I recently watched "Free Solo," a documentary about rock climber Alex Honnold, and his ascent of the very challenging 3,000 foot wall, el Capitan. He climbed the wall in under 4 hours, without a rope. Sheer granite, sheer exposure, sheer composure, sheer… WTF??!!! The risk seems impossibly great. To nearly any sane person, the potential return is insignificant compared to the risk. That is what makes the story so compelling.
8-word summary of this post: There's no such thing as a free lunch.
Investing 103 – What? What should you invest in?
Investing 301 – How? Create a comprehensive investing strategy. (future blog post).
On another side of the risk-return spectrum are stories of people who pursue huge rewards, but ignore much quieter risks: young athletes and their families. More often than I'd like, I hear parents justify under-funding their kids' college savings with an uncertain, and unlikely, future return.
"Who knows, maybe Johnny will earn a scholarship? What would I do with my 529 plan then?" (In actual fact, 529 college savings can be withdrawn without penalty if the student earns a scholarship).
This "big reward" thinking can seem to justify under-preparation today. Well meaning parents and adolescents can fall victim. Could this thinking be the subconscious rationale that allures many young people to shoot hoops, skateboard, or play video games rather than hit the books? I think so. If I had a nickel for the number of times that a video-game enslaved high schooler has told me about the "Pro video gamers earning six-figure incomes," I'd be able to buy… well probably a good cup of coffee. Thankfully, I don't see THAT many teenage video game slaves.
Only 2% of college students attend university on an athletic scholarship.
Baseball has the highest chance for an athlete to go pro. Of high school baseball players, 0.6% go pro.
In football, only 0.08% of high school players go pro.
In basketball, only 0.03% of high school players go on to play in the NBA.
Adolescents are not known for their ability to navigate risk assessments. This is the job of parents. Every kid should have a plan, and a back-up plan.
Stock price changes – the stock price can increase over time as a company sells more products, becomes more profitable, buys its own stock back, or if the company's future prospects become more highly regarded by the market. Of course, the opposite can occur.
Interest – a bond is a loan that you own, so the issuer of the bond pays you interest. For example, the US government routinely issues bonds to help pay to run the government (have you heard about the US deficit?). If you bought the bond (AKA US Treasuries), the US government pays you some interest each month or so, in addition to agreeing to return the face value of the bond after some period of time.
Capital appreciation – a bond price can also change over time. One example: A bond paying 3% interest today will become less valuable (it's price will drop) if interest rates rise because there will be new bonds available to investors that pay better. Who wants the bond paying less? Supply and demand makes the lower-paying bond worth less over time.
Although past returns should not be used to predict future performance, it is still illustrative to compare the investment returns of various types of investments over time. As Mark Twain supposedly said, "History does not repeat itself, but it often rhymes…" The figure below shows the long-term performance (1926 to 2017) of various markets. Notice that the top two lines are US small companies, and US large companies. The lower lines are US government bonds and inflation.
Long-term performance of various markets. Graphic courtesy of Dimensional Fund Advisors. Important disclosures are described in Reference .
Investing in the stock market has performed well over time, and much better than bond market investing. In the graphic above, a $1 investment into US small caps in 1926 would have turned into $22,985 by 2017 (an annual 11.8% return). However, if that same $1 was put into US short-term Treasury bills, it would have turned into only $21 by the year 2017 (an annual 3.4% return), barely beating inflation. In a more typical lifespan (say 50 years) a $1 investment in 1926 would have, 50 years later, become about $100.
The other thing that I find interesting is how relatively steady the growth is over long periods of time. Thus, for money that has a long-term time frame, I think that equity markets (stocks) offer one of the best opportunities to increase one's wealth, and fund a future life.
Stock markets are actually baskets of individual companies like Apple, Toyota motors, Starbucks, or StitchFix. Those companies are run by smart people who are interested in making great and useful products, as well as earning profits.
If it is a good company, the leaders can leverage research, marketing, their brand and efficient operations to produce better and better revenues and profits over time.
Risk is a trickier concept to define within investing. Technically, risk is defined as "variation away from the average result." Zero risk means that the future is 100% known, and results will match what is expected. In a zero-risk environment, a $100 investment into US small caps would increase 11.8% to become $111.80 by year's end (based on historical data). But investments don't work that way. We know that the future return of the stock and bond markets will not be exactly what is predicted.
"It is time in the market, not timing the market," that will lead to strong portfolio performance. I agree.
In 1929, during the Great Depression, it took eight years for the stock market to recover. However, it did re-collapse, and it wasn't until 1944 that the market recovered to pre-1929 levels.
In the dot-com bubble (2000-01), the stock market crashed, and it took seven years to recover.
In the "great recession" of 2008, the stock market dropped by about 50%. But, it had recovered within two years.
Great Depression. The investor would have recovered his/her original investment within 7 years.
Dot-com crash. The investor would have recovered his/her original investment within 5 years.
Great Recession. The investor would have recovered his/her original investment in less than 2 years.
If your time-frame is long, you will likely still come out ahead, especially if you contribute regularly towards your long-term goals.
Stock fund, where the expected return is 10%, with a high risk (standard deviation of 15%).
Bond fund, where the expected return is 4%, with much lower risk (standard deviation of 5%).
For completeness in this post, here are the calculated probabilities of different returns based on the standard deviations of the stock and bond funds. (See note  for details about the math).
I think the risk that makes sense to people is: If the market crashed badly (a 10% chance), then $100 invested in a stock fund would drop to $64 in a year, while the bond fund would drop to $89. Can you sleep at night with either level of risk?
Why are stock and bond prices volatile?
2-year duration bond would fall in price by 1.5%.
10-year duration bond would fall in price by 7.5%.
30-year duration bond would fall in price by 20%.
Even though the price of the bond falls, the bond continues to pay a known interest (or coupon) payment. The overall bond's return is a mix of both factors.
A stock's (or stock fund's) return is based on the dividend and stock price change. The dividend is less stable for stocks as compared to a bond's interest payment – a company can choose to raise or lower its dividend whenever it desires, whereas a bond's interest rate, or coupon is an obligation. The stock price is based on many fundamental economic factors like the companies' profits, assets and debts. In addition, there is always a substantial element of "how much future potential does the market think this company has?" The latter can change quickly, and lead to rapid shifts in the stock price.
A bond's future returns are reasonably well known. Bonds are loans with a known interest rate and term. The only indeterminate feature of the bond's return are future interest rates. However, the guiding governmental body of interest rates, the federal reserve, tries to make interest rate changes very transparent and predictable. The levers of a bond's return are either calculated or carefully scripted. Thus, bonds are less volatile, or less risky. If we knew the outcome of a sporting contest before hand, there would be little excitement. That's the bond market – like watching a rerun of the longest cricket match in history – a 14 day affair between England and South Africa in 1939.
Conceptual drawing by John Chesbrough. Image is not drawn to scale.
Time-frame. Money needed within the next 1-3 years, or for a specific purpose within 5 years needs to be lower risk, higher liquidity.
Your goals and dreams. Do you want a second home? Give significantly? Travel? Buy a boat? Retire early (or become financially free)?
Your current financial assets. How well are they positioned to provide for your future goals/dreams?
Your savings rate. How much are you savings towards your future goals?
Your future income sources such as pensions, real estate, business interests.
Your risk capacity. Are your current assets positioned to weather the inevitable declines in an investment portfolio?
Your risk tolerance. Can you sleep at night with the current mix of risk and return?
If you want a simple rule-of-thumb to create an asset allocation, start with "Subtract your age from 100. That is the percent you 'should' have in stocks." The other percent might be in bonds, real estate or cash. So, if you are 40 years old, this rule would say you should have 60% in stocks, 40% in bonds. Personally, I find this rule too crude to trust your financial life to, but for do-it-yourselfers it is a good place to start. Better yet, many of the self-service brokerage services like Vanguard offer an online risk-tolerance/asset allocation guide.
Throughout this series about investing, I have presented a story of Ava and Raj building an investment strategy and process for themselves.
Ava and Raj are a married couple in their early 50s, with two daughters – Sonia just graduated from college, while Abby is going to start university next Fall. Raj works as an elementary school principal, and has a state pension. Ava is a nurse practitioner, and is opening her own practice. They have created goals, and organized their finances (see previous post for details of those).
We determined that Ava and Raj need to achieve an average 4.5% annualized return in order to achieve their future goals. Although 4.5% is not an out-sized return goal when compared to the historical return of the US stock market, it still requires some risk in a portfolio. Through conversation and dialog, Ava and Raj decided that they are comfortable with a moderate amount of risk. They have a high risk capacity, because they save more than they spend, they will have future income sources including social security and Raj's pension, plus they already have significant assets accumulated in 401k and 403b plans. Thus, I felt their risk tolerance decision was suitable. We identified different risk and return characteristics for their assets based on the time-frame for when they need the money.
Long-term 7% Moderate (10% standard deviation). They are willing to live with a 25% chance of return within -13% and +27%.
The overall desired asset allocation for long-term money is shown below. See notes  and  for details about the math of calculating an expected return and standard deviation for multiple asset classes.
Sample asset allocation for 60% equity, 40% fixed income portfolio. Data courtesy of Right Capital, financial planning software.
Investing 103 – What investments should you choose?
Or, you can read more about financial matters that matter from my main blog page. If you'd like to talk more about your specific situation, schedule a free consultation here.
 Disclosure for "Capital Markets Have Rewarded Long-term Investors." Figure courtesy of Dimensional Fund Advisors.
US Small Cap Index is the CRSP 6–10 Index; US Large Cap Index is the S&P 500 Index; Long-Term Government Bonds Index is 20-year US government bonds; Treasury Bills are One-Month US Treasury bills; 1-Month Treasury Bills Index is the IA SBBI US 30 Day TBill TR USD. Treasury Index data sourced from Ibbotson Associates, via Morningstar. Direct Inflation is the Consumer Price Index. CRSP data provided by the Center for Research in Security Prices, S&P data copyright 2018 S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a division of S&P Global. All rights reserved. Bonds, T-bills, and inflation data provided by Morningstar.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Indices are not available for direct investment. Their performance does not reflect the expenses associated with the management of an actual portfolio.
 Disclosure for "S&P 500 Total Returns…" Figure courtesy of Dimensional Fund Advisors.
 Standard deviations are actually only relevant when a distribution is in the shape of a "normal distribution." Market returns generally have not. However, a mathematician named Chebyshev developed a way to estimate the proportion of returns that fall within a given number of standard deviations, represented by k. The formula is (1-1/k2) for k greater than 1. Source: Evensky, Moran, Robinson, "The New Wealth Management – The Financial Advisor's Guide to Managing and Investing Clint Assets." CFA Institute Investment Series, 2011.
 The expected return of the portfolio is a weighted average calculation, found by summing up W*x where W is the %weight of the asset class and x is the expected return for the asset class. The specific expected returns and standard deviations used in this example are printed after this "Notes" section.
 Standard deviation of the asset allocation is an involved formula based upon the standard deviations of the underlying asset classes.
Risk and return assumptions of various asset classes. Data is from Right Capital. These numbers are based on historical data, and should not be assumed to predict future performance.
Asset class return and risk data used, current as of November 2018.


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Home › Sport
Russia set for appeal against four-year ban
Vladimir Putin (Charles Platiau/Pool/AP)
By Jamie Gardiner
Russia is to appeal against the four-year ban imposed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, according to reports.
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/russia-set-for-appeal-against-four-year-ban-38800733.html
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/ba4e6/38771358.ece/AUTOCROP/h342/bpanews_a6ce508c-278d-4363-b1d7-4a5e10c40d36_embedded248919664
The Russian TASS news agency reported yesterday that the country's anti-doping agency RUSADA had said it would challenge the sanctions handed down by WADA earlier this month over alleged manipulation of laboratory data.
It would mean the case will now move to the Court of Arbitration for Sport next year.
"RUSADA will appeal against the Wada decision within 10 to 15 days," Alexander Ivlev, chair of RUSADA's supervisory board, told TASS.
The sanctions included a ban on Russian teams competing at major international sporting events such as next year's Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and the winter Games in Beijing in 2022.
It also barred Russia from hosting, or applying to host, international sporting events over a four-year period. The sanctions do not affect Russia playing at Euro 2020 next summer, or St Petersburg's status as a host city.
Russian president Vladimir Putin indicated the day after WADA's executive committee rubber-stamped the sanctions that an appeal was likely.
"Any punishment should be individual, and should be linked to what has been done by one person or another," he said.
"A punishment cannot be collective and apply to people who have nothing to do with certain violations."
Follow @BelTel_Sport
By PA Sport Staff Tiger Woods maintains he is not even thinking about making PGA Tour history and will instead just focus on delivering another consistent performance at the Farmers Insurance Open.
By Rory Dollard, PA Cricket Correspondent, Johannesburg England are eyeing all-out pace in the final Test against South Africa and will give Jofra Archer every chance to prove he is ready to join Mark Wood for the decider in Johannesburg.
By David Charlesworth, PA Mason Crane is happy to bide his time in first-class cricket after a challenging past couple of years as the Hampshire leg-spinner revealed his more immediate focus is to "ride the white-ball wave".

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Running Wild - "Shadowmaker" (CD)
"Shadowmaker" track listing:
1. Piece Of The Action (4:25)
2. Riding On The Tide	(4:18	)
3. I Am Who I Am (4:51)
4. Black Shadow	(5:13	)
5. Locomotive (4:35)
6. Me & The Boys (5:00)
7. Shadowmaker (4:25)
8. Sailing Fire (4:14)
9. Into The Black (4:57)
10. Dracula (7:29)
Reviewed by CROMCarl on April 16, 2012
"...anyone that listens to this album and chooses to reel off words like 'predictable,' 'typical,' and 'nothing new' are simply missing the entire point. If anything, 'Shadowmaker' reinforces exactly the true foundation that Rolf intended."
As an avid fan of Running Wild for over 26 years, I have endured all of the crap from the same metal fans who laugh when I say I am a huge fan of Manowar. Back in the day, there were times when my loyalty to metal had been called into question for preaching bands like Running Wild, Manowar, and Accept, which I proudly called "true metal." Running Wild has been doing this for a long, long time now and my respect for Rolf Kasperak has been earned through the music that he has given me all this time. With that said, I must admit that Rolf's decision to bring Running Wild to an end came at the right time as I found some of the material being churned out by the original metal pirate a bit stale and directionless.
Now, with the return of Running Wild, no one is happier than I hoping the long break is what Rolf needed. However, it is important as a Running Wild fan to avoid setting astronomically high standards, never buy into the hype, and listen to this album with a full understanding of the history of the band, not merely another's perception. By doing this, you will truly appreciate what Rolf was aiming for with "Shadowmaker." Expecting an album like "Pile of Skulls" will result in failure.
"Shadowmaker" brings Running Wild right back to its roots. I imagine some will read that statement and lose the true meaning behind it, incorrectly drawing comparisons to "Gates to Purgatory," "Branded and Exiled," and "Under Jolly Roger." However, when I say "roots," I am talking about the roots of Rock 'n' Rolf, which include the likes of The Beatles, The Who, Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest. All but gone are the jolly choruses invoking pirates on galleys plundering for gold (now best represented by Alestorm). In are the rock 'n' roll anthems that would please the late Phil Lynott and invoke memories of great Running Wild songs like "Fight the Fire of Hate," "Draw the Line," "Crossfire" and "Raise Your Fist." Never fear, pirates are represented here (see "Sailing Fire" and "Riding On The Tide"), as they are with all Running Wild albums. However, any true fan of Running Wild knows that although the band is rightfully tagged as the first pirate metal band, Rolf has only averaged two overtly pirate themed songs on each release. But well beyond the skull & bones imagery, Running Wild albums are predominately rock 'n' roll based. Once you remember this, you will come to appreciate "Shadowmaker" for what it represents.
With all that in mind, anyone that listens to this album and chooses to reel off words like "predictable," "typical," and "nothing new" are simply missing the entire point. If anything, "Shadowmaker" reinforces exactly the true foundation that Rolf intended. While I certainly cannot picture singing this batch of songs on a pirate ship like I did when I first heard "Pile of Skulls" or "Blazon Stone," I find that in thinking back, my finest memories of Running Wild are more associated with the "catchy" rockin' Running Wild songs. They are the ones that make you unconsciously foot tap, headbang, and sing along while infectious and simple groove-laden hooks drag you in. They are the same songs metalheads claim to be "too happy" and that they "wouldn't be caught dead listening to." "Shadowmaker" is an album full of rock anthems: "Riding On the Tide," "Piece of the Action," "Black Shadow" and "Into the Black," which some fans consider "filler" material. The one song that embodies the point is "Me & the Boys," which is the Running Wild equivalent of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town" (incidentally, the first song since "Prisoners of Our Time" which lyrically contains the band name). Admittedly, it takes a bunch of listens to realize that it grows on you for precisely the same reason why it sticks out like a sore thumb.
Three songs that deserve special attention are the title track, "Locomotive" and the seven plus minute "Dracula." "Shadowmaker," the song, could easily find itself on "Under Jolly Roger" along with album's best track "Locomotive," which has a riff straight from the band's Thin Lizzy cover of "Genocide" (see "Blazon Stone"). As much as the formula of "verse, verse, chorus" at the start every song is a mainstay of Running Wild tradition, so is the addition of a closing track that tops at least seven minutes. On "Shadowmaker" this comes in the form of history's most famous vampire, "Dracula." The song has yet another catchy, but quirky melody, which takes you a little off guard. The guitar work represents the best on the album and Rolf's whisper of "DRA-COAL-AHH" is priceless.
It is also worthy to note that the production on this release far exceeds any other Running Wild album. Gone is the "dungeon echo" of nearly every other release. The drum sound is much less mechanical the previous three and Rolf's voice is right up front in the mix, but mixed really well with the music. You can tell that meticulous attention went into the production of this album. Frankly, if "Under Jolly Roger" had been produced in the same fashion, you would be surprised to find how similar it would be to "Shadowmaker."
Bottom line: Running Wild is back. If you find rock 'n' roll played in a heavy power metal environment to be a boring, overdone formula - then it's best to skip "Shadowmaker." If you are a fan who sets the bar too high, you will likely miss the point. If you are a Running Wild fan who truly understands the band, you will take one listen and be instantly hooked. On "Shadowmaker," Running Wild fulfilled exactly what the band is all about and it was all that I ever expected. Fun, rock 'n' metal - which only Rolf could do.
Highs: Fun rock 'n' metal from a legend. The production that would have saved many latter Running Wild albums.
Lows: The formula as basically the same will not grab too many new fans.
Bottom line: Running Wild patches the pirate ship and returns to rockin' roots with "Shadowmaker."
Get more info including news, reviews, interviews, links, etc. on our Running Wild band page.
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Wykked Wytch
"The Ultimate Deception" (CD)
"Army Of The Damned" (CD)
Crimson Cult
"Tales Of Doom" (CD)
"Land Of The Crimson Dawn" (CD)
Dragonsclaw
"Prophecy" (CD)
"21" (CD)
Voices of Destiny
"Power Dive" (CD)
"Requiem For The Indifferent" (CD)
"Neverworld's End" (CD)
"Fallen Angels" (CD)
"Svölk 'Em All" (CD)
"Feed The Extermination" (CD)
"The City Sleeps" (CD)
The Devil's Blood
"The Thousandfold Epicentre" (CD)
Krossfire
"Learning to Fly" (CD)
"Voyage Of The Damned" (CD)
"Shadowpath" (CD)
"Lacrima Mortis" (CD)
"When Lightning Strikes" (CD)
Coronatus
"Terra Incognita" (CD)
Pro-Pain
"20 Years Of Hardcore" (2-CD Set)
"The Landing" (CD)
"Imaginaerum" (CD)
"Alaric" (CD)
"Under The Grey Banner" (CD)
"Munsalvaesche" (CD)
Nemesea
"The Quiet Resistance" (CD)
MAAX
"Unholy Rock & Roll" (CD)
Stuka Squadron
"Tales Of The Ost" (CD)
"Immortal Soul" (CD)
"On The Spur Of The Moment" (CD)
"Maria Magdalena" (CD/EP)
"As The Truth Appears" (CD)
"Psychology Of Death" (CD)
"Dust Devil" (CD)
Meden Agan
"Erevos Aenaon" (CD)
Nachtblut
"Antik" (CD)
"Under A Frozen Sun" (CD)
"...Of Exile" (CD)
"A Rose for the Apocalypse" (Digipak)
Arch/Matheos
"Sympathetic Resonance" (CD)
Falkenbach
"Tiurida" (CD)
"Storm of Paradise" (CD)
Shadowside
"Inner Monster Out" (CD)
"Break the Silence" (CD)
"Meredead" (CD)
"The Lay of Thrym" (CD)
"Back Through Time" (CD)


wow first pala ako dito. hehehe. thanks for buying a unit from me. had a hassle free transaction with this guy. okay ka deal to. pasenxa na po at nalate ako. heheheh.
do not hesitate to deal with this guy. highly recommended tcp member.
gud am sir...cant send u msg...email u already..tnx!
Thank you po for buying my item, ..hope magustuhan ng wife nyo, .and i hope we'll have more deals to come!
Take care and Godbless po!
-aus na aus ka deal si sir, mabilis at sure buyer tlga.
matt_efron is now selfon. updated 0ct 7 2010.
engineer din siya gaya ko!
here's another one positive for you boss.
enjoy the unit. laking jackpot mo talaga dyan hehehe. kaya kunin mo na din yung satio. wala ding katulad yun.
boss salamat po sa magandang deal natin . sana magustuhan ni mrs ung item. thanks and more deals to come .


text:
Hey Jeph Loeb, Sam's Dead Already and Ins't a Comic Character
At New York Comic Con the other week or well.. month now, the Cosmic side of Marvel was revealed. And while I'm sure I could complain about Bendis taking over Guardians of the Galaxy and turning it into Avengers in Space with the use of Iron Man, I have bigger fish to fry. Namely this sucker by Jeph Loeb.
Why yes, Loeb writing Nova is going to be absolutely awful in every way possible. I know you were asking that. And even though it's a pretty cover, there's plenty of reasons why it's just going to be so bad. For one, the previews we've seen so far have the character accidentally blowing up a bunch of people and then saying "Epic fail." That alone would be reason enough to not give this book any chance and write it off as going to be as terrible as you would expect it to be.
The real reason why you shouldn't bother with it is that the main character... I mean, let me just go over what the conversation must have looked like behind the scenes..
"HEY, GUYS! I GOT A GREAT IDEA FOR THE NEW NOVA!"
"Hello, Jeph. You're looking very nice today. Are the nice doctors taking good care of you?"
"GUYS, I THINK THE NEW NOVA SHOULD BE A LITTLE KID."
"That's very good, Jeph. I like that idea. I'm writing it down right now."
"I'VE GOT A GREAT NAME FOR HIM, TOO."
"You don't say, Jeph? Is it three letters long, starts with an S?"
"NO, HIS NAME WILL BE STEV--SEA--SHA--... SAM, AND HE WILL GO ON SPACE ADVENTURES AND BE THE BESTEST HERO EVER."
"Thank you, Jeph. Well, it was really nice to speak with you today. Have lots of fun back at the home."
"TODAY IS PUDDING DAY."
"That's wonderful, Jeph."
"I'M GOING TO NAME MY PUDDING CUP SAM."
"Goodbye, Jeph."
Yes, Loeb is making his dead son the new Nova. You can look it up if you want, the new Nova was created by Loeb and he named him Sam... Which is the name of his dead son who died of cancer. Now you're probably wondering what the big deal is - this isn't the first time he's done it. In fact, he's created Sam's all over the place for some time now in honor of his son. It's gotten to the point that you should just stop making everything about your loss or stop working. Take some time to collect yourself and not jam Sam's name into the comic world for no real reason.
You don't have to make him hip and cool in the comics and be the bestest superhero ever and the Avengers don't have to say shit like "Sam, we wish we were more like you!" Just stop! STOP! STTTOOOOOP!
If there was anything ever likely to make me consider breaking into comics, it'd be the opportunity to kill off all Jeph Loeb's Sam inserts. We've all lost people dear to us, but you don't let it dominate your life like this to the point where you're just a sad, broken shell of a man ramming it down everyone else's throats every fucking chance you get.
Truth be told, the only way this would make any sense is if it ends up in a situation similar to this - Recall in Avengers vs. X-men #12 when they say Sam isn't suppose to be here? What if he was from the Cancerverse and picked up Rich's helmet. He lived there when he died of cancer in the 616...
Oh, what's the Cancerverse? It's a different universe in the Marvel world where death was defeated. Originally by the first Captain Mar-vell, who also died of cancer. So no one dies there since death is no longer around. I mean, that's really the only thing that makes sense. But if it's true, then someone should really sit down with Loeb and talk to him, because that is a whole can of worms being opened up.
Loeb's fixation on his son just is really unhealthy. At one point he was a good writer. I wish the guy could get counseling for it or something to help him move on with his life instead of obsessing over the tragedy. Seeing a man unable to overcome grief try to give his dead son the life that was taken away from him through superhero comic books feels all sorts of uncomfortable, sad and very voyeuristic. I really don't want to pick up these books because it's really just going to encourage the dude some more.
American Horror Story - The Concept Art
This second season of American Horror Story - Asylum came to an end last week and that was one strange as hell season. But what's worthy of some time is checking out the concept art from the show;
We have Bloody Face. Oh, that is pretty gruesome.
As one of those side stories that lost a lot of people was the aliens... Which really did come across as interesting considering the era that it took place in.
And finally we have the Raspers, who really just sort of didn't do much other than keep the insane in and stop an escape or two. These zombie like things made by a good ol' Nazi were just sort of.... there.
It'll be interesting to see what the next season has to offer in terms of crazy ass shit. Because this last one just upped the game in terms of randomness expected from American Horror Story.
So a few days ago I warned you about the dumb ways to die. I hope you didn't take that to mean that you shouldn't live your life. I mean, that's part of the joy, being able to just go out and take those little risk in life to be fully alive. It's all part of discovering all those cool things in life...
Keep going out there, especially with a new and fresh year to use as your canvas, and find those cool things.
How Much For A Wendy, Wendy
So a thought hit me the other day when I was watching TV and a Wendy's Burgers ad came on the television. I was reminded of when Wendy Thomas came out of hiding.
first off... Wendy's fat?! Okay, that sounds mean, but considering the flack that fast food chains are getting for unhealthy food, having your spokes person be someone who isn't thin seemed like.. well, it seemed like the wrong move.
Then you have the name of the burgers. Dave's Hot and Juicy sounds like NOTHING I would put in my mouth. No ma'am. That just sounds like your friends could make fun of you for hours with the fact that you ordered that.
I must not have been the only one who thought that since we got a new Wendy's girl out of it. I'm sure you've seen her already, but meet he new Wendy's girl
Okay, I'm feeling really bad about this, but the Wendy's Wendy girl is hot now. I mean, I wouldn't mind if she appeared in the back seat of my car. Though we wouldn't be going to any fast food drive-thru, if you catch my drift.
Okay, that's crude. But still, it must have been a tough choice for them to suddenly drop their REAL advertising for the sake of making sure that the store still maintained some sex appeal.
Capitalism Marches On
Even though Christmas is over and the mighty god of consumerism has reached its climatic peak, doesn't mean that capitalism is at all ready to rest. Just look at a Danish law that was passed to make capitalizing on ad revenue so much easier for parents.
Making it so that naming laws now allow for company and product names for Children.
Over the course of a 80-year-long life a name will be uttered roughly 600,000 times. An estimate by the media agency IUM, experts in the field of advertising and product placement, shows that that gives it an advertising value of roughly $17,500 for the product or company. A name-change costs $85, so you could potentially make a good deal if a company is willing to sponsor you or your child as a living billboard.
Well, fucking hell. I just... wow. Well, Somebody actually typed those words and it's utterly amazing. I guess it's just a matter that in America we already have people who name their kids shit like ESPN so ha, fucking hell. I guess they're just looking to catch up to the rest of us. USA! USA! We don't just do it, we lead the way to it!
But hey, that's what we get for living in a world run by capitalism. One where even the NASA program is looking for a roomie to crash on their couch.
ORLANDO, Fla. — Does anyone need a 15,000-foot landing strip? How about a place to assemble rocket ships? Or a parachute-packing plant? A launchpad?
Make us an offer, says NASA, which is quietly holding a going-out-of-business sale for the facilities used by its space shuttle program.
The last shuttle flight was in July 2011, when Atlantis made its final touchdown. That orbiter, like its sisters Discovery and Endeavour, is now a museum piece. As soon as some remaining cleanup is finished at Kennedy Space Center, the shuttle program will be history.
That has prompted NASA to advertise a long list of space center facilities and equipment available for use, lease or, in some cases, purchase by the right business.
The process is mostly secret because NASA has agreed to let bidders make their proposals out of the view of competitors and the public. NASA has at times published official notices seeking proposals and spelled out that they should be space-related, although the agency will consider alternative uses.
But information about who wants to do what may not be revealed until agency officials select finalists.
So let's get this straight. NASA is selling all of its expensive and unique space shuttle facilities because its funding runs out for them at the end of the year. And since it's Florida, they won't last very long without someone taking them over. But hey, of course the negotiations are super secret.
So we have a motivated seller and absolutely no oversight. No way this will be used to take advantage of taxpayers, riiiiiiight?
Beer Education
So it strikes me that we're in a new year, perhaps it's time to educate you on the wonderful world of beer. I don't mean that Natty Ice stuff. I mean the real stuff. So here you go. Watch and enjoy;
Now it's time for a drink, I would say.
For 2013 I think it's a nice thought to try to make goals. One of those for this year would probably be to see the aurora borealis sometime. It's one of those things that I want to do before I die. You know, that sort of bucket list. Then again, perhaps space travel will become commercially viable in my lifetime I suppose watching it from space would be a whole lot cooler.
In any case, let's focus on the present. And perhaps let's focus on the night sky for just a moment. Because really, it's one of the coolest things around. Living in the city means that it's not very common to be able to see any sort of stars. Not unless I manage to find my way 40 minutes out of the heavily lived in parts of the city.
But I remember one night when I was driving through Texas and it was completely dark and empty. I mean, completely empty. Not another car for minutes for miles around you. That in itself is a bit scary. The complete darkness of it all. I just sat there on the car and stared at the night sky and how utterly amazing it was. Especially since it made me feel like my problems, my lot in life was so small and insignificant.
It felt amazing. Thus reinforcing that the night sky.. it's so fucking cool.
Fuck It, Let's Blow Up The White House
It's only been a couple of days since the White House got a brand new 4 year lease to the Obama family and here we are about to face a year that has not one major incident, but two at the white house. I speak of course about the film industries desire to personify the right wing wacko's wild fantasy of blowing up the god damn White House.
Before I go into dopplegangers, I need to ask - What the fuck point was it to show the President's car crash and the death of the first lady(?) in that trailer? I mean, it seemed to have no baring on the rest of the trailer where the Chinese seem to take control of the White House
And while having a death from above bomber take out most of Washington is neat to look at, I have to wonder what's the point. Why not just get some predator drones to come in and level the place? In any case, I'm also wondering why even bother going to see this film when the trailer seems to show you everything impressive or enjoyable about it all in that two minute sum up.
Apparently this movie premise of taking over the White House isn't something that they felt the need to space out. Look at this other, completely unrelated film's premise is in the film WHITE HOUSE DOWN
White House Down is an upcoming American action thriller film directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The film will be released on June 28, 2013
When a paramilitary group led by Stenz (Jason Clarke) take over the White House, John Cale (Channing Tatum) a Secret Service agent, must rescue the President of the United States James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx)
I.... seriously? I mean, are you fucking kidding me? How could the market support TWO films with the same basic outline that it is almost parody of itself. Like, did they just try to see who could make it to the theaters first, or something?
I'm just glad that there's far more comic book films coming in 2013 so that I can overlook all these god awful films about blowing up the White House. I mean, it's not like they'd actually shoot down a commercial airliner before one would get anywhere near the White House. Not like they haven't done so already twelve years ago or anything...
The Worst New Years Event Possible
It's not like KDOC is even has a chance of getting an audience. So me promoting them in this fashion is not really that helpful. But let's talk about New Years Eve... Okay, yeah. I realize this topic is fairly dated a whole 23 days later from when the year lost that new car smell, but here I am going to highlight what had to be the worst production value and executed New Years event in the history of... well, ever.
It's so bad that I can honestly say that the public access broadcast I worked on in the early 00's would have put it to shame. And here it is in all its glory.
Life is Stranger Than Fiction
This is the city of Angels and it's one hell of a place for a writer. Mainly because reality is often far more stranger than whatever stories you could make up.
Just look at this video and you tell me the likelihood of this ever happening most any place else?
Front row center to the police chase you're watching. Now that's pretty damn unique.
Why 2013 Will Blow You Away
While it may not be some Mayan doomsday prediction, but here's one reason why 2013 will be one hell of an amazing year. For starters, in November-early December of this year, you can check this out...
that's kinda like what's going to be in the sky during that time of year i mentioned. probably. some people at kislovodsk observatory in russia were spying around looking for cool new hunks of ice hurtling in from the oort cloud, and found a new comet they're calling C/2012 S1, but that's not very catchy or memorable so another name for it is Ison. these things are kinda hard to predict accurately, but it's got a decent shot at being brighter than a full moon, and possibly the most visible naked eye astronomical event in the last 100 years. this could be really fucking cool. comparisons are already being drawn to the great comet of 1680, a comet with a tail that spanned an estimated thirty million miles. neat comet thing of note: the tail of a comet is not indicative of what direction it's traveling in. the tail always trails out behind the comet opposite the direction of the sun, as it's composed of material from the comet being heated by the sun, sublimating / outgassing away from its surface, and being blown away by the solar wind.
Better To Ask Disney For Forgiveness Than Permission
One of the bigger stories come out of Sundance is the story of a struggling screen writer with a film that was shot in the most unconventional way. Without one single ounce of permission to film where he did. That where is also extremely strange since it's one of the most watched places around with a crowd that would cause any normal production a slew of filming nightmares in itself.
Randy Moore films guerrilla style at Disney
PARK CITY, Utah -- About three years ago, Randy Moore, a struggling screenwriter living in Burbank, had an out-there idea: What if he took a tiny camera and, without asking permission, began shooting a narrative movie at Disney theme parks?
Moore had been visiting Disney World in Orlando, Fla., with his now-estranged father since he was a child, and he'd also begun taking his two children, then 1 and 3, to Disneyland. He thought that juxtaposing the all-American iconography of Mickey Mouse with a dark scripted tale would be cinematic gold, or at least deeply weird.
So with the help of an extremely small Canon camera and some very game actors and crew, the director began shooting a movie guerrilla-style.
The result of Moore's quixotic dream is "Escape from Tomorrow," a Surrealist, genre-defying black-and-white film that was shown for the first time at the Sundance Film Festival on Friday night and that was primarily shot across the vast expanses of Disney theme parks in Orlando and Anaheim. There is Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin and Space Mountain, Tiki Room and teacups, princesses and a Main Street parade. At one point, Epcot Center blows up.
It is one of the strangest and most provocative movies this reporter has seen in eight years attending the Sundance Film Festival. And it may well never be viewed by a commercial audience.
Sitting at a Park City café shortly after the screening ended, Moore, 36, is trying to take deep breaths. The director has been living the last three years in a state of heightened tension, fearful that Disney would find out about his stealth project and try to quash it.
So he went from a struggling screenwriter. One who has a million bucks to blow on a film as well as graduated from Full Sail... Let that sink in for a second. I almost went to Full Sail and if ever a worthless degree mill has existed than Full Sail, I could not think of it. The place was utterly embarrassing in how bad they just wanted you to take out loans and then crank you out into an industry not paying shit to ever pay those loans back with.
But hey, he's got this very controversial premier at Sundance that will get his name out. I guess there really is no such thing as bad publicity... that is till he gets sued by Disney's all star legal team. You just have to ask yourself what this sucker looks like. Here's a little clip.
Which is thoroughly impressive in how he captured his film with no real control of lighting besides what the elements tossed at you. And while I know Florida isn't all that known for deviating weather besides sunny and humid, you'd be surprise how often it just up and suddenly rains on you, or the clouds decide to turn it dark for a brief while.
It's really strange at how this was made. Just look at the footage from the making of and post production work that was taken to South Korea.
Again, this just shows how amazing this production was. But then you realize that he just made a movie about a father who was laid off, and on the final day of his family trip to Disney, he gets obsessed with under age women and follows them around the park.
Hmmm, I'm not a betting man, but I'm sure that I could make some easy money in saying that perhaps Disney wouldn't like to encourage dirty old men to stalk underage park patrons. So if there wasn't any other of the long list of reasons why this was going to get the full wrath of the lawyer department, it's for the sole purpose of the film's use of the theme park is a huge no-no. As well as promoting pedophilia in the parks is just not something the Disney company wants anything to do with.
And yet, this is probably the main reason, and the single most important reason why this film will be demanded and watched - Because they said I couldn't see it, so I just want to see it ten times more now.
But let's face the facts. This will never be bought by any distribution company. At best it will be circulated and screened, against the wishes of Disney as well as the wrath of their legal department, where ever it shows up. Taking it to Park City was pretty silly besides as a tool to get his name out there. He was, after all, a failed screen writer. So this sudden attention is going to be all the payment he needs. Mostly also because no one will touch this. It's virtually impossible to distribute and everyone knows this. The moment anyone buys it, Disney will slam them and slam them hard.
There was one other instance like this that I have seen. A sort of found footage scary story short that revolved around the Haunted Mansion being mixed with Blair Witch Project/ Paranormal Activities type of story. You can see it right here;
But as you can see, that didn't go to any indie film circuits and was just distributed online. So who knows, besides it wasn't really that far from what Disney's narrative is. Having a pedo in the park.. yeah, not so great on the "to-do" list in allowing to see the light of day.
The War on Drugs - Watch This
It's 2013 and I'm amazed that we're still battling the war on drugs. I mean, when the fuck are we going to just realize how much money we're wasting on controlling a vice? In any event, perhaps you should watch this video. Mainly because it's completely accurate and the message should be heard by more;
End the war on drugs. I don't even do drugs and I think this nanny state is just stupid and a waste of money and time.
Reagan = The Bonzo Years
Ronald Reagan - The Bonzo Years
I hate Ronald Reagan. Oh how I hate him. Thus, Ronald Reagan - The Bonzo Years is a fun read. As it goes through his presidency in chronological order and has some terrific gems like the following:
Sen Bob Packwood (R-OR) claims President Reagan frequently offers up transparent fictional anecdotes as if they were real. "We've got a $120 billion deficit coming," says Packwood, "and the President says, 'You know, a young man went into a grocery store and he had an orange in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other, and he paid for the orange with food stamps and he took the change and paid for the vodka. That's what's wrong.' And we just shake our heads."
"In England, if a criminal carried a gun, even though he didn't use it, he was not tried for burglary or theft or whatever he was doing. He was tried for first degree murder and hung if he was found guilty" - President Reagan citing a favorite example of British law. (see 4/16/82)
"Well, it's a good story, though. It made the point, didn't it?" - White House spokesman Larry Speakes on being informed that President Reagan's story about British gun law is "just not true."
Regarding the 750,000 supporters who showed up for the largest disarmament demonstration in US history in Central Park, President Reagan opines that "the Commies are behind it."
President Reagan tells reporters about "the ten commandments of Nikolai Lenin...the guiding principles of communism," among them "that promises are like pie crust, made to be broken." Soviet scholars claim that no such commandments exist, and point out that Lenin's name was Vladimir.
Now check out his video guide to Russia.
I have to say, the production values from the CIA are a bit more than what I expected. Bravo to them. Now they should go work for the travel channel.
Just-an Awful Tattoo
While I'm not one for the gossip rags, I do happen to have a finger on the pulse of pop culture. So while I don't give a shit about this little young lesbian named Justin Bieber, I have to say that her tattoo of a massively racist caricature Indian on her shoulder is beyond incredibly bad.
Wait, that's NOT a girl? Oh man. Then why does it look like a lesbian so much? Well then. it doesn't change the fact that tattoo is just plain bad. So bad I was like "baby, baby, baby no!"
It just leaves me wondering why the people who can obviously afford the best looking tattoos money can buy for some reason choose to get the worst tattoos you could probably find on a person.
I guess you really can't buy good taste.
Archer - A Perfect Day
Archer starts a new season tonight on FX. So that's sort of a perfect day in itself. What will make it a perfect day for the characters of the show? Just find out!
California Residents Meet to Assign New Forbidden Fruit Franchise
With the news that Dunkin Donuts is finally returning to California come 2015, a special election has been scheduled to assign the new forbidden fruit franchise that out of state transplants will be required to complain about not having 'out here'.
No longer will fans of bad donuts and mediocre coffee be required to enjoy it while visiting Las Vegas - the last stop Westward that Dunkin Donuts has. Which plans to open up 1,000 stores all along California.
"We saw Starbucks over saturation and figured, hey. why not?" said one Dunkin Donuts representative.
With Dunkin' landing in the state, the first time since they shut down their last location in Sacramento in 2002, it leaves a gaping hole in conversation pieces about why X franchise from the east coast doesn't have a presences in California. The hope is that this special election will pave the way for a unified agreement on which franchise can be the next forbidden fruit of the Golden State.
Upon questioning, White Castle has stated that they simply can not make the trip west. Leaving the duty of spreading terrible hamburger sliders to the frozen section of the local grocery stores. Southern knock off, Krystals declined to comment. Simply leaving it with a ditto to whatever White Castle answered.
New York Bagels as a whole were one of the first to be ruled out as it was evident that the water supply would always be something to disregard as to why making a 'good' bagel 'out here' was too complicated. The Jewish culture was perfectly fine with the level of complaining that was currently held in conversational pieces.
Waffle House was left the front runner. With the nearest location to California being just shy outside of Phoenix, Arizona, it was the perfect option and currently leading the pack in polls. One New Yowker stated "While I ain't got them up here, who hasn't woken up in a Waffle House half sober when that slathered hash browns is placed in front of you during spring break at cocoa beach."
Waffle House does have the advantage of being like Dunkin Donuts, in that you could only possibly ever consider it a viable option and call it good if you're completely trashed.
No matter who wins, government officials are making it clear that the time table of two years is of concern in coming up with a consonance. "The people need to be in agreement on what they wonder why they can't get it here." council members agreed.
reader. reader. reader. READER. REEEEEEEEAADDDDEEEERR!
....... danger zone.
So a new season of Archer is coming up and along with Justified makes FX the network to watch again. So what can you look forward to in Archer this coming season? How about ultimate badassary. I mean, here's a few clips to wet your whistle.
Yeah, it's going to be a great season. You have your Bob's Burger crossover. You have comedy in all shapes in sizes. Oh man. Sooooo good.
This One's For Huell Howser
Last week California lost a little bit of its gold at the hands of cancer. Star of television and all around amazingly kind and down to earth guy, Huell Howser passed away. And while I don't know about everyone else who didn't grow up in range of a California Public Broadcast Station, I do know that I was essentially raised by Huell.
To a great degree, he's the major driving force as to why I go out of my way to find those hidden spots of the city. Why I love going on road trips and a major reason why I'm more than happy to talk to strangers whenever I come across them. Sometimes I'm not exactly sure how to approach them, but hey, it went to show you that he could make anything enjoyable.
Huell was not born here. He was a transplant, but I dare you to find someone who is more Californian than him. He will go down as one of our most precious commodities. Mainly due to the ability to be filled with wanderlust and excitement at the slightest things. Just look at his reaction to a dog that eats avocados.
Which has to be one of my favorite moments on his productions by far. But that was just one instance of many that showed how full of joy and carefree the man was. Perhaps you should take a look at his reporting in the early days of his career.
But as much as he was on point with a lot of those, including a Clash report, nothing can beat his programs California's Gold and Visiting with... Since he died at a young age of 67 without any heirs, he decided to give Chapman University the rights to stream all of his produced content. Which is pretty impressive and is located at the Huell Howser archives.
Tomorrow (Tuesday the 15th) at Griffith Park's Observatory, a memorial will be held in honor of the man organized by Tom LaBonge. Who Huell Howser was the master of ceremonies at LaBonge's first swearing in. But yeah, to have a Sunset Salute to a man who opened the door in showing a large part of the hidden aspects of California to many of us in his own special way... well, that's the least we can do short of putting up a statue of the man.
You know what, this man was one of my heroes. He deserves more than one blog post celebrating his life. So to be continued.....
While many others may see Zero Dark Thirty as something of a glorified celebration of killing Osama, I thought it was a good film in exposing the pointless nihilism of the war on terror. In the end, it's really the best lesson you can learn from it.Though I know for damn well that what I took away from the film was not the same thing others did.
I hear people talk about how it's so riveting and suspenseful - even though we all know how it ends, you know, with the death of that old CIA agent... In any case, I do think that the best way to look at it is to wonder if after all the money spent and the man power wasted and deaths on its plate, was it all worth it?
The film is very much framed through the use of a high-profile terrorist attacks - so it begins with a phone call from a woman in the twin towers after the attacks - at which point you should just accept the fact that this will pander to the American audience and pull on those heart strings.
But throughout the film we see the London bombings, an attack in Saudi Arabai, the Marriot bombing, the camp Chapman attack and so on, but the only American response we see is the final assault on Bin Laden's compound and I would argue that this reinforces the whole "America as victim" narrative that we don't really need.
They show you this huge and very long torture scene and the rest of the film we're told that they can no longer do that and how much easier it would be if they could. Seems like they just swept that whole aspect under the rug. Not more so than not ever touching on anything about drone attacks or bombings that we constantly do on their soil.
In the end I just thought the Hurt Locker was a lot better made and the point is there. This film just seems to bypass a lot of the WHY as to what is happening on screen.
Say Goodbye To These, Michael!
In a strange turn of events, tonight's airing of the Miss America Beauty Pageant has stepped up its level of irrelevance by including a battle for life and death with someone who doesn't currently have a life or death illness.
I'm talking about Miss District of Columbia. Do they even have the ability to vote? Okay, anyhow - Win or Lose, Miss D.C. is making news as she's planning to chop off her breast after the competition in order to take preventative measures in potentially getting breast cancer.See for yourself!
Now not to be the negative Nancy in all this, but chances are that even with the decreased chances, she's still probably going to develop cancer based on the genetic disposition. Truth be told, that stance is really not
I think that her father pushing this on her at a young age is probably the biggest fucked up issue here. Telling your daughter, who only two years prior lost her mother that "You will end up dead like your mom" has to be some of the most fucked up shit possible.
"My mom would have given up every part of her body to be here for me, to watch me in the pageant,"
See, I would like to think that it would be more to the point that she not give up body parts in exchange for memories. It's really a fine line I'm doing in talking about this as any which way I can sound incredibly offensive if I lean one way or another. But to say your mother should give up, or would give up body parts if she could, well... that's even suggesting that giving up those body parts would have done any good.
What also gets me about this situation is that she is planning on doing reconstructive surgery, but said the procedure has complications and there's no guarantee that she will regain her pageant-approved bust.... Okay, let me stop you right fucking there. You know, if I had alcoholism running in my family and I made a bold prime time television statement of "Well, I'm going to give up drinking in order to prevent this from happening to me, I wouldn't be all gung-ho about speaking out on the options of near-beer/non-alcoholic variety.
I understand it's her body and her choice on the matter, but it seems like it's a big scare tactic. You don't see her going full tilt in getting her lymph nodes taken out or her lungs removed all in the name of preemptive care. And let's get another thing straight there, that's only useful for the medical industry. A bunch of unneeded surgery. It's tragic what happened to her mother, but getting a double mastectomy because your predisposed genetically is like a guy getting his balls removed because testicular cancer runs in the family.
Either way, if you're wondering, the title of the post comes from....
So hey, stare at them while you can, you objectifying average male who watches the Miss America pageant.... wait, okay, that's exactly no one. Cause, you know, football is on.
Those Crazy Liberal Gun Stealing Jews Are Taking Are Guns!
So hey, Alex Jones had a pretty big meltdown on the Piers Morgan Tonight show. I know what you're thinking. Who the fuck is Piers Morgan and why hasn't he dropped that stupid accent? The second thing you're wondering is how Alex Jones is even relevant. Well, he's really not but let's just roll with this notion that he is for the sake of seeing a crazy dude on television have a complete meltdown with conspiracy theories in full effect.
It's really sad that he's clearly mentally ill, because he does have some valid points, but his mind is so goddamned maelstrom with no clarity that you can't make heads or tails of it. He may be right about the whole danger of disarming the populous, the fact that most gun violence is committed with illegal handguns and not semi-automatic rifles. As well as the media coverage being responsible for the continuing waves of mass murders. Just look at that recent shooting in Kern River. But the whole building 7 bullshit and his demeanor is just too much of a fucking bonkers for the CNN crowd to do anything but dismiss anything he says.
I appreciate that he is trying his damnest to bring unconventional news and a differing perspective to the young, burgeoning information culture, but at the same time I think he could be more effective if he didn't stray so far into his own sort of twisted, paranoid perspective on the world. There will always be acts of conspiracy in the higher echelons of government and business, but the simple fact is that its very hard to keep secrets, even in the case of powerful organizations and 'all-knowing governments.' At the end of the day, the world-class governments and multi-national corporations are organizations of PEOPLE, and are still susceptible to the fallacies of individual human beings.
But, as always, I could be wrong. We could all be wrong. We could all be the remaining souls of aliens brought to this world trillions of years ago, and placed under volcanoes by the alien warlord Zenu to be re-birthed to live for billions of years and meant to serve L. Ron Hubbard in the Sea Org to save the world from the Thetans that congregate inside our bodies. You never know.
The Media Is Evil - Tila Explains It All
Say, do you have 30 minutes to kill? Well, you're reading this blog, so the answer to that is of course YES! Well, check out this out if you feel the need to have your brain melted into a puddle of mind numbing nothingness..
I present to you Tila Tequila explains the Illuminati and other shit...
Welp, my brain is completely melted and there's no point to the world anymore. Thanks Tila....
Hugo Chavez - R.I.P
It's pretty well know that Hugo Chavez is probably going to die very soon. So hey, how about we just go through a couple of the most favorite of moments this crazy socialist leader has done before he departed. How about we take a step back some and look at some of our early exposure to his madness towards America;
Who can forget that classic Bush talk with his "The Devil was here" speech at the UN. There's just something so wonderful about his acts. It's as if Chavez is criminally under-recognized for his contributions to the great art of trolling.
Hey, remember the time when Chavez gave Obama a copy of "Open Veins"? Maybe if he had written Fareed Zakaria's name on it, Obama would have actually read it.
But hey, democracy and all that stuff... I just like that he helped illustrate the moral cowardice of even the liberal-left media to me by being continually denounced as an authoritarian and a dictator despite being continually re-elected in free and fair elections. It's just a matter that your average American believe people south of the U.S. just don't have "real" democracy, as "they simply do not understand it" Or at least that's what every dipshit Secretary of State has to say on the matter.
"what would those oppressed peoples of the global south say to the american imperialist?"
"yankee imperialist, go home!"
Goodnight you sweet prince.
Learning: How To Work At Wendy's
Okay, so maybe "How to work at wendy's" isn't the best description for this. I mean, you just have to settle for really shitty wages, smelling like frier grease and seeing a lot of stoners pull up at midnight after they're fucked up. This is actually a guide on how to pour drinks at Wendy's.
Yeah, apparently the workers there need a handy guide on how exactly they need to pour a cold cup of soda. This is handy info if you're planning on working at that burger joint in the coming year. Best of luck!
Oh, Hello 1984
So you know how when people say that a situation is very "Orwellian", they're almost always exaggerating or completely misunderstanding what that means from Nineteen Eighty-Four?
Well, for once I can actually say that something is truly Orwellian and if you doubt me, tell me that This isn't actually like 1984
Obese and other unhealthy people could be monitored to check whether they are taking exercise and have their benefits cut if they fail to do so under proposals published on Thursday by a Conservative-run council and a local government think tank.
Westminister council and the Local Government Information Unit say new technologies such as smart cards could be used to track claimants' use of leisure centres, allowing local authorities to dock housing and council benefit payments from those who refuse to carry out exercise prescribed by their doctor.
The report, A Dose of Localism: the Role of Councils in Public Health, precedes the transfer in April of responsibility for community wellbeing and public health from the NHS to local authorities.
The proposals address how councils can meet the financial challenges posed by their new public health function amid rising levels of obesity and major budget cuts. The report suggests linking benefit payments to claimants' lifestyles, and notes that some councils have introduced schemes allowing GPs to prescribe exercise at swimming pools, yoga, gyms and walking clubs.
"Where an exercise package is prescribed to a resident, housing and council tax benefit payments could be varied to reward or incentivise residents," the authors state
A Westminster council spokesman said the proposal would have to involve a "carrot and stick" approach.
Yes ma'am. That right there. Now that right there is fucking Orwellian as you can possibly get. It's truly shocking and rather sickening to think about it. I just wonder what else we can specifically penalize poor people for next. Maybe smoking? Or perhaps some alcohol. Those two seem like the obvious choices.
Perhaps we will eventually be able to cut benefits for people based on nutritional profile and carbon footprint. How about genetic make up and genetic dispositions? Fuck Obesity! It's ruining everything, I tells yah.
Unproductive Week Comes to a Close
Lets face it - the two weeks that encompass Christmas and New Years and the few days following New Years have to be the most unproductive of any weeks around. Shit just doesn't get done. So let's take a moment and not get anything done here.
Occupying Wall Street - Fucking Clueless
The other day Occupy Wall Street did their Rose Parade float bombing. This follows their attempt to do the same thing as last year
Eh, I like their attempt and they have a great message about getting awareness of the economic situation, but I just dislike their whole approach. This peaceful protest stuff just doesn't work. No one cares.
The funny thing to all this is that the OWS group had no fucking clue how much they were like an ant with a boot on top of them just waiting to stomp. Take a look at this, which shouldn't surprise you in the least, but it's a little concerning.
Released Documents saying how the OWS crackdown was organized
"The crackdown, which involved, as you may recall, violent arrests, group disruption, canister missiles to the skulls of protesters, people held in handcuffs so tight they were injured, people held in bondage till they were forced to wet or soil themselves –was coordinated with the big banks themselves."
"The document – reproduced here in an easily searchable format – shows a terrifying network of coordinated DHS, FBI, police, regional fusion center, and private-sector activity so completely merged into one another that the monstrous whole is, in fact, one entity: in some cases, bearing a single name, the Domestic Security Alliance Council."
"...plans to crush Occupy events, planned for a month down the road, were made by the FBI – and offered to the representatives of the same organizations that the protests would target; and even threats of the assassination of OWS leaders by sniper fire"
"in Denver, Colorado, that branch of the FBI and a "Bank Fraud Working Group" met in November 2011 – during the Occupy protests – to surveil the group. The Federal Reserve of Richmond, Virginia had its own private security surveilling Occupy Tampa..."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I seriously can't stop laughing now when I think back at how the Occupy Movement was just so clueless at how little power they had. It also makes all that push to have a peaceful revolution just laughable.
If anything, this shows that you can't go the peaceful protest route. You just need to go full tilt revolution with backs against the wall. Then again, you'd have no chance in hell to succeed in that since we've been inflating that government military and armed forces budget to the point that we fucked ourselves.
Even better is that they created this hush hush Domestic Security Alliance Council. So hey, you keep doing that whole speech about how the protestors should work WITH the police.
P.S. Hello, FBI agent who has been assigned to now monitor this socialist's blog. It's going to be a boring job, so hope you have some Sudoku to keep you occupied.
Waiting for Justification
With a new year comes a new season of shows. First up is the much anticipated new season of Justified. Oh man, do I love me this show about a Kansas Marshal kicking ass in them there hollars. Here's a few teasers to get you ready.
and how about another..
Yeah, they didn't really show much but they still planted the sees of making me want this show back on at once. So there's at least that. Here's some music as you wait.
Instagram'ed
So there's something going around that has shaken the very fabric of most hipsters on the internet. It's the simple fact that their once beloved photo dump Instagram just turned on them.
Instagram said today that it has the perpetual right to sell users' photographs without payment or notification, a dramatic policy shift that quickly sparked a public outcry.
The new intellectual property policy, which takes effect on January 16, comes three months after Facebook completed its acquisition of the popular photo-sharing site. Unless Instagram users delete their accounts before the January deadline, they cannot opt out.
The first thing that comes to your mind is "Can they just do that?!" And the answer is more than likely Yes, so what if it's not legal - lots of money thrown at lobby's in Washington make your rights go away... that and the whole, you know, fact that you probably signed away the rights to your photos in that agreement you signed when you installed the crappy software.
Sure, there's probably rules in place saying they can't do this, but you know what they say about them rules, that they're made to be broken. Also rules actually don't apply to billion dollar corporations, so best of luck going and fucking yourself.
I'm actually really glad that people are going to have their personal photos taken for use in things like advertising as instagram/facebook sells them off to corporations and that users have no say so in the matter whatsoever. What, you expect me to be on your side? Facebook is fucking awful in every possible way. You sign up to be advertised. It's as simple as that. You're being marketed at the cost of staying in touch with friends and getting birthday wishes from people who haven't seen you in years.
How is any of this some sort of shocking revelation? Just assume that something like this is being said in the offices;
"Hey, we're just going to steal pictures of your children and sell them to advertisers and there's nothing you idiots can do about it. So get fucked!" Mark Zuckerberg.
Besides, no one's going to prosecute the companies anyway, Especially since the main customer is the CIA and FBI on facebook waiting to bust you on that other shit you do, you pot head.
Just realize that society is literally to the point where we found a way to monetize the human experience. It's identify theft via billboards. Isn't it utterly amazing?
Then again, I guess you could just take photos and share them in some kind of, I dunno, other slightly less convenient way. Go figure.
Congrats, you actually made it to 2013. Well, that's assuming this post and we aren't all dead from some stupid Mayan calendar ending prematurely. In any case, here's a simple little message that there's plenty of dumb ways to die. Congrats on bypassing them to see a new year.
To 2013, a year that may not suck as much.
Advice from a Jazz Musician
While we're heading into a new year, it seems only fitting to give you some advice in life and all the things that you do. So here, take a moment to read these notes scribbled by Thelonius Monk. They're really inspiring and who knows, maybe they'll help you out with some things in your life.
Obviously click for bigger.
Some highlights include;
stop playing all that bullshit/those weird notes, play the melody!
don't play the piano part, I'M playing that. Don't listen to ME, i'm supposed to be accompanying YOU
a note can be as small as a pin or as big as the world, it depends on your imagination
you got to dig it to dig it, you dig?
How can you top that last one? You got to dig it to dig it, you dig?
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