8 Minutes On High

Ok. Well … Here’s Neil

July 21st, 2009 by Max

Strangely, this one is not allowed to be embedded but you can follow the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0ib-U4dZRM

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We went

July 21st, 2009 by Max

Ok. Lest anyone has any doubts. We went. But in all this nostalgia, I’m wondering why Neil Armstrong never is seen talking about the moon trip. I’m just wondering.

There’s another astronaut, from a differnt mission. Mitchell may be his name who says he saw aliens.

I would like to know more about this film they showed. It seems logical that by this time it could have just been space junk. But now as I reflect back … I’d love to hear Neil Armstrong talk about this.

Unidentified doesn’t mean little green men. It means not identified.

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Mr Obama and Health Care

July 20th, 2009 by Max

Finally I get a chance to prove I’m not a knee jerk liberal.

I’m a liberal and proud of it. But I prefer to move my own knees.

Here’s the thing. This country was in danger of cataclysmic financial disaster. The banks messed up badly. Really badly. And while we did just see banks report profits for the last quarter (which really surprised us all, didn’t it?). While all that has been going on, unemployment keeps going up.

I for one feel this was predictable. But I also feel that 1. We need to put most of our focus on the economy – which for the average person means jobs even more than it means Wall St. And 2. we have more than doubled, maybe tripled, the largest budget deficit in history.

So, while I have long believed that we should have a one payer everyone is insured health care system, even if it meant raising taxes, I’m not sure this is the time. And yes, I’m aware, Mr Obama is leaving this to the Congress to suss out the details. And yes, I’m aware that this will not be anything like a one payer system. And yes, I’m aware that the stimulus has barely gotten started so far, with much more money to be paid out – still I’m just wondering if this is just asking too much of this economy at this time.

The rationale has to do with the mechanics of our American government. While the president is in office for 4 years, he only has his first Congress, his coattail Congress if you will, for two years. Then the house gets re-elected. Or doesn’t. And the thing about that election is that the campaigning starts in January or February of the election year, so, like six months away.

Strange as it seems he is running out of time and he’s only just added his party’s last Senator.

The man is smart and ambitious, and I believe in his ideals, but I wonder if he’s biting off too much!

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New York Yankee Announcement

July 18th, 2009 by Max

Ken Singleton is the best Yankee announcer since Bill White. Managing the English language is a requirement for being an announcer of any kind, anchorman, weatherman, whatever. Ken manages to speak in complete senteneces, so that’s one thing.
sports054

Next, and almost as importantly. He doesn’t talk about himself too much. This is far trickier than it seems because the role of the former professional athlete in the broadcast booth is to tell the viewer the insider knowledge that the viewer wouldn’t know. Tom Seaver was good at this. Keith Hernandez is good at this, however both of them like themselves a little too much to keep it interesting for the viewer. Hernandez especially.

The thing about Ken is that he’s the lead announcer, as well as the expert. Unless Micheal Kay gets there and inserts his bad puns, and asserts his irrelevant and often incorrect opinions. Then he is the lead announcer and the broadcast goes down hill. Surprisingly Kay is good at interviewing. The difference is that when he is an interviewer Micheal Kay is asking about other people.

Bobby Murcer and Phil Rizzuto were fun Yankee announcers, and among my personal favorites, but Murcer had real trouble with sentence structure and Rizzuto … well … we just loved him anyway!

Al Lieter is a great compliment to Singleton. Both measured and modest in their tone and self interest and yet both capable of bringing you insights. I love to hear Lieter talking about pitching. The difference between himself and Hernandez is Al uses second person, Keith, first.

Allimages

The Yankees seem to be mixing and matching broadcast teams these days. Personally, I love to hear Paul O’Neil in the booth. Again he never seems to get into the “I did it this way” kind of talk, while still bringing you into the world in which he had so much success. “Flash” Flaherty is similarly professional in his manner but Flash seems to avoid the joy that O’Neil brings. Paul O’Neil has fun as a broadcaster and that can be contagious.
paul2_zoom

David Cone does everything right. Has fun. Still his tenure in the booth is less wonderful. I think its his soft voice, in part, and I don’t prefer the nickname he uses when he works with Ken Singleton. He should call him “Kenny”. “Singy” is just awful. It is a weak and unimpressive way to address someone who was (as were almost all of these guys) a highly accomplished baseball player.

The best group in the booth was – Frank Messer, the consummate professional baseball broadcaster, Phil Rizzuto, the loveable homer, and Bill White the classy insider who never took himself too seriously.

My preferred group of Yankee broadcasters currently would be Ken Singleton, Al Lieter and Paul O’Neil.

p1_leiter paul_oneill_number_21_2 KenSingleton2

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My (next) day in court

July 17th, 2009 by Max

So there I was Thursday July 2, in court again. Its true I was supposed to be in court the previous Thursday – and I’d just spaced on it. This was for the traffic ticket for avoiding the deer and hitting the guard rail. Illegal lane change.

Kelvin graciously agreed to accompany me. Kept me distracted while I waited. And I knew I would be the last one called. I’ve been to traffic court a few times now. I’m always the last one called.

This was an ADA day. There were guys in chains. Wait a minute I thought this was traffic court!? At one point one of the accused felon’s bail was set. The judge handed a paper to the cop who was walking the perp. The cop leaned up accept the paper over the substantial bench behind which the judge, alone, handled all documents including making such copies as were necessary.

Now the thing about this cop leaning forward, was his gun was on his left hip, in a holster, which had no strap and no snap. I’m no gun guy, but it looked like a 45 to me. The perp, hands cuffed in front of him and standing to the left of the cop … reached out and grabbed the cops gun, pointed it at him, demanded and was granted that his handcuffs be released – and had himself an escape.

Ok. That part wasn’t true, but it could have been because the cop swung the gun right in front of the perp’s hands. Made me a little nervous.

At the end of the day, the judge said that since I was there and the cop who had written the ticket wasn’t there, if it was alright with me he’d dismiss the charges. I agreed.

Kelvin and I went back to town and celebrated with ice cream.

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I think its a Northern Harrier

July 15th, 2009 by Max

Ok. Maybe they’re not the greatest pictures, but I rarely see a harrier and I was in the car shooting out the passenger side window. This bird was being harassed by smaller birds probably red wing blackbirds.

I had to look at the pictures to tell what it was I had seen.

Posted in Arts, My New York, Photos, Science | No Comments »

I love to watch the Google adds …

July 14th, 2009 by Max

Let’s see what this develops!

Porcupine! Sex on the beach. Quadrotriticale. “Oh the lips, these lips have kissed”. Baseball All-Star game. 47 miles of barbed wire. Dick Cheney. Investigate. War Crimes. Secret secrecy. Made up his own classification of secrecy “treat as if secret”. Doesn’t agree with his own argument that he is part of the Congress!

Did you ever imagine a horizontal line across Cheney’s eyes and another one across his mouth and how they would intersect just beyond his left ear? I mean lets face it the man’s politics aren’t the only thing that’s crooked about him.

Ooops. I got way off track.

So here’s the game. Soupbowl. Boomarang. Marinara. Slider. Tiger Woods.

What will the adds be around this post?

Posted in Blogroll, Fun | 2 Comments »

More of my favorite dancer

July 12th, 2009 by Max

Or at least one of two!

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Ok, so sue me. I just liked it, alright?

July 10th, 2009 by Max

The first time through, just watch this one with your eyes closed. Yes its 6 minutes long. Take a break and just listen. Then watch, at least the beginning again.

via videosift.com

http://www.perpetuumjazzile.com

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Obama Administration May Curb Oil Futures Speculation!!!

July 8th, 2009 by Max

New York Times
Published: July 7, 2009
WASHINGTON — Reacting to the violent swings in oil prices in recent months, federal regulators announced on Tuesday that they were considering new restrictions on “speculative” traders in markets for oil, natural gas and other energy products.

The move is a big departure from the hands-off approach to market regulation of the last two decades. It also highlights a broader shift toward tougher government oversight under President Obama.

Since Mr. Obama took office, the Justice Department has stepped up antitrust enforcement activities, abandoning many legal doctrines adopted by the Bush administration.

The Obama administration is also proposing an overhaul of financial regulation that would include tougher capital requirements for big banks, tighter regulation of hedge funds and a new consumer protection agency with broad power to regulate credit cards, mortgages and other consumer lending.

In the case of oil and gas trading, regulators made it clear that they were willing to move, without waiting for Congress to act on Mr. Obama’s overhaul, invoking their existing powers.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said it would consider imposing volume limits on trading of energy futures by purely financial investors and that it already has adopted tougher information requirements aimed at identifying the role of hedge funds and traders who swap contracts outside of regulated exchanges like the New York Mercantile Exchange.

for the rest of this article go here
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/business/08cftc.html?hp

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The news

July 7th, 2009 by Max

1. Al Franken has finally, officially, and shamefully late, been admitted to the United States Senate. Norm Coleman? Good riddance. Minnesota, they say he gave up just so that he could run for governor. Don’t elect him. Speaking of Governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty could have certified this election months ago. I’m not one to normally cry conspiracy – but I have to ask myself if national Republican leaders weren’t asking Pawlenty to hold off on certifying this election so as to slow down Pres. Obama’s Health Care initiative.

2. President Obama is talking to the Russians. I forgot, this is bad why?

3. The United States has officially pulled out of the cities in Iraq. There was an elevation of violence in the country. Probably related. It seems as though these two things are related. Its hard to tell from what is on tv. Did you know Michael Jackson died?

4. Michael Jackson died. 500 million people hit the web site that was setup for this event. Could this be possible? He is seemingly going to be sanctified now. Is this possible?

5. David Carradine died. Ed McMahon died. Deaths come in threes. Oh yeah, Farrah Fawcett died and Billy Mays died too.

6. Oil prices continue to rise despite demand declining and supplies gushing. Could bank speculation still be involved?

7. Unemployment continues to rise. Now at 9.5%.

8. Kramer says the stock market has bottomed out. Yay?

9. Sarah Palin resigns. She said she’s doing it for the good of Alaska. And we believe her.
9a. Supplimental prediction for my annual predictions. Sarah Palin will make a ton of money doing speaking engagements, then she will work for Fox News, then she will run for President. Probably in 2016. She will lose.

10. South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford went missing for 5 days, claimed he was walking the Appalachin Trail, only to be caught with an Argentine mistress. see also David Vitter, John Ensign recently. And yes – Bill Clinton and Elliot Spitzer.

11. Porn production is down: “Mr. Fishbein [Paul Fishbein, president of the AVN Media Network, an industry trade publication] estimated that pornographic DVD sales and rentals in the United States generated $3.62 billion in 2006 but had fallen as much as 50 percent since then. He says the slump has made some companies reluctant to share sales figures, so his estimates are getting rougher.” – NY Times
Alright. Its not all big news – but how often do I get “porn” into my blog?

12. Obama honors gays. Does not sign order allowing gays in the military however. Personally I never wanted to be in the military. But having heard the number of Arabic speaking people who have been removed from the military for their sexual orientation, at the risk of losing badly needed skills, I have to say let them in. PDA is outlawed in the military anyway right? So its the same for all people. So many of these Republicans like Cheney avoided the draft. While these gay Americans with desperately needed skills want to get in. We should let them. President Obama should let them. Lets ask them to join and tell them we’re proud.

13. And as for Civil Unions. Here is the answer I’ve been searching for: I’ve said in the past that the only real difference between marriage and gay marriage should be the name. Well I had it almost right. I think I heard this from Chris Matthews, or at least on his show first:
Every union should be a civil union. (No, I mean legally!) It is a “contract”. Right. The marriage contract? And then if a religious official wants to “Marry” them, in the eyes of god, that’s up to the religious denomination. This would separate Church and state and once and for all remove the religious from being “state actors” in the eyes of the law. All civil unions would be legal and legally binding on all the states. And any state that wanted to outlaw a gay marriage, could do so with impunity, because “marriage” as a religious institution would have no legal implications! QED. Clean and right and proper.

14. The New York State Legislature is either a band of raving idiots or a pre-school. Either way they ALL should be voted out of office. Seriously. If you don’t think that a random selection of literate New Yorkers could do better than this troop … well I just disagree. Really. Seriously. Vote them ALL out. Yes. Even your guy, New Yorkers. Let’s start clean!

15. The polar ice caps are getting smaller. Is anyone still disputing that?

Posted in Politics, Social Commentaries | 9 Comments »

My NY More of the beautiful houses

July 7th, 2009 by Max

These kind of ended up in the reverse order of which I would prefer. Even the No Outlet house has something to speak for it. I think because they are well maintained and the light was good they caught my eye.

Posted in Arts, My New York, Photos | No Comments »