ring ring

"collusion"

an agreement, usually secretive, which occurs between two or more persons to deceive, mislead, or defraud others of legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically involving fraud or gaining an unfair advantage and can involve "wage fixing, kickbacks, or misrepresenting the independence of the relationship between the colluding parties."[1] All acts affected by collusion are considered void.[2]


per a descent, third party, definition: uslaw.com

why am i bringing this up? think about your cellphone. and that great deal you think you got.

450m 39.99 ATT Wireless
450m 39.99 Verizon Wireless
450m 39.99 Sprint/Nextel
450m 39.99US Cellular

900m 59.99 ATT Wireless
900m 59.99 Verizon Wireless
900m 59.99 Sprint/Nextel
900m 59.99 US Cellular

1350m 79.99 ATT Wireless
1350m 79.99 Verizon Wireless
1350m ----- Sprint/Nextel
1350m 79.99 US Cellular

Unlim. 99.99 ATT Wireless
Unlim. 99.99 Verizon Wireless
Unlim. 99.99 Sprint/Nextel
Unlim. 99.99 US Cellular


here is the one thing to count out... tmobile/iwireless [a regional affiliate in my area], are NOT major carriers. its big compared to everyone else below them, but really they are the cut line. other people that provide US cellular service, like Cricket, Boost, AMP, and the creme de la creme of crap; TracFone; simply buy airtime from one of these FANTASTIC FOUR carriers, and run it that way. which is why they have plans and pricing that are generally lower minutes, for higher pricing.


who cares?

I did. when I was phone shopping in January, this about made me barf. why? because I DONT TALK on my cellphone. and while the 450 minutes isnt the problem; it was the price. because i really dont want to pay 40 dollars a month, for service i dont need. i used a whopping 162 minutes last month. of that, 78 minutes fell on a "nights and weekends" allotment from my carrier, which were not deducted from my "any time" minutes. whatever that means! "anytime" minutes, that aren't really used anytime, just sometimes.

any[way]time, i started to notice how much of a crock of shit this is. where is the spirit of competition in the market place, when it appears that the four big carriers, that probably hold 80 to 90% of the cellular network market share, are priced in the exact same tiers, at the exact same price. To the penny. Coincidence? In the same way that you get wet when it rains, i suppose. That's where the idea of price fixing and collusion enters my mind. to the penny.

while collusion does generally require a point of agreement among parties; [ie in fixing the price of crude oil, or *cough cough* adjusting the volume of production through quarterly meetings], i don't suppose that has to be the case. in fact, its called "tacit collusion." silent collusion. the whole mess of price fixing is sub categorized based on whom, and how the prices are set. but this still isn't the point, its artificial. why artificial? purists may argue with me; but we aren't passing a commodity. we are passing service. and service has no value, or all the value in the world market; dependent upon who needs it, and how bad they want it. commodities have a value. real or artificial, they have a value. its is traded, prices are speculative based on demands and inventory, or purity, or any other factor. what about service? again, I'd argue, that service has no value, or maximum value. nothing in between.

but we are sitting in the midst of a vast price war, that wont be fought. i suppose it isn't right to bang the honkies at the cell phone companies for charging what they do for their services. [see, not a product... a service]. but i have a very, very difficult time, believing that the true cost to their respective companies, and operable profit margins, dictate each of them to arrive at 39.99 for 450 minutes of service per month, to each individual user. to the penny. does that seem right to anyone? capitalism is driven by competition for money. nothing less. without out the true competition for dollars, greed, if you will, there simply is no more motivation to excell, to advance, to propagate.

[ and say what you want about nonprofit orgs; but even the Priest on Sunday morning passes the collection plates around, so lets be real about the money issue. and even so, the Rev. Soandso six blocks away will gladly take you and your offerings, if Father Doesntcare, wont. ]

so i ask outloud, for anyone that chooses to answer in their head; what the hell is the point? i suppose you are paying for differing access to service [coverage in their lingo], but hats a bleak point considering nearly any metro area has coverage from these four. i suppose you could be paying for quality of service; but that doesn't make much sense, voice transmission is the same in the end, especially now in the realm of digital transmission. so i guess you are paying money to a company to use a piece of equipment you like. is that what competition is really all about in the market place? no one seems to be taking any initiative in the industry, from what i can tell, to do anything different... no ways to provide cheaper technology, no guarantees of no dropped calls. no real changes in service. the only difference, is the shit you buy from them. and thats not even what you think it is. a blackberry is a blackberry. its on ATT or US Cellular, but its the same thing. the case is different colors. so what. does ATT's do your laundry? no. it makes calls and it recceives them. it sends messages, and it receives them. nothing more, nothing less. so to the penny, everything is magically the same, and it seems, no one else is all that interested in it. except me.

vroom vroom

this did catch my eye. the new 2011 jeep grand cherokee. do i like it? kinda. do i want it? no. but am i fascinated by certain features? you bet!

among the fun features:

a new ultra polluting Hemi V8 at only 360 horsepower, a new high performing 260 horse V6 [keep in mind, thats juuuust about what my V8 puts out!, with nearly a liter less in total displacement!]

an all new electronically selectable traction control setting; which is billed as a transmission control; but id bet it has more to to do with electronically controlled AWD function...

an all new air bag suspension system. this one interests me most! ride height is adjustable from 5 to 11 inches at the touch of a button, which is quite interesting... no springs or shocks... however, these things are notoriously awful at traversing hard terrain.

and last but certainly least in my mind, IFS and IRS. yikes. jeep is really flushing their heritage down the dumper with this. honestly, thats THE defining reason that i purchase my WJ; the solid axles, front AND rear. the current model WK went to IFS... this is just a poor decision in my mind. but whatever.


its a nice looking vehicle. but IMO it looks something like a buick suv now... definitively less jeep like.

[ pictures are all from JALOPNIK.COM ! plus they have a fairly detailed review of new features! ]

I have to say, that rediscovering things you had in life, really are a thrill... almost a big of a thrill, as the first time you came across it....


Leo Laporte.




I used to watch his shows on TechTV for years. Then came the college move. Then came the G4TV buyout of TechTV and the dump of nearly everyone on air. So. Pass several years, then, last week..... DING! I find Leo is still around! Still around and kicking! In case anyone is interested; Leo hosted several shows on technology; including the flagship "The Screen Savers," program, among others [like "Call For Help"]. Why draw to him, with so many talking heads? Leo first of all, is fair. Fair in points of view, fair to technology streams, and fair in approach. Granted, he is a Mac/Apple junkie. BUT he is a linux honk. But he has no qualms with the Windows world. He is fluent in all of the above, to the point of talking people through technology problems. Second, Leo is interesting and "soft" in approach. Interesting points of view are just that; it takes a secondary "softer" magnetism to bring in viewers and incorporate them into the views. Leo just does that. Third, Leo is funny. Anyways... Listen in, the podcasts of his shows are free on iTunes. Which is a huuuuuge bonus.... since I have these pushed to my phone now.


Leo Laporte [personal site]. The Tech Guy [the Show Website]. PODCAST LINK [will open iTunes].

Why Why Why Why

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY? ? ? ? ?


That's the only question anyone seems to be asking me lately.


Why do you feel such pressure to get a real job?

Why can't you be content with going to a wedding single?

Why is it you can't be happy for someone else?


I hate answering questions like this. But sometimes its all related. This is potentially one of those times, as luck might have it. Potentially, I did say. Because, I myself, don't know the root of all three answers, in as much clarity, to know for sure myself. Remember, that all this space is designed to do, is vent the thoughts I wish to vent. It can't make sense all the time. AND it certainly can't even make sense to me 100% of the time.

Why can't I be happy for someone else? That's loaded. Waaaay beyond loaded. Granted, its the only question I'm not getting asked regularly. There is a sharp reason for that: very, very few people know to ask it, and where it reflects. I kinda of bends back to a certain someone. A Someone, if you will. And with so many to choose from, I wont elaborate any further, than to say, different people, from different times of my life, will all think this answer points back to them. That's the likely answer. It does, in large respect, come back to each of them. Yes, I can be happy with them. But no, anymore, I can't be happy FOR them. Because that's dropping away a lot of things from my own sense of humanity, to make it palpable in the blandest of servings. Especially to me. In short, I have to do this because I know that its a way to heal myself from everything everyone else has done over the years. Its my way, of making myself, choke on the medicine, I need to take. I could sit and feign happiness, but i wont know it myself. As just as that might be, its not very honest. To me, part of this revolves around my failed sense of being honest with myself. I've lied. I've cheated. I've been extraordinary difficult to deal with. All to myself. So to be happy for someone else, means I have to forget everything I ever did.... to separate the happiness I had from them and from myself. Right now, that's what I'm driving at.

Secondly; Why can't I be content going to a wedding single? Well. See the last question. See my answer bleeding through? Because its about to bleed across to the third question as well. See, I need to move on. I need to have a life. I can't be me. I can't be, this ridiculous excuse for Scott, indefinitely. One, civilized step forward in the rest of my life, is the big step. At 28, nearly every friend I had or have; is married. Or closely in route. I'm here. I'm the biggest joke I know. I struggle with the fact that I can't make it happen. Not marriage. That I can't make a relationship work. Because it's obvious to everyone that's known me for several years, that's part of the problem. The second part of the problem is the Scott in question. But this is it. I can't be who I am forever. I can't, and I don't want to be. And now, that I'm at this juncture, I can't change it. I can't seem to do a damn thing about it. So I have to do something to set my motivation in order. I have to give myself a reason. I have to know in my mind, that I need a deadline. So when everyone asks me, Why the date? Because I have to show myself, that I'm not a worthless, nearly 30 year old, about to burn out on self esteem. I guess, I have to motivate myself to show everyone, that I'm not that guy. So I'm struggling to find something to work from, as is painfully aware.

So then, Why do I feel such pressure to get a real job? Because all those years ago; that was the dream I always had for myself. My great plan for life, depended on my ability to make some money. Filthy fucking piles of money. So I could escape. So I could end up being Scott to whatever extent I wanted myself to amount to. Because, subconsciously, even then I knew it was going to be such a struggle to find anyone else out there for me, I forced myself to prepare for the days alone. My plan for life still hasn't changed. To cash out. To drop totally off the grid, so to speak, at a relatively young age, and just go off. To Ted Williams my life.... To hit a home run in my last at bat, and walk right out of the stadium when I do it. To keep the whole thing a complete surprise to everyone. That dream, revolves around my ability to set up that whole scenario. So I can't wait forever. And right now seems like a great time. The people around me are great. But I'd be lying to myself again, if I said that I knew... deep down... that I wasn't capable of more than this. I think everyone else would too.

So I have to put pressure on myself, because that's what its all about. ME. That's all I have at the end of the day. I go home to myself. I don't have a wife, that cares about me or my day. I don't have anyone that ever wants to know what I do. Who cares if I make dinner? Who compliments me if I decided to go out looking nice to work at a whim? No one seems amused by my jokes at night, in those last moment before drifting to sleep. No one needs me around to hold their hand when they cry, or to kiss them whey they see me leave. No one tells me Happy Valentines Day, and means it, and no kids bring me handwritten cards with sappy, miss-spelled phrases. I don't go to a job, and make decisions people respect. I don't have any part in doing much of anything I really enjoy. And I certainly don't do anything, anyone else couldn't do.

No, I don't have any of that. It was one of those promises I made to myself a few years ago, late at night, sleeping in my car, that I know I have to keep to myself. And I do intend on making it right. Even if I write the check, and cash to myself; someone has to know that. Everything that I thought I wanted, hinges on me moving on. Its just a job. Its just a date. Its just happiness. Why does it matter when I make a decision to move in that direction? Why does any of it matter to any of us?

Quite possibly the longest sentence I have ever encountered in my
adult life

"He bid me observe it, and I should always find that the calamities of
life were shared among the upper and lower part of mankind; but
thatthe middle station had the fewest disasters, and was exposed to so
many vicissitudes as the higher or lower part of mankind; nay, they
were not subjected to so many distempers and uneasiness either of the
body or the mind, as those were who, by vicious living, luxury, and
extracagancies on one hand, or by hard labor, want of necessities, and
mean or insurficient diet on the other hand, bring distempers upon
themselves by the natural consequences of their way of living; that
the middle station of life was calculated for all kinds of virtues and
all kind of enjoyments; that peace and plenty were the handmaids of a
middle fortune; that temperance, moderation, quietness, health,
society, all agreeable diversions, and all desireable pleasures, were
the blessings attending the middle station of life; that this way men
went silently and smoothly through the world, and comfortably out of
it, not embarrassed with the lahore of the hands or of the head, not
sold to the life of slavery for daily bread, or harassed with
perplexed circumstances, which rob the soul of peace and the body of
rest; not enraged with the passion of envy, or secret burning lust of
ambition for great things; but in easy circumstances sliding gently
through the world, and sensibly tasting the sweets of living, without
the bitter; feeling that they are happy, and learning by every day's
experience to know it more sensibly. "

Daniel Defoe "Robinson Crusoe"

Sent from my iPhone

So what's on my mind. ...

First and foremost is the Jeep surgery I'll be performing tomorrow.
For some reason that damn front bumper and fascia decided to rip off
on thursday and when it did, it decided to take some stuff with it.
That means my fog lights and their respective wiring. That means my
nifty chrome grill. That means it may take some work on my part. The
only thing I'm worried about are the plastic pieces and clips. Without
any time to survey the extent of the finite damage, combined with the
knowledge of Chrylsler engineering and the infinite wisdom of making
everything of brittle plastic; it could be an interesting day or an
expensive day. Mechanically it's moderately straightforward it's never
that clear of a process until I can put my hands through it.

Secondly, on a more random link; I've been thinking a lot about energy
useage and conservation. I say random because for me I don't care
much. However I am fascinated at how inefficient a regular
incandescent light bulb is. Drawing nearly 100 watts of juice to net
about 2000 lumens of light. While todays dollar store variety CFL bulb
replacements do the same 2000 lumen of light; but only draw 25 watts
or less and produce almost no heat. I started switching bulbs out when
I moved upstairs to electrical and about five months later I have
noticed a difference in energy useage. Fascinating. Just the idea of
applying a different technology to create such a noticeable effect
fascinates me. Little things I guess. And it's not the conservation of
energy that interests me; it's the application and resulting net
efficiency that fascinates me.

Sent from my iPhone

news day, fri days

Rapelay virtual rape game banned by Amazon

A PC game that allows players to gang rape virtual women – and then
force them to have an abortion – has been banned from Amazon.

By Matthew Moore [AVAILABLE Online: UK Telegraph
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/4611161/Rapelay-virtual-rape-game-banned-by-Amazon.html>.
Feb 13 2009]

In Rapelay, gamers direct a character to sexually assault a mother and
her two young daughters at an underground station, before raping any of
a selection female characters.

The game was intended for release just in Japan, but was on offer to
British buyers through Amazon Marketplace, the section of the online
store's website open to third-party sellers.

But Amazon has now withdrawn the game after complaints from users,
deeming it to be inappropriate. "We determined that we did not want to
be selling this particular item," a spokeswoman said.

Rapelay was developed by the Japanese production house Illusion, which
makes a number of sexually violent games for the domestic market. Their
other titles include "Battle Raper" and "Artificial Girl".

A spokesman for the company said: "We believe there is no problem with
the software, which has cleared the domestic ratings of an ethics
watchdog body."

Keith Vaz, the Labour MP for Leicester East who has previously spoken
out against computer games that promote violence, condemned the game.

"It is intolerable that anyone would purchase a game that simulates the
criminal offence of rape," he told the Belfast Telegraph.

Rapelay, which was released in 2006, encourages players to force the
virtual woman they rape to have an abortion. If they are allowed to give
birth the woman throws the player's character under a train, according
to reviews of the game. It also has a feature allowing several players
to team up against individual women.

////////////////////////////////////////////

First off.... what the hell...

Second off... why am i just hearing about this game NOW, when i CANT GET
IT????

Third off.... how much more sexually repressed, but obsessively
extroverted can Japan get?

Fourth off...... when was this game really ever a good idea to market to
anyone, backed by any company?

Fifth off..... why can Amazon japan still get it, but not brittan? must
be some sort of translation issues, where it wouldnt make sense in
english i suppose.

Sixth off...... i think we all know what video game i want for Christmas
this year!!!!

read it. just let it ride.

via: The Smoking Gun Website, Feb 8th 2009.

Blow-up Doll Party

Floridian nabbed for public ménage a trois with plastic partners

FEBRUARY 5--A Florida man was arrested yesterday after he was spotted fondling and making out with a pair of blow-up dolls in a supermarket parking lot. Shoppers called cops when they spotted George Bartusek, 51, getting busy in the front seat of his 1998 Lincoln Town Car, which was parked directly in front of a Publix store. Evidence photos (seen below and here) showing Bartusek's inanimate partners were provided to TSG by the Cape Coral Police Department. According to a police report, witnesses told cops that Bartusek was "performing activity to two different blow up dolls in his vehicle that was consistent with masturbation and other simulated sexual activity." He was also spotted "aggressively" kissing the dolls. When confronted by police, Bartusek said that he was headed to Target to "get some clothes for his dolls." Bartusek, charged with breach of peace, was wearing shorts with a three-inch opening "in the crotch area." Of course, he "had no underwear on under the shorts," noted police. Bartusek is pictured at right in a Lee County Sheriff's Office mug shot.

well not a whole lot worth writing.

as well all know; sometimes thats what i say when i dont have anything to talk about.... but more often thats what i say when i really just dont want to talk about it. sigh.


i suppose it all started with me re-watching some Soprano's episodes a a couple weeks ago... in particular an episode in season 2, [Bust Out, for those keeping score] where Tony takes AJ out on the boat, and it plays out with them and Journey as the backing music. Journey will only bring a fucked up sense of reality to my life. every time i hear "donnnnnnt stop, beeeleeeeeeeeeivin'" all i can think about is the last episode of the Sopranos... so i was surprised i overlooked this 'gem' and forgot Journey made atleast one other musical apperance in the show.

journey. is sap rock. pure. 80s sap rock. but since i kept wanting to hear the songs, so closely associated with the moments in the show... i loaded it up on itunes and now its all i hear.... crappy journey songs in public. i look at this as having a field guide to birds; and now i notice specific birds among many, or notice birds where id never seen them before. fuckin journey. now i hear journey everywhere...

so that started it off. then everything else kept coming. random work related garbage. random family related garbage. random lack of love life related garbage. all in all, im blaming journey for this. then the kicker was finding someone on facebook whom; i should never, ever, have looked for. but i did. and found. and friended. and have now talked to several times. and im sure for them its like i never existed. but its not fresh anymore in my head. but its a long ways from being forgotten. but of course, a week from valentines day, it gets kicked up. god damn journey.

JOURNEY

the 80's hits rollllllll on! rollin like the

WHEEL IN THE SKY!

get out your dusty, stringy mullets, pinch off your testicles, and roll out with your skin tight jeans, and belt it out.....

ooooooooooooooooooooo the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin!

Dancing with Myself - Billy Idol

im bringing the heat people. im dancin with my [zombie????] self, self!!! so make a fist.... crook your arm.... pose that bleached hair do.... then roll out with some gay dancing action in the cut away leather vest....


ooooh


cuz im dancing with mysel-helf!!!!!

A So-real Chain of Days

I havent put up a real post of worth here in a few days.... i suppose im over due.

the last couple of weeks ive had alot on my mind. why?

work is what it is. its work. i still havent hit the stage where everything is easy, and down hill and butter coated yet. i still have to think when people ask me questions about stuff. i have to prepare a response. i have to actually consult a fucking paper catalog to get an answer. plumbing was so much easier for me. i knew it. i shut my brain off for days sometimes. i didnt need a catalog. i knew what companies made available. all i had to do was call for accurate pricing and stock notices. im not so lucky now. so it is work.

i suppose id lie if i said my whole grandmother isssue isnt ever on my mind. it is. in different ways. we've had a series of not so good days. there is more medication now than i know about. physically, she is about where a 90 year old woman should be. mentally its changing day by day. we've had several middle of the night calls. in fact, most of the time when she calls my parents, its like we arent sure of who the person is thats calling. the voice we know. the things she says sometimes... the mood swings.... its very difficult. but then, there are some crystal clear days. after those days, ive walked out of the building asking my self, why is she here? she can be that good. names, pictures, events. even current events. we had some other pictures we found, wed never seen before. she could identify most of the people. THAT good of a day. then the thunder clouds come in... then you never know. its hard. really, shes the only grandparent ive ever had. sure, grandpa A was alive for a few years when i was really young. but even though i have memories of him, its not the same. not by a long shot.

of things on my mind. well.

potential.

really? motivational speaker tone? not so much. and yes im not really one to talk much about motivation or potential. however, i need to address it. i think, however, most people understand where im coming from and probably what i need to say.

i need to move on. and im struggling with doing that.

thats as plain as i can put it. because, i think i need to hear it too. the longer i wait, the harder its going to be to do much of anything. i have, about 4 weeks ago, turned 28; and i have ridiculously little to show for my life. its crippling me with fear, to know that i could be 30; still without a real job, still stuck living in the basement, while every one of my peers has jobs, is married, and has a family of their own. so please dont try to console me with the typical, "its not that bad" or the "you've got time" or the uninspiring "you're putting too much pressure on yourself" because its getting to me now. those are all defenses we make for ourselves, that i really dont want to make for myself. i guess, im more comfortable with the truth, although, markedly more embarrased by it.

it isnt anyone elses fault but my own. so try to read things with as little insult as possible, but without treading too deeply:

i work a dead end job. in all honesty. retail isnt going anywhere these days. its low, but steady pay. we also know there is no chance of me making descent money where i am, and even with moving its several years out. i havent been real excited about it, but its getting harder by the day to stay anwhere positive about my spot. ive been interviewing about. ive had some call backs. but i still havent gotten anything thats for an increase in salary, stature and mobility. which, really are three things im looking for.

i guess ive got to grow up. get a real job. use that potential. i have no clue where, or how. but i have to. i really dont want to be that guy that stays at this place in life for ever. i want to make more money. i want to have a more important job. i dont want to wear jeans and a glorified blue t shirt to work every day. no offense to anyone. i just dont think thats what i want for my professional life. i dont think thats why i went to college. i dont think thats why i did the things i did in college. right now im just chasing a pay check.

im chasing more than that. im chasing after things in my personal life i really dont think ill get. i said that i dont feel good about wandering towards 30. i dont. not in the shape im in. knowing that i have 2 friends left, that wont be married or have kids, or be on the way to either option. i never would have guessed that at 30 id be for want. i never knew id have it. but i never knew id be for want. i think to myself about my past relationships. about how i used to think i screwed up. how i made girls run out on me. how i pushed people out. how i couldnt pull them in. now. now i realize i am who i am. every ounce of me. its not about pulling in, or pushing away. its about not being the compatible type. someone slammed me this week in an email, because i talked at length, for spending my saturday photographing ducks and eagles on the frozen river. slammed me, because i bitch about being lonely, and single, and here i sit going on and on about ducks. i presume the link is; women dont care about ducks. they dont care about men that photography ducks. they care about men, trying to grab a tit in a smokey dance floor; or men who buy them drinks because they have cute friends. i talk about photographing ducks.

im not a serious photographer. she knew that. im not serious about saving the animals... or ducks per se. she knew that i make it an excuse. that i enjoy it. i dont enjoy being lonely. or single. or feeling like i really dont have a chance at what i want. but i guess, i enjoy myself. to go through the motions of the "ideal" courtship again, isnt something id enjoy. the bars. the money. the alcohol. the fake phone numbers. the bitchy attitudes. the lack of leads. i dont enjoy that. i guess, i sat in my chair, and i watched the ducks. i watched the trees. they sky. the sunset. i couldnt get angry about much of anything. i couldnt get angry by avoiding it and staying away from it all.

which all leads to interesting coversations we dont expect. people like to talk at me. not with me. obama, to oil. israel. wall street. football. i always find it crazy to hear them go on and on with thoughts and conclusions that just dont make sense. and when the coversation lends it, i leave a hint. i drop something on them, that makes them stop to think. but they never ask me about shit. so i walk away. then today, i got into a coversation up at the front end, coloring in a sign, while avoiding work for a while, about women and relationships. it was with someone i hadnt expected it to come from. and he kept putting me on the spot about what i want. about what im looking for. and the advice didnt really exist. just talk. but it made me think some. think about whom i would want to marry and have kids with. i cant come up with an answer any more. that troubles me. because, maybe... maybe ive drifted so far off the shore, i dont remember what the beach looks like anymore. maybe, ive become so self absorbed because of everything in my life, i know myself so well that i cant know anyone else now. it made me think about that today while we were talking.

just things i guess i should have talked about by now, that i havent really.

Respect the 'Cros

Our credo;

'cros before ho's

let's be honest here if you have to ask you'll never understand

this editorial was pushed my way this morning, i'd never seen it. but i sure as hell can't refute any of it. ps. thanks canada for doing what the american media wont do.

Barack fools us

Whole world will pay for America's electoral mistake

by Michael Coren [available online, Toronto Sun]

A young student friend e-mailed me on Tuesday night.

"Have locked myself in my room because the place is full of little idiots -- who cannot spell Barack Obama's name and could not name one of his foreign or domestic policies -- running around screaming obscenities about George Bush, conservatives and how Sarah Palin is a bitch. I love democracy!"

Even so, the people spoke. A victory for the hysterical Oprah Winfrey, the mad racist preacher Jeremiah Wright, the mainstream media who abandoned any sense of objectivity long ago, Europeans who despise America largely because they depend on her, comics who claim to be dangerous and fearless but would not dare attack genuinely powerful special interest groups. A victory for Obama-worshippers everywhere.

A victory for the cult of the cult. A man who has done little with his life but has written about his achievements as if he had found the cure for cancer in between winning a marathon and building a nuclear reactor with his teeth. Victory for style over substance, hyperbole over history, rabble-raising over reality.

A victory for Hollywood, the most dysfunctional community in the world. Victory for Streisand, Spielberg, Soros and Sarandon.

Victory for those who prefer welfare to will and interference to independence. For those who settle for group think and herd mentality rather than those who fight for individual initiative and the right to be out of step with meagre political fashion.

Victory for a man who is no friend of freedom. He and his people have already stated that media has to be controlled so as to be balanced, without realizing the extraordinary irony within that statement. Like most liberal zealots, the Obama worshippers constantly speak of Fox and Limbaugh, when the vast bulk of television stations and newspapers are drastically liberal and anti-conservative.

Senior Democrat Chuck Schumer said that just as pornography should be censored, so should talk radio. In other words, one of the few free and open means of popular expression may well be cornered and beaten by bullies who even in triumph cannot tolerate any criticism and opposition.

WEAK TOWARD ENEMIES

A victory for those who believe the state is better qualified to raise children than the family, for those who prefer teachers' unions to teaching and for those who are naively convinced that if the West is sufficiently weak towards its enemies, war and terror will dissolve as quickly as the tears on the face of a leftist celebrity.

A victory for social democracy even after most of Europe has come to the painful conclusion that social democracy leads to mediocrity, failure, unemployment, inflation, higher taxes and economic stagnation. A victory for intrusive lawyers, banal sentimentalists, social extremists and urban snobs.

Also a defeat for one of the weakest presidential candidates in living memory.

Why would anyone vote for a man who seemed incapable of outlining his policies and instead repeatedly emphasized a noble but, if we are candid, largely irrelevant war record?

He was joined by a woman who was defended so vehemently by her supporters when it was cuttingly evident that she is years away from being, and perhaps never will be, a serious candidate for senior national office.

Most of all it was a terrible defeat for democracy and the United States. A politician of nothing defeated a nothing politician and a credulous electorate screamed in adoration. I fear we will all suffer very much indeed.

So a small iPhone update for anyone that cares to read. It's surprising how well I have integrated this gadget into my daily habits already. granted I'm sure a good portion of that underlying reason is discovery of features and fascination in general. But with less than a week of use I've probably sent 30% of my text messages for the month. Which surprises me. Sure I still send the bulk of them off and on to one person, but I find I'd send longer messages now and with more numerous responses to peoples comments. Plus I do kinda like the ability to update my blog on the road now ( of course on a year I get no real vacation ) and I'm an absolute junkie for the built in / ship in Weather App. Seriously. No waiting for the news no papers no websites, just the current conditions and a five day forecast sent for my zip code updated as often as I wish to check it. Stupefyingly simple, yet practical.

Enough of that.

Other things:

We officially coronated the King of the United States today. If you take offense to that; I hope you keep reading. Because, lets cut the shit off the turd here people; if you honestly think this means something, it doesn't. If you think this is the end to economic disparity in the wild; note that the DOW dropped 500 points since his official installation. If you think it was a "people's showing" of affection, remind yourself in a cash strapped country, we dropped 172 million; dollars just to put this fucking freak show circus on the road. Mad? I am. Thats like being shaken down for a buck by a boy in a girl scout outfit. Something isn't right. It's about the same as ripping a buck from every tax paying US citizen just for this. To spend on himself. Great start in my book, from a guy who says says he isn't going to raise taxes, but between him and his vice president can't figure out what the cut off is, or how it works. And don't start me on the new presidential Cadillac limo. Thats just a matter of national security. Riiiiight.

We granted him his crown, and his plush robes. What have we been granted in response? Judging by the garbage run on the boob tube the past couple days, its some sort of reborn MLK. King had beliefs. This guy? He has Chicago politics in his socialisim lined suit pockets. We were treated to equality? Really. Hes arab folks. But since skin tone doesn't matter in our advanced minds, obviously we aren't looking at that.... are we media? Are we? Definetly not in every carefully panned shot of the clearly black americans, tears and hankies in hand, sprayed all over the screen today. Give me a break. These people that profess love for this guy, are potentially even bigger lunatics than he and his pack of handlers are. In love with what? The same way I love donuts? The same way I love my landlord? The same way I love my country? Clearly not. When people ask me why I sound so bitter about the whoel mess, I remind them, that just how little of and effect a president actually has on their daily life. When the Great Messiah of the Masses tells you he's going to cut taxes; he can't. That's Congress. When He, The Holy of Holyness, tells you hes going to "change how we do things", tell yourself that hes just changing WHO is doing things, but the same shit will happen. When He, of He's sermons on world peace and global warming; remind your self people are dying just to start new wars, and no one, can stop the course of nature. Remind yourself, like we need to every generation when this gets out of hand, that he is a man, among men, that all are fallible. You entrust the peace and security of the nation and of the world, to a man whom is wise and, able bodied and practical. This is a man who is younger than our parents. For me, by more than 10 years. Corruption will occur, scandals will happen, poor judgment will abound. Lets just not all rush to wipe our feet off his red carpet when you realize you stepped in a big pile of "love." Hussein Obama will not pay your mortgage for you. He wont hold your hand and kiss you when you die of cancer. He wont cradle your children when your house burns down in a forrest fire. He will dive in front of the cameras, he will play up your repulsive sense of attraction to him, and it will all sing the praises of His Greatness' Greatness.

In other words.

So freaking what?

I haven't seen anything to make me ooooh and aaaaah over. I haven't seen one solid policy produced. I haven't seen anything designed and implemented by his hands alone, that he couldn't some how shrink back to the 'workshop' with his handlers to service. What I have seen is a man, who was elected to the US Senate that showed up for less than 200 instances in a six year term, who belongs to a racially divisive church, who keeps a private prayer minister who is openly linked to a known harbinger of terrorism [hamas], who some how has everyone eating out of his hand. Remember. Hes just the president. How many times has the president brought YOU breakfast in bed? Or bought you your soda at the machine because you were short a quarter? Lets get realistic about this. Have your day, but it all starts at zero in the morning.

Stryper - Free

strrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryper!

the home of the curly, poofy, sculpted 80's glam mullet. absolutely bitchin' absolutely 'no better time than nooooooooow' you can't loose, you're free! free to choose your [mullets] own destiny! freeeee!

Well it's not that I can't do this from my box that's three feet away from me: but I'd thought I'd give this truely moblogging thing a shot. So here I am direct from cyberspace via my cellular network via my iPhone with no middle man, is my post!

Neato.

Now before everyone starts up with me about my typical anti apple stance (which makes this whole experience ironic) let me state for the record that I had no intention of getting an iPhone. none. I had never even touched one before I wandered into my cell shop. I had planned on getting something from rim or the samsung epix really for the keyboard and wifi abilities. Touch screen was nice as an incidental feature but I wasn't (and am still on the fence) crazy about touch screen ONLY devices. For obvious reasons that my large fingers wish to stay silent on.

But after talking it over with the sales rep (whom yes was hot) I casually looked over the iPhone features. Which when you combine physical form factor with features at pricing made it suddenly an attractive device. So I played so more. With bluetooth (which I'll never go with out again) wifi 3g network Internet and a way to peg my real world email in my phone, I gave it a go.

So far the downsides are what they thought they were. I'm not crazy about touch screen everything. And I have a disdain for the frustratingly apple over simplification of every thing. And I have an out and out hatred for iTunes as my sole pc link. But life isn't bad. Apps help. My typing and err correction software are getting along better than I thought. And lastly I love the interconnectedness I get with this thing. So post one here we are!

Sent from my iPhone

KISS-Heaven's On Fire

bitchin' the 80's music video needs a comeback. who better than 80's - no - make - up - kiss ? huh? who? NO ONE better!

ohhhhhhhhhhh Heaven's on Fiiiiiire!!!!

normally this time of year feels like crunch time. i owe the world [or at least the literate portion that can access these scraps of gilded lines] my yearly review of crap no one cares about, much like everyone else does. and its still coming! instead i need to go back a few steps and get my mind started on some other things i'd been meaning to talk about but just never had the time to do so.


first of which; was my experience in Rockford in octemberish with the "living history" event. which is such a farse. it implies that things are done in accordance with how it SHOULD have been done. for the most part, while in view, things proceeded well. i am talking about a grand display of world war II things... all things... military, civic, and horse like. yes. periodically nerds who are interested in polishing the reputation of the greatest generation, gather, dress in their clothes, and amuse themselves by firing blanks. its a hoot. anyhow. why me? well thats a tough question. ive slowly sunk to that nerd level. but my excuse is a pure historical vantage of the subject. some personal history is included. while it has been fashionable to talk or handle or film anything from that period for the last few years, ive continued to dig deeper into la la land myself. i am that guy, ive learned. no one doubts this. so. more history, more reading. my collection is now a shelf, which is a point of pride. the next fascination was seeing some artifacts, which i dont have.

see for most people, they have a relative who served in the war that left things behind, if they themselves arent around to testify. i really dont. one grandfather was ineligible for service [he was missing a leg since childhood --- a long story!], and the other? well he died years before i was even born. making my interactions with history, quite slim. what we do have are some things that just whetted my appetite for more. really, in the last 3 years or so, with this whole mess of my grandmother moving and such, we've unearthed a lot of things that we didnt know we had. she, like many of her generation, clung to some things [mainly memories and odd sentimental things], but disposed of copious amounts of tangible things that two generations post, would have delighted in seeing. case in point, grandpa ralph's uniform, service ribbons and the like were tossed. he kept them. she wanted no part in it. the real complication of all of it though, was him. granpa ralph, as my mom tells me, would have greatly enjoyed someone like me to tell all about the war. she reminds me how similar in attitude i must have been to him at that point in his life. we would be close to the same age, which would be fairly old for front line service, but a detriment to those near us due to maturity and skills. that is, presuiming i have any.

any way: the story goes that he took tons of pictures, wrote letters, documented things, and managed to learn some french as he went around the towns in an armored unit. [this parallels my fathers side; where my uncle Barlo met his wife Flora in the service. remember, his side is the mexican side, native speaking, and when they were in spain, litteraly walking in formation, he heard people speaking spanish... which he tells us, was the only one in his unit, and he started talking to the civillians. eventually he married Flora, the mans daughter whom he struck up that random conversation with... merely because spanish was something he hadnt heard since leaving the US]. grandpa ralph though, enjoyed his time from what im told. to me, the information would have been a gold mine. to people that lived through the war, even on the homefront, it wasnt worth talking about, let alone bragging about. so. what we have come across are some limited medical records, discharge papers, and pictures of servicemen we dont know. all fascinating to me, giving me some historical perspective to really learn about the conflict in detail.

enter Rockford. the closest, largest, event in this part of the country. it was a hell of an opportunity to see things more closely. plus a chance to take some pictures. to put it mildly, it was a small slice of heaven for me. my biggest regret is not going back for a second day [ but lets face it, it would be a repeat]. even though my co workers laugh at me for, ive added some ww2 fashion to my closet as well, due to the vendors on hand. without a lot of detail, different groups do their best to re enact life in these units. sure, the famous ones are present, like airborne units; but even some less sexy units are recruited... representing WAC, nursing corps, navy units, and mounted cavalry units. both US and German units, with a few other groups as well... Polish, Brittish, Italian and Russian. all complete in uniforms, gear and weapons. weapons..... including tanks and other mechanized units. i couldnt stress how much it made me feel like a kid. to me, it was the immediate equivilent of sitting on grandpa's knee and living the stories in my mind; but with real cloth, steel and horse shit. any how. some of my pictures from it:

but just as one stark memory, which has stuck in my mind. the entire even is laid around a fictitional town, with a pretty good size area all told, and the units dig in and camp in the wooded areas around it. [which in its self, is fascinating, considering the degree of detail to the trenches some units dug... by hand... just for this event] but walking from the town to the camps through small wooded runs, they have set out mock battle objectives for people to see. after being stopped by the first battle for the main street [the pictures are showing most of that, complete with casulties], i emerged into the woods. where i could smell the gun powder. i felt nervous. i was walking and listening. i could hear the sounds of running.... the jingling, the scuffles, branches rattling. then i heard german. german comands then german rifles. people in front of me, in typical plaid shorts and knee high sock tourist outfits, stopped and covered their ears, kids cried. but to me. it was as close as i can ever come to being in the middle of it. by sound i could tell they were german rifles. i could tell how far they were spaced out. it was amazing. the crowd stopped and gawked. more rifles. i then noticed id ducked down, for no reason than instinct i suppose, and started running towards the gun fire. then i heard US small arms fire. thats why i was running. to see it. to join in. to be there. it was surreal though. running into gunfire. smelling it. hearing it. feeling it. knowing it. to me, it made the entire experience worth more than money.

Not that I'm anointing myself as such, but the Fashion Police should be out in force. Why? It's just something that I'm really starting to notice now, the longer I'm stuck in crowds of old people. It's.... Almost a ''holier than thou" approach to dress, but worse; its the method of attempting to be MORE poor/podunk/humble THAN THOU. After a wonderful night at the symphony, on Friday, I couldn't help but sit and laugh the more I saw of it. It was wide spread; consisting mainly of old men with nothing better to do that dress ridiculously and go out into public view for the evening. And so, ladies and gentlemen of the jury;








Exhibit A.



the ivy cap.

aka the driving cap.

aka the newsboy.



Its ugly. Its stupid. Even my dad has one, but I haven't seen him wear it in years. In some cases, the cap and the bill are stitched together, in others, ridiculous as it sounds, there is a snap to be done/undone. It is most popular in black, tan, black/white herringbone, or brown tweed colors, but the odd mint green, or navy blue model is apparently made as well. The functionality of the hat is unknown. The bill is really shaped too poorly to shade much sunlight, and it lacks an extended brim to ward off rain or snow. It exists purely as a status symbol. "Status of what," is my question! The most I can really come up with, as a historical relevance, comes from the era of the late 1800's through 1940's, where this particular head wear is seen on working class and tradesman as a dress approach [ie The Lennox Heating/Air Company logo] [or the host of PBS's The Woodwright's Shop]; and most dominantly on youth conscripted into hawking papers on the street corners. Today though, this is an extremely popular choice of men over 50. I lost count at 25 of these; on people in suit coats, windbreakers, flannel, and sweatshirts; but all over the age of 50 [or more], facial hair tended to be mustaches only. Even as a hat person; I can't fathom why this hat is popular. Even when worn by Samuel L. Jackson, I can't allow for it on my head! [and he only wears it backwards... possibly to deny wearing one!] The hat channels, I guess, the by-gone era that people never lived in. People my dad's age have no reason for it. Everyone that wore one with the times, was dead before they were born, or were old enough to know it was no longer fashionable. Proper men's hats in general were no longer popular after Kennedy was elected; whom I now blame for eliminating only the good hats from society; we are now stuck with beggars and hangers on: cowboy hat guy, beanie with propeller clown, ivy cap idiot, and baseball cap [both genus: cappus ball sporticus [or sports/team related hats], and cappus ball noveltitum [including stuipd slangs and logos, hats advertising vacation destinations, and various veterans hats filled with pins], with various styles of ass clownery still attempting to thrive [hippie hat, assorted holiday hats, special event hats, random souveinier hats.] Exempt from my rants are: military duty hats, protective head wear, and true historic hats serving living history needs, and I suppose... real cowboys. Sadly enough, this includes the Village People.








Exhibit B.



The suspenders:


Clip On variety,


and


Novelty variety.




These are noted by extreme widths [often more than 1.5" wide], purely elastic, with gargantuan chromed clips. Several varieties exist; all related to the same family, but different due to number of yokes. Most would agree to have 4 yokes [two front, two back], but 3 yoke is popular in the elderly circuit [two front, one back]. Also noted are the extremely rediculous 2 yoke [one on each side, with a loop that encircles the shoulder; really... its a back-bra people!]. Suspenders [or braces], are a direct lineage to a time when belts were unknown to man, whom obviously emerged from caves with unibrows and swatches of red cloth clipped over each shoulder to hold up pants. Seriously? Suspenders are the modern descendent of bib overalls, which include the suspenders as functional necessity [yet curiously some still are made with belt loops!]. Suspender systems are popular [and very useful!] when utilized to distribute heavy loads across the body, in military and hiking situations, as well as construction. In the modern era, we define each man to use ONE, and only ONE article of pants restraint; to the elderly two are common at all times. For reasons unknown [See John Lithgow, as Exhibit B]. Belts are problematic for obese people, as well as men who deposit large weight at the midsection; when pants are pulled up to a point [think of the equator on a globe], they will slowly droop or settle lower and become far too loose; resulting in belt tightening to the point that it restricts bowel function. Now, personally, I love suspenders. I have 3 pairs that I never wear. Because I never have an excuse to wear them. Got it? But ALL of them are button in. Why? Clips are ridiculous. Clips look ugly. Clips ruin pants. Buttons are built in. Buttons are probably tailored. Buttons don't hop into your pants, like chinsey clip on suspenders from Kmart. Suspenders [aside from military, hiking and construction usages] reek of a boeme nature for most people. Think Amish. However, even they have the good sense not to use rainbows, or clips.



I reserve my last Exhibit, for later rebuttal.

well... for some reason, when i saw "Iowa - Minnesota" on Drudge today; more than a week after the beat down.... i knew something was up.... besides... it also quotes "loo" in the title of one article... priceless... ahem. go hawks?

Couple has sex in bathroom as crowd cheered them on and their significant others watched Minnesota-Iowa game

Football fans found action to cheer in Metrodome loo

article by: John Brewer [available online TwinCities.com Nov 27 2008]

A couple of University of Iowa fans took a break from Saturday's game at the Metrodome against the University of Minnesota to have some illicit sex in a Dome restroom, police said.

The duo — a 38-year-old woman and a 26-year-old man from Carroll and Linden, Iowa, respectively — turned a handicapped toilet stall into their love nest about 8:30 p.m., late in the Hawkeyes' 55-0 trouncing of the Gophers.

A crowd of intoxicated fans gathered in the restroom to laugh and cheer the off-the-field action, until an Avalon Security guard tipped off University of Minnesota police to the ruckus.

Officers had to interrupt the intimate moment to cite the couple for indecent conduct, a misdemeanor.

University of Minnesota Police Chief Greg Hestness said similar citations at the Metrodome or on campus usually involve public urination.

He said it was the first time in his six years at the U that his force has interrupted a sex act during a Gophers game.

Hestness assumed the woman was embarrassed about being caught: She initially gave a false name to officers and had to be identified by her husband before she was released.

The man was attending the game with his girlfriend, according to police.

"It's a long ride back to Iowa," Hestness said.

/////////////////////

and again!!!!

Update: Hawk fan says bathroom sex scandal "ruined my life"

article by: Staci Hupp [available online: Des Moines Register Nov 26 2008]

A Carroll woman who was caught having sex in the men's room at an Iowa Hawkeye football game in Minneapolis last weekend says she’d had so much wine before kickoff that she doesn’t remember walking into the restroom, the man she had sex with in a stall, or when the police opened the door.

What Lois Feldman, 38, will remember is the humiliation afterward.

“It’s ruined my life,” she said through tears today. “Not just the incident but the press.”

Feldman, a married mother of three, has been the target of Internet jokes and prank telephone calls today. She was fired this morning from an assisted living center, where she had been an administrator.

Feldman said her husband, Kelly, has been supportive. She said he faults himself for not going with her when she left her seat to use the restroom before halftime.

“I don’t know what happened,” Lois Feldman said. “But I don’t deny that it did happen because obviously there are police reports.”

Police ticketed Feldman, 38, and Ross Walsh, 26, of Linden for indecent conduct Saturday night.

A security guard who said he saw the two having sex through a gap in a men’s restroom stall flagged down campus police, according to the police report.

By the time an officer arrived, about a dozen people were cheering and laughing in the bathroom while Feldman and Walsh were inside the stall, the report said.

The officer pushed his way through the crowd, opened the door and separated Feldman and Walsh, the report said.

Police described both Feldman and Walsh as upset, drunk and uncooperative.

Chuck Miner, deputy chief of the University of Minnesota police department, said officers tracked down Feldman’s husband.

“I’m not sure how they made contact with her husband, but they needed her husband to help identify her” because she’d given the wrong middle name.

Miner said police didn’t measure the blood-alcohol level of Feldman or Walsh. Asked to respond to Feldman’s claim that she was too drunk to recall the incident, Miner said: “That’s probably an accurate statement.”

Feldman said she’d never met Walsh.

“I don’t know who this man is,” she said today. “I just found out his name in the paper last night.”

Walsh wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Carroll, Feldman’s hometown, is about 60 miles northwest of Linden, where Walsh lives.

Feldman, who describes herself as a light drinker, drank wine at the home of family friends before the football game.

She said she doesn’t remember how much she drank, but the party’s hosts refilled her glass each time it was low “so I’m sure I drank a lot.”

Feldman said her husband later told her he’d tried to talk her out of the game because she was intoxicated.

“He said I didn’t realize it was that bad,” she said.

Feldman said her husband accompanied her to the game, but their friends stayed home.

She said she remembers sitting in the stands one moment and the next “being slammed around by a cop and screaming.”

“Apparently I was panicked and very uncooperative,” she said.

Feldman said she “ran away” from her husband the Metrodome after the incident.

She said a woman she didn’t know offered her a ride home about 11 p.m.

Feldman said she gave her husband’s cell phone number to the woman, who called Kelly Feldman for directions to the couple’s hotel.

Lois Feldman said her attorney has encouraged her to fight the ticket.

“He feels I was taken advantage of in my state of mind,” she said. “This is not me. We’re a very good family. This shouldn’t happen.”

Miner, the campus police officer, said fighting the indecent conduct charge could be a long shot.

“It’s spelled out in the law in Minnesota that intoxication is not a defense to any crime,” he said.

////////////////////////////////////

Child pornographer will likely spend rest of life in prison

By Ann McGlynn: QcTimes.com [available Online: Nov 23 2008]

[wait for it people!!!!!]



With evidence a judge called the most disturbing thing he’s seen, Kerwin Summage will likely spend the rest of his life in federal prison.

U.S. District Court Judge John Jarvey sentenced Summage, 41, to 60 years in prison for making sexually explicit videos with the 10-month-old and 3-year-old children of his girlfriend.

A video played during Summage’s trial made one alternate juror sob, which then prompted a fellow alternate juror to console her, Jarvey said.

“It was so disheartening,” Jarvey said.

Summage remained defiant, claiming his innocence and railing on a system he says was unfair and biased against “this black man who dares to fight …”

Summage initially was arrested on Scott County charges of second-degree sexual abuse, prostitution, sexual exploitation of children, bestiality and child endangerment without injury after a search of an apartment at 1825 W. 40th St., Davenport, turned up graphic homemade movies in July 2004.

The investigation began after police heard Summage had paid a mentally handicapped man to have sex with a woman and videotaped it, according to search warrants filed in Scott County District Court.

Summage’s girlfriend, Melissa Mae Brown, is serving time on state charges in connection with the case and is expected to be released in July 2009.

Police said videotapes made from January 2001 to July 2004 include:

* Brown walking the streets of Davenport as a prostitute and picking up clients before returning to a car to describe the details of the sex acts and to hand money to Summage.

* Summage videotaping Brown during those acts of prostitution while children are in the back seat of the car at night during the winter.

* Summage performing sex acts involving a dog and videotaping Brown as she performs sex acts involving three different dogs.

The Scott County charges against Summage were dropped in lieu of federal prosecution on charges of producing and possessing child pornography. Those charges were filed in 2005.

After a motion to suppress evidence made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Summage then filed a request that the case be dismissed because of a violation of the Speedy Trial Act. The 2005 charges were dismissed in May after a judge ruled a violation took place, but they were refiled a few hours later.

The complaint filed in support of the first round of charges says that police seized sexually explicit videos involving prostitution and bestiality, videos that Summage appears to be directing or taping. His voice can be heard on some, and in others, he appears in a mirror holding the camera, officials said.

Furthermore, Brown told authorities that it was Summage’s idea to videotape her performing a sex act on her son and that he was the person who videotaped the act, documents state.

He’s been in custody, on Scott County charges and then federal charges, since December 2004.

Summage also has a case of sex abuse pending against him in Georgia.


//////////////////////////////////////

If it wasn't bad enough to use a baby.... he thought he should push his directorial powers to make his own versions of; BangBus with the kids in the back seat; plus using the mentally ill as star power I'm sure will bring in the DVD sales... as for the dog? I guess he is just pushing the envelope of ART.... only in America... only in Davenport!

well... another day another doctor's office. it seems bad this year. but really, i suppose im making up for lost time. aside from a pair of ER visits from Staples, i really never hit a doctor up while in college or just after. this year has made up for it. with pneumonia, tearing up my back and rehab, the dentists issues, and now my infected ear, its been an expensive run so far.

before anyone asks; im fine. great. next order of business, is why.... well as a kid/ teenager, i was always getting these ear aches / infections that are similar in nature to swimmer's ear, with water getting trapped in my ear canal. turns out, that as an adult, i still get it. i suppose its something that could be corrected with the dreaded "tubes in the ear" fix... but its never much of a problem. then comes the change of season, and it seems i get it again. usually it lasts a few days, gets red, i dont hear sharp and high pitches well, some minor pain, then it goes away. this one hurt like a son of a bitch. it feels like a spike is getting shoved in through my ear canal and gets hammered on about every 3 seconds. of course i cant hear anything either. so i broke down and hit the doctor.

dr. a. has had me as a paitient almost as long as i can remember. more than 20 years. so i never feel discomfort going to see him. its, yes a doctors office visit, but it never feels unfriendly, or cold to me. just normal. and through all the visits over the years with broken bones, dislocated knees, cuts, sicknesses and such; its always nice to come back to the same doctor. he even laughed today about the ear infection. he said some day we should go through my charts and see how many ive had. i reminded him he had kids to put through college.

but as always we get to the fun part. the blood pressure is normal, pulse is normal, but you are over weight. it seems like it follows me around. at 273 today, i guess i didnt know what heavy was. thats been about my weight for the past couple years. i guess its too much. per BMI, i should "ideally" drop to about 200 for my height. thats a big change. real big. the jury is going to stay out on this one for a while, but i suppose it shouldnt kill me to do something. even if its not 70 pounts of something. anyhow. still alive. lets all cross off; EAR MICROBES as things that haven't killed me off yet.

so tomorrow is D-Day in the 10 year future of the United States. its the national election that all of these whining leftist kids have been coveting. its a referendum on middle-right views. tomorrow, it will be sharply bitten, and rejected. tomorrow, the vast expanses of this nation will throw over board their better judgment, and attempt to elect a member of the new-left, because of "change." simply that was the strategy. "change" what? do what? none of that is important. tomorrow is the day they feel is important.

of course, my choice is only of two options; be gutless and vote in the popular candidate against my person beliefs; or vote where my heart lies. if anyone reads this, and thinks im straddling the fence for obama, you really don't know me at all. tomorrow my choice is to be the gutless, non thinker, party boy and scratch out a vote for John McCain; or to vote with my heart and true feelings and mark my vote [as will be printed on the ballot in Iowa!!!!] for Chuck Baldwin.

Chuck Baldwin is running on behalf of the Constitution Party; a national political party that has finished behind Ralph Nader's pathetic attempts in the past few elections. this is a party thats highest elected official is a congressman in montana. but this is the party of my true feelings, as closely as i can find this election. its a party that holds membership in the hundreds of thousands [by all guesses its currently less than 500,000]. the party began in 1992 as the tax payers party, which was a loose knit group of yoyo's to get elected on the basis of tax code referendums. the party has matured to much, much more than that.

load up your weapons, but this is what i vote for tomorrow;

" The mission of the Constitution Party is to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity through the election, at all levels of government, of Constitution Party candidates who will uphold the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. It is our goal to limit the federal government to its delegated, enumerated, Constitutional functions and to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations. "

among other planks [just for your reference];

strongly oppose abortion, strongly oppose same sex marriage, oppose universal healthcare, strongly opposed to deficit spending and increased taxation, are considered isolationists in foreign wars, strongly favor capitol punishment, strongly reject amnesty/guest workers/expanded immigration, strongly favor a limited federal government[ie eliminating whole fed departments and agencies, and returning to a strict constitutionalist view of government. [these are all the things, in all of my life, that make me unpopular with my peers, all rolled up in one nice hateful package]


but im not here to convince people. no one who knows me, knows that my aim is ever to convince people to believe as i do. and besides, everyone has run out and bought the slogans and stupid tshirts and campaign garb; thats all non refundable. i waited to mention anything to see if anyone else would agree with me. no one has. so read up about the party and the platforms here, if interested after the fact. the larger, outer world, wont see this till well after their champagne has settled flat tomorrow. however, i must live in this country a while longer after that. the bitter taste of dry liquor does nothing to quench the thrist within my heart for a better nation, but feel free to drink the kool aid, revel in the media's new messiah. i wont watch it. i wont need to know what the outcome is either way, to know that this country's problems are about to get a whole lot deeper tomorrow. historically deeper. in debt. in foregin supremecy issues. in taxation paid to the government. that will happen no matter which of the popular mavericks or change artists you select tomorrow. my fight, is a loosing battle at best. i will fight on, knowing the battle is lost, and the empire is broken. but the nightmare will truely begin in earnest tomorrow.

Iowa City man faces murder charge {wait for it.....}

Iowa City Press Citizen; Available Online [Press-citizen.com]

Article by: Rachel Gallegos: October 19th 2008

An argument that erupted over a game of chess ended in murder early Sunday, police said. Iowa City Police charged David Christian, 29, of 418 Brown St. No. 6, with second-degree murder for the death of his neighbor Michael Alan Steward, 39, of 418 Brown St. No. 4.

According to a news release from Iowa City Police:

Iowa City Police, Iowa City Fire and Johnson County Ambulance Service personnel responded to 418 Brown St. No. 6 for a medical assist at 3:08 a.m. Sunday.
When they arrived, the medical response crew found Steward unresponsive.

Steward was transported to Mercy Hospital in Iowa City and was declared dead shortly after.

During the investigation, officers learned that Steward and Christian were playing chess when they started fighting verbally.

This escalated to a physical fight, which resulted in Steward’s death.

Preliminary results from Steward’s autopsy are expected early this week.

Christian also faces the charge of public intoxication.

Second-degree murder is a class B felony, punishable by up to 50 years in prison.

The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call Iowa City Police at 356-5275.

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because what is more Iowa City than this? get drunk. completely fucking drunk. go home on some rag ass couch on the porch, start playing chess with your neighbor [who for some reason is still awake]; then kill him. love it. Iowa City, how i miss you.

so it was an interesting date. ill mark it for whatever reason, assuming its worth something more than a date of self incrimination. that sounds bad. maybe its just a poor choice in judgment. maybe, i shouldn't be as weird-ed out by myself as i am. maybe ill just tell the story.

i stop off at some indiscriminate mega size grocery store on the way home from work the other night. the purpose was to pick up something to eat for lunch for the upcoming weekend of lock-down at work. as i'm wandering around aimlessly, looking for food that looks good. [also rare, that i dont have a list or any intentions...]. so i round a corner and come face to ass with some young woman, who is about my age, probably younger a bit, in black spandex. and it fits well. really, well. shes oogling the cocoa mixes, as i oogle her. which is depressing. because ive lost interest in the canned goods i came into the aisle for. so i stay as inconspicuous as my "hefty" frame could be, in my world war 2 jacket and blue hat, inching closer and watching. classic. however. she didn't seem to notice. she grabs a box, drops it into the basket next to something else, and looks over at me for the first time. shes a college girl. i dont need to ID her. fake tan. fake hair color. hours of make-up, paired with spandex and a hoodie, 300 dollar purse; they all ring the bells of a 4 alarm college girl. but i lock eyes with her. dark brown eyes. light brown, pencil enhanced eye brows. some brown freckles. it all looked pretty good. she made some cross eyed glance, looked down, and brushed past me. and i felt stupid. i felt clueless. i felt ugly. i felt like i was slapped. and normally, i let it go. it angers me. but i let it go. instead. i see my feet moving. and im following her about 20 feet behind. i know its not a good idea. but i go anyway. my feet never seemed to hear my thoughts. i catch up to her in line. and of course, stand right next to her. i do my best to act disinterested. it works. she looks at me, with some sort of questioning face, looks away but doesnt turn her head. im counting my basket, pretending not to notice. its building. she finally looks up at the cashier as they beging doing the basket dispersal routine. and i look at the goods again. she stops me. "do i know you or something?" shit. but i hear myself say. "no. but having dinner with me would be a good way to get introduced." i look at her. she blushes. but doesn't smile. she bites her lip. "yeah... i really dont think so." this isn't good. but its more spite. it was like being spit at. and i just inflate and grow larger it seems... "well thats good, since you bought your own dinner, we could skip that part. ---then there is a pause--- it could get uncomfortable in a hurry" she is flatlined. i can tell she has no idea what to say to me now. im about as stunned at what ive said. she sucks in both lips, sticks her head forward and makes a nervous laugh. she looks at me. and tells me her name is michelle. i know thats a lie. i smile. and stay polite. shes done now, and hands over some cash. she takes her change, and looks at me, before shes poised to run, and says "its nice meeting you." as she turns away, i listen to my last words that hang in the air... "it was nice to see you too."

i knew a few things as it was happening. i knew i wasn't going to get anywhere with this poor girl. i know just how awful it looked to be hitting on her in line at the grocery store, if i we're a bystander id be embarassed to be near it. worst of all, i repulsed myself as it was happening, but it was almost like i was watching myself; instead of being in control. to me that was hard. because i had all those guilty thoughts about what i was doing, and but just couldn't hit the brakes... because on some level i enjoyed it. no. not her shutting me down. but i enjoyed the elevation of the chase. which, was exactly how i thought of it at the time. my immediate thoughts leapt to serial killers. yes. its a progression. and somehow i consciously made that connection as it happened. and it scared me a little bit. serial killers, generally, progress from lower forms of sadism to higher forms. initially they act out in innocuous ways, but develop to what we all know. they start with simple acts against people - defensive, or responsive; then move on to animals or small children, then to anonymous sources, then to targeted sources. it intensifies at every step; and its the push to the next layer or threshold that raises the endorphines. i don't plan on killing anyone. but i could definitively feel some degree of excitement about the degree of intensity with which i went about it. which, after the fact, made me feel ridiculous. she was pretty. probably too much so for me. thats the truth. she was not interested. thats the truth. but somehow, they way she put me off, drew me out. thats also the truth.

in all my life, maybe 4 women have ever decided i was worth a chance. thats how i feel about it after all these years. as taking a chance. which is ridiculous. but its probably got a lot of truth to it. of those every single one finds it necessary to trounce me in the end. so i acted out this time. some simple, run of the mill chance encounter, and it sets me off in a direction that wasn't criminal, wasn't rude, but wasn't totally appropriate either. im desparate. im lonely. or im angry about both. it was a very odd feeling that night. im definetly in a rut.

here goes yet another, "I should be asleep" post.

i dont know why. thinking gets to me. it makes me ache for simple answers that i know, even without thinking through, really wont ever come to pass. it also seems, which i also dont know why, that thinking hits me as my body begins to tire out for the night.

and im not even sure what im thinking about really. on one hand [err brain half?] im elated about the snowflakes in the air. why? i dont know. im a winter person. i love snow. i thrive in cold weather. there is something special about the silence and the crispness at night during a fresh snow fall. everything seems heavy and still; but poised to fall. the only sounds are the branches that clatter and the sounds of heavy flakes raking across ice. its a sound of purity. its a picture of silence. its largely undescribeable why it enertains me so. tonight was the first night for snow in the air. and like a child, i sat by the window watching it swirl and blow around. for the moment, i guess i was a child again.

thinking ruins that. thinking, constructs my self in my correct age, and spoils the moment as quickly as vinegar sours the milk. i know that i cant be a kid. i know that im not a kid. yet, the simple moments where i forget that... where i can stop and refrain myself from thinking about it all, are the moments where i couldnt be farther from childhood. as a child, you never needed to escape. i never needed a way to run or hide or delude myself about life; about the way it ought to be, or about the flakes falling to the earth. as a child, the simplicity is bliss; not the ignorance of the facts. as an adult, i look out and watch the flakes settling on pavement that is far too warm to accumulate. i watch some of the flakes stop and cling to the tips of the greenish brown grass before they melt and leave the blades slick and shiny. it isnt the knowledge that the snow wont stick, its the thought process expecting the worst before the flakes have a chance to freeze the ground. its the difference between a child and the adult in me.

the onset of winter seems to be a gloomy time for most people. for me, thats fall. fall is death. not the approach of death, but death in its final throes. the entrance of winter is the silence after the fact. and if spring is the rebirth, then some where between the final breath and the first light, comes the conception. to me, thats winter. winter is the blankness of a page, the pleasantness of the unknown, with the coldness of a new begining. winter is a stark begining that covers the failures of the past, blankets the dead, and allows us a chance to see a rebirth for what it will be. winter is coming soon i hope, the adult in me misses what it means.