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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
rxsinger's LiveJournal:
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| Monday, June 21st, 2004 | | 1:42 pm |
Corrupt Republican Governor of Connecticut to resign
This is an interesting story. It is very funny when people are so obvious about lying and think they are getting over on you.
Gov Rowland admitted late last year that he lied about getting gifts and favors from friends, state contractors and state employees. But he continued to insist that he did nothing in return for the gifts.
"I was lying then, but I am not lying now."
"No one has even said I've compromised this office," he said in a recent Associated Press interview. "I've not done anything inappropriate for anybody."
"It's completely appropriate to reciprocate when someone gives you a gift no matter how small the gesture."
Rowland admitted no wrongdoing in any case.
I'm not going to sell my integrity or my 25 years of public service for a box of cigars. I mean, it's silly to even think that," he said.
I don't agree. You are a silly, silly governor...
Check out the link in today's washingtonpost.com :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57561-2004Jun21.html
Current Mood:  amused | | Tuesday, June 15th, 2004 | | 9:29 pm |
Frustrations of Life Mechanics
Stuck in traffic.
Where are all these cars coming from.
No accident. Just congestion.
Plumber has been waiting and charging you for forty five minutes waiting in the driveway.
He can't do the work any way.
The cleaning ladies apparently moved or threw away plumbing parts.
This is the second time.
Last time we didn't know it was missing until the plumber got to the task.
Reordered those parts at a cost of $125.
Also missing a plastic piece from a toilet kit.
Piece worth $2 but can't be bought without the $12 kit.
And another trip to Home Depot.
Frustrating one step forward, two steps back.
I remember the painful global issues that you feel powerless to resolve.
I'd like to plan better and work smarter and not harder.
Current Mood:  frustrated | | Friday, June 11th, 2004 | | 5:54 pm |
Disrespectful but not disingenuous
Have I been disrespectful to the needs of some our virtual neighbors by my expressing contrarian views on Reagan? Am I being insensitive to them by being disrupting their memories Reagan represented to them? Perhaps so. But not mean spirited. Never. Those of you who know me, know me to be particularly nostalgic about things most people would readily discard without a passing sentimental thought. Just the same, when it comes to reality, I simply call them as I see them. But we all have to wrestle with the paradox of honesty. An isn't honest is quite possibly an impossibility? According to one interpretation of science (Heisenberg's uncertainty principle*) the very act of observing changes what is being observed. We've all experienced the phenomena of morphing our expressed beliefs to conform to the crowd were with, or a very least withholding our true sentiments when it would be uncomfortable to do otherwise... So what do any of you think? *Heisenberg's principle is often taken to mean that the very act of observing a phenomenon inevitably alters that phenomenon in some way; that is why, say, Margaret Mead could never know the sexual mores of the Samoans—her very presence on the island distorted what she was there to observe. The uncertainty principle alledgedly provides proof of the unreliability of subject-object relations, arguing that it undermines science's claim to objectivity. Even physicists show considerable uncertainty about what the uncertainty principle really means. Dozens of different interpretations have been proposed over the years. Some locate the uncertainty in some inherent clumsiness in the act of measurement itself. How do you learn the position of an electron with great accuracy? By bouncing a photon off of it. But since the electron is quite tiny, the photon must have a comparably tiny wavelength and thus a very great energy (since wavelength and energy are inversely related). Heisenberg chose this interpretation, which is called "epistemic," since it places the burden of uncertainty on the knower. Current Mood:  drained | | 4:21 pm |
Sorry if I am so cynical...
But the facts and the evidence compel me to be so. Also I apologize for the raw form of my previous screed, but I wanted to crank out an alternative view to the nauseatingly polite and compliant mass media... I've received a rather hostile message from a person who was on a relatives distribution list for a political humor message. He obviously took objection to what I sent him (my earlier blog entry) How does a guy like this get so whacked out of shape by receiving an unsolicited email? Everytime I refresh my email or open my mailbox I get dozens of unsolicited messages. This reminds me of the people who get upset about TV shows that they can choose to turn off. Or people they can ignore or walk away from. Maybe it's just that I speak truth that threaten his illusions.... So to this individual who was offended by my opinions, "My apologies, I mistook you for an open minded person, one who like the rest of us received dozens of spam a day and has a delete button on their keyboard!" In today's eulogy, President Bush also told a whopper about boy who once wrote to Reagan to request federal assistance to clean up his bedroom. "The president replied that 'unfortunately, funds are dangerously low,' " Bush said to laughter. "He continued, 'I'm sure your mother was fully justified in proclaiming your room a disaster. Therefore, you are in an excellent position to launch another volunteer program in our nation. Congratulations.' " Do any of you *really* take this acedote literally? If you do I've got some other historically accurate work of literature that you will appreciate. It's called "The Holy Bible". Current Mood: irritated | | 3:25 pm |
Honest Bullshit - II
This is a bulls*t free zone, so let's pleasef ace the facts...
All this pageantry marking the passing of Ronald Ray-Gun has my brother, noted Sarasota Florida city attorney, Mark Singer wondering what it was that got him to make his party affiliation Republican in 1984.
Mark tells me that he can’t remember what might have possessed him to do this.
I understand why he loathed Ronald Reagan and all he represented.
President Reagan was, by consensus of the republican faithful, to the right of Richard Nixon. Reagan was more personable than Nixon which made Reagan the best candidate hired by the California military industrial complex to take the far right to the white house.
Nixon was brought on into the Eisenhower ticket by the same California military industrial complex cabal that Ike warned us about.
Now do you want to talk about lying. Want to talk about Honest Bullsh*t?
This is the province of politicians.
Ike lied about the U-2 spying over the Soviet Union in 1959.
JFK lied about the missles in Cuba and Viet Nam (at first).
LBJ lied about the Gulf of Tonkin incident which was used to pressure congress to invade Viet Nam.
Nixon lied about his “secret plan” to end the Viet Nam War with honor. And other things. And that he was “not a crook”.
Ford lied about his Nixon pardon and he lied as member of the the Warren Commission a decade earlier.
Carter, well he screwed himself because he dared tell the truth about Malaise.
Reagan’s “teflonability” came from his “personability”, as evidenced by his pronouncement that he “never traded arms or anything else for hostages” and then recanting several months later, “my heart and intentions say no, but my the facts and evidence say otherwise” speech.
Bush lies as evidenced by his “read my lips- no new taxes speech”
And Clinton, lied about never having “sex with that woman Monica Lewinsky…”.
Boy, I sure wish we had a president that just lied about an extra marital affair.
The fact is that politicians are and always have been full of shit. From the founding fathers, down through “Honest Abe” to GW Bush. They are so full of sh*t that only the ignorant would believe otherwise.
Let me leave you with a rhetorical questions.
Why isn’t even on of the ten commandments “thou shalt not lie?”
Why not?
I’ll tell you why.
It’s so absurd, you might as well have a commandment that reads, “Thou shalt not have sex or thou shalt not evacuate one’s bowels because thouest shall be unclean if thouest should do so.”
Such Bulls*hit. Let’s be honest about it.
Current Mood: awake | | 1:20 pm |
Class Distinctions in Our Highway Democracy
In our society anyone who can afford the payments and the taxes can drive whatever appeals to them. This is free enterprise as far as motorvehicle ownership is concerned. The only thing keeping your from living your dream car commerical is the cash or credit and one other thing... On the commercials, you don't typically see the car being advertised sitting in traffic. As a matter of fact, there is a whole genre of TV commercials and print ads in which the OTHER vehicles are stalled in traffic while the desirable car-star zooms overhead of through or whatever way it takes to get away. In the motorway milieu of the nation's capitol, we find that even owning the latest and greatest and most expensive car doesn't elevate you the way you might wish. We commoners do not have free access to the highways. I recall a sobering experience when I first moved to DC in early 1984. I was stuck in two lane traffic jam for more than ninety minutes in the middle of a weekday on Rock Creek parkway. Why? Was there a major accident? Natural disaster? No I discovered, along with my fellow trapped motorists, when we abandoned our vehicles and hiked a quarter mile to the source of the tie up. The US Park Police has shut down Rock Creek parkway indefinitely while we waited for President King Reagan and his motorcade to take a shortcut through the park from Connecticut Avenue to possibly as far as the road would take him, maybe about a mile to Georgetown. This is not a partisan complaint. To be fair about this, all our presidential royalty are guilty. Apparently reports came out in 1995 that President Clinton held up traffic at a small metro airport somewhere while he was having a barber come meet him on the run way to give him a haircut. So was I angry when an unannounced motorcade shut down SW SE freeway for nearly an hour between 6pm and 7pm rush hour last night while a motorcade for some dignitary could zip safely and without inconvenience from point A to point B. What it's not enough to have an escort of 30 police vehicles front back and side? Didn't they ever heard of helicopters. Surely the airtime costs would be less than the cost of dozens of extra police escorts. The hell with us commoners anyway, we're just all unpaid extras in the movie life that is the wealthy and powerful elite enjoying one of their entitlements of their conspicuous weatlth and power enjoyed because of their exploitation of their subservient class. Oh how haven't things really changed in our 21st century as compared with the early centuries... Kodak EZ 200 Current Mood: frustrated | | 9:46 am |
| | Thursday, June 10th, 2004 | | 4:35 pm |
Just Your/Mine/Our Luck
Nothing like getting singled out for good fortune...or bad fortune.
The odds are against it, if it's desireable.
That's a good rule of thumb.
Murphy's law also states the corollary, which is that if it's undesireable, the odds are better.
Such as if you are lucky enough to win the lottery (and mathematically challenged enough to think it is a good investment to buy a ticket), then you are probably lucky enough to get hit by a bus today, or be struck by lightning.
These things happen to someone every day, why not you?
Grace stayed home today, the one day this year that we have had an appointment scheduled for an appliance repairman.
Coincidentally the day that our electrician finally, finally after two months of calling to complain, was to come in to upgrade our circuit breaker panel, and complete the wiring started in February.
Seems like the planets were aligned right, just like Venus was lined up between earth and the sun on Tuesday morning.
Well, not so fast.
Just as the electrician started his work Grace hears a loud BOOM! Like a shot gun blast from outside. The lights go out.
The electrician tells her..."It wasn't me!"
Just a cooincidence I guess but the neighborhood transformer blew up. So the electrican can't do his work and the dish washer repairman can't do his either.
What are the odds?
I hope this freak occurance balances out with another extraordinary freak cccurance which yields so benefits...
What are the chances for a freaky good thing to happen? Same as the odds of what happened to the electric today?
Rx Current Mood: amused | | Wednesday, June 9th, 2004 | | 4:24 pm |
Reaganarama
I lost connection to the server as I was posting and when I hit the back button the long screed I wrote disappeared.
Oh well.
So I'll be more terse than usual.
Am I the only one who things this Reagan state funeral National Security Event has gone on too long?
The government is not just shut down on Friday, it's for all intents and purposes been distracted and closed for other business all week as we prepare....and ironically I can’t help but notice how much smaller the government has gotten in the twenty one years I’ve been in DC….
(6 Reagan, 4 Bush-41, 8 Clinton and now 3+ Bush-43 –-hey that’s 13-8 of GOP adminstrations!)
Smaller government? How much smaller if you include all the beltway bandits?
Here are some interesting links courtesy of former GOP speechwriter Stu Miller:
Gipper's face on $10 bill?
Republican lawmakers planning legislation
--WND
Germans want 'Reagan Street' in Berlin
Opposition party seeks honor for man who said 'tear down this wall'
Lawmaker: Put Reagan on Rushmore
'I can think of no better way to honor the Great Communicator'
--WCMH-TV, Columbus, Ohio
With all due respect to the extremists among you, I think I know you readers have enough of sense of humor to laugh at yourself. The extremists of both parties take this so literallly in the sneerly self righteous tone the writers intended...
FOR THE DEMS
You Might Be A Democrat If ...
You think the rich can get richer off people who have no money.
You've named your kids "Stardust" or "Moonbeam."
You've tried to argue that all of societies problems are based on the fact that McDonald's, by law, only has to pay $5/hr.
If you utter the phrase "There ought to be a law" at least once a week.
If you have ever used the phrase "protecting prisoner's rights".
If you find yourself nodding vigorously and saying "someone finally said it right" during an episode of Oprah.
You've ever referred to the Military/Industrial Complex during a conversation.
You know you never laughed as a kid, the world was in just too
bad a shape.
All of your 1970's "Beware of Global Freezing" signs now have
"Beware of Global Warming" on the back.
Your friends told you how much fun you had at the Grateful Dead show, but your not sure what year you saw them.
You file suit against the mall rent-a-cops for posting signs stating that your bags are subject to inspection.
You've ever argued that "you can't legislate morality".
Referred to the Founding Fathers as "those aristocratic, chauvinistic, lily white, slave owning, land stealing oppressors of indigenous personnel".
You argued that a few more months of sanctions and Sadam Hussein wouldfold like rookie poker player.
You know more than 2 people who have a degree in "Womyn's Studies."
You've ever said "But look at all the good Ted Kennedy has done for
the women of this country!"
You blame things on "The Man."
You believe that Bart Simpson only needs a little more affection.
You've ever stared at a wall and said "Now THAT is definitely man's inhumanity to man!"
You argue that the only flaw with Marx is that Russia was an agrarian society.
You've ever called the meter maid a Fascist.
You are giddy at the prospect of the return of bell bottoms.
You argue that the Second Amendment only refers to Federally organized militias.
You view Jane Fonda as a courageous heroine with strong convictions.
You view Hootie and the Blowfish as the bedrock of culture refinement for the 90's.
After looking at your pay stub you can still say "America is
undertaxed."
You've ever said "We really should call the ACLU about this."
You've ever referred to "the glass ceiling."
You know 2 or more people with "concrete proof" that the Pentagon is covering up: Roswell the Kennedy assassination the CIA's role in creating AIDS.
You came of age in the '60s and don't remember.
You've ever owned a VW bug or ridden in a Microbus.
You own something that says Dukakis for President, and still display it.
You believe it because "Dan Rather wouldn't lie about something this important."
You ever based an argument on the phrase, "But they can afford a
tax hike because..."
You ever told a child that Oscar the Grouch "is a victim of Draconian
budget cuts."
You've ever argued that with just 1 more year of welfare that person
will turn it around and get off drugs.
You think Lennon was a brilliant social commentator.
You keep count of how many people you know in each racial or ethnic
category.
You are outraged that Baseball Players make millions and the poor clerk
at the unemployment office only makes 28 bucks an hour doing such good
work.
You believe that an elected official attending religious services is a
violation of the separation of Church and state.
You believe that a few hundred loggers can find another career, but the
defenseless spotted owl must live in its preferred tree.
You believe our government must do it because everyone in Europe does.
You think that Al Gore macherena thing was a laugh riot.
-----------------------------------------------------------
FOR THE DEMS
It is very tough to be a Republican in 2004 because somehow you have to
believe concurrently that:
1. Jesus loves you, but shares your deep hatred of homosexuals and
Hillary Clinton.
2. The United States should get out of the United Nations, but our
highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.
3. "Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and moving
their jobs to India.
4. A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but
multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all humankind
without regulation.
5. Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a
conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers
for your recovery.
6. The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in
speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.
7. Group sex and drug use are degenerate sins, unless you someday run
for governor of California as a Republican.
8. If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.
9. A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies,
but then demand their cooperation and money.
10. HMOs and insurance companies make profits and have the interest of
the public at heart.
11. Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing
health care to all Americans is socialism.
12. Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but
creationism should be taught in schools.
13. It is okay that the Bush family's "Carlisle Group" has done millions
of business with the Bin Laden family.
14. Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him and Rumsfeld reassured
him he was our buddy, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good
guy when Cheney did business with him, but then a bad guy again when Bush
junior needed a prop for his re-election campaign as the "war president".
15. A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable
offense. A president lying about WMD existence, to enlist support for an
unprovoked, undeclared war and occupation, in which thousands of
soldiers and civilians die, is, somehow, solid "defense" policy in a "War against
Terrorism".
16. Government should limit itself to the powers named in the
Constitution, which should include "banning gay marriages and censoring the
Internet".
17. The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but
George Bush's Harken Oil stock trade should be sealed in his Daddy's library,
and is none of our business.
18. What Bill Clinton or John Kerry did in the 1960s was of vital
national interest but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.
19. Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade
with China and Vietnam is vital to a " spirit of international harmony".
20. Affirmative Action is wrong, but that it is OK for your Daddy and
his friends (here and in Saudi Arabia) to get you to graduate from Yale
without studying much, to dodge the draft in the Texas Air National Guard, to
bail out your company Harken Oil and the Texas Rangers, to get the Governorship
of Texas and then to have the Supreme Court appoint you President of the USA.
21. You are a conservative, but it is OK to spend like there is no
tomorrow and run up deficits that your grandchildren will have to pay,while at
the same time refunding as much tax money as possible to rich people who do
not need it.
This illogical behavior can take a toll on a healthy mind. So if a friend
of yours has been acting a bit dazed and confused lately, be nice ? he
or she may be a Republican!
---
FOR OUT REPUBLICAN FRIENDS
You feel that Green Peace is misunderstood.
You keep your PC dictionary with you at all times so as not to offend.
You think communism will catch on once society has evolved.
You've tried to argue in favor of anything based on "Well, they're gonna do it anyway so...."
You've ever stated "How does what he does in his personal life have any bearing on doing his job?"
You don't understand all the commotion about Whitewater, Vince Foster,
selling US foreign policy for campaign contributions, it's just politics, right?
Current Mood: annoyed | | Monday, June 7th, 2004 | | 7:48 am |
The End of the Sopranos
Five years ago I found myself sucked into watching the Sopranos. Like when I first heard the name "The Beatles" when I was seven when my friend Lenny asked me if I saw Beetle yesterday. I thought he was asking about the King Cartoon "Beetle Bailey". Or in "Star Trek", as a ten year old I thought my friend was asking me if I watched Star Track - like in field and track.
So when Grace asked me if I wanted to watch "The Sopranos," five years ago, I though what is this? A show about the adolescent son of Paverotti?
Eventually, like many Americans I got sucked into the show. From the familiar New Jersey settings and seasons, to the protagonists who belong to my generation, something resonated - the therapy sessions, the references to the Godfather movies, the cynical view of the world.
But as the violence as a way of life settled in and the coarse brutality and selfishness of the characters became apparent, I found less and less to like about them.
Sure each character had entertaining quirks about them. Many were charming in a pervere way. But the brutality and violence and insensitivity to the pain it wrought makes me wince.
But like a rubbernecker, I couldn't help but look. As entertainment, I question my motives, so I looked deeper for redeaming virtues.
In "The Sopranos," as in real life life, there are loose ends that are never tied up. Much you must figure out for yourself. The producers don't just lay it out for you.
But my curiousity is waning. And unlike previous seasons, I'm not left hanging at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next.
And to paraphrase Clark Gable said in the overrated classic, GWTW in the manner of a Sopranos character...
"Frankly my dear, I just don't give a f*ck." Current Mood: amused | | Saturday, June 5th, 2004 | | 7:09 pm |
Ronald Reagan 1911-2004
Most of us considered RR gone, as he has been from the political scene for more than a decade.
In 1994 he told us that he had alzheimers disease and was going into the sunset of his life and would make no more public appearances or pronouncements. Nice handling.
So for all of us, he was already gone. His body was not six feet under, but he was already gone.
Bush, Jr. made a typical disingenuous statement, "
"This is a sad day for America," Bush said when he first heard the news. What bullshit this man utters. We'd be shocked if he uttered a sincere and truthful public statement. What is sad about a man who had slipped into unconsciousness and had been suffering from pneumonia, in addition to Alzheimer's, an incurable disease that destroys brain cells and brings on dementia?</nitf>
Senator John F. Kerry , said "Ronald Reagan's love of country was infectious. Even when he was breaking Democrats' hearts, he did so with a smile and in the spirit of honest and open debate."</nitf>
"He was the voice of America in good times and in grief. When we lost the brave astronauts in the Challenger tragedy, he reminded us that, 'Nothing ends here; our hopes and our journeys continue.' Now, his own journey has ended -- a long and storied trip that spanned most of the American century and shaped one of the greatest victories of freedom. Today in the face of new challenges, his example reminds us that we must move forward with optimism and resolve. He was our oldest president, but he made America young again."
Kerry is obviously the more diplomatic and thoughtful, don't you think? Current Mood: relaxed | | Friday, June 4th, 2004 | | 9:15 pm |
Honest Bullshit
I'm revising my manuscript around a central theme: Bullshit is the principle products of the USA
Here's a sampling...
| 3 Biggest Advertising Lies: |
|
| This product will taste as good as it looks. |
| You really need our product. |
| If you use our product you will have sex with the same kinds of people as you see in our ad. |
|
| 3 Biggest Mail Order Lies: |
|
| Delivery of your product will occur within 30 days of ordering it. |
| If you're not satisfied with our product we will guarentee a full refund. |
| We offer repair of your product free of charge with an accredited repairer in your home State. |
|
| 3 Biggest Retail Industry Lies: |
|
| Our staff are courteous and considerate. |
| We try to help you with your problem. |
| You can exchange or get full refund on an item that you're not satisfied with. |
|
| 3 Biggest Politician Lies: |
|
| I'll be factual and to the point. |
| I'll give you a straightforward answer to your question. |
| The government doesn't waste taxpayers money. |
|
| 3 Biggest Parent Lies: |
|
| We're doing this for your own interest. |
| You can have that (do that) later (when you're older). |
| The family can't afford it now. |
|
| 3 Biggest Supermodels Lies: |
|
| Women normally look like that. |
| Women should look like that. |
| Fasting and dieting is good for your health. |
|
| 3 Biggest Beer Ads Lies: |
|
| Drinking beer is for macho men only. |
| You'll meet good lifelong friends drinking beer in a bar. |
| Women think drunken loudmouths are sexy. |
|
| 3 Biggest Life Lies: |
|
| ...and they lived happily ever after. |
| Dying is painless. |
| Things have gotten so bad that they couldn't possibly get worse. | Current Mood: drained | | Thursday, June 3rd, 2004 | | 3:03 pm |
Tenets Resignation
George Tenet resignation is ostensibly for "personal reasons". Whoever believes this literally, needs to tune their bullshit filter. How can you tell that someone speaking for the administration (that includes the POTUS) is lying? Their lips are moving. Anyone can read between the lies. Tenet said the job was the best thing that ever happened to him. He'd never give up what someone like him considers his life without being force out. This is completely an illogical notion. He gave up his personal life long ago. It's in his best interest to resign, hence "the personal reasons" and he doesn't want to be destroyed by the dirty tricks squad for resisting resignation... Whoever believes otherwise, and takes what they hear literally is naive at best and a fool at worst. Current Mood: pissed off | | Monday, May 31st, 2004 | | 9:42 am |
Moron Monsters of the Sixties
Channel 11 on Saturday night: a drawing of a swamp with a dead tree in the background plus eerie moaning sounds. Suddenly, a huge claymation hand with six fingers appears while the words "CHILLER" magically grow in clay out of the animated swamp. The six-fingered creature then swallows the letters and when its appetite is satisfied, it lets out a deep and roaring...."CHILLLLLLLERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!"
For monster movie fans from NY/NJ in the early 1970s, this is a “gore-may” delight.
http://apogee.rockville.md.us/rick/chiller5finger.mov
Gallery of 8mm monster movie boxes
http://iron_on.tripod.com/8mm/index.htm
Gallery of the Aurora monster movie models, instructions and the artwork of the boxes they came in...
http://aquarium55.tripod.com/aurora/index.htm
PS. The words at the head of this entry are in "Post-crypt" font. I hope it comes out. Let me know if you 'd like a copy of this truetype font for your computer. Current Mood:  weird | | 9:09 am |
Comfortable Monsters of the Sixties
I came across a Famous Monsters magazine I've had since 1964 when I was seven years old. Like most baby boom kids in the monster craze - our only other major elementary school craze other than the Beatles. I remember that I enjoyed the monster magazines more than the movies.
One reason for this was that the old "classic" horror A films (Universal) and the B movies (everyone else) came on just once or twice a week (and Saturday afternoons and evenings).
With no video recording or other alternatives the magazines tided you over. I also used a reel to reel tape recorder to tape the creepy soundtracks.
As with most horror movies, it is the unseen, imagined horror that was the most fun. That is where the scares come, not from the explicit gross out or monster attack which was a most disappointing and usually laughable.
I miss those innocent days when monsters we sympathetic, and killing was bloodless
Victims in the on screen monster killings typically met their fate by being "hugged" by Frankenstein or rapped firmly on the shoulders by the mummy or simply fainting to death out of fear. This is how most met their doom and was no where near as violent as the reality of car crashes, gun fire in wars, and napalm...
The other fun part of the magazines were the ads in the back. They sold two and five minute black and white 8mm movies to run on the movie projector our parents used to show the home movies they made of us. Since the home movies were only two minutes per reel , we were always looking for something else to run… and since there was no sound, we used our imagination to create our own sound effects and creepy music.
I've put the opening to the old Chiller Theater movie program on WPIX in the sixties on my web site. I've got the original opening to the program. It was creepier than almost any movie in the show. That music would give me intense nightmares…
http://apogee.rockville.md.us/rick/chillerold.mov
You’ll need Apple’s free Quicktime player for windows or mac to view the movie. If you don’t have Quicktime player it is well worth installing… www.apple.com/quicktime/
Here is a link to the official Famous Monsters magazine web site.
http://www.filmlandclassics.com/captco1.html
Here is a link to the web site of the original Famous Monsters editor, FJ Ackerman who was the punning writer of the magazine we loved as kids.
http://www.horror-wood.com/fm.htm
Ackerman couldn’t put two sentences together without a pun, and this is no exaggeration. Typically he mixed several puns in one sentence. i.e. Axe your fiends! (Ask your friends).
More on this later… Current Mood:  nostalgic | | Sunday, May 30th, 2004 | | 8:10 pm |
Dear Rabbi....an open letter...
Dear Rabbi:
When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. How should I deal with
this?
My neighbor would like to sell his daughter into slavery, as it suggests in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
Lev. 25:44 states that I may buy slaves from the nations that are around us. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans but not Canadians. Can you clarify?
I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?
A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this
I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as it suggests in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?
I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. Current Mood: quixotic | | 8:08 am |
So What’s The Problem With These Nonsense Chain Email Messages?
So What’s The Problem With These Nonsense Chain Email Messages?
You all know that they serve no real-world practical benefit, other than to encourage you to enjoy the escape of the fantasy- feeling that fun magic and superstition is more real that dull, dry, boring science.
More importantly, why do you want to spend your time gratifying the ego of a chain letter author? Ego gratification is generated by the satisfaction of seeing their nonsense spread all over the world. This same self aggrandizement is what motivates virus writers.
If you are like me, you are already inundated with spam from dozens of scam artists soliciting every needless waste of time from porn, deceptive marketers, credit cards cheats and other scams. You probably
These cheaters and parasites of society buy addresses in bulk from "marketing" companies. Where do they get your addresses?
Take a look at the latest chain letter you've received.
Isn't it great how the names and, often, email addresses of everyone it's been sent to are listed on it? I've counted over 200 email addresses visible on one chain letter. A simple program strips all of these from the message, all ready to be sold to a low-life e-marketer who will then send you ten messages a day offering you what you don’t want or need.
Whoever sent the chain letter to you has already, quite unintentionally, exposed you to this risk. Please don't expose anyone else.
A related tip: When forwarding jokes (which are NOT chain letters, because they benefit everyone that receives them) clear out all the email addresses on it before forwarding. This both makes life hard for spammers and reduces the size of the message, so it sends faster. You might also want to read this or this and send one of them as a reply to any chain letters you receive.
The solution to chain letters:
Simple. Delete them.
If they contain a poem or story that genuinely inspires you, save it to your hard drive or print it and hang it on the wall.
But PLEASE don't forward it.
Or more to point, please don't forward it to me.
-----Original Message-----
From: RICK SINGER [mailto:RICK@SINGER.NET]
Sent: Sunday, May 30, 2004 6:56 AM
To: 'PharmaconsultLTD@aol.com'; 'BarryARSA@aol.com'; 'Ddg820@aol.com'; 'twosonsJR@worldnet.att.net'; 'SHaag@obius.jnj.com'; 'khwang@chernoffdiamond.com'; 'Judyhml@aol.com'; 'MKGOLFER@aol.com'; 'Mark_Singer@ci.sarasota.fl.us'; 'michael.amoia@oncologysupply.com'; 'luvume23@hotmail.com'; 'csmart1@optonline.net'; 'Bigboss408@hotmail.com'; 'ellen1648@hotmail.com'; 'Varill@aol.com'; 'JThoele360@aol.com'; 'Wmsinger@VERIZON.NET'
Subject: HELP ME PLEASE!!!!: Fw: Don't kill me
Does any one have any bad luck messages to pass on? I’ve been having to G-d-damn much good luck lately because I keep resending these kind of chain messages and all the good luck is very distressing.
I can’t get my mail because all the envelopes stuffed with cash keeps overflowing. I can’t get to sleep because I am so energetic and healthy. I don’t want to even get started on all the good fortune I’ve been experiencing but it is distressing because the good fortune is NOT TRANSFERABLE!
Everyone hates some one who has too much damn good luck and I am feeling alienated and isolated.
Can’t someone please help me by sending a bad luck message to me to restart the cycle of negativity with which I’ve grown so accustom these past 47 years?
Current Mood: pissed off | | 7:58 am |
The Problem With Nonesense Chain Email Messages
Why gratify the ego of a chain letter author? Ego gratification is generated by the satisfaction of seeing their nonsense spread all over the world. This same self agrandizement is what motivates virus writers.
If you are like me, you are already inundated with spam from dozens of scam artists soliciting every needless waste of time from porn, deceptive marketers, credit cards cheats and other scams?
These cheaters and parasites of society buy addresses in bulk from "marketing" companies. Where do they get your addresses?
Take a look at a the latest chain letter you've received.
Isn't it great how the names and, often, email addresses of everyone it's been sent to are listed on it? I've counted over 200 email addresses visible on one chain letter. A simple programme can strip all of these from the message, all ready to be sold to some shithead who will then send you ten messages a day offering you a free life insurance quote. Whoever sent the chain letter to you has already, quite unintentionally, exposed you to this risk. Please don't expose anyone else. A related tip: When forwarding jokes (which are NOT chain letters, because they benefit everyone that receives them and not just some geek) clear out all the email addresses on it before forwarding. This both makes life hard for spammers and reduces the size of the message, so it sends faster. You might also want to read this or this and send one of them as a reply to any chain letters you receive.
The solution to chain letters:
Simple. Delete them.
If they contain a poem or story that genuinely inspires you, save it to your hard drive or print it and hang it on the wall.
But PLEASE don't forward it.
Or more to point, please don't forward it to me.
Current Mood: grumpy | | 7:32 am |
Bush's bike fall was a cover-up
I think the bike fall is a cover-up. I believe the POTUS was attacked by a giant pretzel.
This whole episode of who said what on or off the record is absurd. There is an editorial in the Wash Post this morning by a GOP polsters which is exhibit A on what hypocrites the Republicans are. Either they are in deep denial or they are pathological liars. I tend to side with Al Franken when it comes to many of the more visibile and outspoken Republicans. I have a hard time believing that they don't know how full of beans they are.
Check out this Op Ed piece and decide for yourself:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64863-2004May28.html
Democrat John Kerry joked about President Bush's weekend bicycle accident by comparing the president to a child, Internet newshound Matt Drudge reported yesterday.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/bush_bicycle_dc
"Kerry told reporters in front of cameras, 'Did the training wheels fall off?' " Mr. Drudge reported on his Web site, www.drudgereport.com.
Interviewed by The Washington Times yesterday, Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter would say only that the words Mr. Drudge reported were "off the record."
Mr. Drudge said the debate among reporters over the on-camera "training wheels" remark has been "whether to treat it as on or off the record."
In comments reported by the Associated Press, Mr. Kerry said, "I hope he's OK. I didn't know the president rode a bike."
Current Mood: cynical | | 6:32 am |
Democratic Devotional
It's been more than twenty years now that I've been working for the DNC, engineering TV operations starting in the Democratic Media Center, then the to new HQ and now in the renovated HQ.
During the five years I was working for the Fox O&O WTTG-TV, I kept having dreams about the old Harriman Center (which was the name given to the Democratic Media Center once it moved into the DNC HQ building on So. Capitol and Ivy St.
It must be that the place got into my blood. During 1988, Robert Altman and Gary Trudeau produced Tanner 88, and shot scenes at the DNC and the Harriman Center.
In the intervening years, I've worked for different media organizations, but somehow I always felt in my heart that this was home.
Now, I am devoting weekends and evenings and all my discretionary time to the task of fine tuning the standard definition television facility I designed and supervised.
The challenge was that in these post McCain-Feingold days, the funds were extremely limited. This added to the invariably short time frame from "go-ahead" to completion, made for a very challenging situation.
So this memorial day, my contribution to the cause is working on cleaning up the documentation according to the "as-builts", creating thirty two new CAD labels for the jackfields and preparing for the busy live TV and post production environment in the weeks and months ahead.
(On a personal note: Weather is perfect, low humidity and cool. Seems like I may be finally breaking through this six week flu-virus-URI cycle. The kids and their cousin were wilding around the house this weekend as I worked on the computer on the DNC drawings. The painters were here and so was the tile man, still working on the upstairs bathroom after more than 3 months. He is still missing his tiles. My bro in law John came by on his Yamaha 1000 motor cycle and I went for a quick ride. I sure would love to buy a bike again. It's been ten years since I sold the BMW). Current Mood: accomplished |
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