Cracker by Damian Christie

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Cracker: Post St Patrick's Day Blues

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  • andrew llewellyn,

    A few points - in order of importance

    1. That rupert the bear link is broken
    2. Please help the cause & join the Facebook group lobbying for Bain to be on next year's dancing with the stars (verdict permitting).
    3. I can't remember the third point.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    Oh yeah:

    4. I remember in November 1987, the partners of the sharebroking firm I worked at urged us all to buy while the market was so low, it could only go up right? - those with money did, some without money did too. I did not, because I had no money & I always did the opposite of what those guys said & I seemed to prosper either because of, or in spite of that.

    Many of my colleagues took a bath, some had taken out large loans to buy worthless shares that started out rock bottom, but then blasted even further through the floor.

    So I'd recommend dabbling only. Or go make a $200k offer on a $1.5 million property. You never know your luck.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Brislen,

    Glad to see it's not just me who was appalled by that astonishing press conference. I thought journalists were in attendance, not just groupies. Apparently not. John Campbell, your stock fell sharply on that one. How do you feel, indeed.

    So what shares did you buy? Do you know your PE ratio from your elbow (I certainly don't) and I thought you'd given up the stinky pig!

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 200 posts Report Reply

  • Damian Christie,

    Yeah, point 4, definitely just dabbling. It's money I can afford to lose, which is not to say it's nothing, but I'd suffer no more than hurt pride if it went down the tubes. It's not my retirement plan, that's for sure. Actually, thinking of that, I don't have a retirement plan...

    And Paul - In some ways I'd rather not discuss what I bought in case someone comes along and tells me what an awful idea it was. I will tell you one I bought though, F&P Appliances, it's got a pretty solid 'buy' recommendation behind it at present, shares are valued at $2 but currently going for 42c... and it doesn't sound like the Government's going to let it fail anytime soon.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1164 posts Report Reply

  • Damian Christie,

    Oh, and yes I have some understanding of PE ratios and so forth, but part of this is a learning exercise - and what better way to learn one's mistakes than by blowing cash in the process...

    Is the Stinky Pig code for drinking? I gave up for a month, last time I saw you, but it was only ever supposed to be that. Definitely back on or off the wagon again now, whichever's the one where you get to drink, I forget.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1164 posts Report Reply

  • Zippy Gonzales,

    Ah, 1987. $500 is a lot for a schoolboy to lose on the sharemarket. Lesson learned. Then again, my best mate lost ten times that much back then. He's in finance now.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 186 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Denise L'Estrange-Corbet is now the arbiter of good taste -- really?

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Oh, crap... hit post instead of preview (to check I'd not screwed up the link). Of course, you can hardly blame Denise for grasping an opportunity for free press with both hands. But you might think the clueless little hackette who rang her up in the first place would have been aware of the irony involved.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Don Christie,

    Advice on how to invest in stock...use someone else's money.

    I was going to link to *that* Cramer video on Youtube, then this message came up:

    <quote> This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by TheStreet.com. </quot>

    So here is his latest advice...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    I had advice from a professional fund manager on how to do the job:
    1. Buy shares
    2. If they go up, sell them
    3. If they go down, classify them as a long term investment and hand to a junior to manage

    also, I can recommend BAE Systems as a good investment. Because Pol Pot's dead, and the Medellin Cartel isn't publically quoted.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    Denise L'Estrange-Corbet is now the arbiter of good taste -- really?

    Which brings me to a question which has nothing at all to do with Damian's post. How come all the designers who make clothes that only fit stick insects, and who seem to be able to charge exorbitant prices, and who employ shop assistants who look very frightened and/or disgusted if a large and unfashionable looking woman walks through their doors, how come they are all dumpy wee things,? Just asking.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Islander,

    Recruit the vulnerable, e Jackie- name of the game innit?

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    How come all the designers who make clothes that only fit stick insects, and who seem to be able to charge exorbitant prices, and who employ shop assistants who look very frightened and/or disgusted if a large and unfashionable looking woman walks through their doors, how come they are all dumpy wee things,?

    I always imagine that at clothing store HR they have one of those contraptions, like in the amusement parks, and a sign that says "you must be this wispy to apply for a job".

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Thank you for going there, Jackie, because if I'd opened my trap the PAS Women's XV would now be using my intestines for a draught excluder.

    But the only place Karen Walker's a "dumpy wee thing" is in an anorexic ICU, and if Karl Lagerfeld has actually digested anything since the death of Christian Dior I'd like to see evidence.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    Well, I suppose I speak of NZ designers only, really, Craig. And excepting Karen Walker and a couple of the other youngie ones....

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Well, I suppose I speak of NZ designers only, really, Craig. And excepting Karen Walker and a couple of the other youngie ones....

    Sure, I really do doubt Trelise Cooper could squeeze into any of her runway outfits but I'm reliably informed that line of questioning is a good way to make ice cubes in a matter of seconds. The funny thing is that if a handful of top-tier fashion editors (mostly women, ironically enough) refused to run editorial photos of size zero mutants then these runway shows would start looking very different.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    their fashion aesthetic, which personally I've always found to fluctuate between tasteless and gimmicky and Rupert the Bear.

    Sure, they're over the top a lot of the time, but there are precious few other designers creating menswear with a touch of whimsy, glamour and colour. I may be too old, fat and heterosexual to pull off a lot of their looks, but I've got to love any place that sells sequinned bow ties.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    but I've got to love any place that sells sequinned bow ties.

    Honey, anyone wears one those in my field of vision and I'll start muttering "Killer Klowns From Outer Space"...

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Julie Fairey,

    The ex-expat has pointed out a particular icky example of bad baby clothing and others are coming out of the woodwork in the discussion thread. I had forgotten about the Future Porn Star one, but that seems to me to be unsurpassable in the Euuuwwwwww stakes.

    On the size of designers versus the size of models. There's some malarkey about how clothes look better on thinner models. I have no idea how you decide that kind of thing. Especially as a lot of high fashion looks really ugly to me, regardless of the size of the model.

    Puketapapa Mt Roskill, AK… • Since Dec 2007 • 234 posts Report Reply

  • Bruce Thorpe,

    Thanks for the reminder. I am buying one today.

    Hokianga • Since May 2007 • 52 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    I'm not sure they come in XXL ....

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Damian Christie,

    @Tom - the bow ties were a particular affront to my sensibilities, just like when nom D tried to bring back the satin-backed waistcoat a few years ago. Not on my watch, buddy. Sure I know some of the foppish dandies are running around Manhattan wearing floral bow ties and Capote glasses as we speak, but not here. Not on my watch.

    @Jackie - Actually thinking about the dozen or so designers I know, you're probably picking out the notable exceptions yourself - Trelise, Margie, Liz Finlay, Denise etc, right? Karen, Kate, Cybele, Annah S, all pretty tall and slim, and I could name quite a few more besides.

    Not that I'm saying all fashion models should be emaciated waifs, but unless our societal concepts of youth and beauty change somewhat, we're not going to be seeing people of Denise L'C's stature ambling down the runway anytime soon.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1164 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    Annah S

    I'll give propers to Stretton for having a Range for the Squat.

    (Although most of her clothes - in any size - are a little frou-frou for my taste. Still, some of the more low-key stuff rewards a search through the racks.)

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    I'll give propers to Stretton for having a Range for the Squat.

    So does every other designer, because bullemics with platinum cards don't actually buy enough clothes to keep over-leveraged fashion labels afloat. But when was the last time Stretton sent a "squat" model down the runway or hired one for an advertising shoot?

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Beard,

    @Damian - of course, I would never actually buy a sequinned bow tie. It's physically impossible to tie a bow tie without damaging the sequins, and there's no way I'll wear anything pre-tied. I'll stick to plain black for evening and blue foulard for going to the cricket.

    And as for the satin-backed waistcoats: I haven't seen any of those at World, and the only one I've bought recently is from Mandatory, which is generally a little more classic and restrained in its designs. Of course, wearing it with matching trousers and a tie makes one look as if one were Roger Stirling heading off for a three-Martini lunch: but I'd much rather that than look like I was heading off to a team meeting at Wernham Hogg, which is what most corporate attire looks like these days.

    Bring back the dandy, I say, and open up the range of options for menswear. No matter whose watch it is.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1040 posts Report Reply

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