Life events and the twisted thoughts they cause.

 

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IT'S FRIDAY AND I'M IN THE ZONE! Well, at least at the radio station -- I am in the jungleZone, your weekly dose of Drum and Base for the next hour and a half.


We almost didn't get to do the zone today. When I arrived at the studio, I turned on the computer that encodes our programming for web streaming and watched the power supply go up in flames! It went FZZZZZZT! ZZZZZZZZZZP! BZZZZZT! ZAP! BOOM! Add to the sound effects blue sparks, orange flames and smoke and you have an idea what I went through. Man was it beautiful! I gave it a standing O! I think I'll take it home and set it off in the front yard this 4th of July!


The Department of Homeland Security has lowered the terrorist threat level to Yellow -- which means we all can breathe a little easier since the threat isn't as bad as it was before.


This weekend at one of the Air Force Bases (Columbus Air Force Base) in Mississippi is the "Wings over Columbus" air show. Featuring the US Air Force Thunderbirds. The event happens Sunday, but your's truly is heading for the road off the end of the runway Saturday! I will get to see the whole show twice as they fly practice. That plus the other planes that have to coordinate with the Thunderbirds make for a great, free, uncrowded show. If you happen to be in Columbus Mississippi around 2:00pm, get on Highway 45 North just North of the Base entrance, park your car to the side of the road and enjoy the show! Just remember that the folks there, the SP's and civilian cops will probably come and check you out. Can't be too careful!


Same thing goes for Sunday -- everyone is going to be searched by metal detectors and bomb sniffing and drug sniffing dogs. So leave the guns, bombs and drugs at home!


Speaking of drugs, Canada has lowered the punishment for possession of Marijuana for personal use (under 15 grams) to a $290.00 fine for over 18 and around $152.00 for under 18. No jail time, and no criminal record. Just pay the fine! Word is the cops will not even bother you (because of the paperwork involved for a misdemeanor) unless you are being stupid. So that makes most of Europe, and Canada more friendly to pot smokers. When will the US get on board with this? Medical Marijuana saves thousands from pain and sickness. A little pot helps people concentrate better, relax after a stressful day, and enjoy other people. Have you ever heard of a mean stoner? Alcahol kills more people than pot ever will! We all know mean drunks -- but how many stoners fight with each other while under the influence? Okay, maybe the smoke could damage the lungs, but not as bad as cigarettes do! States are trying to pass laws dropping the penalties for pot possession. When is the federal government going to follow suit? Probably not in our lifetime. There is too much money to be made fighting the war on drugs. However, compare the effects of pot to Crystal Meth (of which I know a lot about). Crystal Meth messes you up BIG TIME! Once you're hooked, you're hooked! Even re-hab or jail doesn't work. I have seen cases of people who got out of prison after 8 years for Crystal Meth use and went right out and scored more Meth! You cannot stay away. Manufacturing Meth uses poisons, and explosive chemicals! Pot uses a seed, some dirt, some light, some water and maybe even fertilizer! That's it! Here in Mississippi is the only place where Pot is grown legally! At Ole Miss, is the goverment's pot experimental station. This is where the "legal" pot for medical purposes is grown, along with pot used for experiments on the effects of the THC. Before you think YA-HOO! I'm going to Mississippi, be advised that the fields are surrounded by a ten foot chain link fence, with electrified barbed wire around the top. They are watched over by armed federal agents in towers surrounding the field. Getting caught in the field is a federal offense of the highest magnitude! Uncle Sam doesn't want anyone bogarding his shit!


Lifetime television is still running Unsolved Mysteries, hosted by Robert Stack (back from the GRAVE). Today they re-ran their overview of the O.J. Simpson murder case -- the criminal case, not the civil case. The basis for the report came from the former L.A. District Attorney (Vincent Scarletti) (sic?) Anyway, it came from the book "OUTRAGE -- X(a number) Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder". This book was written in 1997 and hit the best seller lists right away. It had been awhile since I had heard about the case, and almost as long since I thought about it. It was the darndest thing though -- in a scene played out all over the US, when the verdict was announced White people thought that O.J. got away with murder, and Black people thought he was innocent all along and he got justice. Even today, if I want to get a good "discussion" going in class, all I have to do is ask whether or not the students think OJ got away with murder. Even today, six years after the verdict -- you can still get people fired up about OJ.


Well, we head into another weekend! Hope yours will be fun and safe, and you get to spend it with those you love. BLOG OUT!
posted by Eric at 3:34 PM

 

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It's a Thursday -- one more day to endure and then it's THE WEEKEND!


A couple of things from the news -- Former President Clinton has gone on record as trying to begin a movement to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. That's the amendment that limits Presidents to two terms. MSNBC has been all over this story today. In order for the Amendment to be changed, it would take Congress passing legislation authorizing the change (slim chance at best). Then the president would have to sign the legislation (slimmer chance with a Republican in the White House -- until the end of George W. Bush's second term -- if he wins one). THEN the states would have to ratify the amendment for it to take effect. (still slim chances there.) Probably won't happen until after the 2004 election and even then, probably won't happen either. But it gives the talking heads on TV something to scream about.


We are finally hearing the "rumors" that the BBC, among other British press outlets, has been reporting as fact for several weeks -- that the rescue of Jessica Lynch was faked. According to the British press, the Iraqi's tried to deliver Lynch to an American checkpoint the day before the rescue, but their ambulance (clearly marked -- they say -- with Red Crosses and white flags) was fired upon so they turned around and went back to the hospital. At the hospital, there were two doctors and two nurses working there. One doctor and one nurse took care of Lynch, leaving the other doctor and nurse to handle the rest of the patients. The army had left, so had the Republican Guards, and the irregular forces had also abandoned the hospital. When the Americans arrived, according to an Iraqi orderly, they came in with stun grenades and guns blazing -- firing blanks. They met no resistance. The "rescue" was produced by Jerry Brukheimer (sic?) who produces CSI and also did a reality series featuring front line troops in Afganistan. Now is this true? The British press thinks so. And only now are we hearing about this rescue -- but only as "rumors". Time will tell if we ever hear the TRUTH about what REALLY happened. True, it was a moral booster for us at home, but if it was truly faked, then what does that say about our embedded reporters and our government telling us the truth about what was really going on? Would we have to change the adjective "embedded" to "In-bedded"? Interesting.


If you listen to some of the rhetoric coming out of DC, it would seem that Syria is now our "friend" and Iran is now "the enemy". True, we do owe Iran a good butt kicking -- payback for 1979 -- then who would be next? Somalia? North Korea? How many other countries do we owe payback? Just think of all the countries which have made us look bad since Vietnam -- do we owe them something? And should we give IT to them?


Speaking of giving it to them -- some new intelligence out of North Korea suggests they are farther along with their nuclear program than was previously thought. They may have more than "a few -- one or two" atomic/nuclear bombs -- along with the resources to make hundreds more. Not only that, but they do have the capability to deliver those bombs at least as far as California. That's what's going to be used to sell the American public on the missile defense shield (son of "Star Wars"). It's going to cost trillions, and it might not work, but isn't the shield better than nothing? Be ready for this pitch in the not-too-distant future.


Closer to home, the biggest thing in Mississippi is the remaking of the "Colonel Rebel" mascot for the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss). The feeling is that the Col. represents the old Southern Plantation owner (read "Slave owner") and that isn't the correct "image" for the modern University. First the Confederate Battle Flag (the "Stars and Bars") was banned from sporting events, then "Dixie" was discouraged from being played at games -- now the mascot is on the way out the door. The earliest this could happen is the 2004 Basketball season. And all of this is happening in the only state that still has the Stars and Bars as part of it's state flag. The people of Mississippi voted to keep the Stars and Bars in the Canton corner of the state flag two and a half years ago. FYI the nickname "Ole Miss" refers to the term of endearment granted the wife of the plantation owner back before the Civil War, or as it's known in the South as The War of Northern Aggression. If the Colonel is on his way out, how long will it be before they kick "his" Ole Miss out too?


Don't forget THE ZONE on WMUW World Wide Web Radio www.muw.edu/wmuw beginning at the special time of 1:00pm Central Daylight Time on Friday, hosted by yours truly! BLOG OUT!
posted by Eric at 9:59 PM

 

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IT'S HUMP DAY! From now on it's down hill until the weekend!


BLOGGER needs a spell checker! When I posted last time I talked about the fall of the "Shaw of Iran" -- it should have been Shah -- DUH-O!


The FBI has apparently caught the Louisiana serial-killer -- not bad, they got his picture on Friday, let it out to the public on Saturday, issued a warrant on Sunday, and the Atlanta police caught him on Monday! IMPRESSIVE! Way to go G-Men!


Watched the "Law and Order" marathon Monday on TNT. 12 hours of one of the best shows on TV! It's a darn shame that even though it is a great drama -- "ripped from the headlines" -- you have to wonder if it shows the system as it really is. Every week we are shown professional cops, prosecutors, competent public defenders and guilty suspects. We are led to believe that the system works all the time, the guilty are justly punished and that District Attorney's are concerned not only with punishing the guilty but making sure that everyone's rights are respected. It makes most Americans sleep better at night knowing that there are those out there making sure that the system doesn't run over the powerless, and that the powerful can get justice as well as the powerless. But does REAL LIFE bear this out?


I was talking to a friend the other day. He works in the news department of a major television station that serves one of the major cities on the East Coast of the US (no names or markets mentioned). He told me that during the war in Iraq, his station did not cover ANY anti-war protests! NONE! And that included the radio stations that are a part of the multi-state company that owned his TV station. You did not see, nor hear about any anti-war protests on any of their stations. However they did cover and sponsor pro-war/pro-troops rallies that got plenty of coverage. Why didn't they cover any anti-way protests? BECAUSE THEIR ADVERTISERS HAD TOLD MANAGEMENT THAT IF ANY ANTI-WAR COVERAGE GOT AIRED, THEIR ADVERTISMENTS WOULD BE PULLED FROM THE AIR! This was almost across the board -- both major and minor advertisers were included. So if this particular station was the only place that you received your news, then you would have gotten the idea that EVERYONE supported the war -- both in the US and overseas. With the exception of France, which was covered very negatively, the rest of the world and every American supported the war (from the station's point of view). So since business owners tend to be conservative, the "liberal media" was silenced. Once again proving that the "Freedom of the Press" belongs to those who own the press.


Which is why, dear friends, we need to broaden our scope of news gathering. Get away from the one source, and use the Internet -- the last true "free" press. As long as BLOGGER and other sites exist, you will hear reports from and about every thing, every where. Maybe the coverage won't be as slick as on the networks or on cable, but at least you'll be hearing unfiltered reports free of outisde interference -- until, of course, the multi-media giants figure out how to control the Internet. Until then, BLOG ON! BLOG OUT!
posted by Eric at 9:53 PM

 

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HAPPY TUESDAY! This week Tuesday is Monday, so I'm going to be screwed up on what day it is for the rest of the week!


Beautiful morning this morning! The Sun is shining, the birds are singing, and the dew is on the grass. Nice little Spring morning to enjoy before Summer comes and it gets so dad-blamed HOT! It's a good time to reflect on a few of the world's great unanswered questions.


For instance -- Does Celine Dion REALLY drive a Chrysler? Does she even DRIVE? Why would she when she's making a zillion dollars playing Vegas?


Are you as tired of hearing about her husband and her kid as I am? Would she even have a career if it weren't for that Titanic song that got the hell played out of it a couple of years ago? Have you actually listened to the words of that song? In most places it doesn't even rhyme.


Do you have a yellow ribbon outside your house to show that you "support the troops?" Ever wonder where the yellow ribbon idea came from? It came from the Iran hostage crises in the 70's. You put a yellow ribbon out to show you hadn't forgotten the hostages held in the American embassy in Tehran after the fall of the Shaw. How did that idea get started? It came from a 1977 Tony Orlando and Dawn song -- "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree." The song was about some guy in prison, who wanted to know if his girl still loved him. So he told her to tie said ribbon, and if there was a ribbon, he would get off the bus that transported him from prison. No ribbon, he would stay on the bus and move on. In the end, there were "A Hundred Yellow Ribbons 'round the old oak tree." THAT'S what the yellow ribbons were for. If you haven't heard the song, drag out the old albums or 8-track and listen. You just might change your mind about showing a yellow ribbon.


Hope you had a good Memorial Day, and at least spent a little time reflecting on those who gave their lives so that you and I can Blog our hearts out saying what we want to say with little fear of the knock on the door in the middle of the night. For all it's faults, the USA is still a great place to live! Freedom is wonderful! Freedom isn't free, and those rows of white crosses are the cost. Many men and women, who's names never make the news, gave their lives so you and I can read and write this. They gave us Freedom, and we must defend it -- even if we get slammed as "traitors" or "Un-American" because we say something the majority doesn't like. If we fail to defend our freedom, then the sacrifice those people made will have been in vain. Never forget that. BLOG OUT!
posted by Eric at 6:15 AM

 

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Here we are -- Sunday night -- this would usually be depressing, if not for the fact this is a 3-day weekend! This week, Monday is Tuesday!


One interesting thing from the news: A Wayne State University School of Medicine researcher says we are "slightly remodeled Chimpanzee-like Apes." According to Morris Goodman, the researcher, chimps share 99.4 percent of our DNA. So only .6%, or about 3 or 4 base pairs, seperate us man from chimp. Therefore, chimps should be moved to genus Homo -- until now reserved for man. You know this is going to get the Creationist's panties in a wad! We are going back to 1925 and the Scopes Monkey Trial! Trust me on this! Plus, when the animal rights people get wind of this, it's going to spark renewed debate on humanity's relationship with the other animals! Closer to home, it explains a lot when you think about the way some of the people you know act. THAT and some of the idiots the state lets drive -- I believe half the drivers out there are closer than .6 percent to chimps.


We have had our first attempted murder here in Meth-central. Some guy knocked on one of our neighbors doors last week, bleeding from a stab wound he received at a "party" just down the road. No arrests yet, probably won't be either. Of course, dude won't remember who stabbed him. Even though he was facing the person when he was stabbed. The only problem with the story was there was no party at the time dude says there was. If there were, then it only involved people living on the road. There was no extra traffic during the time of the party. I think the reason may have been he didn't pay up for his Meth, since the trailer in which he says he was stabbed is one of the suspected Meth kitchens. However, I may be just seeing a coincidence and misinterpreting it. Think so?


Our college had all of the network cards stolen out of our campus cable system's DirectTV demodulators last Thursday. As soon as the cable went out, the students on campus called the repair people -- who found the theft within minutes. They then notified DirectTV who turned "off" the cards electronically. So if someone offers to sell you "cheap" cards to let you watch HBO for free from DirectTV, save your money! They don't work! And by the way, it's a federal crime to "steal" subscription TV signals from cable or DirectTV. The Feds take a dim view of things like that. Besides, what can you do -- take the person who sold you the network cards to small-claims court? Wait, someone will try that!


Other than that, not much new here. We had just enough rain this afternoon that I can't mow the grass. By the time this grass dries, I'll have to hack through the jungle with an ax just to find my lawnmower! ARRRRRGH! BLOG OUT!
posted by Eric at 9:35 PM