My God this is a photo circulating from a Brigantine NJ.. Unbelievable image.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Hurricane Sandy gets even stronger.. may hit as a category 2 strength storm
We are living through weather history. New data from the Hurricane Hunters (945mb) confirms Sandy is now the most intense hurricane ever north of NC, beating LI Express of 1938. The pressure may go even lower. Long Beach Island impact .. my favorite vacation spot (i never get to) may disappear for a while.
This gives me hope in humanity. All the fear and doom and gloom with Hurricane Sandy coverage, and this occurs: A horsehead jogger gets on TV
Rescue operations already underway in Delaware
People ignored evacuation orders…
CNN reports this:
People stranded in flooding after ignoring evacuation orders were being saved Monday morning as Hurricane Sandy took aim at the Mid-Atlantic coast, bringing some of the nation’s busiest cities to a standstill.
Dramatic rescue efforts were under way in Oak Orchard, Delaware, a part of the state that was under a mandatory evacuation over the weekend.
Rescue operations already underway in Delaware
Good luck Long Beach Island..
Latest weather guidance: Landfall of the eye of Sandy will occur about 9pm tonight just north of Atlantic City on my favorite island in the world: Long Beach Island.
The HRRR model has pressure at 938 mb.
WOW.. 938 mb!?
Sandy set: The storm made the left turn on radar
As though this nightmare scenario of storm surges, high winds, and flooding rains couldn’t get worse, it did overnight. Hurricane Sandy got stronger—winds increased and the pressure has fallen to 946 MB (that is exceptionally low and if it goes lower it could break records).. With more warm water for an eyewall to spin on, it may get even stronger before eventually hitting the Jersey coastline this evening with intense hurricane gusts. It will bring the ocean onto the beach with it. New York City will be faced with a tide of epic proportions. The vast wall of water is going to wreck the coast line. The federal government has issued stark and ominous warnings that if you are resident of an area evacuated and don’t leave, think of a way that your body will be able to be identified. Perhaps that’s a scare tactic. But it works. Lots of people are leaving and have only a few remaining hours to do so. The window has closed for many to escape what Sandy is going to bring..
In the mean time, radar shows that Sandy has stopped moving Northeast and began the turn, the turn that forecasters feared would happen, creating the ‘Frankenstorm’ insiders warned of weeks ago when this storm began being tracked..
This storm will be a hurricane as it moves into Pennsylvania. It may remain a tropical storm as it heads to New York State.. it will still be a depression in Canada.
We are in for a storm for the ages. An epic merging of a hurricane, a cold front, a blizzard, and a disaster. This may rival the Blizzard of 1993 in historic terms..
I’ll update as much as I can.. until I can’t. If power ceases to exist, stay tuned to other sources that will better your understanding of this storm and how historic it will be.
Prayers for the East Coast. We need them.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
The other amazing aspect of this Superstorm
Wind. Rain. Floods. The high tide. The full moon. The cold front. The phase into a Nor’Easter.
And now this: Blizzard warnings along the back side, where some high parts of West Virginia could get 60 (SIXTY!?) inches of snow..
WOW.
Bloggers going offline.. is it HAARP!?
I took notice earlier today that several blogs I follow where users reside in NYC or North Carolina and Virginia have stopped updating. I assume they are prepping for Hurricane Sandy. Hopefully they are still with power. The storm’s main brunt didn’t even begin yet..
Also I love good conspiracy theories any day, but the latest rumor online that Hurricane Sandy is more intense because of HAARP is laughable. It’s a superstorm, Frankenstorm, sure.. but HAARP? No.
What we have is a product of earth changes. They are happening. We would be better off to realize that we are subject to nature.. not the other way around.
Do we manipulate? Sure. Chemtrails? I kind of believe in them. But to think that mankind would be this good at creating the perfect storm? No. They happened before and will surely happen again.
Just think.. 24 hours from RIGHT NOW, the center of Hurricane Sandy should be coming onshore somewhere in New Jersey.. Batten down the hatches. Hunker down.
And if you figure out how to ‘hunker’ let me know.
PPL Electric here in Pennsylvania is warning customers of a week-long outage from Sandy
Rumor has it from someone close to me that a restaurant was filled with workers from various states here today.. the person told the waitress they will be here for two weeks.
Could the power outages be THAT bad??
The latest National Hurricane Center advisory on Sandy, issued Sunday at 2pm
"…SANDY EXPECTED TO BRING LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE FLOODING TO THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST…INCLUDING LONG ISLAND SOUND AND NEW YORK HARBOR…
…WINDS FORECAST TO BE NEAR HURRICANE FORCE AT LANDFALL…
…HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED IN PORTIONS OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAINS.”
Something else to consider: New Jersey nuclear plants are bracing for the storm, too
The STAR LEDGER reports:
New Jersey’s nuclear plants are bracing for Sandy today, federal regulators and officials for PSEG Nuclear and Exelon said.
"We’ll have to see where it goes, but it looks like it’s going to have a pretty good hit on New Jersey," Sheehan said today.
Sheehan said that federal inspectors with satellite phones will be stationed at the plants through the storm.
Something else to consider: New Jersey nuclear plants are bracing for the storm, too
An engineer at Johns Hopkins says 10 million will lose power as hurricane Sandy strikes... That’s a lot of people but with the wind coverage it seems frighteningly likely..
Fearful storm poised to hit
The National Hurricane Center is warning with ominous alerts that a life threatening storm surge is going to hit Long Island Sound and New York Harbor
The hurricane and an earthquake AND a tsunami?
Earth is sure throwing a shit fit. Stay out if its way today.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Forecasting Sandy is almost over. Nowcasting Sandy is about to begin..
The wind will be ferocious. Power will vanish quickly in lots of places. And the rain!? Up to 8 inches in most places hit by Hurricane Sandy.. and some forecasts are even calling for 20 inches in localized areas. That is 20 inches of rain.. this could lead to epic flooding like we have not seen in generations.. What occurs in New York City could be equally memorizing as much has it will be horrendous.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to make an announcement Sunday about mass transit in the city..
In the mean time, the Northeast has all but exhausted its hours of preparation time. Those attending Halloween parties in scantily clad nurse and cat outfits hopefully did what they needed to do during the daylight hours to get supplies, such as water, food, and batteries that can last for days if power isn’t restored..
Federal officials, along with state governments, have done what they could to warn the population about the impending threat. From New Jersey to Main.. The Carolinas to Ohio..the pain this storm brings is going to be felt far and wide. And it has begun.
The Weather Channel is offering up a top five list of why Sandy will be epic. Included with the fearful list is that high tide could worsen flooding conditions.. (It is a full moon don’t forget..)
Once again, preparation mode is about over.
Nowcasting begins.
This storm is likely to make landfall Monday night or Tuesday—but the treacherous conditions will begin long before that..
Pretty impressive NASA shot of Hurricane Sandy.. Last night the National Hurricane Center downgraded Sandy to a tropical storm, but was forced to upgrade it again when winds increased. There is debate in weather circles about the downgrade and lots of folks think the NHC made a mistake by downgrading it—some began to think the storm will weaken.
It will strike with ferocity no matter its status.. Be aware an ready. It all begins Sunday for many..
The Saturday morning Frankenstorm update
- Accuweather has a running live blog as events develop about Sandy..
- Henry Margusity has a great blog and you can also find up to date information from him on Twitter
- Here are all of the latest maps and coordinates of Sandy
- The Weather Channel has great coverage of the storm
- And finally here is a goodnews feed andphoto wire feed
All of those links are worthy to look at now and as the storm continues.
Here at Coal Speaker base, it appears as though Sandy is going to be making a direct run for my neck of the woods. As she does she is going to be bringing hell and high water to numerous mid-Atlantic states.
I worry about the storm surge in New York City, along with the underground subway system. I really do. They are prepping for disaster, but I don’t know if they are ready for catastrophe (which we all hope to hell does not occur)..
The wind will be a major issue. I doubt my power will stay on, though I hope it fends for its electrical life as Sandy hovers over.. Also a fear: The rain. Last year Lee and Irene dumped enough to flood out so many places here in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware.. Remember though 8 to 12 inches of rain fell over a week. This time the rain will be just as heavy and fall within 3 to 4 days. That will make situations much faster and dramatic. Flash flooding instead of a slowly creeping water line.. All this while power is out..? This is going to be a truly devastating storm for so many people..
If only divine intervention could toss it out to see.. Or Governor Chris Christie’s mighty blow from his 500 pound bag of wind. Neither appears likely at this point.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Tis the season: Taking another look at Halloween 3
Years ago, I would host and attend regular movie parties. We’d sit and watch awful films, laugh at plots, mock the narrative, and just have genuine fun. It was like MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 with a bunch of immature brats and younger adults who wanted to stay young—all of us were not paid for our efforts, but I dare say we came up with good comedy. If only iPhones and YouTube were available in the late 1990s, we’d have great podcasts. Maybe we would have been sued by companies for copyright issues.
One film caught our attention early and became a long standing joke for life: Halloween 3, the Season of the Witch.
If you never saw it, don’t be fooled by the name. It has nothing to do with the lunatic killer Michael Myers, and no it was not made by Rob Zombie. This movie was from director John Carpenter. He didn’t want to create another Halloween starring ‘The Shape’ so instead he changed the story. This one features a mask making company called Silver Shamrock that does some funky things with cursed rocks from Stonehenge and comes up with a plot to kill all kids that buy masks they create. The movie features women who look like robots that have their heads come off, awful music that never seems to end, and kids wearing pumpkin masks that turn into bugs and snakes. In doing so John Carpenter violated a rule some horror movie makers go by: Not to kill off children in brutal ways in movies. Though it wasn’t brutal but actually quite tacky, leading to the humorous nature of the film.. In other words,it’s one of the one films ever made.
Or is it?
This is where I wonder if it was maybe not as bad as it seems. Are we just judging the movie when compared to Sam Loomis shreaking about a monster in Haddonfield? If so Halloween 3 will never be as good.
In all fairness, the notion of wearing a mask and having it turn into snakes and bugs is frightening. In the movie it happens at 9pm because Silver Shamrock has seemingly been able to convince the entire youth of America that they should be home by 9 to watch ‘the big giveaway’ live on TV. It’s assumed that all cable networks at the time (1970s) were going to run the 9pm ad from the company. I know, I try to be logical, even with an illogical horror movie.
I think this film would have been much better were it to have been made in current times. Seriously. Think of it, minus our the mockery of the movie I’m sure you have done along with me and my friends, the movie has a social message: People are convinced easily by awful ads on TV to do just about anything. Including rushing home from tick or treating to tune in for some stupid giveaway. People are mind-numbed by television.. and even more modern technology has fried the parts of the brain that did not happen to become numb in the process of life.
In other words Halloween 3 is an epic narrative… a dark comedy.. an eloquent judgement on our times: Parents who will buy anything for their kids, including masks that will eventually turn into the demise of the nation. And kids will want anything to fit in. And in the end, parents and kids will be equal in their inability to think for themselves and be convinced by whatever advertising tells them to do.
I don’t think John Carpenter thought he was making a social commentary. Instead, watching Season of the Witch, it would appear that he was just smoking a hell of a lot of pot.
So … sing the song and watch the TV. Watch… watch… watch…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmSP5b_Mi6g]
Saturday, October 20, 2012
A 'veteran bigfoot hunter' has his 1973 Winnebego damaged--he tells cops to look for Bigfoot
Sadly it’s not just a ‘only in Pennsylvania’ story.. This could be Anytown USA these days.
A 'veteran bigfoot hunter' has his 1973 Winnebego damaged--he tells cops to look for Bigfoot
I’ll save the sappy stuff for the tenth anniversary. But today, October 20, 2012, is a pretty big deal. My wife Tara and I have been married now for 5 years as of 12noon today. Right now about 5 years ago the party was just beginning…a reception to end all receptions. And then some.
It has been an amazing five years. But even more amazing is contemplating just where exactly the time goes. Five years ago we were young and the future was ahead of us. Today we have a son and the future is here, moving quickly, becoming the past. Watching our son Ayden growing is a miracle in itself, but it also allows us to forget about our own aging process. I guess that is what our parents told us would happen…
Yes, indeed, five years back now a marriage just began. Today it’s strong. Tomorrow it will continue. Of course there are fights and frowns, but there are also laughs and happiness. Relationships are helped with children. They bring meaning and something ‘more’ to the lives we lead.. A family began with a walk on a bridge under autumn leaves. It continues today.
Five years later, on to ten.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Madonna says the use of guns was a metaphor
But she still chose to open her Denver show with the simulated use of guns, and shooting at the audience. Some were offended by that, others are just angry that she showed up three hours late. No word on whether she took her clothes off or not…
Madonna says the use of guns was a metaphor
All the news unfit to print..
A meteor lights up the sky over California.. The meteor created a boom, shook houses, and now debris is scattered from the meteor..
The meteor blazing through the sky was visible and caused mouths to open in awe throughout California..
A few days ago a rare earthquake hit Maine.. and now another rare earthquake has rattled another odd state: This time Nebraska.. It wasn’t overly strong but it shook nerves. Lots of ‘rare’ places are suddenly getting extraordinary events..
Now a number of states are preparing for earthquakes.. the proof is a multi-state earthquake drill.. With ‘rare’ events in Maine and Nebraksa, plus the New Madrid fault worries and nuclear plants in numerous states, can we really prepare for something big?
A major problem occurred throughout the Midwest Thursday as ferociously high winds hit the Plains, causing the drought-scourged landscape to whip up with dust.. several multi-vehicle pile ups took place on roadways covered in dust and dirt..
If it is not the high winds ruining your day, it’s a late night tornado outbreak.. This one kept people up all night long as people from Illinois to Mississippi were rattled by a late October severe weather outbreak..
Like a horror movie, bugs have invaded a Utah town and are covering everything, from food to children to animals and homes. Residents of Portage Utah cannot seem to get rid of the boxelder bugs as they are swarming just about everywhere..
The ‘Perversion Files’ revealed.. new information shows that local Boy Scout leaders, police, mayors, and other local officials may have helped cover up a major pedophilia within the Scouts.. it documents the Boy Scouts from the 1950s through the mid 1980s..
Big solar flare erupts from the sun..
Imagine a world where it is criminal to save seeds—and now realize that that is exactly the world we may be living in soon..
The UK GUARDIAN asks, who controls the internet? Tech giants are fighting for supremacy along the information superhighway..
Obama and Romney roast themselves and each other at Al Smith dinner..
In the past, a ‘lethally hot’ planet earth was absent of life, say scientists. And they ponder when it will happen again..
Mars Curiosity Rover finding more strange and bright objects on the Martian soil..
Rapper Flavor Flav arrested in domestic assault..
WARNER BROS retains the rights for SUPERMAN.. .. They won a legal battle to keep all rights to the man of steel..
MTV: How PARANORMAL ACTIVITY stays fresh..
Box office predictions: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 will be the top weekend movie..
Latino moviegoers expected to come out for PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 in big numbers..
No offense to the PARANORMAL ACTIVITY fans out there—I was once one, too—but the films are drying up in fun and creativity.. maybe it’s playing now simply on the fact people want ‘a scary movie’ this time of year and they know one devoid of a plot and story will be eaten up like candy on Halloween night. I cannot imagine the same scares and the same pranks being anywhere near as fun as they were the first time we saw them in PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 1. However, if I had to choose between this aging franchise or the sordid tales from the SAW films, I’d pick ghosts and goblins over torture porn any day..
NEW YORK TIMES reviews HBO movie ‘THE GIRL,’ a film about Alfred Hitchcock’s films and how blondes made ‘the best victims’.. The TIMES writes, “The trouble with “The Girl” is that it tries to psychoanalyze Hitchcock but fails by trying to know the man too much. It’s a movie about Hitchcock that ignores his best advice: “Suspense is like a woman. The more left to the imagination, the more the excitement.”“
Thursday, October 18, 2012
A campaign can require a lot of wardrobe changes. Blue jeans in the morning, perhaps. Suit for a lunch fundraiser. Sport coat for dinner. But it’s nice to finally relax and to wear what Ann and I wear around the house
A pretty funny joke tonight from Mitt Romney during a bow tie comedy event tonight with President Obama
...that odd moment..
..when a severe thunderstorm brews and hits near the end of October. Thunder is rolling across the sky tonight. Creepy feeling as heavy rain falls and lightning lights the sky .. autumn? I don’t know.. strange feeling with this storm.
It's over: NEWSWEEK goes digital
After 80 years NEWSWEEK as a printed magazine will cease to exist.. December 31 is the final issue. After that all digital is the new NEWSEEEK norm.
Whether people know it or not the more old fashioned print dies away the more we will lose out in the end.. The idea of sitting back and relaxing each week with a magazine or newspaper is going to be something gone and mourned when it is..
Has anyone thought about the crisis doctors and dentists face? No print? What will they put in their waiting rooms?! Maybe they’ll just leave what they have their now: HIGHLIGHTS for kids from 1989 and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED with the victory of the Boston Red Sox on the cover…
Who killed print? The readers or the printers?
Who will miss it? Maybe everyone more than we know..
It's over: NEWSWEEK goes digital
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Earthquake in Maine..?
You read that right.. tonight the East Coast was rocked Maine. A 4.0 earthquake centered near Hollis Center, Maine, west of Portland, was felt throughout the New England area when it hit Tuesday night around 7:12 p.m.. The quake initially registered at a 4.6 but was downgraded soon after.
More reports coming in on the quake indicate that the quake was felt in Connecticut and Boston.. One report on WHDH in Boston reports that pizza workers left their building when they heard a loud bang ten miles outside of Waterboro.. WHDH also reports two interesting facts: One about dogs barking before the quake hit and another about the Seabrook Station nuclear plant in New Hampshire declaring an ‘unusual’ event:
Lynette Miller, a spokeswoman for the Maine Emergency Management Agency, said her dogs started barking several seconds before the quake. “It was several seconds of good shaking but nothing falling down,” Miller said from her home in Readfield, about 60 miles north of Portland.The Seabrook Station nuclear plant, about 63 miles away in New Hampshire, declared an unusual event — the lowest of four emergency classifications, but said it was not affected. The plant has been offline for refueling."There has been no impact at all to the plant from the earthquake and our refueling maintenance activities have not been affected," said Alan Griffith, spokesman for Next EnergyEra Seabrook Station.
Developing story..
Monday, October 15, 2012
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRXGsPBUV5g?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
It’s a creepy October night.. someone out there is looking for sympathy.. Got any for him?
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
I don't want to get into this issue too much except to link this...
Yuengling Brewery is thinking about leaving Pennsylvania..
Again, I don’t want to get into it much, nor do I want to give a personal opinion, besides this: I want Yuengling to stay in Pennsylvania and don’t see a reason why it wouldn’t. The coal region is filled with hard working folks that will do what it takes to make Yuengling a success.
No further comment besides that.
Yea, because God wants someone like this to tell us how to live!?
Headlines today on an Iowa pastor who wants an Iowa judge removed for support of same sex marriage. Also, the pastor, Steve Youngblood, wants to slap women and ‘correct’ them for non-Christian behavior…
Thanks Rev. Youngblood. Because of you lots of people with common sense will wholeheartedly support gay marriage.
As far me? I’m libertarian on the issue. I could care less. Gay marriage, straight marriage.. all the same. Gay divorce and straight divorce? All the same.
This issue is a red herring during election years…This one not excluded. 100 years from now we will laugh at this, and look at someone like Rev. Youngblood with laughter.
You know how you can tell that Candy Crowley is a good moderator of tomorrow's debate?
This: Both campaigns aren’t happy with her and want her to play a limited role, even not wanting her to follow up with questions if she asks things that the spin doctors and talking points don’t cover during the debate.
Good luck Candy. We will be watching.
People can be disgusting: A 21-year-old in Utah is charged with stabbing his 84-year-old grandmother and removing her organs.. Cops say they found him holding a knife and admitting he stabbed her heart 111 times...
How disgusting.. A woman can live a life for 84 years old to have it ended by a monster at the age of 21…
People can be disgusting: A 21-year-old in Utah is charged with stabbing his 84-year-old grandmother and removing her organs.. Cops say they found him holding a knife and admitting he stabbed her heart 111 times...
Hulk Hogan is now turning to the FBI for help with his sex tape scandal.
I know America loves watching famous people have sexual relations on grainy black and white cameras .. I get that. America likes to hide behind a computer screen and safely watch through peep holes in gas station bathrooms along the information superhighway. But Hulk Hogan? I can’t even entertain the thought of looking at a still image of the scene! I get physically sick when I think of it.
But I’d bet money that when he does find a ‘mate’ to exchange fluids with, the Hulkster plays his Real American theme song, rushes into the bedroom, rips off his yellow shirt, and dances around with his lathered up oily body dripping all over the sheets.
No wonder pandas evolved to know kung fu!
New information suggests that ancient people ate panda bears..
The study comes to us from Chinese scientists. The panda may be a beloved symbol of the nation, but the researchers claim that their study of the past shows ancient folks sure liked the taste of panda meat.
But… I am a little dubious of the study. In part, the AP reports:
Scientist Wei Guangbiao says prehistoric man ate pandas in an area that is now part of the city of Chongqing in southwest China.
Wei, head of the Institute of Three Gorges Paleoanthropology at a Chongqing museum, says many excavated panda fossils “showed that pandas were once slashed to death by man.”
The Chongqing Morning Post quoted him Friday as saying: “In primitive times, people wouldn’t kill animals that were useless to them” and therefore the pandas must have been used as food.
But he says pandas were much smaller then.
I assume that the study just doesn’t ASSUME since pandas were slashed they must have been food? Are there any other pieces of relevant information to support the theory? I imagine someone with a scientific background will help me here.. I just don’t know if I can trust a study’s conclusion simply because of an assumption about why pandas were slashed to death by men..
Young sugar cane workers in Central America dying in big numbers
It’s been killing for 20 years, reports the GUARDIAN, and no one truly knows why the numbers are so horrid for young sugar cane laborers. The ‘malady of the sugar cane’ is now the second biggest killer of men in the country of El Salvador.
Obama (yes the President) thinks Minaj and Carrey can work out their fued
Frankly I think for him to comment on this ridiculous ‘feud’ is unpresidential..
In related news Romney thinks the Beavet should admit he and Wally decided to not eat his peas.
Obama (yes the President) thinks Minaj and Carrey can work out their fued
The city of Boston being rocked by a scandal now as city administrators realize that potentially thousands have been wrongly convicted of drug crimes
This story has been festering in Boston media for weeks now. It’s becoming a bigger story. As it deserves to be.
The city of Boston being rocked by a scandal now as city administrators realize that potentially thousands have been wrongly convicted of drug crimes
The world is (at least it should be) stunned and saddened by the Taliban shooting Malala Yousufzai.. But who is Madonna kidding!? She used the shooting of the innocent girl as a chance to strip down in protest. As though Madge needed any reason to take her clothes off!
One of the coolest moving GIFs ever. The man who fell 24 miles in just four minutes, breaking the speed of sound: Felix Baumgartner.
I note very little news coverage among the big networks and soon to be defunct papers out there this morning. Instead we’re being treated to a few polls in Ohio. It’s all politics.
But Baumgartner fell to earth at 834MPH, with just his body, and he survived. Made history. And now NASA and others with big degrees in things can study how exactly this worked and maybe equip our astronauts with the same luxuries of life that he had so we can expand our horizons and move beyond earth …
I guarantee that is a tragic mishap would have occurred, if his lungs would have exploded, or if he would have turned into a flaming piece of debris, the media would have wall to wall coverage, be interviewing neighbors, and searching through Facebook for photos of Felix. Instead he lived and did something truly monumental. And what’s he get? A brief mention in a few places…
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Click here to watch the skydiver make history, as he jumps from the edge of space back to earth
If all things go well he will jump today, and he will land safely. I will be watching, I suggest you do to
Click here to watch the skydiver make history, as he jumps from the edge of space back to earth
I plan on reading this week’s NEWSWEEK cover this week with a neurosurgeon talking about NDEs..
If you read it before I do give me your thoughts, I’d like to hear them..?
Christina Applegate on SNL last night was memorable
Funny show. She jokes that the last time she hosted it was 1993 and the Chris Farley Matt Foley skit first appeared. That long already?! Wow..
My favorite sketch from last night was the Tech Talk Apple iPhone slave workers ..funny and extremely poignant ..
Christina Applegate on SNL last night was memorable
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Mystery surrounds graves at boys' school in Florida
The money quote from the CNN story is chilling:
'A small cemetery buried deep into the grounds of a now-defunct boys reform school dates back to the early 1900s. Rusting white steel crosses mark the graves of 31 unidentified former students.
Former students said the deaths were at the hands of abusive administrators, but a 2009 state investigation determined there was no evidence of criminal activity connected with any of the deaths or of abusive treatment.
But the investigation did not clear up the mystery over the fate of 50 other students who died at the school and whose bodies have not been accounted for.
In the wake of that investigation, more former students — who are now senior citizens — have come forward with stories of abuse at the school, including alleged beatings, killings and the disappearance of students, during the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s.
Troubling story.. What happened to all of these innocent children? What secrets do their long buried souls hold..?
Mystery surrounds graves at boys' school in Florida
Halloween costumes are being purchased from sea to sea.. coast to coast.. and all places in between..
The Western World has a way of celebrating dark days like All Hallows Eve in a purely capitalistic style—mixed with overdone sexuality and outfits too skimpy for some robust women to even get them above their thighs.
This year’s most popular costume so far? Sexy Big Bird. Does Mitt Romney approve or would he cut the funding?
Toddlers in Tiaras.. Honey Boo Boo. Move on. We have Big Bird…
There are some who are worried about the present day sexualization of the girls’ Big Bird outfit. And Bert and Ernie too.. Some may roll their troll eyes at people who think that the sex-charged culture is overdoing its tendency to take more Chinese-made fabrics off of younger girls, they will say those who slam the skimpy designs are prudes, but think about the facts that surround us.. Pedophilia is alive and well. As a matter of fact, there have been countless news stories in the past few weeks concerning Japan’s addiction to child pornography. Just yesterday, the website Reddit banned links to Gawker after the site exposed a dirty troll’s predilection for creating sub-boards to showcase underage girls in bikinis or women who don’t know their photos were being snapped and posted online.. The Creepshots are all over the net. People of Walmart jokes are sent throughout the world on a daily basis, clogging up work emails with more images of larger women in thongs walking around Walmart…all the while getting their innocent picture snapped and posted on the internet.
We have gone from using the net as a hobby to using it as a way of life. And in turn, being that so many now ‘live’ their ‘lives’ on the world wide web, porn and all the like will continue to flourish.
So back to Halloween. Think of this, moms and dads of the world (and you don’t have to be an old prude of a parent to think of this) .. say you just purchased that skimpy Big Bird outfit for your underage daughter. No harm, right? She is just going to a party of other kids, right? Other girls in skimpy cop costumes or half-nude portrayals of nurses.. And your daughter, the innocent girl she is, gets her photo snapped in a provocative position(s). Posted online. She suddenly has fame across the school. She’s the ‘slut’ who wore the whore Bird attire at the party.. she is the ‘easy’ one who will do anything. And remember, she is not even 18 year. Those images don’t die. That reputation won’t either. The bullying has just begun.
When I go through retail stores and see more and more provocative apparel for extremely young women I cannot help but to think it’s all designed on purpose to sexualize the female gender early and often. Men get beer commercials that appeal to them around the age of 12—get them early the beer industry figures. As for women? Get them early too.. put kinky designs on underwear and sell them to girls who don’t even reach puberty yet.
Do I sound like an old dud?
Maybe I do. But prudish thoughts as opposed to what? Having your daughter’s image posted online, wearing some skimpy Big Bird outfit, for pedophiles and perverts (AROUND THE GLOBE MIND YOU!) to find, download, and use for their disgusting enjoyment? I’ll take the prudish thought any day over that horrid reality.
Halloween then vs now.. A different time. Different strokes for different folks.
Remember when you were a kid, assuming you are not, and finding that perfect plastic superhero outfit? or that fun costume that increased your chances of getting more based on the pure cuteness of it? Those days are gone. Legs out out. Breasts are flopping. Makeup is on. Women are lookin’ sexy and gettin’ their hair did. All for a night of ass-less chaps and leather Halloween costumes, whips chains and few brains. Horror is gone. Instead sexy is in. Freddy Krueger used to frighten. Now women dress as the ‘sexy’ Freddy. And there is a sexed up Michael Myers and Jason, too, just in case you didn’t get enough stimulation with your woman dressing like a pornographic version of the child-killing burned villain ..
But in the end the most troubling thing to me that we live in a society that is glorifying the wrong things. Honey BOO BOO doesn’t even understand enough to know that for much of her life, she will be considered a fool simply because of her childhood role on her show. We also live in a world that has forgotten decency, morality, and intelligence We just dress the part fill the cart. No matter what nation of slaves created the item. No matter what it looks like, we just want to show off some skin.
Finally, we live in a world where crimes against children are rapidly increasing.. Though I am sure someone with ‘facts’ will tell me we just know more crimes now than we did before, I don’t care. In my point of view, when I hear Kids in Syria are gunned down.. kids all across the world live in fear.. some are turned into war criminals.. some are starved to death.. some are shot for standing up for girls’ rights.. some are brutally killed, like Jessica Ridgeway in Colorado, may her soul rest in eternal peace and love somewhere..
But we just keep putting on the scantily clad sexgarb and hoping to show enough skin to excite someone… hopefully that someone isn’t the type of person you wouldn’t want to bring home to mom and dad. Of course, mom and dad bought you the outfit, so maybe they’d be proud..
Friday, October 12, 2012
This is a must read Gawker article on Violentacrez, the 'creepy uncle' of Reddit
Gawker exposes a dark side of the Internet some fail to understand.
Again, a just read
This is a must read Gawker article on Violentacrez, the 'creepy uncle' of Reddit
Think fast: Where you were 10 YEARS AGO RIGHT NOW?
Serious question
October 12, 2002.
I was 22, I had a dog named Newt who was alive and well before he passed away years later, I just started a job, and just met my wife to be and danced with her at Crocodile Rock in Allentown PA .. we were just friends then.
I had yet to meet two nephews who weren’t born yet. And my mall was busier and had stores ..
Also there was no war in Iraq. George W. Bush was president. And all that stuff had yet to occur. All that stuff. And Crocodile Rock where my ‘friend’ who became a wife and I danced has been closed due to a shooting….
Now my wife and I have a son named Ayden and have married for 5 years on October 20… lots of things have changed.
So where were you?
Thursday, October 11, 2012
DID BIDEN JUST MOUTH 'YOU ARE FULL OF SHIT' TO RYAN?
Did my eyes deceive me? did I read lips correctly?
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lv_WqK6k?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
No matter the president, the decade, or the generation.. we still dream a thousand dreams and get haunted by a million screams. It’s still the land of confusion. And then some.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
This is the world we live in.. The BBC reports that a Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year-old activist in Pakistan for girls’ education, was attacked on her way home from school and reportedly shot either in her head or her neck/
She is ‘out of danger’ now .. but is she, really?
The next bubble is hissing.. when will it burst? For two decades student debt expanded at a rate above 17 percent per year
Just a few days ago, this website linked up an NBC news article about how punishing debt is weighing down a generation—the generation of people who cannot find jobs in their majors, cannot keep jobs they have in an uncertain economy, and cannot make enough to pay their debt without defaulting on other loans and lines of credit.
If someone asked me today, “Would you go back to school for a degree in business administration?” I would absolutely say NO!
If I was asked for advice on what a major should be, I’d respond: Languages. And not just Spanish. But any language you can get, including Farsi and Chinese. Mandarin wouldn’t hurt either. No matter what your future skill or job may be, most companies will be global and will need multi-languaged (is that a word?) employees. Not business.. not education.. nothing else.
Oh, and apprenticeship and training programs wouldn’t hurt either. There is no shame in being a plumber or craftsman, a pipefitter or sheet metal worker. Not one bit of shame in being an electrician, a baker, or a cook. Don’t limit your true potential just because the ‘mainstream’ tells you that going to get your college degree is a must.
There is a commercial always on the SPROUT TV network *(my son watches it not me)* of a group of couples sitting around a table as their children play in the background, as they discuss college educations. At the end, the dad jokingly tells his child “because you’re going to college” as the rest of the fake parents chuckle. Well… maybe that child isn’t going to college. And maybe there will be no college.
Think about this: With the amount of people defaulting, there may soon be a limit that for profit colleges and schools meet. If their ratio of dropouts to success stories goes awry, they could even lost funding or ratings.
We are seeing an emerging bubble.
When I graduated with my BS (and it was BS) in 2010, I was proud of my achievement. Graduating with a business degree during the Great Recession. Good choice Coal Speaker. Nonetheless, my graduating class also had a few hundred people completing with a degree in education…. Education that is being cut throughout the nation as cyber schooling and home schooling expand in popularity. There are too many teachers now for not enough teaching positions. My state of Pennsylvania has gone through years of budget cuts throughout all counties, forcing districts to slash teaching staff and janitor positions. Somehow those luxury administrators stay put.
There is something quite wrong with this picture. The people ‘in the field’ know it. There is a foreboding sense that this college bubble not only cannot last forever but is soon ready to burst.
Then what?…that is the scary question.
Then what?
The next bubble is hissing.. when will it burst? For two decades student debt expanded at a rate above 17 percent per year
The new America: A women dying of leukemia goes through invasive and embarrassing airport screening at the knowing hands of the TSA
The New York DAILY NEWS reported this about Michelle Dunaj:
Dunaj, 34, was making what she expects will be the last trip of her life on Oct. 2 as she traveled through Seattle en route to Hawaii.
The Roseville, Mich., woman thought she had prepared by calling the airline ahead of time, asking for a wheelchair, carrying documentation for her feeding tubes and making sure she had prescriptions for all her medications, including five bags of saline solution. But Dunaj said she received a full pat-down in the security line at Seattle-Tacoma Airport and had to lift her shirt and pull back bandages so agents could get a good look. She said everyone else in line got a look, too.
‘‘My issue is: It was in front of everyone, and everyone was looking at me like I was a criminal or like I was doing something wrong,’’ Dunaj told The Associated Press on Tuesday. ‘‘It shouldn’t have been in front of everyone.’’
Dunaj said a female agent performed the pat-down and asked her to lift up her shirt after feeling the tubes going into Dunaj’s chest and abdomen. Dunaj said her suggestion for a more private pat-down was dismissed.
‘‘I asked them if they thought that was an appropriate location, and they told me that everything was fine,’’ she said.
She said another agent punctured one of the saline bags she was carrying, ruining it.
The new America: A women dying of leukemia goes through invasive and embarrassing airport screening at the knowing hands of the TSA
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlwilbVYvUg?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=281]
Absolutely hysterical video. The YouTube account BadLipReading uploaded a great parody of the Obama Romney debate. The funniest to me was Jim Lehrer.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
I am feeling exhausted
My son has been a little under the weather for a few days. My wife is in bed early. I am heading there soon, too.
Listen, I love this time of year. Autumn leaves .. the colors.. the cool breeze. But this year something is nagging deep at my spirit. The perpetual onslaught of time isn’t helping. The constant transition from season to season, year to year.. all seems to be speeding up.
And this year, my perhaps more-fragile-than-they-should-be 32 year old bones are feeling the weather change. So is a bear that ate garbage near my house last night. And three snakes stuck on a sticky trap that tried to get in my house last week. Everyone seems to have a sense of dread for this winter..
Maybe because it’s 12/21/12. The end. Or just the beginning.
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