
As aught of mortal birth;
And form so soft, and charms so rare,
Too soon return'd to Earth!
Though Earth receiv'd them in her bed,
And o'er the spot the crowd may tread
In carelessness or mirth,
There is an eye which could not brook
A moment on that grave to look.
I will not ask where thou liest low,
Nor gaze upon the spot;
There flowers or weeds at will may grow,
So I behold them not:
It is enough for me to prove
That what I lov'd, and long must love,
Like common earth can rot;
To me there needs no stone to tell,
'T is Nothing that I lov'd so well.
Yet did I love thee to the last
As fervently as thou,
Who didst not change through all the past,
And canst not alter now.
The love where Death has set his seal,
Nor age can chill, nor rival steal,
Nor falsehood disavow:
And, what were worse, thou canst not see
Or wrong, or change, or fault in me.
The better days of life were ours;
The worst can be but mine:
The sun that cheers, the storm that lowers,
Shall never more be thine.
The silence of that dreamless sleep
I envy now too much to weep;
Nor need I to repine
That all those charms have pass'd away,
I might have watch'd through long decay.
The flower in ripen'd bloom unmatch'd
Must fall the earliest prey;
Though by no hand untimely snatch'd,
The leaves must drop away:
And yet it were a greater grief
To watch it withering, leaf by leaf,
Than see it pluck'd to-day;
Since earthly eye but ill can bear
To trace the change to foul from fair.
I know not if I could have borne
To see thy beauties fade;
The night that follow'd such a morn
Had worn a deeper shade:
Thy day without a cloud hath pass'd,
And thou wert lovely to the last,
Extinguish'd, not decay'd;
As stars that shoot along the sky
Shine brightest as they fall from high.
As once I wept, if I could weep,
My tears might well be shed,
To think I was not near to keep
One vigil o'er thy bed;
To gaze, how fondly! on thy face,
To fold thee in a faint embrace,
Uphold thy drooping head;
And show that love, however vain,
Nor thou nor I can feel again.
Yet how much less it were to gain,
Though thou hast left me free,
The loveliest things that still remain,
Than thus remember thee!
The all of thine that cannot die
Through dark and dread Eternity
Returns again to me,
And more thy buried love endears
Than aught except its living years.
What a loss. I've been reviewing her Ubernerd series and it's really well written and informative. An excellent short course in mortgage banking and securitization. I write on this topic as well, and ... well her stuff is really good ... better that mine. Farewell Tanta.
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Let nemo be the first!
Tanta!
Not surprised, but deeply grieved.
I'm having a hard time accepting that I simply must give up hopes of eventually seeing Tanta as Mortgage Czarina.
She certainly spanked my butt on more than one occasion.
Her passing is a terrible, terrible loss.
Exegi monumentum aere perennius
regalique situ pyramidum altius,
quod non imber edax, non Aquilo inpotens possit diruere aut innumerabilis
annorum series et fuga temporum. 5
Non omnis moriar multaque pars mei
uitabit Libitinam; usque ego postera
crescam laude recens, dum Capitolium
scandet cum tacita uirgine pontifex.
Dicar, qua uiolens obstrepit Aufidus 10
et qua pauper aquae Daunus agrestium
regnauit populorum, ex humili potens
princeps Aeolium carmen ad Italos
deduxisse modos. Sume superbiam
quaesitam meritis et mihi Delphica 15
lauro cinge uolens, Melpomene, comam.
Vive!!!!
U.S. Stocks Decline 8% as Tanta Passes
It's still too surreal for me right now.
Doris is deeply missed.
just awful,she was so young and her face so sweet.
I cried last night. I weep again at work. Its sad when the good ones get taken....
Beautiful post. She was very kind to me given that I pretend to know more than I do.
The first time I've ever felt sad over someone I knew only as a blog. My heartfelt (as someone who has suffered cancer) condolences.
Arrghhh. I started crying again.
It's been a dark, miserable, and stormy day here in Maryland, which is fitting with the loss of Doris/Tanta.
She touched so many lives with her experience, wisdom, sense of humor, and willingness to speak the truth in a time when doing so is considered "improper." She passed from this earth at far too young an age and in a way she did not deserve.
The world is a darker place without her.
"U.S. Stocks Decline 8% as Tanta Passes"
It's fitting. She was the genuine article.
I vividly remember reading her for the first time. I thought, "Christ, what is she doing here? She belongs at the Times." No offense to CR, or his terrific site, but her writing reminded me of Mencken. God, she was so bright.
Anyway, the world works in mysterious ways and I shall miss her--a lot.
Last night was tough. Odd that a kinship would develop in a blogsphere. Then again it is about "community" isn't it?
I am shocked and sad and crying.
What a sad loss to this world that Tanta has passed. It will be a much darker and duller place without her.
My thoughts and prayers to her family. She will always be greatly missed by so many people, and she will always, always, be remembered.
The blogosphere enables people with vision, talent and grace to create something from nothing, literally.
Not by themselves. But by placing themselves in the center of a community of their own creation and will power.
Everybody here for awhile has experienced how Tanta's will power shaped the blog, in ways different than CR's.
The blogosphere started as a luxury. Now, with the slow decay or mainstream media, it becomes more of a necessity day-by-day.
It's a little sad, but also a little joyous, that it has taken a death for some people to fully recognize the talent of one blogger and the power of the blogosphere.
Disability does not exist in the blogosphere. Only ability.
Not only did she spank butts, but she could without having the recipient be anything other than grateful. I am pleased to see that some in the msm understand the loss....
Doris was one of those rare people you feel privileged to have in your life, even if only for a short while. You're always eager to spend time with them, and slightly surprised and gratified that they seem to enjoy spending time with you.
As a believer in reincarnation, I'd like to think that our "Tanta" will someday be back with us, but I think perhaps not; hers was an old and wise soul.
Thank you, Doris, for sharing with me your knowledge, your wit, and most of all your generous and caring soul.
I've been following along in the CR-verse for about a year and a half, and in that time my understanding and interest in the world of mortgages and finance has grown immeasurably. I attribute a lot of this to CR's analysis of events and trends, and just as much to Tanta's explanations of how the sausage is made. As many others have said, she had a singular ability to take very wonkish topics and explain them in plain-enough language that people outside the world of finance could grasp the concepts and keep my attention. I am glad that in our time we have "archives" where these works can be discovered, read, studied, and preserved. I will take some solace in knowing that we still have her words to help us remember a great spirit (bourbon slurpies not withstanding). There have only been 2 "celebrities" whose loss has brought me to tears: Jerry Garcia and Tanta. Two people who made a difference in my life, though in very different ways.
I'm still stunned a day later. Cancer comes on so quickly...
That was very nice, CR. Thank you.
There will never be another Tanta.
friend, we never met
snowmelt on a burning log
tears splash my keyboard
My meager condolences could never equal the loss I feel of her passing. Whenever a singular voice of her stature is lost, one cannot help but feel the loss of focus that her words helped to give. My deepest regards...
This is a great way to eulogize Tanta.
Thank you for the posts, CR. I've enjoyed getting to know Tanta even after she is gone.
The thing that always struck me about Tanta was how she could crank out these enormously eloquent, powerful, and detailed essays in a day. Imagine, a PhD term paper in one day. I hope some ivy covered university/college gives her a posthumous PhD on her lyrical works. She was department chair of mortgages at the prestigious University of Calculated Risk and should be duly and officially honored.
Rich,
Well said
Wish I were as eloquent as everyone...
I miss her terribly, her big heart,
deep knowledge, whole earnestness and sharp wit...
I will forever cherish the special memory of having my arse deliciously roasted by her in the haloscan commentary.
Barbara Walters in on Oprah discussing her sister's death from ovarian cancer...Very poignant, maybe this disease will get more recognition, that would be a fitting tribute to Tanta...
I stumbled on CR in the spring of 2005,not long after I got back into Real Estate as a loan broker,saw what was happening and screamed WTF? Tanta's humor,knowledge,and abiding faith in humanity,and Bill's steady,dispassionate analysis and quiet wit combined to provide some of the finest writing I have ever encountered on any subject.I have done very little today except grieve and be thankful.I am willing to wager that a LOT of Bourbon slurpees will be consumed the next few days,and that some charity will recieve a surprising number of donations.It has also been comforting to see a lot of familiar names in the comments,I have read all of them.Thank you Tanta,and CR.
She will be missed. My condolences to CR and all of her family and friends.
TJ | 12.01.08 - 5:47 pm | #
TJ,
Thanks for the laugh - that was genuinely well said.
Jesus, her writing is brilliant. A very unique and interesting person, she was. Upon reading the first 100 words of that post, I feel like she's a friend I've known for years. she connects well with her reader and that is a rare gift.
what a loss.
Let's all make an effort to make sure we don't confuse the terms "recast" and "reset" in the future. I'm sure she would be pleased by that.
She taught me everything I know, but I never knew her.
Thanks.
So it goes. Losing friends in the Internet Age feels like this.
12th Percentile - what about assets vs liabilities?
CR, Very nice composition of posts, comments, and emails. Thank you.
stdfs - Beautiful. Not in a million years could I sum up my thoughts and feelings towards Tanta as well as you did.
I'm just so all-over sad today, but renewed with a new vigor. She showed the rest of us the importance of keeping up the fight for every day. She made those extra days count in ways that will still be measured and found large decades from now.
I thought, "Christ, what is she doing here? She belongs at the Times." No offense to CR, or his terrific site, but her writing reminded me of Mencken.
Reminded me of HL, too. Factual, accurate, and never dry.
Hell, I'd bet her mortgage application rejection letters were worth reading; I'd guarantee anyone who got one had more respect for the truth after reading it than before.
What constitutes a person who might stand so tall as Tanta? What was it she brought to our discourse that is so endearing, so tragic, so womderful and full?
Certainly the wit of Oscar Wilde, the storytelling skills of Virgil, and the professionalism and grace of -- well in those she had no peer.
But it was something more profound, like some warm light lodged in the firmament, shining onto us all.
Simply, she let love shine across the web. Every acronym, snark, hint at her condition, joke, and exposition came imbued with a love of humanity, a hope that we could find sense in this somewhere. It is a mighty task to do this while expressing skepticism, but if you didn't sense the love coming through, you weren't listening closely enough.
She cared about justice and fairness, and stuck to her guns in the face of sometimes relentless commentary to the contrary. And when she spanked, she did it for all of us--my few spankings were deserved and stung less as I saw he sense in her arguments.
I miss her very, very, very much. It sucks without her
My condolences to all who loved her back, as I did, from across the routers.
Sleep easy, Doris.
CR, glad to see you reposted the Bourbon Slurpee recipe. I found it for the first time in the wee hours going through old posts and copied it over to my word processor software for future reference.
Frankly, I can't wait to try it.
LOL,
The blogosphere started as a luxury. Now, with the slow decay of mainstream media, it becomes more of a necessity day-by-day.
--
Rich, this is very true. Of course, the lesson to learn early on is that, as humans, we are drawn to those with whom we share interests and views with. It becomes far too easy in a tight knit blog community to shun or disregard those with which we disagree.
Tanta's willingness (read: love) to challenge the mainstream and point out its follies was a true gift. She did so in a way that could make you both laugh and think, while at the same time highlight how the misconception was born in the first place.
Let us not lose this balance. Losing her is enough.
I read some of the older Tanta threads.
The most hilarious one I found was her response to casual Friday HR memo violations.
Sorry no link, but it went something like Tanta went out to the cheapest clothing shop and bought a lime green mini-dress to show solidarity with the minimum wage office workers who were the targets of the policy.
It was classic.
. . . in the wee hours going through old posts . . .
Now that I recall, that would dark-thirty in the morning.
Nice post CR.
My proudest moment on this blog was getting Tanta to turn her Mortgage Pig to Spam last Xmas.
The above sentence would have no meaning without her good humor. I can't think of any other blogger who made me laugh out loud more often.
I've been lurking on this website for 2+ years now... first post. I was shocked and sadden to see the news of Tanta. I know I sound like a broken record with everybody else's comments... but scanning through the comments as I read... I always did look forward to Tanta's responses. Thank you for all the knowledge you have given me Tanta/Doris. CR, keep up the great work.
mp's comment is spot on.
I thought that she reminded me of HL Mencken. For those of you who don't know him, he was a brilliant observer of humanity and wrote sometimes hilarious, sometimes scathing articles.
Conversely, you'd read her online comments in the threads and realize that there was another side that was very warm and giving.
Yes, I will actually miss her; to have this kind of impact amongst people that would never meet her is a testament to her.
It is truly one of the greatest gifts to be touched, warmed, and thoroughly amazed by another human being. We are all blessed to have been able to share in Tanta's life and to be able to cherish her memory dearly. May her wit, grace, and je ne sais quoi live on forever. I doubt I will ever snort aloud at another snarky blog comment without thinking of Tanta.
CR, thanks for encouraging her to post and for sharing her with the rest of the Ubernerd community.
This just breaks my heart. I miss her so much.
I read this blog often, although I rarely comment. This was my favorite Tanta post, and one that I tried to spread whenever anyone mentioned the Feldstein mortgage plan earlier this year.
Nemo writes:
She certainly spanked my butt on more than one occasion.
Her passing is a terrible, terrible loss.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I have an undergraduate degree in physics and one day posted an incorrect figure for the speed of light in meters/ second. Tanta called me on it. I am truly amazed at her attention to detail.
My condolences. Her posts were very enlightening - I learned a lot from her through this blog, and her humor & snarkiness kept me coming back for more.
Waaaaah
sniff. sob, sob
waaaaah
I mean, uh... sniff...
sob
waaaaaaugh
Only 47 years old.....Tanta was wise beyond her years and will be sorely missed. Very nice way to remember her CR, thank you.
We are all intellectually much poorer now that Tanta is gone. I feel like I've been punched in the stomach, hard. Thoughts and prayers for her family.
This my favorite [Excel Movie] because Tanta told me that when she watched it her "wrinkled reptilian snout was presiding a blazing smile".
Um, correcting myself: Tanta's snout was presiding over a blazing smile.
It is just so sad. I prayed for the best for Tanta but feared the worse since I lost someone else to ovarian cancer this year. Tanta was just an amazing and talented person, and she touched us all with her writing at a time that she must have been going through personal turmoil in simply trying to survive. I hope that the banking and mortgage industry will compile her posts and comments so that people may continue to learn from the great Tanta.
bacon dreamz, fixed. Thanks!
And thanks to everyone. I am so grateful that Tanta shared herself with all of us - and so grateful to all of you for sharing your experiences.
Best to all.
Tanta didn't countenance spiritual references or pardon their interweaving into econo-dialogue. I even was unceremoniously deleted, several times, for exceeding her religious tolerance. Somehow I take pride in that.
Today, although she is gone, and another day-to-night spin on this petty globe won't be hers, I'm sure she endures. What a conundrum!
How could such a polished and minutely well-formed being just vanish? Surely the house she daily constructed of stitch and sinew...and cerebral organization, is not foreclosed, assumed, or bulldozed. Prime, prime, prime...we are all judges here. Of real estate, equities, and the magnitude of a human soul.
I feel sort of empty
I've never posted a comment here before and I probably never will again. But Tanta was one of the best things on the Internet and seeing her posts was often the highlight of my day. Best wishes to her friends and family; I hope it is some small consolation that she is loved and respected by so many.
Wow. what fantastic words from everybody (even you, wsj).
In a fit of thankfulness I posted this once for her--then immediately though I overdid it. Screw it--this is how I feel and I'm sticking to it-Tanta I hope you're listening:
YouTube -
Wonderful posting CR - hard to do justice to a class act like her but that was well done.
Thanks.
And again - thank you Tanta, wherever you are.
I am fairly new here at CR and nothing I say can add to the volumes already said.
However, in the grand scheme of things, her passing is a reminder that it is people that have value. Money, homes, things, stuff, and consumerism is just that.
While we all read and write about "stuff", people are what we should value.
Sadly, much of what goes on in this country is contrary to this. Look at all the greed and scamming that goes on in the name of capitalism.
People, esp. like Tanta, should be valued more than "stuff." Sadly, her passing reminds of this when I should already know this.
Wow, I am speechless.
I really enjoyed her postings, and although she has passed away, her influence on all of us will not be forgotten. Not many people can say they accomplished what she has accomplished - namely keeping a very large number of people informed with keen insight on a daily basis.
She will be missed but not forgotten.
What OCDan said. Times Ten.
So many threads here go off topic in a heartbeat.
These comments on Tanta's passing don't.
Perhaps that is the most fitting tribute to her singular importance in our new virtual world.
We'll miss you.
I have been lurking here for a few years now and would, once in a great while,comment on one of Tanta's posts. I sent her an e-mail with an attachment to something from PACER once and got a return e-mail that read, "Thanks-T". I have kept that e-mail for over a year.
My dad was an English professor and before he passed away I used to print off and read to him some of Tanta's posts. Often he laughed out loud and he always commented that it was a shear pleasure to hear the writing of someone who had such a grasp of the English language.
Tanta, you brought the mortgage business to life for many people who may not have recognized a mortgage if it jumped up and bit them.
I dearly hope that the comments from the commenters here comfort your family in some small way.
CR, as always, you are a class act. Thank you for all you do and for sharing your friend, Tanta, with us.
Thanks CR for a beautiful tribute to her wonderful wit and incredible mind. And to Tanta, you were a great teacher to so many closet readers of this blog, we are forever indebted for the knowledge you shared. Thank you.
Tanta was the real deal: whip smart, witty, cultured, with a larger-than-most BS detector. Therefore, to honor her memory, I request that those who have posted comments (not about Tanta!) in recent months that struck this lurker as incredibly sexist cease and desist.
Again, speechless. It's so difficult to tell people in the 'real world' why I'm just moping around.
I'm glad stdfs and bacon dreamz were so articulate. I've certainly had a horrible time explaining my own grief to anyone outside this board.
Thanks, CR for sharing my stunned comments with others in the community. I feel honored to even be mentioned in a thread about The Mortgage Czarina.
And Comrade Putino.. Horace is appropriate..
"I have given you a monument more lasting than bronze,
My monument shall raise its head higher than royal pyramids:
it shall not dread corroding rain or angry North Winds... "
LFKAJ
That is another Tanta turn of phrase.
Loans formerly known as jumbo, she obliterated the "logic" behind the machinations of conforming/non-comforming changes.
I was already a regular reader of CR when Tanta first appeared as a commenter.
Like a once-in-a-lifetime meteor she burst onto the scene and illuminated the landscape of mortgage lending with brilliant clarity.
And now like a meteor is suddenly gone.
I neither can nor care to stop the tears.
Others say, "Rest In Peace". But I hope she will keep on to haunt the fools and charlatans who made a travesty of the business in which she so ably and humanely made her career, driving them screaming to the gates of Hell.
Oh, how we'll miss her.
Its really amazing how an anonymous blogger has made such and impact. But I guess i never felt she was anonymous, there was always a connection. Her loss has just exposed to me how great that connection was.
I think Tanta's words will forever be a part of our lexicon. Who will ever be able to forget: "We are all subprime now."?
Reading Tanta's account of "microwaving the remote" reminded me of some of the things that my father went through that I had not included in my memorial post Live Like You Were Dying. The pain killers do, in fact, make you hallucinate (esp. in geriatric cases).
I wonder how many of us will be quoting from Tanta's Ubernerd like some religious adherents quote their scripture. (Just kidding ... sort of.)
Rest in peace, Tanta. You will be missed.
Thoughts and prayers to her family. What a loss...
Condolences to Tanta's family and to you CR.
This is one hell of a cool community here... one that truly understands the many meanings of "value".
peace
This is crazy. I can't seem to quite believe we will not hear more from Tanta. I had some moments today where I feel like a 3 year old at a funeral asking where Mommy is and when she is coming back. Don't understand.
I have been sad all day thinking about what a terrible loss we've suffered here in the land that CR built. I rarely post but come here often to absorb as much as I can from better minds than mine, to sit in on what has to be the best conversation on the web. I won't claim to have always understood everything she wrote, but I always knew that Tanta's musings were worth whatever time and energy were necessary to make it through her postings. God speed Tanta - you had a permanent and positive impact on my life and I thank you so much for your service to this world and wish you all the best in the next.
On another note, I'd also like to say that it's comforting to know that we can all put aside our differences to remember the best of this community in such a kind and touching memorial. Conservatives, liberals, free marketeers, socialists, believers and non-believers alike - the comments posted here today and last night give me hope in these darkening times. The world may be in for a rough patch over the next few years, but I believe that it will be blogs like this that will help bind us together.
Thank you CR - you're part of the path to a better future and the quality of your companions, like Tanta, is a credit to your vision. Keep up the good work and know that it is recognized and appreciated.
I imagine toes curled in slippers, ankles crossed beneath her chair, steam rising from her favorite cup placed just so near her keyboard, a slight smile gracing her lips beneath a furrowed brow, as she thought and typed a response that she knew would bring smiles and cause the reader to reflect.
She was a writer; she wrote. She made - makes - us think, about what it takes to think clearly and act nobly. Can that be her parting gift? Now, more than at any time in recent history, we must think and act with fairness, resolve, and good humor.
Thank you, Doris and Bill, for all you have done to shed light.
What a great loss....how sad I am to learn of her passing...how joyed I am to have experienced her life.
While remembering, I thought I'd mention the time Tanta pulled one of my comments and included it in her post. Yes she used words like "marvelous" and "jewel" which I must say made me happy. But the interesting thing to me was how she said "Our 12th Percentile". I thought it was kind that she included me in her/our circle.
We were merely making fun of David Brooks, which I feel is mostly beneath Tanta and should be left to hacks like me, but I was happy to help.
12th - I had a similar honor in a july 2007 post, where I got the "our" treatment for an article I sent Tanta on buying a home in California. But you know what sticks in my craw? Not that...it's the time she thrashed me for being lazy in a comment. And I always felt bad about it and tried to make it up by making more appropriate comments on her posts. But I could never really forgive myself for feeling like I got on her bad side, and to this day, I dont feel like I ever really got off of it.
So, it's late, but I'm sorry. But what I'd give to be able to be thrashed again for everyone else's benefit.
The body may be weak, temporary,vulnerable; the spirit is enduring, invincible, eternal.
Be assured that Tanta's legacy is secure in all who read her prose.
My thanks to CR for amplifying Tanta's work and my condolences to her family and friends.
Thanks, CR. I don't normally laugh out loud but Tanta could make me laugh and I don't normally cry but you and Tanta have made me cry.
Oh God. She was ONLY 47. That's the same age as President-elect Obama. I believe the best was ahead of her. Maybe a gig at WSJ or Times, a mortgage mystery novel, a Pulizter . . . who knows.
In remembrance, I sure hope somebody acknowledges her at Webby Awards.
I'm very sorry to hear this news. Tanta's posts always helped me as I struggled to understand the ins and outs of the crisis and its origins. There aren't a lot of places where people can learn about this mess but Tanta's posts provided that opportunity in a thoughtful and entertaining way. I only recently got to know her work and I am deeply saddened at her loss. My condolences to her friends and family.
Just heard the news.
RIP Tanta. You will be missed.
I have felt sick all day but the outpouring of respect and admiration for Tanta on this site lifts the spirits a bit.
With Tanta off the beat, the scofflaws of the press are now free to print idiocy again. Here is a quote from Grant McCool of Reuters.
"Countrywide, ensnared by the subprime mortgage crisis, was ...."
Expired
I always looked forward to Tanta's posts. Gosh, they were exhaustive. I LEARNED things from her writings. I'm gonna miss her. A jewel has been lost
I am so sad about this. Tanta was really fantastic. My condolences to the family.
With the new information about Tanta's real name (and yours, CR!), I took the opportunity to make a Wikipedia page about your blog.
I would just like to point out something a little subtle.
Today's NY Times obit, across 3 columns, was titled:
"Doris Dungey, Prescient Finance Blogger, Dies at 47"
The word "prescient" means to know in advance.
Not to forecast or project. To know.
The times does not choose words like prescient to describe a human very often. Almost never in regard to finance.
Almost by definition, "prescient" in regard finance is hyperbole, according to the Times' standards.
I did a search of other recent times when the Times has used the word "prescient." Only once in the last few months. That headline said:
"The Prescient Are Few"
STRATEGIES; The Prescient Are Few - NY Times
Been reading CR since before Tanta was promoted to the starting lineup, but I've only posted a comment a handful of times. Mostly to inadequately say "Thanks Tanta" for an enlightening, thought provoking, brilliantly written piece.
Thanks Tanta. For everything.
Well, she not only called me "our," but went whole hog with "our wise commenter Markel."
I felt like I had won American Idol. Or something.
I might print out and frame that post.
Prescience...
Family and friends are starting to give me a lot of credit for "seeing this coming."
But, I tell them, I just know what read, and what I read explains what I see.
The prescient truly are few indeed.
Her family or heirs willing, Tanta's articles should be collected and published with the proceeds going to charity.
I would definately purchase her works in book form. I tend to enjoy curling up and reading with a real, honest to goodness paper book in my hands...Great idea!
Doris, at her young age, accomplished so much here at this site. What a powerful, beautiful mind!
Tanta's integrity must not be allowed to pass into the night as her physical body has already passed from us.
"The Compleat UberNerd" By Tanta.
It should all be in there. The Mortgage Pig and everything. In full color.
I hope they consider it, if it is for chairty, all the better.
I was so upset about the news of Tanta's passing that I did not even know the markets had a big down day.
Before reading this blog I was a real novice about housing and economics. I just wanted to know when the housing market would recover and when I could buy a house at a reasonable price. This blog has helped me in many ways to understand the depth of the housing and mortgage problems we face in the US. I always knew there would be problems but I never could imagine how bad they would be. Tanta's posts and comments taught me a lot!
I will miss Tanta's writings greatly. My thoughts are with her family.
CR, a beautiful, deep and elegant post - about a life that touched so many. I want to thank you personally that you extended to Tanta an invitation to blog for countless souls that appreciated her research and understanding about every subject matter she published. A privilege and honor for all of us to be part of her life.
This outpouring of emotion over the loss of someone most of us never met is truly remarkable.
I find this part from her email to Brian quite moving:
Anyway, Brian, as I once explained to our dear CR, I have been really hesitant to email people, for what may sound like insane reasons, but fighting cancer can make you a little nutty. You must understand that some day, quite possibly sooner than you'd expect, you will just not get an answer from an email to me, and that might mean I'm in the hospital, it might mean I'm in the hospice, and it might mean that God is my mail drop from now on. (It could, actually, mean I'm vacationing in Aruba , but I could warn you about that.) I have no clear idea why, but the way this strikes me is that I should be careful about inviting perfectly nice people into my personal little dilemmas, without first warning them.
We may not have been invited, but it seems we had become part of her "personal little dilemmas" in ways we never realized until she was gone.
Weird, strange feelings...
From a blog about New yorker magazine
An Obit Fit to Blog, and Print—In Memoriam—Emdashes
Heck I could not get through some of those Ubernerd posts Tanta made. But I always wanted to see here next post.
Godspeed to Tanta and her family. CR you need to post the charities Tanta supported, so we donate in her memory. Personally, she saved me a hell of a lot of money and will make a generous donation.
Add me to the list of the mournful. I would have paid to become her apprentice and learn at the feet of a master. She was amazing and will be missed.
"Since it's Easter Sunday, and you don't have anything better to
do than munch on Peeps and read about relitter perfidy ..."
I read those words as I sat down to read Calculated Risk, on Easter Sunday,
with a box full of Peeps. I hope Tanta had some inkling of how widespread her
influence was (but I'm afraid she didn't), and how much she helped people understand the mortgage meltdown
and the arcana of the financial system.
CR, please excuse another comment from me...
You and Tanta's family should be especially proud and honoured. It is not often that this can be said:
"Note we received emails from people at the Fed, OTS, FDIC, SEC and more thanking us (Tanta especially) for various posts"
And, to have a Nobel prize winner in Economics give positve mention in electronic media....
Well, that just about tops it in my books!
It is not about the station we occupy but the station we fill that defines who we are.
I've lurked on this blog for almost three years but feel I need to get out of the closet and join everyone. I've learned facts about Tanta today I never knew and find myself feeling her silence very acutely.
I read Doris Dungey's posts, due to their superb literary qualities. I wasn't surprised to hear of her advanced degree in English, but few such people make such a radical career change as to enter banking and finance.
I've been looking for short poem to share, and here's one that reflects my mood. It's from a poet in Minnesota named Robert Hedin
White Out
Here on this ridge
The only color left is you,
And soon you too will fade.
The spruce have long returned to birch
And the birch
Are quietly
Returning to snow.
The crash that accelerated in September 08 occurred after Tanta's posting had been scaled back considerably do to illness. Although macreconomics was not the focus of her comments-it was the arcane minutia of mortgage finance- I had always wanted to see her comments as some of the bailout plans were being proposed and adopted. Sadly she either was unable to comment or it was in part more macroeconomics than she was comfortable with. I know we would have all benefited if she would have been able to provide a reality check on what is continuing as an ongoing crisis and how these proposals might actually work on the ground in main street America. That unflinching grasp of reality with the great writing was the mix that made what she produced so valuable and entertaining. Writing about mortgages and being able to entertain while doinhg it-that is a rare talent indeed.
Tanta Vive! Indeed.
The last time I cried for someone I'd never met in person was when Molly Ivins died. Good company, that.
I never met Tanta, and am yet another (non-)random stranger she enlightened, instructed, and entertained, as we interacted assymetrically on this strange thing we call an internet.
To the extent that we are our ideas, I knew Tanta, as did you all. We knew, not her face, nor even the whole shape of her mind, but her mind in profile. She is beautiful. Her passing is not yet real. A light--of reason, and truth, and justice, and humor--has gone out of the world. Yet something so vibrant cannot simply be extinguished. She glows yet, reflected in the mind's eye of a thousand strangers who say, each and all, "I knew her. She was my friend. She was beautiful. I loved her."
It's been a long day since I've read of Tanta's passing. She will be missed as I've come daily to CR looking for her insight that was spot on!
Thank You
Does anyone know if there is a way to search for specific text in the entirety of the comments in all of the CR archived posts?
I truly wish I would have discovered CR before Tanta had to stop writing. I am envious of all of you who had the privilege to interact with her.
Condolences to all.
Mind numbingly brilliant she was, and witty and kind and forceful and prescient and I could go on and on but I will start crying. My lurking CR will never be the same. Tanta Transcends.
I would like to thank CR for his role in bringing Tanta to the rest of us.
CR created a place that attracted and retained Tanta in the first place, but more importantly he recognized her mettle and talent and invited her to share his byline.
It's one of the things I most appreciate about CR -- secure ego.
Thanks CR for providing Tanta a platform worthy of her.
Ive been scouring the very old posts for a comment she made that had me in gutbusting laughter, but havent been able to find it yet. I will post when I do.
CR, I join the many who give thanks to you for providing Tanta the platform which she used so brilliantly and to our lasting benefit, as well as for your moving memorial to her.
In Japan, those who are The Best are recognized as Living National Treasures. Tanta was ours.
dryfly - we'll know Tanta is about when something miraculous happens in the mortgage or finance world. Happened to my better half and I after her father passed away.
To all, I finally get to shed some tears over my keyboard. Had to stop myself around five times today...
lama mentioned Tanta's writings in the comment threads...that stood out for me with her postings. I had to see what she was writing in the comments, it often expanded upon the post, it was always interesting. And it seemed to give the threads a life of their own, over which she carefully watched. At times her threads seemed to be almost a part of the postings.
Heaven just got another angel (with steeltoed bunny slippers).
Wonderful posts and Comments.
She will be missed.
A light into a changed form.
Am grateful to CR for recognizing and giving Doris the opportunity to display her superlative writing talent.
I've been a long time lurker and very occasional poster...
I had no idea Tanta was so ill, and this comes as quite a shock. I give my condolences to those that knew her better than I...
Her wit was sharp, and not without humor.
Long live the spirit of Tanta!
From my friends in Aotearoa, I'm reminded of a word in Maori which simply doesn't translate into English:
taonga
It means treasure, natural resource, something special and valued, part of heritage, something sometimes hard to value but invaluable.
Think we got it there.
C
The times does not choose words like prescient to describe a human very often. Almost never in regard to finance.
rich, I noticed the word also and thought, wow, what a huge compliment. I didn't say anything, though.
You've explained very well what a huge compliment that was. Thanks for getting that on the record.
It is common to place a halo over people who pass, but when you go back and look at the incredible writing from Tanta, with personality, class and brilliance, her contributions are just staggering. Not only was she prescient, but she was eloquent, classy, funny and truly one-of-a-kind.
I believe that when the history of this crash is written, that the CR blog, and CR and Tanta's contributions, will have a significant place in that history.
For a blogger on mortgage securitization and economics, where you typically see simply plain writing on an interesting but not personal topic, to establish her deep rapport with thousands of bloggers is amazing.
With regards to Tanta's names charity, please be patient, I would suspect that CR would like to confer with family, and that doesn't happen in real time. CR, assuming you have no objection, I would like to suggest that you solicit input on a lasting tribute to Tanta here. All the best.
This is very upsetting. I made it a point not to read the news or blogs over the Thanksgiving weekend, and than this! I have been weeping all day. Tanta will be deeply missed. Condolences to her family and friends and to you CR.
Ive been scouring the very old posts for a comment she made that had me in gutbusting laughter, but havent been able to find it yet. I will post when I do.
Geoff | 12.01.08 - 10:21 pm |
Geoff, if you can remember the exact text, you can find the comment section where it appears (and then search for the exact comment) by putting the text in quotes on Google.
I did that today with my "We are all sublime" comment to find Tanta's response.
Just now replicating it on the Firefox Google search attached to CR found nothing, even when limited to CR's site. Doing it again on a general Internet Explorer Yahoo search found it again. Good Luck.
From Brian Williams blog, one the writers comments.
December 2008 - Posts - The Daily Nightly - msnbc.com
thx sportsfan, but Im looking to do one search that covers all the comments to all the posts over the span of a few months of 2006 (I think that's when it was.) Sounds like your answer would only cover one post at a time - which could still, however, be helpful - see below)
Last night, in my stupor, I began from day 1 of CR's posts, and made it through June 2005, looking through each comment section for something else, but that seemed a bit tedious to continue, as the comments typically only reached 30-40 in those early days. Now, each post would take me hours.
If you have a chance, it's quite interesting to go back and read the stuff from the early days. I cant remember when I first posted, but I think I was lurking in 2005. I'll have to figure that out too.
.
mp writes:
I vividly remember reading her for the first time. I thought, "Christ, what is she doing here? She belongs at the Times."
2 problems:
1) That would make a workmate of "poor" Gretchen Morgenson.
2) Tanta was a fierce defender of the validity of blogs vs. traditional media.
Here is why she was appreciated, brutal honesty. HaloScan.com - Comments
read two posts down too.
Geoff,
I can find things, tell me more about what made you laugh:
Our Geoff e-mailed this to me, and I hereby claim to have read it. Only once, and at 6:30 a.m., I concede. But still, one ought to be able to read the newspaper once, in the morning, and still get something out of the experience other than a good gobsmacking.
Geoff, this has to be close, but gimmie some info on what you want!
Tanta writes:
Oh, Bob, don't be silly. Nobody is ever going to have to repair or remodel these McMansions. They're brand-new! They have granite countertops that won't scratch if you use a chainsaw to slice pastrami on them. They have blown-in insulation that has a half-life of one million jillion billion years and can survive a nuclear winter. And everybody knows that the pool fairies come at night and dump chlorine when no one is looking.
The big problem is that with all that square footage, you have to buy so many darned chairs . . .
Tanta | 04.10.07 - 10:05 am | #
Geoff: to find comments, use the following 2 keywords in Google:
site:haloscan.com calculatedrisk
E.g., finding the first use of hoocodanode:
site:haloscan.com calculatedrisk coodanode - Google Search
[actually it was "coodanode" or "who coodanode"]
And also add the keyword "tanta |" (you need the double quotes) to make sure her text is, more or less, in the comment.
site:haloscan.com -- isolates to the comment holding web site that CR uses.
calculatedrisk -- isolates to CR blog (exclude other blogs hosted by haloscan)
"tanta |" -- makes sure that her comment is in the link shown by Google.
Good luck...
She will be much missed, her witty, sometimes sarky, comments often reminded me of Molly Ivins another great writer who was lost to cancer.
Dryfly, I feel a bit older & more tired this morning. She was something!
I remember when there were maybe 30 posts a day on here back in 05' and 06'. CR was a nice, quiet little blog. Then Tanta showed up and threw down the gauntlet. At first, I didn't like her strong attitude. But it was that attitude that was needed to explain the situation. There was no let up. Just in-your-face commentary and explanations. And like CR, it wasn't for money or fame. It was a public service. She spun my head with insider mortgage origination information. Demystified and ripped out the guts of the loan industry for all to see. And we all know they weren't small tripes but elongated treatise on each issue as if to say straight to the eye 'Do you get it ? If not, here's a bit more....'
I'm sure many in the RE industry despised her for revealing the flaws. Just as much as we loved her and will miss her.
Tanta is a folk hero to econobloggers everywhere. She will be fondly remembered for a long time.
Thank you, sunsetbeachguy, I was looking for that comment on office dress codes and couldn't find it without your help. It was one of those that touched me deeply, where Tanta's kindness and human solidarity shone in just the right way (with the perfect knowledge that this would NOT bring the revolution, but it had to be done, anyway):
"Eek, one Thursday afternoon, having read the latest outrage from HR, I stormed out of the office like the Wrath of Goddess, and stopped at a very cheap retail outlet--in all senses of the term--to purchase a lime green sleeveless zip-front mini-dress and a pair of deep brown high-heeled platform-soled ankle-strap sandals to wear to work the next day, the holy casual Friday.
You all don't know this, but I'm not the voluptuous sort. Tall, thin. I looked about as appetizing as a half a Freon-flavored popsicle propped upright in a dollop of congealed dog poop. It was perfect.
I had decided I was tired of hectoring memos aimed at our file clerks and fax operators, those loyal dogged folks we paid just over minimum wage, and who had a bad habit of showing up on casual day a little, well, tacky sometimes. Even, perhaps, trashy. There I had been, quietly role-modeling for them all in my elegant, restrained Pendleton suits, and for some reason they didn't run right out and spend a week or two's gross for one of my tailored dresses. And, yeah, they occasionally crossed the line, taste-wise.
But that day, HR had to either pick on someone its own size or admit that it was time to address the clothing budget.
It's a wonder I never got fired.
I will never claim that childish acting out in the office will bring the revolution. Nor am I inclined to apologize for it, either."
And what MTHood says about CR's secure ego. Thank you again for everything, Bill.
And thank you, CDS, for coming over here. I do hope it is of some comfort to you, too.
Another one who remembers. With a vengeance:
Viewpoint: Add Rubin to the Who-Knew-Crew : HousingWire || financial news for the mortgage market
"A guy like Rubin, who ran the Treasury for eight years, should under no circumstances be given a free hall pass because he didnt see this coming. Same goes for Bernanke, who has been seen recently pulling out a similar excuse.
That sort of sentiment rings doubly true for me on a day like today, when weve lost undoubtedly the most prescient writer Ive seen in any financial market, and perhaps the best voice the mortgage banking industry has ever had. I can most assuredly tell every HW reader that Tanta who I hope every one of you have had the opportunity to read saw this coming.
Frankly, on a day like today, I dont feel like letting Rubin get away with this particular brand of nonsense. Hopefully, neither do any of you."
Damn fine round up. Been reading along on the threads.
Will miss her wit and detailed sanity in this insane world.
My condolences to you, CR, and her family.
Isabel: Don't know if you'll read this as I'm 3 hrs too late, but I remember reading that comment. It struck a deep chord & tied me to Tanta.
I was transported back to my first decent job at the front desk for the trust dept. of the Valley National Bank. I was 19 and dirt poor with a student husband & a tiny baby.
I didn't join the women's banker group because, well, I just wasn't a joiner and they went to lunch at local watering holes. That cost money I didn't have. I didn't want anyone to know how poor I was. I brown-bagged & read a book in the law library.
My clothes were "inappropriate", and I got sent home once because they didn't like the dress. I was mortified and tried to explain I had no money to buy new clothes.
It didn't matter that I was hardworking. I just didn't fit in. I eventually got buried in a cloud of heifer dust & fired. I was crushed.
I never worked for another bank, even though several tried to hire me later in life. That was more than 40 years ago.
When I read Tanta's post, I thought, I sure coulda used a co-worker like that. And I wished then I could've really known her -- as a friend.
Paradigm Lost, I've just read your comment. Yeah, there is more than one way to manifest the revolution, and Tanta knew it. It is probably one of the important things that we will remember because of her.
And I forgot to add:
"My clothes were "inappropriate", and I got sent home once because they didn't like the dress. I was mortified and tried to explain I had no money to buy new clothes."
Is the world "revolution" (and pitchforks, and pikes) too strong after this??? Geezus.
I read yesterday of Tanta while I was at my internship.
I have missed her these last weeks, and now I will miss her for much longer.
I am laughing and smiling reading the comments and sad as well.
I figure I will add mine.
I enjoyed the poetry she linked to and would talk about. I was always so happy when she replied. She was gracious and funny.
I will have to knit a mortgage pig to keep on my shelf in her memory.
A blow to the gut. Dear Tanta, we will miss you.
And Thou art Dead, as Young and Fair
by Lord Byron (George Gordon)
And thou art dead, as young and fair
As aught of mortal birth;
And form so soft, and charms so rare,
Too soon return'd to Earth!
Though Earth receiv'd them in her bed,
And o'er the spot the crowd may tread
In carelessness or mirth,
There is an eye which could not brook
A moment on that grave to look.
I will not ask where thou liest low,
Nor gaze upon the spot;
There flowers or weeds at will may grow,
So I behold them not:
It is enough for me to prove
That what I lov'd, and long must love,
Like common earth can rot;
To me there needs no stone to tell,
'T is Nothing that I lov'd so well.
Yet did I love thee to the last
As fervently as thou,
Who didst not change through all the past,
And canst not alter now.
The love where Death has set his seal,
Nor age can chill, nor rival steal,
Nor falsehood disavow:
And, what were worse, thou canst not see
Or wrong, or change, or fault in me.
The better days of life were ours;
The worst can be but mine:
The sun that cheers, the storm that lowers,
Shall never more be thine.
The silence of that dreamless sleep
I envy now too much to weep;
Nor need I to repine
That all those charms have pass'd away,
I might have watch'd through long decay.
Byron ( continued )
The flower in ripen'd bloom unmatch'd
Must fall the earliest prey;
Though by no hand untimely snatch'd,
The leaves must drop away:
And yet it were a greater grief
To watch it withering, leaf by leaf,
Than see it pluck'd to-day;
Since earthly eye but ill can bear
To trace the change to foul from fair.
I know not if I could have borne
To see thy beauties fade;
The night that follow'd such a morn
Had worn a deeper shade:
Thy day without a cloud hath pass'd,
And thou wert lovely to the last,
Extinguish'd, not decay'd;
As stars that shoot along the sky
Shine brightest as they fall from high.
As once I wept, if I could weep,
My tears might well be shed,
To think I was not near to keep
One vigil o'er thy bed;
To gaze, how fondly! on thy face,
To fold thee in a faint embrace,
Uphold thy drooping head;
And show that love, however vain,
Nor thou nor I can feel again.
Yet how much less it were to gain,
Though thou hast left me free,
The loveliest things that still remain,
Than thus remember thee!
The all of thine that cannot die
Through dark and dread Eternity
Returns again to me,
And more thy buried love endears
Than aught except its living years.
What a loss. I've been reviewing her Ubernerd series and it's really well written and informative. An excellent short course in mortgage banking and securitization. I write on this topic as well, and ... well her stuff is really good ... better that mine. Farewell Tanta.
To Tanta:
Ad astra per alia porci!
"To the stars on the wings of a pig" - A favorite saying of John Steinbeck.
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Deborah
http://termlifeinsurance2.com