CHILDREN AND OTHER ROAD HAZARDS

Yes, I did get got for driving 85 mph on a 70 mph freeway on the high desert highway between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. I was guilty. The several SUVs and two Mercedes that had swiftly passed me just a minute or two before I was pulled over by the California Highway Patrol, had nothing to do with it. It was just my tough luck that his radar got me, rather than them.

So I spent a day last week in online traffic school, where I didn't learn a whole lot that I didn't already know. One thing, however, became quite clear. The single major road hazard, the one thing that is most distracting, dangerous, even deadly, is children. Nary a screen went by that didn't include some sort of caution about kids. They're noisy and disruptive in the car and unpredictable, quirky, quick and at times suicidal on the streets.

Sure, booze seems to be implicated in more traffic accidents than any other single factor, but near as I could tell from traffic school, children are running a close second.

I always knew they were trying to kill us. Gang way for the new generation. Biology is merciless and it is now evidently using technology to do its dirty work.

This is a matter of some immediate concern as I am once more about to hit the road. This morning I am off to Arizona, en route to Denver for Left Coast Crime. I'll stop for a night in Phoenix where my cousin Robert and I intend to find some minor trouble to get into. (It's the Sadie Hawkins Day Dance at The Rhythm Room. That could be fun.) Then down to Tucson to take in some spring training baseball with my father. (I'm trying to decide if I should take my mitt, but I never can find anyone to play catch, much less real baseball, with these days.) Then it's a drive through New Mexico, fueled by as many meals involving green chilies as I can squeeze into it.

Then, finally, Denver. I'll be there for four days, which is three days longer than I've spent there before. I enjoyed Left Coast Crime in Seattle last year, we'll see how it shakes out this year. I'm on a panel on Friday about sex and violence, so that can't be too bad.

And finally, speaking of sex and violence, I sure as hell want this stupid primary season to be over. When is someone going to wise up and pass a law restricting presidential campaigns to no more than four months, or something like that? The stupidity just keeps growing. Even if you start out sort of kind of liking a candidate, by the time they've finished - or even just got halfway through - pandering to voters and special interests, you've learned to loathe them. No wonder it's always a matter of voting for the lesser of two evils. The whole process tears down anything or anybody who goes into it with good, honest, intelligent intentions. (Although I must admit to cynical doubts that anyone ever does go into politics with "good, honest, intelligent intentions.")

Oh yeah, one more thing, I forgot:

MyPOD
I have gone modern. The other day, looking over the cabinet from which spilled my collection of CDs, I decided I was tired of them. Tired of trying to find ones that had been put back into the wrong case whenever a certain friend comes over and plays music, tired of shuffling through them to find what I want, tired of messing around with them, of the space they took up. So I bought a big (in capacity) small (in size) external hard drive and downloaded all 638 of them onto it. I then boxed them up, took them to Amoeba on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and sold them for a mere fraction of what they had cost me over the years, but still, more than enough for my purposes. With that money I bought a new 160 GB IPod Classic and a Bose stereo thingy to plug it into and an adapter for my car and still had money left over and still have all my music - which I downloaded into the IPod from the hard drive. Only now, rather than spilling out of a cabinet in my house, my entire CD collection fits in my pocket. I'm taking it with me to Denver. I wonder how long I can impose my collection of Cambodian cassette tapes (recorded onto CDs) on my cousin during the drive?

1984 and all that.

Thought I'd gone back in time this morning after hearing the news that big chinned Tory MP Julian Brazier announced that 'Explicit and extreme video games and films are fueling a tide of violence in Britain' and that MPs should have more of a say over appointments to the board of British Board of Film Classification and its guidelines.

Brazier: looks like a pervert.

Power mad Mr Brazier wants MPs to be able to trigger an appeal against BBFC decisions to restore cut footage or lower a classification of film and during a recent Commons debate, he cited the example of the previously banned SS Experiment Camp (again, what year is this Julian?) - which was re-examined by the BBFC and released in 2005.

"The film shows in voyeuristic detail women being tortured to death by SS camp guards," he said, obviously assuming that it was a documentary and not as we all know a badly made Italian exploitation epic from 1976.

On the subject of the French 'arthouse' classic Irreversible, he added "If this is not glamorising rape then it is difficult to imagine what would be."

He then told MPs, whilst foaming at the mouth and stamping his fist on his desk like the jumped up little Hitler he is that: "The growth in violent offences is linked to the growing availability in the media of extremely violent and explicitly sexual material."

Obviously he has no evidence to back this up but thought it sounded good.

Vaz: Ambulance chasing vulture.

Unsurprisingly he was backed by tragedy jumping Labour MP Keith Vaz, who represents a seat in Leicester where the mother of 14-year-old murder victim publicly attributed his death to his killer's 'obsession' with the Manhunt video game - although the trial judge (and police) did not confirm her view, blaming robbery.

Vaz is particularly concerned about video games (particularly if they can get him column inches and re-elected), arguing they were different from films because they are "interactive".


"When they plan with these things they are able to interact, they can shoot people, they can kill people, they can rape women and that's what is so wrong about the situation we have at the moment."

As we all know, you can't actually 'kill' people in games because it's not real.

A fake death scene from a film: not real.

Luckily the comedy genius of John Whittingdale, chairman of the Commons culture, media and sport select committee is here to raise a giggle.

He said he had been 'lent' a copy of SS Experiment Camp (right, like it's not his own) but dismissed it as a "truly dreadful film".

He explained: "It is what is called Italian Schlock (is it? is it really? or are you just making words up now to look cool and hip you sad misguided man) and many people will find it offensive because of the subject matter, because it involves Nazis and extermination camps".

Do you think he figured that out from the title?

I have to say there is not a single scene in that film that I could argue should be banned. "Actually the scenes of so-called torture and the scenes of sex are mild compared to anything you can go and see today in the Odeon down the road."

What? anything? even in kids films? and Rambo? even tho' the Odeon aren't showing it? Generalization? Never!

However, he did say he was concerned about big budget "torture porn" films like the Saw and Hostel series of films, which he said should have been cut "more than they were" even tho' he admitted he hadn't seen them.

Mr Brazier's bill has cross-party support but would need the government's backing to become law.

Let's pray to God he gets hit by a bus before then.

Crystal Liu Yi Fei - Cute, Hot, Sexy and Beautiful

Thanks for support, for more detail and photos about Crystal Liu Yi Fei. Please visit our new website. Please click here: http://asianhotbeauty.com

55 Flash Fiction Friday - 2/29/08

Another celebrity just died
They drop like flies it seems
Pills to wake up and pills to lie down
Drug induced sleep without dreams

It seems the life of the privileged
Is not much of a life at all
From a place at the top of the world
It is a long way to fall

Totally Optional Prompts - 2/28/08

I thought I would try this site once. This is the first thing that came to mind:

He lacks focus and direction
Inattentive and rebellious
Jumps from task to task
Rowdy and overzealous

He’s disruptive and nonconforming
Insubordinate and defiant
Fidgety and uncentered
Disobedient and noncompliant

There is nothing we can do
To make this boy behave
We’ve exhausted our resources
The situation’s grave

Fortunately Concerta and Prozac
Are available to prescribe
And Lithium and Adderall
May create a more positive vibe

How fortunate is the world
Panacea did not always exist
Or our entire human history
Would have a different twist

Had Da Vinci’s brilliance
Been stifled and denied
Or Edison drugged into a stupor
Constantly glassy-eyed


Had Einstein been blasted
Into a euphoric state
And Mozart over-medicated
With no desire to create


John Grisham was another
Who was hyperactive in school
And the great Sir Isaac Newton
Was thought to be a fool

I think that often genius
Is mistaken for ADHD
Different drummers are not allowed
In our structured society

And as a substitute for parenting
Tough love and discipline
We are too quick to label
And give a dose of Ritalin

I know that some kids suffer
And need help of a chemical sort
But zapping kids into zombies
Should not be a first resort

And if there existed Dexedrine
When I was just a lad
These words would not be written
That could be good or bad

Sexy Babe: Maria Ozawa

Maria Ozawa (小澤マリア, Ozawa Maria), also known as Miyabi (みやび, Miyabi)(born January 8, 1986), is a popular Japanese AV idol.Maria Ozawa is of mixed-race parentage. Her mother is Japanese and her father is French-Canadian, which gives her a look that has been described as "a perfect balance of Japanese beauty mixed with a dash of exoticism." Since she attended an international school from primary school to high school, she claims that her English reading and writing ability is better than her Japanese. Despite her international background, in interviews Ozawa expresses a preference for Asian sexual and romantic partners. While at school, she played hockey every day, and often went to karaoke after class. Her hobbies include cooking, which she is good at, and watching AVs on her flatscreen television set. She also enjoys playing video games, and owns a pink Nintendo DS Lite, and a pink PlayStation 2 console.

Thursday 13 - Favorite Movies - 2/27/08

My thirteen favorite movies of all time or at least the first ones that come to mind. No particular order, just as I think about them: If a film has a sequel it will only be listed once even if I loved the sequels too, like Lethal Weapon. I am pretty much talking here about entertainment value, not masterpieces. I loved African Queen, Casablanca, and Citizen Kane, but they aren’t going to make the list. I am only going back a number of years. Hey, I gotta put limitations on this to get it down to 13. There are also no chick flicks here but I do like some of those too. I think that Love, Actually is one of the best ever. If that is truly a chick flick. I have also included a clip from each movie. If you want to view them hit pause on my jukebox or you will drive yourself nuts.

1) My Cousin Vinny

2) Field of Dreams

3) Shawshank Redemption

4) Silence of the Lambs

5) Fargo

6) Slingblade

7) A Fish Called Wanda

8) Jaws

9) Terminator

10) The Unforgiven

11) Rain Man

12) A Few Good Men

13) Pulp Fiction

Three Word Wednesday - distant apology consider - 2/27/08

The prompts this week were distant, apology, and consider. I have no idea why it led to this:

The two photos he could see from his recliner were taken fifty years apart. The first was of their wedding, shortly after he came back from the Pacific at the end of World War II. Every time he looked at it he was amazed at how young they were and particularly how beautiful she was.

It was such a distant memory that it almost seemed as though he was looking at someone else. Yet, in other ways it was only yesterday, the pages of the calendar falling off the wall much too fast and accelerating with age.

The second was taken several years ago at their 50th anniversary party. He thought, had it really been twelve years ago? She was still so beautiful and so happy.

It was shortly after that when the disease began. It came slowly at first. She would forget to turn the stove off, lose her purse, or make a wrong turn driving home. A wrong turn on a road she had driven nearly every day for over sixty years. At first he teased her about it but he could see the change in her. She would become preoccupied and confused. She had always been a shrewd and crafty opponent at Scrabble or gin rummy. But gradually they discontinued playing. He could see the fear in her eyes, followed by anger, that she could not focus.

Then the first real terror came the first time she did not recognize him. It began as a momentary lapse and became more frequent and of longer duration as the months passed. They went together to see a specialist. His diagnosis confirmed what they already knew. Treatment was available but ineffective in most cases. The deterioration would continue. The bottom line was that as the disease progressed, they should consider either in-home care or moving her to an “adult care facility”. At his age, he would not be able to provide the care that she would require. The doctor asked about children. They had two, both in their sixties. They both lived clear across the country and could really provide no help. They had their own lives, medical problems, children, and grandchildren. He knew, that their pensions and social security were sufficient to provide them a comfortable life, but there was no money for buying the kind of care she would need.

He had provided loving care for as long as he could. Through the heartbreak of watching his best friend become a stranger, her persevered. But, as promised, the symptoms of the illness continued to progress. It seemed like it was worse every day. Her once intelligent blue eyes were nearly colorless and vacant. It was not just her mind, but her body deteriorated to a shell. She could no longer control her bowels or emotions.

As he sat in the recliner, trying to summon the courage to dial 911, he could not bring himself to apologize for holding the pillow over her face as she slept. Perhaps realizing that her misery was at an end, there was only a feeble struggle as he heard the sounds of her last, labored breath. He kissed her a tender, final goodbye and as he stumbled through his tears into the living room, his pain was tempered by relief that their shared torment was at an end.

The smiles of the couple in the gold-framed photos were what he would remember. Of all the photos that adorned their home, of grandchildren and great grandchildren, of beloved pets……..these were her two favorites. And though he never admitted it to her, they were his favorites too.

my real dad?

The legendary Ted Chippington.

Enjoy.

Taiwan Female Pop Singer: Jolin Tsai Yi Ling

Jolin Tsai is a Golden Melody Award winning Taiwanese Mandopop singer. To date, Tsai is one of the most successful and popular singers in the Mandarin music market.

Profile

Name: Cai Yi Lin 蔡依林
English name: Jolin Tsai
Real Name: 蔡依翎 / Cai Yi Ling
Profession: Actress, singer, and dancer
Birthdate: 1980-Sept-15
Birthplace: Sinjhuang City, Taipei County, Taiwan
Height: 158cm
Weight: 43kg
Star sign: Virgo
Family: Parents and older sister

Wordless Wednesday - 2/27/08

a few new additions...

...to the creaking Unwell shelves.....Yup it's true, I do judge a film by it's cover.

Scarily there are more to come...

Japan Gravure Idol: Emi Kobayashi

Emi Kobayashi (小林恵美, Kobayashi Emi, born January 1, 1983) is a Japanese gravure idol. She is from Tokyo, and belongs to the show-business production Suns Entertainment. She belonged to Yellow Cab before 2004. One of her great-grandmothers is Russian. She portrayed the hostess who became a nun named Saori in Lion-Maru G.

Profile

Nickname: Koba-emi
Profession: Actress and 'gravure idol' (Japanese term: swimsuit/bikini model)
Date of Birth: January 1, 1983
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan
Height: 165 cm (5 feet and 5.0 inches)
Measurements: B88 W56 H83 cm (B34.6 W22.0 H32.7 inches)
Blood type: B