A Collection of I Told Ya So's

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Please note the time stamps:

Emerging Markets Should Fall To New Lows

Added on by C. Maoxian.

You'll recall my post from the end of July titled, Emerging Markets Run About Done ... the price of VWO was around $37 at that time and went as high as $38.87 in September, so "about done" wasn't a bad call then. Here's my updated chart ... the target remains below $27 and price would have to rally above $39 to get me out of my several short entries. 

Click to enlarge

Trump Victory Bearish for Twitter

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I've been avoiding Twitter like the plague ever since the election, and I assume I'm not alone in doing so. I used to open it religiously first thing in the morning, but now I can't bear to read through my various lists, let alone spend hours (?) scrolling back through hundreds of tweets in classic OCD fashion.

I anticipated The Donald's victory, but that doesn't mean I want to be reminded about the absurdity of it all. Turn off and tune out is the order of the day, I'd say. This may be the thing that finally cures my Twitter addiction, hurray!

Twitter's stock price, as you can see below, has created a very messy chart which has frustrated this simple "trend follower." Despite buying last June, I missed the exit at $25.25 where everyone on Twitter told me they sold, and in fact made only 42 cents from my entry in the end (before commissions and taxes). Now I'm short and losing money (so far). 

Click to enlarge

They Listen To The Weather

Added on by C. Maoxian.

24-year-old Björk here, she looks about 14, stunningly beautiful ...  watching this performance, it reminds me how much she influenced 王靖雯 (Faye Wong). 

http://thestoryofagamer.blogspot.com.es/ The Sugarcubes Live Song: Birthday /////////Lyrics: [ESP] Ella vive en esta casa de allá Tiene su mundo fuera de ella Scrapples en la tierra con sus dedos y su boca Ella es cinco años de edad Gusanos hilo de un collar Mantiene las arañas en el bolsillo Recoge las alas de la mosca en un frasco Scrubs caballo vuela Y les aprieta en una línea Ohhh ...

Current Cars That Interest Me

Added on by C. Maoxian.

I was surfing around the various auto manufacturers' websites looking at cars ... they're all so boring now, but I did find a few that interest me. I left out the Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc., which are all over-the-top.  (Click on the images to enlarge them.) 

Update: I've added a Bentley and a Porsche due to popular demand. I *do* prefer orange or yellow paint. 

Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe

New York license plate would ruin that lovely front end. From $55,900.

Different wheels here

Bentley Continental GT Speed

In Orange Flame with 21" Sports 5 Spoke Directional - Painted wheels. 633 horsepower. From $239,400.

BMW Z4 and BMW M4

Z4 is an expensive Miata? From $49,700.

M4 in a nice color. 425 horsepower. From $66,200.

Could be Japanese from this angle

Dodge Challenger

392 HEMI® Scat Pack SHAKER. 485 horsepower. From $43,795.

Fiat 124 Spider

Mazda copied this for their Miata? (A fellow Twitterer tells me this is made at Mazda's plant in Hiroshima) From $24,995.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R

I like it in this yellow with black roof and mirrors. 526 horsepower. From $61,000.

Hyundai Genesis and Hyundai Veloster

Looks like an old Toyota Celica maybe? From $34,645.

This thing is kind of ugly, but it appeals to me for some strange reason. From $23,950.

Infiniti Q60

400 horsepower and looks slick, yes boring, but slick ... chrome accents help. From $51,300.

Jaguar F Type

Not on a Ford Taurus frame, I hope ... hate that name badge on the side, a dealbreaker. From $61,400.

Lexus RC F

I do like that outrageous grille ... lovely blue paint ... 467 horsepower. From $64,165.

Over and under exhaust pipes nice, rest sort of dullsville

Little dull from the side, those wheels are nice though

Looks Beemerish in motion here ... love that orange

Mazda MX-5 Miata

This came out nearly 30 years ago, right? Timeless. Wiki P. says original release in May 1989. From $24,915.

Mercedes-Benz AMG GTS

Only Mercedes in the entire line that is interesting. 500 horsepower. Perfect for runs to the supermarket. From $111,200.

Nissan 370Z and Nissan GT-R

Oldie now, but still near perfect ... those wheels are slick and I love yellow paint. 350 horsepower. From $29,990.

Looks a bit funny from the side, but I like that paint color. 565 horsepower. From $109,990.

Porsche 911 Turbo S

In Lava Orange with 20" 911 Turbo S wheels. 580 horsepower. From $188,100.

Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86

Subaru makes them, also branded as "Toyota 86." From $25,495.

Ice Silver, Pure Red, WR Blue Pearl 

Tweets for November 7, 2016

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Tweets for November 6, 2016

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Tweets for November 4, 2016

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Tweets for November 3, 2016

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Tweets for November 2, 2016

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Tweets for November 1, 2016

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Movies Watched -- Timbuktu

Added on by C. Maoxian.

In Arabic, French, and a bunch of tribal languages (Bambara, Songhai, Tamasheq, etc.).

97 minutes so the right length (under the sacred 100 minute mark), but I still fast forwarded from the midpoint to the end. It's about Timbuktu, which is a city on the southern edge of the Sahara desert, in Mali, above the Niger river (get out a map). Anyway, some Islamic fundamentalists, extremists I guess, have taken over the place and are terrorizing the populace with their dumb rules (women must cover up, even their hands; soccer balls are confiscated; music of any kind is verboten, etc.). 

There are two beautiful scenes: a group of kids are playing a game of soccer, but without a soccer ball ... they're choreographed perfectly, it's really wonderful. The second great scene is a group of young people playing some stringed instruments, and some percussion thing, and a woman is singing some tribal song ... beautiful stuff until they're busted by the jihadists and the woman receives 40 lashes, which they do show, unfortunately. Another two people are buried to their necks and stoned to death -- nasty stuff. Not sure if they were part of the music group or arrested for some other offense like smoking or yacking on a cell phone. Nevertheless, two perfect scenes do not a great movie make.

There's another story line with a Bedouin guy who accidentally kills someone and gets the death penalty from the jihadists as a result ... anyway, it's not a feel-good movie, it's a bummer. But I don't think we need any more convincing that Islamic extremist crazies are bad dudes. Yellow rating (consider), definitely not the coveted green ... no idea why the critics were so wild about this one.

Bedouin girl thinking about the goat, GPS

Bedouin girl thinking about the goat, GPS

Movies Watched -- Wild Tales

Added on by C. Maoxian.

In Spanish. 122 minutes long so at least 20 minutes too long, but I have a solution for that ... the movie is a collection of six separate tales, the second of which is the weakest (about a waitress) ... that one runs about 13 minutes so if you cut that out, the running time would come closer to the sacred 100 minute mark.

The tales are funny and zany, I liked them. I *was* watching at 2x ffwd and Spanish is even more amusing sped up, but this was truly an entertaining movie. Tales of revenge from Argentina. The last story, a wedding story, is a full 30 minutes, and it's the most over-the-top crazy fun one of the bunch. This gets a coveted green go, recommended. 

This is only the eighth movie from 2015 that I loved and can recommend (the first seven are: 45 Years; Mad Max: Fury Road; The Revenant; Shaun the Sheep; Son of Saul; Tangerine; and The Diary of a Teenage Girl)

Road Rage

Road Rage

Movies Watched -- The Martian

Added on by C. Maoxian.

164 minutes so at least an hour too long. I fast forwarded from 20 minutes in at 2x (retain audio). This is one of those movies made by Hollywood committee. The commander is a woman, the crew has a smartass Latino on it, the scientists are black, including a disheveled genius black kid who slurps coffee and has to plug his laptop into a mainframe to do the really big equations. I hate all that. But you know what I hate more? Pandering to the Chinese Communists to get selected as one of the 34 movies they'll let into their market every year. (Thrilled to see Colbert did a whole segment on this.) It was disgusting.

The story itself is kind of interesting, kid trapped on Mars has to survive for four years by "sciencing the shit" out of things. Space nerds probably loved it. I wasn't thrilled, even at 2x fast forward. Deserves a red rating for that Chinese kowtow, but will give it a yellow rating for science nerds, and idiots who like big budget, by-committee Hollywood productions ($100 million in opening weekend). 

Beefcake stapling self

Beefcake stapling self