While putting together my thoughts on the recent tragedy in Florida. I had many things flash through this feeble mind. We had the shock of another terrible loss of young lives. We had the “STUDENT ACTOR”. We had the Scripted Interviews. We had the usual MEDIA SPIN. We had the Anti Gunners. We had the Pro-Gunners. We had the Sheriff’s men who failed to enter the school. So let us look at these things. First the Shooter. Had he not lost his parents at such a tender age, would he not have acted the way he did. It appears that his adoptive family, noticed he was troubled. According to reports the local constabulary, even the FBI, had concerns about the mental/emotional stability of Nineteen (19) year old Nikolas Cruz, EVEN the school personnel had concerns. They expelled him. I have not read or heard anything where these people tried to get him help. Had they tried to get him help, would it have possibly detoured this terrible event. Probably, maybe not. We don’t know. BUT, it would have been worth a try. Should he have had guns. Given his background reports we have seen; NO! BUT, there is always a but; I believe this to be where the LAW should have impounded his guns, until further investigation, and psychic evaluation was attained. BUT, WAIT ! He did have grenades. Where did these come from? I am sure they are harder to get than guns. Aren’t they? Seems they should be. Now the student and teacher population of this School. It is always a bad sign for our future when innocent young people needlessly lose their lives. Seventeen, 17, lives. I would not want my children exposed to this. Nor to the pain of those who were at the school or worse witnessed the unfortunate incident. I know of no Teacher who leaves for school thinking I may be killed at work today. Who knows what emotional and/or mental damage may have been done. We all know the MEDIA, has a penchant to SLANT the news the way they want it. How many times have you watched political events, or anything, only to have the NEWS MEDIA, say “Now let US tell you what you really heard”. ? I remember learning in grade school, then having my newspaper editor reinforce. A reporter tells WHO, is in the story. WHAT, is the story. WHEN, the event occurred. WHY, did the event occur. The WHY, becomes the gray area. You have heard of sport team announcers getting fired because they said something the OWNER found to be derogatory to the team. Players get fined, for the same thing. It most probably is TRUE. BUT, are contrary to what the BOSS wants. The same is true with reporters, They may disagree with management, BUT, (see here it is again; I wonder how many times I will use it today), THEIR JOB maybe on the line. Some may simply state their opinions, (NOT FACTS), In other words they EDITORIALIZE. NOTE: Editorialize is what I do. After all this BLOG is for MY OPINIONS. I share them with you as MY opinions. Not hardcore news. (See the difference) Is the media above scripting interviews. NO happens quite often. Are the anti-gunners above hiring actors to further their propaganda. SURE ARE. How about the Pro-gunners. Could be. Probably do. But I prefer to think They would be ABOVE taking advantage of such an event as this. One thing ANTI-GUNNERS are quick to point out is “Law enforcement is only a call away”. In this case they were just OUTSIDE the door. THEY WERE A LOT OF HELP. Had teachers been able to have guns….Would that have altered the outcome? Hard to tell. I am not sure I would be able to pull the trigger. I think I would be more inclined to pull that trigger to protect someone else (KIDS) than I would be to protect myself. BUT, I am sure if it was him or me, I would choose ME. What I am saying is; if it were just me and him, I would most likely not go hunt him. BUT, if he came hunting for me. DEFINITELY ME. Back to the Law Enforcement Officers. YOU CANNOT COUNT ON THEM. My own experience. 1. I had a motorcycle stolen off my front porch. I called the police. I was told; “ASK YOUR NEIGHBORS IF THEY SAW ANYTHING”. ” COME TO THE STATION AND FILL OUT A REPORT”. 2. My High School son was threatened that he would be shot when he walked out of the school, (a disagreement about a girl), I called the cops. I was told, “Just one of those teenage things. You probably should pick him up and take him home after school”. 3. I had my Mustang convertible top slashed, the dash destroyed. My truck window smashed and the stereos stolen from both. Witnesses knew who did it. The Cops knocked on the culprits door, and said, “Did you steal those radios’? He said, “No”. The cops said okay. That was all there was to it. 4. While watching a friends property while he was away. One of his relatives called said he had received a threat of vandalism to the property at some time soon. I called our local County Mounties. “It will be some time before we can get there”, they said. It took me about a half hour to get there. No damage yet. One (1) hour passed. No County Mounties. After waiting another half hour, I called again. “We haven’t dispatched anyone to that location yet” Yeah. Right. The Law is only a few minutes away. HA,HA. The Right to Bear Arms is a constitutional right. A Right that state shall not be infringed upon. That means NO ONE can stop you from legally owning or carrying a gun. There have been exceptions made. Felons, people with a misdemeanor of domestic battery, mental disorders, or if so adjudicated by a judge. Driving is… Continue reading Parkland High School Shooting Thoughts
Category: Movies
The Native American Mascot GENOCIDE !!
GENOCIDE The DELIBERATE and SYSTEMATIC EXTERMINATION of a National, Political, Racial, or CULTURAL GROUP. It appears to me the “MEDIA”, has triggered a movement to eradicate the MEMORY, of our Native American Culture. We now see few movies featuring the “INDIAN”. Westerns we all watched, most of the time, featured the Indian in a fashion that could be interpreted in a bad light. The Massacre of Custer’s troops. Attacking wagon trains, etc. etc. Then we also had the ones which showed the other side the “Indians” who worked as Scouts for the Calvary. SACAGAWEA, Who was instrumental in the movement to push the boundaries of the United States to the Pacific Ocean. Without her, the USA may have ended at the Mississippi River. Let’s not forget the “INDIANS” who befriended the first SETTLERS, and saved their live by teaching them how to grow keeps in this “Untamed Land”. We had Tonto, faithful companion to The Lone Ranger, NOT just a companion, BUT actually his life saver. And many more. In reality many of us wanted to be the “INDIAN” when we played Cowboys and “INDIANS”. We admired the family values, they depicted. We appreciated their courage. Their tenacity to hold on to their Land and way of LIFE. WHO? Among us would not FIGHT to defend our LAND, OUR WAY OF LIFE. We took away their Land, Food, and most likely their dignity. We moved them around, for our convenience. Put them on little parcels of land called RESERVATIONS. Before we came this whole country was theirs. They welcomed us with open arms, and we treated them badly. Now the NCAA and PRO Sports, even our Primary Schools, are wanting to abolish the use of any reference of the “INDIAN”. I know of a small town about 20 miles from where I live, began as an “INDIAN” village. The school there taught them our ways, and took their name as the school’s nickname. Thanks to school consolidation, the town has only an elementary school, but still carries the “INDIAN” name. The meaning has several interpretations today, from the native name of a type of TREE, to what they called EELS. HISTORY LOST. But ask any of the alumni, or any of the townspeople. They are proud of the that name regardless of what it means. By removing the last remnants, the team NICKNAMES, and MASCOTS; the GENOCIDE, of our Native Americans will move closer to being nothing more than a footnote in history. These Mascots, (even if not exactly accurate), remind of the American Heritage. There were many Tribes. Few of us know more than a handful of their names. But with the Colleges, Pro, and Primary Schools, we find our last tributes, to the brave native people who settled here long before “”AMERICANS”‘, thought of coming here. What people are missing is this. The names were given with respect and admiration. Whether, like the nickname of the school previously mentioned, (remember the tree, or eel, or whatever it meant). Or a local tribe, or chief, or warrior. They remain as a reminder, lest we forget… If you have noticed I used quotation marks each time I wrote “INDIAN”. American should be used. The word “INDIAN” came about because Chris Columbus thought he was in INDIA. In conclusion, I think removing these last few reminders, of the REAL American, would be an absolute tragedy. That Is How I See It. Post Views: 120
Unmarked Police Cars
Just a short post I just watched a video on YAHOO.com. I found extremely informative, and thought provoking. The video was of a man pulling over a Washington state police officer. Citing a State law which prohibits the use of UNMARKED POLICE VEHICLES being used as patrol cars. Stating that unmarked cars are usable in undercover investigations. The point that was brought up is…A citizen cannot know if he is being pulled over by an authorized police officer, or a stalker, or a serial killer. (to go from one comparison point to another). In the state i live in we have had numerous incidences, ( specially unescorted women), being pulled over by a predator, or cop want to be, by cars MARKED as police cars. Now you throw in the UNMARKED car issue. So how do you know if you should pull over. Just because a car has the lights, which can be bought by it seems anyone. You have seen them in movies, car shows,etc., doesn’t mean there is a rel reason, or a real cop behind the wheel. Yet if you don’t stop then you are accused of resisting a police officer. Pull over in a well lit public spot? I have been on roads where I might travel 30-40 miles before I find a spot like this. You know by this time if the cop is real he is going to have an army of fellow officers after me. I will be charged with fleeing law enforcement. We know we do have officers, though few in the overall number of police officers, who would fall in this category of predatory behavior. I do recall the times when a Town Clown, (town cop), would camp outside someones home and wait for them to leave so they could stop them for loud muffler violations. I know of a man who did drink too much, BUT city cops would wait about a block from the bar he visited and wait for him to leave. I knew they were waiting and told him to stay his regular time, but only drink Coke. He did. They pulled him over almost as soon as he pulled out of his parking spot. Ha! Ha! Joke was on them. Another time a friend of mine was 5 minutes from his house when pulled over. They gave him a breath test, and he passed it. They held him there for 20 minutes, by then the alcohol had apparently entered his blood stream and he failed. Off to jail. in our state we had a ,I think state police officer, who was convicted of murder 2 times. (Same Murder). Yet he was granted a 3rd trial, with the stipulation that the convicting evidence in the first 2 rials could not be used. Like I said these are hopefully few and far between. In closing I would like to go record as being a proponent for discontinuing use of unmarked patrol cars for police use. This I do in the name of Citizen Safety. That Is How I See It. Below is a link to the video. Whether it will still be up when you check it… I don’t know. I know they usually only have these things up for a short period of time. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/citizen-pulls-over-police-officer-193834583.html Post Views: 109
Mark Twain Humor Award
Will Farrel to receive award. I cannot bring myself to even put Will Ferrel and name of the person whose name is on the award in the same sentence. I feel it a slap in the face of Mark Twain for the above mentioned person to receive an award associated with him. Other than getting naked in films. What has Will Farrel done. I love comedy, watch as many comedies as I can. But not even one time has Farrel made me laugh not a chuckle, not even a tee hee. I know there are other recipients who I have felt the same way. I suppose there are enough of those people who are comedy depraved that would disagree with me. I don’t care. I have a keen sense of humor, that is not off color or in any way jaded. I realize the younger crowd sees things differently. We have the generation of you owe me. The digital game generation who sit and play games all day, and night. These people unfortunately have never been exposed to real comedy and don’t know it when they see it. Well I suppose these are your days, regardless of what you don’t know. That Is How I See It. Post Views: 127
A Tribute To Tom Carnegie Voice of IMS
Growing up in Indiana, I remember Tom Carnegie fondly. Mr. Carnegie was ONE of a kind person, in his field. Mr. Carnegie, was the son of Baptist minister, and made many moves in his youth. Born Carl Kenagy in Norwalk Connecticut on Sept 25 1919. He died Feb. 11, 2011, a resident of Zionsville Indiana. Just a few miles Northwest of Indianapolis. He graduated in 1942 from William Jewel College, (located Liberty Missouri) where he played baseball until a polio-like illness sidelined him his Junior year, with partial paralysis of a leg. At that time he turned to extemporaneous speech and debate competitions. He entered a Sports Radio competition, (which he won). As the son of Baptist minister they moved around often Mr. Carnegie credits his years in Iowa listening to Ronald Reagan doing sport broadcasting as his inspiration to enter the sports broadcasting field. Upon graduating from William Jewel College in 1942, he accepted a position at Fort Wayne Indiana as a sports announcer. During his tenure in Fort Wayne he became the broadcast announcer for the then Fort Wayne Pistons. No the Pistons were not always in Detroit, Mr. Carnegie later accepted a position in Indianapolis Indiana. It was during this time Tom Carnegie would announce Antique Car Shows. During one of these events in 1946 he was approached by Tony Hulman, the new owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Mr. Hulman asked Tom Carnegie if he would be the PA announcer for the track. Tom accepted and worked approximately 16 years without pay. His popular catch phrases included during a qualifying attempt was “…..aaannnd heeees’s ON IT”. Following a very successful attempt it was “….iiiiittttt’s a nnnnneeeeew traaaack record”. And unfortunately for Mario Andretti it was “…..and Mario is slowing down on the backstretch.” In 1953 he became the sports director for WFBM, now WRTV . A position he held until his retirement in 1985. Nor only did he announce the races, he also announced the Indiana high school Basketball Tournament, held at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Butler University Campus. Even before it was renamed in honor Butler’s long time coach Tony Hinkle. Mr. Carnegie also had movie credits in the movie HOOSIERS in which (get this he played a PA announcer for the final game). My family made it annual tradition to travel to Speedway Indiana to witness at least one day of qualifying for the Indy 500. I remember how his vocal tone and cadence came across the archaic Pa system so clearly. I also remember how when someone else tried to relieve him and you could barely make out a word here or there. He truly was gifted. Knowing that someday Mr. Carnegie would need replaced the speedway began updating the PA system. I met the legend once. I found him to be an unassuming and personable man. Although our meeting lasted only a few minutes. I asked him, (because it was quite cold with a light drizzle that day, and he was in his eighties at the time), we all had on winter coats. My question was “Why are you down here on the track instead of in one of the heated enclosed booths”? His reply was, “I want to experience the event the same way the fans do.” Well that is about all I know about Carl “TOM” Carnegie. I don’t know if Tom was even a given name or just an assumed name for professional reasons. I do know that he is a LEGEND in sports announcing. And will be greatly missed. That Is How I See It Post Views: 116
Awards Shows
How many of you watch or even pay attention to awards shows. NOT ME. It has been my observation that the shows or actors/actresses. I think now it is more political correct to call the female actresses actors. What ever that has to do with it. If they are to be called actors then why have two categories. Just have best actor. Back to my original thought. I can only remember one BEST PICTURE, award that I could agree with. Most of the nominated pictures, I would not even watch on TV for free. Most of the TV shows nominated I only watched once and they stunk up the screen so badly I never watched them again. This is so true with all awards shows. I can’t understand anyone watching them. ACTORS. It has been proven that anyone can act. Unfortunately it seem the worst of the group is the ones who get the nominations. (Not always, just almost always). I truly believe these awards are merely a scam to stimulate interest in bad entertainment to put it loosely. As far as movies, I LOVE good movies. I can’t count the movies I have watched. I used to go 2-3 times a week, for many more weeks than I can count. I have never seen a remake that was better than the original. Wait, I do think the Dracula movies from the 50’s or 60’s (whatever the years were) was better than the one with Bela Lugosi. But that was due to the advances made in film effects. As a fan of the older movies. Face it. We no longer have the caliber of a John Wayne, Percy Kilbride, Francis the Talking Mule, Clark Gable, or Spencer Tracey. Actresses, like Audrey Hepburn, Kathryn Hepburn, Sophia Loren, or Marjorie Main. So many of the actors just sort of walk through their lines. I’m surprised that Refrigerator Perry didn’t made more movies. He could walk through them just like Leonardo DiCaprio. Probably the best job he did was on Romper Room, which he was kicked off for being disruptive. Actually best job he did was “Catch me If you Can” Very worst was in Growing Pains. But he was just a kid. I don’t know what happened in “Catch Me If You Can” Great performance. Rest is all downhill. That Is How I See It. Post Views: 152
Dying Cities/Towns
Growing up in a rural area, I remember traveling to our county seat. (The Big City). At that time they had they had 2 drive in theaters. 3 root beer stands, A DQ, 3 indoor theaters, a roller skating rink. Two bowling alleys. A Borden’s milk delivery service, a Maplehurst milk delivery service, a bread delivery service. For you who don’t know what these were, Milk and bread were delivered directly to your door. The biggest high school in the county, with 6 grade schools. They, unlike our rural schools, even had kindergarten. They had 2 pool rooms, and about 5 drug stores. Not like your Walgreens or CVS, etc. These were small stores where they also had fountains for you to get sodas and ice cream and sit around and talk. Very popular with the tweens, and teens. Downtown had 3 hotels. Large ones. Two or three book stores. Large factories, Enough to employ a large portion of the county residents. A YMCA, a Boys Club, that had actually fees that were low enough that any boy could belong, Not like the rich kids country club they now call the BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB. Fees were like $5 , now I believe it costs about $25-$30 each. It was located where kids could walk to after school, and have fun. The leagues they had set up cost about another $5 to join. (this was just to cover the T-Shirts to separate the teams. Now it cost about $40 plus for the same events. The kids have to walk about 2-3 miles to get to the club (which is located across the street from the county jailhouse. Now the multiiple hard ware stores and lumber companies have been replaced by 1 Home Depot. No more root beer stands, no skating rink, 1 bowling alley, Which is so expensive I can no longer afford to bowl. I used to bowl 2l leagues, Tuesday, and Thursday, 1 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Saturday and Sunday were reserved for pot bowling and tourneys. Many closed Factories, and high unemployment. Thanks to Wal*Mart (our only place to shop, As they cut prices until competition run out of town. Now we pay more for items than in towns/cities where Wal*Mart has competition. Theye used to have a gas station on about every corner, they actually came out pumped your gas, checked your oil, tire pressure, and washed your windows. If needed they repaired your car, washed it, and fixed flats. Now they have lost most of the Industries. Lost all of the entertainments, they had. Closed about half of the schools. People moving out because there is no jobs to be had. The Electric Company just announced that their revenues are down because there is so many vacant houses, and the loss of industry, and business. To stay in business they will have to raise their rates. The factories, that are left are paying less because there is more demand for jobs than jobs available. The only thing there is more of is Motels, and eating establishments, (mostly fast foot). When I want a good meal I have to travel about 30 miles to eat. Oh yes. The local and only hospital has just announced there will be no more births at their facility because they could not justify the 13 employees they had. So now if you live in this area you will have to drive 30 t0 40 miles to have your baby born in a hospital. The town has so many empty buildings setting, just deteriorating. They would be better to adopt a plan like some of the surrounding communities. If the building sets vacant for over a year or two. The owner must have it removed. Portrait of a dying City/town. Yes they had a thriving town. Many small businesses. I remember they had 3 butcher shops. When Church was over although there were about 10 sit down restaurants, you usually had to stand in line to get a seat. That Is How I See It. Post Views: 131
Review of Yogi in 3-D
Not much to say. I always loved Yogi Bear and Boo Boo. Of course I am older now, (but I do still watch Yogi cartoons). The movie for me was a total PAN. Yogi and Boo Boo were completely out of their elements. The story line was very weak, even for a cartoon. Why did they even bother adding 3-D. For me the 3-D effects were very poorly done. This is a do not waste your money even on DVD unless your children are 3 or under That Is How I See It. Post Views: 121
Review of Burlesque
Let me first say I am not a Movie Critic. But I am movie goer. Not so much now as when I was a child. I went at least once a week and sometimes twice a week. I love movies. Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) I went to see “Burlesque” . This will be s short and direct post. The movie starring Cher and Christina Aguilera is thin on story line. The story is the typical small town girl makes good int her chosen profession. However as a Musical, or Broadway play. It rates up there among the best.. I prefer it to the likes of “Cats” which had a long run on Broadway. Cher’s performance, although I would consider it a small role, was very good, a little one dimensional, but that was her character. But, hey it is CHER. Always great. I can’t think of anyone else who could have pulled off the role as well. Christina did her role satisfactory. I could think of other actresses who could have done as well or probably better. The thing that struck me is the similarity in voices of Cher and Ms. Aguiler’s character. The mannerisms of Ally, (Aguilera’s character seemed to mimic Cher. I truly liked the music. As they used to say on American Bandstand, I liked the beat. I really didn’t pay much attention to the words. But I would buy the soundtrack. I feel “Burlesque” is the best Musical since 2002’s “Chicago” which had a much stronger all around cast. Gee it has been that long since we have had a good musical to watch. Maybe that is why I enjoyed it. I give it a 3.5 rating on a scale of 5. Like musicals? See it. This Is How I See It. Post Views: 126
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