Boneless Wings #33

**NOTHING HERE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED INVESTMENT ADVICE**

Good morning to all my wingmen and wingwomen out there. Here are a few noteworthy and tasty bites worth digesting. Enjoy!

…..I got in one little fight and my mom got scared, so I grabbed by gold statue and partied in Belaire. (…..literally, he was dancing the night away at the Vanity Fair after-party.)

I usually find myself writing on topics relating to business, sports, or general global affairs. But I just cannot get out of my mind how absurd it was for Will Smith to have done what he did on Sunday.

He should have his Oscar taken away and given to Chris Rock for being able to take that unexpected hit, remain calm and carry on with his performance. I just wish Rock was able to stay in “character” and start heckling Smith afterwards. Lots of jokes come to mind (i.e. That the best you got Ali? Glad it was you who hit me and not GI Jane! You got in one little fight and your mom got scared. etc…)

Keeping this somewhat business and money related, I figured covering Jim Carey’s view on the situation was worthwhile. “I would have announced this morning that I was suing Will for $200 million because that video is going to be there forever, it’s going to be ubiquitous.” (The $200M reference now makes this a business/money topic….boom!)

What was even more maddening and disgusting to me was a room full of Hollywood elite giving a standing ovation to Smith after his bullsh*t acceptance speech. The speech was awful. His pseudo apology was awful. And starting his speech off man-splaining (….I’ve been accused of this a few times in my house) how he was channeling his inner Richard Williams was the most awful. Gaslighting at it’s finest.

Jim Carey summed it up nicely when he said…. “I was sickened. I was sickened by the standing ovation. I felt like Hollywood is spineless — en masse. This is a really clear indication that we’re not the cool kids anymore.” And I couldn’t agree more. Amazing how you can get so lost amongst a group in a moment and completely lose sight of right and wrong.

Can’t help but think Will Smith thought this would make himself look strong. A person who doesn’t put up with disrespect. Instead, he was made to look weak because he couldn’t handle his emotions. Real lions don’t value the opinions of sheep. Morale of the story…..be a lion.

Out of thin air

Assuming you lived a relatively normal childhood, then you likely found yourself in trouble for “making things up out of thin air.” That principal doesn’t exist for Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures or BlackRock, both of whom we’ve talked about on the pod recently.

(…..for the record, this is a newsletter and there is no pod/podcast. I’ve just always wanted to have a pod so I like to reference having one. Even though I don’t. Yes, sad. And confusing. It’s something I likely should confront and address before it creeps up and ruins my life…..a la Will Smith. Too soon? I think not…..shame on your Will! Still SMH! Now back to our regularly scheduled program.)

They, along with other investors, have backed a new hydropanels tech startup company, named Source Global with around $150 million. The company was founded in 2015 by Cody Friesen, a professor at Arizona State University, and they aren’t wasting time……. having installed over 450 projects in 52 countries.

So, what exactly are they producing out of thin air? Water! Clean, potable, and abundant water. That’s a big deal because clean, potable, and abundant water is a problem (read: crisis) in many places around the world. It’s a challenge that will continue to rise without a proper solution.

Here are some additional facts you I found interesting:

• They look like solar panels, except for they produce water.

• Panels costs about $2,000 per panel.

• Simpleton view = Take water molecules out of thin air (literally) --> pack it until 10,000 times more concentrated than in the atmosphere --> utilize the sun to heat and convert molecules to liquid water --> which is then stored in a reservoir inside panel ready to be distributed and consumed. 🤯

At the risk of sounding old……my, my how times have changed! This is truly amazing. And given the World Health Organization shows that “half the world’s population will be in water stressed areas” by 2025…..this is even more amazing.

So, what’s the take-away message for all of us on April 1, 2022? Don’t be a fool, be amazing!

GameStop on the rise again?

Yes, hard to believe but GameStop is on the rise….again. Yesterday, the great meme stock shot up 17% after hours on the news that the company was planning a stock split, pending board approval. It’s seeking to increase the number of Class A shares from 300 million shares to 1 billion shares. The market clearly liked that news given the after-hours pump.

GameStop says the increased shares would be used for:

• Splitting current stock and increasing share count (….doing so will lower the price per share and provide investors an opportunity to buy in at those lower prices.)

• Potentially use it for “other means” …..including just selling more stock.

• And have greater “flexibility for future corporate needs”.

Chairman Ryan Cohen bought an additional 100,000 shares earlier in the month which also helped lift the stock by 35% in March alone.

This stock, and meme stocks in general, are hard to understand and predict….especially if you’re more of a “fundamentals” type of investor. Given that the business model and corporate strategy hasn’t really changed (not one bit) these wild price moves leave analysts scratching their heads.

It would be like a person assaulting someone on live television, facing no consequences in the moment, then being awarded with a gold trophy for his acting ability, allowed to give an awful speech for 5 straight minutes, and then receive a standing ovation.

Yeah, just like that……this meme stock makes no sense to me either!

I'm out my people. And enjoy your April Fools’ Day, enjoy your Friday, and enjoy your weekend!!

Deuces. ✌️