Manny Gomes
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This is what my sons do for fun - better than video games. They are only allowed to handle throwing knives under my supervision. I used to own a martial arts school and taught defensive tactics to law enforcement and military so... I am very careful but try to make learning fun at the same time.
Several (slightly) different versions of the same technique. Done slowly at first to show the fundamentals and gradually "smoothed out." Not "full speed" for clarification of the technique.
First movement is an evasion (tai sabaki), then a trap and a throw. a "1,2,3" movement. The most important thing to remember is, "first, don't get hit".
Another old video with an old Koryu technique. Originally against a sword, it is an option for a stick or baseball attack (even a skateboard or "protest sign").
THIS IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY! I do not condone or encourage anything immoral, unethical or illegal!
Defense is against an overhead attack or baseball bat swing where your opponent is aiming for a "home run" with your head.
Scenario: you've squared off - maybe they are taunting you. You may or may not have something in your hand. Anticipating a baseball bat type swing, you instigate movement with a left hand feint.
As the "wind up" turns into a committed swing, jump forward, slip your head out of the way and smash into opponents rear knee cap just as they think they are smashing you in the head. If your aim is good, this pretty much ends the situation.
As you look around for other protes...err...attackers, sweep available legs. Citizen's arrest and detention follows...
Several versions are shown with various "timings". The most important part here is the "not getting hit" part.
What do you do if you hurt your arm in a fight? And the other guy has a stick, "protest sign", skateboard, etc?
Here's one option. It's not an ideal situation and you have to act fast once you stop the power of the swing.
This is a common defense in many arts. Here, you can see some crossover between eskrima and budo.
Part 2. Video quality ain't great and there's some file degradation but I figured some of you might find it useful.
Techniques are slowed down for clarity and learning. Eskrima should have a "flow" to it. Some parts of this video don't "flow" in order to highlight a particular aspect or concept.
At some point, I'll redo these videos with better audio and video but I hope the information in this video is still useful in it's "as is" state.
This is an old video showing the fundamentals of Eskrima. Eskrima should have a "flow" to it. There are parts of this video where the technique has been slowed down to illustrate a concept or aspect of the technique.
The video quality is bad and was starting to degrade on my computer's hard drive but I thought the information might be useful.
IMPEACHMENT – AN IDIOT’S
GUIDE
Hi!
This is Kodo with Kodoan. You can find out more about me at
kodoan.com.
That’s
K O D O A N DOT COM.
If
you keep hearing about Impeachment
and were kinda hoping for an “idiots guide” version of
what it is
– heads
up! this might
be just
what you’re looking for!
When
most people today here the word impeachment, they usually think of
President Donald John Trump or maybe even former President William
Jefferson Clinton – both of whom were impeached; the former, an
unprecedented two times. However, the roots of impeachment go way
back – like, 3000 years way back. Like, a thousand years older
than the Dead Sea Scrolls Papyrus way back.
I’m
referring, of course, to an Ostracon – from which we get the word
“ostracize”. Now, Ostraca, the plural form of Ostracon are
basically old timey post-it notes dating to at least the time of the
New Kingdom of Egypt – also known as the Egyptian Empire. That
would be somewhere around 1550 B.C. to 1069 B.C.
An
Ostracon was something used to scratch notes, receipts, instructions
or similar information on. It needed to be cheap, readily available
and fairly durable. Common material for Ostraca were things like a
bit of repurposed broken pottery (there was a lot of that back then),
a bit of flat limestone (there was a lot of that too) and, most
notably, flat shells such as oyster shells -from which the word
Ostracon is derived.
Right
around the same time the world was going “all Lady Gaga” over
Howard Carter’s discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, the
ancient Egyptian workman’s villa known as Deir el-Medina was being
excavated. Deir el-Medina was an ancient Egyptian workman’s
village during the Egyptian Empire which was home to the artisans who
worked on the tombs in the Valley of the Kings; the location for the
Tomb of Tutankhamun.
The
ancient name for the settlement of Deir el-Medina was Set Maat –
“the place of Truth” and the workmen who lived and worked there
were called “Servants in the Place of Truth”. I’m sure that
modern day congressmen would absolutely LOVE it if people started
referring to them that way… In any case, as much as five thousand
Ostraca were uncovered at Deir el-Medina and detailed mostly mundane
everyday events such as work orders, receipts, jobsite instructions,
etc.
The
far less hardy but much more elegant Papyrus, it would seem, was
reserved for far more important writings.
“Ok”,
you say, “I got it...Ancient Egypt, Oyster shells, Ostracon are
ancient post-it notes – what the hell does that have to do with
impeachment?”
Settle
down Princess, I’m getting to the good part, then you’ll see how
it all ties together.
Towards
the end of the Egyptian Empire or just after it - in the old timey
days of King David – you know, “David and Goliath”, “King of
the Jews” and “father to Wise King Solomon” – That King
David, an Ostracon was found that is believed to be the earliest
known “vote” on a judgment. It contains the words, King, slave
and judge. There is still debate on the artifact but, if the
hypothesis holds true, it would be the oldest known use of an
Ostracon as a means of passing judgment.
During
the seige at Masada in the year 73 A.D, when the Jewish defenders
opted for mass suicide instead of capture by the invading Roman
pagans, they voted (or “drew lots”) to determine who would kill
their compatriots before falling on their own swords. Excavations at
Masada revealed Ostraca with names on them leading scholars to
believe that Ostraca were used during this “vote”.
The
importance of Ostraca was also visible during the time of Ancient
Athens, most notably the 4th, 5th, and 6th
centuries B.C., where they were used in voting for the banishment of
unpopular citizens and officials. Banishment was usually for a
period of ten years.
Ancient
Athens had its own version of a congress (called a Boule’) and a
senate (called the Areopagus – which means the “hill of Aries”
and referred to the low hill Northwest of the Acropolis).
Unfortunately,
Ancient Athens
was plagued with corruption and there
was usually a giant, corrupt, cluster screw in the middle of
everything. Things
didn’t always go according to plan nor was justice fairly meted
out. I
guess times change but people don’t. The
monkey-bonk continues...
In
any case, they believed that they were truly enlightened as the only
other viable alternative they had to banishment (“Ostracism”) was
execution; usually in the form of an assassination.
In
England, Impeachment was first used in 1376 against William 4th
Baron Latimer and the last time they used it was in 1806 against
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville. Apparently, the UK
has quite moved on from “banishing” unpopular officials in favour
of other means of coercion.
The
mechanism for impeachment in the UK is that the “house of commons”
draws up articles of impeachment (which is a fancy way of accusing
someone of something that they don’t like) and the house of lords
“hears” the case (and decides the fate of the accused). If
impeached (meaning accused of “something” – not necessarily a
crime) and then convicted, the punishment can be quite severe –
including steep fines, imprisonment or even a death sentence. Which
is exactly what befell the Earl of Stratford, Lord deputy of Ireland,
around 1639. His award for winning England’s unpopularity contest
was the end of a gallows’ rope.
In
England, impeachment was broad in scope – applicable to anyone –
not just those that held office but was primarily designed to
circumvent individuals who abused power derived from holding close
ties or favour with royalty.
Impeachment
as a part of the United States Constitution was first suggested by
Benjamin Franklin during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. He
noted that the traditional way of removing heads of state was by
removing the head of the head of the state. In other words,
execution or assassination. Franklin suggested the impeachment
process as a preferable method to the barbarism of political
violence.
Similar
to the original intent of British impeachment, the First Congress saw
impeachment as a way to remove a bad officer that was sheltered by
the power of the Presidency but their focus was primarily on a
president who might get out of control. Never-the-less, the
impeachment clause specifies any civil officer of the Executive
branch as well as judges but it excludes military officers.
The
Impeachment clause can be found in the United States Constitution,
Article 2, Section 4 where it states that the President, Vice
President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be
removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason,
Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
The
First Congress used the word “other” to connect Treason and
Bribery to other miscellaneous misdeeds. The intent was, “it
better be something serious”….not just “whatever you don’t
like about the President is reason enough for impeachment”.
However, like Ancient Athens, it is devolving into an unpopularity
contest resulting in banishment. The monkey bonk continues...
Impeachment
is not the removal of an elected official from office. It is the
first step in a two-step process that can end up in the removal of an
official from office.
The
mechanism for impeachment in the United States is quite similar to
that of the United Kingdom in that it must be initiated in the house
of representatives (our version of the “house of commons”) with
the passage of a resolution listing the charges or “articles of
impeachment” against the official being impeached.
If
passed by the house of representatives, the article or articles of
impeachment are then considered by the Senate (our version of the
“house of lords”) in a trial.
If
the impeachment is of the President or Vice-President, then the Chief
Justice of the supreme court must preside over the trial with 100
senators serving as the jury.
A
“supermajority” two thirds vote of the senate is required for a
conviction necessary to remove the person from office. Punishment is
limited to removal from office and possibly also disqualification
from holding public office in the future.
The
United States legislative branch is very far removed, indeed, from
the ancient settlement of Set Maat (the “place of truth”) and
most people would laugh if you called congress “servants in the
place of Truth”. However, there is a continuation from the first
known use of an Ostracon as a method of voting on banishment to
impeachment; our modern interpretation of banishment.
While
impeachment in the United States was supposed to be a way to reign in
unruly government officials without resorting to violence, it would
appear that it is going back to the days of Ancient Athens, and the
banishment of the unpopular – albeit with more modern versions of
Ostraca.
In
any case, I hope this “Idiot’s Guide to Impeachment” Helps you
in some way.
My
advice to you will always be three fold:
1.
Gather information
2.
Think Critically
3.
Make connections
It
has been said that the meaning of life is to learn and then to share.
In
classical martial arts, the old Masters would say, “no matter where
you start, strive to always get better”.
Remember…..no
matter where you are in life – “Always...get better!”
WAIT!!!
Before you go!
If
you liked this video, please hit the like, subscribe and “Bell”
icon buttons – it helps with those algorithms… whatever that
is….seriously...does anyone really know what the deal is with the
algorithms?
If
you do, please let me know in the comment section. Even if you don’t
know but just have something to say – let us all know in the
comment section!
Thanks
again for watching – until next time...
MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE –
AN IDIOT’S GUIDE
Hi!
This is Kodo with Kodoan. You can find out more about me at
kodoan.com.
That’s
K O D O A N DOT COM.
If
you keep hearing about Marjorie Taylor Greene and were kinda hoping
for an “idiots guide” version of who she is – heads up! this
might be just what you’re looking for!
Marjorie
Taylor Greene, the newly elected United States representative for
Georgia’s 14th congressional district, was born on May
27, 1974 in Milledgeville, Georgia. She graduated from South Forsyth
(pronounced “fer sythe”) High School (Go “War Eagles”) in
1992 and from the University of Georgia (Go “Bulldogs”) in 1996
with a Bachelor’s degree in Business administration.
U.S.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is considered a “far right
extremist” by her political enemies such as “AOC plus three” –
you know….”the squad!”. Also included on that enemies list is
Nancy Pelosi, and the entire cast of the failing situation comedy
known as “CNN”. They describe her as “basically President
Donald Trump in heels”.
Oof!
Talk about a mental picture! Plus, I can’t imagine anything
scarier to lefties than a version of President Donald Trump with more
“intersectionality”. If she came out tomorrow as a
trans-gendered, black, muslim, non-binary unicorn that believes in
free speech, the right to bear arms and smaller government – I’m
fairly certain that Brian Stelter’s head would explode – I mean
for real….not just get fatter...
In
any case, there is, however, substantial evidence for Congresswoman
Greene’s extremist views. Marjorie is a well known Christian, a
wife (married to her husband Perry since they were college
sweethearts), a mother of three children (Lauren, Taylor and Derek)
and a small business owner - she and her husband own Taylor
Commercial. Taylor Commercial is a commercial construction and
renovation company that was first launched in 1969 by Marjorie Taylor
Greene’s father, Robert Taylor. Taylor Commercial is located in
Alpharetta which is inside Georgia’s 6th congressional
district.
A
self-described “proud American”, Marjorie Taylor Greene is avidly
Pro-life, pro-gun, pro-Trump, and pro-MAGA. Adding to these
extremist views, U.S. Congresswoman, Marjorie Taylor Greene actually
had the Cajones to have her campaign motto be “Save America, stop
socialism.”
Even
worse, Congresswoman Greene has shown tacit and peripheral support of
wacko conspiracy theories such as Pizzagate and Qanon.
Ok,
you ask…..what the hell is Pizzagate and Qanon?
Ohh
boy...here we go!
Pizzagate:
there is a belief that, there is a group among social elites, the
extremely wealthy and the world’s political leaders, that actively
traffics in under-age children.
Proponents
of the Pizzagate theory point to Jeffrey Epstein’s Pedo Island, his
buddy Prince Andrew, and Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager (and
all around effing weirdo) John Podesta and his equally effing weirdo
brother Tony.
In
March of 2016, John Podesta’s personal email account was hacked and
the contents given to WikiLeaks – who then published said contents.
Some
of the emails stood out in the way they were describing ordering
“pizza” for an evening of entertainment. The emails only made
sense if you substituted the word “pizza” for something like
“prostitute” or “sex-slave”. Thus, the birth of “pizzagate”.
Experts
in the field of Federal Law Enforcement will point to patterns of
worldwide, organized crime who’s foundation has historically been
weapons, drugs and human-trafficking.
Those
on the other side will say that nothing bad ever happened on Pedo
Island and Jeffrey Epstein, like, totally committed suicide.
Qanon:
there is a belief that, there is a group among social elites, the
extremely wealthy and the world’s political leaders, that actively
conspire to create a “world government that has dominion and power
over every single human being on the planet.”
Proponents
will point to attempts of bringing this about through the creation of
entities like the United Nations and ultra-elite organizations of
world power players like the “council on foreign relations” and
the “trilateral commission”.
Furthering
this belief are moments like, in 1999, when upon receiving a world
government award, Walter Cronkite (“America’s News anchorman”
in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s and known as “the most trusted
man in America”) said, “We must strengthen the United Nations as
a first step toward a world government with a legislature, executive
and judiciary, and police to enforce its international laws and keep
the peace. ...We Americans are going to have to yield up some of
our sovereignty. That’s going to be, to many, a bitter pill.
...Today, we must develop federal structures on a global level. We
need a system of enforceable world law – a democratic federal world
government.”
Hillary
Clinton congratulated Walter Cronkite by saying, “Good evening and
congratulations, Walter, on receiving the World Federalist
Association’s Global Governance Award. For more than a generation
in America, it wasn’t the news until Walter Cronkite told us it was
the news. Every night at 6 o’ clock, we listened as you explained
the complex events of the day. You became a trusted member of my
family and the families across America. For decades, you told us
“the way it is,” but tonight, we honor you for fighting for the
way it could be.”
Those
on the other side will say, “Yeah, but have you heard ‘Imagine’
by John Lennon? Also, REAL Communism, like, totally hasn’t been
tried yet – it’s gonna work man!”
Wait
a minute you say…. I get it…. social elites, the extremely
wealthy and the world’s political leaders are a bunch of pricks.
What does that have to do with Marjorie Taylor Greene?
Well,
it would appear that, very similar to President Donald Trump, albeit
in heels this time, Freshman Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is
no fan of social elites, the extremely wealthy and the world’s
political leaders. In addition, she has a background, not in
politics but in business and, to top things off, comes across as “one
of us” to a lot of American citizens.
With
qualifications like that, and being a Republican to boot, it remains
to be seen if Marjorie Taylor Greene will be treated by her opponents
like President Donald Trump or worse….Like President Abraham
Lincoln…
On
January 13th, 2021, Congresswoman Green promised to file
articles of impeachment against creepy uncle joe for “abuse of
power”. Less than thirty hours after inauguration, she kept that
promise.
As
of February 4th, 2021, U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor
Greene has already been removed from her committee assignments –
any guesses, my lads, if she will make it to the end of her first
term?
In
any case, I hope this “Idiot’s Guide to Marjorie Taylor Greene”
Helps you in some way.
My
advice to you will always be three fold:
1.
Gather information
2.
Think Critically
3.
Make connections
It
has been said that the meaning of life is to learn and then to share.
In
classical martial arts, the Masters say, “no matter where you
start, strive to always get better”.
Remember…..no
matter where you are in life – “Always...get better!”
Hi! This is Kodo with
Kodoan. You can find out more about me at kodoan.com.
That’s
K O D O A N DOT COM.
If
you keep hearing about GameStop and were kinda hoping for an “idiots
guide” version of who is behind it – heads up! this might be
just what you’re looking for!
HAND FILE HACKS
Hi!
This is Kodo with Kodoan. You can find out more about me at
kodoan.com.
That’s
K O D O A N DOT COM.
Files
don’t get a lot of coverage in woodworking but they are quite
useful – especially for dialing in joints and inlays. I use hand
files on a daily basis for making specialty woodworking products such
as these Japanese Shakuhachi flutes.
Sharp,
accurate hand files are a necessity for getting the blowing edge
(called utaguchi) perfectly flat and for creating the dove tail like
inlay you see here. This particular style is called Kinko ryu.
Here
are my three most used files that are many years old (I’d say about
ten years old or maybe older) and yet, they don’t show signs of
needing being replaced anytime soon.
The
biggest reason is the sheaths that protect the “teeth” of the
files. Even though these files are used on seasoned bamboo, hardwood
and other things like buffalo horn, ivory and silver, they still have
years of life left as long as they go back into their sheaths after
use.
I
cringe every time I see a woodworker (or metal worker for that
matter) reach into a bucket, a toolbox or a drawer and rummage around
before pulling out a battered file with dull, rolled teeth covered in
dings. I mean, I GUESS they MIGHT work but it’s doubtful you’re
gonna get much accuracy with them. I’d rather use a file that’s
sharp with accurate edges. A sheath ensures your hand file will do
what you ask, when you ask it – efficiently and accurately.
Just
as important as a sheath is a good handle. A good handle is
enjoyable to look at AND to pick up. It creates a seamless interface
between the user and the tool. It allows you to put your
concentration where it should be – on what you are doing –
instead of focusing on maintaining a hold on your tool. A
good handle is one that fits YOUR hand – not anyone else’s.
For this reason, good quality hand files are usually purchased
without a handle. The assumption is that this is for someone that
knows what they’re doing and only they can make the best handle for
them.
A
bad handle, or worse, no handle at all, forces
you to maintain a white knuckle “death grip” on the end of your
hand file which quickly leads to fatigue, cramping and loss of
concentration and accuracy in your work. THIS is the environment in
which mistakes are easily made. At the least, it will lead to the
marring or
damage of
your work. At it’s worst, it will lead to the
marring or
damage of
you!
For
custom made handles, you
can go old school and just use a green branch from a tree in your
back yard like this one with a piece of copper plumbing pipe as a
ferrule. This one took me all of about 5 minutes to make and is
actually my favorite both in looks and function. I simply drilled a
hole in the end
and carefully tamped in the tang. No glue or epoxy was needed
because, as the green branch dries, it shrinks down onto the tang and
locks it in place. This technique is hundreds of years old and still
a great option
today.
Even after years of use, this handle shows no sign of coming loose
anytime soon.
The
sheath for it is just some doug fir from the scrap bin. I
hastily carved out a
channel in one
piece, gave the
two pieces a
quick glue up and then
rounded
the outside.
It’s all
I’ll ever need
to keep this
hand file in good working condition for years and years.
This
handle was a small piece of maple from the scrap bin turned on my
lathe. My inspiration for it was that I had seen someone drill into
an old golf ball and glue in the tang of a rat tail file. I turned
this to be a little more ergonomic and, when it’s in my hand, it
feels almost surgically attached. I can completely forget about
holding it while I focus on what I’m using it for – which is
usually clearing out the inner bamboo nodes (called “fushi” in
Japanese) when I’m making Shakuhachi. The sheath is a piece of
scrap bamboo that fits this round file so well that, when it’s put
on, it won’t fall off at all.
This
smaller file is a triangular file that I use
for creating the dove tail like inlay the mouth piece of the
Shakuhachi that I make. It was about twice this length – which was
too long. It was difficult to be accurate with my inlays with such a
long file so I snapped it in half and cold ground the end smooth.
Now, it does exactly what I ask it to do.
The
handle was another piece of that branch that had dried out. I rough
turned it on my lathe and drilled a hole in the end like the other
one. I didn’t even bother with a ferrule on this one. Years later
and….so far so good!
The
sheath is another piece of bamboo. This one is quite thick –
unusually thick for bamboo. It fits nicely and keeps it
well protected.
So,
to sum it up, if you want to get the most out of your files, I
suggest making a custom handle that fits YOUR hand. It can be as
easy as a branch off of a tree or a lathe turned piece of hardwood.
In
addition to a handle, make a sheath to keep your file sharp for
accuracy and longevity.
It
has been said that the meaning of life is to learn and then share.
In
classical martial arts, the Masters say, “no matter where you
start, strive to always get better”.
I
hope this video helps you on your path.
IDIOTS GUIDE TO GAMESTONKS
Hi!
This is Kodo with Kodoan. You can find out more about me at
kodoan.com.
That’s
K O D O A N DOT COM.
If
you keep hearing about the “GAME STONKS” and were kinda hoping
for an “idiots guide” version – heads up! this might be just
what you’re looking for!
The
word Gamestonks is a clever combining of two words (GameStop and
Stonks) by an even clever-er-er guy named Elon Musk.
Musk’s
short tweet: “Gamestonks!!” shortly after the closing bell on
Tuesday, January 26, 2021, added to the price of GameStop’s already
soaring share prices which rose nearly 93 percent to a close of
$147.98 - more than seven times its value just a month prior. By
Thursday, January 28, 2021, GameStop’s share prices reached nearly
$500 per share at $483 before closing at $193.60.
Ok,
you ask...what the hell is GameStop?
GameStop
is an American video game, consumer electronics and gaming
merchandise retailer headquartered in Grapevine, Texas. GameStop
operated over five thousand retail stores throughout the United
States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
As
a brick-and-mortar chain, GameStop’s heydays were arguably behind
it due to the rise of online video game services like Xbox Live,
Playstation Network and others. Now, you could simply download a
digital version of games instead of having to leave your basement and
walk outside among the “normies”…..ewww!
By
2016, things started to look bad. Shares of GameStop’s stock fell
16 percent throughout the year. The holiday season alone showed a
16.4 percent drop in sales. On February 28, 2017, shares dropped an
additional 8 percent following Microsoft’s announcement of its Xbox
Game Pass service.
Afterwards,
GameStop announced it would close over 150 stores by the end of the
year. By late June of 2018, GameStop confirmed rumours of a possible
sale. However, on January 29, 2019, GameStop said it had stopped
looking for a buyer and was now looking at other ways to regain a
financially solid foothold.
It
must not have found it because, immediately following this
announcement, shares dropped 27 percent to a 14 year low. Help!
I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!
Determined
to out do itself, GameStop reported a record-breaking net loss of
$673 million dollars for the 52 week period ending on February 2,
2019.
Then,
along came the “coof”...the “bug potion number 19”….the
“great bug of 2020”. The government required GameStop to close
its doors on all its stores from around March to May 2020. “It’s
just two weeks to slow the spread! Come on people! It’s just to
flatten the curve! A year from now we TOTALLY won’t be on
lockdown, forced to wear a Niqab like veil on our face that doesn’t
protect against airborne disease and have twenty thousand military
troops in our nation’s capital!” Nope...no way THAT would
happen!
Like
Blockbuster movies, 1 hour drive up photo booths and VHS porn,
Gamestop was on a downhill spiral of the cultural toilet bowl.
That
is….until the internet got involved. Reddit’s “wallstreetbets”
forum to be exact.
Wallstreetbets,
also known as WSB is a “subreddit” which basically means if
reddit was a tree, then a subreddit like Wallstreetbets would be one
small branch. Well, not that small. As of January, 2021,
Wallstreetbets had 5 million users.
On
the Friday of January 22, 2021, users of wallstreetbets initiated a
short squeeze on GameStop that, along with Elon Musk, ended up
causing its stock price to soar as previously mentioned.
Ok,
you ask….what the hell is a short squeeze?
Sounding
more like something you’d look forward to on your prom night, a
short squeeze is an abnormally rapid increase in the price of a
particular stock that has nothing to do with the rest of the market.
….which still kinda sounds like a prom night euphemism if you ask
me…
In
simple terms, there are two basic types of stock market investors:
those who buy stocks for the long term and those who buy stocks for
the short term.
Those
who buy stocks for the short term tend to be hedge funds and day
traders.
Day
traders try to make a profit from intraday market price action –
gambling whether a stock price will rise or fall from the opening to
the closing bell.
A
hedge fund is a group of investors that use their power as a group to
make money from fairly complex trades in the stock market that others
normally wouldn’t be able to do alone. One of these types of
complex trades is short selling. Short selling is something akin to
betting that your horse will lose instead of win.
In
any case, If you were a stock market trader that was betting on the
price of the stock to fall, the rapid increase in price would force
you to “pay for the bet” quickly in order to stave off even
greater losses. This mad dash to avoid losing more money tends to
add upward pressure on the stock price. This, my lad’s, is known
as the “short squeeze”.
Just
such a “short squeeze” happened with GameStop’s stock market
shares and it nearly bankrupted the hedge fund known as Melvin
Capital. Melvin closed its short position on Tuesday to the tune of
about $3 billion dollars. Total stock market short squeeze loss are
estimated to be more than $5 billion so far. Chalk one up for the
little guy...
“Not
so fast!” said the big guy… Buying GameStop’s stock was
halted several times for “intraday volatility” by the NYSE. In
addition, several brokerage companies put limits on the ability of
their customers to buy shares of GameStop (but not to sell)….I’m
looking at you app-based Robinhood, Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade.
Not
only that Discord, the well known platform for online video gamers,
removed Reddit’s WallStreetBets server, citing “violations of
policies on hate speech” and “spreading misinformation”.
Soooo….basically,
it’s now “racist” for outsiders to make money on the stock
market. Oh, and by the way, you’re an insurrectionist!
Interesting,
interesting times we’re living in now…
It
remains to be seen what the end game will entail but, reportedly,
after all of the hedgefunds have dumped their GameStop stocks, they
don’t care what you do with it.
Wait
a minute you say…. I get it…. Wall street is a bunch of pricks….
But you never said what a “Stonk” is?
Basically,
“Stonks” is a playful and deliberate misspelling of stocks.
Not
to be confused with a Stonk; which is an old world label for a “heavy
concentration of artillery fire”, Stonks is internet slang and a
meme that emerged on the facebook group “Special meme fresh” in
2017. It features the word “stonks” in white below an orange,
upward-pointing arrow indicating that stock prices are on the rise.
Next
to that is a man in a business suit with a computer-generated generic
head. The Stonk meme is considered a so-called surreal meme – some
times called a dank meme. It’s characterized by being strange and
absurd. That certainly fits what happened with GameStop and Elon
Musk was all the more clever for using it.
It
has been said that the meaning of life is to learn and then share.
In
classical martial arts, the Masters say, “no matter where you
start, strive to always get better”.
Remember,
no matter where you are in life – “always get better!”