MORE STONKS
I Don't Know What I'm Talking About
Prologue
I’m presently in Krakow, on a volunteering trip with the family; we will be spending some time helping Ukrainian refugees. Although I’m no stranger to jet lag, I was awoken by my boys at 5:00 AM and could not fall back asleep. After an hour of staring at the wall-sized world map in our strange and secret bedroom (you access it through an Ikea wardrobe cabinet!), wondering if just the presence of a giant map makes one want to travel, I went for a run around the old city and Wawel castle. So, while the family slept in (I'll regret this later), I ran the medieval wall that guards the city. The wall is complete, with five different entry gates, and is a little over three miles long. The cool was cold and clear, and so I vaguely mapped out a few extra miles to include the castle walls, and running through the old Jewish Ghetto and by Barbican tower, where I passed a young couple, the man on his knees, imploring a tearful woman to look him in the eyes. I thought, perhaps, this was the end of a very long and difficult night, full of recriminations and quarrels. I looked away, and went on my way, up to the castle.
The Wawel castle is like something out of a fairy tale. I ran along the walls and then through the courtyard, which is set at a defensive angle so that attackers are funneled into the kill zone of the archers on the walls. I imagine the walls ringing with the cries of the dying as they were picked off by the king's warriors. Then I went back down the ramp, through the portcullis, and after picking up some pastries for the kids in Kazimierz, I made it back to the apartment, where everyone was still asleep.
Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled program. Here's some more from the soon-to-be-released series about GameStop, which is trading at about $128/share after announcing a baffling 4-for-1 stock split. Why they would do this, it's beyond me. Well, no, they're probably doing it to bring the share price down to $30 and all the YOLOS can go to the moon ONE MORE TIME.
This is still not financial advice.
Project: GameStop Series (redacted title)
Cast of Characters:
Theo - Director
Amy - Producer
Britton - Director of Photography
Bryce - Assistant Camera
Lily - Associate Producer
Mariko - Production Manager
May 8, 2021
Storming The Shitadel
The day started with love as I had but a ten-minute commute to set and then, after our calisthenics session up and down the stairs, I enjoyed my overnight oats with chia and fruit. And, of course, matcha! Britton had his requisite bagel. Win-win!
Diane and Daniel are a paragon of love. And a parapet of hatred for their arch-nemesis Ken Griffin, secluded in his fortress of solitude, his "Shitadel." Someone's gotta answer for his crimes. Why do stocks that go up get halted but not on the way down? STONKS always go up. It’s not a game and it's not a gamble. Daniel cut deep with his Star Trek "Kobayashi Maru" reference. But, if they are right - and if the float is fake, the shares are fake, the media and politicians are owned by the financial companies, then it's a no-win situation. The financial system is in a pickle. And don't even get them started on Jim Cramer. Payment for order flow was invented by Bernie Madoff. Diane has receipts
Lunch was brought in from Honeygrow and I went straight to the beefheart of darkness and ordered the Keto Stir-Fry. It was a delight! Garlicky, leafy, and it came in an easy-to-hold container. I could feel the protein coursing through my veins, my body becoming a nitro-burning, turbo-ketoed muscle machine. Britton and I wondered about the flavor profile of the tea/lemonade drink. Was it a reverse Arnold Palmer? Parnold Armer? Anyone else got a lead on this? Meanwhile, Mariko felt forced into ordering a protein and then verbally insulted the bacon on her salad. Bryce was shocked.
Then we sat down with Matt and his duck shirt. Million views Matt. What can be said? Traders follow his channel for retail sentiment. Was it all about the payback for 2008? And, once again - suspicions about naked shorting. He says he knows his stock market plumbing but I'm getting the feeling that nobody really knows how the system works. It's like a big Stonk Salad. No, it's a "Five sigma event" wrapped in layers of clearing-houses and depositories, like a super-sized piece of money-stuffed baklava
Ok, then we had pie from Four and Twenty Blackbirds. Matcha pie. I mean, c'mon. Matcha. Pie. That's a double matcha bang-bang for me.
Thankfully Desmond then closed the day with real talk. No more salad, it was time for the entree. He was buying value stocks at fifteen. Ok, he lost money on shorting Tesla. But he was the first to write about GameStop, and the first to get a standing ovation from all of us for his clear-as-day descriptive analogy of a short sale and a short squeeze. Forget rental cars. It's all about Telfar bags. Another Big Win!
I'm so sorry I cannot be with you tomorrow! See you Monday! Enjoy your pancakes!
May 10, 2021
Craig Schmitterer’s Wednesday Night Movie
The National Arts Club is where I hold all my meetings, so it was old home week for me as we loaded into this historic building. Did you know that it also houses the Pastel Society of America? But before settling in, we enjoyed our breakfast at the bar, where I had a most delicious bacon egg and cheese sandwich on a brioche bun. I had made this same breakfast sandwich for my boys this morning (my actual sons, not the men on the crew), but this was next level with the extra creamy cheese and the thin-sliced Candian bacon. And a chai latte to boot! Woo-Ha!
Vicki represented New York's finger lake region and Cornell University with pride. The jacket, the makeup, the forgetting the phone, the grumbling stomach, the expert knowledge. There's been a shift from defined benefit plans. It's a reduction of risk for the firm so now it's the employee’s problem. Tell me about it! Meanwhile, overconfidence is an issue. People do worse when they think that they are better than they actually are. Add to that a dash of conservatism bias, a sprinkle of hot hands, and a cup of overweighting and you've got yourself a steaming pot of Robin Hood Stew. Gameify that, Guy Fieri!
Lunch was Vietnamese, which meant good times. I got the ginger chicken vermicelli noodle dish and ate it opposite Lily who sneaked us an extra sauce. I cannot tell a lie, I would have eaten more if the bowl was only bigger. I heard no complaints. Okay, one complaint - I did not get my matcha latte. I'll survive. After lunch, we moved upstairs and I found Craig Schmitterer's (craigs7777@gmail.com) business card in the sofa. Britton claims that his father has "olive skin." Bryce is moving to Yonkers
.Gina then represented Duke and the great state of North Carolina. We began with Title 7 of Dodd-Frank, took a left at derivatives, and headed straight to the Cleveland Browns winning the Super Bowl against the Steelers. Go Steelers. But whatevs, sports are happenstance, corn futures are real. Tesla is the squeeze that keeps on squeezing. Groupthink increases valuation. Was it an honest pump or a pump and dump? Order flow order flow order flow. There's going to be more investigation for Robin Hood’s actions; the ol' volatility excuse just doesn’t seem genuine. In the end, Robin Hood made all the money and retail investors are the product. After all, as Vicki intimated, the more you trade the more you lose. The sale of data is a huge thing! What part of it aren’t you understanding Theo?
And then it was over! That's a wrap on this leg of the project. I'm so happy to have met all of you (I knew Amy!) and to have gotten to work on this. Have a great trip tomorrow and even better food at the airport. And great interviews! I'm looking forward to seeing you all again next month.
As Theo said - this is going to be the best ever Wednesday night movie on Netflix!
Also Of Interest
Anti-Corruption Czar has a “hilarious” name.
What would you do if you were accidentally paid 300 times your salary?
Toilet water beer. Yum.
Dungeons & Dragons = Storytelling Gold.
We are nearing 8 million people.
Now Listening To
Finger Lickin’ Good
All good thoughts,
Avi