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mha-quotes-and-such · 3 years

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It's Saturday Game Night!

So... The League decided on a classic: a generic board quiz game. Lots of random categories so no one would have an unfair advantage. A dice that was tested four times by each of them before starting the game (and again every time Mr. Compress touched it. Yeah, he got kinda offended, but also kinda flattered that they think he can switch up dices in a second while being watched... he can)

They didn't even argue that much to choose a pawn, Kurogiri was so proud for a second or two! (Dabi and Shigaraki both wanted the black one, but Shigaraki settled for the white one in the end. I guess Toga would get the red and Spinner the green. The others would be okay with whatever. They aren't that picky)

Toga was surprisingly good with quizzes. She absolutely rocked it. The name of an old band? She knows it. A chemical reaction? She also knows it. Complete the saying? She absolutely heard it before. Name three Chinese brands of socks? She can tell five.

No one knows how she has that much pointless trivia on her mind, but she does and it grates on Dabi's nerves. A lot. He runs every answer of hers on Google and is always annoyed when she turns out to be right because how can she know more than him?!

He got teased a lot and bothered almost everyone for checking their answers because "Oi, don't you trust my word?"

No. He didn't. And when he started to nitchpick the answers ("no, the card has the full name, so just the last name doesn't count!", "shut up. The card says it was 1937, so the 30's is not the answer!"), he got on other people's nerves as well.

Yeah, Dabi turned out pretty competitive on quizzes.

Shigaraki got back to him by deliberately picking the card with hardest question on his turn, which was obviously against the rules. Dabi called him out, but he denied. No proof.

Mr. Compress got annoyed when he answered one wrong and demanded Dabi to Google it up because he was so certain. Dabi said he could search it himself. Turned out he was really wrong. Toga and Twice giggled, which only aggravated his hurt ego.

Magne just wanted to chill, but someone kept moving her pawn "by accident" (she could believe it the first couple times. But then it got ridiculous) and she was ready to throw hands halfway through the game.

Dabi's rage reached critical state when he was forced to go back five slots for answering wrong. First because it was one of Shigaraki's obviously picked almost impossible questions. And second because this one he was sure he got right!

So when he asked to see the card, Shigaraki "accidentally" decayed it.

Oh, he got mad. Beyond mad.

So he burned Shigaraki's pawn (since he couldn't do it with the original) to melted plastic goo.

Shigaraki was about to retaliate when Toga asked if they could settle it later, because she was almost winning. And she was. It annoyed them both by the way.

Mr. Compress decided to provoke the fight a bit because he refused to lose on a board game to any of them. And trying to make Magne flip out by messing with her didn't work out.

Twice tried to de-escalate the fight by joking around and making random comments. If anything he just made it worse.

Soon enough the board went flying to his face, half the cards were burning, Toga drew her knife to the fight too (it was funnier than a quiz game anyway) and the table itself was turned into dust.

Kurogiri took that as his cue to give up yet another Game Night. He made them clean up the mess (poor table... it didn't deserve that end) and go to bed earlier.

Although they've all been sent to bed early so often that it's practically the normal time by now.

Any and all quiz games were banned.

For the first time in Game Night existence, Shiggy and Dabi waited until the end of the game to start fighting!

Naturally the game ended up super nitpicky, to the point where cards were double checked, and google was triple checked. That made the game last twice as long, but hey that makes it more impressive they got so far

Magne, Twice, Spinner and Kurogiri tried their hardest to keep the game as relaxed as possible, but the absolute Chaos Trio that are Toga, Shigaraki and Dabi ruined that. Kurogiri is impressed tho, they’re getting slightly better

#not a quote #ask #head canon appreciation day #lov game night #long post

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danteinthedevildom · 3 years

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Y’know how the Devildom has Devildom-brand companies that also exist IRL? They’ve got their own version of Lush, their own version of rich-bitch brands, etc...

Now initially I thought, hey, why wouldn’t the bros be in on this whole business thing? It’d make sense if Asmo had a hand in the Devildom’s version of Lush, makin the products he wants to use, and that’d be a pretty cool way of workin it, I might even make a post abt industries they work in and how they work them,

But on the other, objectively funnier, hand? Imagine some small-league demon, not a whole lotta power, not a whole lotta influence, noticing that the head-honchos have a few... character traits that would make them a whole lotta buck.

So you have this lil Greedling rushing over to a low-level Lust demon, with this whole-ass business plan about how they could make beauty-products, but not just your traditional makeup. Oh, no no no. We’re talkin bath bombs to make your skin sparkle, soaps that leave a lasting scent, crap to put in your hair to make it nice and silky smooth, all sorts of redundant shit that’ll never work and does nothing to improve anything -

- and we’re talkin a whole-ass smear campaign against anything other than their products, which are obviously better for your skin and don’t cause even half the damage the other products do. It’s a scam, really, but hey! A quick buck from the top-dogs? Now that’s a pretty cool thing, ain’t it?

Which means, of course, that they need to get a Wrath demon to work in their marketing department. They don’t have a marketing department before that. In fact, is it even marketing if all the Wrathling does is shit-talk their competitors? It probably doesn’t matter, either way; it’s not like they’re tryina do it legit, so they mostly just let him get on with it. Except, uh, the dude’s real good at what he does, and soon enough they’re pretty much the only ones on the market.

Now, naturally, this is before any of these products exist in the human world. In fact, there’s pretty much nothing like it anywhere. A lot of it is an extreme amount of trial and error, and a surprising amount of near-death hijinks.

(The bath bombs really only come around because the Lustling thinks it’d be neat to have something to “spice up bathtime” and the Greedling takes that to mean “glitter”, which the Wrathling ends up concluding means “explosion”. Eventually they work it down into something that’s actually useful, as well as aesthetically pleasing. Which, huh. They hadn’t expected that to work. An actual, usable product? Maybe the Lustling’s better at this than the Greedling gave her credit for.)

Their next hurdle is quality control. Yeaaaah, that’s an expense the Greedling didn’t account for. Turns out your customers don’t like it when your “brand” doesn’t have a specific “standard”. Who’d’a thunk it? They sure as hell didn’t. It’s just a scam, after all; who cares if their crap is sub-par when they’re just tryina make some cash?

Thankfully the Lustling knows a guy, who turns out to be a Pride demon, which at first nobody thinks will work except it turns out Pridelings have high standards. Super high standards. There’s not a single error in any of their products by the end of production, which is actually a pretty cool thing to brag about, and hey, what do you know? That actually works in their favour.

Well, it does when they get their actual marketing guy on-board, anyway; some Envy demon who worked for one of the other companies and got coerced into theirs by the Wrathling. Turns out bragging about how great you are is exactly what makes a business thrive. And, y’know, a healthy dose of envy sprinkled in. Nothing inspires a demon to buy your crap more than the knowledge that they’re missing out.

So, okay. Now it’s more of a business and less of a scam. Which isn’t what the Greedling intended. At all. They’ve got a product designer, a quality control advisor, two marketing directors, and, huh, guess that means they’re the CEO or somethin? They’ve got a brand, a brand standard, they’ve even got somethin like a name,

And they’ve got actual products that actually work like they’re intended to, with actual health and beauty benefits that are actually better than the competitors that no longer exist.

So by the time Asmo comes around to buy their shit, the Greedling’s completely forgotten that it was meant to be a scam to get one of the Avatars to fork over some cash because it’d be easy as hell to manipulate their very vain Lord into buying cheap, worthless products for big Grimm.

And this, it turns out, is how most businesses in the Devildom start.

#obey me headcanons #obey me #obey me hc

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lolsmurfaccounts · 6 years

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Funniest League of Legends Jokes on the Internet

When it comes to jokes, there are plenty of then out there, but they are even funnier when they are about our favorite games League of Legends is no different, and the bright and witty minds of the internet have come together to compile one of the largest collection of jokes about a fandom that is currently out there Just do a quick search for “League of Legends” jokes and you will find plenty of websites that feature them.

Dig a little deeper by hanging out on LOL forums and talking to people in-game and you’ll come across many more jokes But you don’t have to do all that work to get the biggest chuckle from LOL jokes, because we’ve scoured the internet and found the best League of Legends jokes out there, and then used super-secret-sciency formulas to rank and categorize them and have listed them here You don’t have to hang out LOLNexus and wait for the perfect joke to come along All you have to do is read below Here’s one to get you started:

Q: Why does Teemo live in a small house?

A: He doesn’t need mushroom

Best Q & A League of Legend Jokes

Q & A jokes are the most popular of the jokes out there for League of Legends players. Plus, these funny League of Legends jokes are all about characters in the game.

That seems to be the most creative outlet when it comes to creating these jokes. Lot os these funniest LOL jokes are the same ones that you will have made with your friends, but the Q & A section is definitely the biggest here. We have saved some of the best worst Q & A jokes for a lower section, but you should be able to get a laugh out of most of these.

There were a lot more jokes out there than just these, but we had to skip a few of them because the touched on racial or overly sensitive topics, or were simply sexual in nature (and in bad taste as well). Here are the very best of the Q & A jokes that we were able to find.

Q: Why didn’t Sivir win the spelling bee?

A: Because she could only spell shield

Q: Why did Fzz fall off his trident?

A: Because he’s unbalanced!

Q: What do you call Malphite getting a double kill against Azir and Anivia?

A: Killing two birds with one stone

Q: Why did Fiddlestick get promoted?

A: Because he was outstanding in his field

Q: Why do chefs love cooking for Ekko?

A: Because he always goes back 4 seconds

Q: Why is Yasuo the best roommate?

A; Because he always HASAKEY

Q: What’s the Yordles’ most hated phone carrier?

A: Teemobile

Q: What’s Vayne’s favourite site?

A: Tumblr

Q: What do you call a Blitzcrank with 6 Triforces?

A: A really expensive hooker

Q: Why is Tf an illegal immigrant?

A: Because he doesn’t have a green card

Q: Who is the most academically successful female champion?

A: Jinx She got A’s while the rest of them got D’s

Q: Why can’t Olaf find a handicapped parking spot?

A: He can’t be disabled

Q: Why did the manaless Syndra run from the teamfight?

A: She didn’t have the balls

Q: What do you call a game-winning laser?

A: Viktor-E

Q: How does Janna shield her allies?

A: With Ease (With E’s)

Q: When is a door not a door?

A: When it’s a Jarvan

Q: Why is Zilean the master of time?

A: Because he’s got a Zilean clocks!

Q: What do you call an AFK Shyvana?

A: A statikk Shyv!

Q: What is a marksman’s least favorite plant?

A: A-kali Flower!

Q: What do you call a Renekton support?

A: Gatoraide!

Q: What do you call a Camille that’s stealthed?

A: A Camille-eon

Q: Why did Nami fail her final year at school?

A: All her grades were under C!

Q: What did Aurelion Sol say when he bumped his leg on a wall?

A: Ao, my shin!

Q: What do you call a Warwick that’s MIA?

A: A wherewolf!

Q: What is the secret League of Legends religion that every player follows?

A: Siontology!

Q: What do Rammus and Malphite listen to?

A: Rock ‘n’ Roll! Ok

Q: Why can’t Gangplank play cards?

A: Because he’s always standing on the deck!

Q: Did you know that Alistar is dyslexic?

A: He always goes oom!

Q: What do you do to a toxic Zyra?

A: Repot them!

Q: How long does it take to save up enough money for a Locket?

A: Aegis

Q: What do you call Renekton wearing a vest?

A: An In-vest-igator!

Q: What’s Lee Sin’s favorite game mode?

A: Blind pick!

Q: Where does Fiora water her plants?

A: En garden!

Q: How does Sona charge her phone?

A: With a Power Chord!

Q: What do you call Kennen when he is stunned in Lightning Rush?

A: Static Electricity

Q: How many bronze players does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: Who knows – They can’t climb the ladder

Q: Why is Yasuo never locked out of his house?

A: Because he always Hasaki!

Q: Why was Caitlyn pulled over on the highway?

A: She was going AD miles per hour

Q: Why did Riot take off LeBlanc’s silence?

A: So she can hear the screams of her enemy as she one shots them

Best One-Liner League Jokes

Some of the best jokes out there from League of Legends players came as one-liner jokes. These have been pulled from around a dozen different sources, including the official game forums. It is impossible to know who to credit these jokes to, as they are repeated and passed around so many times until the originator of the joke is impossible to discern. Plus, some of these are pretty obvious, and were probably thought up by more than one LOL player at once. Check out these hilarious one-liner jokes straight from other players.

Lee Sin walks into a bar and into a chair, and into a table

Brand got banned for flaming

At the start of the game, Blitz said “Let’s go invade!” Then he ran very fast using his ‘W’ skill

Sometimes Volibear tells me jokes, but I just can’t bear them

Yorick walks into a bar, there is no counter

100 people followed Singed on Twitter They all died

You know Zilean is having a bad day when he asks you for the time

Katarinas dark secret is that she’s prone to getting dizzy

Trundle never ceases to be amazed about how everyone on the internet knows he’s a troll

Mordekaiser really hates airport security

Shacos darkest secret is that he’s afraid of children

Sometimes Karthus picks up a sword and pretends that he’s Arthas

Amumus favorite emote is /cry

Heimerdinger has a gadget for every occasion, but his friends think he went too far during the attack of a mariachi band of penguins dressed up as clowns

Once Evelynn almost choked to death, but nobody could tell

Evelynn is constantly being bothered by an old man named Gargamel

When Katarina got into the assassination business she made a killing

For some reason Alistar suffers from headaches

Soraka hates the saying “when you hear hoof beats, think horses”

Teemo is a big player in the underground drug market

Ryze’s big secret is a real shocker!

When Malphite and Rammus hang out they like to Rock n’ Roll!

When Udyr masturbates, is it considered bestiality?

Maplphite once took swimming lessons. He doesn’t like to talk about it

Warwick used to do a lot of huffing and puffing, and there were three talking pigs involved. So, don’t do drugs, kids.

Cassiopeia always knows how much she weighs thanks to all her scales.

Singed made a potion so strong it made him see double! Turns out it was just Shaco playing a prank!

Taric’s mother thinks he’s a real gem!

Vladimir really loves Bloody Mary! She’s his girlfriend!

Everyone stared when Lux asked if anyone’s got a light?

Once Kog’maw had a cold, but no one could tell.

Tristana is disappointed that it’s never a rocket in your pocket.

Sometimes, to mess with people Kayle and Morgana switch clothes.

You know what happened when Blitzcrank went on a date with katarina? He knocked her up!

Did you see Annie dance last night? She was on fire!

We would tell you a Pantheon joke but there are over 300 of them…

Noc Noc? Who’s There? Daaaaaaaaaarrknesssss

Best “Yo’Momma” LOL Jokes

One of the categories that seems to be severely lacking in the League of Legends joke world is the “Yo Momma” joke. These are a staple of any comedy gathering, and other games have tons of Yo Momma” jokes about them. But we were only able to find a few. Maybe you can come up with some of your own jokes in this category and add them to the game forums and other places where players congregate. In the meantime, check out these jokes, and remember, we are certain that YOUR momma is a very nice person and that none of these jokes actually apply to her personally.

Yo momma is so fat, Cho’gath feasted on her and gained full stacks

Yo momma so ugly she feared Nocturne!

Yo momma so fat, Fiddlesticks drained her and got diabetes!

Your mum is so fat she has to recall twice to get back to base.

Yo momma so fat, when Singed tried to Fling her, he broke his back

Best Worst Jokes about League of Legends

As we sifted through thousands of jokes to make this compilation, one thing became very clear: there were lots of jokes out there that really should just have been drug out into the street and shot. But some of those terrible jokes were so terrible that they were actually funny. Those are the ones that we felt compelled to include here. If you laugh at these, then you probably need to get some better jokes in your life. If you groan…well..don’t blame us. We didn’t write them. We wouldn’t admit it if we did.

Q: What does Mordekaiser hate the most?

A: Airport Security

Q: What do you call a Lucian that goes AFK?

A: A Black Leaver

Q: How do you beat Orianna?

A: Ochris Brown

Q: What car does Garen drive?

A: A FORD EMACIAAAA

Q: Why is Riven such a broken champion?

A: Because a sword mirrors its owner

Q:How many platinum 1 players do you need to replace a light bulb ?

A: None, they would break the ladder and blame everyone for it

Olaf: Hey Elise do you know what counters Vi the most?

Elise: No what?

Olaf: Me, because I’m a VI-king

A family was driving along on a road trip

Little kid: Ahri there yet? Ahri there yet? Ahri we there yet? Ahri there yet?

Q: Why does Viktor make a great friend?

A: Because he always has a spare helping hand!

Q: Why does Viktor always win his lane?

A: Because he always has the upper hand!

Q: Why couldn’t the potato play ADC?

A: Because no one would peel for him

Q: How do you troll players in League of Legends?

A: Yorick roll them!

Q: Why is Master Yi’s Q so buggy?

A: Because it’s “alpha” strike!

Teemo walks into a bar. “I’ll have a glass of water, please!”

(2 seconds later)

Bartender: “Here’s your wat… wait, where’d he go?”

Best League of Legends Pick-Up Lines

One of the League of Legends humor categories that was simply stuffed was the pick-up line category. Now, only a girl (or a guy) who actually played LOL would get these jokes. Anyone else would simply look at you as if you were crazy. There were hundreds and hundreds of jokes in this category, but we didn’t have the room for all of them, so we pared them down to some of the ones that made us chuckle. Remember, you use these jokes at your own risk. If you don’t have a significant other, you probably won’t after you use these pick-up lines either. If you already do have a partner, then you might be without one if you use these lines on them too. Let’s take a look at some of the best League of Legends pick-up lines.

Damn, if being sexy was a crime, I’d have to call Sheriff Caitlyn because you’re guilty as charged.

You know, if Ezreal saw you, he’d need a map. He’d get lost in your eyes.

Girl, is your name Ashe? Because your beauty stunned me from a distance!

Is your name Janna? Because you blow me away.

Hey girl, wanna come back to my base and check out my Needlessly Large Rod?

Are you an AD carry? Because I’m fired up and ready to serve.

Are you Cassiopeia? Because when I stare at you I get hard.

Are you Orianna? Because you can play with my balls.

Can I invade your jungle?

Can I put my doran blade in your doran ring?

Can I tap your dark spheres?

Did I mention its mating season?

Do you main Ahri? Because I find you charming.

Even if you were Singed I would still chase after you.

Girl you’re like draven – spinning me around town.

The League of Legends URF/NURF April Fool’s Joke

One of the jokes that we found to be the funniest didn’t actually come from the players. Many players will remember the URF and NURF April Fool’s jokes that Riot trolled everyone with if they have been playing LOL for any length of time. If you are new to the game, or for some reason, you haven’t heard about these, then allow us to enlighten you, because this was really a great prank, and the fact that Riot was able to change it and do it again – and fool everyone again – made it even better.

Okay, so the story starts with URF – a new game mode that the company claimed was going to be introduced temporarily to see how it worked out. The developer called it URF, which stood for Ultra Rapid Fire. It was supposed to make everything thousands of times faster, including attack speed, movement, crit damage and even gold was supposed to increase. Mana costs and cooldown times were also supposed to have gone up. Of course, the company made this announcement just before April 1st, and it turned out to be an April Fool’s Joke.

But then, they brought it back once again, this time calling it NURF (for New Ultra Rapid Fire) and it had the following specifications:

+100% mana and energy cost on all abilities

+200% cooldown inflation on abilities, items and summoner spells

+225 movement speed reduction

+200% delay between basic attacks

Critical strikes deal 50% of base AD

Units critically strike on 150% of attacks

Of course, that was exactly the opposite of “URF” and this one wasn’t real either. It was just another April Fool’s joke that fooled people..again.

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andrewuttaro · 4 years

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2020 Revisions: Good, Bad and Ugly Rhinos 2021 Scenarios

The Rochester Rhinos Outsider blog was a series of articles written in the winter of 2018-2019 as the second year of the club’s hiatus was at its quietest and darkest. This article is part of the 2020 Rhinos Outsider Revisions series, a series of long-read features jumping off from the starting point of those original articles with new information since revealed.

The Rochester Rhinos pushed it back to 2021. That’s one more year, a third year of waiting. So let’s take another trip back to when we had one fewer year to wait through. One of the funnier articles from the Rhinos Outsider posts was the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. It was about speculating all the different ways the return might go. That is, all the good ways, bad ways and just plain ugly ways. Moreover in the leadup to the meat of the article I wrote about the “hat trick of ruined owners”. That little piece hasn’t meaningfully changed in the year since I wrote it so here it is! That particular passage in a lightly edited form:

First things first, let’s be totally up front: this maybe it for the Rhinos. The Dworkins could also spend themselves into insolvency if Rochesterians don’t come to the new venue. They too could basically be forced to give up the team by debtor banks like the first owners or forced to give it up by the league like the second owner and this club could complete the hat trick of ruined owners. Who wouldn’t want to be the fourth owner of that organization? Hate to be that guy, but that is why I’m talking like we got one last chance here. We do kinda have one last chance.

I think that little nugget is a riot. Most outsiders think this club is basically already dead. Hell, that conclusion makes a lot of sense. So much in fact I’ve been writing letters to perspective new owners. But on another level deeper, this club has ruined every individual or group of individuals that has owned it. I’m not saying that’s a curse but there is some dark humor there if that’s your cup of tea. But enough dark soccer comedy, time for a pep talk.

This article in the original Rhinos Outsider series was a big dose of sobriety. A club doesn’t just survive by way of wealthy owners. A soccer club anywhere survives by the efforts of fans and a community, casual or not, that support it. There is a legitimate argument to be made that Rochester doesn’t support her own. We could go down a whole rabbit hole about population and generational differences that contribute to how sports teams are thinning out here. I don’t want to go into those things now but what I ended up giving in this post a year ago was something like a pep talk. The Rochester Rhinos organization represents a piece of this City’s culture that I don’t think people realize. To be very frank I think most Rochesterians don’t realize what we have or might soon have had.

The Rhinos won the Open Cup in 1999. All of us Rochesterians were a part of that. That kind of title has no easy comparison in American Sports. All things being equal, the Open Cup is bigger in U.S. Soccer than the Superbowl is in American Football. WE DID THAT! US, ROCHESTER, NEW YORK! I mean it when I say it: the Rochester Rhinos are the best soccer team in American History. I’ll die on that hill. It would be such a crying shame if Rochester doesn’t realize that until it’s too late. With that as our introduction lets imagine some scenarios for 2021. I will admit some of this is fantasy fulfillment, other parts of it… nightmares.

The Good

The Rochester Rhinos return in 2020 to St. John Fisher’s College Soccer Field. The games are catered by Wegmans which by itself is enough reason to draw 1500 fans of the casual and family varieties. That number is in addition to 1000 fans of the young and diehard categories. This scenario is the good-est of good boys so let’s go all out: not only is the club’s concessions catered by Wegmans, Danny Wegmans owns the team now! He bought out the Dworkins and now the jerseys have a big old W on the chest for Wegmans and Win! They do just that! The Rhinos beat a couple MLS teams in the Open Cup and dominate League One to win a title in their first season back on the pitch! Danny Wegman announces he’s buying a piece of open land in Pittsford and building a stadium! This scenario is so fun I let out my own rendition of the Howard Dean Scream after writing it.

Let’s go a little less good. The Rhinos are still returning to St. John Fisher’s Field because this is still a good scenario. Except in this scenario there are notable hiccups. The concessions are a little screwy and the team has some facilities clashes with the University. The Dworkins do however do a good job pulling in talent and manage to go all the way to the USL League One Final in their first year back. The attendance numbers gradually climb as the season goes on and the good word spreads. After seeing the relationship as mutually beneficial the Dworkins sign a deal with Fisher to keep the team there for three years. At that point they announce their plans to build a stadium in East Rochester. The Rhinos are resurrected!

Ok, one more good scenario. The Rhinos return to the Downtown Stadium after the City realizes how much money they’re losing on having no tenet thee. The new deal allows the Dworkins much greater control over the venue and the City helps finance some renovations that help draw 3000 fans on average the first season back. More supporters are enticed to come to games when the new indoor sports plex next door destigmatizes the neighborhood for all the scared suburbanites. The Rhinos narrowly miss the playoffs, but the new club has a distinctly Rochester identity that everyone is happy to have back.

The Bad

The least bad scenario that I wouldn’t consider good is a rushed move to the Dome Arena area. The Dworkins announce the plan late in the Fall 2020 giving themselves little time to clear land and put a field on the other end of the Dome Arena parking lot. They exclaim the location’s proximity to shopping and Wegmans and what not. Unfortunately the lift the team actually receives is hard to tell as most of the fans shoehorned into temporary stands at one end of the field are clearly diehards. The team isn’t competitive, missing the USL League One Playoffs and losing to another League One team in the Open Cup. This is not to mention Soccer Sam Fantauzzo still thinks he’s competing with the Rhinos in this scenario as he beefs up the Lancers operation.

As bad scenarios get worse the Rhinos get to go to St. John Fisher College their first season back in 2021 but the University quickly doesn’t like it. They go as far as to make large swaths of parking unusable on gamedays. Nonetheless the reborn Rhinos are competitive on the field and almost make the playoffs. The Dworkins announce an iffy plan to move to another venue they don’t name until the last weeks of the season. A run to the MLS round of the Open Cup distracts the fans from the plan falling through. After much wheeling and dealing the Dworkins secure one more year at Fisher and continue to scramble to find a new home in time.

The Rhinos return to Frontier Field in a freak two-year deal with the County and drive nostalgia real hard in the marketing. For a while they manage to drive attendance up before the new team they assemble crashes and burns. Unfortunately nostalgia isn’t enough to save the club from the collapse and the financial fortune of the club is awful by the end of 2021. The Dworkins make one last plea saying if 2022 isn’t good enough financially they simply won’t continue. 2022 sees a miraculous Open Cup run to the semifinals but once again the Dworkins make a plea for financial help as they look for a place to go after Frontier.

The Ugly

The Dworkins sell the team in November 2020. The League operates the team via Pat Ercoli who sees the team play at the Downtown Stadium out of some miracle due to the new ownership. Unfortunately the same problems persist from before the hiatus and Ercoli is forced to get creative. An alliance with the Rochester Lancers goes nowhere even after their owner, Sam Fantauzzo, announces his intent to move the Lancers to the downtown stadium to help the Rhinos. The league has a meeting with Ercoli that is followed by his resignation from the organization. The team shutters for another haitus in 2022 as the league fails to find a new owner before folding it in 2024, the year the USL System finally institutes Promotion/Relegation adding insult to injury to the end of the Rochester Rhinos.

The Dworkins build a small stadium by the Dome Arena in Henrietta and achieve some better average attendance in the first few games back. Pat Ercoli announces his retirement and receives a splendid send off ceremony. Shortly thereafter Sam Fantauzzo moves his Rochester Lancers to NISA where they garner more support from diehard soccer fans in Rochester. This is direct competition for seemingly no reason. The Rhinos season on and off the field tanks before the Dworkins sell the franchise rights in November. The league does not find a new owner and shutters the brand in 2022. I think two ugly scenarios is more than enough.

Final Thoughts

I had a lot of emotional points to make about what the most likely scenarios actually were in the original version of this article. But now I got to be honest, another year of haitus has made me somewhat indifferent. Don’t get me wrong, I love this club, it’s my aesthetic and my favorite soccer club forever and ever amen. But you can’t expect enthusiasm after nearly zero public information sharing over 14 months. Even a lunatic like me can’t get excited for something they have almost no clue about. Help us out here. The next 12 months and beyond will be very interesting.

That said the truth was very well said by one Brad Bates back in December. Bates is a Rhinos supporter way out in Lansing, Michigan. You can hear him on the League One Unfiltered Podcast (L1Unfiltered) or read him on twitter @BradBates25. The brand is in the gutter. Years of neglect and now years of haitus has reduced the Rochester Rhinos to a punch line and a soccer history fancy. A truly rousing reclamation is needed. The Dworkins don’t just need to resurrect their dormant team, they need to create something new worthy of the name and legacy of the Rochester Rhinos. They need to not only make a highly competitive team on the field but a highly compelling overall product for the supporters. Wherever they play they have to build something special, familiar but also distinctly new. Otherwise this all may very well be for naught.

I’ve been very optimistic in this haitus, but its wearing on me now. 2020, or at least these first six months of it, stands to be the busiest year of my life so far. Unless I’m getting far more regular updates then we saw the last 18 months then it will be hard for me to do anything but write an epitaph come the Fall. I don’t want to, but the burden of proof now points in an increasingly negative direction. The Brad Bates Standard is going to be a tough one to meet even if they come back. And now the darker thought arises: do I even want them coming back if I don’t believe they can stage a comeback worthy of the name? Gee, that question is a tough one. Unfortunately it’s the question I’ll be wrestling with more and more this year.

I am basically the only Rhinos blogger out there so follow me if you want more of this. This series of long-read articles, 2020 Rhinos Outsider Revisions, will probably only have one more installment. Come to think of it, this maybe it for trying to make content out of these posts from a year ago. I will probably have a similar long-read article completely new and original. I think it will be something like what we started getting into with the legacy of the Rochester Rhinos. That will come sometime in the next 6-8 weeks before the return of my regular series on the Rhinos: State of the Support. How about more on that.

In a few weeks we should be getting a real update on the situation with the club; at which point Season Two of State of the Support will premiere. State of the Support is a reoccurring series about the Rhinos that will be broadening its scope a tiny bit to Rochester Soccer in general for Season Two. In the spirit of supporting a soccer club I’d say a club like the Rhinos deserve second life if any domestic soccer team does. And even if you don’t currently call Rochester home like me I’d hope you could support their future going forward for just that reason. Hopefully the future of the Rochester Rhinos isn’t just fantasy.

Thanks for Reading.

Let’s Go Rhinos!

#rochester rhinos #soccer

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themeatlife · 5 years

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Avengers: Endgame (Spoiler-Free Remix Review), the Legacy of the Avengers, and the Future of Disney and the Marvel Cinematic Universe

For those who haven’t seen it, I’ll discuss Avengers: Endgame - the movie itself without discussing or spoiling plot lines, and the larger impact it has on the legacy of the Avengers and the MCU.

Avengers: Endgame - A Review (Spoiler-Free Remix)

To begin, it’s kind of hard to judge the film on its own. Even more so than its predecessor Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame is largely dependent on the previous films. So the impact of it is less so on someone that’s only seen a handful of the Marvel movies than for someone who has invested time seeing the now 22-film catalog. With that being said, for those who have seen most or all of the other movies, wow. It is both extremely entertaining and extremely gratifying. If you are an MCU fan, Endgame was made especially for you.

While I won’t dive into what happens, what the movie effectively does is show just how far back the arc of the original six (Stark, Rogers, Thor, Banner, Barton, and Romanoff) goes and how far they have come.

Other than a couple of issues, the storyline works very well. I dug the balance it struck between the emotional weight, action, and humor. It was smart to have a lot of small moments early in the film where it focuses the interaction between characters. And it was a lot funnier than I expected it to be. The film as a whole is emotionally gratifying and clearly wraps up this chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is at max effectiveness if you’ve already invested the time in the characters’ previous stories, in particular the original six. If you know the original six’s stories in particular, you will thoroughly enjoy this movie.

Rather than a credits scene, the opening of the credits showcases each of the major Marvel heroes and villains over the years of the MCU, with the actor who played them and ends the sequence with the original six Avengers with the actors’ signatures displayed on screen. Cool way to salute the actors in some of the major roles over the years.

I’ll save my ranking the Infinity Saga movies for after Spider-Man: Far From Home (Marvel President Kevin Feige calls the latest Spider-Man the final installment in the Infinity Saga). You can expect that Endgame would rank very highly in my ranking.

The Legacy of the Avengers

What is the biggest impact the Avengers and Marvel’s Infinity Saga have had on pop culture?

It is crazy to think that when Iron Man came out back in May of 2008 when Marvel Studios was using Paramount to distribute, it was considered a risk. Robert Downey Jr had yet to make his comeback complete (Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes a year later marked his return full return to stardom). Iron Man was a few months before The Dark Knight came out and garnered critical acclaim and helped legitimize the comic book-based genre. And the MCU was in its infancy, no one thought it would become the bohemeth it is now.

Marvel Studios, whether intentional or accidental, helped mold and was molded by the changing methods of which people were consuming their visual entertainment. The early 2000’s saw the advent of binge-watching television, where serial series like Alias, 24, and Lost saw people prefer to consume episodes in bulk. Once Netflix got their streaming service going, the idea of binge-watching caught on everywhere. Television ratings waned as people watched things more on their time on devices other than an actual TV. People only tuned in to things when they are originally broadcast if they were billed as an event, like a series finale (or in Game of Thrones’ case a final season) or a live event like the Super Bowl. Similarly, film started becoming more event-based. Blockbusters had to be built up as an event to go to in order for films to be successful, more so now than any other film era. And in making an event out of their films, Marvel serialized their MCU movies like a season of Lost - individual episodes focused on a character or set of characters with the overarching story in the background until culminating in the season finale, or in Marvel’s case an Avengers movie.

So the biggest impact the MCU has had is shaping other movie studios approach to movie releases. After 2012’s The Avengers, many tried the serialized team-up event concept to varying degrees of failure. Universal flopped trying to launch a shared monsters universe with Tom Cruise’s The Mummy reboot in 2017. Warner Brothers has a semi-successful MonsterVerse going with Godzilla and King Kong. We’ll see how that progresses with the new Godzilla movie this summer. Warner Brothers also has the mostly failed DC Extended Universe. Starting strong with 2013’s Man of Steel but limping thereafter with lackluster installments in 2016’s Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad and 2017’s Justice League, DC/Warner Bros has seen more success with the mostly standalone attempts Wonder Woman in 2017, Aquaman in 2018, and Shazam in 2019. DC’s current strategy is kind of confusing though, with some plans to continue the DCEU, and other plans to do more standalone work.

So the fact that Marvel’s shared universe set of movies has worked and has been the only one to work so successfully is an anamoly and an achievement. Marvel was allowed to build its world over time, a luxury that was afforded to them by Paramount from 2008-2011 and by Disney when they were acquired in 2012. The first two phases of the MCU spanned ten films from 2008-2015, building a foundation for what the franchise is today. That type of patience has not been lended to DC in particular, something that ended up looking and feeling rushed and resulted in a less successful and less satisfying result in the DCEU.

The Marvel approach has changed not just the method of outside studios release strategies but also in releases within their Disney family. For studios to make money on these films, they have to culminate in an event to get people to the theater. Fewer and fewer indie films turn into financial successes, at least at the theater. So event movies galore are on the horizon at Disney. Disney proper has “live-action” remakes of classics animated classics Aladdin and Lion King coming out this summer and Frozen 2 in the winter. Pixar has Toy Story 4 set for a summer release as well, even though the third installment was originally thought to be the conclusion of the story. Lucasfilm has what has been announced to be the finale of the Skywalker saga in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker coming out this winter. Each of those marketed as an event, whether it be a nostalgic event, an unexpected continuation, or a conclusion of a story.

Up Next for the Disney and the Marvel Cinematic Universe

While Marvel Studios has changed the movie industry and pop culture, it is hard to say what the next step for the MCU is. We know of a few things coming though.

With the announcement of Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, coming in November, there were MCU projects also announced to debut on the service. Loki, Falcon/Winter Soldier, and Wanda/Vision will all get series on Disney+. There will also be an interesting What If series where they were explore what if scenarios of some of your favorite Marvel characters.

The MCU’s film future is less set. We know that Spider-Man: Far From Home (co-release with Sony Pictures) comes out in July and is set in the immediate events after Endgame. After that, we know a few projects are in production but no definitive release dates have been set. Projects include a Black Widow flashback, origin stories for The Eternals and Shang-Chi, and sequels for Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther as well as talks of sequels for Ant-Man and Wasp, Captain Marvel, and Thor (although I think the route for the Thor character should be to join the Guardians).

And then there is 21st Century Fox. Disney acquired the entertainment wing of Fox proper earlier this year (I was scared of Apple taking over the world, but Disney is closer to doing so). Fox owned the movie rights to all the Marvel properties included in the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. Fox’s run of X-Men movies presumably concludes this summer with Dark Phoenix. Since Marvel Studios now owns the movie rights to what has been traditionally two of the more popular Marvel brands, one would think some sort of reboot and integration into the MCU would be coming in this next chapter.

I’ll end on this. The Avengers Infinity Saga, the Star Wars Skywalker Saga, and Game of Thrones are all pop culture epics that will be ending their current chapters this year. It is hard to imagine the changing entertainment world will ever have subjects as impactful as these given the number of formats available and the vast number of entertainment options now available. Those three epics, especially the oldest being Star Wars, caught pop culture at a time when people would watch and experience the same thing. Soon, the event-centered entertainment world will grow smaller with less people gathering to experience and watch the same thing. Or maybe I’m wrong and every generation finds a way to galvanize to have that shared experience (Gone With The Wind, the original Star Wars, Titanic in the film world all being previous examples). I hope for the latter, but I can’t help but feel that the record-breaking Avengers: Endgame will be one of the last of its kind: an event that everyone wants to share and experience together.

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placetobenation · 4 years

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Well with all this death around us let’s talk about the one thing we all know and love, television. The Daytime Emmy nominations came out while I was away and here’s what we got.

EMMY NODS

CBS leads all noms with a whopping 57 nods, Amazon following closely behind with 55, Apple TV scored 17, as they should because they are a computer company. Let me just clear something up – Amazon started as a digital library where you could read books. Does anyone remember that? You had to buy the kindle, which screen was black and white, and download books to read on a train or beach or park or whatever. Remember the big knock on the was the glare the screen had? It had too much glare so they made the little 5×7 kindle screen without glare and more like a real book? Now look at what it has become! A mall, a tv studio, a library, a streaming service, a supermarket – I mean Amazon has become everything! Ridiculous. Anyway.

The View topped the talk shows with 8 nods, then Kelly Clarkson with 7, then Talk and finally Ellen with 5 who honestly I thought died a year ago.

Interesting fact, CBS wants to air the awards show virtually, whatever that means, June 26. So that’s another interesting car wreck we get to watch in this God forsaken year.

JON STEWART

Big news – Jon Stewart is finally doing something with his life. Jon, whom I love and hate for leaving us right when Trump appeared in our lives, is directing a movie called Irresistible. Starring guess who – Steve Carell. Since his contract says he must be in every Hollywood film ever made, this makes sense. The movie was scheduled for theatrical release but powers at be want it released sooner, to make more money. So the film will be available May 29 for $20 on all platforms, then is planned to be released into theaters on June 26. Hey why not. Stewart never did things the easy way.

LORI LOUGHLIN

Here’s some good news about the law – there isn’t any. Lori Loughlin after years of saying she was innocent and did nothing wrong, now says she is guilty and did something wrong. Hmmm. Fooled us? I guess so. Ha ha, funny Lori – we thought you were serious when you argued with everyone and said you were innocent for a year. Boy you really got us. Anyway, The felony charge carries a 20 year jail sentence, but miraculously Lori is getting just 2 months in jail!! Wow! Which is funnier? You decide.

TOM BRADY

With the enormous success of Michael Jordan’s doc, The Last Dance, cuz Jordan is literally the best who ever played the game, ESPN has set a new doc for a new legend. Tom “Pretty Boy” Brady will be getting his own spotlight on ESPN, with a 9 part doc, not a 10, like Jordan, so already MJ has him beat. Quick tip for ESPN – NOBODY reveres Brady like we revered Jordan. So, expect a flop. Thanks.

MICHAEL BAY

Michael Bay, the world’s most hated yet most successful director has chosen a premiere project for his brand new contract with Sony. “Armored” which is a novel by Mark Greaney, will be Mr. Bay’s newest massacre. About an old, aged out, security contractor who runs convoys of UN delegates through cocaine country. Nice. What can be redundant about that? Thanks Michael for being more shallow than my bath water. Can’t wait to see this debacle with a million explosions and zero dialogue.

PETER DINKLAGE

Here comes the best news I have heard all year. Peter Dinklage and Jason Momoa are teaming up for a movie called “Good Bad and Undead”. Love both these guys, and even better, they are staying in the fantasy realm! Peter will play a Van Helsing, the last in a long line of vampire killers, and Momoa will play a vampire that helps him. Just the plot of this makes me smile and my skin crawl. If I could only survive long along in 2020 to see it!!

ZACK SNYDER

Well after years of girl talk, it is official. Zack Snyder, the director shamed into retirement from the DC world, is releasing his official director’s cut of Justice League. Why? I have absolutely no idea. This film is not beloved, so I imagine the studio is releasing it so say, “yea you think this was bad – you wanna see something worse?” I mean, I cringe to have to watch this a second time, but to see what Zack did or how they handcuffed him, if they did at all, might be worth a fast forward through. In no way do I wish to hear the dialogue again. But for Gal’s legs, I could look at them again. Will I think it’ll be a revelation and everyone will stand on their couches cheering for the almighty Zack? Hardly. Pretty sure it will suck just the same, only in a different way.

BATWOMAN

Here’s a new one – Ruby Rose quits Batwoman. First of all, I never even heard of there being a Batwoman, I always thought it was Batgirl. Regardless, Ruby Rose was a hit portraying the lead character, and once the show was picked up for another season, Ruby quits. Why? Naturally no one knows for sure – rumor is, it was too hard. Too hard. I don’t want quality work, with good pay, if I have to stay up past 10. I don’t know what else Ruby has going on in her life, but I know if you want a job, you have to work for it. If you want fame and fortune it doesn’t come during banking hours. This saddens me about the next generation. They get a chance of a lifetime and quit.

TOM HANKS

Now let’s talk about a real star. Tom Hanks, our dearly beloved, is getting screwed over by this COVID-19 crap. His baby project, which he has wrote and directed “Greyhound” is being thrown to a streaming service. I think we all love Tom’s other movie that he wrote/directed, “That Thing You Do”, that was pure genius, and I’d love to get to see this one in a theater as well. “Greyhound” is a WWII naval drama starring Hanks as George Krause, a career officer finally given command of a Navy destroyer called Greyhound. It takes place during the Battle of the Atlantic as Krause fights his self-doubts and personal demons to prove he belongs. This film was set for a June19 release date, but instead it was shopped around to streaming devices and was finally bought by Apple TV for $70 million. A sad state of affairs for such a fine and proven talent like Hanks, who truly has earned his day in the sun with a global theatrical release. Let’s hope some day it makes it there.

Thanks for reading – as usual – follow me or ask me questions any time, all the time @pauliek2003

#IFTTT #Place to Be Nation

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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Duck Game is My New Favorite Hyper-Competitive Quarantine Game

May 19, 2020 10:00 AM EST

Duck Game came out in 2015. Since then, my friends and I have turned this goofy, duck-based game into a competitive blood-pumper.

The way I see it and have experienced it for a while now, every group of friends has their go-to game. Since I was in high school, my group has hopped across every Smash Bros. title out there. But since quarantine started, getting together to play has naturally been impossible, and playing Smash online is…not that great. So, looking through our collective Steam libraries, we found something else to play, something lighthearted and goofy that we could just play while talking to each other. We found Duck Game, and we couldn’t have been more wrong.

Duck Game is a small title developed by Landon Podbielski and published by Adult Swim Games back in 2015. It’s been a shared title among us since around that time; my pals and I would boot it up for an odd game or two every month, thinking nothing of it. My friend Steve and I would often trade victories, have a laugh, then go off to do something else. But that was so long ago, and times have changed so, so much.

You couldn’t really blame us either. Duck Game wears that Adult Swim Games logo proudly. It lives in that company’s weird, wacky brand of humor and owns it. In the game’s “about” section on Steam, you can even find some backstory: “Enter the futuristic year of 1984, an age where ducks run wild in a frantic battle for glory.” In-game, you can accessorize your duck with goofy hats (I always choose the dino one), ragdoll to fool your opponents into thinking you’re dead then pop up and surprise them, or just mash on Duck Game’s truly ahead-of-its-time dedicated quack button.

“Duck Game wears that Adult Swim Games logo proudly.”

The thing about Duck Game is that the game itself is a master of deception. Its goofy-bordering-on-stupidity-ness is all a facade. In reality, Duck Game is a high-intensity esport, the likes of which the world has never seen. It’s more blood pumping than any game in the FGC, requires more tactical thought than Counter-Strike or Valorant, and, given the appropriate funding, Duck Game could have its own Overwatch League.

Ok, a lot of that was hyperbole. That being said, I stand by the claim that Duck Game is deceptively simple and wears its humor and charm like a mask. It is, and this is completely unironic, at times one of the most intense multiplayer games I’ve played with friends.

Getting to this point took more than a couple of games. When you first play Duck Game, it’s rather straightforward: pick up a weapon, shoot the other ducks, win the round. Win enough rounds and you’re the King Duck, the winner of the game. A lot of games go that way in the beginning. But Duck Game has (and I can’t believe I’m going to say this) some tech in it that brings every fight to the next level.

“Duck Game is deceptively simple and wears its humor and charm like a mask.”

My group’s intensification of Duck Game started with realizing that we don’t need weapons when we have boxes. Like learning how to tech in fighting games — ie Melee’s shine — part of the reason why we found new, better ways to play was to be totally and completely disrespectful to each other. It doesn’t get much worse than getting done in by someone throwing a box on your head when you’re armed with a revolver.

From there, each of us tried to find new ways to play Duck Game. Discovering new ways to attack or move fundamentally changes any fighting game, and in Duck Game, that rule still applies. When we found out that you could ragdoll then quickly snap out of it for a boost in vertical movement, races to reach weapons became harder to win. After finding out that your weapon sticks straight up while fluttering after jumping (or by moving up against a wall), being above someone became a dangerous position instead of an advantageous one.

Earlier this week we found another small part of the game that could be used to change how it’s played. If you turn your duck around while fluttering, they raise their gun 90 degrees, from sticking out horizontally to straight up. If you fire at just the right time, a frame that may consist of milliseconds, instead of shooting ahead of you or upwards, you fire at a 45-degree angle, a spot that is usually safe to approach from. The last time I played, one of my friends hit someone with a rocket using that technique, and the game was changed from then on.

It’s the nuances of Duck Game’s combat systems, these small quirks that could be glanced over and forgotten, that make it so addictive to my group. I said before that we played through the library of Smash Bros. titles over the years, but I wasn’t specific enough. We played a lot of Melee through the years, a game whose competitive scene is based on unintended tech. In Melee, gameplay and techniques from the first time that you’ve played are radically different from playing on day 100, or 1000. It gets to the point where you’d think someone is using a different controller, or that the game’s received a major update or patch. Instead, players simply dug into a game, found more tools, and made use of them.

The same has happened with Duck Game. Doing it now, I’m surprised I’m comparing this pixelated, goofy game about ducks shooting the hell out of each other to one of the most beloved titles in the FGC. But the two of them and their common traits are what ingrained them into my group of friends. When we first started playing Melee, I played as whoever I wanted. By the time we moved on to Ultimate, I was playing as Captain Falcon, trying to land perfect Gentlemans into knees. When I started playing Duck Game, it was all about quacking and making it through a round without killing my own duck. Now…well it’s still about quacking, but also using what I’ve learned about the game to win.

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That’s what lies at the base of our intensification of Duck Game: winning. The reason why I learned tech in Melee was to win games more easily. And while Duck Game is inherently funnier than Smash Bros. — and aims to be that first and foremost — it still has a competitive nature. At the end of a game, there’s still a single duck on the podium, holding a trophy. That’s why I love using these new tools and continually finding more. Not only do they evolve the game, but they’re new ways to win. After all, Duck Game is a “frantic battle for glory.” Why wouldn’t I want to see my lil’ quacker at the top?

May 19, 2020 10:00 AM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/duck-game-is-my-new-favorite-hyper-competitive-quarantine-game/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=duck-game-is-my-new-favorite-hyper-competitive-quarantine-game

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preciousmetals0 · 4 years

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A Tariffic Trade Deal; Boeing Clears the Air

A Tariffic Trade Deal; Boeing Clears the Air:

The Trade Deal Price Is Right

Last week, President Donald Trump chose curtain No. 1 and got himself a brand-new, shiny “phase 1” trade deal with China!

He seems pretty happy with it. He even took it for a spin a few times around Twitter to show it off for the press.

Wall Street, too, seems pretty happy with the phase 1 trade deal. The markets are poised to rally further into all-time high territory this week on the prospect of lower Chinese-U.S. tariffs.

Details on the deal are thin, to say the least. China promised to address intellectual property issues and currency manipulation, agree on technology transfer and buy more agricultural products from the U.S. These promises are all we have, though.

The only hard facts on the deal come from the U.S. side, where the December 15 tariffs of 15% on $160 billion in Chinese imports were scrapped. Duties on $120 billion in imports were cut to 7.5%.

The deal also has yet to be signed. That event will take place in early January, after the deal jumps through some legal hurdles and gets officially translated.

But the White House isn’t waiting until the signing to start on “phase 2,” according to U.S. Treasury Secretary (and extra from Revenge of the Nerds) Steven Mnuchin.

“We are going to go into a very short period of time of having the translation scrubbed, the deal will be signed in early January and then we will start on phase two,” Mnuchin told CNBC.

However, he also noted that “Phase two may be 2a, 2b, 2c, we’ll see…” Umm … wouldn’t it be easier just to call them phase 2, phase 3, et cetera, instead of resorting to letters?

The Takeaway:

There are two ways to look at this phase 1 agreement:

What did the U.S. accomplish?

What’s the impact to investors?

For No. 1, you can find opinions across all of the major financial and mainstream media outlets. They range from praise for the administration on a job well done to derision for basically doing nothing. I’m not getting into this debate … it’s political and unproductive.

As for No. 2, the most important win for investors and Wall Street was tariff relief.

The canceling of the December 15 tariffs means all those electronics, laptops, tablets, iPhones, et cetera, won’t see price bumps during the remainder of the holiday shopping season. The rollback on other tariffs also helps semiconductor-makers and a slew of other industries with supply chains and manufacturing in China.

This is the real reason Wall Street is rallying. It also remains a fear for businesses going forward into phase 2. The trade deal keeps both sides from escalating the trade war for the time being, but it also lessens Trump’s leverage going forward.

I hope that additional tariffs won’t be used as a bargaining chip for any phase 2 (or phase 2a, 2b, 2c) deal. Resuming tariff threats could sour additional negotiations and call into question the existing phase 1 deal.

As it stands, lowering tariffs remains the key to keeping Wall Street’s bull rally going.

Good: Max No More?

The last of Boeing Co.’s (NYSE: BA) 737 Max airliners may have already rolled off the assembly line.

That’s because Boeing is reportedly considering halting or cutting the infamous aircraft’s production. According to “people familiar with the matter,” Boeing’s management supports pausing production on the 737 Max — a move that could lead to inflated costs for the plane, along with prompt job cuts and furloughs at production facilities making the Max.

So, why is this “good” for Boeing? Because the company needs to do something on the 737 Max front. The continued delays in federal approval are becoming increasingly expensive and dragging on BA investor sentiment.

Boeing needs to find a resolution or just rip the Band-Aid off all in one go. Then both the company and investors can move on. If Boeing decides to drop the Max altogether and BA shares drop, this could be an excellent buying opportunity for investors.

Better: A Whole New World

I’m calling it: The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) is the hottest movie studio of 2019. With the release of Frozen 2, Disney melted moviegoers’ hearts … and set fire to their wallets for the sixth time this year.

Its latest animated blockbuster hit gave Disney its sixth billion-dollar film this year. Worldwide, Frozen 2 has raked in $1.03 billion so far, putting it in league with Avengers: Endgame ($2.79 billion), The Lion King ($1.65 billion), Captain Marvel ($1.13 billion), Toy Story 4 ($1.07 billion) and Aladdin ($1.05 billion).

What’s more, Disney is sure to have yet another billion-dollar hit on its hands later this week. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker debuts in theaters this Friday.

And just think … all of the billion-dollar hits are coming to Disney+ eventually. Disney has you coming and going right now, and it’s making billions doing so.

On a side note, a Home Alone remake doesn’t need to happen … and in the age of smartphones, ride-hailing and the internet, it just doesn’t make sense. That said, if they remade the movie with 39-year-old Macaulay Culkin reprising his role as Kevin, with everyone ignoring the fact that Kevin is practically 40, it would be much funnier. I’d watch that.

I’d also recommend picking up DIS when you get a chance. Buy the dips on this movie leader and soon-to-be streaming giant.

Best: Axsome Results

I’ve been writing about the biotech sector for the past two weeks … and for good reason. Between mergers, buyouts and clinical trial data, the sector has been on fire.

Axsome Therapeutics Inc. (Nasdaq: AXSM) continued that trend today, surging more than 70% on key phase 3 trial data for its new antidepressant medication. Experimental treatment AXS-05 met the primary endpoint of its phase 3 trial for the treatment of severe major depressive disorder.

The National Institute of Mental Health reports that 17.3 million U.S. adults suffered at least one major depressive episode in 2017. Current treatments don’t work for everyone, and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey believes that AXS-05 will be the “go-to drug for those who don’t respond to first-line antidepressants.”

The market is keenly interested in AXS-05, with AXSM surging more than 1,559% in 2019. There could be more gains ahead, as Axsome plans on submitting a new drug application for AXS-05 with the Food and Drug Administration in 2020.

Editor’s Note: This is the perfect time to invest in biotech stocks. If you’re not in the biotech game, you are missing out on triple-digit gains all over the market! So, why are you still holding out?

Banyan Hill expert Jeff Yastine has the details on a $450 million biotech company that’s set to soar. And if you act quickly, you can get in on the ground floor … before the Big Pharma firms take notice and snap up this biotech darling.

Click here now for all the details!

I often hear Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) compared with Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX). They both dominate their respective streaming markets, so the comparison seems appropriate, right?

Today’s chart of the week helps put that market dominance in perspective:

As you can see, Spotify’s subscriber base (108.1 million) nearly doubles its nearest competitor, Apple Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) Apple Music (54.7 million), with Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) coming in a distant third.

By comparison, Netflix has about 137 million subscribers, with Amazon not that far behind with 100 million subscribers to its Prime service (which includes video streaming).

In short, on a subscriber basis, Spotify is far more dominant in music streaming than Netflix is in video streaming. That said, until Spotify creates its own record label, it’s going to lag far behind Netflix in the revenue department. Although, if Spotify were to move that route, the exiting record labels would probably sink the service in a heartbeat.

Great Stuff: In the Year 2020…

Market predictions!

Market predictions everywhere!

The end of the year is fast approaching. But it’s not only the end of a year — it’s the end of a decade.

Are you prepared for the New Roaring ’20s?

Banyan Hill’s biggest and brightest stars have begun to roll out their outlooks and predictions for 2020, and you don’t want to miss a single second of the action. So, in true Great Stuff fashion, I have compiled links to the latest and greatest 2020 predictions from our experts:

“Stocks to Buy in 2020: Invest in Health Care and Avoid Oil” — Charles Mizrahi, Editor, Alpha Investor Report.

“3 Shocking Predictions for 2020” — Jeff Yastine, Editor, Total Wealth Insider.

“2020 Market Predictions: Tesla, Bitcoin, Cannabis, America 2.0” — Ian Dyer, Editor, Rebound Profit Trader.

“2020 Forecast: Grab Double Digits Now to Start the Year Right” — Matt Badiali, Editor, Real Wealth Strategist.

“Tesla Goes to $1,000 and 9 Other 2020 Predictions” — Ian King, Editor, Automatic Fortunes.

“Your Complete 2020 Trading Strategy — in 1 Chart” — Michael Carr, Editor, Peak Velocity Trader.

“How to Survive 2020’s Stock Market Panic” — Ted Bauman, Editor, The Bauman Letter.

“97% Win Rate in 2019: 1 Winning Put Options Strategy to Dominate 2020” — Chad Shoop, Editor, Pure Income.

“Our 2020 Stock Market Predictions” — Paul Mampilly, Editor, Profits Unlimited.

When you’re done digesting all of that excellent material, don’t forget to like and follow Great Stuff on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for even more memes and stock market research … but mostly memes.

Until next time, good trading!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Great Stuff Managing Editor, Banyan Hill Publishing

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goldira01 · 4 years