Bonus Bananas November 8, 2013
1) Uncle Sam Takes His Dividend With JPMorgan Chase Settlements (Forbes) - You guys are going to find this pretty interesting. It looks like the feds are taking advantage of an obscure regulation put on the books during the S&L crisis to extract big fines and settlements from the banks that were bailed out in 2008. Fair play?
2) Can You Get Rich by Investing $1,000 During an Internet IPO? (Mashable) - Pretty cool infographic about what $1,000 invested in various Internet IPOs over the years has returned. I would've thought Google would be the clear winner, but it's not and by a large margin. Best Internet IPO you could have ever dropped a grand on? Amazon. That grand would be worth a quarter million today.
3) Fleckenstein Says Last Stand Will Be 'Shooting Fish In A Barrel' (FIN Alternatives) - I've been meaning to do something about the Return of Fleckenstein ever since he announced that he's coming out of retirement to short the world a few weeks ago. His is a popular thesis, which makes me doubtful that it'll actually work.
4) Now All Of Snapchat's Investors Are Being Sued By The Man Who Says He Was The Third, Ousted Founder (Business Insider) - It's starting to sound like Reggie Brown might actually have a case here. And after yesterday's Twitter IPO, you'd better believe I'd be fighting tooth and claw for every shred of equity I could get my hands on if I were this guy.
5) Bankers must focus on morals, says Archbishop of Canterbury (The Telegraph) - Shut up, douchebag. How about you clean up your own house before you worry about ours, mmkay?
6) LDS ward makes a Privacy violating Google Map (imgur) - In more religious news, this Mormon ward clearly hasn't reached the part of the Bible that says, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Pretty hilarious (and creepy) use of Google Maps.
7) 1 in 5 U.S. Workers: I'm Too Educated for My Job (The Atlantic) - This is really no surprise judging by the sheer number of degree-holding garbage men and baristas out there. But the funny twist to this statistic is that, while it may be true in the strictest sense, most of those people claiming to be too educated for their jobs barely have the requisite raw skills to hold it.
8) 'Man, you ought to be ashamed': Irate grandpa stops upskirt photos at Nashville airport (NBC News) - I think the thing that cracks me up most about this story is the fact that the perv shooting the upskirt photos on his phone was a federal Air Marshall. And the fact that a federal Air Marshall got manhandled by an old man.
9) Man argues ‘up-skirt’ photos protected by First Amendment (TruTV) - Here's a novel defense for the loser in #8. You gotta love lawyers sometimes. Only a true shyster could make surreptitious nonconsensual pornography a free speech issue.
10) Lenny Dykstra, ex-Phillies teammate Mitch Williams clash at a mall (USA Today) - Way to keep it classy, Nails.
Video of the Week:
I usually don't go in for movie remakes because they're almost universally bad, but this one looks so legit that I'm practically beside myself. The original Robocop was a movie I saw no less than 10 times in high school. I could literally never look at Red Forman on That 70's Show without seeing Clarence Boddicker. This new version is highly stylized, but it looks like it keeps the same human story. Michael Keaton looks like he's perfectly cast as the creepy corporate shill out to make a buck, and the special effects look awesome. Can't wait to see this one:
That's it for this week, monkeys. Let me know what you think of this week's Bananas in the comments, and enjoy the long weekend!
I have high hopes for Robocop. Hopefully hollywood doesn't fuck it up.
It's good to see Omar from the wire making a comeback too.
He is pretty good as Chalky White on Boardwalk Empire, but it is good to see him in a major movie.
2 number 1s? What is this amateur hour?
No its just doubly important.
Nice catch.
Eddie you forgot to add this story.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/boy-reportedly-suspended-for-bring…
What I find most shocking about that article is apparently the kid has been wearing the purse for a few months now - how the hell had he not been bullied, picked on or beaten up yet for it?
Your last sentence in #7 is on point. Reality bites sometimes.
8 is great, now I'd say we should sic this guy on the TSA pervs except they'd send his ass to Gitmo.
RE #7 - Is there a way to bet against academic institutions of higher learning? Can I short Bumfuck U? Change is coming, I'd like to think there's a way to make a buck off of it.
CDS their debt obligations?
Valuations on for-profit post secondary ed are already so low I'm not sure it would be worthwhile to short. The only way they could get much lower would be with some monster changes to Gainful Employment regs, 90-10 (80-20 maybe?), or cohort default rates. A bunch of legislation has already been handed down in the past few years regarding ability to benefit students as well as the initial gainful employment guidelines (which were overturned, but guidance on new rules has been provided). Apollo Global is trading at 2.6x EBITDA, which is fucking crazy.
7: I really wonder why we continue to be so baffled and shocked by this phenomenon. Usually when you are producing a lot of something and people don't need / want it, you stop producing it and try something else. Apparently we haven't figured out that little common sense lesson when it comes to "education."
And I agree with Eddie's last remark -- people need to stop pretending that because they have a degree that they actually know how to do anything. Going to class 3 hours a week, reading one of Plato's apologies, and then writing a 3 page nonsense paper filled with typos and sloppy formatting in between Call of Duty sessions does not mean you now have marketable skills.
LOL...that's why I studied STEM in college, although that still doesn't mean I know how to do anything, and that definitely doesn't mean there weren't COD sessions involved.
A friend of a friend actually wrote the new Robocop movie. He's a smart dude that loves the original, so I have high hopes for this one as well.
That said, Clarence Boddicker could be the all-time greatest bad guy. Ruthless beyond belief.
Also - I'd buy that for a dollar!
7: This is the issue with how some people view education. Because they sat through some communication or music performance classes they think they are entitled to something that is worth while or highly paying. I don't have an issue with a liberal arts education, before I switched to accounting I was a greek philosophy major for 2 years---But don't complain that you work at as a waiter when instead of taking Calc 2 or Econometrics you took a semester of victorian literature or lesisure and recreation studies.
Those people who took recreation studies will be well ahead of the rest in retirement, too bad none of them will ever be able to retire.
I am pretty excited for the new movie. I honestly thought they would have kept most of the original design for the actual body.
Are you guys kidding with this Robocop remake nonsense? Did I somehow watch a different trailer than everyone else? To take one of the greatest classics of sci fi cinema, ostensibly strip it of all of its heart and conscience, pile on layers and layers of CGI, and then have it directed by some pedestrian director? Welcome to another round of Paul Verhooven film-rape fest...I'm predicting another 30% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Just wow. I'm disappointed in everyone here.
Literally the only reason I have any faith at all is because the guy that wrote it is a friend of a really good friend of mine.
I agree, in general, that remaking it is disgraceful. But, I'll give it a shot.
God damn, the original is amazing, though.
You gotta love how the original Robocop totally called the future Detroit. Total warzone shithole. Life imitating art.
Eh, the movie makes modern day Detroit look like a booming metro.
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