Thursday, July 29, 2010

Off to Seligenstadt

Off to Peter and Keith's wedding in Seligenstadt.

This is the marketplatz of teeny tiny Seligenstadt. It will be a fun few days.

Reminder: Where your 37 Billion is going for the next 3 months 1

Aboy weeps after a man who US Army soldiers said fired on them with an AK-47 was shot and killed near the village of Samir Kalacheh in Arghandab Valley north of Kandahar July 28, 2010. Soldiers said they saw three men shooting at them and returned fire, killing one man and injuring another. REUTERS/Bob Strong

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

How Not to Congratulate Your Ex on Her Wedding

Oh the problems that drunk typing allows. Apparently on a major political web site a man "congratulated" an ex on her wedding day. He might be trying to be nice - but it read not only as cringe worthy and creepy - but as passive aggressive as well.
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A female co-worker takes to the net to try to nip this practice in the bud. I quote some fun paragraphs - but leave you to read the rest (if you dare....)
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Facebook, Twitter, and other forms of Internet stalking have rendered many of these communications moot. (Though I will miss that old midnight land-line call from someone whose name I barely remember!) It's hard to object to someone who simply communes with your virtual proxy. The worst Internet crimes -- like, say, breaking up with someone by changing your Facebook status -- seem happily confined to the young. (Like!)
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But that all may be changing. Andrew Cohen's, "On Her Wedding Day, Saying the Things Left Unsaid," seems to indicate the start of a new and highly risky technology-enabled post-break-up recapitulation ritual that I'd like to nip in the bud if I can.
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A brief bit of Mars/Venus wisdom: One of the great frustrations, for women, is how often displays of post-parting passion have nothing to do with us at all. (Check out Jezebel's "Crap Email From a Dude" feature for some stunning examples.) It's already annoying that someone who reserved the right to be numbingly uncommunicative during the relationship is now such a freakin' Chatty Cathy. But once you realize all this impressive agony you've left behind (scorched earth, my friend! Barren promontories!) doesn't actually have anything to do with you, it makes it hard to hand over your hanky -- especially when you're trying to hold on to your bouquet.
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STILL. I'd like to think Andrew Cohen meant well. Yes, publishing an unauthorized account of one's regard for a past love on a Web site is ill-advised. Yes, publishing, on her wedding day, a rundown that frames the lady's virtues almost entirely by how well she treated you falls somewhere between inconsiderate and catastrophically narcissistic. (But much better than that man I dated for three weeks who broke into my neighbor's yard, climbed up the fire escape, then banged on the window until I let him in. Of course, then I had the advantage of being able to call the police.) I've also enjoyed a bunch of very nice communications from exes, and feel qualified to present a definitive "Don't" guide here for any gentleman who really wants to make his ex know how appreciated she was. (And yes. Avoid fire escapes.)

It doesn't seem unusual


It's odd that I see pictures like this and I am never really surprised. Growing up with this was like growing up with snow for people in the mid-west I think. (I used to refer to snow as "the white death".) These type s of pictures just seem ordinary to me. Sad, obviosuly, but normal none the less. ... PS this picture is from today's Tehachapi Fire.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Not D&G Underwear, but a story none the less...

So rather than rant about politics today, I thought I would relate the importance of checking the size on new clothes before you go to work. I recently purchased a bunch of new underwear.
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You know, there was a sale and I tried some new fundies. In this case, the “some new underwear” was in the “tighty-whitey” style (Y-Fronts for the Brits), but with a pouch for your junk. The pouch is important because I don’t like my junk squished against me, I like a little wiggle room for the boys (so to speak).
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Well the new underwear is really comfortable and I have been wearing it for a while and I like it. Yesterday, I slapped a pair on after my shower, got dressed and headed out, walking to work.
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I wasn’t far before I knew something was amiss. These were a little too snug. I blamed the humidity (I blame the humidity for everything else why not this).
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As the day progress, I realized that – although I was stretching out the underwear a little, things weren’t getting better. As a matter of fact, as I warmed up from my shower, the pouch was getting snugger and snugger.
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While I have no complaints in the junk department (well except for the random “unreliability” issues – but I blame the other party when that occurred – I digress). Anyway, I am honest enough to know that while I am pleasantly endowed, I am not normally overflowing the normal junk pouch – and there was nothing exciting going on. Indeed, there were definitely other forces at work here. So, after my ass spent the better part of the morning eating my skiveys, I went to the restroom stall to see what the hell was going on.
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Turns out that while pulling my order for underwear, a size S for Small was included in the batch – and I never noticed. After being amazed that I even got it around my waist (I attribute it to slick skin after the shower) I wondered what to do.
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Now I live 2 blocks from home – but I was in meetings all day. And the excuse, “Sorry I put the wrong underwear on today” just doesn’t seem acceptable as an excuse to go home. And so, I shoved my junk in the little pouch, pulled it back up my ass and made do until the quitting bell. Then I walked uncomfortably (and probably unattractively) home and threw it away.

Ouch: This Article is Hites Really Close to Home

I am not sure if this article is a call to action, or sad truth. It is written with the cynical desperatoin that screams "Scooter", but I didn't write it.
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Are the American people obsolete?
The richest few don't need the rest of us as markets, soldiers or police anymore.

Have the American people outlived their usefulness to the rich minority in the United States? A number of trends suggest that the answer may be yes.
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In every industrial democracy since the end of World War II, there has been a social contract between the few and the many. In return for receiving a disproportionate amount of the gains from economic growth in a capitalist economy, the rich paid a disproportionate percentage of the taxes needed for public goods and a safety net for the majority.

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In North America and Europe, the economic elite agreed to this bargain because they needed ordinary people as consumers and soldiers. Without mass consumption, the factories in which the rich invested would grind to a halt. Without universal conscription in the world wars, and selective conscription during the Cold War, the U.S. and its allies might have failed to defeat totalitarian empires that would have created a world order hostile to a market economy.

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Globalization has eliminated the first reason for the rich to continue supporting this bargain at the nation-state level, while the privatization of the military threatens the other rationale.

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The offshoring of industrial production means that many American investors and corporate managers no longer need an American workforce in order to prosper. They can enjoy their stream of profits from factories in China while shutting down factories in the U.S. And if Chinese workers have the impertinence to demand higher wages, American corporations can find low-wage labor in other countries.

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This marks a historic change in the relationship between capital and labor in the U.S. The robber barons of the late 19th century generally lived near the American working class and could be threatened by strikes and frightened by the prospect of revolution. But rioting Chinese workers are not going to burn down New York City or march on the Hamptons.

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What about markets? Many U.S. multinationals that have transferred production to other countries continue to depend on an American mass market. But that, too, may be changing. American consumers are tapped out, and as long as they are paying down their debts from the bubble years, private household demand for goods and services will grow slowly at best in the United States. In the long run, the fastest-growing consumer markets, like the fastest-growing labor markets, may be found in China, India and other developing countries.

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more (and the original)

Monday, July 26, 2010

Saw Inception and Loved It and Loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt

We saw Inception and it reminded me how much I love Joseph Gordon-Levit. He has come so far from 3rd Rock.
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Actually.. it's not the leak that puts our soldiers "at risk"


I love this headline from MSNBC. I gotta say I think the fact that we are in the 9th year of war where we met our goals in year 1. I think maybe THAT is what is putting our soldiers at risk.
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The leaks just prove this entire ware is a disaster and our ally is supporting our enemy. And Obama is just as pig-headed about Afghanistan as Bush, Gorbachev and Chernenko.

I Love This Stuff

Thomson has a great coffee system. They use this "Flavia" coffee and tea system. It is yummy!
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I have had coffee from most everything else (include "Peets" when in the Silicon Valley - whish is overrated - just mainline caffine for goodness sake) and this is the best industrial type coffee I have had. I lurve it.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Trevor has a boo-boo


Trevor has a total boo boo. Without getting graphics he is having a cyst kind of explode on his henie.
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I am going to have to take him to the vet tomorrow and I am a little afraid they are going to put him under - I hate that.
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But I would hate that whole cyst operation more with putting him under so I guess that's going to be okay.

Friday, July 23, 2010

My Favorite Wisconsin Picture Today



From MSNBC 23 July

You Can't Recork the Genie


I hate to be doom and gloom here, but banning weapons doesn't work.
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I applaud the sentiment behind banning nuclear weapons, I really do. It is a wonderful dream - but I suggest tilting at windmills you have a chance of hitting.
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Some history is in order here. Throughout recent history (say since the repeating rifle) there have been efforts to "limit" or ban weapons of a certain type.
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Particularly after World War 1, (the Great War at the time), there was a huge push to ban mechanical weapons that devastated people and land - think Gatling guns, machine guns, tanks, and other efforts to limit these weapons and navies.
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It failed because anyone who "cheated" would gain a huge tactical advantage (this is one of the ways Hitler's German was able to run over Poland and the Sudetenland of Czech part of Czechoslovakia).
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Now amplify that advantage for nuclear weapons. Would any of us trust that North Korea, Pakistan or China would destroy their weapons - or would we hold some back in reserve in case they didn't? Would any reasonable country believe the US would destroy our weapons?
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So the advantages of non-compliance would force rational state actors to cheat.
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And then there is the deterrent effect of nuclear weapons. It has helped mitigate some potential war zones. In an asymmetrical world, Nuc's keep Israel from being overrun. They also allow countries (aside from the US) to spend a LOT less on defense than they would otherwise. If Russia had to have a standing army to defend all it's borders, it would be massively expensive - moving funds away from development. The same with India or North Korea. If nuclear weapons miraculously disappeared tomorrow - military spending would go way up.
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Also war would be a lot more palatable. I mean the US sent armies into Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Lebanon, and Grenada in the past few decades. If we weren't threatened with Nuclear War we might have easily attacked Russia or China. Or China might have invaded Taiwan without the threat of US Nuclear Response. So I think "banning" nuclear weapons might have the unintended effect of increasing traditional wars (if it could be worked out).
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In short, it is an impossible dream and I am not sure it is smart.
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Finally, the real threat is from non-traditional actors (terrorists or stateless entities) that the ban will not effect.

The Honey is back from PTown Today

So, my Eddie arrives back from PTown today.
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I know, I know, he didn't normally like PTown, but we figured out the problem.
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Coming from LA - PTown is hot and humid - coming from New York - not so much.
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Coming from LA you fly across the country to spend a week with friends you can see in 10 minutes via car. If you live in New York - you hardly ever see them and it is a lot of fun.
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Coming from LA there seem to be horrible biting animals.. coming from New York.... Well that is the same. There are all kinds of evil little things that bite you - NoSeeUms (??!!), "Biting" Black Flys (which should be called "Evil Blood Sucking Vampire Flys!") and mosquito's - which seem almost quaint in comparison. But I digress.
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I wish I could have stayed longed and Eddie had a great time - as you can see from his smiling face.
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But I can't wait to get him home.


PS, this is Eddie, Gavin and Lynette playing a game of "who can stand on 1 leg - while the boat is moving - the longest". It needs a better name and more Cape Cods to fully enjoy.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

NBC's Mark Murphy: That's why we have elections

Mark Murphy has posted a lovely piece of tripe where he proceeds to lecture "liberals" about the country. While I don't dispute his numbers, the term "liberal" - when asked as a self-identifier - is pretty much always incorrecty reported.
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No. What offends me is the condescending tone when "explaining" to us "liberals" why certain things (closing Gitmo, Public Option, etc) can't get done. Most of the country isn't liberal is his answer. He does this in the same way as I would explain to the dog why he can't open the door - annoyed and not expecting Trevor to understand the nuance.
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Let me offer a small reply to Mr. Murphy, "Consider this, we voted for the man that promised to close Gitmo, include the Public Option and lead financial reform. He won the election, we expected him to try to do this."
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I know, I know, outside Washington adhering to your promises is considered passe. In fact even pretending to adhere to your promises is naive.
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Liberal or not, I EXPECT to have the people I elect TRY to keep their promises. If not, at least to appear mildly embarrassed or apologetic. Particularly if I give them money or work for them.
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It has nothing to do with Liberal or Conservative. You hold us to the laws you make, I want to hold you to the promises you make with regards to that law. That isn't "liberal" it is honest.
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As an analogous arguement, the country was not behind continuing the war in Iraq - but G W Bush promised he was going to do it. And he followed through on his promise - despite the country being against it. I expected Obama to follow through on his promises - that's why I voted for him once and donated money back in the old days.

Fascinating Digression for Product Nerds


So the new job is a fascinating case study on Project Management Methods.
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Because they combined 2 large companies, AND they recognized there were areas the acquirer was deficient in, they have kept the best of both project management systems. So they have a Program Office AND a Project Office. It is interesting to see the difference.
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They use the iterative software development methodology - which is pretty normal, but they are willing to try other things.
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For example,- if you are a real nerd - they are testing the Agile system on a high priority project. FYI - I am not a fan of the Agile development method which I think is better suited to Web Products that users expect to have multiple quick updates and put up with bugs. You are a lot more inclined to put up with bugs from free, regularly updated web aps (like free GMail) than big bundled purchased applications... But you never know, maybe they will work out all the issues before they go live.
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Like I said, it is fun to watch these things unfold.
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If you're a nerd like me.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Expansive Definitions of "Rape" cheapen the word and the crime

I have an issue when the word "Rape" is used incorrectly. It is a horrible crime that deserves severe penalties.
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But you can't call whatever you want "Rape". To wit: an Israeli court just convicted a man of rape and sentenced him to 18 months. Because he pretended to be Jewish and was, in fact, an Arab.
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Now, I will be the first to acknowledge that an Arab CAN be Jewish - but this is how Haaretz reported it so I can't give more information.
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The judges also rejected the Prosecutors plea bargin of community service saying ""The court is obliged to protect the public interest from sophisticated, smooth-tongued criminals who can deceive innocent victims at an unbearable price - the sanctity of their bodies and souls," (Judge Tsvi) Segal wrote.
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Lying to get laid isn't rape. It is, in fact, pretty much the definition of dating. Dressing nice, pretending to be single, or already divorced, or wearing push up bra or having false eyelashes or saying that you find someone funny and can see you spending your life with them.
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If your entire defense is that an Arab said he was a single Jewish Man - and you had consensual sex with him, then you are culpable. The fact that the authorities have never prosecuted a married Jewish Man who said he was single to get sex makes you think it has more to do with sending a Jim Crow message than actually prosecuting a crime. As does ignoring the prosecutor
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Whatever it is, it isn't rape - and calling it rape cheapens the word.

Tom Vilsack is stupid AND stubborn


It is quite a combo when the Secretary of Agriculture is stupid and stubborn.
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He jumped the gun and quickly fired Shirely Sherrod for a comment taken out of context when the full context proved exactly the opposite. Okay - maybe too fast in order to take race out of question with regards to a African-American President.
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However, when it was shown that the tape was artificially edited so she seemed to say the opposite of her point, he said that he wasn't going to change his mind.
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His tiny tiny little mind.
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Today a big Breitbart "scoop" blew up in his angry face, when it was shown that the Big Journalism proprietor selectively edited a clip of an African-American USDA official seeming to admit she treated a white farmer poorly out of her own racial bias. It turns out that Shirley Sherrod was actually telling the story to show how the issue of race often obscures the issue of class, and the fact that poor black farmers and poor white farmers had a lot in common (eventually, she helped and became close to the white farmer and his family) — but Breitbart left all of that out of the video (just as he selectively and unfairly edited his cartoonish ACORN tapes).
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Unbelievably, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack fired Sherrod based on Breitbart's creative editing, which left out Sherrod's real point (and in fact, accused her of making the opposite point) and also made it seem as though she was talking about something she did while working for the USDA, when the experience in question took place 24 years ago, when she worked for a nonprofit. If Vilsack doesn't hire Sherrod back, I will personally contribute to her legal fund.
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I get making a mistake - but be a big enough man to admit you were duped by a right wing hack.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Bad Choo Choo

So I stayed in Provincetown until Monday afternoon to spend time with my honey and my friends. My plan then is to take the 3:00 ferry that gets into Boston at 4:30. Take the 5:20 Express Train that gets into Penn Station at 9:00 PM. Easy Peasy.
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First: The ferry was a little late. So we pulled in at - like - 4:50 and I had to race on the Silver Line to make the train. (FYI, the "Silver Line" is a dedicated, underground bus service - not a subway - but whatever.) The Silver line, although underground, has to be entered from the overpass – so I have to drag my bag up 2 stories (albeit in an elevator), then down 5 stories (just stairs – escalators for up only). I race and sweat in the lovely summer Boston heat and humidity.
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Then, at the South Street Station, my train is delayed due to rain and track conditions (it is a Train for goodness sake - not a pushcart - what do you mean slowed for rain?!). So my 5:20 train was leaving sometime near 6:20.
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Of course I tried to move to the 5:35 non-express. Sold Out!
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So I wolf down bad Chinese food in expectation of the 6:05 train boarding. Then I wait and wait and wait for the train . 6:00, 6:05, 6:10, 6:15 all come and go.
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Finally - I get on the "express" at 6:35 and we leave at 6:45.
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FYI - no time to de-sewer, so the toilets didn't really work on the way back.
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We fly through Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Then, while unloading and loading a full house in Providence RI, we are told next stop is New Haven in an hour and 45 minutes. Whaaaa? This is not an “express” speed.
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Track improvements…. Okay But we flew through it on the way up – why improve now?
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We stumble slowly through Connecticut. Stop in New Haven after an hour and a half, told next stop is Stamford in 25 minutes.
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40 minutes later, we are told that we will stop in Stamford, but we are slowed by backed up commuter trains. Backed up Commuter Trains at 10:30????

Finally we pull into Penn Station at 11:15 ish. I get messages the Trevor-sitter has just left - Joe and Aldona – who are suppose to stay with me this week, haven’t shown up yet.
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Then, I get a message from Aldona that they will stay at Julie's Monday now and come over on Tuesday.
.I get home, walked the dog and crashed. But I have to be up at 7:15 to take the dog to Pets At Play – and still make an early meeting. I am very very very tired.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

On the way to Boston on the Amtrak

As part of our week / weekend in Provincetown with friends from LA, we are in the escuala Amtrak to Boston. If you have never heard my Eddie speak of his "love" for the train. You have missed a treat. But he seems settled in OK rig now.

Sent from my iPad

Friday, July 16, 2010

Open Auditions: July 27th

For those of you wondering where Puppetry of the Penis got their "performers"....
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New York (7/13/10)
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The world’s top genital origami attraction, Puppetry of the Penis, is searching for new talent to star in productions around the world. An open casting call will be held on Tuesday, July 27 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at The Green Room Theater at 45 Bleeker (45 Bleeker Street, NYC). Those who wish to audition must RSVP to puppetryauditions2010@gmail.com. All hopefuls are expected to come prepared; audition sides are attached.
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Wild Pup Captured!!! Film at 11:00!

So...
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A friend of Ed’s has a ground hog problem (I didn’t know ground hogs were real things – apparently they are big mean gophers) so she got a no-kill trap to catch the ground hog and then release it somewhere (I don’t know where – a ground hog reserve?).
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Anywho, she bates the trap with peanut butter cookies and nuts.
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She also has a terrier. Not a Good terrier – a good terrier would kill the ground hog. Ashford and Hastings once killed a Huge Rat’s nest inside a cactus plant – so a normal terrier would be unphazed by size or toughness (these were huge rats - not a hue nest). Although – in the Terrier’s defense, when you see the picture the ground hog is actually larger that the dog….
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Anywho this friend also has a Mom who watches the dog, but “forgets” to walk her and just lets her run outside to pee.
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All the characters needed for story… groundhog trap, slightly ditzy Terrier, slightly ditzy mom / dog watcher. Yes, ladies and germs, the dog ended up in the ground hog trap.
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Twice.
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The first time, the pup freaked a little.
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The second time, she wanted to finish the peanut butter cookies before exiting.
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PS – Ground hog WAS ultimately trapped and released into the wilds of New Jersey.



so

HRC & Israel & Enough is Enough

So at what point, if ever, do Jewish people in America get angry with Israel? This isn't mean or nasty, I just wonder if there is a point at which many Jewish people publicly (I assume that within their own conversations they are more candid) say enough is enough. Or... is there no wrong Israel can do that isn't justified by the terrible acts done to them in history.
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I have a parallel.
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Ed and I have long supported Gay (LGBTQ) causes. But we have stopped, in the main. We still are big supporters of the Trevor Project - which provides a suicide prevention hot-line for youth. And we still support "The Task Force" (NCLTF), because I like the work they do at the local level and their support of imperiled young people.
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But HRC, The Legal Fund, nope. First, they did shit all to support marriage in California (it still burns me up that a majority was allowed to vote to take away rights of a minority - no one was allowed to vote on inter-racial marriage!).
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Second, the HRC blindly supports President Obama because he is better than the alternative. To which I call bullshit. He is better than the Republican Alternative - but that doesn't give him a free pass. It wasn't interracial civil-unions.
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Point is, there was a tipping point for me that said, "Despite the good this group does, I no longer can believe in it."



Which brings me to Israel. Is there nothing that Israel does that cannot be explained by anti-Zionism by their supports? (And before you say the comparison isn't fair - let me say I have complained about the USA violations of civil rights and foreign, useless wars, tons! so it isn't a nationalistic thing - I still freaking LOVE this country).
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Israel in the last 5 years has attacked Lebanon and the Gaza Strip to stop rocket attacks - then went further and killed tons of non-combatants. It has destroyed homes and then refused to let in materials to rebuild them. It has consistently violated it's own promises with regards to building on the West Bank. I could go on, but my point isn't to list a litany of issues that I have with Israel - my main question is this. Is there any point at which Jewish people in America utter any criticism?
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And it is important because we (Americans) supply Israel with it's international cover at the UN, we annually supply AID worth billions of dollars (at a time when we are cutting off un-employment AND running a deficit). We supply hi-tech weaponry AND continue to even after the Israeli government has been proved to steal our secrets with spys! In overlooking or justifying EVERY SINGLE THING Israel does, we are encouraging behaviour that isn't in our own best interests as a country or a people.
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Is there any line that Israel cannot cross?

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Housing is so Expensive in New York...

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"How expensive is it?"
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This expensive for 8th floor, non-view side!

I wonder....


I wonder if Blueberries are as good for you as the hype....
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Or do they just have a great marketing group?
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I eat them all the time now...

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Oxford Educated Idiot: I Hate This Guy

Man, this guy drives me crazy generally and today he was particularly annoying. Now I never do this, but today I do.
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Quote: NAACP: Can we all agree that it stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Cynical Politics?
The proper expansion of “NAACP” has a profoundly archaic ring to it. I know, I know: The retention of that primordial name—the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People—has to do with safeguarding history; and an irrefutably impressive history it is, too. But can anyone deny that the “colored” part of the organization’s name is no longer preservative of anything that is at all meaningful?
Slightly odd way to start a serious discussion of a group’s policy – making fun of their name. I would say the “NAACP” is more descriptive of the group that the “Tea Partiers” are of their group; whom neither want Tea or rebelling against a Tea Tax from England. In both cases we know what is meant. But your right – those colored people are stupid. For those of you keeping count this is the first in a long line of racial stereotypes Mr. Varadarajan drops in both subtly and not subtly.
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Colored: Who the heck says that in the America of today, unless you’re a very, very old friend of the late highwayman (as in dedicated asphalt, not armed robbery)
Robert C. Byrd?
Bring up illegal activities for no reason. Well, except your talking about black people.
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Which is why no member of this once-courageous black organization will spell out its full name. Everyone says, instead, “N-double A-CP”: To elongate the abbreviation is to expose oneself to derisive—or, worse, baffled—inquisition. (“Dad, Mom, what’s with the ‘colored’ thing?”)
Again – still on the name. Tunku Varadarajan is Indian Born, England educated so he comes by his confusion honestly. His condescending manner, on the other hand, was no doubt learnt at Oxford.
We also say NC2A instead of AA. It is not because we are embarrassed by either “Association for the Advancement” or “Athletic Association”. It is an manifestation of American English to say “double A”, just like you say “Zed” instead of Z.
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The NAACP, this vestigial bone on the American body politic […]
Let us stop for a moment her. “Vestigial” is defined as “an organ that once was useful in an animal's evolutionary past, but that now is useless or very close to useless.” His assumption here – as an Oxford Educated Upper Cast Indian, fully versed in American racial history – is that African Americans (hell – let’s call these group “colored” if it makes him happy) no longer need any lobbying. He assumes that “colored” people have achieved full equality politically, historically and economically – hence the term “vestigial”. There are a gazillion reasons why this is wrong, but I shall start with one that should be logical to someone of a caste system mentality; “Colored” people often are at a disadvantage in terms of income level and educational opportunities due location. This is a measureable gap that this “useless” organization works to change. To continue…
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The NAACP, this vestigial bone on the American body politic, has thrust itself into the headlines by voting, at its annual meeting Tuesday, to censure as “racist” the
Tea Party movement. This controversial public rebuke—delivered a day after the first lady, Michelle Obama, addressed the NAACP’s conference—has opened up a raw, new racial front in the run-up to the November elections. In effect, the self-congratulatory, post-racial Obama camp is reaching for the crudest weapon in the Democratic arsenal: the racial blunderbuss.
Ah, this is subtle. He has trashed an organization because of it’s name is outdated, AND has called this organization useless – now he equates this “useless, outdated organization” with ALL Obama supporters AND at the same time trashes all Obama supporters as “the self-congratulatory, post-racial Obama camp”. This is called tarring with a wide brush and pulls everyone who isn’t “self-congratulatory” into his camp. No thank you. I am neither self-congratulatory nor a follower of a contemptuous, haughty Oxford-educated Indian fop.
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Of course, desperate times call for desperate measures, and the NAACP is going back to an old playbook.
Desperate times? One would assume that Mr. Varadarajan will define this “desperate time” but one would wait in vain. Instead without a definition the reader is free to insert what ever annoys him or her here. In doing so, Mr. Varvadarajan attempts to merge any of our nebulous anger into his own annoyance.
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The NAACP is resorting to the Jacksonian (Jesse, not Andrew) ploy to use the race card (a) to rally blacks to the mid-terms; and (b) to intimidate the mainstream media, so that it doesn’t report critically on a liberal administration, urging it instead to focus on the perceived sins of the Tea Party movement.
Mr. Varadarajan either overestimates the clout of the NAACP or purposefully pretends to in order to set up this straw man argument. The “mainstream media” has no problem reporting critically on a liberal administration – and to argue anything else is to be disingenuous.
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If black Americans are suffering due to our current economic woes, Obama’s own policies are hardly helping them. The NAACP can’t bitch about “the Man” anymore because the Man is Obama.
Again, we have to assume Mr. Varadarajan is out of his sociological element here because he is British / Indian. Otherwise we must acknowledge 1) that he doesn’t get “the man”, as he so eloquently puts it. In American parlance, “the man” is any position of authority, be it Police, the Government, the work-place boss, etc. President Obama has not usurped all these jobs.
OR, 2) if we question Mr. Varadarajan’s motive’s I might suggest his use of the term “the man” is designed to bring up the bug-a-boo of the “angry black man”. Which is scary – and racist. But I don’t thing the squishy-server was trying to raise racial stereotypes (opps – I did that by accident – as I am sure Tunku did.).
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And so instead it turns its racially monolithic vituperation on the Tea Party, which has never been in power, and has had no impact on the economic condition of black Americans—except to advocate policies (smaller government, lower taxes, radically reduced deficits, etc.) that would likely improve the standard of living of all Americans (blacks included).
Again, Varadarrjan doesn’t really understand American History. Smaller federal government has, for “Colored” people, resulted in segregation, legalized discrimination and a reduced political voice via election tactics. In fact, the conservative Supreme Court has acknowledged these political tricks targeted at minorities are still in play – so maybe this isn’t ancient history and a Professor at NYU should know about them.
As for their policies; Ron Paul, the Tea-Party candidate in Kentucky has come out AGAINST the civil rights legislation passed 40+ years ago – saying that private establishments like restaurants, movie theaters and bathrooms should have a legal right to discriminate against blacks. The NAACP may honestly believe that the Tea Party wouldn’t really help them.
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In fact, the Tea Party is a greater friend of black Americans, one might say, than the administration,
One might say that Little Green Men from Mars can be found under my couch. One might say that an Oxford education ALWAYS leads to pomposity. One might say just about anything. Let us not speculate on what one might say.
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In fact, the Tea Party is a greater friend of black Americans, one might say, than the administration, and is much more representative of America than the NAACP.
More representative of America?. In what way? More evenly distributed between the states? More evenly distributed between states. More evenly distributed in Education levels?
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(There are many more black members of the Tea Party—however you define that movement—than there are, by definition, non-black members of the NAACP.)
Ohhhh, more white people – and hence much more representative of America. More skin-tone representative and hence they cannot be racist – this is a logic that escapes me. As for the parenthetical note, that is incorrect. The NAACP is not any color “by definition”. It is not the National Associate OF Colored People; it is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. There are, and always have been plenty of non-colored members of the organization. As for the black members of the Tea Party – there is no organized Tea Party organization – so this is an assertion that you know cannot be argued. Or, as we not from Oxford call it, a lie.
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The NAACP senses—knows—that the electoral momentum is building inexorably against President Obama.
Yay! First the angry black man – now the voodoo stereotype. What still lies unspoken in your angry little slurpee mind waiting to come out. Oh sorry, I can’t help it, when you fall onto an easy – if subliminal - stereotype I am right there with you.
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And they hope to slow it by playing the race card.
Can it be that Tunku is arguing the NAACP is hoping to slow electoral momentum against Obama by calling racism? Can he truly be that stupid or is he just being a disingenuous prat again. Calling out racism is a losing game in America. No one knows that more than the NAACP. It is a way to easily have entire segments of the country discount what you are saying. They are probably calling it out because they believe it. Maybe because of the Tea Party members that screamed Nigger and spit on African American Congressional Representatives as they entered the House of Representatives as elected officials.
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Let there be no doubt that nothing would have been tabled at this NAACP meeting without President Obama’s imprimatur—especially with the first lady as the keynote speaker.
Why? Because he’s “colored”? Because “those people” move as one giant group mind? Was this the case when Presidents Bush or Clinton spoke at the NAACP? Or, perhaps you’re too new to America to remember those discussions.
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Our first black president—with his lowest approval ratings ever—is using his race politically, through a surrogate.
So…. with nary a shred of proof – except that the President is black! – we believe that the NAACP does Obama’s bidding. Because Black People all shuffle as one – except those smart Tea Party Blacks.
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But shameless as all this is, it may have some effect. As Shelby Steele, a political scientist at the Hoover Institution, told me, “racist stigma in America is so powerful that truth and reason look meager next to it. Any populist movement—such as the Tea Party—that is predominantly white, has this vulnerability of seeming to be a throwback to the nation’s racist past.”
Calling the 1960s Civil Rights legislation a burden on private property owners has more to do with calling them a throwback to the nation’s racist past than being all white.
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Michelle Obama’s participation as keynote speaker could prove toxic to the Democrats in the run-up to the November elections—even though she confined her remarks to obesity and the like, and steered clear of references to the Tea Party.
She also steered clear of references to Oakland Transit Attack, the Arizona Immigration Legislation and other NAACP resolutions at the 101 Conference. You could say she discussed things that are on her national agenda. But if you said that Tunku, it would go against your black people are scary and monolithic meme.
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Many in America already believe that she is a black militant in mufti,[…]
Many people in American believe the following:
22 percent believe President Bush knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance.
30 percent believe Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.
23 percent believe they've been in the presence of a ghost.
18 percent believe the sun revolves around the Earth.
But Tunku digresses – so as to remind people of a scary picture that was photoshopped once.
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Many in America already believe that she is a black militant in mufti and her headlining of a gathering which cast the Tea Party as racist will have been noted by a good many ordinary, non-radical, middle-of-the-road Americans—not to mention Tea Party activists, who will be sure (and who can blame them?) to put together little YouTube packages from the NAACP shindig, cutting from Michelle O to Ben Jealous, the NAACP president who was the resolution’s prime mover.
Right, who could blame the non-racist Tea Partiers when they put up videos of a first lady’s talk on obesity and health intercut with the NAACP President saying the Tea Party is racist. After all it is NOT racist to draw the equivalency between the two people just because they are both African Americans – pardon, “colored”. After all, it would not be racist to intercut videos of you, with Apu from the Simpsons.
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So here we have the Tea Party, one of the nation’s most organic, Athenian, democratic movements, being attacked by a political organization—the NAACP—that is among the most sclerotic, dinosaurian, and cadaverous of America’s political groupings.
Wow, what a lot of big Oxford words to say Tea Party Good, Black People Bad. Unless I missed something the NAACP is also organic, Athenian and Democratic. I mean, the NAACP grew up in response to actual problems (organic) and the whole problem you have is that the NAACP is they are voting about the Tea Party (democratic). So they seem to meet those criteria. AND, if we are pulling adjectives willy-nilly, I would not look at those old cranky white people in the Tea Party group and then go calling others names like sclerotic, dinosaurian and cadaverous. People who live in white, wrinkly houses (or even Oxford Dorms) shouldn’t throw stones.
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When race is in play, there is vulnerability all around. The NAACP, and President Obama, will learn that in the months ahead.
Nice tie of Obama to the NAACP – something you never proved except they are both mainly black. Which is…oh I forget...... what is the word for it… racist.

Fashion Faux Pas (Gay Edition # 444)

Okay, fine, my homie homos in LA tend to wear “beach” appropriate for far too many years. I blame Kelly Slater (surfer) and Karch Kilrey (volleyball). If they can wear shorts and tees into their 50s, the rest of us can too.
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And over in Washington DC, “Preppy” has been in since 1980. It hasn't but no one told them (or, like Political Washington - they just don't listen).
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But New York is, in many ways, worse by being slaves to the latest and greatest. The latest is to actually wear a trend from the fashion runways. Long Pants, rolled up, with hard shoes and no socks.
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Stop
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Stop …… It …… Now

Fashion Nonsense

Stained Pants

I wore these paints today that are really really fun and my butt looks great - but they are covered with stains. Now the stains are so many that they are clearly on purpose.
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Except if you know me. People who know me might think they are accidently stains.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

The Wierdness of Facebook...


So one of the oddest things about Facebook is "talking" with people you haven't seen in years. Beverly Hom and I went to High School together. She was in New York helping her daughter settle into the city (her daughter just got a job at Morgan Stanley - which is crazy because I am not old enough to have a daughter out of Junior High yet ;-).
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Anyway, we had lunch and it was a kick. Facebook is crazy.

Dinner with Joe and Aldona

So the other night we went to dinner with Joe and Aldona. We decided to go to Chez Josephine - which is owned by the gentlemen below Jean Claude Baker - Josephine Baker's 13th adopted child.
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I think he's gay.
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Anyway - we had a really fun time. The food was good, the company was great, the wine was yummy the food was tastey and the waiter was cute. What more do you want from a fun evening?
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Trevor and Coco Channel (Aldona's pup) stayed home and played while we ate.

Work Continues Apace


So I don't get the time to blog like I used to because I am working. I actually like it pretty well right now. It is interesting, busy and I am pretty good at the job - which always helps.
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The picture to the right is of the entrance, it is right on Times Square - although I am getting so busy now I don't have time to come home and nap.
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Not a whole lot else to say about work (at least where they can read it - ha ha). Ed says he knows I like it because I take work home with me sometimes. He's right.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

OMG: Joey Wins the Soccer Pool!



In an amazing upset Joey has won the Soccer Pool. His come from behind victory was cemented by a correct pic in the final game AND selecting the final score correctly. This combination pull him ahead of Phil even though hisnumber of correct choices was a little smaller than others.
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He did well when needed.
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Saturday, July 10, 2010

Cristian Renaldo at the pool in SoHo


I love the Portuguese Soccer Team.

"Bifidus Regularis" gets the smack down online

(from Jezabel.com)

9.) The phrase "Bifidus Regularis" was invented by the poop yogurt people.I refuse to believe that it's a scientific term. It sounds like a spell you'd learn at Hogwarts.

Friday, July 09, 2010

I Shit You Not: Corrected by Suzanne

Well, it turns out there is a reason to this. A stupid reason!! - but a reason none the less.
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It turns out these are the county names of the boroughs (which are coextensive). But what kind of city extends past a county - come on! (Although San Francisco City and County are coextensive).
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Whatever - it's a stupid map.
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This is (or was when I took the screen shot at 11:34PM Friday Night) the map of New York City on Fox 5 website (http://www.myfoxny.com/subindex/weather)

Now, I may not be in this city the longest, but I think it the burroughs are Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island, NOT Bronx, Queens, New York, Kings and Richmond.
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nice...

22 year old girl "accidently" shot in the back while cuffed on a subway platform


So in New York this African American transit cop found 3 loud girls (include a 22 year old white girl) that matched the description of a line jumpers at an earlier station. So the cop yells at them to get off so he can investigate. Two of them got off, but one ran between cars (that's illegal in New York).
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So the cop ends up catching up with her, and orders her out. He admits he called her a bitch and maybe worse, but he was annoyed. So he handcuffed her hands behind her back and put her facedown on the platform. Apparently she mouthed off, so he "accidently" shot her in the back. He said he meant to "only" taser her. TASER A PRONE 22 YEAR OLD because she was mouthy.
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Anyway, a jury in Harlem (with zero white people on it) just convicted the guy of involuntary manslaughter!
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Whoops.
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They are a bunch of idiots!
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ps: It was African American 22 year old boy, an all white jury and Oakland. Why is this acceptable in this country (as opposed to some tinpot despot who kills people at will)?

The Tyranny of the Work Week

After working from home for years and not working for a while after that, I am back in the grind. It's fine. I like the job (as much as one can like "work" whose sole output are tools to make the wealthy wealthier).
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But what is interesting is the tyranny of the work week. I find myself driven now by the Monday to Friday schedule. I remember when I was working before how natural it felt - and it is easy to fall back into it's rhythms.
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But my fellow hamsters on the spinning wheel of life, it is not normal! What my time working from home showed me was the joy of doing work when it had to be done - be it Monday at 6 AM or 4 PM of Sunday at 2PM. It comes in, you do it and you go back to life.
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This is why actors and others in LA that work odd hours are happier! It isn't they all "love the craft" - no, they have found the exit from hamster cage. I mean, maybe they love the craft too - but that isn't the only reason.
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Anyway - that is what I discovered as I walked the dog this morning, thrilled it is Friday. A day that, until a month ago, was only the day the movies changed and Ed was in a good mood.

Wednesday, July 07, 2010

So we saw Sonya on the street this week-end


We saw Sonya Tayeh, the choreographer with the crazy hair on the right in this picture, on the street in SoHo last week-end with Phil and Julie.
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She is hard to miss, not just the crazy hair - but a huge smile that is really genuine.
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I like her choreography very much, although it is a total signature style.

Boo De Hoo: Call the Whambulance


Lindsey Lohan should go to jail. Jail Jail. She won't. LA (like most cities) has Jails For Pay where you can serve time that is a relatively nice, single jail cell. Now granted, you are stuck in that room - but Paris Hilton and Diana Ross made it through the exact same jail.
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I LOVE the reaction to the sentence. She was totally unprepared to go to jail despite missing 3 courts dates and violating parole repeatedly.
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Imagine a 21 year old Black kid driving under the influence and caught twice (once with Alcohol and once with Cocaine), imagine he fled the scene of the crime, imagine he missed three court appearances and violated parole. Would we be "shocked!" he got 90 days of jail time (out in 27 days?).
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Come on Linds! Grow a pair or grow up.

Monday, July 05, 2010

Guess Who Was the Guest on Warren The Ape?!?!


Tonight.... Guess!!!

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Greg The Bunny

In Our Wanderings....

In our wanderings around New York with Phil, Julie and Dora, we left Dim Sum in Chinatown and wandered up to SoHo.
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We passed by this beautiful building on Center Street and I loved it.
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Well, in investigating I found this was the Old Police Headquarters from 1909. To quote the book, "In the Old 1930s movies, when the Police said "Take 'em Downtown!" this was the place.
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It was abandoned in 1973, when the Police moved further down.
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Then in 1988 it was recovered from demolition and turned into the elegant Police Department Apartments. According the book, it is luxury apartments favored by models and actors (i.e., the overly dramatic).
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In any case, beautiful.



In

Sunday, July 04, 2010

Trevor's Present


Phil, Julie and Dora are visiting for the 4th of July. They brought a present for Trevor - a new Sweater. Trevor is less than amused.