Sep 21, 2010

Cleaning out the closet.

I’m housecleaning, meaning all the unfinished snippets, incomplete thoughts, directionless ramblings are getting thrown out on display so I can be castigated and mercilessly pilloried. At the very least the clutter will subside.

This jewel comes to you from September of ’06. I’m not entirely sure what it was that prompted me to pull song lyrics for posting on the blog. I’m usually better than that and not quite as sappy – the only thing I can think of is a flash of melancholy thinking about Madame X.

It is a really good song though and I was able to track down a live performance worth watching – Stevie Wonder still kicking out goodies even during the eighties (though people don’t think of the period as a productive part of his career).
Her parents said, girl don’t leave home
But her heart kept cheering her on
She had a real good man, steady job
But the two of them just weren’t in her heart


She only wanted to be close to me
To give me the love she knew someday I’d need
But I kept saying girl you’re wrong, go home


Long days, short nights when you’re on the road
For a pretty girl it’s a heavy load
And even so who’ll pay your fare
She said I’ll make it on a wing and a prayer


She only wanted to be close to me
To give me the love she knew someday I’d need
But I kept saying girl you’re wrong, go home




She said I’ve no right to tell her how life should be
Especially when the only one she ever cared about in life was me
But she agreed to go along with my final word


As fate would have life come around
My world started tumbling down
I lost my family, my friends and job
And set free the only one who stuck with me from the start


She only wanted to be close to me
To give me the love she knew someday I’d need
But I kept saying girl you’re wrong, go home


She said I’ve no right to tell her how life should be
Especially when the only one she ever cared about in life was me
But she agreed to go along with my final word, my final word


As fate would have life come around
My world started tumbling down
I lost my family, my friends and job
And set free the only one who stuck with me from the start


She only wanted to be close to me
To give me the love she knew someday I’d need
But I kept saying girl you’re wrong, go home
She only wanted to be close to me
To give me the love she knew someday I’d need
But I kept saying girl you’re wrong, go home
Go home baby, you better go home right now
Go home, little girl you better go home

Sep 20, 2010

Movie Mondays!





This movie harkens back to the sensitivities of the old Frank Capra classics. It’s a charming film, which works, in large part because of the chemistry between the two leads: Tea Leoni and Nicholas Cage. Both actors turn in exemplary performances; Cage as a man caught up in a life that might have been and Leoni as the wife he might have had. Cage and Leoni both have gone on to other films mining this genre successfully, here they hit all their marks giving us robust and mature performances. They are believable as husband and wife with all the right hints of sentimentality and warmth making this a very good watch. A family film letting you walk away with a positive message but not hitting you over the head in getting the message across.

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.

Sep 17, 2010

Bitches Ain’t Shit.

Unbelievable... (lyrics contain profanity nsfw)

Sep 16, 2010

Cleaning out the closet.

I’m housecleaning, meaning all the unfinished snippets, incomplete thoughts, directionless ramblings are getting thrown out on display so I can be castigated and mercilessly pilloried. At the very least the clutter will subside.

This jewel comes to you from August of ’06. When the storm comes (and I have no doubt it will) there will be a litany of people wondering where we failed but it was not that people did not voice their concern about the regime in Iran, only that we lacked the will to address the issue and put off dealing with it until it was a situation we could no longer ignore:

What are we waiting for?
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all key policy issues, said Monday that Iran was determined to press ahead with its nuclear program despite the Security Council deadline.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization deputy head Mohammad Saeedi said the same day that Iran would “provide Europe with an exceptional chance for an understanding and a return to the negotiating table,” but insisted an enrichment freeze was “no longer possible.”
I have no issue with the Iranian people. How long will it take for people to wake up and realize that everything Iran is doing is a delaying tactic designed to allow them time to accomplish their goal? I am not saying we should send troops into Iran but, you have a regime that refers to our country as ‘The Great Satan.’ Does anyone honestly believe the government of Iran wishes us well?
“Broad economic sanctions, comparable to the isolation of Iraq in the 1990s, are no longer feasible,” Jeffrey Schott, a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics in Washington, told a congressional committee. “Many Americans would question harsh measures that might push oil above $100 a barrel and trigger a world recession.”

As far as U.N. alliances in calling for sanctions, Russia, France and Britain have oil companies with interests in Iran. China is Iran’s second-biggest oil export market, and Beijing is negotiating a $70 billion deal to develop a natural-gas field, in exchange for imports of Iranian natural gas, the newspaper said.
————  ————
Iran remains a serious foreign policy challenge for our country and the democratic world at large. For nearly a quarter century the United States and Iran have been without diplomatic relations. With the images of our Embassy hostages seared so deeply into our collective consciousness, it is easy to forget that our countries once enjoyed excellent relations and, only a generation ago, 200,000 Iranians were studying in the U.S. The United States is proud to be home to a large community of extremely talented Iranian immigrants who preserve a cultural and personal bridge to Iran where diplomatic contact long ago broke off.

It is not with the Iranian people, but with the Iranian regime’s threatening and often irresponsible behavior, that our concerns rest. We have repeatedly made clear our grave concerns regarding the Iranian government’s pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and long-range delivery systems; its sponsorship of terrorism including its direct support to Hizballah and Palestinian rejectionist groups; its appalling human rights and democracy record; its support for violent opposition to efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East; and its interference in the affairs of its neighbors.
————  ————
With Iran feeling emboldened after the performance of its client organization, Hizbullah, in its war with Israel, and with the US facing deepening problems in Iraq, the Iranian leadership may not believe it has a lot to worry about, analysts say.

“The Iranians are feeling pretty confident and full of themselves right now, so that has probably only enhanced their calculation that they can defy anything the Security Council throws at them,” says Patrick Lang, a Middle East specialist and former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst.
————  ————
Beyond the issue of sanctions, however, there are experts who fear that confrontation could in due course mean military action.

Mark Fitzpatrick, senior fellow in non-proliferation at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said: “This won’t drag on for years. There are two deadlines of sorts at the end of 2008. That is the earliest date by which some people think Iran could acquire a nuclear weapon. I think the date is more like 2010.

“And on November 2008, there is the US presidential election. President Bush will be inclined not to let this problem be passed on. There will be a growing mood in the US administration to take other action.”
————  ————
Iran 'attacks Romanian oil rig'

A Romanian oil company says one of its rigs stationed in the Gulf has come under fire from Iranian troops. A spokesman for the firm GSP said Iranian troops had seized the rig after firing from a nearby ship, and GSP lost contact with its 26 workers there.

Sep 15, 2010

Things I Love.

Rediscovering old music – there’s this guy on YouTube who has posted a whole library of music. The great thing is there is a lot of Zappa there (and I was a really big fan of Zappa back in the day). It’s all recorded well, good quality – well worth checking out!

Sep 14, 2010

Break out the white sheets!

The level of rhetoric continues to sink to new lows as evidenced by an email sent along to me today.

I am tired of this and have asked the person who sends me these emails repeatedly to stop sending them because I find them both reprehensible and offensive. It’s not that I don’t have problems with the way the administration has done some things (much in the same way I had problems with the way the Bush administration acted at times) but, I firmly believe that when the dialog lowers itself to such levels, no one is done a service.

And I know too there are people on both sides you simply cannot have a reasonable discussion with because they are far beyond reason.
I looked Dhimmitude up in google. This will scare you!
VOTING IN NOVEMBER IS A MUST IF WE HOPE TO TURN THINGS AROUND !!!
Subject: Word of the Day: Dhimmitude
Need something to get your blood boiling????
Has anyone heard of this new word? Dhimmitude?
Amish and other religious groups may be exempt from forced purchase of healthcare policies under Obama care. You know what other groups this could include ???Muslims and Christian Scientists may be exempt from having to have government healthcare.
Word of the Day: Dhimmitude
Unbelievable
I had my doubts so I checked with Snopes. There is an exemption for "certain religious groups" in the Health Care Bill. Obama supporters check it out yourself.
Had never heard the word until now---Type it into Google and start reading Pretty interesting. Note that Muslims and certain other religions are exempt from the Obamacare penalties and it is supported by law. We are surrendering from within! The prez is leading us right down the path to total Muslim control and you don't care! Maybe you voted for him but now the truth comes out. Maybe you should rethink what you have done.
Dhimmitude is the Muslim system of controlling non-muslim populations conquered through jihad. Specifically, it is the TAXING of non-muslims in exchange for tolerating their presence AND as a coercive means of converting conquered remnants to islam.
The ObamaCare bill is the establishment of Dhimmitude and Sharia muslim diktat in the United States . Muslims may be specifically exempted from the government mandate to purchase insurance, and also from the penalty tax for being uninsured. Islam considers insurance to be "gambling", "risk-taking" and "usury" and is thus banned. Muslims may be specifically granted exemption based on this. How convenient. So I John Smith, as a Christian, will have crippling IRS liens placed against all of my assets, including real estate, cattle, cars and etc. and even accounts receivables, and will face hard prison time because I refuse to buy insurance or pay the penalty tax. Meanwhile, Louis Farrakhan will have no such penalty and will have 100% of his health needs paid for by the de facto government insurance at our expence. Non-muslims will be paying a tax to subsidize muslims. Period. This is Dhimmitude.
Dhimmitude serves two purposes: it enriches the muslim masters AND serves to drive conversions to islam. In this case, the incentive to convert to islam will be taken up by those in the inner-cities as well as the godless Generation X, Y and Z types who have no moral anchor or belief in God! If you don't believe in Christ to begin with, it is no problem whatsoever to sell Him for 30 pieces of silver. "Sure, I'll be a muslim if it means free health insurance and no taxes. Where do I sign, brother?" Now all you Obama voters get in line for your free stuff!...However, I suggest you don't hold your breath!...
I recommend sending this email to all your contacts. This is desperately important and people need to know about it and what the past election has done to all of us!
PS Have you heard about the summit Obama is holding this month in DC for the future Muslim business leaders in the US ? He wants to increase their ability to begin business opportunities in the US for the Muslim community! Better start looking for a country that doesn't cater to the Muslims ~ Austrailia doesn't because this country will be overrun by Muslims like Europe is currently experiencing. And you thought our problem was the Mexicans!......

Sep 13, 2010

Movie Mondays!





Not as good as the first but still ably directed by Guillermo del Toro with a solid cast and a decent story. Hellboy II is better than a lot of the films in this genre but just doesn’t measure up to the standard set by its predecessor.

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.

Sep 12, 2010

Things I love!

Originally I thought this was a James Brown tune enjoying a revival (mainly because of a very distinct musical phrase with horns and guitars that sounded like it was lifted from Sex Machine.


It’s a great tune but like many things these days it isn’t at all original. It takes a great musical phrase (a sample) and plays off from it really well. It does it in an inventive way but it is a reminder once again how some of that old music still has life to it. The actual sample is from a song by a band called Dyke and the Blazers and it’s interesting to see the differences between the two. Here’s the original:

Sep 11, 2010

Cleaning out the closet.

I’m housecleaning, meaning all the unfinished snippets, incomplete thoughts, directionless ramblings are getting thrown out on display so I can be castigated and mercilessly pilloried. At the very least the clutter will subside.

This jewel comes to you from September of ’06 (the 6th day of September).

The anniversary.

I looked up today and I realized we are here already in September. When I write the words “The anniversary,’ I am sure some of you would imagine you know what I am about to write about but, you would be wrong.

See, as much people reach early September and focus on one event, life goes on for all of us. So, the anniversary I am talking about is the beginning of the journey of the EYOC. It is almost a full year now since the fateful day when EYOC had his major heart attack.

What got me thinking about it, was a funeral I attended last week. One of EYOC’s cousins passed, suddenly, abruptly and surprisingly. I made sure I went along to pay my respects at both the funeral and the wake. I did it because of two things.

First off, I remembered an essay I had heard awhile back on NPR. It was a brief essay but it stuck with me:

“Sounds simple — when someone dies, get in your car and go to calling hours or the funeral. That, I can do. But I think a personal philosophy of going to funerals means more than that.”

Second was the simple fact that during all of this drama over the last year, I was lucky enough to find out I have family. People who supported me through the worst of it and who were there to stand beside me.

EYOC is now permanently in a care facility. Considering how many times I thought he wouldn’t even be around to make it to his next birthday, that in and of itself is something amazing. The trips to the hospital, the back and forth between a ward and ICU those first few months, all of it was extremely stressful to say the least. Not because it wasn’t expected - people don’t live forever - but, because I knew dealing with everything in and around the EYOC was a mess requiring lots of cleaning up.

It would be enough to have someone get sick and to worry about their mortality but, to also have to go through the ordeal of managing their affairs and putting everything right, well let’s just say that turns up the voloume on a situation like that well past ‘11’ (if you understand the This is Spinal Tap reference).

Like everything in life though, the rain passes, the clouds part and sun shines upon you once more. I’m not painting life as a rosy garden, far from it. However, since January (EYOC’s last trip to the hospital) he’s done better. Probably a lot better than anyone expected. He’s walking a bit (with the help of a walker), he’s gained back some of the weight he lost during all those hospital stays and he‘s more or less comfortable where he is at. He certainly receives a lot more attention and care than I would ever be able to provide by myself.

Truthfully, I have a deep down sneaking suspicion he will be around for another decade even.

Things were hard but, they would have been a lot harder if it wasn’t for the people who stood by me. So, I reach this anniversary of almost a year with a bit of perspective - a knowledge of who...

Well that’s where I trailed off.

Truthfully, I consider myself very fortunate. Fortunate for all the help I received throughout the course of dealing with what was a very stressful situation.

Looking back I often wonder if I didn’t make a mistake (and I said to someone the other day it probably was a mistake) caring for the EYOC as long as I did. However, you can’t go back and change the past. In the long run I did what I did and while I feel I may have sacrificed greatly, more than I should have, I know too I did a very good thing and I don’t feel any regret about that.

The EYOC would pass away four months after I wrote this and again, the whole death thing when it comes is always a surprise. Whatever expiration date we are stamped with is invisible.
I really like this.

Sep 9, 2010

Cleaning out the closet.

I’m housecleaning, meaning all the unfinished snippets, incomplete thoughts, directionless ramblings are getting thrown out on display so I can be castigated and mercilessly pilloried. At the very least the clutter will subside.

This jewel comes to you from July of ’06. What prompted me to such a screed I don’t know but rereading it I find I still agree with what I’ve voiced.

I’d like a little of this, a little of that and oh by the way read my f**king mind while you’re at it.

So, the raging hormonal parade is in full bloom once again. Hello! I’m talking to you all you angry women out there who think life as a man is so f**king incredible.

Look my gender are stupid f**ks I’ll be the first to admit it - we think about sex way, way more than we probably should. And we objectify, boy do we ever objectify - we think about sex and women are involved in the equation. We like looking at women (now, I’m speaking for the hetero side of the man equation here - my homosexual brothers I believe exhibit an equal passion but just towards member of our gender), a lot. We like looking at them and thinking what it would be like to have sex with them...

Every day...

All day...

Every woman we meet. Even ones we don’t meet, ones we see in magazines, on tv, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Society is built up around that - whole industries.

Fashion.

You think there’s fashion because of men? Really, do you really think that? Men could give a s**t less what they wear. Don’t believe me? Do a poll, ask every man you meet how many pairs of shoes he owns. Then ask the same number of women. See what answers you get.

Do men have variety in fashion? Office attire for men - a suit, not a purple suit, not a pink suit, not a crepe suit. A suit, with a shirt and a tie and maybe suspenders if you want to be showy.

Now, what do women have? An array of colors, styles and choices to make. What are they based around? Dressing up a women so she looks good.

Do men wear makeup? Well? Anyone?

Why do women wear makeup then? If you can’t see your face outside of a mirror, why eyeliner? Why lipstick? Why rouge? Why eyeshadow? Anyone? Anyone?

Could it be possible that the reason fashions are this way, the reason the genders don’t all wear the same bland utilitarian uniform is because part of the underlying psychological thrust of women’s fashion is a certain theatrical or showy aspect. A way of drawing in an audience?

What? Oh, wait a second, it’s a question of getting that really cute guy to look at you when you’re wearing a low cut top but not the nebish, overweight geek with poor social skills. Somehow though he’s the one (the nebish) that notices and the cute guy hasn’t swallowed the lure and then damn how dare the nebish even assume the display was for him and how dare he look at you that way!

Oh, f**king please ladies.

Kreskin we are not.

Here’s another example for you... Mary Kay Louternou - married (with four kids mind you) runs off and sleeps with some 13 year old. Now, for a thirteen year old boy, this is a dream come true. If Mary Kay Louternou were a man her ass would still be looked up in prison, not only that, if man Mary Kay tried any of that crying sh*t, she’d wind up on the low end of the prison food chain.

Amy Fisher, shoots the wife of the guy she’s sleeping with. Shoots her! She’s out and she still wants to blame the guy! It’s his fault for sleeping with her! No, she didn’t get a gun and shoot someone, she’s not responsible for that - it was that evil, evil man!

Man doesn’t work stays home, cleans house, watches kids - the wife goes out and works somewhere. She’s looking at him wondering why he’s lazy and not working?!?! Huh? No domestic God of the house, just another lazy useless man.

Oh, and by the way, all you f**king princess, and goddesses and every other superlative to describe your gender - do you really buy into that if a man refers to himself that way?

I think that last paragraph underlines something that is very wrong in society today. You are not a princess or a goddess any more than any man is a prince or a god and referring to yourself in such terms will only identify you as a target for my ridicule.

Sep 8, 2010

Things I Love.

Shirley Manson’s voice over a driving, pounding beat:


Also, I can’t help but think this is the kind of thing that brings a smile to Grant Morrison’s face. Gotta love the whole Children of the Damned thing going on.

Sep 7, 2010

Less than two weeks away!



A big fave of mine and I am excited for the new season to begin! I've loved it since the first season but how can you not love any show that has a CAKE song as it’s opening theme?
Facebook am making me dumberer.

Is this really a surprise?
Teenagers who use Facebook while studying get exam results 20 percent lower than their classmates who simply stick to the books, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

Sep 6, 2010

Movie Mondays!





It’s a movie that has it’s moments, unfortunately they are few and far between. Too much of the humor in Slippery Slope comes across as forced and therefore unfunny. There are slapstick instances which don’t truly work overall in the film as they are such a departure in tone and the script/dialogue just isn’t that good. Slippery Slope has a true indie feel, (not a bad thing) and even some good performances but even those efforts can’t save it. It really only rates about 2.5 stars, too clichéd to consider it something to go out of your way to 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.

Sep 5, 2010

Some people get it.

When people describe America it’s interesting what they compare it to. One man though made the comparison of the Untied States to a rattlesnake:
I recollected that her eye excelled in brightness, that of any other animal, and that she has no eye-lids—She may therefore be esteemed an emblem of vigilance.—She never begins an attack, nor, when once engaged, ever surrenders: She is therefore an emblem of magnanimity and true courage.—As if anxious to prevent all pretentions of quarrelling with her, the weapons with which nature has furnished her, she conceals in the roof of her mouth, so that, to those who are unacquainted with her, she appears to be a most defenceless animal; and even when those weapons are shewn and extended for her defence, they appear weak and contemptible; but their wounds however small, are decisive and fatal:—Conscious of this, she never wounds till she has generously given notice, even to her enemy, and cautioned him against the danger of treading on her.—Was I wrong, Sir, in thinking this a strong picture of the temper and conduct of America? The poison of her teeth is the necessary means of digesting her food, and at the same time is certain destruction to her enemies—This may be understood to intimate that those things which are destructive to our enemies, may be to us not only harmless, but absolutely necessary to our existence.
The author?

Benjamin Franklin.

Benjamin Franklin is famous for his sense of humor. In 1751, he wrote a satirical commentary in his Pennsylvania Gazette suggesting that as a way to thank the Brits for their policy of sending convicted felons to America, American colonists should send rattlesnakes to England. 

Some history of the Gadsden flag and also a great passage that has since been attributed to Franklin, say what you will these guys were smart and all this time later it still shows.

Sep 4, 2010

Oh, the things we spend our time on.

BG07

I wound up last year taking so many pictures of comic statues because I was in the process of winnowing out the too many statues I had around the house that I built up quite a gallery. Even I’m a little amazed at it – click through to see what I’m talking about.
More FaceBook stupidity.
“You don’t know how disturbing this is,” Druzinski said, according to The Macomb Daily. A message seeking comment was left for Jons on Monday. “I would like to see her get some jail time, nothing major, a few hours or overnight,” Sheikh said. “This is the jury system. People need to know how important it is.”

After a woman serving on a jury decided to post on FaceBook she was looking forward to pronouncing the defendant guilty – unfortunately this was before the trial had actually gone to the jury. Yes, dummies there are some things you’re not supposed to share.

Sep 3, 2010

Why should we give a fuck?
President Barack Obama is a Christian who prays daily, a White House official said Thursday, trying to tamp down growing doubts about the president's religion. A new poll showed that nearly one in five people, or 18 percent, believe Obama is Muslim. That was up from 11 percent who said so in March 2009. The survey also showed that just 34 percent said Obama is Christian, down from 48 percent who said so last year. The largest share of people, 43 percent, said they don’t know his religion.
I’m being blunt about this and I’m being blunt about it pointedly because after everything is said and done why should I care what religion this guy is? Why should I care what color he is? All that matters is how he does his job and whether he does a good job or not?

I may have issues with our President based around some of his decisions and the direction the country is taking and the state of the economy but everything else? NO ONE’S BUSINESS!

And if he was Muslim what difference would it make? I thought religion in this country is only supposed to be between a man (or woman) and their God, isn’t that WHAT FREEDOM OF RELIGION MEANS? If you don’t like a guy, fine. Your opposed to the President and his policies fine. But please, stop trying to make this about color or religion or any other bullshit excuse. At least have the intelligence to come up with a decent argument about why you don’t like the guys policies.

Sep 2, 2010

It’s about time!
“Over the last few years, there's been a lot of focus on exercise and nutrition, but adequate sleep is arguably the most important element of productivity,” says Christopher Lindholst, co-founder of MetroNaps, which markets a napping chair called the EnergyPod to such companies as Google, Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG - News), and Cisco Systems (NasdaqGS: CSCO - News). The EnergyPod, which looks like Pacman with a really long tongue, boasts ergonomic support and a built-in music system with a headphone jack to eliminate background noise. “The EnergyPod is designed to provide some privacy, but it’s typically installed in a common area so you create an environment of awareness and acceptance,” says Lindholst. MetroNaps rents its EnergyPod for $795 per month.
I think it’s a great idea and long overdue but more in theory than in practice because I can’t see the office gossip machine not turning for anyone who takes advantage of the opportunity to nap during office hours.

I like napping and there are times when a nap really is a Godsend but I can’t see co-workers being forgiving of someone who disappears for a half hour.
Best line of the week.

I trawl the dating site looking for fresh meat but mainly haunting the journals and window shopping more than anything else. Best line of the week I’ve read so far:

nothing triggers a complete vaginal clamp down quite like the word “polyamory.”

Sep 1, 2010

Things I Love.

Kickass girl bands like the one in this video doing one of my favorite songs:

Aug 31, 2010

ACT NOW!

I’ve already entered but there is one day left for you to get under the wire — every year NBC holds a lottery for tickets to a performance of Saturday Night Live. Through the years, I’ve seen the show performed live three times, never the actual show mind you but the full dress rehearsal that runs earlier Saturday evening and which features skits that don’t wind up in the actual show (so it’s a bit of a toss up which is better to see, the Dress Rehearsal or the Live Broadcast since you 1. See the actor’s first pass which can sometimes be funnier than the broadcast because of miscues and the like and 2. There is stuff that never makes it to broadcast).

Well, you can only enter the lottery during the month of August so if you reading this click through and point your browser along since it only takes a moment or two to send an email off and enter. You never know!


Stand-by tickets are distributed at 7am on the 49th st. side of 30 Rockefeller Plaza on the mornings of the tapings. You may choose a stand-by ticket for either the 8pm dress rehearsal or the 11:30pm live taping. Aside from minimal, necessary breaks, all stand-by line members must remain in line at all times.

Aug 30, 2010

Isn’t it just a little creepy?

That the same people who make Tampax and Always are also the same people responsible for the Swiffer. Is there some repurposing of technology we’re not aware of?
Movie Mondays!





The fun continues in the second season of The Venture Brothers as their universe is filled out. When you have a cast of supporting characters with names like Dr. Girlfriend, Phantom Limb, Molotov Cocktease, the Grand Galactic Inquisitor, the Guild of Calamitous Intent, Baron Ünderbheit, Catclops, Girl Hitler, Dr. Henry Killinger and the Sovereign can there be anything but fun? Delicious puns and sendups abound in this homage to the old Johnny Quest cartoons. The Venture Brothers is a Johnny Quest cartoon after the three martini lunch, good bawdy fun!

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.

Aug 29, 2010

I got another one of those emails today...

It’s another Obama email, actually what it is is an Op-Ed piece by a classmate of Obama‘s who is now sometimes appears on FOX news and was on the Libertarian ticket in the VP slot. I’m going to run it too so you can see it (but like with the other one I’m going to make the print really, really small - which you can change easily enough in your browser settings) but after my comments.

Once again, we’re being regaled with this big revelation Obama is some kind of sleeper agent set out to destroy the system. I hate this fucking shit. I hated it when they the flip side pulled the same shit on Bush, this disingenuous positioning that forgets all about the system of checks and balances built into our government.

It’s the kind of thing that makes me want to get very drunk or just simply bang my head against the wall over people’s idiocy (but maybe the solution is to bang the heads of the people running around histrionically ala Chicken Little against a wall).

As I’ve observed before, I’m registered Republican so immediately that makes me some kind of ignoble villain in the minds of one segment of the population. I registered Republican a long time ago and I never felt the desire to change it because I simply don’t vote along the party line. I think the people who do vote blindly along party lines often do themselves a huge disservice and are lacking in even a modicum of intelligence.

These emails though, not to stray too far off topic, are pretty funny. And whether they rail against Bush, the Republicans, Sarah Palin, Obama, Nancy Pelosi they just fail to capture my thoughts on the matter.

See, I don’t think people go far enough.

I grew up with heroes like George Carlin and if there was one thing you could say about Carlin it was he didn’t fit into a box. All this bs, it just doesn’t begin to tap into what the real problem is and that’s isms.

I talked about one kind of ism the other day but in this case the isms I’m talking about are the ones as they relate to the structure of our societies. We’ve had Communism, Socialism, Capitalism and right now, at this point for many of the countries of the Western World we are seeing the first cracks in the dam that is Capitalism.
According to some historians, the modern capitalist system has its origin in the “crisis of the fourteenth century,” a conflict between the land-owning aristocracy and the agricultural producers, the serfs. Manorial arrangements inhibited the development of capitalism in a number of ways. Because serfs were forced to produce for lords, they had no interest in technological innovation; because serfs produced to sustain their own families, they had no interest in co-operating with one another. Because lords owned the land, they relied on force to guarantee that they were provided with sufficient food. Because lords were not producing to sell on the market, there was no competitive pressure for them to innovate. Finally, because lords expanded their power and wealth through military means, they spent their wealth on military equipment or on conspicuous consumption that helped foster alliances with other lords; they had no incentive to invest in developing new productive technologies.
Think of it as such: the United States as a market drives the world economy even though there are expanding markets in Asia. However, technology has led to an increasingly automated workplace decreasing the amount of jobs. Also, factor in  satellite and broadband technologies making the world a much smaller place placing downward pressure on wages. These conspire to diminish the spending power of the people in US market. With a smaller market there is a decreasing demand for goods and services. Sure there are emerging markets in China and elsewhere but those markets are built on a trade imbalance and a policy of consumption – what happens when ‘people’ push away from the table of capitalism?

What’s left?

Never mind that the deck is stacked against us in many ways focusing wealth and power in the hands of a select few. You often hear people talking about the good old days, well... I’m of a mind those good old days may be returning in the form of an oligarchy only in this sense instead of the alliance and membership being built around the color red (blood) it will be chosen on the basis of green (money). I just don’t see this system holding and I think the cracks in the dam are all around us.

So when I get an email about some hidden agenda (which reminds me of this great computer game from the early Mac days) I crack up because none of these plans goes remotely far enough to even begin to correct the situation.

Here’s the latest in from the world of the hysterical conservative:

Subject: OBAMA'S COLLEGE ROOMMATE SPEAKS OUT ... pass this on ......

MOHAMMED OBAMA’S COLLEGE ROOMMATE SPEAKS OUT
 

By Wayne Allyn Root, June 6th, 2010

Barack Obama is no fool. He is not incompetent. To the contrary, he is brilliant. He knows exactly what he's doing. He is purposely overwhelming the U.S. economy to create systemic failure, economic crisis and social chaos -- thereby destroying capitalism and our country from within.
Barack Obama is my college classmate (Columbia University , class of '83). As Glenn Beck correctly predicted from day one, Obama is following the plan of Cloward & Piven, two professors at Columbia University. They outlined a plan to socialize America by overwhelming the system with government spending and entitlement demands.


Add up the clues below. Taken individually they're alarming. Taken as a whole, it is a brilliant, Machiavellian game plan to turn the United States into a socialist/Marxist state with a permanent majority that desperately needs government for survival ... and can be counted on to always vote for bigger government. Why not? They have no responsibility to pay for it.

-- Universal health care. The health care bill had very little to do with health care. It had everything to do with unionizing millions of hospital and health care workers, as well as adding 15,000 to 20,000 new IRS agents(who will join government employee unions). Obama doesn't care that giving free health care to 30 million Americans will add trillions to the national debt. What he does care about is that it cements the dependence of those 30million voters to Democrats and big government. Who but a socialist revolutionary would pass this reckless spending bill in the middle of a depression?

-- Cap and trade. Like health care legislation having nothing to do with health care, cap and trade has nothing to do with global warming. It has everything to do with redistribution of income, government control of the economy and a criminal payoff to Obama's biggest contributors. Those powerful and wealthy unions and contributors (like GE, which owns NBC, MSNBC and CNBC) can then be counted on to support everything Obama wants. They will kick-back hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions to Obama and the Democratic Party to keep them in power. The bonus is that all the new taxes on Americans with bigger cars, bigger homes and businesses helps Obama"spread the wealth around."

-- Make Puerto Rico a state. Why? Who's asking for a 51st state? Who's asking for millions of new welfare recipients and government entitlement addicts in the middle of a depression? Certainly not American taxpayers. But this has been Obama's plan all along. His goal is to add two new Democrat senators, five Democrat congressman and a million loyal Democratic voters who are dependent on big government.

-- Legalize 12 million illegal immigrants. Just giving these 12 million potential new citizens free health care alone could overwhelm the system and bankrupt America. But it adds 12 million reliable new Democrat voters who can be counted on to support big government. Add another few trillion dollars in welfare, aid to dependent children, food stamps, free medical,education, tax credits for the poor, and eventually Social Security.

-- Stimulus and bailouts. Where did all that money go? It went to Democrat contributors, organizations (ACORN), and unions -- including billions of dollars to save or create jobs of government employees across the country. It went to save GM and Chrysler so that their employees could keep paying union dues. It went to AIG so that Goldman Sachs could be bailed out (after giving Obama almost $1 million in contributions). A staggering $125 billion went to teachers (thereby protecting their union dues). All those public employees will vote loyally Democrat to protect their bloated salaries and pensions that are bankrupting America . The country goes broke, future generations face a bleak future, but Obama, the Democrat Party, government, and the unions grow more powerful. The ends justify the means.

-- Raise taxes on small business owners, high-income earners, and job creators. Put the entire burden on only the top 20 percent of taxpayers, redistribute the income, punish success, and reward those who did nothing to deserve it (except vote for Obama). Reagan wanted to dramatically cut taxes in order to starve the government. Obama wants to dramatically raise taxes to starve his political opposition.
With the acts outlined above, Obama and his regime have created a vast and rapidly expanding constituency of voters dependent on big government; a vast privileged class of public employees who work for big government; and a government dedicated to destroying capitalism and installing themselves as socialist rulers by overwhelming the system.

Add it up and you've got the perfect Marxist scheme -- all devised by my Columbia University college classmate Barack Obama using the Cloward and Piven Plan.

True per snopes! Check it!

AGAIN, THE VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE BY THE SENDER OF THE EMAIL I RECEIVED, DO NOT CONFUSE THEM WITH MY OWN.

Aug 27, 2010

Just because you can.

There has been a big debate over the plans to build a Mosque in lower Manhattan.

Honestly, what I was going to write today was basically that the people who are trying to build the mosque on this location while having every right to do so, if their intent is to foster ties to the non-Muslim community need to be mindful of the sensitivities of the people who are opposed to the mosque’s construction.

Originally, I had thought the ‘community center’ was being built on Church street or just below the site and it turns out this isn’t at all the case but, I did see where the building being used for this project was intimately involved in the events of September 11th in that is was struck by debris falling from the south tower.

Seeing the location though made me rethink my position, I found myself not as incensed as I had been originally and at the same time taking the kind of attitude of not really thinking it as big a deal as was being made out of it and in some ways it isn’t. Look, it is a free country and the people in question do have a right to build where they want but some interesting questions have come up in the whole process and they’re things that should factor into the discussion.

But when I read statements like this one by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, “The fact we are getting this kind of attention is a sign of success.” I swing back in the other direction.

So, the goal is to piss people off?

Here’s the thing, there are other situations with precedent where a group found the placement of a religious institution close to a spot that had historical significance bothersome and in that case, while it did take a bit of time, ultimately the edifice was relocated:
Carmelite nuns opened a convent near Auschwitz I in 1984. After some Jewish groups called for the removal of the convent, representatives of the Catholic Church agreed in 1987. One year later the Carmelites erected the large cross from the 1979 mass near their site, just outside Block 11, the notorious torture prison in Auschwitz I, visible from within the camp. The Catholic Church ordered the Carmelites to move by 1989, but they remained until 1993, leaving the large cross behind.
Again, there was a battle regarding sensitivity of one group to another and ultimately the issue had to be legislated. It may well be something along those lines would have to happen here. Unfortunately there are just far too many questions regarding the people behind the building of the Center itself not to question their motivation and what’s interesting is that there are true moderates of Islam in this country who realize just that:
We are sitting on a tinderbox. A serious attack on a mosque in which people die could trigger a revenge attack, which would in turn create further attacks against Muslims. Because everything happening in America is seen in the Muslim world, murder and mayhem would follow globally. I believe those who chose the site for the Islamic center (to be called Park51) should have been more culturally sensitive. But now that plans are developed, there are ways to calm the situation.

For a start, the imam in New York should ensure that the cultural center — which he has clarified is not simply a mosque — invites Christians and Jews to include a church and a synagogue so that the building is truly a symbol of interfaith worship. That is the American way. Also, the center must include a special memorial to those who died on 9/11, as proposed, so that people of different faiths can pray for their souls and thus begin to heal the wounds.
 Now, I like the thought expressed in the second paragraph because what it does is put the people who say they want to build the Center as a means of outreach right on the spot, making them put their money where their mouth is. Also, I like the idea of having three houses of worship under the same roof, certainly that is more in the spirit of building unity among people of all faiths.

I don’t think it’s going to happen and I have the feeling as more time goes on we’ll see that the argument as it is framed by the supporters is disingenuous at best.

But then again if we’re going to have this discussion about freedom and tolerance, let’s not forget this:
The statues were destroyed by dynamite over several weeks, starting on March 2, carried out in different stages. Initially, the statues were fired at for several days using anti-aircraft guns and artillery. This caused severe damage, but did not obliterate them. Later, the Taliban placed anti-tank mines at the bottom of the niches, so that when fragments of rock broke off from artillery fire, the statues would receive additional destruction from particles that set off the mines. In the end, the Taliban lowered men down the cliff face and placed explosives into holes in the Buddhas.
and this:
Several death threats and reward offers for killing those responsible for the cartoons were made, resulting in the cartoonists going into hiding. Four ministers have resigned amidst the controversy, among them Roberto Calderoli and Laila Freivalds. In India, Haji Yaqoob Qureishi, a minister in the Uttar Pradesh  state government, announced in February 2006 a cash reward of Rs 51 crore (roughly about US$11 million) for anyone who beheads "the Danish cartoonist" who caricatured Mohammad.
and this:
Dozens of militants, Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Palestinian Security Forces  men fled into the church to fortify, along with forty monks and dozens of other Palestinians who arrived at the site for different reasons. In total, about 220 men were in the location. Among them were the governor of Bethlehem, Muhammad al-Madani, and Abdullah Daoud, the Palestinian intelligence chief in Bethlehem.
and this:
It was constructed over the site of the Second Jewish Temple which was destroyed during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. In 637 CE, Jerusalem was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate army during the Muslim conquest of Syria.

Aug 26, 2010

The Man from the Home office.

The final season of LOST came out on DVD this week and I’m a really big LOST fan but since it’s the last bit of LOST it’s bittersweet. Leave it to the creators of the show (Damon Lindleoff and Carlton Cuse) not to disappoint because hidden among the bonus features is one final piece of LOST we haven’t seen.

It features the Man from the Home Office:

Some unfinished business.

A trip somewhere.

And a visit to someone we haven’t seen in awhile.

If you’re a LOST fan you won’t want to miss it and I came away thinking to myself that if they wanted to, there still is a lot of story there and I know I for one would love to see it.
Where’s Heloise when you need her?

Actually, I came across a few articles I wanted to bookmark and it is just as easy to make a post with the links in them so here are three keepers:



All articles are written by Melissa Breyer so maybe she is taking Heloise’s place!

Aug 25, 2010

Something is wrong.
“All I want to do is work,” said Skidmore, of Finksburg, Md., who was an insurance claims adjuster for 37 years before his company downsized and closed his office last year. “And nobody will hire me.”

It is one of the most striking fallouts from the bad economy: Social Security is facing a rare shortfall this year as a wave of people like Skidmore opt to collect payments before their full retirement age. Adding to the strain on the trust are reduced tax collections sapped by the country’s historic unemployment — still at 9.5 percent.
I know several people who have filed for SSI benefits in the last two years. In each case it wasn’t a matter of their choice as they wanted to continue to work, rather it was the only option.

We talk about all kind of isms but the one ism we don’t talk too much about is ageism and as our society skews younger and younger people are forced to make tough decisions in an employment marketplace that is less than forgiving.

Here too the big problem is the government while well intentioned does not set up the proper framework for businesses to make it advantageous for them to hire older workers. I clearly remember the talk during the Reagan presidency of our economy shifting from a manufacturing economy to a service economy but the problem was this decision hadn’t anticipated factors like the internet which made the world a much, much smaller place so ultimately service jobs went overseas with the lure of cheaper workers.

This is a big problem and I’m not saying it out of self interest because we have an aging population in this country and the truth of the matter is the government spends far too much money. There is a very real prospect of the standard of living in this country changing dramatically over the next decade and the problem here is that our leadership has failed us.

And the biggest way it has failed us is in not looking for ways to bring manufacturing jobs back to our country. We are not seeing job creation because the environment right now is anti business and while some quarters would say that’s good for the nation, I’m not talking about the Fortune 50 or Fortune 500 companies. I know far too many small business owners who find the current climate hostile due to high taxes. This is a delicate balancing act but the problem here is that on the local, state and federal level we are not dealing with visionaries but rather bureaucrats who are more interested in increasing the size of the bureaucracy and making their lives more secure.

Aug 24, 2010

Hey! Look! We want to rip off Frank Miller!

There’s a movie based on a Warren Ellis property coming out this fall and it’s going to be starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman and others.

I’ve already done enough to annoy Warren Ellis – believe me when I say, this I know. But I always think of it as something akin to a gnat and an elephant with me cast in the role of the gnat. Ellis has a portfolio of work and it’s a pretty respectable portfolio at that but writer’s like baseball players don’t hit one out of the park every time they’re up at bat.

Red (the comic mini series) isn’t bad either, when I was casting about looking for material for this post I was forced to revisit the material. While I remember picking it up (all of it), and I remember enjoying it, I don’t think it was one of Ellis’ best pieces but, that’s my opinion. One thing I will say though is the strength of it is in the dialog and that much I could see and remember in just looking at the material. Ellis’ dialog for the lead is solid I only hope some of that leaks into the film.

That being said though, Ellis had been leaking the posters for the forthcoming film based on the mini via his blog. Now, he posted a bunch of teasers and truthfully the first thing that came to mind was Frank Miller. Whether that was intentional or not and looking back at the covers to the mini, the design doesn’t diverge greatly from what was done but, Miller has done a bunch of flicks with this very strong visual language that’s carried over to the marketing materials (I’m thinking of Sin City and 300) and unfortunately Red now appears as if it is trodding familiar ground. My first response to it was eeewwww.



Now, that’s the final poster above and I like it a lot more than the teasers. Since I’m not a big movie guy anymore (Netflix and broadband have changed that) I wouldn’t say my opinion counts for much and really I don’t think I’m the target audience for a film like this anyway (18-34 male demographic). It’s packed with stars although I would’ve probably liked to see Malkovich in the lead over Willis, even though Malkovich isn’t an actor who is a big box office pull, he has the chops in a way to be a badass that Willis’ simply doesn’t.

But hey, I’m the gnat anyway – this is probably one more instance where I’m doing my level best to piss someone off so let’s hope for Ellis’ sake it makes huge scads of cash and makes him a millionaire multiple times over. I’m wary but I will say this – if you ever get the chance to see the Global Frequency pilot that was quashed (and they are doing another shot at bringing Global Frequency to the small screen) Ellis’ stuff does translate well so I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I was wrong.

Aug 23, 2010

Movie Mondays!





Smart and funny, The Venture Brothers takes all the old cartoon and comic book clichés and turns them on their head with great results. It may be digestible for kids but adults are really the target audience for this great series airing as part of the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. It all begins here as viewers are introduced to Doctor “Rusty” Venture, his two sons Dean and Hank and their bodyguard Brock Samson. Facing off against arch enemy The Monarch who is aided by the gravely voiced Doctor Girlfriend, Team Venture careens from crisis to crisis. Imagine Johnny Quest grew up, got bald and had “daddy issues” and you begin to get a sense of Doc Venture, the two boys are amazingly näive (or stupid) and Brock is the ultimate macho killing machine. It all winds up being great fun and not-miss entertainment.


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.

Aug 21, 2010

Another reason  to hate Facebook.

Because people are idiots who surrender the right of personal privacy under the guise of ‘social networking.’
But even if you block your friends from checking you in somewhere via Places, there’s nothing stopping them from blurting out, “Hey, guess who’s here at the movies with me!” in a regular status update, along with a (tagged) picture of you wearing 3-D glasses — and of course, they could do so whether you’re a Facebook user or not. So it goes in the age of Facebook.
Yes, this shows what complete idiots people are.

People who today are in such desperate need for attention, so preoccupied with building up their own personal cult of celebrity that they feel their every brainfart needs to be broadcast to the world now would enable the tracking of their movements and readily surrender the locations of people who might not share their stupidity and actually value their privacy.

Do you morons even begin to realize how Orwellian in scope this all is and the implications there are for tracking your movements?
The Tea Party Nazi.

Wow! Labor camps, last time I heard of something like this was pre World War II Europe:

Asked at the meeting how he would achieve those savings, Paladino laid out several plans that included converting underused state prisons into centers that would house welfare recipients. There, they would do work for the state — “military service, in some cases park service, in other cases public works service,” he said — while prison guards would be retrained to work as counselors.

“Instead of handing out the welfare checks, we’ll teach people how to earn their check. We’ll teach them personal hygiene... the personal things they don't get when they come from dysfunctional homes,” Paladino said.

This is the Tea Party line nominee for the Republican candidate in the New York gubernatorial election coming up this November, the line that comes to mind is, “If I wanted to hear from an asshole, I would have farted.”

Prediction – a very short political career for this bozo, followed by a host of back stepping from the Tea Baggers.

Aug 20, 2010

Made me laugh.

This is one of those things that should happen to every ass who lacks the common sense to use a cell phone sparingly, for every moron who subjects people to their stupidity whether it be on a train, in a movie theater, behind the wheel or some other place where they should be:
  1. Paying attention to their surroundings and
  2. Showing some courtesy for the people around them.
BASEBALL NEWS FLASH!


Now, instead of the Hall of Fame, baseball’s seven-time Cy Young winner could go to prison after being indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday for allegedly lying to Congress.

The case writes a new chapter in one of baseball’s worst scandals, the rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs in the 1990s and early 2000s, and leaves Clemens’ legacy in jeopardy.

The six-count indictment alleges that Clemens obstructed a congressional inquiry with 15 different statements made under oath, including denials that he had ever used steroids or human growth hormone.
I’ll never forget what happened between Roger Clemens and Mike Piazza during the 2000 season, I’ll never forget how Yankee fans went out of their way to justify the beaning, the dirty player Clemens was, the headhunter, even though they were just a few short years removed from Clemens beaning of Derek Jeter when he was pitching for Toronto on July 17th, 1998.

Now news comes out that Clemens could be facing jail time for lying before Congress and the only question is when Clemens goes to jail, will he be changing positions. Instead of being the pitcher he’s always been, maybe he’ll wind up being a catcher.

One can only hope.

Aug 19, 2010

More stupid government tricks.

Only 10 people can swim comfortably in a pool at a time.  Each 8-by-22 foot dumpster pool is surrounded by a wrap-around deck and has its own built-in water filtration system. Unfortunately, dumpster-diving is prohibited since the pools are only 3 to 4 ½ feet deep.


This cracks me up, what a waste. If living in the city is so great, the question is why does Mayor Bloomberg keep coming up with amazing ways to make it like the suburbs?

Aside from the irony of putting dumpster pools along Park Avenue — I mean do you really believe someone who can afford to live on Park Avenue is going to indulge in these things? — What does it say about the city? What’s next, garbage can bathtubs? You can dress it up anyway you want but the thought of putting people in a dumpster on Park Avenue in a piss poor attempt to make it a pool is the really laughable.

Yet it comes on the heels of Michael Bloomberg’s constant attempts to placate the populace. There are plenty of poor neighborhoods in the city, neighborhoods where programs and dollars can be spent much more effectively yet Bloomberg keeps trying to remake Manhattan into Xanadu. It’s part of a pattern by Bloomberg to cater to a liberal elite at the expense of the working poor.

Much in the same way Bloomberg tried to put tolls on the East River Bridges or charge premiums on cars entering Manhattan below 96th Street. At the same time the Mayor continues to ignore issues that plague other parts of the city because of his Manhattan centric focus.

Like the Times Square pedestrian malls:

According to the city’s own assessment—not shared with the public until after the announcement—the project had only a “mixed” impact on traffic flow. In fact, traffic jams persisted on many cross-town streets, and speeds actually slowed along Eighth and Ninth Avenues. And, the projected improvements in speed on Sixth and Seventh Avenues missed the mark by wide margins.

I don’t like Bloomberg, he gets a pass on a lot of things he should be called on. Case in point, Guiliani was labeled some kind of racist because of the police shootings that happened during his term as mayor but oddly enough Bloomberg skates. Think I’m full of it?

Here are just a few of the incidents during Bloomberg‘s watch:
An emotionally disturbed Iman Morales was standing ten feet off the ground on top of a building ledge, naked, and swinging a long fluorescent tube bulb at NYPD  officers. NYPD ESU commander Lt. Michael Pigott ordered ESU Officer Nicholas Marchesona to taser Morales. The immobilized Morales then fell head-first to the pavement below. Morales received major head trauma and died hours later.
***
Timothy Stansbury, Jr. (November 16, 1984 - January 24, 2004) was an unarmed 19-year-old New York City man shot and killed by New York Police Department Officer Richard S. Neri Jr. on January 24, 2004. Officer Neri and a partner were patrolling the rooftop of a housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn  at about 1 a.m. Officer Neri, with his gun drawn, approached a rooftop door to check the stairway inside. Neri testified to a Brooklyn grand jury that he fired his standard Glock 17 pistol unintentionally when he was startled as Stansbury pushed open the rooftop door. Stansbury, a resident of an adjoining building, died from one shot in the chest.
***
Police had targeted the Manhattan storage facility while investigating a CD and DVD pirating operation. Zongo repaired art and musical instruments at the same location but was never linked to the pirating scheme. The shooter, officer Bryan Conroy, was disguised as a postal worker. He was guarding a bin of CDs when Zongo appeared to turn on a light. For some reason a chase ensued that ended when Zongo ran into a dead end. Conroy shot Zongo four times, twice in the back.
***
The Sean Bell shooting incident took place in the New York City borough of Queens on November 25, 2006, in which 3 men were shot a total of fifty times by a team of both plainclothes and undercover NYPD officers, killing one of the men, Sean Bell, on the morning after his bachelor party, and severely wounding two of his friends.
***
On October 15, 2008, Michael Mineo was allegedly smoking a marijuana joint outside the Prospect Park train station located in the Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. When approached by police officers, Mineo ran into the train station, jumped the turnstile, but was caught and handcuffed near the token booth. According to the officers, they found no drugs on him, issued him a summons for disorderly conduct, and let him go. According to Mineo, after he was handcuffed and pinned down, Richard Kern pulled down his pants and shoved a police radio antenna into his anus.
How about this? THE GUY CHANGED THE TERM LIMITS LAW WITHOUT VOTER APPROVAL EVEN THOUGH THE MAJORITY OF NEW YORKERS WERE AGAINST IT!
After a spirited, emotional and at times raucous debate, the New York City Council voted, 29 to 22, on Thursday afternoon to extend term limits, allowing Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to seek re-election next year and undoing the result of two voter referendums that had imposed a limit of two four-year terms.
And to think after September 11th, Guiliani was painted as a dictator in a mad power grab for but imperial Bloomberg? Nothing.

Over the course of my lifetime, I have seen the disparity between Manhattan and the other boroughs widen with Manhattan becoming a place where only the rich can afford to live and the middle class or poor living there unable to move because they know to do so would mean abandoning neighborhoods they have lived in for years.

And the standard bearer of this change?

Michael Bloomberg, a man who wants to micromanage people’s lives down to the point where he legislates what people can and cannot eat:
First New York City required restaurants to cut out trans fat. Then it made restaurant chains post calorie counts on their menus. Now it wants to protect people from another health scourge: salt.
You know, these are the kinds of leaders that should instill fear in people, the kind who believe they know better than everyone else. These are the dictators of the future who bring an Orwellian society to your doorstep and if you would ascribe only the noblest of intentions to this man, bear in mind he has shown already to be a tyrant:
The billionaire politician is near the height of his popularity. And yet, on the eve of his run for a third term in New York’s top job, the company that bears his name is facing a class-action suit charging it with discrimination against pregnant workers—a disturbing pattern that dates back to when Bloomberg himself was still in charge.

Aug 17, 2010

Stupid government tricks.

Sometimes people in government get it right and then other times they just really screw up. You would think the people running Beacon would have better things to do:

Remember Pinball? Well, it’s illegal in Beacon and that is causing problems (video) for Fred Bobrow, operator of the “Retro Arcade Museum” which sits on Main Street and features pinball games from as early as 1954 up until 1980. For as little as $10 you can play any machine in the place for an hour and for $25 you can play all day. You can even hold private parties at the museum for up to 40 people.


I’m really disappointed by this because this is the kind of thing worth making a trip for and you have to wonder what the people running the city are thinking in a region that has been depressed economically since manufacturing went away and IBM pulled a ton of jobs from the region.

Check out the collection of the Retro Arcade features here.

Read this great blog post about one person’s visit to the Museum with pics of the games themselves.

Here’s another article on the Museum from Hudson Valley magazine:
“There are plenty of places where you can see vintage electromechanical games, but there are only about three spots in the country with such a large collection you can actually play,” says the East Fishkill resident, who opened the museum in May. Drawn by online buzz, guests have come from across the country, and from as far as New Zealand and Japan, to experience these rarities. “We have a guest coming in from Reno this week just to play our collection,” says Bobrow.

And finally, reviews by some visitors to the Museum here.