7 things to do before I die:
1. Hike the Black Forrest.
2. Learn Japanese.
3. Own something tangible from Star Trek DS9.
4. Fly a plane.
5. Take a vacation and never return to my job.
6. Try vegitarianism.
7. Write the book I've been wanting to write.
7 Things I Cannot Do:
1. Shrink to like 5'5".
2. Can't be managment @ the radio station.
3. Have self control with some foods.
4. Drive without road rageous thoughts.
5. Stop daydreaming.
6. Speak Spanish.
7. Fly.
7 things I say most often:
1. You bastard!
2. Mmmmmmyyyyyyello? (greeting).
3. Damnit...
4. Im bored.
5. Fuck! Look at the price of gas!
6. My widduhl puhppie! (baby talk to my dog).
7. Where the hell is my damn phone?
7 books I love: (I can only think of good authors I'd read)
1. Anything Dan Savage.
2. Stephen King.
3. Frank Miller.
4. William Shatner.
5. Michael Chriton.
6. Kurt Loder.
7. (this space left intentionally blank...)
7 movies I can watch over and over again:
1. Office Space
2. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
3. The Back to the Future trillogy
4. X-men
5. X-2
6. Johnny Got His Gun (DEFINITE MUST SEE)
7. Kill Bill 1 & 2
8. Doc
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
What did you say?
I live a life a lot of loafers dream of. I work at a radio station where we are the mouthpiece of the community. We speak, people listen. Hell there are days where when we speak, we wonder if people really do listen. Then there are days you wish people weren't listening. I've had a few times in my career in radio where I have said things on air that I know were embarrassing & at times pretty funny. I've even been in trouble with the F.C.C. once or twice for actions leading to possible reactions, but never have I been afraid of opening my mouth on air until the day I read about Dave Lenihan.
A talk show host for KTRH in St. Louis, Lenihan had been in a rather heated topic with a listener talking about Condoleezza Rice, when a completely inappropriate slip of the tongue (if you even want to call it that) happened:
After several attempts to lessen the impact of that statement, he tried to either convince himself or the listening public that he tried to say "coup" instead of the racial slur. Dave Lenihan was fired almost immediately by KTRH management post comment and public apologies were airing about 5 times an hour.
While reading about this incident, it referred to another similar incident that happened in Las Vegas back in January. A morning show weatherman was refering to Martin Luther King day and again "misspoke" and added the slur between Luther and King while on air. Later on, the weatherman tried (like Lenihan) to lessen the impact of the statement by saying a different word other than the slur and still didn't gain the sort of appology he was seeking. Managment let Rob Blair go shortly after the conclusion of the morning show and offered deep seeded appologies to the entire community.
The issue was strange in this instance. The N.A.A.C.P. accepted the punishment Blair was given and continued on with their organization. All agreed he fessed up to his actions and the punishment fit the heinous circumstance that it occurred. Blairs friends in the community tried to rally to his defense, including some high level African-American members of the community. It seemed to just fall on deaf ears (the same that hear everything in my opinion) and the issue was then shelved and moved away from public view and everyone returned to work as normal.
After reading and listening to both sides of the arguments, I have to say that I find it hard to believe that both of these people, Rob Blair and Dave Lenihan made a simple word mistake. To make the mistake in the first place, both had to have known what the word was & had to have used it in the past at some point to make a point. That's certainly not something people use in everyday conversation. We all are aware of the racial slurs in our region where we live. Each and every one of them is hurtful & spiteful and shouldn't even be uttered even in jest. Yet they're there. Open for anyone to listen to and take offense.
Remember, a simple slip of the tounge is saying a weather forecast calls for "fartly cloudy skies" instead of "partly cloudy". I guess it's easier with each generation to question the actions of the previous, especially with racial inequality in the country. There is no mistaking some slips of the tongue, no matter how hard you try to cover or explain.
A talk show host for KTRH in St. Louis, Lenihan had been in a rather heated topic with a listener talking about Condoleezza Rice, when a completely inappropriate slip of the tongue (if you even want to call it that) happened:
"She's got the patent resume of somebody that has serious skill. She loves football, she's African-American, which would be kind of a big coon," said Mr Lenihan. "Oh my God - I totally, totally, totally, totally am sorry for that. I didn't mean that."
After several attempts to lessen the impact of that statement, he tried to either convince himself or the listening public that he tried to say "coup" instead of the racial slur. Dave Lenihan was fired almost immediately by KTRH management post comment and public apologies were airing about 5 times an hour.
While reading about this incident, it referred to another similar incident that happened in Las Vegas back in January. A morning show weatherman was refering to Martin Luther King day and again "misspoke" and added the slur between Luther and King while on air. Later on, the weatherman tried (like Lenihan) to lessen the impact of the statement by saying a different word other than the slur and still didn't gain the sort of appology he was seeking. Managment let Rob Blair go shortly after the conclusion of the morning show and offered deep seeded appologies to the entire community.
The issue was strange in this instance. The N.A.A.C.P. accepted the punishment Blair was given and continued on with their organization. All agreed he fessed up to his actions and the punishment fit the heinous circumstance that it occurred. Blairs friends in the community tried to rally to his defense, including some high level African-American members of the community. It seemed to just fall on deaf ears (the same that hear everything in my opinion) and the issue was then shelved and moved away from public view and everyone returned to work as normal.
After reading and listening to both sides of the arguments, I have to say that I find it hard to believe that both of these people, Rob Blair and Dave Lenihan made a simple word mistake. To make the mistake in the first place, both had to have known what the word was & had to have used it in the past at some point to make a point. That's certainly not something people use in everyday conversation. We all are aware of the racial slurs in our region where we live. Each and every one of them is hurtful & spiteful and shouldn't even be uttered even in jest. Yet they're there. Open for anyone to listen to and take offense.
Remember, a simple slip of the tounge is saying a weather forecast calls for "fartly cloudy skies" instead of "partly cloudy". I guess it's easier with each generation to question the actions of the previous, especially with racial inequality in the country. There is no mistaking some slips of the tongue, no matter how hard you try to cover or explain.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Police Blotters - Corpus Christi, TX
Actual Blotters from the police department in Corpus Christi Texas.
2 assaults in 10 minutes
In the first assault, a 35-year-old man said at 10 p.m. a patron inside the club in the 6400 block of South Padre Island Drive had a beef with him and swung his knife in his direction, causing a slight cut to his chest, police said.
About 10 minutes later, a dancer was arrested after she and a female customer got into a fight. Police said both women had "cuts on their heads from glass bottles or ashtrays, whichever was their weapon of choice."
*see, thats how you can tell a quality establlishment is the number of SCARS on the dancers...
With friends like these...
Two men were stabbed after an argument started at a bonfire near Beach Market 206 on Tuesday. Police said two groups met at a bonfire and a fight followed after a man refused to give someone a cigarette. A 20-year-old man was stabbed twice in the back while the other 20-year-old man was stabbed in the buttocks, ankle and wrist.
The injuries were reported as non life-threatening.
*Police believe the attackers were gay, since they kept trying to "stab" in the buttocks again and again...
Fugitive porker eludes police during pursuit
Police reported chasing a javelina on foot and by car early Friday but lost the wandering porker near the Harbor Bridge shortly before several neighborhood dogs picked up the pursuit. Police said "there was no word on the outcome."
*So, the real headline would read "Pigs chase pig..."
Wreck'd 'em, damn near killed 'em
A 27-year-old man said he left a nightclub and could not find his car just after 3 a.m. Thursday. The only thing he remembered was waking up at 3:10 a.m. in the 5600 block of Saratoga Boulevard wet up to his waist. He said his wallet was missing and he had a bump on his forehead, so he must have been robbed and had his vehicle stolen.
Several hours later, police reported finding a pickup in a ditch near Oso Creek that matched the description of the man's vehicle. It was taken to the city impound lot.
*Martini - $4.99, Rohypnol - $23.99 online, date-robbing your blind date = Priceless
Man, those parked police cars jump out at you from nowhere...
A 40-year-old woman suffered a broken arm and an elderly couple suffered minor injuries Wednesday after a collision with a stationary police car on Interstate 37. At about 10 p.m., a police officer reported seeing a woman driving a vehicle west in the eastbound lanes of the interstate. He said he pulled the woman over to get her facing the right direction when his patrol car, which had emergency lights on, was hit from behind by a 70-year-old man. The officer reported the 40-year-old woman may face DWI charges and the elderly man would receive a citation.
*Im not even touching this one...
2 assaults in 10 minutes
In the first assault, a 35-year-old man said at 10 p.m. a patron inside the club in the 6400 block of South Padre Island Drive had a beef with him and swung his knife in his direction, causing a slight cut to his chest, police said.
About 10 minutes later, a dancer was arrested after she and a female customer got into a fight. Police said both women had "cuts on their heads from glass bottles or ashtrays, whichever was their weapon of choice."
*see, thats how you can tell a quality establlishment is the number of SCARS on the dancers...
With friends like these...
Two men were stabbed after an argument started at a bonfire near Beach Market 206 on Tuesday. Police said two groups met at a bonfire and a fight followed after a man refused to give someone a cigarette. A 20-year-old man was stabbed twice in the back while the other 20-year-old man was stabbed in the buttocks, ankle and wrist.
The injuries were reported as non life-threatening.
*Police believe the attackers were gay, since they kept trying to "stab" in the buttocks again and again...
Fugitive porker eludes police during pursuit
Police reported chasing a javelina on foot and by car early Friday but lost the wandering porker near the Harbor Bridge shortly before several neighborhood dogs picked up the pursuit. Police said "there was no word on the outcome."
*So, the real headline would read "Pigs chase pig..."
Wreck'd 'em, damn near killed 'em
A 27-year-old man said he left a nightclub and could not find his car just after 3 a.m. Thursday. The only thing he remembered was waking up at 3:10 a.m. in the 5600 block of Saratoga Boulevard wet up to his waist. He said his wallet was missing and he had a bump on his forehead, so he must have been robbed and had his vehicle stolen.
Several hours later, police reported finding a pickup in a ditch near Oso Creek that matched the description of the man's vehicle. It was taken to the city impound lot.
*Martini - $4.99, Rohypnol - $23.99 online, date-robbing your blind date = Priceless
Man, those parked police cars jump out at you from nowhere...
A 40-year-old woman suffered a broken arm and an elderly couple suffered minor injuries Wednesday after a collision with a stationary police car on Interstate 37. At about 10 p.m., a police officer reported seeing a woman driving a vehicle west in the eastbound lanes of the interstate. He said he pulled the woman over to get her facing the right direction when his patrol car, which had emergency lights on, was hit from behind by a 70-year-old man. The officer reported the 40-year-old woman may face DWI charges and the elderly man would receive a citation.
*Im not even touching this one...
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Passion of the Chrysler
...well, its a Dodge, but its owned by the same manufacturer...
Everyone knows I am passionate about my cars. From my little Pontiac Sunbird convertible to my Mustang convertible, I have always been somewhat of a car fanatic. I probably boast more pictures of my cars than of my friends. That's sad to admit to. Owning a digital camera doesn't make my passion diminish in any way, it increases it.
Clicky makes it go big!
A few months ago (it had to have been January sometime) I had just taken the car thro the car wash and had every little speck of dirt & grime removed when I thought to myself "I don't have a decent photo of my car" so I headed out to an air field out in New Mexico and took some photos. I sat out there for about 20 minutes just staring at the car.
Yes I have an obsession with cars. I find them to be rolling works of art. You might see a dilapidated Gremlin and I see -- a dilapidated Gremlin. OK, bad example. You cannot deny the fine lines of a Porsche Boxter, Ferarri Enzo, or even a classic 1966 Ford Mustang GT 350. They're timeless lines and unmistakable shapes that capture the spirit of the pleasure of motoring.
And yes, a 2005 Dodge Neon shares those same lines.
Everyone knows I am passionate about my cars. From my little Pontiac Sunbird convertible to my Mustang convertible, I have always been somewhat of a car fanatic. I probably boast more pictures of my cars than of my friends. That's sad to admit to. Owning a digital camera doesn't make my passion diminish in any way, it increases it.
A few months ago (it had to have been January sometime) I had just taken the car thro the car wash and had every little speck of dirt & grime removed when I thought to myself "I don't have a decent photo of my car" so I headed out to an air field out in New Mexico and took some photos. I sat out there for about 20 minutes just staring at the car.
Yes I have an obsession with cars. I find them to be rolling works of art. You might see a dilapidated Gremlin and I see -- a dilapidated Gremlin. OK, bad example. You cannot deny the fine lines of a Porsche Boxter, Ferarri Enzo, or even a classic 1966 Ford Mustang GT 350. They're timeless lines and unmistakable shapes that capture the spirit of the pleasure of motoring.
And yes, a 2005 Dodge Neon shares those same lines.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Luck o' the Irish?
Just by coincidence this morning I woke up and wore a green t-shirt. I didn't even consider the ramifications of not wearing a green colored item of clothing today when I woke up, all I realized was I had to go to Sonitrol today and needed to look somewhat decent. I just blindly (I do that at times) grabbed the first clean shirt on a hanger in my closet and wore it. It wasn't until getting to work that one of my co-horts laid mention that between me and Mike D, I had the only green article of clothing visible.
It's an olive color, but its friggin' green. I have survived the wrath of soon-to-be-drunkards coming up to me and pinching the living shit out of me for the lack of a green swatch of color on my body. So in typical Blank Media fashion, I tried to hunt down the origins of turning areas of the body red & bruised for a lack of sensible fashion sense during this holiday. Surprisingly, we're all a bunch of immature little brats.
See, the color green is strictly a United States thing, not even adopted in Ireland. It was a childish thing to do to another classmate who didn't recognize this seemingly strange holiday where we celebrate a Catholic holiday that falls in lent that the church actually allows for today the consumption of meat. St Patrick's Day is a celebration of the Irish saint Patrick who became very successful at winning converts, died on March 17 in AD 461. One of the more popular symbols of the holiday came to America in 1737, Boston's Irish colonies held the first celebrated parade.
Chicago River, Chicago, IL
Some cities even dye their rivers green. The Chicago river celebrates this holiday by donning its green hue.
So, if you forgot to wear green today, dazzle them with substance other than mere childish pinching. Unless you like that sort of play. If not, I hope you have a whole lotta quarters to buy lots of sodas*.
*refers to an old elementary school rhyme "pinch, poke, you owe me a coke".
It's an olive color, but its friggin' green. I have survived the wrath of soon-to-be-drunkards coming up to me and pinching the living shit out of me for the lack of a green swatch of color on my body. So in typical Blank Media fashion, I tried to hunt down the origins of turning areas of the body red & bruised for a lack of sensible fashion sense during this holiday. Surprisingly, we're all a bunch of immature little brats.
See, the color green is strictly a United States thing, not even adopted in Ireland. It was a childish thing to do to another classmate who didn't recognize this seemingly strange holiday where we celebrate a Catholic holiday that falls in lent that the church actually allows for today the consumption of meat. St Patrick's Day is a celebration of the Irish saint Patrick who became very successful at winning converts, died on March 17 in AD 461. One of the more popular symbols of the holiday came to America in 1737, Boston's Irish colonies held the first celebrated parade.
Some cities even dye their rivers green. The Chicago river celebrates this holiday by donning its green hue.
So, if you forgot to wear green today, dazzle them with substance other than mere childish pinching. Unless you like that sort of play. If not, I hope you have a whole lotta quarters to buy lots of sodas*.
*refers to an old elementary school rhyme "pinch, poke, you owe me a coke".
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Thar She Blows
I hate El Paso in March. Its the windy season, and damned if the skies don't have more sand in it than the ground does. All this means is its a miserable time for anyone who works with allergy sufferers. It's true, everyone is inconvenienced in their own way. Allergy sufferers choose not to keep it to themselves and have to go around moping and wallowing in their misery, sharing it vocally with the rest of us non-allergy sufferers. It kinda pisses me off. Here I am witting down working when a conversation gets sidetracked into "Oh God, my allergies are making my eyes water and my nose stuff up and my eyes red and my tits swell".
Well, maybe not their tits.
But you see my point? It's like the boss coming in and asking you to do something critical, and right before he tells you the single most important thing of the project, some ass-hat who should have gone home for feeling like shit or should have taken some allergy medicine (available over the counter!) then takes sympathies from everyone in the room for being such a trooper and showing up to work that the important item that needed to be conveyed is now forgotten about and you're up shit creek.
Speaking of blowing, can we shut the fuck up with all the God damned gay cowboy jokes? Its getting old now. If I have to hear one more person say "Bareback Mountain" IM going to loose it. Yes, the movie is a cinematic breakthrough that follows in the same lines as the likes of Sidney Portier's "Look Who's Coming to Dinner", yes its open to a lot of ridicule in a normally straight laced field of movies but come on! IM sure (I wasn't born until the end of the disco era) that the Village People were hazed in the same fashion, but still, lets stop beating this gay horse till it whinnies blood all over the berber carpet.
And don't you dare come up to me and say "how dare you say beat and gay in the same sentence". Shut the fuck up! I have tons of gay friends, you silly goose...
Well, maybe not their tits.
But you see my point? It's like the boss coming in and asking you to do something critical, and right before he tells you the single most important thing of the project, some ass-hat who should have gone home for feeling like shit or should have taken some allergy medicine (available over the counter!) then takes sympathies from everyone in the room for being such a trooper and showing up to work that the important item that needed to be conveyed is now forgotten about and you're up shit creek.
Speaking of blowing, can we shut the fuck up with all the God damned gay cowboy jokes? Its getting old now. If I have to hear one more person say "Bareback Mountain" IM going to loose it. Yes, the movie is a cinematic breakthrough that follows in the same lines as the likes of Sidney Portier's "Look Who's Coming to Dinner", yes its open to a lot of ridicule in a normally straight laced field of movies but come on! IM sure (I wasn't born until the end of the disco era) that the Village People were hazed in the same fashion, but still, lets stop beating this gay horse till it whinnies blood all over the berber carpet.
And don't you dare come up to me and say "how dare you say beat and gay in the same sentence". Shut the fuck up! I have tons of gay friends, you silly goose...
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Coming close to the end
I have been working a lot on my Magic Landing website, and sadly, my work has come to an end. Public interest has been steady, and those who remember the park loved seeing the photos that were taken of the park and loved the stories offered on the site. With that said, getting the information and research on the park has been like pulling teeth from a lion. Little information was made public about the park and many of the former employees have probably forgotten they even worked there. Hell, the entire city barely remembers there was even a park out in the middle of nowhere.
There are two people I have yet to perform interviews with, and until that happens, the final entry on the site will be this month. I will leave the last posting with a high note, and a message to everyone who helped with it in whatever form or fashion they were able to muster. Look for the final post to Magic Landing's Ruins this month.
There are two people I have yet to perform interviews with, and until that happens, the final entry on the site will be this month. I will leave the last posting with a high note, and a message to everyone who helped with it in whatever form or fashion they were able to muster. Look for the final post to Magic Landing's Ruins this month.
Monday, March 06, 2006
On This Date in 1836...
Unsheathing his sword during a lull in the virtually incessant bombardment Colonel William Barret Travis drew a line on the ground before his battle-weary men. In a voice trembling with emotion he described the hopelessness of their plight and said, "those prepared to give their lives in freedom's cause, come over to me."
Without hesitation, every man, save one, crossed the line, Colonel James Bowie, stricken with pneumonia, asked that his cot be carried over.
For twelve days now, since February 23, when Travis answered Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's surrender ultimatum with a cannon shot, the defenders had withstood the onslaught of an army which ultimately numbered 4,000 men.
Committed to death inside the Alamo were 189 known patriots who valued freedom more than life itself. Many, such as the 32 men and boys from Gonzales who made their way through the Mexican lines in answer to Travis's plea for reinforcements, were colonists. Theirs was a fight against Santa Anna's intolerable decrees. Others were volunteers such as David Crockett and his "Tennessee Boys" who owned nothing in Texas, and owed nothing to it. Theirs was a fight against tyranny wherever it might be. A handful were native Texans of Spanish and Mexican descent who suffered under the same injustices as the other colonists.
Now with the ammunition and supplies all but exhausted, yet determined to make a Mexican victory more costly than a defeat, those who rallied to the Texas cause awaited the inevitable.
It came suddenly in the chilly, pre-dawn hours of March 6. With bugles sounding the dreaded "Deguello" (no quarter to the defenders) columns of Mexican soldiers attacked from the north, the east, the south and the west. Twice repulsed by withering musket fire and cannon shot, they concentrated their third attack at the battered north wall.
Travis, with a single shot through his forehead, fell across his cannon. The Mexicans swarmed through the breach and into the plaza. At frightful cost they fought their way to the Long Barrack and blasted its massive doors with cannon shot. Its defenders, asking no quarter and receiving none, were put to death with grapeshot, musket fire and bayonets.
Crockett, using his rifle as a club, fell as the attackers, now joined by reinforcements who stormed the south wall, turned to the chapel. The Texans inside soon suffered the fate of their comrades. Bowie, his pistols emptied, his famous knife bloodied, and his body riddled, died on his cot.
Present in the Alamo were Captain Almeron Dickinson's wife, Susanna, and their 15-month-old daughter, Angelina. After the battle, Santa Anna ordered Mrs. Dickingson, her child, and other noncombatants be spared. Other known survivors were Joe, Travis servant; Gertrudis Navarro, 15, sister by adoption to James Bowie's wife, Ursula; Juana Navarro Alsbury, sister of Gertrudis, and her 18-month-old son, Alijo; Gregorio Esparza's wife Ana, and her four children: Enrique, Francisco, Manuel and Maria de Jesus; Trinidad Saucedo and Petra Gonzales. Another survivor was Lewis "Moses" Rose, who by his own choice left the Alamo on the fifth day of March.
Santa Anna, minimizing his losses which numbered nearly 600, said, "It was but a small affair," and ordered the bodies of the heroes burned. Colonel Juan Almonte, noting the great number of casualties, declared, "Another such victory and we are ruined."
The Texans' smoldering desire for freedom, kindled by the funeral pyres of the Alamo, roared into flames three weeks later at Goliad when Santa Anna coldly ordered the massacre of more than 300 prisoners taken at the Battle of Coleto Creek.
On April 21, forty-six days after the fall of the Alamo, less than 800 angered Texans and American volunteers led by General Sam Houston launched a furious attack on the Mexican army of 1,500 at San Jacinto. Shouting "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!", they completely routed the Mexican army in a matter of minutes, killing six hundred and thirty while losing nine. Santa Anna was captured. Texas was free; a new republic was born.
An independent nation for nearly 10 years, Texas was officially annexed to the United States on December 29, 1845. With the change in government, and the lowering of the Texas flag on February 19, 1846, outgoing President Anson Jones declared, "The final act in the great drama is now performed; the Republic of Texas is no more."
On January 23, 2005 I had a chance to re-visit the Alamo with my best friend Ralph while we vacationed away from home (I had been there some 10 years earlier with my other best friend Joe). While there we did the "touristy thing to do" and visited the Alamo, located in the center of downtown San Antonio. We entered and felt the presence of the countless men who now stand silent and proud on the grounds we treaded on, taking in the scope of the battle for what they believed in with their lives and (ultimately) died for.
At the exit sat a guest book with all the names of people who had visited to pay their respects. Ralph and I signed our names, but for me, it held more of a meaning than most people there. Ralph questioned my signature on the record asking "Why are you doing that? You don't need to sign your birthday".
"I don't know..." I replied. "but I wanted to."
I signed the guestbook with my name along with my birthday: March 6, 1979.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
