Were you one of those kids who tried to add food coloring to ordinary bubble solution to make colored bubbles? Food coloring won’t give you bright bubbles, and even if it did, they would cause stains. Here’s a recipe for pink or blue colored bubbles, based on disappearing ink, so the bubbles won’t stain surfaces when they land.Difficulty: EasyTime Required: Only Takes a Few MinutesHere’s How:If you are making your own bubble solution, mix the detergent and water.Add the sodium hydroxide and indicator to the bubble solution. You want enough indicator so that the bubbles will be deeply colored. For each liter of bubble solution (4 cups) this is about 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons of phenolphthalein (red) or thymolphthalein (blue).Add sodium hydroxide until you get the indicator to change from colorless to colored (about half a teaspoon should do the trick). A little more sodium hydroxide will result in a bubble that stays colored longer. If you add too much, the color of the bubble won’t disappear when exposed to air or rubbed, though you can still react it with club soda.You may find it necessary to dissolve the indicator in a small amount of alcohol before mixing it with the bubble solution. You can use pre-made indicator solution, adding the sodium hydroxide to the indicator rather than diluting with water.You’ve essentially made disappearing ink bubbles. When the bubble lands, you can make the color vanish by either rubbing the spot (reacting the liquid with air) or by adding a little club soda. Fun!If you have disappearing ink, you could mix it with bubble solution to make disappearing ink bubbles.Tips:Please don’t drink the bubble solution! Unused bubble solution may be stored for later in a sealed container or disposed of by pouring it down the drain.These are bubbles intended for ‘blowing bubbles’, not for bathing.Sodium hydroxide is a strong base. Avoid direct contact with this ingredient. If you do get some on your hands, rinse them immediately with water.Phenolphthalein and thymolphthalein change from red or blue to uncolored around pH=10. If you look on the indicator chart, you can see there are several less common indicators that would color rather than disappear at this pH.What You Need:Liquid Dishwashing Detergent (or other detergent)Wateror Commercial Bubble SolutionSodium HydroxidePhenolphthaleinThymolphthaleinClub Soda (optional)More Chemistry How To’s

The title of record producer David Foster’s memoir says it all: "Hitman."

Although he’s no gun-for-hire (though his critics might argue that he knows how to murder a melody), teaming with Foster can make a hit single an easy target.

Known for his power ballads — songs that dip and soar to all-out crescendos intended to "make people crazy with emotion" (his words) — Foster’s effect on popular music has been felt not as ripples but as tidal waves.

Foster’s work has boosted the wattage of stars like Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Andrea Boccelli and Michael Bublé. He was also the man behind the mixing desk on one of the biggest-selling albums of the last year, Josh Groban’s "Noel," and urged Whitney Houston to go for that killer key change in "I Will Always Love You."

The music business is ready to celebrate.

Wednesday night, the Recording Academy — the organization that presents the Grammy Awards — will present a live prime-time concert special, "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! — Countdown to Music’s Biggest Night."

The show, which airs at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, will feature a number of the biggest names in the business, including Mariah Carey, John Mayer, the Foo Fighters and Taylor Swift.

During the show, hosts Swift and LL Cool J also are scheduled to announce the nominees for a handful of the Grammys’ 100-plus categories, with the remainder released after the concert at 10 p.m. ET.

Swift may be mentioning her own name. The 18-year-old country-pop singer, who was nominated for best new artist last year, has continued her successful run with her latest CD, "Fearless," and several hit singles.

Other strong Grammy possibilities include Coldplay, whose latest album, "Viva La Vida," earned strong sales and favorable reviews; Lil Wayne, whose "Tha Carter III" featured three Top 10 singles, including the No. 1 "Lollipop"; and newcomer Leona Lewis, a British TV talent show winner whose debut album, "Spirit," went to No. 1 in several countries, including the United States. iReport: What’s the best music you heard in 2008?

According to The Associated Press, Neil Portnow, the president and chief executive of the Recording Academy, said the concert is "an opportunity to have more music on television and … really bring the ultimate amount of attention to the beginning of Grammy season. It’s a more grand way to initiate Grammy season for us."

In some ways, it’s an odd time for the industry to celebrate. CD sales have plunged in the last few years, and music downloads, which continue to rise, have yet to fill the gap. With concert ticket prices often well above $50 a pop and wildly fluctuating gasoline prices, musicians are feeling the pinch.

A Basque businessman was shot and killed Wednesday in northern Spain, CNN+ reported, the first attack since last month’s arrest of the leader of the Basque separatist group ETA.

CNN’s sister network reported the killing happened in the Basque town of Azpeitia, about 35 miles east of Bilbao.

A police official identified the victim as Ignacio Uria Mendizabal, age 71, The Associated Press reported.

He worked for a construction company involved in a project to build high-speed railways in the Basque region of northern Spain, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with department rules, AP reported.

Media reports speculated the killing was in retaliation for the arrest last month of Mikel de Garikoitz Aspiazu, captured two weeks ago during an anti-terrorism raid in France.

Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Aspiazu was considered to be ETA’s top military chief, in charge of ordering attacks, as well as the group’s policy leader.

Aspiazu was wanted in connection with the shooting deaths of two plainclothes Spanish Civil Guards a year ago while the officers were on an anti-ETA investigation in France. He is thought to have been the ETA commander who trained and sent operatives to carry out attacks.

ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths in its long fight for Basque independence.

Top Spanish officials warned after Aspiazu’s arrest that ETA had not lost its ability to attack.

Seven members of a skinhead gang convicted over 20 racially motivated killings and 12 other violent attacks, will hear their sentences in a Moscow court Thursday, according to Russian media.

After prosecutors recommend sentences, the Moscow City Court judge will set a sentencing date for the crimes, which were committed between August 2006 and October 2007.

The jury acquitted two other suspects, citing a lack of evidence, Anna Usachyova, a court spokeswoman, told news agencies RIA Novosti and Interfax.

Jurors said Artur Ryno and Pavel Skachevsky, the 17-year-olds who organized and led the group, did not deserve leniency, according to Usachyova. They face between eight and 20 years in prison.

Jurors felt the other five convicted attackers — aged 15 to 22 — should receive a lesser punishment, she said.

Defense attorneys asked the jury to find the defendants not guilty.

The gang members were indicted for "killing two or more people by an organized group, motivated by feelings of ethnic and racial hatred; attempted killings; the instigation of hatred or hostility; and disorderly conduct," according to Interfax.

Several people from the gang were also charged with robberies, it said.

According to Russian media, there has been an increase in race-hate crimes since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Thirteen members of another youth group, including 12 minors, were sentenced recently to three to 10 years in prison for two murders and fueling ethnic hatred. One of their victims was Sergey Nikolaev, 46, a Russian international chess master and coach.

"Both groups followed a common pattern in committing the crimes," prosecutors told Interfax.

"Influenced by ideas on exclusivity of people of Russian ethnicity and inferiority of non-Slavic individuals … the defendants formed organized groups to kill people coming from former Soviet republics located in the Asian and Caucasus regions," a prosecution spokesman was quoted as saying.

The United States and Russia were absent Wednesday as representatives from countries from around the world gathered to sign a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs.

Some 111 countries were due to adopt the Convention on Cluster Munitions at an all-day signing ceremony in Oslo, Norway.

But four of the biggest cluster bomb makers — Russia, China, Israel and the United States, which claims the devices are a vital part of its defense strategy, stayed away.

Cluster Munition Coalition activists behind the agreement expressed disappointment at the absence of the big four, but insisted it wouldn’t undermine the treaty as it passes into international law.

"Obviously it’s very disappointing that those countries aren’t here, but at the same time, the strong message that this treaty sends will make it very clear to those countries that these are unacceptable weapons and inappropriate in future conflicts," CMC Co-Chair Richard Moyes told CNN from Oslo.

"The treaty and the stigma that it builds will make it practically and politically much more difficult for them to use these weapons again in the future," Moyes added about the absent countries.

"Many of their partners will no longer be allowed to use these weapons, and clearly recognize these weapons as far too costly in humanitarian terms."

Cluster munitions, which break apart in flight to scatter hundreds of smaller bomblets, are described by the International Committee of the Red Cross as a "persistent humanitarian problem."

Most of a device’s bomblets are meant to explode on impact, but many do not. Credible estimates show the weapons fail between 10 and 40 percent of the time, leaving civilians at risk of harm from unexploded ordnance, the ICRC says.

In addition to calling for a total, immediate ban of the weapons, the Oslo accord calls for strong standards to protect those injured. It urges that contaminated areas be cleaned up quickly and weapons immediately destroyed, the CMC said.

The agreement requires the destruction of stockpiles of the weapons within eight years, said Thomas Nash, coordinator of the Cluster Munition Coalition.

Earlier this year, a U.S. State Department representative called it "an absolute moral obligation" to rid a battlefield of unexploded ordnance after battle, but the insists cluster munitions are an important part of its defense strategy that can be regulated post-conflict.

During the 34-day war in Lebanon in 2006, the United Nations estimated that Israel dropped 4 million bomblets, 1 million of which may not have exploded, according to the ICRC. More than 250 civilians and bomb-disposal operators have been killed or injured by them in southern Lebanon since the war ended.

Cluster bombs were also used in the 1999 war in Kosovo.

In more than 20 countries, according to the ICRC, cluster bombs have created lasting "no-go" areas, rendering them as dangerous as minefields.

Laos is the most affected country. Millions of bomblets dropped during the Vietnam War continue to kill civilians more than three decades later.

Toys "R" Us’ Gerald Storch on how he’s managing the toy retailer as we head into one of the worst holiday seasons in decades

Gerald Storch, CEO of Toys "R" Us, has been working on turning around the business since he took the helm in 2006. Sales had been slipping for years and in 2006 the struggling toy retailer was taken private by Bain Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., and Vornado.

Now the toy retailer has regained some momentum. Storch has improved same-stores sales, brought in new management, and earned kudos for his strategy to combine Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores in newly designed superstores to draw in customers more regularly throughout the year. Storch launched the most recent superstore in Secaucus, N.J., on Nov. 19 and discussed the toy retailer’s strategy for the upcoming holiday season. Edited excerpts of his responses to questions from BusinessWeek magazine staff editor Aili McConnon follow:

How has the economic crisis affected your consumers?

There is a new frugality but I believe to counter that, customers believe this is a smart time to buy products because prices will be good.

How are you reaching out to customers who are more budget-conscious this year?

We believe that in good times and bad the last thing parents will cut back from their budget is the Christmas present for their child. There’s a lot of research and history behind that statement. We had a very good holiday season last year when much of retailing had a bad season. We don’t believe it’s necessarily as bad as people are saying.

What are the opportunities in a downturn?

Right now we’re going through one of the most difficult economic periods in our lifetimes and there will be very few retailers who emerge unscathed this holiday season, but for the survivors the opportunity on the other side is golden. There will be hundreds and hundreds of closings of stores after Christmas and some before Christmas. There will be a tremendous amount of real estate that becomes available and it’s an opportunity to do something different. In a lot of cases it will be someone sitting right next to our toy or baby store that goes out of business so that makes it an easy opportunity to expand into that space in a superstore configuration.

What is the value proposition to customers who can also go online or to Walmart (WMT) for toys?

We have one of the best toy Web sites. The Internet continues to be a growth channel for us though it is a minority percentage of sales. In our store environment, our advantage is we have more product and we actually have service. We have people who understand the product and can help you pick the right product. That’s critical when dealing with children from a safety standpoint and from a kid-satisfaction perspective.

The breadth of assortment should not be taken lightly. The principal market-share competitors are discounters that carry a very limited assortment. If you want to see the world’s largest assortment of Lego, you need to come to Toys "R" Us. We have more product than the competition

How do you manage your employees in a downturn when their worries can include layoffs, credit-card debt, and making mortgage payments?

There is no time for panic or for lack of focus. We need to get even more focused on business essentials. That means making sure we have the right products, making sure the right products are in stock in the store, making sure the marketing is aggressive and clear to customers. We are five weeks before Christmas—it’s time to execute.

I also tell our people it’s critical to retain a positive demeanor. There is so much negative news out there that people have gotten into a downward spiral. Certainly you can’t perform well at any job if you’re feeling negative. No one here created the economic conditions. Let’s do our best to deliver results and fun to our customer. We stand for fun so we should have fun ourselves doing it even thought it’s a difficult time.

Most people do still have jobs and have fun. Most people have been scared into hoarding that cash. How do you change that sentiment? I think Obama should come out and say "everyone should go shopping. If you don’t have a job we will help you. If you do, go shopping."

Split the company in two: Hive off Chevy, Buick, and Cadillac, and then liquidate the rest, including the lumbering, old high-cost setup

By Bill George

Many people want to save General Motors (GM), but no one seems willing to do what is required to make it competitive.

GM is like an aging heart-failure patient, suffering from decades of physical abuse and nearing the end. The medical team has two difficult choices: keep the patient alive on life support, or perform radical surgery with a heart transplant.

A $25 billion bailout for GM, Ford (F), and Chrysler is akin to putting the carmakers on life support to stay alive until the money runs out. But it won’t make them competitive.

GM’s problems have developed over the past 50 years under a series of financially oriented CEOs. Instead of staring down the unions and risking a strike, they agreed to expensive employee and retiree health-care programs, generous pensions, a jobs bank, and inflexible work rules that rendered GM uncompetitive.

As serious as these problems are, GM’s biggest issue is that it isn’t making cars the American people want to buy, unless enticed with huge discounts and 0% financing. Over the past four decades, GM management has watched its share of the U.S. market decline from 53% to 20%. Management repeatedly cut costs, but never deeply enough to get competitive.

Meanwhile, GM lobbyists opposed stricter standards for fuel efficiency and safety, from better-gas-mileage requirements and catalytic converters to seat belts and air bags. Yet when GM started losing share, its management lobbied Washington for limiting imports of foreign autos through increased tariffs, only to waste its opportunities by increasing prices and profits instead of investing in competitive products.

In fairness to current CEO Richard Wagoner, he inherited these problems from his predecessors. He is taking incremental steps to improve, but isn’t thinking boldly enough about the drastic actions required to fix them.

The debate in Washington has been framed in stark terms: bail out GM or let the company go bankrupt. The Michigan delegation claims the latter option is untenable for the nation—and I agree that it is—but a quick fix that doesn’t make GM competitive is equally unappealing.

There is a better option. But first, the executives, unions, and politicians need to face these realities:

1. With high employee costs and inflexible work rules, GM is not competitive with the North American factories of the Japanese and German producers.

2. GM cannot afford the overhead for seven brands, many of them "look-alikes," and the advertising, dealers, and service networks to sustain them.

3. GM’s products need a massive overhaul to become competitive in fuel efficiency, air pollution, engineering excellence, consumer features, and styling.

4. GM needs new leadership and a new culture.

Here’s my radical proposal for a heart transplant to save General Motors:

1. Divide GM into two companies, the first composed of Chevrolet (including trucks), Buick, and Cadillac.

2. Install new management and a new board of directors, move the headquarters to a new location, and create an empowering culture for all employees.

3. Negotiate new employee agreements with wages and benefits competitive to those of foreign producers’ U.S. factories (around $44 per hour, not GM’s current level of $73), including health plans and pensions comparable to its foreign competitors.

4. Retain only GM’s most productive American and foreign factories—those that operate at greater than 80% of capacity.

5. Embark on an aggressive new-product development program to make its autos fully competitive in engineering, features, and styling within five years.

6. Commit to a fleet average of 40 mpg by 2015 and 50 mpg by 2020, competitive with European standards, with a mix of hybrids, electric cars, lighter vehicles, and efficiency improvements.

7. Re-charter the dealer network for these three brands with fewer, healthier dealers.

8. Establish a viable capital structure enabling this company to operate with sound cash balances and a reasonable debt-to-equity structure.

The second company would retain the remaining brands, employee agreements, factories, and dealers. Management would proceed to liquidate the company, on terms that reasonably protect employee rights, dealer rights, and creditor rights, comparable to what a bankruptcy court might offer. When this process exceeds GM’s residual balance sheet, the federal government would fund the balance on a one-time basis.

Who could pull off this radical plan? For starters, the President should appoint an "auto czar" operating under the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. My candidates are former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Louis Gerstner, who turned around IBM (IBM). For CEO of the first company, I would propose Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault (RENA.PA), one of the world’s most successful automobile executives, with Wagoner and his team managing the second company.

Such radical surgery would be difficult and expensive in the short term, but it is the only way to make American automobiles competitive for the future. Creating a viable company is a far better solution than letting GM go bankrupt, or facing the slow death of going on "life support" from American taxpayers.

(Money Magazine) — When new clients come to me, I ask them a few questions about risk. One is "What would you do if the value of your stocks fell by 50%?"

The vast majority answer that they would buy more stocks. So now that the market has lost about 40% of its value, why are some of these same clients clamoring to sell?

Risk tolerance ebbs and flows. From 2003 to 2007, U.S. stock prices nearly doubled and international shares nearly tripled.

During such good years, you tend to believe that you have a high tolerance for risk. At times like these, your willingness to take chances drops sharply.

Such mood swings can lead you to jump in and out of the market and chase good performance, with devastating results.

According to a 2007 study of investor returns from 1991 to 2004 published in the Journal of Banking & Finance, the average investor pays a 1.5-percentage-point annual penalty for that kind of behavior.

My advice is to never rely on a risk questionnaire to tell you how much you should have in the market.

I ask about risk tolerance only to make the point that hypothetically losing half of your portfolio doesn’t inspire the same fear that actually losing it will.

Your investment strategy should instead be based on your goals, your time horizon and what you’ve saved so far. Success will come from sticking to your plan.

But as you’re learning now, buying stocks is emotional. Your investments represent security and freedom. And as you watch your balances decline, you see your dreams fade too. Hence the nervous calls.

What I’m saying is that while I can’t make any promises, I wouldn’t bet against capitalism over the long run. Chances are, you’ll look back and see that this was a buying opportunity.

In times like these, you should push yourself to take more risk than feels comfortable. And in good times, go out on a limb less than you’re inclined to.

I’m feeling shock too. But I’ve bought more stock-index funds. It’s scary, but it’s also likely the right thing to do.

The Mole is a certified financial planner and certified public accountant who - in the interest of fairness - thinks you should know what goes on behind the scenes in financial planning. Want to make contact? E-mail themole@moneymail.com. 

Wednesday December 3, 2008 Even though December is a slow publishing month, it is a big movie month. As always, several movies this year were adapted from books. Want to hit the theaters for some live action Cliffs Notes? Check out the Top 10 Books into Movies for 2008.

_{Cover Photo Courtesy Simon & Schuster}