These are the profound words of Mark Twain. Although no two markets are exactly alike, today I’ll examine the phenomenon known as “blood in the streets,” an occurrence that repeats throughout market history. I’m not giving you investment advice here; rather, I’m presenting two specific commodities that are potentially ringing the bell you hear at, or near, the bottom.

The US Dept of Labor reported this week that consumer prices spiked to a multiyear high. Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) hit 5.6 percent for the month of July. And the headline number, which includes food and fuel costs, is in fact the focus of many dramatic, eye-grabbing article titles in the print and electronic media.

Predicting the price of oil next week, next month or next year is about as Quixotic a venture as can be undertaken by even the most diligent expert. And engaging in such forecasts is even more counterproductive for individual investors focused on the long term; you don’t enjoy the romance of headline-grabbing statements or electric cable TV shout-fest appearances, and, most important, it’s an impractical exercise.

First I want to discuss risk. Then I’ll discuss a way to spot the corn price bottom and why corn prices--which collapsed more than $2 per bushel last month--have now fallen into an attractive area.

The thought may have occurred to you last week that all is well again, the bears are back in their cages and the bulls are running free, not through the streets of Pamplona but those of Lower Manhattan.

Last week, I accompanied a handful of adult leaders and three-dozen boys of varying ages to scout camp in the Virginia mountains. The first day’s weather was unexpectedly cool and rainy. As the week progressed, however, the days were increasingly hot and dusty. Not surprising, tempers rose accordingly, calming only with the oncoming chill of night and the eternal fascination of a raging campfire.

All three major US indexes continued to extend their losses this week. The S&P 500 settled into official bear market territory on Wednesday after it closed 2.3 percent lower, putting it off its October high by more than 20 percent. For the week, the S&P 500 lost 1.8 percent, the Down Jones Industrial Average knock off 1.6 percent and the Nasdaq Composite sank 0.3 percent.

The Bank of Canada (BoC) surprised many observers June 10 by holding interest rates steady rather than cutting in the face of slowing US and global economic conditions.

You should know upfront that I don’t purport to be an expert on the stock market or individual stocks. However, I’ve seen and traded thousands of markets over the years, both stocks and commodities. And over time, I’ve developed a feel for market trends.

With the leading indexes of the US stock market heading to one of the worst Junes since The Great Depression, it’s getting harder to bird-dog for stocks that won’t just come apart but will actually do something for us.