Several years ago, me and The Rascal were working in a lease in a building that had many mental health and psychiatrist offices. Because us painters are a creative bunch, we referred to it as "the crazy building". It did have that vibe to it.
It was Good Friday. That's a Friday like any other Friday to me being as how I'm not religious. I got into the elevator and a young black girl smiled at me.
"Too bad you have to work today" she said.
I replied that it was too bad I had to work any day but, that was the way life worked.
"Too bad you have to work today", she reiterated.
OK. Why?
"Because it's Good Friday!"
I explained to her that it was just another Friday to me, not being religious and all. But, conversation being what it's supposed to be, I asked if she was working.
Indeed she was. Well, that's too bad, I said, thinking I was commiserating with my elevator friend. I wasn't. She informed me she had no problem working on Good Friday. OK....
The door opened and I got out. I wrote it off to the building I was in. Once in the lease, I amused The Rascal with the odd conversation. He too wrote it off to our location. Just weird.
Well, it got weirder. Short time later, the black kid cleaning up the lease for the GC approached me and stated that it was too bad I had to work today. This bemused the shit outa me as obviously he had to work today too. I mentioned that and he again said that it was too bad I had to work that day.
What the what? I had never thought of Good Friday as a "white" holiday. No black person had ever described it as such to me before or since. But it happened again in the lobby of the building with yet another black woman. It was too bad that I had to work on Good Friday but business as usual for black folks? I can be a nice to a fault guy but, I'm not necessarily shy. I pursued it with all these people. I really wanted to know why it was a tragedy that my non-religious ass had to work on Good Friday. Sheesh- we're not talking Easter fucking Sunday. None of these people cared to elaborate. Candid Camera had been off the air for years and this was in the late 90's, long before internet pranks took hold. I probably looked around for cameras just the same. Just bizarre,
I'm not working today. If I get out and about and go anywhere (NOT church) and I see any black folks, surely they'll nod knowingly- nice that white fella got the day off.
Friday, March 29, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
In my imaginary life
I lost an imaginary friend the other day.
The poster known as ArtGal passed after a battle with cancer. She was a virtual acquaintance and I never met her. That's the way it goes with the internet. You get to know a lot of people that you may never meet in real life. They are still real though and that can be as awful as it can be awesome. Most people I meet on the internet make me feel sorry for them. If I were to meet some in real life, many would make me hope to remember to be well heeled. There are some truly awful people out there and they have internet to expand the horizons of their awfulness.
ArtGal was not one of those. She was mostly a joy. I love humor and she shared that love. She was one of a handful of people who I enjoyed reading so much that I never skimmed her posts. She could be very blunt dealing with obnoxious trolls or deft. I like fucking with people too 'cause that keeps them on their toes. When they're on their toes, they walk funny. It's much easier to deal with them like that.
I imagine that AG was as good looking as her avatar pictures presented her. This is to say, yes, I found her quite attractive. She was married too and a mom so, keep your dirty thoughts to yourself. I know I usually did.
That's the thing with imaginary internet people that we often forget. They do have lives and, in many cases, people who love them. We don't usually really know about these lives of theirs. We just like to think we do. I know I'm like my old co-worker, Larry Mysterioso, in that, I won't lie to folks- I just won't tell them stuff I don't think they need to know. That really keeps them on their toes...and dancing quite humorously...
ArtGal was one of several that I wish I did know, in real life. I think she would have represented well, mirroring in reality her on-line self. A real person, here and there. I like to think so.
Goodbye, Andrea. I hope to see you on the other side someday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0Q8ytD44Y
The poster known as ArtGal passed after a battle with cancer. She was a virtual acquaintance and I never met her. That's the way it goes with the internet. You get to know a lot of people that you may never meet in real life. They are still real though and that can be as awful as it can be awesome. Most people I meet on the internet make me feel sorry for them. If I were to meet some in real life, many would make me hope to remember to be well heeled. There are some truly awful people out there and they have internet to expand the horizons of their awfulness.
ArtGal was not one of those. She was mostly a joy. I love humor and she shared that love. She was one of a handful of people who I enjoyed reading so much that I never skimmed her posts. She could be very blunt dealing with obnoxious trolls or deft. I like fucking with people too 'cause that keeps them on their toes. When they're on their toes, they walk funny. It's much easier to deal with them like that.
I imagine that AG was as good looking as her avatar pictures presented her. This is to say, yes, I found her quite attractive. She was married too and a mom so, keep your dirty thoughts to yourself. I know I usually did.
That's the thing with imaginary internet people that we often forget. They do have lives and, in many cases, people who love them. We don't usually really know about these lives of theirs. We just like to think we do. I know I'm like my old co-worker, Larry Mysterioso, in that, I won't lie to folks- I just won't tell them stuff I don't think they need to know. That really keeps them on their toes...and dancing quite humorously...
ArtGal was one of several that I wish I did know, in real life. I think she would have represented well, mirroring in reality her on-line self. A real person, here and there. I like to think so.
Goodbye, Andrea. I hope to see you on the other side someday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI0Q8ytD44Y
Saturday, March 23, 2013
This Old Blog
I like the show, "Rehab Addict" on The DIY Network (which I don't get) and HGTV, which I do get on the cable. The hostess, Nicole Curtis, is a cute little, blonde lady who has a great eye for old houses and what it takes to preserve and protect them. I'd be remiss in my duties as a Ferrerman if I didn't also mention that she has a spankable bottom. As important as that may be, it's not that important because, if you watch the aforementioned channels, so do all the other hostesses of the fix it/sell it shows. (Programming note: For you ladies, the hosts also tend to have (presumably) spankable bottoms. That's the predictability of equality in TV land).
What I like about her show is the preservation of the old houses, the keeping it real part. Why not sand and refinish that 100 year old oak floor? Does the whole world have to be tiled or carpeted? Bamboo flooring or cork is great and renewable resources and all that good stuff but, if a century of oak or maple is already there, use it- don't lose it. And if you want open concept buy it or build it. The Victorians didn't design that way. Nichole maybe be a little nutty in her ways but I think she comes by it honestly and wears it well. I also like the fact that she doesn't do her magic in three ridiculous days like the rest of the programs do. She has a budget and time-frame but, it's not three ridiculous days.
The other night I was on her Facebook page. She started a thread about greedy realtors who take advantage of the elderly and the families of the recently deceased. That's often the way these FB pages go. You just throw something out their and see if anybody chases it. Some people jump on and tell her how cute she is. Others rave about the show. Some ask how to questions in the hopes that she has time to answer. Your Ferrerman gets all that but, the internet and it's various venues are also a place for dialogue and the exchange of thoughts and ideas. Conversation in the 21st century! How 'bout that?
Not everybody gets that or even tries. I'm used to agreeing or disagreeing with people and don't mind it when someone disagrees with me unless they're a complete dick about it. Even then, if you come by it honestly, i'm some degree of OK with it. Well, maybe...
I won't replay the whole thread but, since we were on the subject of scumbags, I mentioned I didn't care for the scumbags on another network that buy foreclosed homes at auction. These assholes take advantage of other people's misery but buy the homes hoping to flip them, spending as little as possible in the hopes of making as much as possible. OK, I get it. Buy low- SELL HIGH! This isn't speculating on storage lockers. It's big time real estate.
Well, some bitch took me slightly to task for my stance. Maybe she and her husband do that for a living? I looked at her page and saw she was a big fan of Fox news and other republican outlets. The GOP is of the opinion that the housing crisis was caused by people forcing bankers to sell them houses that they could not afford because they, must feel entitled or something because, that's the way liberals are...
People of the republican persuasion do feel that way. They have actually been taught to believe that. I think that was that poster's issue with me. Or, like I said, she might pimp houses and not like my assessment of house pimps. It could be she's just a persnickety bitch who likes to control conversations that she has no control over. A few dozen people remarking about how cute Nicole is- fine. One Ferrerman setting a conversational stone off the path- not good.
Well, a nice thread like that is not my place to be brawling .It does seem like everywhere I go these days, people want to fight about everything! This is because absolutely everything actually IS republican or democrat! Hey- you're talking to the Ferrerman that looked at the woman's FB page to determine that she was a jerkface, republican! You just got to know where and when to fight. If complimenting the very lovely thread host is staying on topic in the eyes of most readers, well, okie doakie. Mind you, I don't think Nicole is fishing for compliments. She did mention that she wasn't addressing foreclosures... I got that part- I was just- oh, never mind
That's the three rules of real estate: location, location, location...
Those are also the three rules of blogging.
What I like about her show is the preservation of the old houses, the keeping it real part. Why not sand and refinish that 100 year old oak floor? Does the whole world have to be tiled or carpeted? Bamboo flooring or cork is great and renewable resources and all that good stuff but, if a century of oak or maple is already there, use it- don't lose it. And if you want open concept buy it or build it. The Victorians didn't design that way. Nichole maybe be a little nutty in her ways but I think she comes by it honestly and wears it well. I also like the fact that she doesn't do her magic in three ridiculous days like the rest of the programs do. She has a budget and time-frame but, it's not three ridiculous days.
The other night I was on her Facebook page. She started a thread about greedy realtors who take advantage of the elderly and the families of the recently deceased. That's often the way these FB pages go. You just throw something out their and see if anybody chases it. Some people jump on and tell her how cute she is. Others rave about the show. Some ask how to questions in the hopes that she has time to answer. Your Ferrerman gets all that but, the internet and it's various venues are also a place for dialogue and the exchange of thoughts and ideas. Conversation in the 21st century! How 'bout that?
Not everybody gets that or even tries. I'm used to agreeing or disagreeing with people and don't mind it when someone disagrees with me unless they're a complete dick about it. Even then, if you come by it honestly, i'm some degree of OK with it. Well, maybe...
I won't replay the whole thread but, since we were on the subject of scumbags, I mentioned I didn't care for the scumbags on another network that buy foreclosed homes at auction. These assholes take advantage of other people's misery but buy the homes hoping to flip them, spending as little as possible in the hopes of making as much as possible. OK, I get it. Buy low- SELL HIGH! This isn't speculating on storage lockers. It's big time real estate.
Well, some bitch took me slightly to task for my stance. Maybe she and her husband do that for a living? I looked at her page and saw she was a big fan of Fox news and other republican outlets. The GOP is of the opinion that the housing crisis was caused by people forcing bankers to sell them houses that they could not afford because they, must feel entitled or something because, that's the way liberals are...
People of the republican persuasion do feel that way. They have actually been taught to believe that. I think that was that poster's issue with me. Or, like I said, she might pimp houses and not like my assessment of house pimps. It could be she's just a persnickety bitch who likes to control conversations that she has no control over. A few dozen people remarking about how cute Nicole is- fine. One Ferrerman setting a conversational stone off the path- not good.
Well, a nice thread like that is not my place to be brawling .It does seem like everywhere I go these days, people want to fight about everything! This is because absolutely everything actually IS republican or democrat! Hey- you're talking to the Ferrerman that looked at the woman's FB page to determine that she was a jerkface, republican! You just got to know where and when to fight. If complimenting the very lovely thread host is staying on topic in the eyes of most readers, well, okie doakie. Mind you, I don't think Nicole is fishing for compliments. She did mention that she wasn't addressing foreclosures... I got that part- I was just- oh, never mind
That's the three rules of real estate: location, location, location...
Those are also the three rules of blogging.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Turmoil In Topixtown!
I was looking at the Topix Forum the other night and noticed that I was one of 145 people in the entire world doing just that. Over on the Offbeat however three times as many people were looking at that nonsense. Oops- that's only 449. Three x sounds so much more promising....
For comparison, 7, 389 persons were reading the Human Sexuality Forum.
Sex sells and creepy sex really sells, at least in comparison to the debauchery of the first two forums. From my perspective, it makes more sense that more people want to read about guys who like to sniff their sister's panties than want to read about what a jerk Ferrerman is. See, mind you, those 7,389 aren't just looking at that topix but an entire forum of such topics. Similarly, not all 145 people are getting their anti-Ferrerman sentiment on either. It's just a handful of haters be hating and trying to sound like a mob. The rest are looking at any of 100 other, less Ferrer-centric subjects.
There is more conversation than ever that Topix is rife with paid trolls/posters. Sheesh, if it is, they suck donkey balls because it's not helping. If Topix's new business plan is to drive intelligent, fun posters away, then they are succeeding.
I can't say definitively who is on the Topix payroll and who has a severe meth problem but, there is no real law in Topixtown. The moderator on the Topix Forum is very unprofessional and too cozy with the more nefarious posters. My beef with her is that she fights with posters (such as myself) and that shows disrespect for the posters and the position. She hasn't *busted* me on a thing, contrary to what the jealous trolls are fond of saying of late. She actually absolved me (officially) of one bogus accusation. My enemies spun that to say she busted me for trolling women via gray box yada fucking yada because she also managed to pull that post so that they could say that, even with a crooked face. So, my take is that a moderator shouldn't be doing that. The last complaint I made to Topix said so. That was to a different mod. The offending mod hasn't been seen since.
She's probably still got her job. They might be making her actually do it is all.
Frankly, I'm surprised that I still have my profile. I've got ex-wives that I don't talk to like I talk to mods. There are crazy drivers whom I don't talk to like that. I get a little blunt and salty when I complain to Topix about some cowardly scumbag posting my personal information and Topix mods dragging their feet to remove those posts while yanking the non-offensive posts of myself and others in a New York fucking heartbeat. It's not a level playing field at all. It's easier for 102 year old black ladies to vote in Florida than it is for a Ferrerman to get justice on Topix. And pretty much for the same reason too. Suppression.
It's not lost on me that the same assholes who have dedicated their lives to fighting Ferrerman are- each one- teabag hatriots. There's not a democrat in the bunch. There couldn't be! We just don't have that obsessive hate thing going on. There's maybe a dozen of these assholes- tops- operating under a ridiculous amount of socks. Very sad. Amazingly, it turns out they all know each other! It's been suggested that myself, Hegel and our friends are fighting a group of mods. Maybe. Like I said, it would be stupid and counter productive but, who says people aren't stupid and counter productive? Have you seen Congress or the republican party lately? They've got no problem cutting off other people's noses to spite their own faces.
But, I don't think these assholes are mods themselves. They'll read this or hear about it and SAY I said and believe that but, that's because they have the reading comprehension of badgers. I'm just saying it could be the case because, ya never know... I'm more inclined to think they all simply met on asshole.com and fell in love once they discovered they shared mutual anti-ferrerman sentiment. That makes more sense.
Regardless, they aren't doing Topix any good. It's like the GOP fighting absolutely every thing Obama does or tries to do. You burn the candle at both ends and you have neither foes nor friends.
Perhaps a dozen assholes hate me. Goodness! What would they do without me? They really shouldn't hope to find out. It seems they are desperately trying not to kill Ferrerman but, to kill where he hangs out. Scorched earth...
For comparison, 7, 389 persons were reading the Human Sexuality Forum.
Sex sells and creepy sex really sells, at least in comparison to the debauchery of the first two forums. From my perspective, it makes more sense that more people want to read about guys who like to sniff their sister's panties than want to read about what a jerk Ferrerman is. See, mind you, those 7,389 aren't just looking at that topix but an entire forum of such topics. Similarly, not all 145 people are getting their anti-Ferrerman sentiment on either. It's just a handful of haters be hating and trying to sound like a mob. The rest are looking at any of 100 other, less Ferrer-centric subjects.
There is more conversation than ever that Topix is rife with paid trolls/posters. Sheesh, if it is, they suck donkey balls because it's not helping. If Topix's new business plan is to drive intelligent, fun posters away, then they are succeeding.
I can't say definitively who is on the Topix payroll and who has a severe meth problem but, there is no real law in Topixtown. The moderator on the Topix Forum is very unprofessional and too cozy with the more nefarious posters. My beef with her is that she fights with posters (such as myself) and that shows disrespect for the posters and the position. She hasn't *busted* me on a thing, contrary to what the jealous trolls are fond of saying of late. She actually absolved me (officially) of one bogus accusation. My enemies spun that to say she busted me for trolling women via gray box yada fucking yada because she also managed to pull that post so that they could say that, even with a crooked face. So, my take is that a moderator shouldn't be doing that. The last complaint I made to Topix said so. That was to a different mod. The offending mod hasn't been seen since.
She's probably still got her job. They might be making her actually do it is all.
Frankly, I'm surprised that I still have my profile. I've got ex-wives that I don't talk to like I talk to mods. There are crazy drivers whom I don't talk to like that. I get a little blunt and salty when I complain to Topix about some cowardly scumbag posting my personal information and Topix mods dragging their feet to remove those posts while yanking the non-offensive posts of myself and others in a New York fucking heartbeat. It's not a level playing field at all. It's easier for 102 year old black ladies to vote in Florida than it is for a Ferrerman to get justice on Topix. And pretty much for the same reason too. Suppression.
It's not lost on me that the same assholes who have dedicated their lives to fighting Ferrerman are- each one- teabag hatriots. There's not a democrat in the bunch. There couldn't be! We just don't have that obsessive hate thing going on. There's maybe a dozen of these assholes- tops- operating under a ridiculous amount of socks. Very sad. Amazingly, it turns out they all know each other! It's been suggested that myself, Hegel and our friends are fighting a group of mods. Maybe. Like I said, it would be stupid and counter productive but, who says people aren't stupid and counter productive? Have you seen Congress or the republican party lately? They've got no problem cutting off other people's noses to spite their own faces.
But, I don't think these assholes are mods themselves. They'll read this or hear about it and SAY I said and believe that but, that's because they have the reading comprehension of badgers. I'm just saying it could be the case because, ya never know... I'm more inclined to think they all simply met on asshole.com and fell in love once they discovered they shared mutual anti-ferrerman sentiment. That makes more sense.
Regardless, they aren't doing Topix any good. It's like the GOP fighting absolutely every thing Obama does or tries to do. You burn the candle at both ends and you have neither foes nor friends.
Perhaps a dozen assholes hate me. Goodness! What would they do without me? They really shouldn't hope to find out. It seems they are desperately trying not to kill Ferrerman but, to kill where he hangs out. Scorched earth...
Monday, March 4, 2013
Invasion...
I'm a big fan of the AMC series, "The Walking Dead". Until it came along in 2010, I never much gave zombies a second thought as I have never been much into horror films or science fiction. As a post apocalyptic genre, it's pretty damn interesting though and, technically possible. I think. The right combination of chemicals could affect (effect?) the portion of people's brains that control speech and motor skills, causing millions to stagger about, incoherent. Admittedly, listening to Glenn Beck can cause the same symptoms. However, Glenn hasn't asked his fans to consume (raw!) human flesh on the hoof, so to speak yet. Yikes! So, yes, I did read that a zombie apocalypse was possible, just not likely.
More likely is a British takeover of television. In fact- blimey- I think that has already happened! On The Walking Dead alone, at least four characters are British!. You'd never know until you see them out of character in an interview. They fooled me. Andrew Lincoln, who plays "Rick" on the show is a long time English actor. His father in law is Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. That's not proof of his being English but it's an interesting fact. The proof is in his accent and his openly admitting that he's English.
My second suspect, Lauren Cohan, plays Maggie and might be the trickiest of all these English. She was born in America (Philadelphia) but raised in England. So she's American but...speaks with an English accent!
David Morrissey who plays "The Governor" on the show is the third trickster. I had no idea. It was an interview that gave him away. My dumbass still wasn't looking for clues after the first two Brits fooled me. I can be really slow at times. He's from Liverpool which makes him a Scouse. It's also where The Beatles are from. If he can sing I'll probably be the last to know.
Last night they brought back a great character, Morgan, who had been absent from the show since the first episode where he helped Rick after he awoke from his coma. Morgan is played by Lennie James a fine black actor whom I can't refer to as an African-American because he too is English!
Is there some actor shortage here in America? This recession has been tough but do these English actors work for food and live in dormitories, stacked up like cord wood? The Walking Dead takes place in the South. Is Michael Rooker (who plays Merle in the show) the only actual Southern actor in the show if not the world? I can vouch for his American-ness. I worked with his cousin. They hail from Alabama. ROLL TIDE!
I guess I'm not really mad. Actually, I'm impressed. That they fooled me- A Bored, Certified Ferrerman- is pretty impressive. They are pretty damn good actors.
I guess if we ever do have an apocalypse here in America, it wouldn't be too awful if we were overtaken by British actors who blended in perfectly in American life and the only way to identify them was to get them to do television interviews. That might be a good plot for "Homefront". That Damian Lewis- now there's an all-American boy...
More likely is a British takeover of television. In fact- blimey- I think that has already happened! On The Walking Dead alone, at least four characters are British!. You'd never know until you see them out of character in an interview. They fooled me. Andrew Lincoln, who plays "Rick" on the show is a long time English actor. His father in law is Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. That's not proof of his being English but it's an interesting fact. The proof is in his accent and his openly admitting that he's English.
My second suspect, Lauren Cohan, plays Maggie and might be the trickiest of all these English. She was born in America (Philadelphia) but raised in England. So she's American but...speaks with an English accent!
David Morrissey who plays "The Governor" on the show is the third trickster. I had no idea. It was an interview that gave him away. My dumbass still wasn't looking for clues after the first two Brits fooled me. I can be really slow at times. He's from Liverpool which makes him a Scouse. It's also where The Beatles are from. If he can sing I'll probably be the last to know.
Last night they brought back a great character, Morgan, who had been absent from the show since the first episode where he helped Rick after he awoke from his coma. Morgan is played by Lennie James a fine black actor whom I can't refer to as an African-American because he too is English!
Is there some actor shortage here in America? This recession has been tough but do these English actors work for food and live in dormitories, stacked up like cord wood? The Walking Dead takes place in the South. Is Michael Rooker (who plays Merle in the show) the only actual Southern actor in the show if not the world? I can vouch for his American-ness. I worked with his cousin. They hail from Alabama. ROLL TIDE!
I guess I'm not really mad. Actually, I'm impressed. That they fooled me- A Bored, Certified Ferrerman- is pretty impressive. They are pretty damn good actors.
I guess if we ever do have an apocalypse here in America, it wouldn't be too awful if we were overtaken by British actors who blended in perfectly in American life and the only way to identify them was to get them to do television interviews. That might be a good plot for "Homefront". That Damian Lewis- now there's an all-American boy...
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Past In the Future Tense
The USA network ran the film, "Schindler's List" last night with no commercial interruptions. This was a rather civilized way to have a portrayal of one of the most uncivilized periods in the world's history. You just can't have a scene where a child hides in the pit of an outhouse to save his life followed by a commercial for KAYAK dot com. I think they sell hotel rooms. A bit incongruous. Not a good fit.
I'm a fan of history, particularly more recent history because it more directly affects us all. There are people whom you can talk to about The Holocaust and WWII, though, soon they'll all be gone by the natural attrition of life. But, while they are here, they have been living history of an awful, recent time in our history. There are plenty of assholes about who deny The Holocaust ever happened at all despite overwhelming evidence and first-hand accounts and these are often the same sort of assholes who know that the founding fathers intended the second amendment to be justification for civil war in the event of a black president. See where I'm going with this? Revisionist historians are assholes. If you give them a chance, they will revise our futures. The words of gods or presidents from 200 or 2000 years ago- no matter how well intended- don't really matter.
This is why, as silly as they sound, the teabaggers really piss me off. There's some evil afoot here. Most of life is about money and there is billions of dollars at stake here every day. Being republican is just another way of being reasonably legal about going about the business of making money and the Tea Party is just a twist on the business model of that. I hope. Right?
I wanna believe that these politicians are as comically stupid as the blowhards in the threads are. The thing is, they might not be. They may be as cold hearted and fucking dying to spill blood as your average Kentucky security guard who thinks he protects the president, perhaps because he might or might not have been a Marine- the president's own, as they like to say.
In other words: a impotent idiot who probably just drinks too much and hates being short and is easily led by politicians out to make buck. The thing is there are tens of thousands of these assholes out there and even though most are probably as harmless as the rent-a-cop, one or two might not be.
In Nazi Germany, most people weren't Nazi's. They just went along with Hitler and the Nazi's because it seemed like the thing to do at the time. They weren't coming from a good financial place after The Great War and I bet they were game for anything. Though Hitler was pretty upfront about his disdain for the Jewish people, he was not upfront about his plans to annihilate them. Intelligent Germans might have seen that coming but, he gave them the right mix of plausible deniability plus the knowledge that, there but for the grace go I... He made it easy to ignore what people didn't want to see anyway.
Most people that is. The Nazi's had a knack for attracting the best and brightest of the depraved crowd. Those are the types you need to commit genocide. You can't get the average citizen to do the dirty work. Besides, you need them to go along with the dirty work. Complicity is the mother of politics.
We can laugh at the Tea Party and chuckle at how they are bringing down the GOP. Sheesh- Glenn Beck?! Rand Paul?! Alan Fucking West?! Gomert?! Ted Cruz?! Where the fuck did they get these guys? They are idiots! Anyone can see that.
No. Too many people cannot see that. Too many people want more. Too many people are willing to accept worse. They laughed at Hitler. They let him be Chancellor as sort of an appeasement... The rest is history. You just never know, do you? That's why we remember. That's why we should try to remember so our future isn't forgotten.
I'm a fan of history, particularly more recent history because it more directly affects us all. There are people whom you can talk to about The Holocaust and WWII, though, soon they'll all be gone by the natural attrition of life. But, while they are here, they have been living history of an awful, recent time in our history. There are plenty of assholes about who deny The Holocaust ever happened at all despite overwhelming evidence and first-hand accounts and these are often the same sort of assholes who know that the founding fathers intended the second amendment to be justification for civil war in the event of a black president. See where I'm going with this? Revisionist historians are assholes. If you give them a chance, they will revise our futures. The words of gods or presidents from 200 or 2000 years ago- no matter how well intended- don't really matter.
This is why, as silly as they sound, the teabaggers really piss me off. There's some evil afoot here. Most of life is about money and there is billions of dollars at stake here every day. Being republican is just another way of being reasonably legal about going about the business of making money and the Tea Party is just a twist on the business model of that. I hope. Right?
I wanna believe that these politicians are as comically stupid as the blowhards in the threads are. The thing is, they might not be. They may be as cold hearted and fucking dying to spill blood as your average Kentucky security guard who thinks he protects the president, perhaps because he might or might not have been a Marine- the president's own, as they like to say.
In other words: a impotent idiot who probably just drinks too much and hates being short and is easily led by politicians out to make buck. The thing is there are tens of thousands of these assholes out there and even though most are probably as harmless as the rent-a-cop, one or two might not be.
In Nazi Germany, most people weren't Nazi's. They just went along with Hitler and the Nazi's because it seemed like the thing to do at the time. They weren't coming from a good financial place after The Great War and I bet they were game for anything. Though Hitler was pretty upfront about his disdain for the Jewish people, he was not upfront about his plans to annihilate them. Intelligent Germans might have seen that coming but, he gave them the right mix of plausible deniability plus the knowledge that, there but for the grace go I... He made it easy to ignore what people didn't want to see anyway.
Most people that is. The Nazi's had a knack for attracting the best and brightest of the depraved crowd. Those are the types you need to commit genocide. You can't get the average citizen to do the dirty work. Besides, you need them to go along with the dirty work. Complicity is the mother of politics.
We can laugh at the Tea Party and chuckle at how they are bringing down the GOP. Sheesh- Glenn Beck?! Rand Paul?! Alan Fucking West?! Gomert?! Ted Cruz?! Where the fuck did they get these guys? They are idiots! Anyone can see that.
No. Too many people cannot see that. Too many people want more. Too many people are willing to accept worse. They laughed at Hitler. They let him be Chancellor as sort of an appeasement... The rest is history. You just never know, do you? That's why we remember. That's why we should try to remember so our future isn't forgotten.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Recycled. AGAIN!
It's been about ten months but, The Laffin' Devils are back on the air with The Devils Ride tonight. It seems to be the reality show that everyone loves to hate. The story I did about it last May has received several hundred hits here- the most by far of any blog post I've ever written.
Much happened while the producers wondered whether to keep the show or take it in another direction. The internet is rife with rumors and, maybe even a few facts. Ya never know...
It is a fact that main character, Gipsy, was arrested for allegedly molesting his step-daughter. Hopefully that's not true. Before you light the torches and gather the townsfolk with farming implements, the man is embroiled in a custody battle and such allegations are often Lawyering 101. Sad but, true. The allegation seems to have come after the show got popular but, evidently didn't factor in Gipsy's leaving the club. Though these guys are not the arch gangsters the producers might like you to think they are, it turns out that Gipsy was asked to leave the club when it was found out that his current wife is a local policewoman. That could be viewed as a conflict of interest...
If you google, you'll find all this stuff and tons of comments about how fake the show is. People think these guys are actors. The show takes place in San Diego, which is in California, where Hollywood is located, and Kevin Bacon is an actor so, there you go...
The point of most reality shows however, is cheap entertainment, using real people who want to be on TV. There has got to be some compensation though. I don't know that these people have SAG cards but some might be seeking one after seeing themselves on the small screen. Their fantasies are their business. Producers certainly like to expand their horizons with spin-offs. For example, who isn't digging for gold in Alaska or buying storage lockers for fun and profit? I can think four pawn shop shows. Nothing succeeds like excess! Or, is it art imitating other art? Imitation is the sincerest form of television?
Television's first priority is to entertain. Thus, it typically involves actors and some scripting here and there. Real or fake, no doubt there's a ton of editing involved. Really, how interesting is a pawn shop transaction or even digging for gold if you were to watch 12 hours of it? Break it down into 22 minutes and you've got something more palatable.
One show I find very enjoyable is "Auction Hunters". The two stars are actors and they do a very good job of making the show interesting. I don't think it's a secret that the fellas are actors. I think it is a secret that the show appears to be very contrived. If anyone does try to make a living buying the possessions of people who have fallen on hard times, I bet they are not finding coin collections, rare guns and other treasures that they get full retail value(!) from experts(!) There is some artistic license going on there, some seeding of the lockers, I have read. I know people are a little quirky from person to person but, if you had Waterford Crystal in storage and you owed a few hundred in storage fees, you might find a way to come up with the cash to keep a few thousand dollars worth of crystal. So, many of the interesting items they find are easy to find because the producer had stagehands put them there.
I've read too that Pawn Stars is a huge fake as well. I saw a clip of Dave Attell's old show "Insomniac With Dave Attel" where he interviews Rick Harrison at the pawn shop during the overnight shift where he's taking in junk from street people looking to score quick cash. It was quite a bit different from the TV show where people bring in Picasso's and Russian Jets... Having been in pawn shops myself, I had known from jump street that they rarely (if ever) get interesting stuff let alone ancient artifacts. The word on the internet streets is that the old man is a bigger dick than he appears and that Cory and Chum are drunken ner' do wells. If you visit the shop in Vegas, it's more a tourist trap and a TV set than a place to sell your jewelry. I gather you can but, not to any of the stars. I like to think Rick is a pretty smart guy who knows a lot of trivia. At least he was smart enough to take his dad's sad, little pawn shop into the big time.
I think that's how reality television comes to fruition nine times out of ten. "Fast n' Loud" is a likable show about two Texans who flip old cars for fun and profit. I heard the owner of the shop worked very hard shopping his idea for a show to every production company he could find before he found the one that got him on The History Channel. Ya know- why the heck not? You can only make so much money fixing up old wrecks. More power to you if you can entertain folks while doing it. It's like Fox news or burger at McDonalds. It's not 100% real but, it's made from 100% real ingredients. It's close enough.
Much happened while the producers wondered whether to keep the show or take it in another direction. The internet is rife with rumors and, maybe even a few facts. Ya never know...
It is a fact that main character, Gipsy, was arrested for allegedly molesting his step-daughter. Hopefully that's not true. Before you light the torches and gather the townsfolk with farming implements, the man is embroiled in a custody battle and such allegations are often Lawyering 101. Sad but, true. The allegation seems to have come after the show got popular but, evidently didn't factor in Gipsy's leaving the club. Though these guys are not the arch gangsters the producers might like you to think they are, it turns out that Gipsy was asked to leave the club when it was found out that his current wife is a local policewoman. That could be viewed as a conflict of interest...
If you google, you'll find all this stuff and tons of comments about how fake the show is. People think these guys are actors. The show takes place in San Diego, which is in California, where Hollywood is located, and Kevin Bacon is an actor so, there you go...
The point of most reality shows however, is cheap entertainment, using real people who want to be on TV. There has got to be some compensation though. I don't know that these people have SAG cards but some might be seeking one after seeing themselves on the small screen. Their fantasies are their business. Producers certainly like to expand their horizons with spin-offs. For example, who isn't digging for gold in Alaska or buying storage lockers for fun and profit? I can think four pawn shop shows. Nothing succeeds like excess! Or, is it art imitating other art? Imitation is the sincerest form of television?
Television's first priority is to entertain. Thus, it typically involves actors and some scripting here and there. Real or fake, no doubt there's a ton of editing involved. Really, how interesting is a pawn shop transaction or even digging for gold if you were to watch 12 hours of it? Break it down into 22 minutes and you've got something more palatable.
One show I find very enjoyable is "Auction Hunters". The two stars are actors and they do a very good job of making the show interesting. I don't think it's a secret that the fellas are actors. I think it is a secret that the show appears to be very contrived. If anyone does try to make a living buying the possessions of people who have fallen on hard times, I bet they are not finding coin collections, rare guns and other treasures that they get full retail value(!) from experts(!) There is some artistic license going on there, some seeding of the lockers, I have read. I know people are a little quirky from person to person but, if you had Waterford Crystal in storage and you owed a few hundred in storage fees, you might find a way to come up with the cash to keep a few thousand dollars worth of crystal. So, many of the interesting items they find are easy to find because the producer had stagehands put them there.
I've read too that Pawn Stars is a huge fake as well. I saw a clip of Dave Attell's old show "Insomniac With Dave Attel" where he interviews Rick Harrison at the pawn shop during the overnight shift where he's taking in junk from street people looking to score quick cash. It was quite a bit different from the TV show where people bring in Picasso's and Russian Jets... Having been in pawn shops myself, I had known from jump street that they rarely (if ever) get interesting stuff let alone ancient artifacts. The word on the internet streets is that the old man is a bigger dick than he appears and that Cory and Chum are drunken ner' do wells. If you visit the shop in Vegas, it's more a tourist trap and a TV set than a place to sell your jewelry. I gather you can but, not to any of the stars. I like to think Rick is a pretty smart guy who knows a lot of trivia. At least he was smart enough to take his dad's sad, little pawn shop into the big time.
I think that's how reality television comes to fruition nine times out of ten. "Fast n' Loud" is a likable show about two Texans who flip old cars for fun and profit. I heard the owner of the shop worked very hard shopping his idea for a show to every production company he could find before he found the one that got him on The History Channel. Ya know- why the heck not? You can only make so much money fixing up old wrecks. More power to you if you can entertain folks while doing it. It's like Fox news or burger at McDonalds. It's not 100% real but, it's made from 100% real ingredients. It's close enough.
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