Morning Audibles 4.6.10 - Butler Didn't Do It & Other "UnShining Moments"

I don't really know where to start this morning... The markets? MEH... I'm about damn sick of them by now... Of course, that's what we'll mostly talk about today, but this is ROMEAMERICA dammit! And therefore we know that "work" and things like that are only to get us from holiday weekends, through to 'One Shining Moment'/Opening Day Mondays, and onto Masters Thursday. I suppose CV will have to be the entertainment in the intermission (note: this is the part of the "Gladiator Games" where they slaughter all the animals that were killed in the first act, cook it up and feed it to the Romans - In case you were wondering).


OK - Here's where we start (In our anthology of UN-SHINING MOMENTS)

So Obama tosses out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals game. This was the 2nd time he's thrown out a first pitch (1st at last years ALL STAR GAME - which he only attended because he thought he'd been voted into the lineup). First of all... Dude, you can't throw... If he were pitching a real game, the count on the batter would be 2 balls and no strikes right now. By next year, he'll have "walked" the guy (I wonder if the batter is named Jamie or Lloyd)... What's the deal with his toeing the rubber? Dude! You're not holding anyone on first base, just throw the effin' thing over the plate and get off the field... 2nd? This is a WASHINGTON NATIONALS home opener. What's the deal with the CHICAGO WHITE SOX hat? We know you're from 60606, but come on... Honor your host for God's sake! This isn't "Crips & Bloods" dude (I know the Nationals have "Blood" colors - but you don't have to silently acknowledge the CRIPS in the process)

CRIPS love "Sox" hats

 

You're doing it WRONG!

You're STILL doing it wrong!

Look, cut the crap and get down to basics. This is how you do it. You first honor your host (in what you wear), you walk out to the mound, waste no time, THROW A STRIKE down the middle... Obama said afterwards that he had been throwing so many strikes in practice and that on the moment ...the ball slipped out of his hand. WTF? No, seriously... WTFF?

Sort of like this... 

Stop trying to please the people like this who voted you into office!

Or this guy (notice baseball hat @:09), who shares your TEAM affiliation...

And whatever you do, don't break out into song (like he did once).

If you keep going the way you are going, what was once a great thing (like the 2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament), is going to end up as a crappy music video that you couldn't even "lip synch" properly...

CV is pining for "simpler" days (like this - which is "Hinkle Hall" - the site of the Indiana State Championship game in the movie "HOOSIERS" where tiny Hickory High knocks off powerhouse South Bend - "Hinkle Hall" is actually where BUTLER plays its home games on campus - Truth is stranger than fiction).

Morning Audibles 4.5.10 - Back to Work (I guess that means buying stocks - It seems they're getting more expensive by the day)

No you're not seeing double (nor did any comments get deleted)...


If you're just getting here after being away for the weekend, I decided, here, to REPLAY Andy's T's chart post from last evening as the MONDAY THREAD.


Andy, given time, will produce some weekly thoughts which will launch on Sundays at 5:30 PM... Since this was a holiday weekend, I wanted to make sure nobody would miss it (which I'd risk to do if I jumped on top of it with a new thread. (Note: there are a few comments in the 'Sunday' version of this - they have not been deleted - they're just on the other thread)...


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From Andy T - (Sunday, April 4, 2010)


Good Evening Survivor Capitalists.

Attached here are some latest thoughts on the S&P 500. The bottom line for short term trading is that 1167 should now be considered key support. It looks like the market wants to take a quick ride to the low 1200s before terminating the wave up from the early February.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I missed putting out a report last weekend due to the fact I was out of town supporting my wife's business at the last frontier of capitalism: the Warrenton/Roundtop Antique Festival. I think of it as the last bastion of capitalism because of the unrestricted nature of the event. Anyone can set up a booth for 10 days for a relatively cheap price (i.e. $200-->$1,000 for a 200 sq.ft space). There are few restrictions on what you can sell, how you sell it, or your hours of operation. Basically, if one brings good inventory and presents it well, one can have some good success. Alternatively, in one brings crap products, the marketplace lets you know it very quickly and the vendors don't return. This market efficiently "separates the wheat from the chaff."

I love going to this show mostly for the people. It's pure "Americana," as it's a beautiful cross-section of this country: from the true "gypsy" dealer who lives in his truck to the high end dealer accustomed to serving only the rich and famous. Everyone is welcome here.

Last night, while watching the Final Four, I had the privilege of chatting with a few folks at the "Third Base" Bar (A "real" country bar that only takes cash, serves only beer and has the menu scrawled on the wall) in Warrenton, TX. One person was an African-American furniture mover from Atlanta, GA. He had been moving furniture all over the state of Texas for weeks and was sleeping in a tent. He had this to say: "Hey, you gotta go where the work is. I've got a mortgage to pay. My wife complains about me being away so much, but this is good work. I gotta be here. This is good money. The bills don't stop." Indeed....

The other person I chatted with was a lady named "Jackie," who had been working non-stop in a food both for several days. She was a local who was studying to be a Registered Nurse. Her plan was to get her license and open an "Assisted Living" home nearby, bankrolled only by her family and friends (No TBTF banks involved here).

Both of these people look exhausted, but satisfied in their own way. Each was doing what they had to do in order to "make it." Those kinds of conversations make me hopeful about this country, despite our many problems. This remains one of the few places where you can easily "go where the work is" and improve yourself if you have the determination and a little bit of help from friends and family.

Let's hope it continues to be that way....

Hope everyone had a good Easter Weekend.

S&P 500 Update 4 Apr 10

Sunday Evening S&P Update

Good Evening Survivor Capitalists.

Attached here are some latest thoughts on the S&P 500. The bottom line for short term trading is that 1167 should now be considered key support. It looks like the market wants to take a quick ride to the low 1200s before terminating the wave up from the early February.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I missed putting out a report last weekend due to the fact I was out of town supporting my wife's business at the last frontier of capitalism: the Warrenton/Roundtop Antique Festival. I think of it as the last bastion of capitalism because of the unrestricted nature of the event. Anyone can set up a booth for 10 days for a relatively cheap price (i.e. $200-->$1,000 for a 200 sq.ft space). There are few restrictions on what you can sell, how you sell it, or your hours of operation. Basically, if one brings good inventory and presents it well, one can have some good success. Alternatively, in one brings crap products, the marketplace lets you know it very quickly and the vendors don't return. This market efficiently "separates the wheat from the chaff."

I love going to this show mostly for the people. It's pure "Americana," as it's a beautiful cross-section of this country: from the true "gypsy" dealer who lives in his truck to the high end dealer accustomed to serving only the rich and famous. Everyone is welcome here.

Last night, while watching the Final Four, I had the privilege of chatting with a few folks at the "Third Base" Bar (A "real" country bar that only takes cash, serves only beer and has the menu scrawled on the wall) in Warrenton, TX. One person was an African-American furniture mover from Atlanta, GA. He had been moving furniture all over the state of Texas for weeks and was sleeping in a tent. He had this to say: "Hey, you gotta go where the work is. I've got a mortgage to pay. My wife complains about me being away so much, but this is good work. I gotta be here. This is good money. The bills don't stop." Indeed....

The other person I chatted with was a lady named "Jackie," who had been working non-stop in a food both for several days. She was a local who was studying to be a Registered Nurse. Her plan was to get her license and open an "Assisted Living" home nearby, bankrolled only by her family and friends (No TBTF banks involved here).

Both of these people look exhausted, but satisfied in their own way. Each was doing what they had to do in order to "make it." Those kinds of conversations make me hopeful about this country, despite our many problems. This remains one of the few places where you can easily "go where the work is" and improve yourself if you have the determination and a little bit of help from friends and family.

Let's hope it continues to be that way....

Hope everyone had a good Easter Weekend.

S&P 500 Update 4 Apr 10

Morning Audibles 4.2.10 - Enjoy the Holiday Weekend!

To all the "peeps" who share this blog everyday, I'll be out and around all weekend enjoying some nice sun, and attending some gatherings.

So I'd simply like to leave this message of peace and goodwill (and say "thanks" to you all who come every day).

Happy Easter! & Chag Pesach Kasher veSameach!

CV

Morning Audibles 4.1.10 - April Fools Day

"A FOOL and his money are soon parted" (Thomas Tusser - English Farmer/Writer, 1524-1580, who also said "Sweet April Showers do spring May flowers")...

Speaking of Fools (and April), here's how Wall St. works to make the logic of Tusser come true.

It starts with these two guys (shown here paying a visit to their sock puppet sugar daddy rich uncle). They then proceed to play version of 3 card monte [probably with tarot cards]. They bid up equity prices day in and day out, exchanging them between themselves. So as to not look so obvious doing it, they focus on "single digit midgets" (like C, AIG, FNM, FRE), or shares that are hanging around somebody's REPO shelf.


On the first 2-3 days of each month then, a big transfer occurs.

These MoMo's (money managers), appear to the masses to be hard working types, pouring over charts & analysis all month & interested in nothing more that YOU being able to retire in semi-luxury in that retirement McGolf community.

I always wanted to have this guy in my foursome...

Of course it was YOUR money that the MoMo's used for that transaction (the money YOU NEVER saw because it was whisked out of your paycheck, and into your 401k account for the Momo to distribute while he fancied himself being THIS GUY).

Instead, THIS GUY, just made "A million dollars"

Now OTOH, if you're a "trader" of this phenomenon, it's probably just best to wait until all these transactions have taken place, and if you're a market BEAR, that opportunity won't likely come until next Tuesday or so.

Any questions? You could perhaps refer them to Tusser, who also said, "Methesulah lived to be 969 years old. You boys & girls will see more in the next 50 years than Methesulah saw in his whole lifetime"... And Tusser said THAT in the 1500's...