The Sideshow Is Now the Audience

There’s a new season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. I watched the episode with Melissa Villaseñor, whom I’ve never heard of, but thought was funny (despite her annoying laugh, and the false hilarity that fills most episodes). Anyway, Jerry said the following, which I loved:

"People in the circus sideshow, huge, fat, tattooed ... these are the people in the audience now. What used to be the sideshow is just regular people now."

Here’s a YouTube thing that Villaseñor did called “Bjork’s Vlog,” which made me fall off my chair laughing:

Bjork does her first vlog and shares with you sensations and things that bring her joy. Also, a new song she created from the sound of a toilet seat cover and shower curtain. ________________________________________________________ Facebook: facebook.com/melissacomedy Twitter: twitter.com/melissavcomedy Tumblr: merrylittleblog.tumblr.com Instagram: melissavcomedy Podcast: soundcloud.com/melissashow www.melissavillasenor.com

Movies Watched -- The Naked Kiss (1964)

91 minute running time, so the perfect length, but this was a weird one, and proved to me that Sam Fuller wasn’t a normal guy, he had some kinks for sure… Written, Directed, and Produced (W.D.P.) By Fuller … a story about a prostitute who tries to make a clean break … I don’t want to spoil anything, well… after the hour mark (beginning of the third act) pedophilia unexpectedly enters the picture, and you just don’t know what to make of this deeply twisted story. Not recommended.

It may be that Sam Fuller only made one great movie (Pickup on South Street), but I’ll keep watching his others just to confirm it.

From an essay: “[Fuller’s movies] appeared to rise whole from a private fever dream.”

Enough to make a bulldog bust its chain.

Movies Watched -- The Long Goodbye (1973)

111 minute running time, but I quit after 30 minutes because this was terrible. Real clinker by Robert Altman, and whoever thought Elliot Gould and his cigarette should play a Jewish Philip Marlowe was insane. Sort of interesting to see post-60s Malibu, but 1973 was pretty much rock-bottom in recent American history. Just awful, give it a miss.

(This guy has his head up his ass.)

Young Ah-nold (uncredited) makes an appearance

Movies Watched -- Pickup on South Street (1953)

80 minute running time so the perfect length. I loved this one, great movie. Interesting characters, story, dialogue… first Fuller movie I saw was “White Dog,” which wasn’t that great, but this movie, wow… now I need to see if this was his best. Highly recommended.

林, bring me another order of 炒饭, 叉烧包

Movies Watched -- Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

96 minute running time, so the perfect length, but I quit watching after 30 minutes … poor audio and no subtitles on my DVD didn’t help … just boring and pointless. Bernie Schwartz, “press agent,” a.k.a, flack, a.k.a. “Tony Curtis," looks weirdly effeminate wearing a ton of makeup … Burt Lancaster as tough newspaperman…. only interesting things were thinking about how much power newspaper columnists used to have, back when people read newspapers, and what Manhattan looked like in the late 1950s. Give it a miss.

I love this dirty town. (Burt and (B)Ernie show.)

Selected Excerpts from Linda Raschke's Book, 'Trading Sardines'

You can buy the book here.

Too lazy to write that blog post about Linda Raschke's autobiography, "Trading Sardines," I'll just post excerpts I liked in this thread:

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"... most underestimate the time and energy required to achieve consistent profitability."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

When her trading fund reached $145 million, "It was difficult putting more monies to work with my current style of trading."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"Don't trade when tired. PERIOD."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"... sleep is the most important thing for one's health -- more important than diet and exercise."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"Fix mistakes immediately."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"Don't look at the P&L, look only at the price structure and trade it."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"The best trades are often making back losses."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

After a series of losses, "It is a matter of faith that your routine and rituals will eventually give you the edge again."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"Jesse Livermore has a quote, 'Sell down to the sleeping point.'"

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"I made sure my daughter had no interest in trading."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"... brainwash the mind and it will believe. Tell it enough bullshit and it believes."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"The first course of action in a bloodbath is always to get smaller."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"... figure out the [loss] level where you can function [not getting frozen or stressed] and [you will] trade freely...."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"[There is] one simple rule: never let a loss get too big."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"A sharp mind needs a fit body."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"... an excess of cash on the sidelines [is] the number one variable in my book that drives trends."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"Time-based exits are not dependent on the range or volatility conditions, and they are robust."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"Following a process systematically is essential."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"'Don't eat like a bird and shit like an elephant,' i.e., don't take small wins and big losses."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"No profit is yours until it is locked in."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"Winners admit errors."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"... eliminate all the distractions and wasted time engaging in frivolous activities." [ed. except for TWTR :-)]

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"Concentration is the key to everything. Learn to concentrate specifically on the task that is at hand."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"If your goals are not written down, they are worthless."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"The lure [of] the short side [is] markets [go] down a lot faster than they [go] up ... measure profits [by] dollars made per unit of time."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"Trade location is essential when trading on a shorter time frame +

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

" + [whereas] the most important thing with a longer-term trend following approach [is] to get the trade on."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 11, 2019

"... a big part of trading [is] putting in a lot of work without much to show for it."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"The principles in [my book, 'Street Smarts,' written in 1996] remain the same." | [ed. One of the top ten trading books in my collection for sure.]

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"... the market is NEVER wrong."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"... the best trade is a failed seasonal."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"... the markets cannot be reliably won with raw intelligence."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"If the Pritzkers had money with me, everyone had to have money with me."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"I funded 16 different trader over three decades, and only one ever made money -- Bob Buran (@StockBrain99). So, I don't back traders anymore."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"There is no more glorious feeling in the world than capturing a huge trend day. My first seven-digit day came from a short position in the SPs."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"Have backup accounts and backup brokers."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"... if you don't have other things in your life, you will get obsessed with the stimulation. Then it is not a career or a passion, it's an addiction."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"It's hard to take advantage of the opportunities that the opening provides when you are still figuring out what to do with a losing position."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"Emotional control is paramount in trading and poker."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"[You] are going to be wrong a percentage of the time. What do you have to do to stay strong psychologically?"

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"... every statement I make about trading can be applied to poker, and vice versa. There is no right or wrong way to 'trade.'"

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"... discard everything that is not of value: too much data, outside sources, TV, and internet surfing. Kill the distractions..."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"A good trade works right away and never looks back."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"It's not a great idea to hold a loser overnight."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"On the ideal trend day, get long, stay long, and scalp every continuation pattern. Exit on the close."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"... my first 100% mechanical system['s] ... stop was three times as great as the target but the win rate was 85%."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"You can't predict ... where the big wins are going to come from -- just keep taking every system signal."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"... my experience gives me an edge. ... it's hard to muster the necessary confidence in a system unless you develop it yourself."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"NEVER believe any claim a trader makes about their profitability unless you see their statements or they are a registered entity with an audited record."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"This business is crawling with people waiting to sell you a bridge."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"Successful traders follow a disciplined methodology. They do not allow large losses. This is the number one rule."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"... you will always do your best work when you are free from distractions and the influence of others."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"Cinch your profits as the market gives them to you."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"... trading out of [your] home, [you will be] in desperate need of the camaraderie from a community."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"When you are trading the markets, you have to have a separate source of happiness...."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"I believe in positive thinking and the power of visualization."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"Trading is like tennis: Keep the ball in play, don't make unforced errors, be patient, and wait for your opening."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"I do best when I stick to technicals based on the price."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"Averaging a loser is the worst strategy a trader can adopt, especially if one gets away with it."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

Trading is "about positioning yourself so that, once in a while, you might get lucky."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"It's never a problem getting into a market; it's always a problem getting out when you need to." [ed. incl. #StuckAtaProfit]

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"All lessons [are] learned the hard way."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"'How do you know where to put in a stop?' I asked. 'How much money do you want to lose?' he answered."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

"There [is] always a protective stop resting in the market. ... Never risk more than you want to lose."

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

Thus end my selected tidbits from Linda Raschke's autobiography, which I encourage you to order here: https://t.co/XsuMSj9hmq

— C. Maoxian (@maoxian) July 12, 2019

Movies Watched -- White Dog (1982)

90 minute running time so the perfect length. Boyish Kristy McNichol with feathered hair and flat chest hits a dog, adopts him, then discovers he’s an attack dog, and not just any attack dog but a “white dog,” which is a dog that was trained to attack black people only. Kristy seeks out animal trainer Lt. Ed Traxler, who thinks he can break the dog of its training, and I won’t give away the ending … weird one. Early 80s vibe. I wasn’t thrilled. Give it a miss.

Can't nobody can unlearn a dog

Movies Watched -- Moonrise (1948)

90 minute running time so the perfect length. Another weird one… post-war mix of romance and violence … guy forces himself on the girl and she submits, not very politically correct … young Lloyd Bridges does some fake fist-fighting … I wasn’t thrilled with this, didn’t think the story was realistic or interesting.

You’re not very courteous!

Movies Watched -- Ministry of Fear (1944)

87 minute running time so the perfect length … deeply weird Fritz Lang movie made before the war ended… about a ring of German spies in London … reminded me at times (the village fête especially) of The Prisoner, the great Patrick McGoohan TV series … but I wasn’t thrilled in the end… it wasn’t interesting, just sort of bizarre. Not sure why Criterion included it in their Collection. “Suffused with dread and paranoia … an unpredictable thriller with style to spare,“ nah, not really. Give it a miss.

Girl from Idaho with unreliable Austrian accent

Movies Watched -- Shallow Grave (1994)

93 minute running time so the perfect length … had to watch with subtitles since Scottish accents so heavy … a long-haired Ewan McGregor at his most annoying … when semi-good people do bad things tale … the twist at the end was extremely dissatisfying and ruined everything that came before … I wasn’t thrilled. Criterion probably put it in their Collection because it’s low budget, the first movie made by the guys who made Trainspotting, and “stylistically influential.“ Not essential viewing in my opinion.

Scottish yuppies at their most awful