Swiss bank accounts: myth vs. reality

May 27, 2005 D. H. McKee

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Ever wanted a Swiss bank account?
In David Mamet’s 1997 movie The Spanish Prisoner, a con man played by Steve Martin establishes a numbered Swiss bank account with a few keystrokes on a laptop computer in New York. The new account belongs not to him but to his flattered victim.
“All of 15 Swiss francs in it,” Martin’s character modestly tells his naive mark. “But you ever want to impress anybody, they can find out you have a Swiss account — but Swiss law prohibits the bank from revealing the balance.
“Thus,” he adds after a portentous pause, “are all men created equal.”
That bit of dialogue makes Francois Micheloud laugh. “No, no, no,” the Swiss account broker says. “You can’t open an account online.” He shakes his head good-naturedly as he talks from his office in Lausanne. He laments that movies give the impression that Switzerland is a “no-questions-asked country.”
Swiss banks aren’t only for spies

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As a guy who occasionally curates art shows and wrangles artists together, I often have to edit and post artist bios, profile pictures, and artwork images. This can be a problem, since many artists and writers aren’t used to selling themselves. Artists rarely know how to present their art for display in a brochure, and writers aren’t used to writing about themselves.

Writers often treat the bio like it’s an interview or something. Maybe like they’re having a conversation with you, the reader. While it may work sometimes, the most common way to write a bio is to write in the 3rd person.

I’m like those writers, and I’m talking to you directly, unlike the common way to do a bio. You should see my About page. It makes sense to me, since this is a bit which describes my blog’s website. When I get famous enough that I don’t have time to talk to you, I’ll have an intern write everything in 3rd person. Until then, you get to talk to me.

Like blogs of old, this one is a personal document of the comings and goings of me. Articles I’ve written, links I’ve posted, videos I liked, etc. Here, a first-person perspective is the way to go, at least for now. So, this is my site. I’m D. H. McKee, a sometimes artist, sometimes writer. Mostly just a guy on the internet.