Bookstores tend to attract a certain kind of person. These kooks are intelligent, but are social misfits and are just plain weird. I worked at a large Barnes and Noble in Cincinnati, in an up-scale part of town.
The cafe was a hotbed of nutjobs. This one guy was pretty much a clinical OCD. He would come in at the exact same time every day, grab the same newspaper, order the same specialty coffee drink in a tall glass mug, and sit at the same table alone. Another guy came in around 4 or 5pm and would stay until closing at 11pm. This routine would go on for weeks and weeks continously, every day. He would bring a spread of notepads, claiming he was writing a sci-fi novel.
One guy would wander around the store, picking books at random, althought often his "random" picks included large, full-color books from our Sexuality section. He would park himself in one of our large comfortable chairs and talk to himself loudly, flipping through the books. He would leave them splayed open for all to see.
People would call to place books on hold and come later to pick them up. Often these people would call one location and then show up at ours looking for their book. Some would get quite upset when we didn't have their book. When we called around and found their book at another location, they usually just slinked off, mumbling an apology. Once, this one guy was really giving it to us, I mean calling us the scum of the earth for not having his book. He was one of these "I'm better than you and you'd better start kissing me feet right now." We of course found it at another location. I took great glee in keeping a stone face and telling him that he had called a different store and that they had his book on hold, just like he asked. He acquired a dumb look on his face and just left, not saying a word. Dick.
Some people would steal from us. Yes, hard to believe I know. This one guy really went the extra mile to try and get away with it. He stole a lot of expensive books. I can proudly say that I was the one who figured out what he was doing, and finally identified him as the thief. We could order any book in print and we had a computer system to place orders. This guy would order a $50-$100 book using several different made up names. He would then come to the counter and ask to see his book. He would then wander off to some corner of the store, stuff it down his pants or some such thing, and boogie out the door, unnoticed. I started tracking the books that were missing and connecting them all to these names that I recognized as people in the media. Robert Novak was one name he used. Then I found a missing book where he actually used his real name. Gotcha, sucka. Yeah, I know, real junior G-man stuff.
A local black activist, Kabaka Oba, was shot outside Cincinnati city hall in broad daylight. This guy has been doing the "down with the man", "down with the PO-lice" thing for years. He has raised two sons--both are in prison. He calls himself a General. A General of what I do not know.
In the spring of.... 2001 I think....Cincinnati had riots for several days. The media portrayed the Cincinnati police as murderers, saying they killed 15 black men, and now things had reached a boiling point. That was a lie, in all but one instance the police were being fired upon by the suspect. Anyway, CBS called a local radio station yesterday asking "uh, hey, uh, you guys got any riots going on down there"?
Well CBS, the dude who shot him is black so they really can't blame whitey on this one. Then again, I'm sure they'll find a way. The cops had a covert plan to get these two mad at each then sat back and waited for one of them to shoot the other.
This weeks South Park promises to be awesome for one simple reason--Stan's dad Randy plays a prominent part. Randy has become the show's best and funniest character, leaving Cartman and Butters in his wake. He's already kicked ass this season with his world record defecation (confirmed by a Swiss group that oversees fecal measuring accuracy). This week will follow the much praised Imaginationland Trilogy, which I thought started out great but fizzled at the end of "Episode III". Randy Is The Man.
Al Gore was asked a tough question about someone in the IPCC who disagrees with some of his conclusions regarding climate change. His response--
"He's an outlyer, he's no longer with the IPCC."
Way to confront an opposing view. Just call him an "outlyer" and move on.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1291894,00.html
Jesus, at least when an American goes nuts and kills people they have the ability to finish the suicide portion of the process properly.
The shooter posted a video of himself on Youtube.
So I guess by attempting suicide, he feels that he is unfit and a disgrace to the human race.
This from the Orwellian file:
Holiday Display Task Force in Ft Collins, Co.
An example of some of the policy suggestions: Avoid snowflakes and red and green lighting--these things are too closely relatable to Christmas. My advice, remember this season to 'X' out--Xmas not Christmas!
The founder of the Weather Channel went apeshit over the idea of catastrophic man-made global warming yesterday. Check out this rant:
South Park's new episode wednesday did not disappoint. While Randy was not in the ep as much as I thought he would be, it was great nonetheless. Stan and Kyle play "Guitar Hero", score 100,000 points, and ultimately get dissed by the game in a homophobic finale. Randy had not one, but two classic tighty whitey moments, which has become his trademark.
Phil Hendrie's new show continues to be very good. He has kept the loony "guests" but has dispensed with taking calls from real people. Fine by me, the real callers were boring anyway. He has pissed off many of his fans for doing this and also pissed them off for his pro-Iraq war, pro-Bush stances. They just can't stand that he has these views--of course they had no problem with him when he expressed his very liberal views on his old show, pre-9/11. Besides, he still has a lot of liberal views, but the war thing tends to dominate. Anyway, you go Phil, you're awesome.
Clinton stiffs waitress.
No, no, Hillary....not Bill.
Or did she?
http://blogs.usatoday.com/onpolitics/2007/...of-the-tip.html
The only thing about this story that has any relevance is that media outlets are using the word "waitress". I thought this word was outmoded, outdated, and otherwise sexist. I guess it's ok since she is from Iowa, and well, you know, those folks out there aren't as sophisticated as the rest of the country.
Recently kkktookmybabyaway talked about turning 30. Yes, being in your 30s is a real shock if you were someone who was very active in their 20s. In my 30s, things began to hurt, ache and generally be sore that never were before after normal physical activity. I played a lot of tennis and golf in my teens and 20s. In my 30s, my shoulder would be killing me after a game of tennis, where that never happened before. And of course the "legs go". I remember when I took classes at Cincinnati State in my 30s. There was a huge hill with steps that you had to climb to get to the building. When I got to the top, I was a physical wreck and my legs, specifically the thigh muscles, were killing me. And it wasn't that bad really. I could've jogged up the steps easily at 25. Whenever I hear of a pro athlete who is just past his prime and has made some type of comeback and says "I'm in the best shape of my life" I just laugh. Sure you are.
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to my 40s.
I just wish these egghead scientists would perfect this whole nanotechnology thing. Molecular sized robots roaming around in your body, keeping your cells in pristine condition, all your muscles and organs in perfect health, forever. Let's get going, boys, staying young forever is a concept whose time has come.
So I saw the preview for "I Am Legend" starring Wil Smith. This is based on a Richard Matheson book of the same title and has been made into a film two times previously. You could say the story is about zombie/vampires--the Earth's population is killed by a plague and they turn into these living dead creatures, except for one remaining man....or is he really alone? Hmmm, living dead? Yeah, I think the first film version of this--The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price--was Night of the Living Dead before there was a Night of the Living Dead. Romero's zombie flick borrows a lot from the Price movie. In Last Man On Earth, people die and come back as zombie/vampires. They walk slowly and can be avoided pretty easily. They exist to kill Price. In other words, just like Night of the Living Dead, made three years after LMOE.
The second filmed version is "The Omega Man" starring Charlton Heston. It is really good though a bit dated, having been made in 1971 and is very much a 70s movie.
This new remake will suck. All I needed to see was a CGI deer, a CGI lion, and a central casting vampire snarling 6 inches from Wil Smith's face. Jesus. It will make a reasonably amount of money due to Wil Smith, but nothing spectacular. It will be completely forgotten 6 months from now.
I was semi looking forward to "Hitman", but the reviews have absolutely dogged on it. Apparently it is terrible.
"The Mist"? LOL. A lame excuse for King to preach about the evil that is the U.S. military and Christianity.
That leaves the new Coen brothers movie. HELL YEAH. Cannot wait for this. A dead solid no-brainer. It will be awesome.
A prequel to the excellent TV mini-series "Lonesome Dove" is finally coming to network television in a few weeks. It was filmed a couple years ago and has bounced around in limbo ever since. The title is "Comanche Moon". This is based on the novel by the same author as Lonesome Dove. I saw the previews and I'm afraid this may suck royally. Why? Well, anyone who knows anything about Lonesome Dove knows that the success of the original was due to the great characters of Gus and Woodrow Call. They are the central figures in the story.
So I'm watching the previews--I've seen two different versions--and between the two of them, the character of Gus appears for about 3 seconds and Call does not appear at all. I believe this is because the two actors playing the parts are awful. Awful casting that is, they may be fine actors otherwise. The guy playing Gus, Steve Zahn, (Gus is a hard-ass Texas Ranger of the old west, a traditional western badass) is the same guy who has played such goofball roles as the boyfriend in "Riding in Cars with Boys", Marvin in "Daddy Day Care", and Phoebe's husband on "Friends".
Am I being unfair by type-casting the guy? Maybe, but by any reckoning this is poor casting. I've read the book "Comanche Moon" and lest you think that maybe Gus and Call are not the central figures in the story, I'm here to tell you that they are indeed the most important characters. They are the reason for writing the book; it follows their early career as young Texas Rangers. But of course I'll sit my ass down and watch the whole darn thing anyway. Actually I'll DVR it because it is airing right in the middle of the primetime college bowl games. This is another red flag as to why I fear this will suck--why would CBS air it opposite BCS bowl games unless they are trying to hide it?. The demographic for this series is mainly men 18-50. Precisely the same demographic for college bowl games. I'll report back once I've seen it and admit my error if indeed it turns out to be excellent
Yeah, it was really a Scotsman who would have been first in flight. He would have, nah nah nah. He was working on heavier than air flight before the Wright Brothers. But he died. Darn.
Today is the anniversary of the Wright Brothers flight. Some people just can't give credit to the Yanks where credit is due.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display...irst_to_fly.php
Well, he MAY have, but you can't really say he WOULD have because he uh, DIED. In a GLIDER accident.
The President of the United States is in Cincinnati to throw out the first pitch for Opening Day. I wish I were still attending classes at the University of Cincinnati just so I could take in all the Bush-hate.
I won the office pool that I entered. I had 12 of the sweet 16 correct and UCLA and UCONN in the final. If it sounds like I'm bragging, I am. Why not, we all have to pimp ourselves every now and then. Too bad all the money I'm getting is going toward my wife's birthday present. I'm getting her an ipod. She had to go and use itunes to download songs, and since itunes crap won't play on things like creative labs mp3 players, which is less expensive, I have to buy the damn ipod.
Phil Hendrie dictionary item of the day, courtesy of sweetfeatheryjesus.com:
"Shark Shot": A standard maneuver taught to all members of the C.A.P (Citizen's Auxiliary Police). To be used when controlling a suspicious suspect. According to Jay Santos, the move is executed by "holding a riot stick like a pool cue and going right after the testicles".
In the mid 1980s, Porsche introduced a supercar known as the 959. At the time, it was the most amazing automobile on the planet. Costing around $300,000, it featured technological wizardry that is still admirable in 2006. It has now been sent to the woodshed by the new Bugatti Veyron. The quad-turbo 16 cylinder Veyron is the most powerful production street car ever made (1000 bhp), the quickest ever, and the fastest ever. Only a select few will ever drive one, fewer still will own one, considering you will have to lay down over 1 million dollars to have one in your driveway.
How amazing is this street car? Consider this: Fitted with the proper tires, it would easily win any Nascar race as its top speed is 252 mph. That top speed is in Indy car territory.
The British automobile show "Top Gear" recently featured the Veyron. The show's host, Jeremy Clarkson, drove the car across France on his way to London. He was racing his two co-hosts, who were flying a Cessna in an attempt to beat him to London. They lost.
Top Gear is the best show about cars I've ever seen. It was briefly seen in America on the Discovery Channel, only to be yanked off (rumor is that Discovery is trying to produce an American version). It was a thoroughly British show, some of the cars were Europe-only models, they were right-hand drive, etc. Most of their pop-culture references were incomprehensible to an American viewer. But despite all that it is very entertaining and interesting.
The host of Top Gear is a tall, ungainly yob who frequently utters anti-American sentiments, as do the other hosts. It seems anti-Americanism is deeply embedded in their Id or Superego or whatever the hell the appropriate sub-conscious is for this example. They always trash American cars, but it doesn't stop there. Yet I still find episodes to watch from the internet--the show is too good to stop watching simply because of their bias.
GM and Ford's recent fiscal year has been horrible. GM alone LOST something like 4 billion dollars. Yet I'm happy because they are building powerful muscle cars that harken back to the high-horsepower heydey of the 1960s and early 1970s. Rear wheel drive cars with torquey V8s and prominent badging. A car guy's dream.
Now, it's true we have had 2 American cars that have been holding the fort for a while, but they were the only two. Of course I'm talking about the Corvette and the Viper. But those 2 were for the upscale set. A true muscle car should be available to the masses, a real blue-collar type. Recently things have picked up, starting with the retro stylings of the Mustang, and continuing with three new cars.
Dodge Charger. Well, they screwed this up, it could be argued, by giving the car four doors. To be a proper muscle car, it should have 2 doors, but I wouldn't mind owning one. The R/T had a Hemi and something on the order of 325 bhp. Now they have the Charger SRT8, 6.1 Hemi with 425 bhp and Ram Air hood. Kick ass.
Dodge Challenger. One of the great monikers from the muscle car era. A late comer, but very popular. A properly restored 1970 Hemi R/T Challenger will go for around 1 million dollars at auction. (A Hemi 'Cuda convertible sold for 2 million dollars a few months ago). This car is going to be simply awesome. It will have a Hemi of course, retro styling, and some nifty gadgetry like on-board telemetry.
Chevrolet Camaro. The Camaro is coming back after being killed off by GM in 2002. News of its demise was greatly exaggerated. Also sporting the retro styling craze, the design channels the famous 1969 Camaro, one of the most popular Camaros ever. With the comeback of the Camaro, we'll see if mullets and hair bands are far behind.
While the gasoline is coursing through my veins, I'll talk about the incredible Bugatti Veyron in my next post.
Remember when you screwed around in your yard or your friend's yard, doing kid things like playing fort, setting paper airplanes on fire, maybe the odd cherry bomb here and there? Well, things have progressed since those olden times. Like making an explosive device powerful enough to blow up a backyard playset and killing someone in the process.
cincinnati.com
What is the psychology at work where we have changed the way we say the year? New Years resolution: saying "twenty oh eight" instead of "two thousand eight", as in "nineteen oh eight" instead of "one thousand nine hundred eight".
The Ohio State Buckeyes are preparing for the title game on Monday night (the end of which I'll surely miss because I'll be asleep--play the damn game on a Saturday afternoon for crissakes). They are in the exact opposite position this year as they were in last year. Last year they were annointed the champions prior to the game; this time they are a non-entity and are said to be not deserving of playing for the BCS championship. There are plenty of criticisms, and yes insults, directed at the OSU team for their lackluster schedule and perceived slow, lumbering nature (how did lumbering Michigan do against speedy SEC Florida?). And those criticisms are reaching the eyes and ears of the players, courtesy of a DVD given to them that contains clips of various pundits and others pontificating on why they are so bad.
USA Today
I think the underdog has won every BCS title game, save one. I think that's the case and if so perhaps it bodes well for the Buckeyes. One thing is for certain--if the Buckeyes lose this game, it will harm their reputation for a long, long time. In this case the answer to the question "Is it better to have gotten to the championship and lost, or not gotten there at all?" is clearly that they would have better off to have not gotten there.
Finalist: Toughest Man Alive, 20th Century: William H. Rankin, Marine Corps pilot
Book
Rankin survived a "fall" (he had a parachute) from 44,000 feet in the 1950s. The engines on his plane seized, he ejected, but his chute opened too soon. It so happened that he was above a thunderstorm at the time. He spent 40 minutes WITHIN the storm clouds being buffeted around. Finally he fell to Earth, still alive. He is the only known human being to have been inside the clouds of a thunderstorm.
Finalist: Toughest Man Alive, 21st Century: Alcides Moreno, New York City window washer
AP story
Moreno fell an incredible 47 floors from a NYC skyscraper when his scaffolding fell. When the scaffolding gave way, he laid down flat against bottom of the platform, an action which probably resulted in his surviving the eventual impact.
Sir Edmund Hillary died yesterday. He reached the top of Mount Everest seconds before his Sherpa companion in 1953. Chalk another victory/oppression up for the white man. Couldn't he simply have let Norgay go ahead of him, in the interest of political correctness?
This study is creating a buzz about perceptions of high-priced wines versus low-priced wines. Everybody is talking about this, man they are just goo-goo over this story. People in the study were more satisfied with wines labeled at a high-price over the same wine labeled with a low price. So what? How is this not a no-brainer to everyone? Of course people are influenced by price, not to mention product labeling in terms of looks and packaging. The perception is, high price means better and we all fall into that trap more often than not.
Now I will say that lower priced generics or store brand products at the grocery store are, by and large, crap. There are certain products that I will always pay more for the brand because the brand name product is just plain better. But for other products, the generic version is fine.
My No-Generic-Ever list:
peanut butter (Jiff)
barbeque sauce (no store brand ever, may try an unknown premium brand)
salad dressing (same as BBQ sauce)
spaghetti sauce (same as BBQ sauce)
cookie dough (only Pillsbury or Nestle)
Nutri-grain bars
Quaker oatmeal (the kind you add hot water)
baked beans (Bushs)
orange juice
Generic Ok list:
bread
100% fruit juice, e.g. cranberry/apple juice
ice cream
some cereals
Stephen A Smith went off on Rudy Giuliani while on Hardball. On the face of it, it doesn't bother me, but what does bother me is that he gave no real reason for why he thinks Rudy would be a dictator (LMAO). Just another Wilbon with a louder mouth.
There'd be "no foreign relations"? Nice train of thought, Smith, well spoken.
In kkk's 8pm post I asked what his new job was. So in fairness, I'll partially spill the beans as to what I do.
I write greeting cards.
Just kidding.
I work on technical documents for Industrial Gas Turbines and Gas Generators. What are those? Do a search I don't feel like explaining it. I work for a giant (evil) defense contractor. I have to deal with people in a foreign country on a daily basis, which is just so much fun. I'm kind of both an editor and writer of technical documents.
Speaking of working on technical manuals, I recently came across a typo that resulted in a particularly hilarious sexual inuendo. There was a sentence in a document dealing with applying torque to a nut (tightening a nut on a bolt). In this case the word "torquing" became "tonguing".
This resulted in: "Hold nut stationary during tonguing".
Honorable Mention, Toughest Man Alive, 21st Century: John Coward
Link
This British Airways co-pilot successfully landed a Boeing 777 after the plane experienced a complete, catastrophic failure of both engines and the plane's electrical systems. This occurred seconds before the landing approach. Only a handful of people were hurt.
Actor Heath Ledger died. Nothing against the guy, but he's just an actor. Not a big deal really. But I expect a lot of hyperbolic praise will be forthcoming from the media, giving him near saint status.
So I decided to watch Jericho last night to see what all the hubub is about. I wanted to find out what the deal was with the nuclear attacks, who was behind it, etc. Turns out that it was an inside job. Yep, forces in the U.S. government and/or U.S. military were behind the attack. Sound familiar? Is Alex Jones and other 911 truthers creative consultants on this show? I regret the space wasted on my DVR.
I made the mistake of turning on Rome today and of course he commented on the Quinn thing. "It better not be true." "I know you're smarter than that Brady." Yeah Jim, it's a real surprise a football player would rip on gays. Am I the only one who knows that there is a bigtime culture in football that is not hardcore anti-gay but is in fact steeped in gay jokes and the like. John Feinstein acknowledged this when he wrote his book on the Army Navy football rivalry. He encountered it while traveling with the teams for his book.
The real story here is not what Quinn did or didn't say, it is rather the ridiculous overreaction of the ghey guy. Calling 911 emergency over a verbal insult? You're foolish, sir.
