Ready Player One is part of hodler film history, discussed repeatedly on stonks subs over the past three years. Gettin' hyped tonight for next week, watching for maybe the 10th time, and... BAM. Never saw this graffiti in this way before, now can't believe I've missed lo these many years.

At the end of the previous scene, Samantha and Wade meet IRL for the first time. and Samantha says "Welcome to the rebellion, Wade." Nice. Let's git some!

So, I've just read the HR and Senate versions of these bills, and I agree- they are too broadly-worded for the stated intent (foreign adversary data limitation)- especially the Senate bill. After writing my US Senators tonight (the House Rep still to go), I recalled that last year, RC told us "TikTok." Do you have an idea why? Speculation or DD, all is fair here, in the usual Ape spirit of open inquiry. Whaddya got?

Somewhere on RDDT someone thought the first O looked like a moon. I'm thinking it's a more like an eclipse, as in... April '24. I'll speculate that something will be -ahem- revealed at that time :-)

OK gang, RC provides the clues, therefore we gotta dig, and in this case I can use some additional sparkplugs (that's you!). Dr Jacques is in the books, he's grabbing his lapel nametag, conveniently located adjacent to his pectoral region, we all thought "ha ha, that's Jake!" and moved along. But Jacques Tits turns out to be quite interesting. He's a doctor of advanced mathematics, from Belgium, spent his life in France, lots of crazy advanced math in his wikipedia page- even has various theories and constructions named for him. Died recently, on 5 December 2021. So- following links (below), we go to Group Theory, down to Public-Key Cryptography (interesting..) and scroll down to see "Examples of protocols using asymmetric key algorithms include: Bitcoin."

Maybe this nothing burger deserves further study? Anyone care to help dig while we wait for some news??

Dave.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Tits -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_theory -> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography -> "Examples of protocols using asymmetric key algorithms include: Bitcoin"

There's some dk-butterfly-related excitement and speculative hype around next week which will likely be a nothing-burger, but this is the promise of GME-affecting news (for better or worse), considering Microsoft's initiative to no longer sell physical game "tokens" (that's all the discs are these days).

This reminds me of RC's tweet/reply on July 17th 2023 to Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, saying "Satya, GameStop is a large Microsoft customer. I've been trying to reach you and being ignored."

We can only hope this is good news. Perhaps the broader Xbox community's massive negative feedback regarding this revelation has forced Microsoft to either A) reverse the decision and promise continued physical game discs/tokens, or B) reveal their future plans for cryptographic game authorization tokens, IE NFTs, which might provide answers (or somehow tie into) regarding GME's cancelled NFT marketplace & Playr.

Here's my longtime fave BBBY end-game hypothesis, one with a fair amount of humiliation for the fraudsters and SHFs:

• After all the legal effort, BBBaby is carved out or spun off;

• Former BBBY shareholders are given shares in the new BBBaby (holding) company, as a bonus for going through hell the past 6 months;

• Former BBBY shareholders also receive $ from any legal settlements related to BBBY fraud investigations;

• BBBY shareholders retain shares in the old company as well;

• CUSIP and/or Ticker is maintained, so shorts are forced by the court to close, buying up shares in an empty shell company in order to close billions of short positions, closely watched by the SEC. BBBY price skyrockets; shareholders sell shares in the old entity at their leisure, then the price seems satisfactory.

New company and GS are well clear of the media noise and lamentations of the SHFs.

This theory has the poetic justice that I see in other elements of this play (GameSTOP, Bed Bath & BEYOND, etc). This sequence would really underline the BEYOND in Bed Bath and Beyond, and meet RC's primary goal of delighting customers (in this case, diamond-handed shareholders).

Whaddya think? Could it happen? Why or why not?

...as we all certainly know by now. So watch out! There's a whole crapton of divisive political shit showing up on Reddit subs this week, right at the very moment when major change is looming. How convenient and predictable. Stay Zen, remember your training apes! Focus on the play, get some sunshine, and don't get caught up in nefarious side-quest psiops drama, rolled out precisely when the community is all keyed up. They've had plenty of time to plan and prepare this kind of crap. Ape no fight Ape! Monke peace out.

So, I started thinking- if a keiretsu usually organizes around a bank, whom among our most-favorite brands might already be rockin' an RSSD #, and thereby be sitting in prime position to get this party started? RSSD numbers are unique identifiers assigned to financial institutions by the Federal Reserve. I looked these up a couple weeks ago. Let the list begin!

Currently HAS an RSSD: AMC / Bed Bath & Beyond / Koss-Winn Bancshares / Macy's / Macy's State Street / Newell Associates / Nordstrom / Ovid Branch / Pulte Group / Revlon Inc / Revlon Financial Group / Sears / Sears & Roebuck / Toys 'R' Us

Did NOT HAVE an RSSD: 09302023 / 20230930 / Butterfly / DK-Butterfly / Beyond / Blockbuster / Buy Buy Baby / Chewy / DOM / Dream On Me / Gamestop / Gmerica / Icahn Enterprises /Lego / Nintendo / Overstock / Party City / Rite-Aid / Super League Enterprise / Teddy

Check any company at: https://www.ffiec.gov/NPW The FFIEC is at: https://www.ffiec.gov/

Whaddy'all think?

Have a listen. Sal links all the dots. I’m boring, but this shit is fuckin spicy.

Edwin twitter thread via Nitter. I know it's quiet here, I think this is worthy of caching away from reddit.

Am I nuts? Teddy's backpack just looks like a huge Overstock logo O to me. I have no DD about their involvement or lack of involvement in the butterfly/keiretsu/cluster being aggregated, but... I can't NOT see it now. You?

Sources:

https://www.womeninretail.com/podcast/c-suite-retail-leader-patty-wu-on-identifying-and-following-your-career-north-star/

Dave Chappelle Skit: https://youtu.be/pfz0tDQZhqs?si=i-l9RXDsmB1h8qd6

Has Judge Michael Kaplan seen enough? Are we on the right side of a very gymnastic legal exercise? Or might things be about to get better? Let's hear your thoughts.

"The Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey establishes a Chapter 11 Local Rules Committee (“Committee”) to review and recommend changes to the existing Procedures and Rules for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Cases."

https://www.njb.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/hearingdates/doc1/Notice%20to%20the%20Bar%20and%20Public%20Concerning%20General%20Order%20Regarding%20Chapter%2011%20Case%20Administration%201-3-2024.pdf

Tonight on PP, BlockFi was raised as a possible entity of interest/sidequest in our little saga. Cohencidentally, they are currently undergoing yet another Chapter 11 bankruptcy/reorg. Interesting! Anyone recall Bill Pulte saying "I think there may be a bunch of bankruptcies"? GME and BlockFi both were significantly injured by FTX; maybe the good guys saw a chance to pick up some useful crypto tech for the Keiretsu?

Links: https://www.njb.uscourts.gov/BlockFi https://restructuring.ra.kroll.com/blockfi/Home-Index

So recently, Matt Finestone has been interacting with our larger community, and his twitter handle has always intrigued me (3body.eth). So that was fresh in my mind when, shopping at a bookstore, I spotted "The Three Body Problem" by... Liu Cixin, who also has been discussed. Of course, I tore into the sci-fi book immediately, and was so struck by a few passages that I thought Matt may have been pointing us at it all along. Now, there's been a long list of films discussed in various forums, but I can't recall seeing any mentions of this book. The plot generally involves a struggle against mysterious threatening forces, and salvation can only be found by playing a hyper-realistic VR video game.

This gem appears on page 134: "In my line of work, it's all about putting together many apparently-unconnected things. When you piece them together the right way, you get the truth." Doesn't that sound like a guide to tinfoil? Then, on page 137: "I can guarantee you that the enemy is incredibly powerful. Those in charge are terrified... if killing you would solve the problem, you'd all be dead by now. But the most effective technique remains disrupting your thoughts." Like COINTELPRO, maybe? Interestingly, considering recent developments involving Kanye, the Ye family features prominently in the book (many of the events take place in China).

With the number 134 still on my mind, I searched through "The Big Short" and found that, at 1:33:00, Dr. Burry is writing to his investors about being in a fraudulent market. And right at 1:34:00, the 2007 housing market begins to fail. By 1:36:00, Morgan Stanley is asking to buy Front Point's credit default swaps.

So far, interesting tinfoil, no? Then I found that, exactly at 1:34:30 into "Fight Club", comes this threatening message to a nearly-emasculated power broker: "Look- the people you are after are the people you rely on. We cook your meals. We haul your trash. We connect your calls. We drive your ambulances. We guard you while you sleep. Do not fuck with us."

I'm really feeling that last quote as we head into 2024; how about you?

(Lurker since 2020, hodler since Feb 2021)

Real talk: final payments mean the bankruptcy ending HAS to be soon...

...right? (seriously I'm asking)

Sideshows

The number keeps growing on TDA.

https://x.com/SkullandBonesz/status/1735707788972810264?s=20

https://youtu.be/9GCGn_STx-o?t=7932 The following is a transcript lightly edited for improved readability.

Bill Pulte:

Larry, maybe you could just say hi to everyone, and then, you know, you were the first money in Chewy, which I think is now, what, a 12 or 20 billion dollar company?

Maybe you could just walk us through how you worked with Ryan Cohen, what you saw in him that did it, and then we'll get in to your multi billion dollar fund after that.

Larry Cheng:

Sure, yea, I was the first investor to meet with Ryan in person, I think that was back in 2012, I ultimately invested in the company on behalf of Volition in 2013. We invested 15 million dollars in Chewy series A as the first institutional investor in the company.

Pulte:

Let's go! Can I ask how much that 15 million turned in to? Is that public, or no?

Larry Cheng:

It's not, but, hundreds of millions I would say.

Pulte:

Everybody is cheering for you.

Larry Cheng:

Alright! I remember the first meeting with Ryan, and my first impression of him was, he said he would spend every night reading the reviews on the site, of Chewy, and if there were any issues with anyone who was unhappy, he would personally go take the lead and try to and figure out to resolve issues, and right then and there I knew he was, as customer centric, as focused on customer delight, as anyone from a first impression perspective, but that only grew over the years that I've gotten to know him. So yea, we invested in the company, it was a huge success obviously, and Ryan is a generational entrepreneur.

Pulte:

And, how old are you Larry, cause I didn't look it up but you look young as hell.

Larry Cheng:

48

Pulte:

48, wow, you look good at 48. So, 48, and you got, how big is your fund now, a couple billion?

Larry Cheng:

About a couple billion in assets under management, just shy of that, yea.

Pulte:

And, what are you investing in, and, you've got a lot of fans here, I don't know, 20, 30 thousand followers on Twitter, something like that?

Larry Cheng:

Yea, we invest, Volition is a growth equity firm, so we invest in emerging growth tech companies, so these are companies with 5, 15 million in revenue, in that zone, growing 50 to 100 percent plus. So, really dynamic emerging tech companies. We have two sides of the house, software and services is one, and internet and consumer is the other. I lead the internet and consumer team, so that's all things e-commerce, digital media, ad tech, transactional services, consumer, retail, all that good stuff, all fun stuff.

Pulte:

Love it. Okay, so, is there anything you want to tell this crowd?

Larry Cheng:

I think this is truly inspirational that you guys are all together. You guys are really defining what it means for retail investors to be in community, and what comes from that. And so, you know, when I think about what, where this is headed and where communities are going, from impacting the financial markets, it's wherever you guys in this room want to go. Because you guys are on the forefront, and you're leading it, and so kudos to you guys, because, I think that the power of individual investors in community will only grow over time. And, there are days in the future, where rooms like what you have, will be more important and more influential than Goldman Sachs.

Pulte:

Wow. Did you hear that? Wow. That's amazing.
Larry, really appreciate the sentiment. And Larry, we've got, I'll have to send it to you later, but we've got an airport hanger full of people, this room cost way too much to rent, the stereos cost way too much, I'm gonna end up having to write probably a 40 thousand dollar check, which I'm happy to write, you know, 40 thousand dollars for this party, it's basically a party right, is this not a party?

But, anyway, we got basically, you know, we raised money for this. People donated 500 dollars. That's a lot of money. 500 dollars is a lot of money. People donated 500 dollars to come here to be in this room.
We have 250 people, everybody paid to be here, and I really appreciate you saying that this is the future of investing, because, Larry, you know, I invest for a living, these folks now invest for a living.
I also believe that this is the future too, of investing, and I believe that, you know, having somebody who is director of a 5 billion dollar company like you are, managing 2 billion dollars, thinking this is going to be, in your words, more powerful than Goldman Sachs? Did you guys hear what he just said? He just said that groups like this are the future and are going to be more powerful than Goldman Sachs.
I mean, that's, I have the utmost respect for them, as I'm sure he does, but that is a huge statement.

So Larry, let's just finish up here, and I know, we're going to behave ourselves, because we know you're a sitting director of a public company.

So, we want to respect that.

But, can you maybe tell us your favorite thing, you work with Ryan Cohen very directly. You were his money in Chewy.

What's your favorite thing about Ryan Cohen? Let's start there.

Larry Cheng:

Ryan is as contrarian as they come. So he's an independent thinker. He is not afraid to buck the trend, as you all know. And, he is such an original contrarian thinker. So it's inspiring to be around that. So, he's one of a kind in that respect. So that's probably my favorite thing.

Pulte:

Love it. And, again, I'm keeping it very generic, but you feel free to tell me what or what not you'll answer, these are like softball questions.

I think everybody in this room loves what I'm about to ask, which is, what is he like, inter-personally working with him?

So, everybody has all these different conspiracies, they have all these different things, people are trying to do stories on him -- you're actually somebody who is credible who works with him day to day, week to week, month to month.

What is he like when you're dealing with him inter-personally, what is he like to work with?

Larry Cheng:

It's kind of funny, when some of the articles would come out with pictures of him in kind of this foreboding, suit in a dark room, I would text him and say, that picture looks ridiculous.

And I would say, Ryan is actually quite humble and open handed as a person, and so, he listens, but he's very directed in what he wants to do.

Pulte:

Is he funny? Is he funny?

Larry Cheng:

He's a funny guy. He's actually rather understated. He's funny but understated. Very humble. And, don't imagine a foreboding, huge, ominous figure. That's not Ryan Cohen. He's very customer-centric, and just a very independent thinker, as I mentioned before.

That's how I would describe him.

Pulte:

Love it. What other questions about Ryan Cohen do we have? We have to keep it very generic.

Kais:

Did you have the chance to meet Ted Cohen?

Larry Cheng:

I did not.

Kais:

I'm sure you heard Ryan talking about his father. Can you tell us, some things you heard from him about his father?

Larry Cheng:

I think it's best for Ryan to talk about his father. All I will say is that, his father is an inspiration to him.

Pulte:

Very good. Thank you Larry.

Have you heard of the PP show before tonight, or no Larry?

Larry Cheng:

I have.

PP:

Oh really? What do you think about the PP show, Larry?

Larry Cheng:

Honestly, I didn't know much, but, I think I saw, Bill you went on it once.

Pulte:

Yes I did. Yes I did.

Larry Cheng:

That's where it came across my radar.

PP:

I just have a question pertaining to Ryan Cohen. Based off, you know, you know Ryan Cohen's humor, and things like that. In your opinion, and again, you can't speak on behalf of Ryan Cohen,

Do you think he likes the PP show, where we slap people with dildos, things like that?

Larry Cheng:

I've never specifically asked him about that, so I can't answer.

Pulte:

Well thank you for being such a good sport. We really appreciate you Larry. Thank you for coming.

You have a special announcement that you want to make for everybody here, you have kind of a surprise gift.

Larry Cheng:

Yes, thank you. Actually, Bill, you were kind of my inspiration for this, not gonna lie. I saw, you were doing a lot of great things for the community, and so some of you who follow me will know that we've done some giveaways, during the holiday season with some of my companies. We are doing one today, with Grove Collaborative, which is a sustainable household essentials retail store, e-commerce store.

What I thought I'd do, since I was coming on today, is I would like to give all of the attendees of today's event a 100 dollar gift card to Grove.

Hopefully you can go and have some holiday fun there. We'll find a way to get your email so that we can email you those gift cards, but just my way of saying happy holidays to the whole community.

Pulte:

Very good. Everybody is clapping for you in the room, so thank you very much. If you guys didn't hear in the back of the room, Larry is gonna give everybody a hundred dollars, which is amazing, that's like, you know, 25 grand. So, you know, if you paid 500 tonight, you're getting at least 100 back. And, Kais is going to give for people he wants to give the people another hundred.

Kais:

Everybody.

Pulte:

Everybody, wow. And that's worth a hundred dollars right there.

So, Larry, I can't thank you enough for coming on. Hopefully -- I think we kept it like ultra PG. I don't even know if you can keep it more PG than that. But we appreciate it, we hope to have you on again. And, we'd love to do it in person some time. But, thanks again for everything, and being here.

Everybody's chanting Larry.

Larry Cheng:

Thanks so much, good to see you guys.

Title says it all.

Have a great day, price setters. Everything's looking up!

But according to posts in it, Lemmy is too hard to use.

-Scratches head

Maybe that's a good thing?

I’ve seen Ferdinand now. His journey resonates deeply with me personally, I feel like I've lived through it myself. My exegesis skills are rusty, so this will probably devolve into alternations between story and plot. I'd like to at least post the core of his story (and quotes that moved me) to share here with anyone else who might be touched by it. Spoilers obviously abound:

Ferdinand, a young bull, plays peacefully on a farm with Nina, the farmer’s young child. Though he is meant to grow into a prized fighting bull, Ferdinand doesn’t want this. He loves flowers and longs only to appreciate their fragrance.

Over time, Ferdinand watches as the strongest adult bulls including his father are chosen and taken from the farm to the Ranch, a training ground to be readied for the Arena, where they will face Bullfighters in feats of glory. Ferdinand grows to be a large, physically magnificent Bull, but he still has no desire to fight anyone.

Nina goes to Market with her father and warns Ferdinand not to come, but Ferdinand is torn between wishing to go and wishing to do as he is told. He decides to go. Sure enough, the danger shows itself when Ferdinand accidentally causes a commotion and unintended damage all over the market. Ferdinand the Bull attempts to break nothing in the china shop, and he manages to save a baby during the chaos, but he can’t stop the market sellers from stampeding away from him left and right.

Nina tells everyone that Ferdinand is gentle, but the authorities say he is violent, and that they need to take him away. Thus Ferdinand is forcefully taken to the Ranch. There, Ferdinand meets the other bulls from his youth, and it so happens that his growth has dwarfed theirs by far. At first, the other bulls distrust Ferdinand, but over time they come to appreciate his genuineness and good intentions.

All the bulls are nervous when "El Primero," the greatest ever Bullfighter, comes to the Ranch. He wants to fight the strongest bull there; it will be the final fight of his career. One bull against the best bull-fighter, “THE BEST AGAINST THE BEST!"

While training, one of the bulls is taken away to the Chop House when he cannot perform to his highest potential. Ferdinand despairs. He thinks that bull was manipulated, confused, and that he doesn’t deserve to be sent to the Chop House. In response Ferdinand is called a Flower Bull, too peaceful for his nature, and is lectured that every bull is either a Fighter or Meat. Ferdinand is said to be Meat. If Ferdinand wants not to be Chopped too, then he must act like the fighting bull he was born to be.

Ferdinand resists this notion, assisting another bull to be able to see better and thus perform better, even though that bull is his competition. The fellow bull asks, “You’ve given me a fighting chance, Ferdinand. Why would you do such a thing?” Ferdinand explains, “If we don’t look out for each other, who will?”

Ferdinand tells the other bulls that they should all run away from the Ranch together so that they don’t wind up being shipped to the Chop House. The Roughest other bull scoffs, “You think you’re different, but you’re not.” Another says, “It’s a bull-fight-bull world.” Ferdinand retorts, “It doesn’t HAVE to be that way. I’ll take you to my home. It’s different there!”

Since the others disbelieve him, Ferdinand goes off to escape on his own. He sneaks through the Rancher’s villa, and sees a multitude of horns hung across the walls, trophies from all the conquered bulls that passed through the Ranch before. “My dad,” Ferdinand realizes, “He was the bravest bull I knew. He really believed he could beat the Matador! All of them did… the bull never wins…” Ferdinand turns back, warning the other bulls that “You’ll get to fight in a big fancy arena… but I’m telling you it’s just another Chop House!”

The Rough bull gets angry, thinking that the Arena is the only destination for true bulls, and that they must fight, and that Ferdinand is a coward. He attacks Ferdinand, and in the scuffle Ferdinand accidently severs one of the Rough bull’s horns. El Primero has been watching from afar, and points down at Ferdinand from high upon a balcony. “That one is the best bull. I’ll fight him tomorrow.” The Rough bull is sent overnight to the Chop House.

Ferdinand decides not to escape the Ranch. “I’m not leaving… not unless EVERYONE is coming with me…” The other bulls join him in attempting a rescue of the Rough bull, but he doesn’t want to be rescued. He believes he deserves to be Meat. “It doesn’t have to be that way,” Ferdinand exclaims. “You’re more than just a set of horns. Come with us! You can live your own life now, but not if you give up.” The Rough bull resists, and Ferdinand leaves.

The other bull earlier sent to the Chop House is spotted, he hasn’t been Chopped just yet. He hangs from a harness headed for meat grinders. Ferdinand tries to free him but fails. At the very last moment the Rough bull charges in to succeed instead! The three bulls work together and break out of the Chop House, then join the other bulls and flee the Ranch as the rancher gives fervent chase, first in vehicles, then by footrace.

Ferdinand pushes all the other bulls onto a speeding train, then turns to stop those who seek their capture. He is caught himself. Imprisoned, he is driven to the Bullfighting Arena to face off against El Primero, the greatest Bull-Fighter. There, one of his friends tries to encourage him. “Ferdinand, listen, ok? You are the bravest bull I know. You can do this, but you’re gonna have to fight… just this one time…”

The destined day of the Bullfight has come. Ferdinand still wishes desperately not to fight. As he is forced into the arena, the bullfighter’s assistants surround and prod Ferdinand forward, provoking him to charge the Bullfighter. At first, Ferdinand is indeed manipulated by the Bullfighter’s skills, but then in a tumult of movements, he winds up flipping and carrying the Bullfighter on his back. In a frenzy of struggle, Ferdinand ultimately tosses the Bullfighter out of the ring. Enraged, the Bullfighter returns with deadly weapons to put a sharp end to Ferdinand’s circumvention of tradition: the Bullfighter always wins.

In a startling reversal, Ferdinand dances about, dodging the Bullfighter with his own cape impaled upon his horns. The crowd cheers for Ferdinand. Suddenly the Bullfighter’s weapon grazes Ferdinand’s flank, and he roars, lifting the Bullfighter up by his coat. The Bullfighter hangs helplessly from Ferdinand’s horns as the Bull huffs into his face, enraged.

Before Ferdinand goes too far, he notices a rose that the Bullfighter had earlier tossed aside, and remembers that he has no desire to commit murder, nor even fight at all. He sees the abject terror in the Bullfighter’s eyes, and lowers him safely to the ground. The Bullfighter, confused, retrieves his cape and backs away.

Ferdinand sniffs the discarded rose, recalling vividly the serene landscape where he was lovingly raised in peace by Nina. He returns to his senses as he hears the Bullfighter approach him again warily with a sword. Ferdinand stands his ground, unwilling to fight but also unwilling to retreat. The moment hangs…

Ferdinand plants himself and sits down, looking with determination into the Bullfighter’s eyes. Nina arrives at the arena, rushing to the edge of the ring. The Bullfighter lunges, his blade aimed at Ferdinand’s heart…

A spectator in the crowd shouts, “Let him live!” Another joins in, “Spare the Bull!” “Let him go!” The crowd stands as one. Eventually respecting the crowd’s cries, the Bullfighter nods gruffly to Ferdinand, turns, and leaves.

Nina runs forward to embrace Ferdinand. “I thought I’d never see you again!” she cries. The other bulls charge fiercely into the arena, but are relieved to find the fight is over, and Ferdinand is safe. “Flower Bull did it…” says the Rough bull. The crowd roars with elation.

Ferdinand and the other bulls are transported back to the farm where Ferdinand spent his youth, raised by the farmer alongside Nina. Ferdinand bounds across a warm meadow of wildflowers and Butterflies, to stand beside the tree he missed so very much from his childhood. There, atop a hill overlooking valleys and forest, Ferdinand and all the other bulls sit together, basking in the sunset.

https://twitter.com/No_Pie_2109/status/1733453198143234258?t=uZMpFy6UHQNmTMQE1AUMnQ&s=19