The Lakers win; the city loses.
The headline in the local on-line paper says that 5 officers were hurt while containing the crowds celebrating the Lakers' win last night. According to the news article,
What began as a lively but peaceful celebration took on a different tone for those remaining a few hours after the game. Some in the crowd vandalized buses and police cars, set small fires and threw rocks and bottles at police.
Officer Karen Rayner says about 25 people were arrested for disturbing the peace, arson and other infractions.(mydesert.com)
They are called "diehard fans," but they become criminals who vandalize vehicles, break into and loot businesses, engage in fights, and generally cause mayhem that detracts from the excitement about the team winning the championship. These fans quickly morph into a mob hell-bent on destruction, regardless of the police presence designed to contain their enthusiasm and criminal activity.
It's hard to believe that the fans gather to commit crimes, and even more challenging to believe that these riots occur spontaneously. While there are good people celebrating the win, there are criminals creating chaos to cover their crimes. And woe be unto the law enforcement personnel who try to stop them: they end up on the news, charged with excessive force!
It becomes a stand back and let it run its course situation so there's no repeat of 2000.
The parade is too expensive for the city to host, so the team is going to split the cost. Why not cancel it? Based on the damage to businesses caused last night, as well as the loss of property and vehicle damage, it seems that funds will now be spent paying for the impromptu riot last night following the Lakers' win.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
How Low Will We Go?
I used to believe that if we all kept the bar high and couldn't meet our expectations, we'd at least land in the middle somewhere when we failed. Today, it's all about how low we can go -- especially if it gets a laugh, increases face time in the media, and/or revitalizes a career with a public that thinks The Jerry Springer Show is great entertainment. A staff writer may come up with the Letterman material, but it is the job of the older/wiser comedian to just say no when the material is tasteless and offensive, and his comments about Govenor Palin and her 14-year-old daughter were tasteless and offensive.
I am ashamed of David Letterman, who makes sexual jokes at the expense of a young girl who attended a baseball game with her mother, a sitting govenor and former vice-presidential candidate, to boost his ratings. There was no hint of humor in his comments, just a bully beating up on a 14-year-old girl by stating that she "banged" an athlete during the 7th inning stretch! The "joke" may have been accepted in the male athlete's locker room after the game, but it had no business being told on national TV -- other than to boost Letterman's ratings, a pathetic excuse for his actions.
In his defense, Letterman asserts that public figures are fair game, completely disregarding the fact that Governor Palin's daughter is 14 years old! Would Letterman make similar comments about President Obama's wife and daughters? or his own wife or family members? No, his comments were target-specific, which make them all the more reprehensible.
Comparing Letterman's comments about the Palins to Leno's question to well-known actor Hugh Grant, who had sex with an African American prostitute in a rental car in Hollywod, is a mismatched justification at best. Leno simply asked his guest, "What were you thinking?" Letterman accused a 14-year-old girl of banging a sexually active male athlete during a baseball game and characterized her mother's appearance as a "slutty flight attendant look."
Perhaps an adult can take care of herself, but making a 14-year-old girl the target of sexually explicit humor goes so far beyond the boundaries that Letterman owes this family much more than a stumbling, fumbling justification for his actions: it was just a joke, folks. No; they were crude, denigrating, sexually explicit remarks that reflect much more about Letterman's character than the character of his targets. It wasn't that long ago that another media bully was fired for referring to a female athlete's "nappy" hair, a common characterization of the texture of African-American hair often used by Oprah on her television talk show. Aren't Letterman's comments about these three victims equally offensive? Rather than being condemned by the media and the public, Letterman is being touted for taking it to the Palins, resulting in a huge ratings boost for his show!
Don't all victims have the right to be defended from this kind of verbal assault?
Our young people are fumbling to find their footing in a society that is crumbling around their feet. Young people don't need the host of a major TV show disrespecting women by ascribing to them sexual promiscuity with an athlete during a baseball game. These young people don't need to hear the host of a major TV show characterize an attractive woman who does her hair and wears make-up as looking like a "slutty flight attendant," whether that woman is a flight attendant, a politician, a housewife, or a prostitute. A woman's choice to take pride in her appearance in no way provides an opportunity for the kind of disrespect shown by Letterman through televised comments that he justifies as humor.
I am ashamed that when Letterman blatantly disrespects a mother and her daughter by making sexually explicit remarks about them, he again lowers the standard for the treatment of all women by all men. I am ashamed when society accepts Letterman's actions and does nothing to hold him accountable because it was just a joke.
I am ashamed of David Letterman, who makes sexual jokes at the expense of a young girl who attended a baseball game with her mother, a sitting govenor and former vice-presidential candidate, to boost his ratings. There was no hint of humor in his comments, just a bully beating up on a 14-year-old girl by stating that she "banged" an athlete during the 7th inning stretch! The "joke" may have been accepted in the male athlete's locker room after the game, but it had no business being told on national TV -- other than to boost Letterman's ratings, a pathetic excuse for his actions.
In his defense, Letterman asserts that public figures are fair game, completely disregarding the fact that Governor Palin's daughter is 14 years old! Would Letterman make similar comments about President Obama's wife and daughters? or his own wife or family members? No, his comments were target-specific, which make them all the more reprehensible.
Comparing Letterman's comments about the Palins to Leno's question to well-known actor Hugh Grant, who had sex with an African American prostitute in a rental car in Hollywod, is a mismatched justification at best. Leno simply asked his guest, "What were you thinking?" Letterman accused a 14-year-old girl of banging a sexually active male athlete during a baseball game and characterized her mother's appearance as a "slutty flight attendant look."
Perhaps an adult can take care of herself, but making a 14-year-old girl the target of sexually explicit humor goes so far beyond the boundaries that Letterman owes this family much more than a stumbling, fumbling justification for his actions: it was just a joke, folks. No; they were crude, denigrating, sexually explicit remarks that reflect much more about Letterman's character than the character of his targets. It wasn't that long ago that another media bully was fired for referring to a female athlete's "nappy" hair, a common characterization of the texture of African-American hair often used by Oprah on her television talk show. Aren't Letterman's comments about these three victims equally offensive? Rather than being condemned by the media and the public, Letterman is being touted for taking it to the Palins, resulting in a huge ratings boost for his show!
Don't all victims have the right to be defended from this kind of verbal assault?
Our young people are fumbling to find their footing in a society that is crumbling around their feet. Young people don't need the host of a major TV show disrespecting women by ascribing to them sexual promiscuity with an athlete during a baseball game. These young people don't need to hear the host of a major TV show characterize an attractive woman who does her hair and wears make-up as looking like a "slutty flight attendant," whether that woman is a flight attendant, a politician, a housewife, or a prostitute. A woman's choice to take pride in her appearance in no way provides an opportunity for the kind of disrespect shown by Letterman through televised comments that he justifies as humor.
I am ashamed that when Letterman blatantly disrespects a mother and her daughter by making sexually explicit remarks about them, he again lowers the standard for the treatment of all women by all men. I am ashamed when society accepts Letterman's actions and does nothing to hold him accountable because it was just a joke.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Time and Space
Last week was pretty darned awful, so I accepted a long-standing invitation from a friend to visit her new home in Minden, NV. I hemmed and hawed because I didn't know what to do with Mia: we'd never been on a long road trip before and I was apprehensive about traveling with her. My friend, however, has a horse ranch and she cut to the chase: she's a dog; she'll ride where you put her. Sometimes, I just need that simplicity to move to the next step, so I rigged up a platform in the bed of the truck, set her up with her favorite shaggy rug and her dirtiest, smelliest pillow, added a box of dog food, and pulled out of the driveway for the 500-mile trip to Minden, NV. Directions: find 395, follow it until you come to our road.
The Walker River runs along 395 for a while, creating a restful, scenic drive.
Mia stood most of the way there, and I stopped about every 2 hours and took photos while she peed. On the way back, however, Mia crashed on her floor pillow, waking only when I stopped for her to pee and stretch her legs a bit.
The majestic Sierra Nevada mountains: east side.
On the drive up, I stopped in Lone Pine at the Film Museum, which I enjoyed. Once I arrived at my destination, we visited both Carson City and Virginia City, major tourist attractions, as well as Genoa, which is a tiny hamlet across the valley that hosts a Candy Dance my friend is involved with annually. The entire area is gorgeous, but very cold in the winter and becoming much too populated to please the "locals," who prefer a bit more small town isolation. Lake Tahoe is just over the peak of the mountain directly across the valley from my friend's home, but we didn't go there/do that.
The mural on the wall of the Film Museum in Lone Pine.
My friend has a rescued mustang that used to run wild in the Virginia City surrounds. It's not a big horse, but it's a sturdy horse, and it leaned through the fence to nuzzle Mia's nose at one point during our visit. I enjoyed watching the Squeeze deliver 2 blocks of hay (translation: there's a machine that delivered about 4 tons of hay off a double 18-wheeler. It looked like a forklift, but it's designed to squeeze the hay bales, lift them, and set them down where the owner wants them).
A formerly wild mustang, one of the 4 horses on the ranch.
My friend's dogs played with Mia ; however, the 3 cats were another story. Mia does NOT like cats, so she took out after them every chance she had. No one objected to the chase when the cats were outside, but when they were in the master bedroom, that was another issue. Mia actually slept in the room with me, door closed, and it was no problem. I guess she really will do what I tell her to do ... .
Sammy, Jay-R, and Mia try to pose for a photo, but they had a short attention span.
In addition to all the touristing we did, my friends took me to a Basque restaurant in the area for an incredible dining treat. I ordered the lamb chops and received a 5-course meal! The owners serve the meal they prepare; the diners specify which meat they want and enjoy whatever comes with it.
The Basque wagon at the museum in Carson City sparked the trip to the Basque restaurant for a memorable meal.
This was a good trip; it cleared my mind of the issues knocking around in there, showed me some things I hadn't seen in a long time, and tickled my funny bone when the big horse, Gambler, nuzzled my neck for about 5 minutes! My friend's husband made a ramp so Mia could get in and out of the back of the truck as she's too heavy for me to lift (she has hip dysplacia), which made both the trip back home, as well as future trips, much more do-able.
Doing the tourist thing in Virginia City, NV
We laughed ourselves silly after going into an antique shop in Virginia City and coming face-to-face with a plastic surgery nightmare: every square inch of the owner's face and body have been "done," and it isn't pretty! Her lips were so lipo'd that she had difficulty speaking clearly. When we saw the painting of a woman whose gown is made in silver dollars, we all agreed that the saleswoman must have been trying for the same look!
The Silver Queen's dress contains 3,261 silver dollars, which is eye-catching, but her huge, bulging lips have to be seen to be believed!
I helped feed horses and chickens, played with the dogs, enjoyed being a tourist and a houseguest, and volunteered to house-sit next summer. I needed the time and the space this year and am happy to repay the favor so they can enjoy their vacation next year.
I had such a great time!
The Walker River runs along 395 for a while, creating a restful, scenic drive.Mia stood most of the way there, and I stopped about every 2 hours and took photos while she peed. On the way back, however, Mia crashed on her floor pillow, waking only when I stopped for her to pee and stretch her legs a bit.
The majestic Sierra Nevada mountains: east side. On the drive up, I stopped in Lone Pine at the Film Museum, which I enjoyed. Once I arrived at my destination, we visited both Carson City and Virginia City, major tourist attractions, as well as Genoa, which is a tiny hamlet across the valley that hosts a Candy Dance my friend is involved with annually. The entire area is gorgeous, but very cold in the winter and becoming much too populated to please the "locals," who prefer a bit more small town isolation. Lake Tahoe is just over the peak of the mountain directly across the valley from my friend's home, but we didn't go there/do that.
The mural on the wall of the Film Museum in Lone Pine.My friend has a rescued mustang that used to run wild in the Virginia City surrounds. It's not a big horse, but it's a sturdy horse, and it leaned through the fence to nuzzle Mia's nose at one point during our visit. I enjoyed watching the Squeeze deliver 2 blocks of hay (translation: there's a machine that delivered about 4 tons of hay off a double 18-wheeler. It looked like a forklift, but it's designed to squeeze the hay bales, lift them, and set them down where the owner wants them).
A formerly wild mustang, one of the 4 horses on the ranch.My friend's dogs played with Mia ; however, the 3 cats were another story. Mia does NOT like cats, so she took out after them every chance she had. No one objected to the chase when the cats were outside, but when they were in the master bedroom, that was another issue. Mia actually slept in the room with me, door closed, and it was no problem. I guess she really will do what I tell her to do ... .
Sammy, Jay-R, and Mia try to pose for a photo, but they had a short attention span.In addition to all the touristing we did, my friends took me to a Basque restaurant in the area for an incredible dining treat. I ordered the lamb chops and received a 5-course meal! The owners serve the meal they prepare; the diners specify which meat they want and enjoy whatever comes with it.
The Basque wagon at the museum in Carson City sparked the trip to the Basque restaurant for a memorable meal.This was a good trip; it cleared my mind of the issues knocking around in there, showed me some things I hadn't seen in a long time, and tickled my funny bone when the big horse, Gambler, nuzzled my neck for about 5 minutes! My friend's husband made a ramp so Mia could get in and out of the back of the truck as she's too heavy for me to lift (she has hip dysplacia), which made both the trip back home, as well as future trips, much more do-able.
Doing the tourist thing in Virginia City, NVWe laughed ourselves silly after going into an antique shop in Virginia City and coming face-to-face with a plastic surgery nightmare: every square inch of the owner's face and body have been "done," and it isn't pretty! Her lips were so lipo'd that she had difficulty speaking clearly. When we saw the painting of a woman whose gown is made in silver dollars, we all agreed that the saleswoman must have been trying for the same look!
The Silver Queen's dress contains 3,261 silver dollars, which is eye-catching, but her huge, bulging lips have to be seen to be believed! I helped feed horses and chickens, played with the dogs, enjoyed being a tourist and a houseguest, and volunteered to house-sit next summer. I needed the time and the space this year and am happy to repay the favor so they can enjoy their vacation next year.
I had such a great time!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Playing to Win
Yeah, I kinda like the Nintendo DSi, especially since I figured out how to use it and have my Brain Age in both #1 and #2 down into the 20s, instead of the 90s, where I began. It's been good for doing math computations in my head, finally forcing me to relearn the ones I always miss: the 7-8-9 combos. I'm rocking the 20-list, as well as the 100-computations list, seldom making a mistake; however, I have not taken the leap to the "hard" level ... yet.
What has me stuck is Professor Layton's Curious Village. After going on-line for the correct sequence for the wolves and bunnies, I am stuck upstairs, tasked with finding the cat that ran away, but not knowing how to accomplish that challenge. The directional arrows take me up the stairs, down the stairs, and back to the river crossing, but I can't find a way to actually leave the upstairs and/or the mansion to seek the cat. I've tapped on everything I can think of to tap, gathered quite a collection of gold coins, but am still going up the stairs/down the stairs.
Perhaps because this is supposedly an easy challenge, I can't find help. I've contacted both dotter and g'son, but they laugh at me: part of the game, it seems, is figuring it out, which is why I don't like to play games. If I get stuck, I need help so I can move on! I don't need to stay in one place, becoming more and more frustrated, repeating the same moves over and over in an endless loop! It's a game; it's supposed to be fun; if it isn't fun, I quit. I do not have the killer attitude that I have to win the game or suffer dire consequences from the failure to do so.
I'm appealing to the public for help. Just tell me what I'm missing so I can begin the search for the cat. How do I get out of the upstairs room and/or out of the downstairs room? You don't have to tell me how to find the cat: I just need to know how to stop going up and down the damned stairs!
What has me stuck is Professor Layton's Curious Village. After going on-line for the correct sequence for the wolves and bunnies, I am stuck upstairs, tasked with finding the cat that ran away, but not knowing how to accomplish that challenge. The directional arrows take me up the stairs, down the stairs, and back to the river crossing, but I can't find a way to actually leave the upstairs and/or the mansion to seek the cat. I've tapped on everything I can think of to tap, gathered quite a collection of gold coins, but am still going up the stairs/down the stairs.
Perhaps because this is supposedly an easy challenge, I can't find help. I've contacted both dotter and g'son, but they laugh at me: part of the game, it seems, is figuring it out, which is why I don't like to play games. If I get stuck, I need help so I can move on! I don't need to stay in one place, becoming more and more frustrated, repeating the same moves over and over in an endless loop! It's a game; it's supposed to be fun; if it isn't fun, I quit. I do not have the killer attitude that I have to win the game or suffer dire consequences from the failure to do so.
I'm appealing to the public for help. Just tell me what I'm missing so I can begin the search for the cat. How do I get out of the upstairs room and/or out of the downstairs room? You don't have to tell me how to find the cat: I just need to know how to stop going up and down the damned stairs!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Li-tra-chure by any other name is still a Good Read
I've been reading -- a lot. The good news is that I have already started developing the futures list, based on what's going to be published before the end of the year. I love having something to anticipate, especially after the empty hours that follow finishing a good read.
Child: Gone Tomorrow
Clark: Just Take My Heart
Coben: Long Lost
Connelly: The Scarecrow
Evanovich: Plum Spooky
Grisham: The Associate
Gross: Don't Look Twice
Jackson: Malice
Johannsen: Deadlock
Koontz: Good Guy
Patterson: 8th Confession
Patterson: Run For Your Life
Sandford: Wicked Prey
Scottoline: Look Again
I've never been able to finish Cornwell's Scarpetta as I find it totally tedious; I guess it's true that an author is only as good as his/her last book. I've read many of Cornwell's works and usually breeze right through them, but this one fails on so many levels that I am donating it to the library. Unfinished.
What I like about the authors on my done list is the ability to tell a good story. It doesn't have to be totally believable, as long as the basic plot and the characters can make it seem believable. One of my favorite stories is Koontz's Good Guy, about a quiet, unassuming man who unwittingly becomes involved in a murder for hire plot. He could walk away, but he doesn't because walking away means that someone will die. A person who has that knowledge and does nothing to prevent it from happening is no better than the person who actually commits the murder. Tim doesn't walk away, and therein lies a good tale.
I was totally captivated by the made-for-TV movie, Taking Chance, starring Kevin Bacon, about a Marine Corps colonel who serves as an escort for the remains of a young private killed in battle. What impresses me with the film are the dignity, the respect, and the honor shown to this fallen warrior as he makes his final journey home. The Marine who wrote the initial story, Col Strobl, is a real man (and interviewed, along with Chance's family) who is forever changed by his experience as an escort, which he detailed in a short story that found its way onto the web, and then into the hands of someone who thought it would make a good movie. It does.
Oops: almost forgot another DVD hit: Taken. It's bold, it's bloody, and it's not for the faint of heart, but he did warn the kidnappers that they messed with the wrong guy. Kinda reminds me of the old Lethal Weapon films: totally over the top, but what the hey! With a cold beer and a bowl of freshly-popped, buttered popcorn, there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes.
It's good to know, however, that if I run out of books and/or DVDs, there are still endless Law and Order and CSI marathons any hour of any day!
Child: Gone Tomorrow
Clark: Just Take My Heart
Coben: Long Lost
Connelly: The Scarecrow
Evanovich: Plum Spooky
Grisham: The Associate
Gross: Don't Look Twice
Jackson: Malice
Johannsen: Deadlock
Koontz: Good Guy
Patterson: 8th Confession
Patterson: Run For Your Life
Sandford: Wicked Prey
Scottoline: Look Again
I've never been able to finish Cornwell's Scarpetta as I find it totally tedious; I guess it's true that an author is only as good as his/her last book. I've read many of Cornwell's works and usually breeze right through them, but this one fails on so many levels that I am donating it to the library. Unfinished.
What I like about the authors on my done list is the ability to tell a good story. It doesn't have to be totally believable, as long as the basic plot and the characters can make it seem believable. One of my favorite stories is Koontz's Good Guy, about a quiet, unassuming man who unwittingly becomes involved in a murder for hire plot. He could walk away, but he doesn't because walking away means that someone will die. A person who has that knowledge and does nothing to prevent it from happening is no better than the person who actually commits the murder. Tim doesn't walk away, and therein lies a good tale.
I was totally captivated by the made-for-TV movie, Taking Chance, starring Kevin Bacon, about a Marine Corps colonel who serves as an escort for the remains of a young private killed in battle. What impresses me with the film are the dignity, the respect, and the honor shown to this fallen warrior as he makes his final journey home. The Marine who wrote the initial story, Col Strobl, is a real man (and interviewed, along with Chance's family) who is forever changed by his experience as an escort, which he detailed in a short story that found its way onto the web, and then into the hands of someone who thought it would make a good movie. It does.
Oops: almost forgot another DVD hit: Taken. It's bold, it's bloody, and it's not for the faint of heart, but he did warn the kidnappers that they messed with the wrong guy. Kinda reminds me of the old Lethal Weapon films: totally over the top, but what the hey! With a cold beer and a bowl of freshly-popped, buttered popcorn, there are worse ways to spend 90 minutes.
It's good to know, however, that if I run out of books and/or DVDs, there are still endless Law and Order and CSI marathons any hour of any day!
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