Saying goodbye

This weekend the LOST finale will air and it is a bittersweet moment. While there will be answers to be sure, the story will come to a close and like any good story a sadness looms because of the story’s finish.

This season came and went in a blur and there were so many good moments but it sure seemed that there just wasn't enough, they could have had double the episodes as far as I was concerned. Also as the series winds down, I am left with what could be best described as a little bit of a befuddled sense because I can’t quite make sense of the stories they chose to tell this season in light of what has been happening.

If you're a fan you might not have even noticed it so much but, one of the things I find amazing is how Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindeloff have pretty much scorched the earth. What I mean is they have made it impossible to ‘go back.’ There will be no 11th hour reprieves, no ‘after it’s done’ change of heart, this is it.

They’re taking all their toys and going home.

If you’ve noticed as we have marched to the finale the one thing that has been a constant (with apologies to Desmond) is death. They have killed character after character after character. They have made it impossible for any more story to be told as a result. This is it. After the finale, it’s over and a bigger hint about the remaining characters still alive is given in the title of the finale which is ‘Why They Died.’

Think about it...

Sayid, Jin and Sun two episodes ago.

Charles Widmore and Richard Alpert last episode (and Jacob too if you were paying attention).

No one gets out alive it seems from the LOST universe with one notable exception.

Walt.

Walt is the only character to survive the island at least that’s how it seems at the moment.

As I said, I’m a bit disappointed too because there has been a focus on characters and then they are so summarily dismissed, it makes one wonder why any airtime was given to an episode focusing on them to begin with. Last week Charles Widmore who was supposed to be such a huge force hanging over the lives of so many was just shot – shot by Ben. The question I was left with was after all this time why Ben simply didn’t kill him when he was in the man’s bedroom a few seasons back? Makes no sense.

Same thing goes for Richard too in a way. Although it appeared he was killed last episode, prior to that there was an inference he is immortal so, how does that really all work?


Yet, like everything the show is ending and I’ll be sorry to see it go but like everyone else I’m just looking for clues about where they’re going to take us. It has been an interesting ride.

I’ll be trying to throw up some other things about LOST before the series eventual finale in a few weeks and I wanted to note once again the beautiful image that graces this blog post.

I asked (and got) permission to use it and I want to make a tip of the hat to Matt Wieringo. There still are a bunch of really wonderful images up on Mike Wieringo’s blog and if you’re any kind of a Mike Wieringo fan I heartily suggest you take some time to go over and look through the blog to see a lot of great unpublished work. Also note there is a wonderful scholarship program that has been established in Mike Wieringo’s name at his alma-mater.

Movie Mondays!

The acting and cinematography are good but the major flaw of TLKoS is its story. Forest Whitaker does a good turn as Amin but, the story is fictional. As the short disclaimer at the head of the film states, it’s inspired by real life events. That the producers chose Kevin McDonald to direct, a man who had previously only made documentaries, further masks the film is a work of fiction. Some people will be under the mistaken impression there really was a Scottish doctor and these events actually took place but, as observed in the bonus materials by a man who actually was present during one of the film’s penultimate moments, these are exaggerations. Amin certainly was a scary man, a dictator who headed a bloody and brutal regime but there is no need to take such artistic license with his story, in doing so the filmmakers do a disservice to the Ugandans who were victims of the man. I cite the following from the Wikipedia entry on the book the film is based on: “Published by Faber and Faber in 1998 to critical acclaim, the novel interweaves both historical fact and fiction. Its protagonist is a fictional character named Nicholas Garrigan” and “The author evokes the form of a memoir by inserting fictional newspaper articles, journal entries, and authentic events.” I don’t think the filmmakers have drawn a clear enough line between fact and fiction in this film and because they have left it so muddled, they lessen the dramatic impact of the film overall.

I’m repurposing content by taking my NetFlix reviews and posting them here on the blog. If I could figure out a way to do it, I’d post some kind of link for people to connect and make me their friend on the service. Unfortunately, it isn’t altogether clear how one would do that - so if you know a way, pass it along. In the meantime, I’ve got steady content for at least a year.

What becomes a dick.

A few days back, Warren Ellis actually put up something useful on his blog instead of the usual pandering and gobbledygook crap that passes for intelligent discourse there.

Basically. someone queried Ellis about the process of writing and he had something interesting to offer up, words about the process that had merit. It is the kind of thing I’d like to see more of but unfortunately some writers are akin to Zeus and treat people who are interested in the process as if they are Prometheus.

Now, I’ve more or less stopped reading Ellis’ blog. He posts quite a bit on the blog but much of it is just crap, air sandwich, filler. It’s just not interesting at all and mainly what he does is repost or link to articles that have caught his interest. All fine and good but I don’t go to Ellis’ blog to see what he reads, I want to know how he works, how he thinks, what he does, the way he approaches problems and overcomes them.

I posted a one line comment that was innocuous at best and promptly got a snide reply from his highness.

It was truly a Spicoli moment with Ellis in the role of Mr. Hand.

So the question for today’s class is this: Is there ever a moment when someone is so full of their oats that it warrants them totally abandoning manners?

Mind you, I can be fairly brutal as things go but generally I don’t stomp on people. Maybe it was one too many Red Bulls?

Email abuse.

I have done my level bet to take myself off the grid. Aspects of day to day life I find offensive, clutter clogging up the bandwidth of my day and distractions I don’t want or need. I bundle these things together in one big ball of shit and by avoiding or limiting my exposure, I keep the turd ball small, not overly smelly and flushable.

Here are the things falling into this category: junk mail - including all the stupid crap from the phone company (instead of mailing me that garbage, I wish they would just lower my bill), sales calls to my house phone (which I have managed to curtail to next to nothing) and the forwarded email.

Forwarded emails can be anything from the stupid joke you just got sent by someone else in your email circle, another one of those amazing but true emails, or the political diatribe. Chances are if the only time I get an email from you is something falling into one of the three aforementioned categories you are very, very close from having me block all your emails.

And I know it sounds amazingly curmudgeonly of me to put it in those terms but I look to the world to provide me with stimulation and things that will enrich my life. I’ve just never received an email based around those topics that has done either. There are three or four people currently subjecting me to this kind of abuse, three or four people who – while I find them to be interesting people – only seem to be able to get something cluttering up their own email box and do their best to spread the clutter. These are people whose opinions I value but instead of sending along something they have originated, they choose to spread the spurious or the mundane.

Half of this stuff is an outright lie or fallacy. Another large portion is the manner in which email viruses spread.

These forwarded messages fall into the following categories:

• Chain emails – where if I don’t propagate the crap some horrible fate will befall me.
  
  
• The life lesson email – where I am so important to someone that while they can’t be bothered to send along a note every now and again to actually communicate with me but amazingly with whom I rank so highly they are compelled to send along spam telling me how important I am to them
  
  
• The political rant – when Bush was in office it was from Democrats and now that Obama is in office they’re from Republicans
  
  
• The stupid joke – more often than not these are jokes you wouldn’t tell to co-workers at your job because they would result in you getting fired because they are either racist, homophobic or bigoted in some manner
  
  
• The picture email – an array or single picture showing something strange or odd with an accompanying one or two line stupid description which is usually a failed attempt at humor.

Now, I like to hear from people. I like to hear about what is going on in there lives, what they are excited about and what they’re working on but if all a person can cobble together is maybe three words (and more often than not it’s less) before clicking on the forward button then, I probably don’t want to get it so save us both the trouble and just keep it to yourself.

I’m tired.

I let a lot of things slide, some people may not think that’s true but, I let a lot more things slide than they know.

Our country is a strange place. It’s strange in though we are living in this supposed ‘politically correct’ society, the rules are not applied in equal fashion. Some groups are easier targets than others. Why this is, I really haven’t much of a clue. It makes little sense to me but I see it everyday. One person can lose a job, a career, the respect of others, their standing in the community over the most casual of utterances – things blown into a firestorm of indignation.

It just depends on the person saying it. If the person saying it is beloved then the transgression is excused. If the person is on the fringes of society or has garnered strong resentment among a segment of the population then this becomes the moment for those enemies to seize and rain down righteous retribution.

It happens every day.

Again, it depends on who does the saying of a thing. It’s not the content of what they say and you can test this by having two people utter the same thing and see the reactions it garners.

Anyway, I belong to a dating site (Manyx needs women) and it puts me in contact with a plethora of women some of whom despise me and others who are willing to see what I’m about. I was surprised recently by one woman who actually sought me out – pleasantly surprised as she was young, blond and beautiful. Perhaps she had tired of the parade of men who threw themselves at her and was looking for a change. Who knows?

We had communicated back and forth a few times to the point we were setting up our first date. She regularly wrote in a journal on the site and it’s how we became familiar with one and other. So, I found myself a little dismayed when I came to read this passage:

Jesus saves Feb. 21And says who? ;) And saves from what? Jesus died for us? Why? Wth? He was not able to do things using his magical powers instead of dying??? What’s the purpose wanting to die when there was no need to? This is the funniest part. Why is Jesus blond with blue eyes?:)))) They say, he was Middle Eastern (exclude Turkey since we are located both on Asia and Europe and have blonds, brunettes and so on) if there was Jesus of course. He probably had dark skin with brown eyes and who knows maybe he was black. Sheep just follow each other. If you understand what I mean.

Now, I’m not a bible thumper by any stretch of he imagination, nor am I the most devout of Christians on the planet. I have a hard time remembering the last time I set foot in a church but there was something in seeing someone from another faith so readily cast aspersions on the foundations of my own. So, I responded:

*I will respond directly - Feb. 22, 2010 – 12:30pm I’d probably be much more impressed if you had made the same comments and cast similar aspersions on Mohammed and Islam. Barring that, I find most of what you are saying specious and immature. Further, I find it fascinating you live in such a black and white world where there are no shades of gray - organized religion being a zero sum game. Tell me the same argument after you have stood before the death bed of a loved one and told them they face nothing more than oblivion and decomposition. Convey your beliefs to them with the same vigor and playfulness as their life slips from them and you are faced with their absence. Not everything stemming from religion(s) is bad, perhaps things get muddied up by some adherents but whatever a person chooses to believe is their business, at the very least I can show respect for their beliefs even if I may not hold the same tenets as my own. If not for any other reason than common courtesy and grace. As long as they do not try to impose their beliefs upon me I will endeavor to show them the same respect. If you are lacking in faith it is your own choice and I am far from a church goer or a bible thumper however, there is nothing here other than the attempt to garner attention and be shocking for attention’s sake. What a childish and angry display and ultimately very disappointing.

And there are people in this world who like being contrary, there are people who get attention, are pretty to look at but simultaneously are very ugly inside. Damaged in some way that is hidden by the comely aspect of their exterior.

*Feb. 22, 2010 – 7:34pm I appreciate your thoughts and respect. No need to tell me how I am and how my personality is as I am not saying anything about yours and still won’t after you sweet comment S. Mohammad is no different than Jesus. Long observation there. Thanks.*

*   *   *   *   *

Feb. 22, 2010 – 10:47pm Good, I'll be glad to read similar comments about the prophet of Islam in your journal then as well - barring that what you have to say rings very hollow indeed.

After this, I blocked her. She wasn’t about to write the same inflammatory statements about Mohammed – I knew it, she knew it. The truth is people are so afraid they won’t make any kind of statements about Mohammed for fear of becoming the target of a zealot.

As beautiful as she is (was), I just found I didn’t want to have anything to do with her. Again, I’m not this crazed, devout Christian in any way but there was something in the casual way she took something many people find sacred and stomped all over it that told me I wouldn’t want to be around someone like that.

FACEBOOK a$$holes.

This just cracked me up today - more than a few articles regarding Facebook.
 

What I’ve always found amazingly ironic is the fact people are so incredibly stupid as to volunteer all kinds of information up to a company and trust them with that information while at the same time they wouldn’t volunteer the same information to a bank, the government or any other organization. Better still - THEY PUT IT ALL UP ON THE INTERNET!

The internet is forever baby!

Until someone figures out a way to break the damn web all that information will be floating around on servers for years and years and years. People readily detailing where they went to school, where they work, where they live, who they associate with, what they like and don’t like, their political beliefs, their families... it’s all out there for the taking and if you think someone isn’t going to come along and make use of that information, well I’ve got a bridge to sell you!

I’ve gotten a bunch of requests from people to become their ‘friend’ and join Facebook and I simply won’t do it. I’ve been on the web for years and early on I was a proponent of personal privacy and related issues as they pertain to the web and I know full well how ‘social networking’ is really just another name for data mining.

So, FACEBOOK clowns, adherents, fans.... these are for you. When the day comes never let it be said you weren’t warned:

Writer Steve O'Hear shows that it's possible to eavesdrop on the private live chats of your Facebook friends by previewing your profile through the site's privacy settings.

Facebook shut down its chat function on Wednesday in response the security bug, a Facebook spokeswoman said in an e-mail to CNN.

*   *   *   *   *

The threat of seismic tumult still hangs over Silicon Valley. When earthquakes elsewhere in the world dominate the news, people get a little more sensitive to their own vulnerability in the Bay Area.

The ground might really have just given a twitch. Is it moving? Comparing Facebook’s latest product modifications to deadly natural disasters is probably a little bit inappropriate, but the psychological reaction doesn't seem all that different.

The social network modified its policies for handling user data once again as part of its F8 conference and release of the Open Graph API, and ever since it became clear that more information is being set as public by default and more is being shared with third parties, concerned Facebook users have been on jittery alert, perhaps prone to overreaction, concerned that something even bigger may be about to change.

 *   *   *   *   *

On Wednesday’s episode of a podcast called This Week in Technology, host Leo Laporte, a well-known tech pundit, said he had to search wikiHow, a how-to site, to figure out how to delete his Facebook account permanently.

After finding the delete button, which he said is hidden deep within the site’s menus, Laporte proceeded to delete his account during the online broadcast.

“That’s it. It’s gone,” he said during the show. “And I think that’s the right thing to do.”

 *   *   *   *   *

7 Things to Stop Doing Now on Facebook by Consumer Reports Magazine Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Enough!

With the f#@*%ng cold weather already!

Movie Mondays!

Not quite as good as its press, Borat manages to be hysterically funny in some moments and excruciatingly painful to watch in others. Give Sacha Baron Cohen credit though for so totally embracing a character the film truly plays like a documentary. A cross-country odyssey of a faux Kazakhstani TV personality on his first visit to the US. Nothing is as amazing as the sheer terror Cohen induces when he finally meets the object of his desire in person. There are moments that will have you crying with laughter but unfortunately they aren't so frequent that I could rate the film higher than three stars. Still, it’s worth a watch.

I’m repurposing content by taking my NetFlix reviews and posting them here on the blog. If I could figure out a way to do it, I’d post some kind of link for people to connect and make me their friend on the service. Unfortunately, it isn’t altogether clear how one would do that - so if you know a way, pass it along. In the meantime, I’ve got steady content for at least a year.

Movie Mondays!

A wonderful jaunt back to the X-Files universe that will please long-time fans and first-time viewers alike. Chris Carter smartly doesn’t get too embroiled in the mythology of the series; instead he takes his popular creations Scully and Mulder and squarely places them at a place they should be after the series finale. Years have passed though and these aren’t the same two people as they were when the show ended. A search is going on for a missing FBI agent who may be alive or may be dead. However, a former priest has the answers to her whereabouts but, is he trying to be helpful or is he somehow involved? Old grudges are put aside if ‘Spooky’ Mulder will assist his former masters. It’s apparent a lot of the money spent on the film is up on the screen because it is painterly in the way it is photographed. There is a joy seeing these two actors reprise their previous roles. The movie manages to be suspenseful without getting bogged down in the history of the series but, don’t be fooled there are more than a few playful nods to the past that only a true fan will appreciate. The nice thing is they’re there without impacting the flow of the story. My only hope is that we see these two together again in future pictures. I Want to Believe succeeds on a level where Fight the Future failed in that you can appreciate it without being a die hard X-Files fan. Great fun and quite scary too! Amanda Peet plays against type with great success! Billy Connolly delivers a terrific performance. Overall a wonderful film!

I’m repurposing content by taking my NetFlix reviews and posting them here on the blog. If I could figure out a way to do it, I’d post some kind of link for people to connect and make me their friend on the service. Unfortunately, it isn’t altogether clear how one would do that - so if you know a way, pass it along. In the meantime, I’ve got steady content for at least a year.

Times Square - Cashew, Peanuts and Almonds.

The big news last night was the police in New York City preventing a poorly made truck bomb from going off - whether or not it would’ve gone off is an entirely different discussion but the mere fact that it might’ve gone off and the police caught it in time reinforces that they are in fact on their toes.

Yet, when I first heard the story, I didn’t think it would be an instance of some foreign national being behind such an action.

I say this because from the stream of email I receive on a regular basis it is fairly obvious the nuts are in season and by that I mean, people have confused opposition or political discourse with something entirely different. This is not a problem isolated to the right as many members of the left engaged in the same kind of behavior over the course of the last President’s term in office.

It’s really a bit sad.

It’s sad the people of this country aren’t mature enough to engage people with opposing views in intelligent conversation. It’s sad because it heralds the end of democracy. It’s sad because whoever you talk to believes fully and without hesitation they are entirely 100% right and the people who disagree with them 100% wrong.

You can’t have a democracy without dialog but we are stepping further and further away from being able to hold any discussion about the issues without rancor.

So, we get Timothy McViegh parking a truck in front of a federal office building  and we get people flying planes into the side of IRS buildings (and on this I can readily identify) but these actions aren’t the hallmark of a civilized and advanced nation – they are more in keeping with some backwater.

Much as we would like to paint the world as an unsafe place the underlying truth is reinforced once more by that sage comic character Pogo – yes my friends, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” 

Peanuts and crackerjacks.

One thing I know is baseball, I am far more than a casual fan and even though I am not much of a Yankee fan I take great pride in how accurately I call team moves and player performance. As proof, I offer up two posts - one from November: Now that wasn’t all that surprising was it?

And one from February: Hitting hornets nest with a bat

Joba is in the pen, Phil Hughes is in the five spot and Javy Vasquez is pitching his way to infamy. Oh and the recent headlines have been all about the disappointing middle relief corps.

Strange bedfellows!

Great story from Nat Hentoff’s column I was reading this week that is well worth checking out:

In the long, embattled history of student free-speech cases, what makes the Deborah Morse, Juneau School Board v. Joseph Frederick case startlingly unique is the number of conservative and religious organizations supporting Joe Frederick’s First Amendment right to unfurl his banner “Bong Hits 4 Jesus.”

Fishing.

So, I’ve been doing the online dating thing for a few weeks now and while there have been a few bites, I’m not in the frame of mind at this second to really get out there (I’m a bit of a slow starter). What I do find interesting is first, well... just how many really beautiful, seemingly together women there are out there without a man.

Maybe that’s really not so surprising - women are different nowadays from the generation I grew up with and I think they approach things very, very differently than the women of my generation and earlier generations did. Still, I can’t help but think at the same time women today have a bit of a problem finding men in general to meet the standards they set.

If you’re looking for someone, what are the parameters you require the person to meet, to even get things started?

Thing is, anyone who has been in a long term relationship will tell you pretty much the same thing. That being, long term relationships bear little resemblance to what they look like at their onset. I’m not saying you can’t feel passion or have an attraction to someone after being with them for a period of time but, the person we are in the first three months of any relationship bears little or no resemblance to the person we really are.

The person in those first few months is us at our best, we are people without flaws in those first few months (at least if the situation has legs so to speak). After three or six months when that hot, can’t get enough of the new body playground thing wears off, you kind of start looking at the person you’re with through different eyes.

Basically, you begin to ask yourself if you like the person.

By like, I mean to say, do you like the personality of the person you’re with, their internal compass, the things that motivate them, their likes and dislikes. Is there a common ground between you? It’s a lot more complicated than that surface judgment a person makes at the beginning of a relationship... that’s just attraction.

Sometimes I get the sense some women are looking for this kind of combination of several things which are exceedingly difficult to find. I always like this thing in the ads where the women talk about adventure. I see women looking for adventure every time I watch an episode of People’s Court or COPS. Generally these are smooth talking guys who while charming, are leeches or the ever popular ‘dangerous’ guy. Dangerous could mean a bunch of things including troubled or whatever but, at the finish when things end badly, it’s hardly a surprising thing even though you would be led to believe otherwise.

Sure, I get it... maybe a woman has a career, makes some decent money and can support herself, keeps herself in shape, has a wide circle of friends and interests, like, why would she need a man? I mean getting a dog would be easier and they respond when you hit them with a rolled up newspaper. Still maybe if this current crop of women were a little more forgiving the way they were with dogs they might have a bit more success.

Men pretty much are like dogs after a certain period of time.

They need to be directed, they will generally sit in a corner quiet waiting for that brief moment when they get off their leash so they can run wild if only briefly and occasionally will make some kind of a mess or stink. That’s men.

Written way back on 6/4/07 and in the ensuing time, nothing has really changed.

Man of science, man of faith.

There are only three more episodes (hours) left before the two hour finale. A big event in the lives of LOST fans everywhere.

Last time out, I wound up talking about Sawyer but I wanted to touch on my favorite character today and how over the course of the season my favorite character has become something less of a favorite.

Yes, I’m talking about the inimitable John Locke.

Whenever people become fans of something, it’s often because they identify with one of the characters and with the large cast of LOST it meant the show could appeal to a wide range of people with so many different characters in the cast. Locke quickly became my favorite.

I already had a bit of a soft spot for the actor who portrays Locke (Terry O’Quinn) because he was one Chris Carter‘s favorite actors and as a result appeared in many of Carter’s series throughout the nineties. He was great in the first X-Files theatrical movie even though he has a small, small part. Later on he would be an integral part of Millennium, proving able to hold his own when countering the gravitas of Lance Henrikson.

As a matter of fact, if you want to know where Terry is pulling his performance this season as LOST’s very own Man in Black you need go no further than to view some episodes of Carter’s Harsh Realm where O’Quinn played the main villain - the dictator Santiago.

Back to John Locke though, I was really upset at the end of the fourth season when the body in the casket was revealed Locke. Locke was the one character who believed in the magic of the island from the very beginning so it just didn’t seem right he would be the one to wind up dead.

What I liked about Locke was he consistently fought against the expectation and limitations placed upon him by the people and world around him. While Locke was a loner, there was no denying he was an important part of the society built up by the castaways. As a matter of a fact, the survivors heavily depended on Locke’s abilities throughout the first season.

That he butted heads with Jack much of the time didn’t bother me because I never thought of Jack as a good leader.

Before his arrival on the island though, Locke’s life was fraught with tragedy and the quest to find a place he belonged – again, I could readily understand his motivations and I also liked the air of mystery he carried with him. To me, Locke was one of the more interesting characters on the show and of course who could resist wanting to know more given he boarded Oceanic 816 on a wheelchair but was amazingly able to walk once again.

Then, he died.

He died at the hands of Ben (another favorite) who had tried repeatedly to kill Locke and finally succeeded. Locke died after having been sent on a fool’s errand by the very entity who would shroud itself in his form.

Think about it for a second!

If you’ve been paying any attention, the last revelation was that the Man in Black had taken on a variety of forms and appeared to the castaways as many different people throughout their sojourn on the island. One of those forms was as Christian Shepard and who was it that told Locke he had to go find his friends and bring them back? I actually started watching the old episodes in a different light now with that knowledge and it puts an entirely different spin on the series – one that astoundingly works really well.

So, Locke went on his foolish quest and returned only to be the mechanism by which great evil is let loose upon the world.

The show has always had these underpinnings though and one of the constant themes throughout the series is the pull between the two poles of logic and reason versus faith with Jack representing the former and Locke representing the latter. Time and time again Jack and Locke would come into conflict with one and other because at their cores, they based their lives around different tenets. I think faith has a place in each of us and I liked Locke too but now that he’s the villain of the piece I just can’t find it in myself to root for him anymore.

What’s surprising though is at the very end it will be Jack versus Locke as it always has been and in the end even more surprising is the fact I’ll be rooting for Jack (who I never really liked) to win.

I’ll be trying to throw up some other things about LOST before the series eventual finale in a few weeks and I wanted to note once again the beautiful image that graces this blog post.

I asked (and got) permission to use it and I want to make a tip of the hat to Matt Wieringo. There still are a bunch of really wonderful images up on Mike Wieringo’s blog and if you’re any kind of a Mike Wieringo fan I heartily suggest you take some time to go over and look through the blog to see a lot of great unpublished work. Also note there is a wonderful scholarship program that has been established in Mike Wieringo’s name at his alma-mater.

Rethinking comics.

I’ve long since pushed back from the table of comics. It’s been a some time now since I succumbed to the weekly fix, the trek each Wednesday to the store to drop a bunch of cash on the the 22 page escape. It took many years but in the end comics just became far too expensive and while there are times I miss following the latest storyline of a favorite character, they are surprisingly much rarer than I would have imagined.

I even stopped checking out comics related sites to so I am woefully unaware of what has happened since I broke the habit. The few times I did check out a comics site online, I was amazed by how rapidly things changed in my absence.

I was doing some surfing the other day though and saw Eric Larsen starting writing his column again on a regular basis. Even though I’m not buying books, I’ve found I enjoy reading what Larsen has to say. I’ve met the guy and he’s not only very nice but sharp too. This particular column is something publisher’s might want to take to heart because I have to say it makes a load of sense:

My proposal is for American comic books to follow the Japanese model married to Europe’s 2000 AD: weekly 64-page books with all original content and a cover price of $5.95. These comics would have thicker, more durable cardstock covers so they would be a step closer to trades but they would be bound like comics. Easier to rack with magazines and, with a similar price point, more lucrative for the retailer. It would be easier to get these into book stores and magazine racks.

Movie Mondays!

It’s so far over the top you could almost call it slapstick but it’s what Adam Sandler does best and here he’s at the height of his game. Zohan the superhuman Israeli spy just wants to lead a quiet life, cut hair and he’ll go to great lengths to achieve that dream. There are a surprising number of recognizable faces in supporting roles in this broad, un-pc comedy. It at essence though is an immigrant’s story and has the charm and wonder of those tales. This film is a distant cousin to Eddie Murphy's Coming To America but even funnier. If crude humor isn’t your thing, avoid it but if you enjoy a good belly laugh you will find it great fun indeed.

I’m repurposing content by taking my NetFlix reviews and posting them here on the blog. If I could figure out a way to do it, I’d post some kind of link for people to connect and make me their friend on the service. Unfortunately, it isn’t altogether clear how one would do that - so if you know a way, pass it along. In the meantime, I’ve got steady content for at least a year.

Love your work.

This past week I found myself at the favorite client. I call this client ‘the favorite client’ because last year I enjoyed the pleasure of having a four month long steady gig at the same client and I found myself very happy on a number of levels.

This is a client I worked with way, way back in 2001, (as a matter of fact this is the client I was working for when September 11th took place).

Back in 2001 I spent a total 8 months straight working for this client and back then I was happy working here then but through circumstances beyond my control the run came to a rather abrupt end (nothing to do with me per-se and more to do with the person who bought me in).

So, last year when I got called back, I was eager to return although I had a certain trepidation about the reception that would await. As things turned out though, it was really, really a fabulous experience overall. This is a place where I like the people and the culture of the office and I find the combination is a harder and harder thing to come by as the years pass.

As the gig last year started to wind down, I was hoping I would be able to find some way to ‘stick’ as it were but that just didn’t happen. Of course, the day after my final day of that assignment also happened to be the day of the great scooter accident of 2009 so other matters quickly distracted me from any sadness I might’ve felt about the gig ending.

But, I’m back and the thing about working in a place and then not being there for a while and returning is although things have changed in your absence, there is still an air of familiarity which abounds. Now, on more than one occasion over the last few months I have started to write about how much I missed the place which is something that could seem odd to some of the people who work there but I really did miss it.

Over the four month period I was working here last year, I developed a whole host of good habits - I changed my diet, exercised more frequently (a lot of walking), I just used it as an excuse to work on some things I really needed to focus on and I was the happier for it. So, being back in the place is a joy which is a bit funny because I know there are people who are there, who are on staff, who bemoan their lot on a daily basis.

But I like the culture and I like the people and even though I don’t seem to be able to ‘stick’ as it were, I do enjoy a majority of the time I am there.

Propaganda of the criminals.

If you want to know how f**ked up our society is and why we keep encountering the problems we do, you have to look no further than the reaction to this news story hot off the wire:

The legislation, sent to the Republican governor by the GOP-led Legislature, makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally. It also requires local police officers to question people about their immigration status if there is reason to suspect they are illegal immigrants; allows lawsuits against government agencies that hinder enforcement of immigration laws; and makes it illegal to hire illegal immigrants for day labor or knowingly transport them.

Umm... isn’t it the job of the police to catch people who are breaking the law? Notice, it is not ILLEGAL to hire legal immigrants but ILLEGAL to hire ILLEGAL immigrants.

HELLLLLLOOOOOOOO!

See, the argument here is that by enforcing the law, the government is being racist, biased or discriminatory. When in fact what the government is doing (and what this law is reinforcing) is there are laws in this nation that must be followed and the enforcement of those laws applies TO ALL!

The law sends “a clear message that Arizona is unfriendly to undocumented aliens,” said Peter Spiro, a Temple University law professor and author of the book “Beyond Citizenship: American Identity After Globalization.”

What a jackass!

So, anti-drug legislation means Arizona is unfriendly to drug dealers... well, let’s f**kin hope so! You can mince words all you want but UNDOCUMENTED is just being substituted for ILLEGAL. In other words, IF YOU WANT TO JUMP THE LINE BE PREPARED TO PAY A PRICE!

Brewer signed the bill in a state auditorium about a mile from the Capitol complex where some 2,000 demonstrators booed when county Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox announced that “the governor did not listen to our prayers.”

Here’s an even better indicator of the f**ked up attitude of some people:

“It’s going to change our lives,” said Emilio Almodovar, a 13-year-old American citizen from Phoenix. “We can’t walk to school any more. We can’t be in the streets anymore without the pigs thinking we’re illegal immigrants.”

Kiddo, jump your ass over to the other side of the border and see how much you’ll be wishing for the American version of ‘pigs’ in a society where drug cartels are running wild and a sizable number of the law enforcement community are on the take. I could be wrong but, my sense here is Emilio could well be what is known in some circles as an ‘anchor baby’ and even if he’s not, he is more than welcome to put his money where his mouth is by paying the tax bill a lot of other Americans shoulder paying to provide services for non-citizens.

People want to paint this as some kind of racist issue but as a nation of immigrants, a nation whose lifeblood is immigrants, all Americans are aware (or should be) of the value of immigrants as a positive influence on our nation’s growth and prosperity. Even so, it doesn’t mean we should ignore enforcing our nation’s borders and the laws of the land.

If there is anger (and there is quite a bit) by American citizens, it is the result of the government providing services for a segment of the population who shouldn’t be here to begin with and who broke the law to be here. It’s rewarding criminality!

Recently, the community I live went through the extreme measure of re-registering the entire student body of the school system in grades 1/3/5/7 and 9.

Why?

Because the local school system is one of the few in the county that provides bi-lingual educational services and as a result, people from outside the community have been registering their children in our school system even though they don’t live here or pay taxes to the school district! My understanding is somewhere between 50 and 200 students mysteriously were pulled out of the local schools as a result. In a school system that suffers from overcrowding, does it make sense for a community to accomodate non-residents?

I know I feel no incredible largesse in supporting the education of people who don’t even live in my community via my tax dollars. As it is my tax bill is too high! If anything, the school system should be teaching IN ENGLISH ONLY! Simply put, you come to this country, learn the language!

Again, this is a matter of supplying services to a group that would enjoy the benefits of our society but not shoulder any of the financial responsibility for being a part of it – we are talking about the burdens on fire, police, hospitals and schools. Services we pay for via taxes many members of this population simply don’t pay because they work off the books. It’s an ugly secret and the situation will not get better without some kind of real reform of the system and it all begins with stricter enforcement of the law.

But of course, in the propaganda of the criminal, we are wrong. Welcome yet again to Bizarro America 2010.

The big Mets post. (started 1/28/10)

After the Yankees won the World Series, I wrote a long post about what they needed to do going forward if they wanted to repeat. I called it aptly when I said it would be the swan song of Damon and Matsui as Godzilla is with the Angels now and Damon remains unsigned, Andy Pettitte resigned with the team and it made a lot of sense for everyone involved. The surprise was in the other players who came and went – Contreras returned via trade with the Braves for Cabrera. Wang was released! There are always things in the off-season that take a fan by surprise.

Wait! You say.

This post is supposed to be about the Mets I thought?!

Therein lies the problem. As any Mets fan knows, the boys who wear the blue and orange will always be compared to what the American leaguers wearing pinstripes across town do. So, in an off-season where the Yankees are coming off a World Series victory, Mets fans have eagerly awaited their team to make a splash, to show the team has every intention of matching the Yankees success and getting back to the post season.

It’s been a tough couple of years too for the organization. It’s a nightmare that started with a Carlos Beltran strikeout against the Cardinals in the ’06 postseason and it hasn’t ended yet. Two straight seasons of historic September fades have haunted the organization, interspersed with some messy public firings of front office personnel (Randolph and Bernazard - for very different reasons), followed by an inaugural season where CitiField looked more like a hospital ward than a ballpark. The injury plagued season was contrasted against Yankee success.

However, things are never as bad as they seem and there is hope for the Mets.

Are they a championship team? As they’re currently structured the unfortunate answer is no but it doesn’t mean they won’t be competitive. The problem of course is nothing in baseball happens in a vacuum so while the Mets have stood pat more or less this off-season, their division rivals have been quite active.

 *****

and that’s where I stopped.

And that’s where I finished and we are already about ten or so games into the season and the Mets have proven they can find new and inventive ways to bring heartbreak to their fans. There can’t be anyone out there in Mets land that is happy with the way the season has gone so far but there have been glimmers of hope among all the dross.

Instead of going through a long detailed post, I’m just quickly going to do an overview of the three main areas every team concerns themselves with going into the season. As it is because of the amount of content I’ll deal with it in separate posts as time allows - first up:

Pitching.

The Mets sat on their hands while John Lackey signed with Boston and Joel Pineiro signed with the Angels. Randy Wolf wound up in Milwaukee, Jon Garland in San Diego, Jason Marquis and Chen Ming Wong in Washington while Mets fans were clamoring for team management to do something... ANYTHING to improve what fans felt is a substandard rotation.

Right now the Mets rotation is Santana, Maine, Niese, Pelfrey and Perez.

Well, first off out of all the names in the earlier paragraph the funny fact is that Mike Pelfrey has a better ERA and is the only pitcher out of all those named to have a current record of 2 wins and 0 losses. This is a great sign and hopefully an indicator Pelfrey is maturing into the pitcher the Mets believed he would be. It’s important too because if Pelfrey is the kind of pitcher the Mets hoped for he easily will be a complement for Johan Santana.

Santana already had a stinker start so while the Mets win/loss has taken a hit because of it - Santana has kept the team in the game every other time he has taken the mound.

Jon Niese has been a pleasant surprise. Which leaves us with John Maine and Oliver Perez.

John Maine is clearly getting close to the end of his rope as far as the Mets are concerned and as of this writing, he has a start tomorrow (Sunday) which will determine whether or not he even remains in the rotation. I’ve seen Maine pitch (I went to a game during the postseason where Maine pitched a jewel) and have been impressed but Maine isn’t a kid pitcher anymore. He’s been in the bigs now for several years and the biggest question regarding Maine is whether or not he can be a double digit winner consistently or if he is just another arm that didn’t pan out. I have a feeling it may well be the latter which is a shame not just because it leaves a huge hole in the Mets rotation to fill but also because I want Maine to do well and I have the feeling he won}t be great coming out of the bullpen.

Ollie Perez? Man, I just despise this guy. I was totally against the Mets resigning him and now that they did we’ve got this lump in the rotation because the only reason the Mets stay with him as part of their rotation is because of the contract Omar Minaya signed him to. In a perfect world the Mets would have engineered a trade in the off-season with the Tigers that would’ve bought Dontrelle Willis to New York and sent Oliver Perez to Detroit. Both pitchers most likely would benefit from a change in scenery and by being traded to other teams they would have at least lessened the attention bought on each player because of their contracts.

It didn’t happen though and that leaves everyone wondering just how far the mets will stay with Ollie if he isn’t successful. Last night against the Cardinals, he really did pitch a gem and should’ve won but the bullpen betrayed him. The problem of course is that in not getting the W, a few weeks from now if he hasn’t managed to amass three or so wins people are going to be looking at Perez under a microscope. They’ll forget how well he pitched, that’s just the way fans are.

So, where does that leave the Mets?

Don’t be surprised to see Pat Misch before too long. Misch pitched well last year and although he didn’t make the team out of spring training, he is a viable option from within the organization and easily could surprise everyone. Also, Hisanori Takahashi threw very, very well in spring training with terrific command as well as a full arsenal of pitches. I actually have been amazed the Mets haven’t talked about him as a realistic option for the back end of the rotation. My thinking is should Maine and Perez’s troubles continue we’ll be seeing either of these two in the rotation before long.

I’m not going to go into the bullpen right now, suffice to say it will be a work in progress throughout the year depending upon the success or failure of the starting rotation. Either way while the radio/tv/newspaper pundits would have you believe things are horrible-horrible, they’re simply not that bad but they do need to get quite a bit better and I think a mid-season trade may well be in the offing. Don’t be too surprised if you see Bronson Arroyo in a Mets uniform come August.

Movie Mondays!


J.J. Abrams breathes new life into what could have been a mundane installment in this franchise and the result is a taut thriller that rockets by. The usual suspects return, Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames reprising their roles from earlier films. They are complemented by veterans Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laurence Fishburne and Billy Crudup. Simon Pegg provides comic relief. Keri Russell, Michelle Monaghan, Sasha Alexander and Jonathan Rhys Meyers fill out the rest of the players. MI3 hits all its marks and the result is an entertaining action picture!

I’m repurposing content by taking my NetFlix reviews and posting them here on the blog. If I could figure out a way to do it, I’d post some kind of link for people to connect and make me their friend on the service. Unfortunately, it isn’t altogether clear how one would do that - so if you know a way, pass it along. In the meantime, I’ve got steady content for at least a year.

Sunday Smut

I didn’t get a chance to write about this way back when it happened but even though it’s not forefront on the wires these days let‘s take a moment to look once more at Michelle Bombshell:

Michelle Bombshell is glorious!

Let’s ignore the tattoos for the moment (ALTHOUGH I LOVE HER INK) and when you take one look at her, you can see she is actually quite a pretty woman. She’s got a great figure, a terrific face and nice hair (killer bangs). The fact that she has so much ink is repelling to a large segment of Middle America though who view her immediately as a deranged deviant because she has chosen to embellish her body with so many tattoos.

If anything, that only elevates her appeal in my eyes though because she‘s got that whole ‘dirty girl’ thing going on (dirty girl translating as wild in the sack).

Now, there are a bunch of people who find it hard to believe that Jesse James of Celebrity Apprentice and Chop  Shop TV who is also known as Mr Sandra Bullock could take it upon himself to betray his marital vows and sleep with such a tramp (I’m paraphrasing here).

Personally, I think Sandra Bullock is quite the beauty and as a matter of fact I had a thing for her long before she was even remotely the star she is today after I saw her in Love Potion Number 9 and was smitten with her behind the glasses she wore throughout most of the movie. Nonetheless, a woman leaves a man on his own for two long, especially a man who is as rugged and in demand as Jesse James and the inevitable happens - he looks for some strange.

And while there are a boatload of women out there who get oh-so-indignant about it, the truth of the matter is that there are a lot of women in this world who are no better when it comes to jumping in the sack with a strange man.  So casting aspersions on a gender and saying all men are dogs is all fine and good and I’ll make no apologies for my gender but ladies, people who live in glass houses really shouldn’t throw stones and I’ve seen more than a far share of ladies taking up with other men even though they are married to someone else (hell Jerry Seinfeld’s wife bailed on her newlywed husband after she met up with Jerry and saw a bigger payday).

In the meantime, I think Michelle Bombshell is just glorious and certainly she meets that age old male standard of passing the IDH bar.If anything I’m just envious of Jesse James because he got to nail both of them. (as politically incorrect as that statement is)

Most of what happens.

I can’t really write about – at least a lot of the good stuff anyway. And a good portion of it is just so strange, you probably wouldn’t believe half of it.

As a f’rinstance, there’s a picture that was sent to me by a women who I met for drinks week before last (actually it was a bunch of pictures she sent along). The amazing thing is she sent this to me before I even met her and were I to put it up for your perusal I can guarantee you that you would absolutely find it shocking – I found it somewhat disturbing and I am not easily shocked.

I try to keep the blog pretty PG for the most part though and this goes far over into XXX - reminds me of something Warren Ellis put into Planetary, “It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way.”

It must be TV week.

I’ve been resisting writing about LOST even though I religiously make sure I am home each Tuesday night to watch every new episode as it is broadcast.

I was going to write about LOST a little before now but I wanted to use writing about the series as an excuse to put up some wonderful drawing that Mike Wieringo did while he was still alive - but more on that in a moment...

I’ve really been enjoying the season thus far and like every other series there have been high points and low points throughout the season. Episodes where I am joyful over what I have seen and others where I think the producers might have wasted a bit of the precious time remaining in the series’ life.

I think we’re only about four episodes out from the series finale and its been quite a ride so far. The series too has moved so far away from its original premise, there have been a lot of answers which has been good mostly. Part of me though finds I could drive a truck through the logic of some of those answers at times.

Last week’s episode offered up that the voices characters heard on the island were the voices of people who had died on the island and couldn’t ‘move on’ for whatever reason. It didn’t explain though how it was that Shannon saw Walt at one point as an apparition (since Walt wasn’t dead) or how Jack’s father Christian was one of those who was stuck on the island (since he died in Australia).

I have my favorites among the cast in terms of actors and characters. Characters I like and characters I’m not crazy about. I’ll write a little more about that on another day (if I have the time) but, today I was going to write about one thing that had been running around in my mind and that was how there was one character that had never really been a favorite of mine, a character I didn’t identify with or feel strongly about either in a positive or negative fashion but who over the end of last season and beginning of this season became something of a favorite even though he hasn’t been seen much of late.

Yes, I’m talking about Sawyer.

Again I didn’t feel strongly about Sawyer until the second half of last season and only then what appealed to me about the character was the way the writers followed such a logical path towards his redemption. Beyond that Josh Holloway did just a terrific job of selling it. Even more was the chemistry between him and Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet. The two actors just worked really well together and I don’t think there were any fans out there who would’ve seen the romance between the two coming.

And it was so strong and so believable.

Which made it all the more tragic when ‘Sawyer’ lost ‘Juliet’. I mean maybe I’m just a big softie but it was truly a gut wrenching thing to watch, Juliet dying not just once (at the end of season five) but again at the beginning of season six. The impact of losing someone you love is horrid, it’s like an amputation of the heart and here they had two characters doing it twice - the horror.

And the resultant bitterness of Sawyer’s character in the aftermath, the resentment towards Jack, the way the character just moved from grief to the numbness of not caring all was so exquisitely plotted out, I think it was one of the series high points for the entire run.

And in the process, what happened is what happens whenever a writer does a really good job writing something... this character who was remote to me suddenly became a character I cared about - a character I felt empathy for.

Just amazing.

Anyway, that’s been just one of the things I’ve been enjoying when I get a chance to watch some TV (although I find myself watching less and less TV).

I’ll be trying to throw up some other things about LOST before the series eventual finale in a few weeks and I wanted to note once again the beautiful image that graces this blog post.

I asked (and got) permission to use it and I want to make a tip of the hat to Matt Wieringo. There still are a bunch of really wonderful images up on Mike Wieringo’s blog and if you’re any kind of a Mike Wieringo fan I heartily suggest you take some time to go over and look through the blog to see a lot of great unpublished work. Also note there is a wonderful scholarship program that has been established in Mike Wieringo’s name at his alma-mater.

People don’t know what they’re talking about.

I just watched the end (last episode) of The Sopranos.

It ended perfectly.

I can clearly remember how some people were really upset when the final episode broadcast but I can’t for the life of me see what the problem is.

Maybe it underscores just exactly what’s wrong with our society today in people have to have everything spelled out for them. People are so entirely unimaginative they can’t allow for even the slightest hint of vagueness in their entertainment.

Is there about to be an attempt on Tony Soprano’s life? Is the restaurant they’re all in at the end of the show about to be robbed? Is it just a matter of sitting down for another dinner together with life just going on? What a wonderful way to end the series. It leaves so much out there still.

If they ever want to revisit the series they can but truthfully, the character‘s life was winding down in many ways. Sure Tony vanquished his enemy in Phil Leotardo, Tony got to see what a hollow ghost Junior had become but simultaneously Tony lost trusted underlings in Sylvio and Bobby. Tony also killed Christopher.

While things looked as if they had calmed down after the conflict with their New York associates the truth is there is no denying some retribution would be had for killing the head of a family. Plus, lurking in the background was the cloud of an indictment soon in the offing. Nothing was settled at all, life continued on but as viewers we left the character behind like a book we finished and put up on the shelf.

And in this, the series finale mirrors life because over the course of our lifetimes many characters move in and out of our orbit and their stories remain unfinished. People we meet during our lives are each on their own journey and we only see a small part of that journey but their stories continue just as our own story continues.

So, what a wonderful ending indeed.

Movie Mondays!


The movie to set the standard for all the movies of this genre to follow it - The Dark Knight surpasses all others and solidly places itself in competition as one of the years best films. A cast of familiar Hollywood names is outshined by Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker, a performance that alone is worth the price of admission! Throw in all the action, gadgetry, along with a tight story and the two and a half hour running time races by. I left the theater spent! Exhausted! It is a remarkably intense movie and the drama of it will hit you like a punch but, it is one of those rare pictures that come along from time to time that is an absolute MUST-SEE!

I’m repurposing content by taking my NetFlix reviews and posting them here on the blog. If I could figure out a way to do it, I’d post some kind of link for people to connect and make me their friend on the service. Unfortunately, it isn’t altogether clear how one would do that - so if you know a way, pass it along. In the meantime, I’ve got steady content for at least a year.

Didn’t I see this?

On the chin of some guy from a Middle Eastern country protesting against the US? I mean to say it is unbelievably thick! Of course, it is a very dated photo – the best term I can think of to describe it is, “The Black Forest.”

This is totally not safe for work, women will very well find it offensive, the only reason I even bothered with it is because I saw it referenced on Tosh.0

(NSFW!) 80’s Demi Moore. (NSFW!)

Movie Mondays!


It’s a good movie but you won’t find it uplifting. A story about a boy who is a bit of a lost soul, angry with his parents, he relinquishes his possessions and sets off on a journey of discovery leaving his family and the life he knew behind. Over the course of his journeys, he makes connections with many but even though he does he cannot let go of his anger until it is far too late. Very similar in tone to Penn’s earlier directorial effort, The Crossing Guard, Into the Wild is a quiet movie that speaks to deep emotional issues. It has strong performances, wonderful cinematography and manages to tell a story without editorializing on its subject. Look for Hal Holbrook making a strong performance in the latter part of the film. An adult movie dealing with adult topics it may not appeal to all.

I’m repurposing content by taking my NetFlix reviews and posting them here on the blog. If I could figure out a way to do it, I’d post some kind of link for people to connect and make me their friend on the service. Unfortunately, it isn’t altogether clear how one would do that - so if you know a way, pass it along. In the meantime, I’ve got steady content for at least a year.

Rate the President!

Somebody sent this along to me today, you can actually rate the president and be a part of the opinion polls. Some people will rate him very highly and some people will rate him exceedingly low. But now, THE CHANCE TO HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD IS HERE!

Click through to go to the poll at CBS news.

Movie Mondays!


A solid film from start to finish, The Kingdom is a tight action thriller with a great cast turning in top-notch performances. Although not filmed in Saudi Arabia, it still puts the viewer in that world trying to highlight differences between Saudi and western society. While some have accused the movie of being jingoistic, it isn’t overtly so and manages to present a somewhat unbiased view painting characters in subtle grays as opposed to stark black and white portrayals. There is quite a bit of blood in both the first reel of the film and the last - if you are inclined towards any kind of squeamishness of graphic violence you should avoid the movie but, you will be missing out on a terrific film. I really enjoyed this.

I’m repurposing content by taking my NetFlix reviews and posting them here on the blog. If I could figure out a way to do it, I’d post some kind of link for people to connect and make me their friend on the service. Unfortunately, it isn’t altogether clear how one would do that - so if you know a way, pass it along. In the meantime, I’ve got steady content for at least a year.

Dealing with stupid people.

I’ve had some interesting experiences dealing with people online. You sell things online and you run across all kinds, one would like to assume the people of this world have a modicum of intelligence but a person would be mistaken in assuming that.

Tonight when I got home, this interesting missive was awaiting me for a CD boxed set I have for sale:

There are a lot of bootlegs out there, can you guarantee this is an original?

Let’s think about this for a second if you will and the logic behind the question. If I was someone selling bootlegs, would I necessarily volunteer they were bootlegs? If they were bootlegs wouldn’t it be a question of me looking to make a quick buck? So, isn’t this question akin to asking a crook if he is going to rob you when he has a gun pointed at you?

Where do people come up with this stuff?

Maybe that’s why con men have such an easy time of it, people ask them dumb questions like this and they answer in the negative, “No! I’m not a con man!”

WTF!

I wrote the guy back and immediately blocked him from participating in my auctions – what a tool.

Think about the question you just asked... If I was selling bootlegs and looking to make a quick buck - WOULD I TELL YOU?!? And if I'm on the up and up you realize just how insulting your question is? Did you read the description? Do me a favor find it somewhere else.

Idiot replies thusly:

For your information, there are a lot bootleg copies being sold on e-bay and since you can’t guarantee that your’s is not, I'll take your advice and buy it from someone else.

My parting response:

Good, don’t go away mad... just go away.

Now, some may think that harsh but over the last few months I’ve dealt with the very good and I’ve dealt with the very bad. I tend to go by the golden rule of treating others the way I want to be treated and consequently I undersell. I don’t hype anything I offer up, if anything I actually mark it as lower in condition so I don’t run into problems later but, it’s been my experience there are people out there who are just problem children and I really have lost my patience for dealing with the stupid and the inane (as opposed to the sacred and the profane).

And I get the sense if it wasn’t this it would be something else with this person so before going any further, just get rid of him like scraping annoying gum on the heel of your shoe on the curb - a nuisance you want to rid yourself of as quickly as you can and then proceed along your path.

Lord, save me from the morons at the very least I can block them on eBay and that’s worth something.

This is our president.

I’ll let you in on a little secret – I like the guy.

Some people may be really, really surprised to hear me say that but, it’s true.

A lot of people I know, people whose opinions I respect for the most part would have you believe he is an evil, evil man but I disagree.

Mainly, it’s because I don’t think of the President as a dictator. As much as people want to attribute amazing powers to the Chief Executive when he really is only the most public face of our government. This is also a reason why I wasn’t extraordinarily perturbed when George H.W. Bush was President either.

Barack Obama also is a parent.

I have a lot of trouble believing anyone who is a good parent wants to make the world a darker place, a place with more struggle, a dysfunctional place for their children (again reminds me of Bush Jr.).

And I’ll tell you something else...

George Bush Jr wasn’t the problem. Barack Obama isn’t the problem either.

Our government is the problem.

I’ll give you a f’r instance here: Recently, the senator from the great state of Kentucky, Jim Bunning, decided to take a stand against wanton government spending, spending wildly out of control. Now while there were some things Bunning was railing about he actually was on the mark on, he pointedly hurt (or went to the wall) a lot of people who could ill afford to take a bullet just because Senator Bunning wanted to make a point.

And the fact that it even happened at all underlines just how dysfunctional our government really is right now.

And I don’t use the word dysfunctional lightly here because anyone who has been paying even the slightest bit of attention over the last year can see example after example where the members of Congress have made a big show of taking a stand while in the process grinding the gears of government to a halt.

And as Americans... we all should be very, very mad.

We should be mad at our leaders because instead of doing the Nation‘s business, they are so concerned with their petty bickering, with polarizing every issue that the end result is very little does in fact get done.

So, here and now I want to put something before all of you and I want you all to seriously think about what I am proposing because I am totally serious about this and it is something that should concern every American taxpayer.

Congress, the Senate and the House, comprises a membership of 535 individuals. Each of these individuals, duly elected by you and I to represent our interests in the Federal government are really our employees. Now, whether or not you realize it, we the people of this country are really great bosses. It might well be that we are the best bosses anyone in the world could hope to work for!

What do I mean?

Well, here’s a juicy little tidbit of information you should roll over in your head for a little bit:

Salaries
As of January 2009, the annual salary of each Representative is $174,000.^[11] The Speaker of the House and the Majority and Minority Leaders earn more, $223,500 for the Speaker and $193,400 for their party leaders (the same as Senate leaders). A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it. Congress sets members' salaries; however, the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits a change in salary (but not COLA^[12]) from taking effect until after the next general election. Representatives are eligible for lifetime benefits after serving for five years, including a pension, health benefits, and social security benefits.^[13]

Now, that’s just salary alone it doesn’t even begin to factor in other things like offices, supplies, staffs, travel and all the other perks that come with the gig. I don’t know about you, but I think I could manage to squeak by pretty well on that per year.

Thing is, most of us in the workaday world are judged regularly by our performance and Congress is so busy fighting with one and other unfortunately very little gets done and what does get done seldom is in the best interests of the nation as a whole.

So, again let me put this before you...

Since many of us have jobs that are measured by our performance and Congress has considerably underperformed over the last several years, since many people have lost their jobs
 and even the people who are still working have in many instances faced reduced salaries, since Congress is all about fiscal responsibility and also sending a message and setting an example for the American people.

HOW ABOUT A PAY CUT FOR CONGRESS?

Our nation spends close to $11 million dollars annually in salary alone for these people (again not including their staffs and all the other perks). About the only thing we can be guaranteed they will get done in a legislative session is to vote themselves another pay hike if it’s on the schedule, I think it is well and full time Congress showed they are serious about controlling government spending, about having some empathy for all the Americans who are struggling and facing hard times.

If the members of Congress took a pay cut, they would still be making close to $100k per year and let‘s face facts, that’s nothing to sneeze at. Isn’t it about time We The People held these guys feet to the fire? And if you think they would be unduly suffering if we did something like that, let me ask you one question: How many people do you know who get fully vested lifetime benefits after being on the job for ONLY FIVE YEARS!