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June 30, 2014
The billionaire investor best known for breaking the Bank of England is excerpting his influence again. George Soros, the father of central bank activism is ramping up some shareholder activism — against Penn Virginia (PVA). The Soros family office, Soros Fund Management, disclosed a nearly 10% stake in PVA in its March filing. Last week they wrote a letter to PVA management complaining that they are destroying shareholder value, and they are pushing the company to sell itself. Soros Fund Management is the largest shareholder and they are shaking things up at PVA.
The stock is up more than 13% since Wednesday of last week.
We have 20 stocks in our Billionaire's Portfolio that are all under the influence of powerful investors — all of which are pushing to unlock value for us. Join us!
Carl Icahn disclosed a 9.4% stake in Family Dollars stores on June 6. The stock gapped up more than 16% on the news. Today Icahn is beginning to rattle the cage at FDO. He's demanding a sale of the company to drive shareholder value. We've followed Icahn on four stocks in our premium service, The Billionaires Portfolio. Icahn's continued investing success can be attributed to one important talent: He's a change-maker.
When we follow him, we can be assured that he has a plan for change and that he will fight to make it happen. Plus, when we follow Icahn, we get an added bonus that few, if any, other big time investors summon: Because of his great success, his campaigns tend to attract other influential investors to join in – stacking the odds even more favorably for shareholders.
Here's a look at the Icahn effect on FDO thus far:
We have 20 stocks in our Billionaire's Portfolio that are all have the potential to be taken out for huge premiums. Join us!
Yesterday, Idenix Pharmaceuticals (IDIX) was acquired by Merck for a 229% premium. That's one of the biggest one day moves ever for a stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Billionaire and top hedge fund manager, Seth Klarman of the Baupost Group, made over $1 billion on his investment in Idenix, in one day.
How did he do it?
Klarman owned 35.4% of Idenix (almost 54 million shares). He paid around $300 million for his original stake, which is now worth $1.3 billion.
It's very common in the hedge fund world for investors like Klarman to take such large positions in a single company. They spend a lot of money on talent and research, sometimes tens of millions of dollars, in an effort to uncover the investment opportunities that offer the potential to make multiples on their investment. When they find good candidates, like Idenix, they tend to bet big.
We have 20 stocks in our Billionaire's Portfolio that are all have the potential to be taken out for huge premiums. Join us!
Will Meade
We were featured in Barron's over the weekend! Excerpts below, with a link to the piece.
"The trick is to focus on the activist subset, says William Meade, co-founder of Billionaire's Portfolio (billionairesportfolio.com). It usually takes big fund managers months to build positions and a year or more for their activist proposals to play out. Billionaire's Portfolio, launched in August 2012, follows along, spreading a hypothetical $20,000 across 20 stocks held by the likes of Carl Icahn of Icahn Enterprises and Starwood Value's Jeffrey Smith.
Meade follows about two dozen whales whom he describes as "true activists with a track record of taking a 5% position in a company and influencing change." While many institutional purchases don't show up on an SEC form for months, trades by 5% owners have to be reported within 10 business days. That usually bumps up share prices, but then they settle down.
For $297 a quarter, Meade alerts Billionaire's Portfolio subscribers to entry and exit points through e-mail and on a private blog that details the rationale for every recommendation. Meade and aptly named co-founder Bryan Rich mirror those trades a day later in a $100,000 real portfolio they share. They buy on dips so subscribers realize about the same average share cost as activists. Positions adjust when activists do.
Meade only buys Russell 2000 issues he considers "undervalued." But that assessment has less to do with price/earnings ratios and future cash flows than the — often, overtly stated — plans of activists to "unlock value." "I only buy when there is an event or an influential investor positioned to reprice the stock," he explains."
"Meade's backtesting shows that, whether their initiatives succeed or fail, his activists usually make money — a 31% annualized return over the past 12-years compared to the S&P 500′s 6.1%."
Bryan Rich
Carl Icahn, the world's greatest investor, is on pace to become the world's richest man. And he has had a lot to say about Apple's stock in the past week.
On Wednesday, he tweeted the following: "As we said at conference yesterday, we continue to believe $AAPL remains meaningfully undervalued. Many analysts fail to understand company" and "agree completely with $AAPL's increased buyback and extremely pleased with results. Believe we'll also be happy when we see new products."
Remember, I am the man that called the bottom in Apple in the summer of 2013. I was profiled on CNN/Money saying Apple had bottomed around $400. I was the first and only person in the investment community to become bullish on Apple during this time.
I am more bullish than ever on Apple now. The 7-to-1 stock split will drop the cost of the stock to $80 from $547. That means every parent will now be able buy their kids Apple stock as a birthday gift, every small investor who couldn't afford Apple at $550, will now be able to buy 5 shares of Apple at $80. This is guaranteed built in demand that will come into Apple's stock when it splits in June of this year.
How do you profit from it? Well, I am quite confident that Apple will go up 20% or more by June of this year. And there is a trade that I am eyeing on Apple which has the potential to make 500% or more if I am right. It's a low cost trade, one that will only cost you $690 but has the potential to make $3000 or more.
Remember, the world's greatest investor, Carl Icahn, a man who has averaged 27.6% a year for 52-years (the greatest single track record of any investor, including old man Buffett) has also told you Apple is extremely undervalued. Icahn is so good, if you would have given him $10,000 when he first started his fund 52 years-ago you would now have an amazing $2.5 billion. So even if you don't listen to me, listen to Icahn.
To get the specifics of this incredible "Apple Stock-Split Trade" all you have to do is subscribe today to our premium research service, The Billionaires Portfolio.
The Billionaires Portfolio is chock full of what hedge funds call "asymmetrical trades." These are trades that have limited downside but huge upside potential. All of the stocks in our Billionaires Portfolio are not just undervalued, but they all have an influential billionaire hedge fund that is working with the company to create instant shareholder value and positive returns for the stock.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
Our free research note: Five Activist-Owned Stocks Analysts Think Will Triple.
Our recent note to subscribers on both third party studies and our proprietary study on activists: What's In Store for Stocks, Plus The Power of Activism.
In an article this morning, Bloomberg reiterated what we have been telling people since 2002: Piggy-backing the picks of the world's greatest billionaire investors and hedge funds is the best way to beat the market.
You can find the Bloomberg article here: Raiders-Turned-Activists Prove Boon for Stocks Beating S&P 500. Here's the high level view: They cite a study that demonstrates the picks of activist investors have destroyed the S&P 500 with less risk over the past five years.
Interestingly, they mention one of the stocks we held in our portfolio last year (and consequently, our subscribers made nearly a 100% profit on). The stocks is Office Depot. We followed Starboard Value into ODP, also mentioned in the Bloomberg study. This investment played out brilliantly according to script. Starboard wrote an elaborate letter to ODP management at the outset of their campaign, laying out a game plan for unlocking value in the stock.
My partner and I have been piggybacking billionaire investors and hedge funds, specifically activist investors, in our accounts since 2002. We started our premium research service and website in 2012, giving average investors the opportunity to follow our lead. Join us!
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
The Power of Activism
I want to show you what the performance has been on an equal-weighted basket of stocks looking back through history within the portfolios of our universe of activst investors. This is a deep-dive into the real, audited histories of the best investors alive. There is one condition: For us to include the stock, they must have initiated an activist campaign against the company.
Our basket returned 31% annualized over the past 12-years. The S&P 500 returned just 6.1% in the same period.
More importantly, the stock picks of these top activists had only one losing year during the year. Of course, that was 2008. But the basket lost just 18.2%, versus a loss of 37% in the S&P 500.
So these activist investors beat the stock market by more than 4 times on an annualized basis. But they lost less than half of the broader stock market losses in a bad year (an apocalyptic year).
No mutual fund, ETF or private money manager on the entire planet has a returned anywhere close to 31% annualized over the period.
The best performing mutual fund in the world returned 14.5%. That same fund lost more than 45% in 2008!
Bottom line: As a basket, these select picks outperformed over 20,000 mutual funds, 5,000 money managers and 1,000 ETFs.
The Value of Small Stocks
Next, using the same universe of billionaire investors, I want to show you what the performance looks like when we narrow the universe of stocks by including just small capitalization stocks in the basket.
So we have scenarios here, historically, where our talented, influential investors have bought a controlling stake in a company. They have launched an activist campaign against the company. And in this case, the stocks meet these additional criteria. They have a market cap under $2 billion or they have a share price under $15 combined with a market cap of at least $500 million.
The average annualized return for the past 12-year was 52%. This compares to only a 6.1% annualized return in the S&P 500.
Takeaway: When our activist investors get involved in small caps, they get even more bang for their buck.
Biotech, Explosive Events
Now, lastly, we've had some great success early in the Billionaire's Portfolio with our biotech picks. Novavax, our most recent high flyer has been a near triple for us.
As you've seen in our Billionaire's Portfolio, biotech is a different animal. We follow domain experts in this area. We only want to piggy-back expert biotech investors around. Their brain is their edge.
By investing in all of the stock picks of our elite group of biotech hedge funds, you would have returned an incredible 44% annualized over the last 12-years. And guess what? They even made money in 2008!
Biotech stocks are the ultimate event-driven investment. They only move on news surrounding FDA approvals, positive trial data studies and partnerships with larger companies. These investments have little to no correlation to the overall stock market.
Billionaire's Portfolio – The Optimal Portfolio
We've just walked through three historical studies on the universe of some of the best investors alive – digging through their real investments year in and year out. And we've seen three powerful results.
Given the numbers we've shown, you are probably wondering why we only returned 35% last year. Here's why? First, remember we spent the first five months of the year building our portfolio out to full capacity (i.e. fully invested). With that, we held a lot of cash up to 25% for much of the first half of the year (certainly the first quarter).
Still, we beat the S&P 500 in a stellar year for the index.
But consider this: Believe it or not, activist investors had one of the worst year years in 2013 (compared to their history). Almost every one of the top activist investors in my study beat the S&P 500 every year since 2002. But in 2013, activist investors greatly underperformed the market, by as much as 15 percentage points.
So what does this mean? Within our universe of stocks, in our Billionaire's Portfolio, we have shown an ability to select the high potential stocks that can become the big winners. And we do so by combining the three key approaches we outlined in our studies above. This, we believe, is the optimal portfolio.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
Right now McDonalds (MCD) is extremely undervalued compared to its peer Burger King (BKW). Here are the statistics:
McDonalds: 6 Month Return 0.26% ROE 36% ROI 21% P/E 15 Dividend Yield 3.40%
Burger King: 6 Month Return 34.25% ROE 18% ROI 10% P/E 24 Dividend Yield 1.06%
Basically McDonalds is cheaper, has a higher dividend yield and double the profitability of Burger King yet Burger King has outperformed MCD by almost 35% over the last 6 months.
So how do you trade this, you simply go long and equal amount of MCD and short and equal amount of BKW. You can do this with stocks but a better play is to use options.
I would buy the May $97 MCD Calls for $1.10 a piece while simultaneously buying 2 May $25 BKW puts for $.55 cents.
Basically you would buy 10 May $97 MCD Calls for a total cost of $1100 and at the same time buy 20 May $25 Puts for $1100 dollars.
The catalyst that will reprice this trade will be earnings: McDonalds and Burger King both report earnings in late April.
It's called a market neutral trade because you have zero market risk.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
I am not a journalist. I have over 15 years of experience in the hedge fund industry working for a $1.5 billion hedge fund run by a former Goldman Sachs Partner/Harvard MBA and for an $11 billion hedge fund of funds.
Simply stated I have spent my entire career around the best investors and hedge funds on the planet. I know who they are and how they make money.
These top hedge funds and investors do not day trade, swing trade or stare at computer screens. That is an urban legend perpetuated by the brokerage houses to get you to trade as much as possible so they can get your commissions.
What the top investors and hedge funds do, is bet on sure things! They take controlling positions (5% or more) in undervalued companies and then push on these companies with all their force to create instant shareholder value. They do not throw darts or guess, they control their own destiny by putting their own people on the boards of these companies and then forcing these companies to produce positive returns in their stock.
So to become a millionaire or billionaire, you have to follow these rules:
1) Piggyback the best ideas of the worlds best billionaire investors and hedge funds! Why? Its simple, they have proven track records of making money and they already have researched the ideas for you. Before a top billionaire investor or fund takes a position they spend an average of $200,000 on research, consulting and legal fees!
2) Only piggyback funds and investors that have a proven track record of creating value in any market condition or economy. These Investors are called Activist, Event Driven or Private Equity investors.
3) Don't blindly follow or copy the stock picks or ideas of any hedge fund or investor. I only piggyback the ideas/stocks of billionaire investors/hedge funds that have low portfolio turnover who hold their positions for at least a year and a half, so I know I am buying a stock they still own. It takes experience but I know which funds hold them and which funds fold them.
4) Keep your overhead low. Get an online broker with low commission rates, and do not trade actively. Not one billionaire investor or hedge fund I have ever worked with or met trades actively.
5) Never ever put your money with a stock broker or financial advisor. Simply put I have lived in 3 major cities during my career: Chicago, Washington DC and London and I have never met a wealthy person who follows or puts their money with a stock broker/financial advisor or mutual fund, those are rigged games(they win, you lose 100% of the time.)
What do the wealthy do?, if their rich enough they invest directly in hedge funds or private equity funds, if their smart and rich they do what I do, keep your overhead low, get an online broker and piggyback the best ideas of the world's greatest billionaire hedge funds and investors.
6) Enjoy life, have hobbies, enjoy your time with friends and family but do not look at computer screens, CNBC or your portfolio every day. Trust me the wealthiest and best performing billionaire investors barely look at their trading accounts and positions once a day let alone once a week. Short term traders and day traders die early and broke. I promise you on this one, there is not one billionaire stock investor or hedge fund on the planet who stares at a computer screen all day.
7) Invest all your money in stocks, but keep a reserve in cash to add to positions. The stock market has averaged 9% a year since 1920, no other asset class in the world has averaged close to 9% annualized over the last 100 years.
Buy on dips and average down on your stock positions, that is the most common rule that the world's greatest billionaire investors follow. Buffett, Icahn etc. all buy more of a stock when it goes down, its that simple. So keep cash and when the odds are in your favor and a stock drops add to your positions.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
My favorite strategy I used when trading for a hedge fund was using call options to replace buying a stock. On large blue chip companies, you can find options that are extremely cheap and which move almost one for one with the underlying stock.
These options are deep in the money call options (usually with a delta above .80) and with an expiration that is less than one month out.
Right now Darden Restaurants (DRI) looks like an attractive stock to trade using my stock replacement strategy. If I wanted to buy 1000 shares of Darden it would cost me almost $51,000. But if I use my secret stock replacement strategy instead I can buy 1000 shares of Darden for just $3900.
The April Darden $47 Call Options trade for just $3.90, and with the stock priced at $50.71 that means these call options will move almost 1 for 1 with the underlying stock. Better yet I am paying only 19 cents (the options premium) to control 1000 shares of a blue chip company.
Even better if Darden hits $55 anytime over the next month I will make more than a 100% return on my money in less than a month.
Where else but the options market can you legally make a 100% plus return in less than a month on just a $4 stock move?
This is the power of the stock replacement strategy the ability to make a 100% plus return in less than a month and you wonder how people become Billionaires
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
There is an emerging small cap activist hedge fund that has been shooting the lights out. Their average return on a stock where they have won a board seat is 115%, let me repeat that every time this fund has invested in a stock and won a board seat the stock returned an average of 115%.
Even better the fund just won a board seat on a small cap technology stock that sells for less than $5. Furthermore this hedge fund owns more than 8% of this company and has been adding to its position as well.
So based on past history this stock should go up at least 115% or more.
Moreover the stock is so undervalued that it sold for $65 in 2008, more than a 1200% return from its current share price.
To find out the stock, the hedge fund and its performance data all you have to do is go The Billionaires Portfolio and sign up today.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
If you did not read my previous post about the world's greatest investor, David Tepper, please do. In that post I explained how David Tepper has produced the greatest returns in hedge fund history, 41% a year for 21 years which would turn $10000 into $12 Million by simply using 3 rules for investing.
Tepper is a event driven distressed investor meaning he will only buy something that has a catalyst and has crashed in price.
Well right now there is a market that has both crashed and has a catalyst. It is China and Chinese stocks. Its simple David Tepper has stated in both the New York Times and Kiplinger's that the key to his investing success has been following the moves of The Fed and Global Central Banks, its that simple. Remember Tepper is not your typical hedge fund billionaire-ivy league grad, he is a graduate of the the University of Pittsburgh, so my point is that anyone can do this.
And right now China is giving you the same signal that the US did in 2009-2010 with QE, they are about to launch a massive stimulus package which will boost China's economy and stock market. Chinese stocks are cheap they have crashed more than 50% and now there is a potential catalyst that will boost this market back to its highs. This is a classic David Tepper play.
Tepper has made billions on plays like this, he purchased Argentinian Bonds, Russian Debt, Telecom Stocks and Banking Stocks all after they had crashed and there was a government mandated catalyst/policy move that told him these markets had bottomed.
Even better with the advent of leveraged etfs you don't need a fancy prime brokerage account or margin account. You can simply buy the Direxion 3X Bull China ETF, Symbol YINN, (which gives you leveraged exposure to the Chinese Stock Market) and you can put on the exact same trade that top billionaire hedge fund managers use, like David Tepper.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
David Tepper is simply the world's best investor, he has averaged 41% annualized for 21 years in his flagship hedge fund Appaloosa Partners. That means $10000 invested with David Tepper 21 years ago would now be worth almost $12 Million Dollars!
David Tepper is worth more than $8 Billion dollars and he is a completely self made.
Tepper did not grow up rich nor is he some fancy ivy league grad or rocket scientist phd, he has a degree from a state school the University of Pittsburgh.
Yet Tepper has beat the pants off every other single hedge fund manager in the world, even without the fancy Harvard of Stanford MBA.
He did this by following 3 simple rules:
1) Only buy stocks or asset classes when there is a Catalyst
2) Only by stocks or asset classes after a major sell-off, (this is called forced selling)
3) Look anywhere and everywhere for value across the globe, emerging markets etc.
This is the exact same philosophy we use at billionairesportfolio.com, where we only buy a stock, etf or asset class when there is a catalyst, we are deep value distressed investors, just like David Tepper, and we will go anywhere to find value.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
A trader paid almost $8 million for a trade that will pay off if the VIX (Volatility) Index rallies at least 60 percent by May.
The trader bought 150,000 bullish contracts on the VIX expiring in May with a strike price of 22.
This could be a hedge for a big fund or an outright bet, if its an outright bet it would be an incredible asymmetrical trade in that the $8 Million could easily turn into $170 Million or more if the VIX Spikes to 30 or above by May.
Will Meade
Today is quadruple witching day tread carefully. This means that the markets will be extremely volatile and directionless due to the fact that stock options, index options, single stock options and stock index futures all expire today.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
I love biotech stocks, not only are they non correlated to the stock market and economy, but a lot of the companies are actually improving the world by creating drugs that are curing serious diseases. As a student at The Johns Hopkins University I became very familiar with the Biotech Industry and have been enamored with it ever since.
Even better biotech stocks are red hot, the sector has been one of the best performers this year up 17% YTD and 66% in 2013. Small cap biotech stocks have performed even better, last year alone there were 14 biotech stocks that went up more than 500% and 4 that went up more than 1000%.
So how do you find the best small cap biotech stocks, the ones that go up 500% a 1000% in a year. Its simple you piggyback the stocks owned by the best biotech hedge funds in the world.
There are about 6 to 8 superstar biotech hedge funds, and all of them invest in the small cap homerun type biotech stocks. These hedge funds are run by managers with PHDs, MDs from the top schools in the world Stanford, Harvard and Johns Hopkins. Moreover these managers have medical and research experience at hospitals universities and labs, so they really know how to analyze biotech companies and their drugs. Furthermore many of these hedge funds were up 80% or more in 2013 and are up 25% YTD.
In our Billionaire's Portfolio Service we own 4 biotech stocks, all of which are owned by some of the top biotech hedge funds as well. Our Biotech portfolio has crushed the market YTD with one biotech stock that has almost tripled.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
Bloomberg had an article this morning on the best performing mutual fund over the last 10 years its run by the 71 year old Mario Gabelli and its (no joke) called the Mighty Mites Fund (no joke). The fund has been the best performing equity mutual fund over the last 10 years yet is has only averaged 11% a year.
This is sad, basically the best mutual fund or investment product offered to retail investors can only produce 11% a year over the last 10 years versus an 8% return in the S&P 500. Even worse the Mighty Mites fund holds more than 450 stocks making it basically a closet index fund, on top of that Cornball Gabelli charges you a hefty 1.41% management fee.
Investors should be upset at this I am, and that's one of the main reasons I started The Billionaires Portfolio to give the everday investor access to hedge fund type returns.
I have published many times my exhaustive performance study of piggybacking the world's best billionaire investors and hedge funds.
If you would have simply purchased every stock owned by what I call the 'Activist Master Select Group" which includes managers like Carl Icahn, Bill Ackman you would have returned 24.5% annualized over the last 10 years.
That 24.5% is more than double the return of the best performing mutual fund (11.4% annualized) and it costs less than a mutual fund at only $299. To get a copy of my study and to subscribe to the Billionaires Portfolio visit us at Billionaires Portfolio
Will Meade
President of the Billionaires Portfolio
A trader paid almost $8 million for a trade that will pay off if the VIX (Volatility) Index rallies at least 60 percent by May.
The trader bought 150,000 bullish contracts on the VIX expiring in May with a strike price of 22.
This could be a hedge for a big fund or an outright bet, if its an outright bet it would be an incredible asymmetrical trade in that the $8 Million could easily turn into $100 Million or more if the VIX Spikes to 30 or above by May.
Will Meade
I have written a lot lately on this blog about my stock replacement strategy. As you remember the stock replacement strategy is buying deep in the money call and put options to replace buying the actual stock. The advantage of using options is that gives you free juiced leverage 10 to 20 times, with limited downside and low capital requirements (you only have to put 1/10 or 1/20 of the amount compared to buying the actual stock).
And this stock replacement strategy allows you to trade with an account as little as $5000 to make a $1000 a day swing trading and day trading stocks.
The key to this strategy is to find highly volatile, liquid stocks that have options with high trading volume so that you have a very small spread when you buy the option. What this means is when you are day trading or swing trading stock options, you only want to buy puts and calls that have very tight spreads, (the spread is the difference between the bid and ask). You want the spread to be pennies.
Next, you need to understand that in the short term (anywhere from 1 to 5 days) price action, money flows and technicals drive 95% of the stock price in the short term. So you need to know what chart patterns work in the short term and luckily there are a few great ones that work almost all of the time.
Lastly, you need to use my secret stock replacement technique, that is only buy options that are deep deep in the money, so that the option moves almost one for one with the stock.
So to use this secret stock replacement technique of day trading swing trading options you need the follow these rules every time:
1) Only trade stocks that have options that are very liquid with high volume, so that you when you buy the put or call the spread is very low, (it should be pennies) so that you are not paying a big premium on every trade.
2) Only trade volatile stocks with great short term chart patterns. Like Lululemon (LULU) today.
3) And most importantly, you want to use my secret stock replacement strategy of only buying deep in the money calls and puts, in which the options moves almost one for one with the stock.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
His name is "J", and he runs a $40 million fund which has generated an incredible 54% annualized return over the last five years. To put this in perspective if you would have invested just $15,000 in J's fund in 2009 you would now have more than $130,000 dollars!
J returned 264.38% in 2009 and had 2 stocks that went up 1000% or more. Even more impressive his fund only lost 9% in 2008 versus a 37% loss in the S&P 500. J has not only crushed the market indices but he has done it with less risk.
To put J's 54% annualized return in perspective, no other mutual fund or hedge fund in the world has a better 5 year track record. This means over the last 5 years not one fund (over 18,000 funds) has better performance than his.
The name of this fund and the manager is…
I give you a lot in this blog, but this one … I won't give everything away for free. To get the rest of this post you must subscribe to The Billionaire's Portfolio.
I called the bottom in Apple on CNN and fortune.com. Below is the link to my article: An Apple Bear Calls The Bottom.
So I called the bottom, now I am telling you Apple is going to $700.
Technically you can see from the chart below that Apple is ready to break out of a bullish inverse head and shoulders pattern, if it closes above $545, this pattern projects a price target of $700 for Apple.
Furthermore every stock needs a catalyst to move it. I believe Apple has two catalysts that will move its stock price up. First according to trim tabs research Value Based Mutual Funds have been purchasing Apple stock at a record pace, this has not always been the case as many value managers never purchased Apple during its big move over the last couple of years.
Secondly Apple will come out with a smart watch, many analysts think this will be released around September of 2014. This will be a game changer as it will be the first product in years that will actually get people excited about Apple the company again. More importantly it will increase Apple's growth prospects which will cause sell side analysts to raise their earnings/revenue estimates as well as their price targets.
So what is the secret to hedge funds bringing in so much money?
Its simple, the best hedge funds do exactly what their name implies – they hedge and when you have bumps in the market like this year, hedge funds will outperform all the indices and those dinosaur mutual funds as well.
But its 2014 so no need to lock your money up with a fund of funds or hedge fund simply follow the: BillionairesPortfolio.com.
We piggyback the world's best hedge fund's stock picks, and we opportunistically hedge those positions with put options and inverse leveraged etfs, all for just $297 dollars.
My former boss, a former Goldman Sachs Fund Manager and Harvard MBA who managed money for some of the biggest pension funds and endowments in the country, had a special formula for investing in stocks during volatile times.
The formula had the following criteria:
1) A Market Cap greater then $10 Billion
2) Five Year Projected Annualized Earnings Growth greater than 5%
3) A dividend yield greater than the 10 year treasury bond.
The reasoning behind the screen is simple, you want a stock whose earnings are growing because it offers protection against inflation, secondly large brand name companies are less volatile and more recession proof than smaller unknown companies and buying stocks with dividend yields higher than the 10 year treasury bond allows you to get stock like returns with bond like risk.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
What is the number 1 trading secret of the most successful and wealthiest hedge fund managers? Its Asymmetrical investing. What is asymmetrical investing? Its a low risk trade that also has the potential for huge or unlimited upside. Think John Paulson in 2007.
Paulson bought cheap credit-default swaps on subprime-mortgage assets, his capital risk was relatively small but the potential payout, huge. Paulson's asymmetric trade made an almost 700% gain in 20007.
Another example, Jeffrey Altman of Owl Creek, in 2008 Altman purchased millions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred shares for 2 cents on the dollar, today the preferred shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sell for almost 40 cents on the dollar, a 2000% return.
At Billionairesportfolio.com all we do is look for asymmetric trades, in fact right now we have two stocks in our portfolio that I think have the potential to return 300% or more by the end of 2014.
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
Back in 2010, Perry Capital a distressed and event driven hedge fund purchased $500 Million of Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) shares at $2 cents on the dollar
Today, both companies Fannie and Freddie are selling at over $5 a share and Perry Capital's $500 million dollar investment is now worth more than $33 Billion a 6700% return.
That means if you would have invested $1500 into Fannie Mae's or Freddie Mac's stock back in 2010 you would now have an more than $100,000 dollars!
These type of home run trades are exactly what we look for in our premium research service The Billionaires Portfolio.
We are the first and only research service that actively manages a portfolio of stocks owned by the world's best billionaire investors and hedge funds that also have the potential to make multiples of returns, (200% 500%, 1000%, even 6700%.)
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
I think before anyone writes an article, there should be a preface or introduction with the author's background explaining why he is qualified to offer advice on the topic.
So before I give my opinion on the most overrated and underrated hedge fund managers, as well as the best hedge fund strategies, I will give you my bio.
I have over 15-years of experience in the hedge fund industry. I started my career working for what they call on the street "the Big Ugly's." These are hedge fund managers with the classic pedigree: Harvard MBA- Goldman Sachs (alums).
The fund I worked for managed around $1.5 billion dollars and used all the numerous classic hedge fund strategies: Long-Short Equity, Convertible Arbitrage, Distressed and M&A.
After that I worked for an $11 billion dollar fund of funds, where I basically had the opportunity to see the performance numbers and investment styles of the best hedge fund managers in the world.
Along the way, I have interviewed and had meetings with some of the top hedge fund managers in the world.
Through this experience I have gathered some insight on the best performing hedge fund strategies and managers.
The Best Hedge Fund Strategies:
1) Long-Short Healthcare- This strategy has proven to provide the best alpha (meaning returns are not determined by beta –an underlying benchmark — rather, purely skill-driven). Basically the top manager in the biotech and pharma space have delivered some of the best 10 and 15 year returns, while keeping drawdowns and losses to a minimum. There are two multi-billion dollar healthcare hedge funds that have 10-year plus track record of 40% annualized returns without a losing year. Also I happen to know a good deal of talented analysts in this space from my years spent at The Johns Hopkins University.
2) Activist Investing- is by far the best long only strategy available. Biotech and activist are the only two long-only strategies that have little or no correlation to the overall stock indices. Why? Activist investors create news and they create value. Think Carl Icahn, Bill Ackman, Dan Loeb … they create news and value in stocks regardless of what the overall stock market is doing. Change is the recipe for revaluing a stock. And these guys are change-makers.
3) Distressed- This strategy is simple, and offers by far the best returns of any strategy out there. Basically hedge funds and private equity funds loan money to companies on the verge of (or in) bankruptcy. If they can keep the company alive there are huge, and I mean huge, returns to be made. Some of the biggest returns I have ever seen have come from distressed investments. I am talking about 10,000% plus returns. But you have to have patient, as these types of investments do take time to play out. David Tepper is the best hedge fund manager I have ever seen in this space. He has generated almost 40% annualized returns for more than 20 years.
The Worst Performing or Overrated Hedge Fund Strategies
1) Convertible Arbitrage- This worked for years in the 1990′s and early 2000s but is completely dead now, as the markets have become too efficient, with so many hedge funds trading in this space.
2) Long Short Equity- Basic long-short equity has performed horribly over the past 5 years. Shorting has always been a very difficult strategy. There are a litany of forces working against you, not the least of which are short selling restrictions and government policy responses (in times of turmoil). Moreover, there has been incredible growth in ETF's where even bad stocks are purchased and bid up by index funds and ETF companies.
3) M&A- Again another strategy that has been hurt by the huge number of funds and trading desks that are involved in this space now.
If you are looking to invest in a hedge fund, I would start with the first three categories, and then narrow it down to a mix of some of the best established managers — only managers with strong track records of generating market beating returns and avoiding annual losses and huge drawdowns.
If you don't have $10 million (a common minimum to participate in the top performing funds) and you don't want to pay the huge 2% management fee and 20% performance fee, you can just join our online service for self-directed investors, The Billionaires Portfolio.
Our Billionaires Portfolio, consists of 20 of the best stocks from the best hedge fund managers in the activist, biotech and distressed space all equal weighted and hand selected by me. I only pick stocks from the best hedge fund managers (both established and emerging managers) that have the biggest potential return combined with the lowest downside risk. It's like an actively managed fund of funds for just $297 a quarter.
Through our Billionaires Portfolio the average/everyday investor can co-invest with the top hedge funds in the world for only $297. That my friends is a pretty good deal!
Will Meade
Our article on Forbes.com, Stocks That Billionaires Are Buying
Forbes released the newest World's Billionaires List this week. Now that you know who they are, let's talk about what stocks they are buying.
At billionairesportfolio.com we track all of the stock holdings of the top billionaire investors. Here are the most recent stock purchases by some of the world's richest, most powerful investors, including the richest man in the world, Bill Gates.
1) Bill Gates, through his Gates Foundation, recently purchased a stake in Air Products and Chemicals (APD).
2) Warren Buffett, number four on the new Forbes World's Billionaires list, recently purchased Goldman Sachs (GS), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Liberty Global (LBTYA) and Suncor Energy (SU)
3) Carl Icahn, the 25th wealthiest man in the world, recently purchased Hologic Inc (HOLX), Talisman Energy (TLM) and Apple (APPL).
4) George Soros, another hedge fund icon, is the 26th richest man in the world. He recently purchased JP Morgan (JPM) Essent Group (ESNT), Barrick Gold Corp (ABX), Citigroup (C) and Leucadia National (LUK).
5) John Paulson comes in at number 78 on the Forbes World's Billionaires list. He recently purchased Extended Stay America (STAY), American Airlines (AAL), Compuware Corporation (CPWR) and Digital Realty Trust (DLR).
Will Meade
President of The Billionaires Portfolio
I have been blessed in that I have worked for and had clients who were Billionaires. But there is one Billionaire I met during my hedge fund days that I will never forget, because he was one of the best options traders I have ever seen.
He had a 5 Step system for trading options that I use for my all my options trading today. I am going to share this with you today and I call this " The Billionaires 5 Rules of Options Trading"
1) Never ever buy an Option (a Put or a Call) unless there is a catalyst or event. This means you only buy an option when there is an event that will dramatically move the price of the stock up or down. These events or catalysts can be anything from: Earnings Announcements, Fed Meetings, Economic Releases, an Activist Hedge Fund buying a stock to any type of corporate change, CEO, sale of a business unit, merger or acquisition. The key is to buy the option before this event occurs, you never ever want to buy an option after the catalyst or event. So in summary only buy an option when there is catalyst or event that will dramatically alter the price of the stock.
2) This Catalyst or Event must occur before the option expires. An easy example of this is Earnings, you only want to buy an option that expires more than a week after the earnings date. Again this means when you buy an option make sure you leave yourself enough time so that your option does not expire before the catalyst or event occurs.
3) The Option must be Cheap. This can be hard to measure but I like to keep it simple, I personally don't like paying more than a $1 for any option. But if its a high priced stock, I will only buy the option it gives me at least 25 times leverage or more on the stock. Meaning divide the price of the stock by the actual option price. For example if the stock of XYZ is $100 do not pay more than $4 for the option on that stock, that's the easiest way to make sure the option is cheap.
4) Only buy options in stocks that have low volatility. This means you want to buy options on stocks that have moved sideways of flat for months at a time. Look at a chart if there has not been a significant uptrend or downtrend in the last 3 to 4 months, there is a good chance that the volatility in the stock is low and the options are cheap. Also if you have options software, you can compare the stock and its options implied volatility and underlying volatility to its historical implied and underlying volatility. This may sound confusing but its the same premise value investors use, they buy stocks when they are cheap in comparison to what they historically sold for, so you want to buy options when the volatility is low or lower than what it historically has sold for.
5) Only buy options if you can make 300% or more on the option. This is very important, too many people buy options with no exit plan or profit target. You have to set a goal or sell point when you buy an option and to make it worthwhile from a risk reward standpoint. The option should have at least a 300% or more upside. Why 300%? because there is a good chance when you buy an option, you will lose the entire value or premium of the option (or 100% of your investment in the option) therefore to be rewarded for that risk you need to be able to make 300% or more in that option. Simply stated only buy an option when you have at least a 3 to 1 reward to risk scenario.
Will Meade
President of the Billionaires Portfolio


text:
BlackBerry Crisis Dredges Up Painful Nortel Memories
Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- BlackBerry Ltd.'s search for a buyer is stirring up old memories of another former Canadian technology giant that fell from glory.
Nortel Networks Corp., the telecommunications-equipment maker founded in 1895, once represented more than one-third of the country's benchmark stock index, with a market value of C$366 billion ($354 billion). It filed for bankruptcy in 2009, leading to thousands of job losses, a $7.8 billion asset sale and a severe blow to Canada's ambitions as technology leader.
Now BlackBerry, the smartphone pioneer that has ceded almost all of the market to Apple Inc. and Google Inc., is the Canadian icon seeking to avoid extinction. The company said this week it formed a special board committee to consider joint ventures, partnerships or a sale of the company, weighing all options after its new BlackBerry 10 products flopped.
"Nortel was a leader, BlackBerry was a leader. Look what happened to both of them -- they lost that edge," said Ian Nakamoto, research director at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier Inc. "How could it not crimp the national pride?"
Nortel had annual revenue of $28 billion at its peak in 2000, with 93,000 employees in more than 150 countries. Its bankruptcy filing spooked customers such as Verizon Communications Inc., whose concerns about the Canadian company's balance sheet overruled their interest in its products, then-Chief Strategy Officer George Riedel said in 2009. Nortel had to sell off its assets as a result, he said.
Self-Inflicted Wounds
Unlike Nortel, BlackBerry isn't loaded with debt. And many of Nortel's wounds were self-inflicted rather than coming from shifts in market demand. Nortel restated earnings going back to 1999 after probes by regulators in 2004 indicated executives incorrectly booked revenue, inflating sales figures by $3.4 billion. The company paid a $35 million fine in 2007 to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that it defrauded investors by manipulating earnings from 2000 to 2003. The company didn't admit or deny wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, phone companies were putting off network investments to weather the recession in 2009, magnifying the impact of Nortel's internal missteps.
Despite the stumbles that led to its demise, many Canadians took Nortel's bankruptcy like a punch in the gut. The company sold off units one by one from 2009 to 2011, culminating in a $4.5 billion sale of patents to a group including Apple and Microsoft Corp. -- as well as BlackBerry itself, then known as Research In Motion Ltd.
No Intervention
Canadian regulators, charged with weighing the benefit of such transactions to the nation, chose repeatedly not to block Nortel's asset sales. The company had sought and was denied aid from the Canadian government that may have helped avert a bankruptcy, former Nortel Chief Executive Officer Mike Zafirovski told lawmakers in 2009. Tony Clement, then Canada's industry minister, said Nortel's business plan wasn't "commercially viable" enough to grant aid.
Now BlackBerry's decision to consider a takeover is fueling speculation that Canadian investors could band together to acquire the company, potentially offering a more palatable solution to regulators than a foreign buyer.
In the end, as with Nortel, the government may not play much of a role, Nakamoto said.
"BlackBerry doesn't have a balance sheet problem -- they have a lack of customers," he said. "What can Ottawa do? Get people to buy more BlackBerrys? There's nothing they can do."
To contact the reporters on this story: Crayton Harrison in New York at email@example.com; Gerrit De Vynck in Toronto at firstname.lastname@example.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


text:
oxygen ox·y·gen (ŏk'sĭ-jən)
Symbol O
An element constituting 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume that occurs as a diatomic gas, O2, combines with most elements, is essential for plant and animal respiration, and is required for nearly all combustion. Atomic number 8; atomic weight 15.9994; melting point -218.8°C; boiling point -183.0°C; gas density at 0°C 1.429 grams per liter; valence 2.
A medicinal gas containing not less than 99.0 percent, by volume, of O2.
Dictionary.com presents 366 FAQs, incorporating some of the frequently asked questions from the past with newer queries.


text:
It seemed as if Astoria-based WFAN could do no wrong ever since moving over to the 660 position on the AM dial twenty years ago. In April 2007 however the station underwent an upheaval when longtime morning host Don Imus was booted off the air for making ill-advised remarks against the Rutgers women's basketball team in an attempt at ribald humor. WFAN program director Mark Chernoff hired former NFL QB Boomer Esiason and one-time Trenton radio shock jock Craig Carton to team up and take the Imus' old time slot. The end result is that the "Boomer & Carton Show" is getting better ratings than "Imus In The Morning" ever did. Then again, Imus was not a sports talk show host on what is an all-sports radio station, so perhaps the results are not as shocking as it would initially appear.
Chernoff has to hope that lightning will strike twice now that Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo has decided to vacate the "Mike & The Mad Dog" show that had been an afternoon staple on WFAN since 1989. There had long been rumblings that Russo, and his partner Mike Francesa, were going to dissolve their partnership for both personal and business reasons, but like the boy who cried wolf one time too many, it was easy to dismiss these rumors as idle gossip. After all, Mike & The Mad Dog,"with Francesa playing the role of the dour sports know-it-all, and Russo playing the part of the class clown who says whatever he feels, was a proven Arbitron ratings winner that had made both men quite wealthy. With Russo rumored to be heading off the Sirius Satellite Radio, it will be interesting to see how Francesa handles those long weekday afternoon broadcasts on his own.
The U.S. Open gets underway this Monday but you can catch some terrific tennis for free at the National Tennis Center as some of the world's best players try to qualify for the wild card berths today and tomorrow. While most of those competing are highly ranked up-and-coming players, there are always a few name veterans trying for a last shot at glory.
For those who want to see young ranked female tennis stars who have U.S. Open aspirations, the Sony Ericsson WTA Forest Hills Classic runs though Saturday at the West Side Tennis Club.
The Arthur Ashe Kids Day festival that unofficially kicks off the U.S. Open will take place Saturday. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, James Blake, Andy Roddick, Novak Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic will be giving pointers on the game while tween favorites Demi Lovato, Colby O'Donis, Push Pull and Menudo provide the musical entertainment.
On the golf front, the lone PGA event in our area, the Barclay's Championship, begins today and runs through Sunday at the Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus. If you don't want to put up with traffic jams and tolls, there are free shuttle buses to and from the golf course to the New Jersey Transit train stop in Glen Rock. Tiger Woods is recovering from leg surgery but there will still be an excellent field headed by such household names as Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia, and rising star Anthony Kim.


text:
A new cyber scam is targeting financial advisers.
Updated: September 28, 2012 6:20AM
In a new twist, cyber-robbers are using ginned-up email messages in attempts to con financial advisers into wiring cash out of their clients' online investment accounts.
If the adviser falls for it, a wire transfer gets legitimately executed, and cash flows into a bank account controlled by the thieves — leaving the victim in a dispute with the financial adviser over getting made whole.
Anecdotal evidence of this ruse — directed at financial planners, estate lawyers and other advisers who rely on e-mail and online banking to work with clients — has just begun to surface, say tech security and online banking experts.
"It's the Willie Sutton principle at work," says Adam Dolby, an independent banking security consultant. "Robbers go where the money is."
IDentity Theft 911, a theft-recovery service, is working on a case where a faked e-mail led to a $35,000 transfer into a thief's account.
"That victim may be looking at a complete loss," investigator Mark Fullbright says.
In another recent caper, a veteran financial planner was fooled by a Gmail message appearing to arrive from an insurance company executive, says Adam Levin, IDentity Theft 911's chairman. The email carried instructions to wire $15,850 into an account at PNC Bank, worded in a casual style similar to past emails the financial adviser had received from the executive, Levin says.
Luckily, the financial planner phoned his client to clarify which account to pull the money from. "They determined it was a fraudulent email," Levin says.
Cybercriminals have discovered that investors now routinely rely on e-mail to authorize personal advisers to execute financial transactions. Search engines and social networks have made finding and profiling potential victims, and their advisers, easy.
Taking over or impersonating someone's email account likewise isn't hard to do. "It's low-tech," says John Zurawski, a vice president at Authentify, supplier of single-use PIN codes delivered by cellphone text messages. "Instead of managing layers of malicious software, all the bad guys need is email and phone skills."
This new scam is the latest strain of a long-running crime wave that preys mainly on small and midsize organizations. The banking industry has steadily been making it tougher for hackers to use computer infections to carry out wire transfer fraud against small organizations, says Jon Callas, chief technology officer at authentication firm Entrust.
"The shift to personal advisers and individual wire transfers is an indication that the well is running dry for them with small businesses and small government," he says.
Gannett News Service


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I am an avid vegetable gardner. I planted red cabbage for the first time this year and have 8 thriving plants. I want to can them as a veggie side dish. Perhaps a sweet and sour style...no pickled cabbage. My main concern is the correct processing time for canning. This is only my second year as a canner. I'd appreciate tips.


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Shiloh Woolman, Staff writer
A pilot, who is the only person on board a single-engine aircraft, ran out of fuel 253 miles of the Maui coast.
Someday you may tell your grandchildren about the Blizzard of 2015.
The National Weather Service, which isn't prone to exaggeration, is using terms like "life-threatening" and "historic" to describe the weather system taking aim at the Northeast.
The f...
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Vented disc brakes with anti-lock are standard equipment. A principal reason for the lengthened nose is to improve crashworthiness. Each seat is fitted with its own three-point safety harness. Both of the second-row chairs are outfitted for child safety seats, and the middle position in the third row has the necessary top tether for this same purpose. Dual-stage front airbags are capable of primary or secondary deployment, depending on the severity of impact. Sensing an unoccupied seat or the presence of a small and lightweight passenger who is properly restrained, the front-passenger airbag will not deploy. Front- and second-row side airbags are optional.
Critics of General Motors routinely vociferate about pushrod-operated, overhead-valve engines like this 3.5-liter/201-horse V-6, citing them as examples of what's wrong with the entire corporation. The powerplant--with its block of cast iron and heads of cast aluminum--drones, moans, and strains under load. The Honda Odyssey's engine of the same displacement effortlessly generates 27.5 percent more horsepower, earns a higher fuel-economy rating, and recalls Vivaldi instead of Deep Purple. Acknowledging the base powertrain's shortcomings, Chevrolet will introduce a fresher 3.9-liter/235-horse V-6 that employs modern technologies like variable valve timing and active intake technology. Likewise, the four-speed automatic transmission fails to equal the competition, lacking one ratio and some electronic sophistication by comparison.
There are no surprises with the Uplander dynamics; it reminds us of the Venture. Loose, numb steering, body roll, and cushioned ride define the handling, providing comfort on straights and numbed response through turns. The all-wheel-drive version is the more delightful configuration, as it offers fully independent rear suspension with cast aluminum control arms. With the rack-and-pinion steering and disc brakes, this is a pretty good setup and performs nicely in the snow. The front-wheel-drive version has only a semi-independent rear suspension and can't match the other setup's agility. The 3.5L engine ties the Mazda MPV's 3.0L V-6 for horsepower, though that minivan weighs 700 pounds less. The result is the most challenged minivan powertrain on the market. Acceleration from a standstill and when passing is certainly livable, but the performance trails the segment. The 3.9L engine should effectively address the powertrain weakness. Overall, the Uplander is certainly a capable driving machine, but it faces tough competition that's frankly better in the dynamics department.


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Well let's see. Im also a 40 something. In the past, I taught a 23yr old female coworker to shoot handguns. She now has her CCW and carries a G19. I taught a 25yr old who was in Navy Flight school. I taught a married couple in their 20s. They are now both competing together in IDPA. A 27yr old nurse at a local emergency room....
I am currently teaching a 15yr old highschool girl, who is my best friend's daughter. She can out-shoot most of the guys at our IDPA matches.
God! I'm weirder than YOU!
The thing is, unless the young people come from gun-friendly families, nowadays they have little opportunity for exposure to firearms and self defense. I have always seen it as a duty to pass along the knowledge that was so graciously passed along to me.
Carry on!


text:
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Autor: Scott
~ 13/09/12
A priest cannot be a servant
of an ideology or a faction.
He is the servant of the truth.
Good shepherds don't need fences.
Fr Ron Knott
This quote was shared from our Priest's Convocation this week. It is as true for them as it is for we who are co-workers in the fields of the Lord.
REGISTRATIONS OPEN > Reservations for the Youth Rally and Mass for Life on Monday, September 17. All reservations will be addressed on a first-come, first serve basis. We ask for the amount of tickets requested, but these are national gatherings and we do not anticipate receiving our full allotment. > Reservations for BYCC, the Baltimore Youth Catholic Conference have already surpassed 125, filling approximately one-quarter of our room reservations. Please continue to ensure that your parish / school is represented when the youngchurch ASSEMBLEs. ENGAGING PARENTS Our buddy John Rinaldo in San Jose recently asked Are you engaging parents in your ministry? The posting is great as is the video interview with Cincinnati's Sean Reynolds. |
START OF THE YEAR > First meetings of the year are coming for the AYAC (Archdiocesan Youth Advisory Council) as well as for APYM (Association of Professional Youth Ministers.) > First trainings of the year include Coaches Training September 20 at Sacred Heart, Glyndon; Created to Love training on September 26; Seminars in Youth Ministry via Equip beginning Oct. 3 at St. Katherine Drexel in Frederick; and a webinar on Pastoral Care related to Bullying will be October 18. NCCYM Early registration for the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry is due 10/14. |
> Looking for a good video which explains the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Well, you've got one now!
> Jesuit Fr. James Martin is offering up Forty Days of Funny on YouTube. Here is Tuesday's first joke.
> Ray Lewis eulogized Art Modell earlier this week and asked all to reflect upon their legacies. (Some scripture finds its way into his stories.)
Autor: Scott
~ 21/08/12
In the past few weeks, I've had some long trecks and uploaded a few podcasts for a listen.
For the record, I enjoyed the daylights out of Jon Rinaldo and crew (is the Deepu pictured?). The have youth ministry sensibility (which means they are corny, funny, and sometimes both) as well as a heart for ministry.
The podcasts is aimed as a support for volunteers. They sometimes talk about stuff happening within the San Jose region but I find that ok 'cause it gives you a flavor about ministry in the bigger church.
Anyway, you can find all their podcasts listed out here. Good stuff!
Autor: Scott
~ 14/06/12
I have been described as a bit of an iconoclast, someone who looks at a sacred cow, a traditional way of doing thinks and like to "blow it up" for a new way or method.
And that sometimes can just be pretty damn annoying. I get that.
Folks don't usually come to workshops to hear a new philosophy. Some, with very busy, important lives, just want the next thing to do, thank you very much, and to get on their way.
What I have learned in my advancing years is that you have got to not only provide a direction but to enunciate the practical on ramp towards that direction. It is not enough to get folks a'thinking. They need to be a'doing as well to grow into the new direction.
Don't be the pointy haired boss who claims to be visionary but cheaply delegates away the hard work of implementation.
h/t John Rinaldo.
Autor: Scott
~ 11/04/11
Especially for a 20something youth ministry type, it can be somewhat intimidating to partner with a parent. After all, they remind us so much of our own!
Neil Young recently suggested a few notes regarding being a childless or single youth worker. They included spending time getting to know parents, asking a lot of questions, being humble enough to being an expert in what you are an expert in and not needing to know-all, finding others who can help you, providing resources to parents, and remember to start with what you have in common – all parents used to not have kids.
John Rinaldo called attention and provided a good list regarding partnering with parents as well. Some of the suggestions he provided included: Have an evening committed to prayer for families and the ministry, distribute a list of helpful parenting websites/podcasts, have a retreat just for parents, take parents out to coffee and connect with them, and (my favorite) at parent meetings, don't serve normal youth ministry food (i.e. pizza). Go all out and offer some good stuff, like chocolate covered strawberries. UPDATED: Christopher Wesley also has some great tips regarding parent meetings! <image source>
Autor: Scott
~ 20/01/11
I pretty much "Yes, ma'am" all women, no matter if they are a generation older than me or a generation (or two) younger than me… Now, the ladies in my office will tell you that I also freely "babe" each and everyone of them which would be seemingly sexist but for that I also will randomly "babe" my Army son, my Paulist priest boss, and my buddy guys in general as well.
John Rinaldo recently posted about Ministry to Girls, encouraging guys to "reach out to young women in a safe and healthy way and to let them know that they are created in God's image and that they are worthy of love, God's and ours, not because of the way they look, but because of who they are, a unique and wonderful human being. A women of God."
How? Here are his couple of recommendations:
Autor: Scott
~ 09/12/10
I'm a "late arriver" at the NCCYM in New Orleans…
which means I'm actually showing up in time for tonight's opening session!
There were pre-conferences yesterday. Including one on Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Technology and Ministry . . . But Didn't Know which Button to Push!
The presenters were Ministry Training Source's Dr. Charlotte McCorquodale and Leigh E Sterten, the GregCast's Greg Thompson, 2 Small Coins's Chris Weber, DisciplesNow's Sherry Raspa and fellow blogging diocesan director John Rinaldo.
Watching the web, you can see that they showed the Did You Know 4.0 video (which, just saying we referenced on this site in September.)
They have a facebook page for the tech pre-con with additional resources. Tweeters TSCasteel, ziggykt, and Dohyouth commented… oh, and Chris Weber posted the attached slide-share…
Sorry, I missed it!
Autor: Scott
~ 11/10/10
John Rinaldo, from the Diocese of San Jose, recently blogged for Today's Parish on Leadership Practices for Youth Ministers. While the whole list counts out to ten, let's focus on these two:
"1. You are the keeper of the youth ministry vision. Own it, articulate it, spread it, share it, let the world know what the vision is." This was said in the youth contact meetings as well – Communicate, communicate, communicate!
"4. You are the face of the church to many people." Archbishop O'Brien said something similar at the ArchBalt Together in Mission gathering: "You are the face of the Church, You are the voice of Christ." We should consider how our statements, actions, and Facebook updates reflect, not only on us, but upon our service.
Make sure to read John's whole list.
Autor: Scott
~ 20/08/10
At the beginning of the summer, blogger Adam McLane of Youth Specialties released a list of the top 20 youth ministry blogs of 2010. I read it like a kid with a list of baseball cards or comic books… "Got it, got it, seen it, nope, nope, got it."
A few days later, blogger buddy Roy Petitfils facebooked me with message that basically read something like "Dude… was disappointed to not see you on the list." And, (as is my nature) I just kinda shrugged it off. But, weeks later, I did do a technorati search and realized that the blog you are reading (and, again, thanks for your patronage) was not far off of one of the sites identified as "a top five" site.
And, you know what? That's still ok. Maybe next year. I'm really not sure what difference it makes.
That being all said, here is my own listing (totally subjective) of top blogs (sans rankings) that I'm suggesting are of influence to Catholic Youth Ministry. But, hey, we will still acknowledge non-Catholics as well who were on Adam's YS Top 20 list. And, so you know, I'm not gonna be shy about including the Catholic Youth Ministry Blog on this list!
>> Alison Griswold "tweets" (which is micro-blogging and so it counts – – my rules!) her life and parish youth ministry experiences out of South Carolina. Always entertaining! Go, Team Catholic!
>> Bob Rice Singer, Comedian, College Professor, Dad, Catholic, and a blogger. There is a depth here which I always find authentic and challenging.
>> Catechist's Journey Over the past year, Joe Paprocki (brother to this bishop) has been growing on me. He plays on some different levels as a eighth grade catechist as well as an author and presenter.
>> Catholic YM Blog … now six years in service!
>> Catholic Youth Work Jack Regan over in the UK administrates this discussion board that shares communication for the Catholic Youth Ministry Federation, is prepping for the Pope's visit, and is presently touring diocesan web sites (a concept he readily admits he lifted from here.)
>> Clayton Imoo is Canada's contribution to the list. His video reports regarding the Vancouver Olympics and the Canucks failed Stanley Cup run were viral insanity. Clay loves his wife, kids, and Catholic Youth Ministry; you really don't need to know anything more.
>> Cultivation Ministries We are crossing our fingers and hoping that Frank Mercandante and company can keep up with the posting pace they started. If that turns out to not be the case, then I would readily move up the Prepared Catholic into this list.
>> In All Things America Magazine has a blog that features posts from some of their authors who include the always insightful James Martin, SJ.
>> John Rinaldo blogs consistently as diocesan director for San Jose with worth-while content that not only has implications for the local but on a broader scale as well. Earlier this year, John posted as to how coordinators of youth ministry might better serve by viewing themselves as administrators
>> Jesus Goes to Disney World Father Austin Murphy (a fellow ArchBalt blogger) does a great job of connecting popular culture and the gospel messages.
>> Life in Student Ministry Tim Schmoyer is not writing about things Catholic, but is all about youth ministry He is the full-time youth pastor at Alexandra Covenant Church in Alexandria, MiN and offers a variety of media in service to the field of youth ministry. [YS top 20]
>> Life Teen (www.catholicyouthministry.com) Randy Raus is joined by a wide variety of bloggers (full disclosure – – including this one, though not recently) Your best bet for Catholic female writers can be found here!
>> Mike Patin has recently re-picked up the blogging bug. Welcome back, Mike!
>> More Than Dodgeball Josh Griffin is not writing about things Catholic, but is all about youth ministry, As the High School Pastor at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA, Griff offers insights into the possibilities in organizing and programming ministry. [YS top 20]
>> Roy Petitfils The Big Bald Counselor has a heart beating strongly for the the Catholic youngchurch
>> Seth Godin probably does not care at all about things either "Catholic" or "youth ministry" but he does "get" tribes, organization, management, linchpins. motivation… and so should we!
>> Tech Tips for Catholic I appreciate the value that the Tech Tips team has regarding maximizing the latest technologies in ministry.
>> Whispers in the Loggia Rocco Palmo from Philadelphia is not writing about youth ministry, but is about all things Catholic. While he is a twenty-something blogger, he has a unique insider's view into what's moving and shaking into the Church.
>> Why Is Marko Following his tenure at YS, Mark Oestreicher is now an author, youth ministry coach, and speaker. Marko blogs about the future of ministry and his own challenges. He is also been a long time virtual friend who I recently met in real life. [YS top 20]
>> Youth Specialties These guys are all about youth ministry and you should be paying attention to them… I do! [YS top 20] Primary author of the site is Adam McLane [YS top 20], a lifelong Notre Dame fan, so ya' know, he's got some Catholic sensibilities about him. Maybe, the Catholic YM Blog might even be included on his list in 2011.
If you believe that you know of a blog (including yours) that should have been included and/or want to call attention a site that you read, e-mail me, please. The spam censor gets sensitive regarding hyperlinks. I promise I will look and put you into consideration for a future post and/or next year's list. Further, comment away about your love for any of the above sites!
Autor: Scott
~ 08/08/10
Father Austin, my blog's spiritual advisor, recently tagged me with this meme, after he got it from Deacon Greg, who I read regularly. The deacon broadcaster got it from Julie who received it from another of my blog reads, the IronicCatholic.
IC received it from Mary who got it from Kate who got it from Fr. John Boyle who got it from Karen who got it from Dominic Mary who got it from Mac McLernon's Mulier Fortis who started the whole thing July 19th and begat it to all of us.
The rules, as stated by the sources, are: Name your three most favourite prayers, and explain why they're your favourites. Then tag five bloggers – give them a link, and then go and tell them they have been tagged. Finally, tell the person who tagged you that you've completed the meme… The Liturgy and the Sacraments are off limits here. I'm more interested in people's favourite devotional prayers.
Here we go:
> The Classics: When leading public prayer, I default to involving others in completing prayer with me by reciting together an Our Father, a Hail Mary, or a Glory Be. With Catholic identity factors as a consideration, it seems a fitting inclusive way to complete spontaneous prayer.
> The Rosary: In tough patches of life, when negative thoughts can overwhelm my attention, a decade of the Rosary proves to be a good palette cleanser. (Yea, I know that seems like doubling up… but deal with it… different purposes make for different prayer.)
> Prayer before Meals: It is a simple little prayer but when reciting it, a mental connection is made between that salad or steak, or BLT sandwich and the company with which it is shared to the Eucharistic supper…
And, now, to pass it forward… Hey, Roy Petitfils, Randy Raus, Bob Rice, Judy McDonald, and John Rinaldo… Tag, you're it! YOU ALL ARE IT. Everyone can play in the comments section-What are your favorite (spelling it the non-British way) prayers???
Autor: Scott
~ 14/06/10
Summer is a great time to pause for a quick check-up. Do you have a healthy youth ministry?
John Rinaldo in San Jose recently posted about characteristics of healthy youth ministry adapting concepts from Doug Fields' book, Purpose Driven Youth Ministry.
1. Do you put relationships first?
2. Are you continually seeking fresh sources for ideas?
3. Is there strength in the leadership beyond personality?
4. Is there an ongoing follow-up system?
5. Is there clarification of the purpose and audience of the ministry?
Doctor's in, folks, any other questions that we should be asking?


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Let's talk cozy styles! We find it very important to make sure that our girl is able to wear our styles through any season. Whether it's warm, cold or in between we like to think of ways that you can implement all of your favorite ShoeDazzle styles all year long. Take a look at one of our favorite cozy ensembles!
January is coming to an end but it feels like it just started! The year has basically just began but we're already in love with all the new tunes of 2015, including the 10 trending tunes we've put in this lovely playlist. Check it out and lose yourself to the sweet sounds of Meghan Trainor, Purity Ring, Gavin James and more!
Didn't see your favorite tune? Let us know with a comment below!
January 25th is National Opposites Day! In honor of this fun one-off holiday, we decided to do a little photo shoot in our brand new office.
The theme was to showcase one outfit (work AND girls night out appropriate) worn with three completely opposite shoes.
You can never go wrong with a little black on black leather action! Which style is your favorite?
From left to right: Emry sneakers, Marielos sandals and Estelle heels.
Picture this—you walk into a trendy-chic bar downtown. You grab a menu, and can't help but be intrigued by the fun mix of organic drink garnishes, and a list of ingredients you can hardly pronounce. For years, bartenders have been taking little pieces of gourmet flair and adding them to specialty drink menus. Now, it's the chef's turn to take a little something from the bar!
Cocktail-infused baking has been around for quite some time, though many have yet to catch onto this style of cooking. Chef's have been adding wines and spirits to dishes for years; and even some classic favorites have a little extra in them. Think about your heavy-handed Aunt pouring Sherry into the pasta sauce. It just makes sense! When you think about it, mixology is a lot like baking; bringing out subtle flavoring while keeping the tastes cohesive. That's why these two pair so well together.
The combination of liquor and baked goods hasn't reached commercial success quite yet, but we'd like to think a renaissance of tipsy treats will be fast approaching! Whip out your pretty pink apron and pumps, and whip up some treats for your next adult-only party! This one is sure to lift your spirits!
Our girl's have really been bringing the shoefie game this week! We spotted these trendsetters posing 'round town in their ShoeDazzle-kicks. Now, we know you have your selfie-game down pack, but check out how these style experts snap a shoe-flick for "the Gram". Hashtag—shoefie!
Lefashnmonster struts around town in her Aaliyah boots, while Lihnnwinn stops to let them admire her Noriko booties.
Iamfashionlaine has just the right pop of color with her Sheffy and Emry sneakers, and Tayehansberry gives us the ultimate classic-chic style in the Pixie booties.
The weather is starting to heat up in L.A., but that doesn't mean we can't hold onto our winter wonderland! We found this cold-weather-chic recipe that you're going to want to sip slow! This Spiked Hot Cocoa is so necessary for a cozy night-in. So, grab your favorite sweater, the newest rom-com, and your Desiree platforms. You're in for a real treat!
What you'll need (makes 2 servings):
As fahionista's, we're always searching for the new, hottest trends that are grazing fashion covers and blog sites everywhere. We won't get caught dead wearing white after Labor Day or peep-toe pumps in winter. But what about the classic trends like pastels and florals that seem to be missed? Or my all-time favorite—neutrals! These are almost always the perfect go-to for a trendy night out, depending on the season.
Personally, I wear neutrals year-long because it grants such a luxe and simple look. Not to mention the fact that you can rock these swatches any season—day or night. But it can be difficult to remain neutral in such a bold world where everyone is fighting to stand out. I am here to tell you, you can still own a room in your chic shades!
The greatest thing about neutral colors is they all pair very nicely together. I usually like to mix and match the warmer colors like tan and camel with the off-whites and cream colors. With camel being such a big color this season, you can almost find it in every variation. You usually can get a little cray with your lip color or opt for a printed neutral bag to bring a new flare to your neutrals. Trust me, you'll never have a dull moment again! Here's a little outfit inspiration for your next night out.
It's a new year, which means it's time for a new you (whatever that really means)! In addition to making over your closet and beauty repertoire, you might want to think about revamping your abode.
Now don't get us wrong; we do love a good damask print every now and then, and openly coo for beautiful crystal chandeliers, but 2015 seems to be about loving all things black white with minimalist and sleek influences. Therefore, instead of glamming up your decor via an abundance of girlish touches, try paring things down and opting for a more modern-chic aesthetic.
Need some help getting started? Well, after gawking at the above image from CB2′s latest catalog, swap floral patterns for anything Mojave-inspired. And then trade Lucite and crystal for metal and wood. Finally, top it all off with sophisticated artsy tomes and ceramic trinkets. Think less boudoir and more study, and you'll be there in no time. Plus, check out the key pieces we've suggested for you and don't forget to have some fun! Happy decorating.
Can't wait for the weekend? Need some help getting getting through the week? Then allow us to share with you this fabulous playlist of some of our office favorites! We went around asking everyone what they've been listening to lately, and so here are the songs that have been fueling our work week. Let's get pumped up!
Congrats, you survived a "werk" week! Cheers to working hard and playing hard through a long week. Here are some of our favorite snapshots to inspire your New Year, new style resolutions.
1. Kikiwongo strikes a fierce pose in her Nayeli pumps.
2. Flordemariafashion keeps it simple in her bedazzled Roxane flats.
3. Elizabethkeene shows us how to sparkle in the Joanie pumps.
4. Cryskay gives us classic-chic with her Sleek pumps.


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55 poems / 129 pages The poems in this collection were created in three parts of the world, as I traveled for work or visited friends. They were born in a context of isolation, when I had no one familiar to talk with, or, when I was involved with friends in too much talk, so that I had to remove myself from them. The poems record events of my existence and the emotions with which I responded to them: work, travel, memories of old loves and new. Of note, they record my reaction to a pivotal encounter with a woman who deeply affected the life change I was going through.
EDUCATION B.A., PH.D, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ UNIVERSITY CAREER Director of Italian (1977-2008), U. of South Carolina, Columbia, SC; specialized in Foreign Language Learning, Renaissance Italian Literature, 20th Century Italian Avant-Garde Poetry, Italian Film of the Cold War Period. PHOTOGRAPHIC AWARDS * 2011: First Place Overall, GILLS CREEK WATERSHED ASSOCIATION, "Photo Contest," Columbia, SC * 2010: First Premium, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE FAIR, "Professional Photography Exhibition," Columbia, SC *1984: Fourth Premium, POLAROID INC.," Picture America Contest," judged by the International Center of Photography, New York, NY * 1982: Third Premium, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE FAIR, "Professional Photography Exhibition," Columbia, SC * 1982: Selection for Show, SOUTH CAROLINA ARTS COMMISSION'S ANNUAL EXHIBITION (one of 69 works selected out of 900 submissions), Columbia, SC OTHER ARTISTIC EFFORTS I am also a painter and a poet.
SHIFTING PEBBLES AND DRAWING ON DUST Publicado 24 de enero de 2015
DIARY OF MY MOTHER'S DEATH: 1987 Publicado 03 de enero de 2015
Diary of My Mother's Death, 1987 Publicado 11 de octubre de 2013
SHIFTING PEBBLES AND DRAWING ON DUST Publicado 10 de septiembre de 2013
hostage of love / hostage of death Publicado 26 de diciembre de 2012
G R A F F I T I M U R A L S FROM ITALY Publicado 24 de octubre de 2012
herpes one and other chancy stuff Publicado 23 de octubre de 2012
T R A S H B E A U T Y Publicado 19 de abril de 2011


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17 Easy Crafts with Yarn: Make Accessories, Decor and More with Lion Brand Imagine Yarn
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LONDON, Aug. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent research on the gene expression profiling services market, Frost & Sullivan presents TATAA Biocenter with the 2013 European Frost & Sullivan Award for Customer Value Leadership. TATAA Biocenter offers an end-to-end range of services for analyzing genetic material, from quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) to nucleic acid extraction and sample preparation. Its services are sometimes coupled with hands-on training courses and commissioned research services such as assistance during experimental design and validation of kits, reagents and instruments of key market vendors.
TATAA Biocenter has stayed ahead of the curve by offering a multitude of services such as extraction and purification of ribonucleic acid (RNA), microRNA (miRNA), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and protein, microarray analysis, protein profiling and biostatistical analysis. Customers have the option of using services from a wide variety of instruments available from the most reputed vendors, including Roche, Life Technologies, Qiagen and Fluidigm.
"The center ensures that it validates the use of kits and reagents prior to offering services using the vendor's products," said Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Divyaa Ravishankar. "Frost & Sullivan research confirms that TATAA Biocenter is the only company that adheres to high quality standards in comparison to its competitors in Europe."
TATAA Biocenter's facility is known for its highly advanced infrastructure and trained laboratory personnel. It is one of the very first laboratories to have obtained ISO/IEC 17025:2005 flexible certification for qPCR analysis in Europe and recognition at an international level. Its numerous industrial collaborations help it stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and build up its extensive service expert
SOURCE Frost & Sullivan Copyright©2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved |


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New Army Soldiers: Game Gamers
Video-gaming armchair generals will soon get the same leadership and command training as combat-ready infantrymen.
The U.S. Army, working with a University of Southern California research lab and a team of game-making firms, is developing two games, set on urban battlefields, that will be used both to train grunts and entertain geeks.
Players will command a nine-person team in C-Force, which is being developed for one of the "next-generation" gaming systems, like the X-Box, Game Cube or Playstation 2. CS XII, the other game, is a PC title in which players lead a company of about 100.
Both games, available commercially within two years, will have Rob Sears -- the man responsible for the legendary combat titles Mech Commander and Mech Warrior 3 -- as the executive producer.
The armed services have a long history of adapting commercial products for training purposes. But this is the first time the military's ever commissioned a commercial game.
Military gamers are, to put it mildly, psyched about the prospect of an officially sanctioned war game.
"This shit looks hot," said Alex Roy, a New York City travel executive and military game fanatic. "Before, we've had to choose between realism and action. Now it looks like we'll get both."
But these games won't be the mindless, bloody shoot-'em-ups that clog shelves at stores like Software Etc. and Electronics Boutique.
"We know how to shoot. We've got that down. We've been doing it for hundreds of years," said Dr. Michael Macedonia, the chief scientist of the Simulation, Training and Information Command (or "STRICOM" in Army jargon), the military group funding the gaming effort. "The real challenge is developing leaders that can deal with complex problems, ones that involve emotional issues, political issues and social issues."
Among those leadership tasks: getting a team to clear a house, protect aid workers, or hold off a mob from a U.S. embassy, said Matt Norton, the producer of C-Force.
The making of these two games is the latest embrace in a decades-long relationship between the military and the gaming industry.


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Levi Parker, from Lyman, N. H., came to Wolcott in June, 1821, and purchased fifty acres of land on road i 1, where E. P. Dexter now resides. Here Mr. Parker resided until his death, in 1862, aged seventy-two years.
Biographical Sketch of Levi Parker
MLA Source Citation:
Child, Hamilton. Gazetteer and business directory of Lamoille and Orleans Counties, Vt., for 1883-1884. Hamilton Child. 1887. AccessGenealogy.com. Web. 31 January 2015. http://www.accessgenealogy.com/vermont/biographical-sketch-of-levi-parker.htm - Last updated on May 24th, 2011Categories: New Hampshire, Vermont
Topics: Biography
Locations: Lamoille County VT, Wolcott Vermont
Surnames: Parker
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Field Trip Program
To arms!
Both U.S. and Mexican Infantry soldiers drilled with muskets. Constant drilling made them familiar their weapons and prepared them for battle. A well-trained soldier could fire three shots in one minute. Students will use non-firing wooden prop muskets to drill and learn the steps to load and fire a flintlock musket. Students will learn how a real flintlock works and some of the problems you can encounter with a flintlock musket. The musket drill program can accommodate up to 30 students. Program lasts approximately 15 minutes.
- Subject:
- History, Mexican War, Military and Wartime History, Physical Fitness
- National/State Standards:
- National Standards:
Gr K-4 Social Studies: U.S. History 2, 3
Gr 5-12 Social Studies: World History Eras 4 & 7 - Keywords:
- Musket, hands on activity
- type:
- Field Trip Program
Available Field Trips
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Gear Question
anyone ridden this?
how is banana in icy...
anyone ridden this?
how is banana in icy conditions?
blake hendricks
ah the banana is good with flex and pop, but personally i didnt really like it.
Just as good as the other boards that i have owned. It did take me 3-4 days to get use to it. There are pros and cons but after a season I now prefer the feel. I think that you get cleaner carves with alot less physical effort. The float is great and they are fun on boxes. They do have less pop and dont have the same high speed stability for doing steep lines that cambered boards have.
you are nuts these boards rock! i hopped on my brother's burton couldnt even ride it..... think of it this way all other boards are like butter knifes the imagine traction is like a steak knife.
View More Details on Lib Technologies Dark Series C2BTX Snowboard - Wide


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Holder's Goggles, 9.7 out of 10 based on 91 ratings Holder's Goggles
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