Captain's Blog, stardate 3/1/07

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- SPECIAL MARKET REPORT: A strange feeling has taken over this section of the galaxy. What?!? You mean markets don't go up forever? You mean that small little bubbly markets like the Philippines and China (yes, China is a small stock market) can go up and down 8% or 9% in a single day? That before this crashette, the Dow had been setting records some 30 out of the past 95 trading days? Yes, yes and yes!.....Oh, and Alan Greenspan? Could you please put a sock in it? We simply don't need to hear from you now that you aren't Fed Chief...Shouldn't you have the good sense and grace to just not comment about the economy? You may not mind undermining your successor, but we do!....Memo to Ms. Market: Behave!

NEXT ISSUE: Obviously we'll be talking about global markets, but also, guess what? It's America's Most Admired Companies list. Yippee! Folks love this and no wonder, it's for braggin' rights people! We also have an epic piece by Bethany McLean, which just rocks. As well as great story on a certain red-hot PC, musical device, phone maker by resident genius Jerry Useem. It's all good folks!

P/E WEEKEND PART I: Was at a private equity bash last Friday night at the Four Seas in NYC. Spoke with Stan O'Neill and Lloyd (and Laura!) Blankfein for a bit. Had a funny run in with Henry Kravis (and Marie-Josee!). Glenn Hutchins of Silver Lake, pulled me over to him and said to Henry, "here's the guy who made you #2 [on Fortune's private equity power list]"! Nice. I quickly pointed out that Kravis's latest deal (for TXU (Charts)) changes the landscape yet again. (Phew! Dodged a bullet!).....I also spent a good chunk of the evening hangin' with Maria Bartiromo and Jono Steinberg. Introduced them to my pal, Suss, the once and former bacon king of Chicago. Both Maria and I agree that Suss is the man! Thanks, Glenn, you the man!

P/E WEEKEND PART II: Saturday night in San Fran at a 50th birthday bash for one of the leading lights (not lites!) of Silicon Valley. Ms. Captain's Blog and I sat with Larry Sonsini and his wonderful and charming wife Barbara, as well as Charles Philips of Oracle (Charts) and his wonderful and charming wife Karen. Music was by....Little Feat! Awesome! (Not so) new lead guy was great. Soooo great to dance to "Dixie Chicken" And "Willin'" And "Fat Man in the Bathtub." Suss, who also made it out to Part II, got up on stage and danced to this one. Something about it being his theme song. Thanks Dave, you the man pt. II. (And you know what? There weren't any of those annoying fashion magazine columnists at either soiree. Funny that.)

LOOSE CHANGE: Spoke with (Daily Show/actor) Rob Corddry on the plane back up from Dallas, though at first I mistook him for Dave Mathews ("Well, we have the same hairline," he said.) Rob was reading Entertainment Weekly...he told me to tell Rick Tetzeli, EW's editor, that he dug the magazine, but "he should give me a good review on my new show The Winner." Rob was also reading SLR digital photography for Dummies....Hey Fortune Chicago! Thanks for the touch of the grape!....Thanks to C-Zock and Jim on my Dallas visit. Great to see Michael of Dell (Charts) and everyone else there, as well as folks from EDS (Charts), BNSF, Southwest (Charts), AMR (Charts), and T-I (Charts)...Thanks to the divine Nina E. in D.C. Good to see Shelby Coffey III again too!...Nice to meet Jenny Harris's (formerly of CNN) parents, who are of course also the in-laws of incomparable David Faber (of CNBC)...This from Deep Blue on Jet Blue...to be sung to the tune of "Blue," by the Jayhawks of course:

Where have all my passengers gone/They've all disappeared/Turned around maybe one day/You're all that was there/Stood by on believing/Stood by on my own/Always thought I was a someone/Turned out I was wrong/You brought me through/And you made me feel

So (Jet)Blue/Why don't you stay behind/So (Jet)Blue/Why don't you stop and look/at what's going down