CNBC wants to give you a pony!

Actually, no, no they don't. But, CNBC is the television network most associated with business, and with the business world in a huge funk at the moment, happiness is a bit hard to find. CNBC is doing what it can to help people find merriment in these troubled times by introducing: There must be a pony in here somewhere*

It's a rather eclectic collection of humorous stories about current events related to money and finances (this is CNBC, after all). Some of the topics include:

-How to fake your own death: Particularly relevant, given the number of financiers who've tried to fake their own deaths to escape punishment (Marcus Schrencker, Art Nadel, etc.) and failed horribly, there's now a guide to doing it right. The big suggestion: fake-crash your airplane into the ocean, where the fact that there isn't actually a body inside will be easier to explain away.

-Banker-Shaped Stress Balls: Stress balls formed to look like Alan Greenspan, Henry Paulson, and Ben Bernanke. Possibly the best idea I've heard of yet to vent your frustration with the current financial situation without actually hurting anyone. I'll start to get nervous when they come out with Banker Shooting Range Targets, though.

-Being a Dominatrix, for Fun and Profit (Mainly, Profit): A personal favorite, this story about women getting into fetish work to make ends meet. Good work if you can get it, I suppose; with a going rate of $80 an hour, I'm almost upset nobody would pay ME for such services.

All in all, There must be a pony in here somewhere (or, as it's sometimes called, the Pony blog) seems like an entertaining, somewhat irrelevant look at the wacky world of finance. According to the opening article, it's supposed to only last until the financial world picks up again; however, I hope they keep picking up these stories after things get better, money-wise.

Oh, and while I'm hoping, here's to things getting better soon. *Crosses fingers and hopes*

*The name of the blog is taken from the punchline of a joke that Ronald Reagan was fond of:

A psychiatrist is asked to treat twin brothers with extreme personalities — one a pessimist, the other an optimist.

The pessimist’s treatment was a room full of toys. The boy burst into tears, refusing to play with any of them. He was afraid he would break them.

With the optimist, the treatment was a room full of manure. The optimist, true to form, climbs to the top of the pile and exclaims, “With all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere!”

Here's hoping, kid.