ARCHIVED COMMENTARY
Child Molester
As Comic Relief
For edition of August 23, 2006
The news media have done themselves proud with their non-stop coverage of JonBenet-murderer wannabe, John Mark Karr. Of course, practically everyone in America knew within hours of when the story first broke that it was bogus. Karr’s confession began to leak air when his estranged wife said he was home in Georgia when the murder took place. Then there was Karr’s recollection of the murder – an accident, he said, although the coroner’s report suggested strongly otherwise. But the gusher exculpatory evidence and contradictions hasn’t stopped the news media from treating Karr’s extradition as though it were the biggest story since the Hindenburg went up in flames.
We should have seen it coming when Karr was enroute to the U.S. Reporters knew little about him at that point, so they seized on the pampering he received while airborne as a somehow newsworthy event. For the record, Karr dined on pate, salad, fried king prawns, steamed rice, broccoli and chocolate cake. Are we supposed to envy the guy because he’s feasted on fancy airplane food? And what are we to make of MSNBC’s report that Karr watched The Last Samurai and Mission Impossible III while he was over the Pacific? I’d rather read about who O.J. has corralled into playing golf lately, or how his search for the real killer is going. At least we know he’s guilty, and that makes him interesting in a way that Karr is not. But how more Karr trivia can we take, especially when it comes at us with the subtlety of a blunt instrument?
‘Hyperbolic Pandering’
Oh well. If the networks continue to serve up such fare, there obviously must be demand for it. For sure, salacious news will always go down a lot easier than the real news of the day, depressing as it is. But does there have to be so much of it, especially when it is so obviously contrived, as the Karr episode is? “The only way I can understand it,” a friend of mine wrote, “is that prurience and sub-global violence are irresistible, and people suck this s__t up because it's all kind of comprehensible within the ‘normal’ human range of intelligence -- unlike Middle Eastern politics and nuclear proliferation, for example. It's a form of relief; whether you're fascinated or disgusted, it's still about on the same level as watching Desperate Housewives. Mass media kills brain cells by hyperbolic pandering to all lowest common denominators.”
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Traders’ Chat Room
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NYC Seminar: Last Call!
There is still room for a few more students, since I’ve yet to receive confirmations from a number of those who said they would like to attend the Hidden Pivot Seminar, slated for October 14-15 in New York City. If you would like me to reserve a place for you, please let me know by requesting a registration form at this link. Meanwhile, here’s a FAQ to help the decision along:
Seminar FAQ
When will the Hidden Pivot Seminar be held?
There are four seminars scheduled over the next four months, all on weekends. The first will be in New York City on October 14-15; the second, in Vancouver on October 28-29; the third, in San Francisco on November 11-12; and the last, in Sydney on December 2-3.
The class takes two full days, then?
Yes, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. After an on-site brunch the second day, the remaining hours will be devoted to an informal Q&A session.
Can I take the course online?
We do not offer an online seminar at this time, but this may change if demand warrants it.
Is the seminar open to those who do not subscribe to your Rick’s Picks advisory service?
The course is open to subscribers and non-subscribers alike. However, I encourage all seminar students to subscribe to Rick’s Picks, if only for a month or two, so that they can become familiar with my methods and trading style. Also, the archives and educational pages offer a useful resource for learning about my proprietary methods prior to the seminar.
How can I sign up for the seminar?
You can request a registration form by clicking on the blue hypertext line under “Last Call!” above.
How much does the seminar cost?
Tuition for the two-day event is $1,500, This covers course materials and extensive post-grad mentoring in a real-time chat-room held during market hours.
When is the money due?
A deposit of $300 is due with the registration form. $100 of it would be non-refundable, and the remaining $200 would become non-refundable six weeks prior to the session.
How about the remaining balance of $1,200?
It would be payable by two weeks prior to the session and would be refundable. A check is preferred, but you will be able to use a credit card for an additional administrative fee of $50.
What will I learn?
The goal of the course is to enable students to master the Hidden Pivot method and to use it to forecast price reversals at least as accurately as experts who do it for a living. In addition, you will learn to use some basic risk management strategies and to leverage swing points with puts and calls. If you’re interested in what my subscribers have said about hidden pivots, click here.
Can someone who knows little about trading or technical analysis benefit from the seminar?
Although many professionals have taken the course, it is an ideal place for the novice to start, since it offers a relatively simple, stand-alone method of forecasting and trading. No prior trading experience or knowledge is required.
