Category Archives: in the news

Another Reason To Never, Ever End Up In Oakland

Posted on by
Reply

I picked up the following video from Deadspin, (who in turn picked it up from Barstool Sports), of a “freak hoe fight” in a Burger King parking lot in Oakland. While I consider myself an educated man and rather adept at this whole writing thing … I can’t describe it better than it already has been on YouTube:

A bunch of freak hoes fighting in a BK parking lot in Oakland. Girl hits pregnant girl, pregnant girl throws high chair, dude wrecks pregnant girl, pregnant girl talks shit to old lady, old lady chases pregnant girl with water bottle, some more fighting, then a motorcycle cop gets hit by a car. regular stuff.

I’d like to point out a couple things:

  • Where’d the random dude with a pitbull come from?
  • Why are the principal female combatants running around sans pants?
  • When the police responded one of their motorcycles got hit by a car.
  • Highchairs are not effective weapons, it’s common sense.
  • Minivan Guy and his Girlfriend beat the HELL out of the Pink Pantyhose girl … who was Pregnant.

It’s been rough going for Oakland, with the recent rioting and looting in response to the involuntary manslaughter verdict (which is the verdict they are referring to the video) in the trial of former BART Police Officer who was accused of murdering 22-year-old Oscar Grant on a BART station platform in January 2009.

So all in all this really isn’t helping Oakland’s image, which has the nation’s fourth highest violent crime rate and is facing the likelihood of laying off nearly 100 police officers this year … and even more next year. So what did I take away from this experience? To never find myself in a Burger King parking lot in Oakland … because this is just “regular stuff” there.

Khaaaaaaaaaaan!

Posted on by
Reply

I got home from work yesterday and was struck with great sadness when I heard the news … Ricardo Montalban had passed away at the age of 88. An actor whose career spanned decades, for geeks like me he will be forever remembered as the antithesis to then Admiral James T. Kirk, Khan Noonien-Singh.

Of all Trek movies, TWOK remains my all time favorite and Montalban’s performance is a significant reason for my undying love and affection for the film.

Talk about a dagger. May he enjoy his eternal stay on Seti Alpha V.

Atlantis Is Wheels Down

Posted on by
Reply

For my money there is nothing cooler than a Space Shuttle landing. After all the effort to engineer and get that craft into the void of space, it returns to Earth as nothing more than a flying brick. It’s amazing for the sheer size and scope of Atlantis, the landing is just so graceful. STS-122 landed earlier this morning at Kennedy Spaceport in Florida after a trip to the International Space Station.

Oh and the military shot down that deadly satellite with very little fanfare. Apparently the Ruskies and the Chinese are a little upset about the fact that we can shoot down stuff in space. It’s my opinion that the good old US of A doesn’t do anything or go anywhere where it can’t blow shit up.

Broken Satellite On Your Hands? Send Bruce Willis

Posted on by
Reply

So apparently there’s this satellite currently orbiting the Earth that is just mere weeks away from re-entering the atmosphere and raining metal death upon us all. So what does the American government decide to do to stop it? Shoot it down with a “modified missile”. Good idea … I mean we do this kind of thing all the time, right? Well not according to the Pentagon:

The window of opportunity for taking the satellite down, Cartwright said, opens in three or four days and lasts for about seven or eight days.

“We’ll take one shot and assess,” he said. “This is the first time we’ve used a tactical missile to engage a spacecraft.”

Tactically engaging a spacecraft? That is all kinds of awesome. If I were working for the government I could recommend that we send up a rag-tag group of deep core drillers … the best on Earth and send them up to blow up the satellite from the inside. Just like Armageddon. Somebody get His Bayness on the wire! We’ve got planning to do.

There is a high probability that not everyone would survive, but it is flashy and we are Americans … that’s what we do BLOW SHIT UP. The only trick is that we avoid the metric ton of toxic fuel onboard, so don’t breathe deep when we light her up.

Yeah These Guys Are Getting Fired

Posted on by
1

First up, some Tommy Toughnuts of the Baltimore Police Dept. throwing some 12 year old kid into a headlock because he was being … well and obstinate 12 year old. I mean, that was a reasonable use of force right? Did he exhibit and outright threat to the officer ? Judge for yourself. I think this cop is just a scumbag with an authority complex. That and any of you who are familiar with Baltimore are well aware of how poorly the police are perceived. They make Philly look like they have their shit together.

Or how about the Sheriff’s Deputies in Tampa, Florida that didn’t believe the man in their custody was a quadriplegic. What’s the obvious protocol? Forcefully dump him out and totally dehumanize him. I hope that all of these deputies get a highly communicable deadly flesh eating virus. Fucking assholes.

As someone who studies and works within the greater umbrella of the criminal justice field, I find both of this instances irreprhensible and downright disturbing. Those who know me are quite aware of the fact that I am far from anything resembling a liberal … and that I’m not just riding some commie high. I hope that investigators in both instances will have some testicles and do right by both victims.

Yet Another Reason Why Temple Sucks

Posted on by
1

John Street Will PWN TEMPLELast week I picked up on the news that my alma mater, Temple University, had announced that none other than outgoing Philadelphia Mayor John Street will be joining the Political Science Dept. in January 2008. According to the Metro’s blog Street will be teaching courses in urban politics and policy as well as doing some speaking engagements for the University. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the time I spent at Temple earning my BA in Political Science & Criminal Justice. I had some really great professors who challenged me to think beyond my WASPYness, and I had others who talked about how crackheads will steal your car antenna to make a pipe out of it.

Perhaps Street will teach a class PS236 “How To Get Everyone Around You Federally Indicted And Still Maintain Political Capital” or PS145 “Waiting in Line for iPhones While Shirking Mayoral Duties”. He sucks. The Political Science department at Temple is phenomenal and have some truly amazing professors, who will now be overshadowed by this asshole. Just when you think Temple is turning the corner … they do this?!?

Six Years Later And Just As Vivid

Posted on by
Reply

Six years after the most horrific event in modern American history. What is there to show for it? A dragged out, immensely unpopular war with no end in sight. Al Queda is regaining it’s pre 9/11 strength, and it is just a matter of when not if the next attack is coming. I try not to sound cliche, but this is always a tough day for me.

I vividly remember the events of that morning during my freshman year of college. There was about 20 guys crammed into one dorm room, all in shock as to what was going on. Some of us had just woken up, while others had returned from our 8:00am classes to grab some breakfast and maybe some Sports Center. Instead we were rapt with attention, mostly silent except for the occasional utterance of “Oh my God” or “Sweet Jesus”.

Our world had been destabilized in that very instant, that cocky swagger that college guys have seemed to go right out that window. Every one in a while, those of us who had family in the area attempted to make phone calls, which usually resulted in busy signals. I was safely tucked into my quaint college town in West Virginia … but what about my family back east? It took hours before I could finally get a hold of my folks, who were shaken up but were okay. Classes were still being held, but I refused to attend. My 2 hour anatomy lecture wasn’t important, and I was still trying to get a hold of my folks. Hours passed and my parents finally were able to get a call into me. Everyone was safe and secure, still trying to process the events of the day. I think we spent three hours on the phone that night, none of us wanting to hang up.

Six years later and just as vivid.

Breaking News … Just a ‘disaster’ at this point

Continue reading →

Watch Michael Moore Own Wolf Blitzer

Posted on by
Reply

Let me preface the rest of this post by saying that I am by no means a Michael Moore fan. I find him to be an acerbic and inflammatory individual that just rubs Middle America the wrong way through his films. His latest target is the U.S. health care industry in his documentary Sicko. We’ve all seen the trailer numerous times at this point, and we got the gist. Eventually I’ll end up seeing this, probably through Netflix. Recently Michael Moore appeared on Wolf Blitzer’s Situation Room. Right before the interview, CNN ran a piece in an attempt to eviscerate Moore’s argument. Check out the clip in it’s entirety and witness the puddle of piss around Wolf’s feet after Moore totally pwns him.

Duct Tape Doesn’t Work In Space

Posted on by
Reply

First I would like to apologize to my readership, a jam packed weekend and the rigors of grad school required my full attention. With that behind me and a slight reprieve before my next quarter I am back and ready to go.

Remember that shuttle launch last week? Well over the weekend NASA got worried because of some damage thermal blanket on the underside of the orbiter. News reports ranged from “everything was A-OK” to “we’re going to have to abandon Atlantis in orbit” (which would have been pretty fraking intense). Well the engineers at NASA decided that the astronauts needed to fix the 6 inch tear. And get this … they’re using a sewing kit. The most complex machine ever built is going to be hemmed … or is it darned a couple hundred miles above the Earth.

MSNBC reported that:

Engineers have looked at using duct tape or other adhesives to secure the blanket, but are leaning toward a method which would use stainless steel wire as thread and an instrument with a rounded end resembling a small darning needle.

“Duct tape doesn’t work in the vacuum of space,” said John Shannon, the mission management team’s chairman.

Amazing. If there is one group of individuals that never fail to disappoint in this American bureaucracy, it’s those engineers down at NASA. More than once they’ve been able to get their people out of impossible situations. I’ll be keeping an eye on this because, well I am a space science nerd.