A Memorable Weekend indeed!

I love my Flip Video. This little gem, like my old Sony Minidisc recorder, is worth every penny.

Take for instance, going to the Jazz fest in Grant park this weekend.

ACORN has been in the news lately, and lo and behold, there was an ACORN tent set up with a handwritten sign that said, I kid you not, 'Georgia Felons CAN vote, ask me how'!

A insurance company was giving away HulaHoops as a promotion, and one of the 'ladies' from Acorn decided to 'have a go'.











But P Bear loved dancin:



He also LOVES the Braves:



Then there was a last minute saturday gig at the Midtown Diner. 3 people showed up, including a very drunk Alabama woman, so I played a whole lot of BTO and Hank. Here's Mico getting 'paid':


The Midtown Diner is a surreal place. It's 24 hour food, with Houka's. I'm not quite sure that it's 'legal' to use these inside, as Fulton Co has some sort of 'smoking' ban in restaurants. The owner said 'apple tobacco' doesn't count:




On to 'open mic' night...There are always a bunch of these types:



But every now and then you get to see your local politician in there getting hammered:



Tippy ( or as I like to call him, Obama cat:half black half white and nobody knows where he came from )is a prodigious hunter. He regularly brings us half alive prey. Yesterday he even bagged a rabbit. Here's one of his smaller conquests, which he enjoys draggin in the house half alive:



Well, it's all over now. I'm 42 and Paul is back in school.



3.99 a six pack for 6+ alcohol content beer. Thanks, Trader Joe for the cheap beer, and thanks China for the cheap guitar.

Crazy Dancin Legs

Liberty!

Jesse Ventura on Opie and Anthony Show

Just go away

Mike Vick the sick dick (ht William Smythe)is getting out of jail, and the Atlanta airwaves are again booming with Vick defenders saying 'he has paid his debt to society' and 'let him play'. He just 'made a mistake'.

Even CBS news get's in the mix:

http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/11764098


The media has followed all the pit bull's that were confiscated from his 'farm'.

But, where are the pictures of the 'bait dogs'? You know, the Beagles they would throw to the monsters to whip them up for bloodsport?

Where are THOSE wonderful images?


On a current forum, the topic was ' What does Vick have to do to satisfy you?'

JCW made this great post about Vick:

"Vick is an like an ex-girlfriend. She was loads of fun sometimes. She never really made me feel comfortable during the week, but on the weekends, man we had some wild times. That bitch did things I didnt think were possible. But, she always had a habit of showing her ass, being a little too wild, or being a little too shady about things. It got worse and worse over time(water bottles/weed, Ron Mexico, middle fingers, never seemed like a great leader or spoke intelligently, then got put in the pokie for felony charges...kinda like bitching out my friends, going her own way, cursing me out, stealing my money, and cheating on me).

Anyway, maybe she left, maybe I kicked her to the curb. I dont really remember. But some time ago I got her out of my life and I feel better now for it. I'm with a new girl now. She doesnt do anything I havent seen before like Vick used to, but Ryan sure does all those things you would like a new girlfriend to do well. She wont ever split two defenders in Minnesota on the way to a game closing TD, but she says all the right things, does all the right things, makes me feel comfortable all week...and she sure doesnt seem like the crazy cheating type I need to worry about getting into the shenanigans Vick did.

What would I ask Vick to do now to satisfy me? Just dont call. Dont come by the house. Respect my new relationship and go find another person better suited for living the crazy life. And if you wouldnt mind giving me back as much of my stuff as you can, I would appreciate it (some of that bonus money for cap relief). But at this point, knowing what a dirty scandalous bitch you were, I certainly dont expect to get my shit back.

They say a zebra never changes its stripes...well, I am not the one who wants to test that theory.

The thought of Vick electrocuting and torturing those dogs, the vision of him having fun doing it, disgusts me so much that I cant even think back on those wild/fun moments fondly enough to allow me to enjoy the memory."

Well put!

I wish he would go away and take his idiot followers with him.

Shark Jumping

Awwww damn. Doncha hate it when your fav's jump the shark? I went to see the new Trek movie, it did not make the jump ( like that horrible one with the whale ) but I just don't get all the fuss. And, it was directed by a guy who's TV show ( LOST ) is one of the few shows that has not yet shark jumped.

24 just jumped the shark. It's over Johhny. The addition of 9-11 truther Garafalo accompanied the Fonz right over that tank.

The Simpson's movie spelled out the doom. The only relevant and hilarious animated shows left are now South Park and Family guy. The Simpson got scared.

I did not even bother with Idol this year, that shark got jumped years ago. Celebrity Apprentice jumped because anyone with a clue knew the fix was in from day one. Joan Rivers committed the unforgivable: she walked out and quit the show, and Trump let her back in.

Survivor is still relevant. Like Limbaugh or Carson, like 'Meet the Press' the old lady of reality shows can still do it. The rest of the lot of reality shows have long since jumped.

Glenn Beck is travelling up the ramp, and gaining speed. The nail in the coffin is his advertising 'Survival Seed Bank', which is also promoted by Alex Jones. Besides this organization being a scam, the idea that this 'populist' man is asking you to buy 'survival seeds' should set off alarm bells all over the place. Yet this clown is still #3 and selling out theaters nationwide. Come, see the 'egress'!!

Last week I heard an interview with Ron Howard where he was asked about 'jumping the shark'. Imagine for a minute that an episode in one of the thousands of TV shows you performed in has created a term that defines overdoing it. That's heady stuff. Yet, the guy still seems kinda down to earth.

Were all on the waterskis heading up in the air...We have all jumped the shark.

Heard that song before.

Oh, MO. Really? So smart, so sexy, so....Much BS.

Busted.

Move over James Frey....Duck and cover, Carlos Mencia. There's a new plagirist on the block, and it's none other then Maureen Dowd. The ultra hip, Ivy league cougar is steling stuff from bloggers, and getting called out on HuffPo.

I tell ya, you cannot get away with this stuff anymore thanks to the net.

As a songwriter, I can almost understand..I cant tell you how many times I've composed a song, and played it at a gig and then have somebody say 'that song sounds just like ___________'. Doh!

San Fran Nan

Wow. There's 'stupid' and then there is 'STUPID'. Really, Nancy? The CIA are 'liars'?

No kidding. Duh.

The Dems started this fake scandal when they found out they could get their far left base to freak out over waterboarding. When they saw the political traction, they jumped on board and led the charge for prosecution and war crimes. Wrong move. There was too big of a paper trail on their complicity in this "torture." The Dems bluffed and got called. Now, Pelosi should just admit it. She got caught in the crossfire of her own left flank.


She has once again shown her total ignorance and incompetence by claiming that the one organization in the world who could bring her down by merely leaking background information they have on her has lied. Go ahead, Nancy, tick off the CIA. Real smart. Do you really think for a moment that you can outwit the largest collection of professional information and disinformation managers in the world? They not only know where you sleeep, but how loud you snore!!

Brilliant!!





Been nice knowing ya, tits.

CRazy Hugo strikes again!

Take that, Verizon!:

It is perhaps the world's cheapest mobile phone. It is the latest offering from Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution. And its name is derived from a slang word for penis. Behold the Vergatorio.

Venezuela's president launched the handset on his TV show with a Mother's Day call to his mum and predicted it would conquer all rivals. "This telephone will be the biggest seller not only in Venezuela but the world," he said. "Whoever doesn't have a Vergatario is nothing," he joked.

Priced just $15 (nearly £10), the phone has a camera, WAP internet access, FM radio and MP3 and MP4 players for music and videos. And it has that name.

Why the president chose it remains unclear, but he enunciates each syllable with a grin. Some laugh, others are affronted.

Verga is slang for penis and vergatario is a newly minted word which signifies excellent but retains connotations from its root.

The word verga, and variations of it, are associated with Venezuela's second city, Maracaibo. Residents are famous for swearing and using Spanish verbal constructions uncommon in the rest of Venezuela.

"It's gross. I can't believe they named it something so vulgar," said Leonor Diaz, 52, a cleaner. Others however consider the name playful and harmless.

The newspaper El Universal issued readers a challenge. "Say Vergatario in front of a mirror. Pronounce this obscenity syllable by syllable, slowly, and note the expression on your face."

Chavez, a decade in power, is a shrewd communicator who often uses salty expressions to mark himself out as a man of the people. He called George Bush a "pendejo", a term derived from pubic hair which can be translated as asshole or jerk.

A government subsidy which cut the retail price to a quarter of the manufacturing cost is likely to make the Vergatario an immediate hit. There is a waiting list for the first 10,000 units expected to be released this week.

Production this year has been set at 600,000, rising to 2m in 2011, when the government hopes to export the model to the Caribbean and then further afield.

Parts are imported from China and assembled in a factory in western Venezuela run by a new company, Vetelca, 85% owned by the Venezuelan state and 15% by the Chinese company ZTE.

The government, facing a financial crunch and labour unrest over tumbling oil revenues, said the investment would boost the country's "technological independence".

Chavez turned a segment of his weekly TV show into a promotion. "Has your Vergatorio arrived?" he asked his mother. "This is the first call I've made with my Vergatorio."

a good example

An article in today's Times-Union outlines a meeting between the medical industry and Barack Obama. The industry is going to promise to save the U.S. 2 trillion health care dollars over the next ten years......wow! The problem with this promise is it is a tongue-in-cheek promise. They say they will save health care 2 trillion dollars by decreasing price increases. The cost of health care has outpaced personal income growth for the past 40 years.

Socialized medicine is argued alot in politics, and I have recently had a couple front row seats. Try having a special needs child or a dying parent and the veil will be pulled back and expose the awful corruption underneath.

I have also known people overseas that had issues in places where National Healthcare is mandated.

Here's how it works in most free market Western style democracies: the poor unwashed have thier healthcare, which does drag down the standards and availability for the masses. But, for those with the capital, they buy 'supplemental' insurance, or in other cases, they leave thier country and find what they need elsewhere. My mother recalls how Canadians would come over to Montana to get Lasic Eye surgery, and all the American would cross over to but thier pharmaceuticals up there.

But, for those 'without', they get some basic care that is now not currently available..I wont argue this point, I have 'seen' it. There is a medical gap in this country, and I support Obama's efforts to correct the problem. Now, what will probably happen is he will overreach, but already the medical industry is leaving skids, because they know the jig is up.

I'd like to compare the possible problem with a free market approach..

Let's use Amusement Parks for example.

In Disneyworld, long lines have always been a problem, with waits of over an hour for the most basic rides. So, the geniuses @ Disney implemented the 'Fast Pass' system. This is essentially a giant computer network connected to the rides. Let's say you want to ride Space Mountain, but the wait is a hour long....You go up to the FP machine, and you ask for a pass. The FP comes out and says 'come back in one hour' and you walk up the exit ramp and onto the ride immediately. For the next hour, you go ride another ride with a smaller wait. This takes you ( and others ) out of the line for Space Mountain and shuttles you somewhere else, thus keeping the line from getting any longer, thus keeping the line shorter for all. Plus, it's 'free'. But you can only get a certain number of FP's. You cant go get one FP from Space Mountain, and then walk over and get one for Dumbo, it is rationed. It works somewhat, it's a little hit or miss, but it is effective for those who choose to use it.

At Six Flags, they have a 'Flash Pass'. You must pay extra for it. For say, 45$ more you get a LED display machine that tells you the current 'wait time' for the rides. You can 'reserve' your seat on the ride, but basically you are paying for the right not to stand in the line. If the ride says 30 minute wait on your LED, then you go play a game, ride a shorter ride, and then come back and walk up the exit onto your ride...

BUT...For 95$, you get the 'Gold' Flash Pass. This basically means you dont wait for any of the rides. You punch in your ride ( say, the Scream Machine ) and it says '5 minutes, come to the exit'. And on you go. You walk right past the poor suckers sweating in the line and ride your ride in minutes. It is terribly effective. There is no small amount of envy from the cheap bastards as you casually stroll right onto your ride!

Our current medical system is based on the old Disney method: and it is broken. Even if you have the $$$, in many cases you cant get the care you want or need no matter what. And I'm not going to debate this: I've seen it.

Obama and his ilk want us to move to a 'Fast Pass' type system, and like Great Britain, eventually, if you have the capital, you can get yourself a Gold Flash Pass and get what you want. But for that to work, everyone has to get on board and use the fast pass, and also pay a little more for the entrance ticket.

The problems with socialized medicine falls when freedoms are removed: when people are forbidden to go out of network for care..This causes logjams that cripple the industry as a whole.

So, here's some rare Kudo's to Obama. Already the healthcare providers are scared, and now 'all of a sudden' can make concessions. This bring up an uncomfortable question: suppose McCain won? Do you think these 'concessions' would have been made? Of course not.

Class dismissed!!

At least one in 10 children with autism overcome the disorder by the age of nine, according to new research.

The findings, presented by University of Connecticut psychology professor Deborah Fein, suggest the children recovered after undergoing years of intensive behavioural therapy.


The study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and presented at an autism conference in Chicago, involved children aged nine to 18.

Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer of the advocacy group Autism Speaks, called the research a breakthrough. "Even though a number of us out in the clinical field have seen kids who appear to recover, it has never been documented as thoroughly as Fein's work," Miss Dawson said.

She added however that they were still at a "very early stage".

Prof Fein says her studies have shown the range for children recovering from autism is 10 percent to 20 percent.

Prof Fein warned however that even after lots of therapy, most autistic children remain autistic, adding that recovery was "not a realistic expectation for the majority of kids."

She dismissed critics who argue that the children were not really autistic to begin with, and added that the "recovered" children "are turning out very normal" on neuropsychological exams and verbal and nonverbal tests.

A spokeswoman for the National Autistic Society said: "Autism is a serious lifelong condition which can have a profound impact on people's lives. It is estimated to affect 1 in 100 people in the UK, that equates to over half a million. At present, there is no known cure although the right support at the right time can make an enormous difference and help people to progress and fulfil their potential. It is crucial that that support is in place.

"It is important to understand that autism is a spectrum condition which affects people in very different ways. Some people on the so called 'higher functioning' end of the spectrum, for example those with Asperger syndrome, may have their condition diagnosed later than the age described below and indeed we know of many people who were not diagnosed until their teens or adulthood. They also need understanding and support."


Oh, Dennis Leary and Jenny McSkanky can both que up to kiss my big white ass.

all politics be local...

Five years ago, almost 6 I bought my 2nd home in wonderful, exciting Grant Park/East Atlanta. I drove by this house enough times until I was certain this was the one I wanted.

But, I missed a very important detail..One that would haunt me for years to come.

I looked at the 'city street' beside my new home, and thought to myself " well, it's not paved, just gravel. But that means there wont be any 'speeders' whizzing by my house, and no one could sneakup on me. How bad could it get?

Well, for starters, there's the red dust. Georgia at this elevation is mostly red clay underneath the topsoil. So, after continued use, the gravel gets moved around and patches on red clay mix in with the dirt and on hot, Southern daze it turns into a cloud every time a sizable car or truck goes by the house.

Then, there are 'ruts' that occur every solid rain. During 'Katrina', the road washed out so many times, other cars began getting stuck in the ruts and knocking on my door for help. That's real nice when your cooking dinner and you look out your kitchen window and see some poor bastard bust his axle because he couldn't see the canyons, or was going too fast...

Then it's always a plus when the road washes out so bad the garbage truck can't get up it. It doesn't happen often, to be fair, but it happens.

This small rut is timid compared to some of the chasms I've seen in the past. But it is early in the 'season'.

1 year in, I started making calls to local 'represenatives' to try to resolve the issue. I called my councilwoman. I wrote a letter to the director of road services. I wrote the Mayor. Nothing.

The Mayor had trumpeted her 'pothole posse' early in her career. She also took a pay cut, and I admit, after decades of corrupt 'Good Ol Bro' Mayors I thought she might work out okay. Of course, now she is involved in her own scandals and will most likely leave the office the same way her predecessor did. I have that number on speed dial.

A couple years ago it reached a peak when a road crew arrived and began paving the road at the top of the gradient. This required wifey and I to enter the 'city road' on the downside instead of coming from the top, where the road machines were parked. This was also where the road 'washes' out. So after a couple days and about 100 ft of paving, the crew starts packing up!

I ask the foreman " Whassup? Are you not going to finish paving the street?" to which he repsonded " it's on the schedule: we will be back ro finish this road." That was years ago.

So the drill is, everytime you see a tornado warning on TV for ATL, my road is washing out. I then call repeatedly to the 'posse' and after a week or 2, they send in the clowns.


The road crew shows up, pours more gravel on the road, spreads it out, and waits for it to wash away again, which it will and the gravel runs right down into the city sewer. I'm guessing the $$$ they make on sending out the 'posse' everytime it rains ( when they can )is more then if they just paved the damn 400ft of 'city street' that they promised to do but did not.




Oh yeah, and my property taxes are about to jump. And people wonder why the suburbs keep cutting off from the City of Atlanta, and take thier %% with them. I should have gotten out when I could!


No, I had to be 'cool'. Live in the 'city'. Be a downtowner, and urban pioneer. What an idiot I am.

Tampa Bay Succaneers

http://www.bubbleply.com/player.aspx?pid=3993af27-210e-4eb8-8058-9d9d6a9a23d5

The passion of the Heist...

A few thoughts on organized religion is in order.

Today, I read the Vatican and 'Catholics' are upset that Dan Brown's book, now movie 'Angels and Demons' is getting released later this month. Let me be clear to those 'offended Catholics', why dont you go fuck off?

I myself was read the last rites as a premature infant, even though my Mother 'left' the church. Or, more specifically, the 'church' left here when she married a divorcee. My older brother is a practicing Catholic, and many of my good friends are. But, if they were to get bent about this stupid flick, I would have to 'splain a little about this big old world to them. Things that I have witnessed myself.

I was christened Catholic, reborn Baptist and I have not even christened or baptised my own child. I wont 'refuse' to do it, if the old ball and chain wants to go through that ridiculous event, fine, I'll sacrifice ONE sunday, as long as it's not football season.

But, get the hell over it already. The entire premise of a 'virgin birth' is laughable. The Catholic Church and specifically, the Vatican, can go pound sand. More harm has been done to Latin America by the subjegative sword in ther name of some Pope, then by famous antisemite Catholic Mel Gibson's horrible movie. To actively hide child molesters has led to thier demise in this country. You may be 'born' a Catholic, but I cannot see any 'new adult members' anytime soon. If anything, the American populace is becoming more secular with each passing year.

I watched this documentary by Nancy Pelosi's little horrible child about Ted Haggard. It's called 'The Trials of Ted Haggard', and I suggest checking it out. What struck me most ( other then Pelosi's glee at his demise )was how his 'evangelical' church treated him after they found out he was a homo. Or as he puts it 'Still struggling with Same Sex addiction'....Riiiiiight..

He was exiled from Colorado, and universally despised. Lost his church, everything. He now sells Life Insurance. Right there is some incredible Irony.

The only stewards of peace I've seen that is 'organized' is the "Theravada Buddhism' that inhabits most of the Far East. But even this fine school of thought has it's thorns. Women cannot become Forest Monks, only men.

In my opinion, when a religion nut's up over some silly fictional book ( see Rushkie ) it either shows that what the book says is probably closer to the mark, or worse yet, that this church is in fact, not a church. Most likely a 'Whore of Babylon'. Look that on up for a good chuckle.

Organized religion is indeed the opiate of the masses. The dumb masses. That's a hard thing for a 'conservative' to say.

let's leave on a high note:

•Obama’s first two major bills alone, the "stimulus" and 'omnibus,' cost nearly twice as much as was spent on Iraq over six years – $1.2 trillion vs. $650 billion.

•Obama abandoned his campaign promise of 'a net spending cut,' his first annual deficit – not counting bailouts – being three times the worst deficit under President George W. Bush.

•Obama’s objective in his first G20 summit – commitments to spend our way to prosperity with massive stimulus boondoggles across the G20 – was rejected out of hand.

•Obama’s objective in his first NATO summit – commitments to combat troops for Afghanistan from 'our European allies,' which Obama and his party imagined were ready and willing to fight if only someone 'enlightened' like him were running things – was predictably refused, with some more European non-combat contingents offered as a token.

•Obama’s Defence Department announced cuts of $1.4 billion to missile defence, the day after North Korea test-fired its long-range, multi-stage ballistic missile.

•Obama’s economics were criticized by Warren Buffet, whose endorsement had been candidate Obama’s highest economic credential.

•Obama reversed the free trade Bush policy that had allowed about 100 Mexican tractor-trailers into the United States, which the Mexican government immediately used as an excuse to levy tariffs on 90 American goods amounting to $2.4 billion in U.S. exports.

•Obama’s 'tax cuts for 95 per cent' turned out to mean $13 a week from June to December, to be clawed back to $8 a week in January – as compared with President Bush’s 2008 tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 plus $300 per child, which were notably scoffed at during the election campaign by Michelle Obama.

•Obama’s campaign promise of a $3,000-per-employee tax credit for businesses that hired new workers – repeated ad nauseam for weeks before the election – was discreetly retired even before inauguration day.

•Obama abandoned his campaign promise that 'lobbyists won’t work in my White House,"'waiving his no-lobbyist executive order or conveniently re-
defining his appointees’ past lobbying work to allow 30 lobbyists into his administration.

•Obama abandoned his campaign promise to reform earmarks, signing the omnibus bill which contained 8,816 of them.

•Obama took more money from AIG than any other politician in 2008 – over $100,000 – and signed into law the provision guaranteeing the AIG bonuses which later had him in front of the cameras 'shaking with outrage' and siccing the pitchfork crowd on law-abiding citizens who had fulfilled their end of a contract and had their payment upheld by Obama’s own legislation.



But, to be 'fair' he has made some excellent decisions as well. He handled the Pirate Hostage Saga well, and appears to be trying to calm everyone about the Swine Flu.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/bush.100/

Jon and Kate plus a date

"When Jon & Kate Gosselin of rural Pennsylvania signed up for their reality show — Jon & Kate Plus 8 — two years ago and opened their doors and let television cameras in to follow their lives as they went about the harried job of raising their family, one wonders if they’d done their homework on the jinx.
The family, of course, are twin girls, Cara and Mady, now 8, and the charming four-year-old sextuplets, Alexis, Hannah, Collin, Aaden, Joel and Leah.
The jinx?
That would be the couples’ curse, which has felled pretty much every fresh-faced couple that ever agreed to air their public laundry on a cable network.
Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey. They, and The Newlyweds, divorced.
Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro? They, and ‘Til Death Do Us Part, did.
Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler. They, and Meet The Barkers, crashed.
Linda and Hulk Hogan. They, and Hogan Knows Best, apparently didn’t.
And now the Gosselins, who once said they signed up for what is now one of the top-rated reality shows because it was a great way to get a record of their kids’ growing up and because they certainly didn’t have time to take non-stop video, have been under fire over the past few months for all manner of alleged social transgressions, including greediness (they’re in it for the money is the big knock, otherwise how could they have bought that new $1.3 million house featured in the last season?) and because Kate is insufferably controlling and so hurtfully dismissive, on camera, of her husband.
The curse seemed to raise its thorny head after Jon was spotted a few months back out and about in nightclubs without his wife and without his wedding ring, in the company of young women who, clearly, were not his wife.
The tabloids had the proverbial field day, so much so that the incident prompted Jon to admit on the final episode of this season that the media spotlight has been so tough he’s considering not signing up for another season.
Or, as he told TV Guide:
“Like most people, I have male and female friends and I'm not going to end my friendships just because I'm on TV,” admitting that being out late at night “showed poor judgment on my part.
“What makes me sick is that my careless behavior has put my family in this uncomfortable position. My family is the most important thing in my life and it kills me that these allegations have hurt them.”
And, now, this week there comes another photo of Jon, this time leaving a nightclub in the wee hours and driving off in a car with a pretty young woman at the wheel who, again, was not his wife.
When the paparrazi shot hit the Internet, Kate, who has acknowledged on the show that she’s tough to live with and that the show has been much harder on Jon that it has on her, was on the west coast on a book tour to promote Eight Little Faces: A Mom’s Journey, which, by the way, debuted at number five on the New York Times bestseller list.
Rich? Yes.
Famous? Oh, yes.
Cursed by the reality jinx?
Stay tuned."