For once, being somewhat observant of the Sabbath
For the first time in some time, I plan to do nothing on this Saturday that involves going anywhere, watching a movie in a theater, dining out, playing trivia and so on. This is my day to rest. If I were to write out how I would be best served by this day, it would involve sleeping in (which I did) followed by a post-breakfast nap. Then after awakening for lunch and enjoying it, I'd probably go back to bed for awhile or just zone out in front of the television. Then tonight I'd go to bed early.
That probably won't happen. I'll doze somewhere in the day and get in a nap. I will probably go to bed a bit earlier than normal. But I just don't sleep the number of hours I'd like to on days like this anymore. Back in the day when my workaholic habits left me in serious sleep debt, on a day I was completely off, I might sleep 12 or 13 hours. Not anymore.
Fortunately the restorative power of a hot shower cannot be overstated. Well, it could be but I won't do so. I'll just mention that after taking one I feel much better.
Things I'm pondering on a Saturday late in the morning include:
Are the Unabomber and Christopher Dorner brothers from another mother?
Do bad ideas become good ideas because time passes? The useless politician currently carrying the title of Mayor of Los Angeles is supporting a ballot initiative next month that would raise the sales tax within the city limits to 9.5% from its current astronomical already level of 9%. Mayor Completely Useless says the ballot increase is to pay for the increased number of LAPD officers. But 8 years ago, when then Mayor Jim "Mostly Useless" Hahn tried to do the same thing, Villiarigosa blocked the measure. So he's done a 180 on the subject. If I'm going to spend $1,000 on something I need and I can get the same price for it in say Westminster, where the sales tax rate is "only" 8%, the $15 I'm going to save may or may not send me there to buy it. But if I'm buying a $30,000 automobile and we're talking about a savings of $450, I'm going to factor that sales tax rate into my choice of which dealership to go to.
Or perhaps let me offer another example. If I live in the portion of West Los Angeles that borders Santa Monica, and my sales tax rate at the Ralph's at Barrington and Olympic is 9.5%, but I can pay only 9% by going to Ralphs at Olympic and Cloverfield, that's not going to influence one shopping trip. But if I've got a family of four and I'm spending $200 a week on groceries, that's $50 a year. Add in gas at a station in Los Angeles versus Santa Monica and there are more savings to be captured. In a time of economic struggle, saving a few hundred bucks a year is an incentive to pay attention to things like this. Multiply that by all of the people who can save that money by driving four to six blocks more to alternative merchants and it adds up quickly. Ralph's won't care, but small businesses who have competition nearby will suffer.
Why is it the bad guys in movies or TV shows always tell the good guy they've captured what their plan is, just before they plan to kill him (or her)? Just kill em. But no, they have to know the plan so when they cleverly escape, they can foil that plan. When done well, it's borderline. When done poorly, it's cheesy enough to be used as a topping for a pizza.
An ex-girlfriend of fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner has described him as "emotionally disturbed". Now there's a news flash. But what I'm wondering is why the media continues to try to get people to read his manifesto, while redacting names from it. They're reporting news. They aren't making Dorner's claims or statements about people, they're reporting what he said.
A casino worker in the Sacramento area is making news because she found $10,000 in cash in the restroom and turned it in. When its rightful owner got it back, she got a $500 tip. I'm not surprised that she was honest, or that the owner of the cash tipped her. I'm shocked that someone managed to be dumb enough or drunk enough to leave 100 hundred dollar bills in a restroom. Was there some reason to not put the cash in your pocket or purse while you answered nature's call?
Rex Reed has been around long enough to know you don't take pot-shots at the weight/size of an actress in a review of her performance. But he did just that with this weekend's new film "Identity Thief" and its female lead Melissa McCarthy. Now he's paying the price and he's strangely reticent about it on his Twitter feed.
It must be a really tough balancing act to have fame and celebrity and then deal with autograph requests from the fans who gave you those things. And yes, they gave them to you. You may be the most talented person in the world in whatever it is you do and did to gain fame and celebrity, but without the fans who recognized and were willing to pay to partake of your talents, you'd be nothing. So when someone like Stevie Nicks blows off all of the fans who waited patiently to get her signature outside a film premiere, or Derek Jeter practically humiliates the fans trying to get his autograph, you have to wonder about how hard that act of balancing is.
It would bring their life to a halt if they were to sign everything they're asked to sign. But not signing at all isn't an answer either. It is rude and disrespectful.
I know the answer to my own pondering on this one, but it is still mildly amusing to me. In the movie "Arthur", Sir John Gielgud's character says this to Liza Minelli's character:
http://www.wavsource.com/snds_2013-02-03_4016159546319204/movies/misc/arthur_bowling.wav
It dawned on me a few days ago this explains Charlie Sheen's predilection with bowling shirts.
This Date in History:
On this date in 1825, after no candidate got a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.
On this date in 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected Provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
On this date in 1870, President Grant signed a joint resolution of Congress, establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau.
On this date in 1889, President Cleveland signed a bill elevating the Department of Agriculture to a Cabinet-level agency.
On this date in 1895, William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which will become what we know as volleyball.
On this date in 1900, the Davis Cup tennis competition is established.
On this date in 1943, the island of Guadalcanal is secured as the Battle of Guadalcanal ends with the evacuation of the remaining Japanese forces. From what I've read, only the Battle of Iwo Jima saw more men awarded the Medal of Honor than the 11 who earned that medal in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
On this date in 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy accused the U.S. State Department of being filled with Communists.
On this date in 1951, a battalion of South Korean Army troops engaged in the Massacre of Geochang, killing over 700 unarmed civilians.
On this date in 1959, the first InterContinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), the R-7 Semyorka, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR.
On this date in 1964, the Beatles make their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.
On this date in 1971, the Sylmar earthquake strikes the Los Angeles area.
Also on this date in 1971, Apollo 14 returned to Earth after its mission to the Moon.
On this date in 1991, voters in Lithuania vote for independence. You can learn a little more about this by seeing the wonderful documentary film "The Other Dream Team".
Famous folk born on this date:
Thomas Paine
William Henry Harrison (U.S. President who spent the shortest amount of time in office)
Carmen Miranda (her headgear was born later)
Dean Rusk (Secretary of State)
Joe Pesci
Mia Farrow
Vince Papale (see the film "Invincible")
Travis Tritt
Amber Valleta
Vladimir Guerrero
Zhang Ziyi
That probably won't happen. I'll doze somewhere in the day and get in a nap. I will probably go to bed a bit earlier than normal. But I just don't sleep the number of hours I'd like to on days like this anymore. Back in the day when my workaholic habits left me in serious sleep debt, on a day I was completely off, I might sleep 12 or 13 hours. Not anymore.
Fortunately the restorative power of a hot shower cannot be overstated. Well, it could be but I won't do so. I'll just mention that after taking one I feel much better.
Things I'm pondering on a Saturday late in the morning include:
Are the Unabomber and Christopher Dorner brothers from another mother?
Do bad ideas become good ideas because time passes? The useless politician currently carrying the title of Mayor of Los Angeles is supporting a ballot initiative next month that would raise the sales tax within the city limits to 9.5% from its current astronomical already level of 9%. Mayor Completely Useless says the ballot increase is to pay for the increased number of LAPD officers. But 8 years ago, when then Mayor Jim "Mostly Useless" Hahn tried to do the same thing, Villiarigosa blocked the measure. So he's done a 180 on the subject. If I'm going to spend $1,000 on something I need and I can get the same price for it in say Westminster, where the sales tax rate is "only" 8%, the $15 I'm going to save may or may not send me there to buy it. But if I'm buying a $30,000 automobile and we're talking about a savings of $450, I'm going to factor that sales tax rate into my choice of which dealership to go to.
Or perhaps let me offer another example. If I live in the portion of West Los Angeles that borders Santa Monica, and my sales tax rate at the Ralph's at Barrington and Olympic is 9.5%, but I can pay only 9% by going to Ralphs at Olympic and Cloverfield, that's not going to influence one shopping trip. But if I've got a family of four and I'm spending $200 a week on groceries, that's $50 a year. Add in gas at a station in Los Angeles versus Santa Monica and there are more savings to be captured. In a time of economic struggle, saving a few hundred bucks a year is an incentive to pay attention to things like this. Multiply that by all of the people who can save that money by driving four to six blocks more to alternative merchants and it adds up quickly. Ralph's won't care, but small businesses who have competition nearby will suffer.
Why is it the bad guys in movies or TV shows always tell the good guy they've captured what their plan is, just before they plan to kill him (or her)? Just kill em. But no, they have to know the plan so when they cleverly escape, they can foil that plan. When done well, it's borderline. When done poorly, it's cheesy enough to be used as a topping for a pizza.
An ex-girlfriend of fugitive ex-cop Christopher Dorner has described him as "emotionally disturbed". Now there's a news flash. But what I'm wondering is why the media continues to try to get people to read his manifesto, while redacting names from it. They're reporting news. They aren't making Dorner's claims or statements about people, they're reporting what he said.
A casino worker in the Sacramento area is making news because she found $10,000 in cash in the restroom and turned it in. When its rightful owner got it back, she got a $500 tip. I'm not surprised that she was honest, or that the owner of the cash tipped her. I'm shocked that someone managed to be dumb enough or drunk enough to leave 100 hundred dollar bills in a restroom. Was there some reason to not put the cash in your pocket or purse while you answered nature's call?
Rex Reed has been around long enough to know you don't take pot-shots at the weight/size of an actress in a review of her performance. But he did just that with this weekend's new film "Identity Thief" and its female lead Melissa McCarthy. Now he's paying the price and he's strangely reticent about it on his Twitter feed.
It must be a really tough balancing act to have fame and celebrity and then deal with autograph requests from the fans who gave you those things. And yes, they gave them to you. You may be the most talented person in the world in whatever it is you do and did to gain fame and celebrity, but without the fans who recognized and were willing to pay to partake of your talents, you'd be nothing. So when someone like Stevie Nicks blows off all of the fans who waited patiently to get her signature outside a film premiere, or Derek Jeter practically humiliates the fans trying to get his autograph, you have to wonder about how hard that act of balancing is.
It would bring their life to a halt if they were to sign everything they're asked to sign. But not signing at all isn't an answer either. It is rude and disrespectful.
I know the answer to my own pondering on this one, but it is still mildly amusing to me. In the movie "Arthur", Sir John Gielgud's character says this to Liza Minelli's character:
http://www.wavsource.com/snds_2013-02-03_4016159546319204/movies/misc/arthur_bowling.wav
It dawned on me a few days ago this explains Charlie Sheen's predilection with bowling shirts.
This Date in History:
On this date in 1825, after no candidate got a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.
On this date in 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected Provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
On this date in 1870, President Grant signed a joint resolution of Congress, establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau.
On this date in 1889, President Cleveland signed a bill elevating the Department of Agriculture to a Cabinet-level agency.
On this date in 1895, William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which will become what we know as volleyball.
On this date in 1900, the Davis Cup tennis competition is established.
On this date in 1943, the island of Guadalcanal is secured as the Battle of Guadalcanal ends with the evacuation of the remaining Japanese forces. From what I've read, only the Battle of Iwo Jima saw more men awarded the Medal of Honor than the 11 who earned that medal in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
On this date in 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy accused the U.S. State Department of being filled with Communists.
On this date in 1951, a battalion of South Korean Army troops engaged in the Massacre of Geochang, killing over 700 unarmed civilians.
On this date in 1959, the first InterContinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), the R-7 Semyorka, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR.
On this date in 1964, the Beatles make their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show.
On this date in 1971, the Sylmar earthquake strikes the Los Angeles area.
Also on this date in 1971, Apollo 14 returned to Earth after its mission to the Moon.
On this date in 1991, voters in Lithuania vote for independence. You can learn a little more about this by seeing the wonderful documentary film "The Other Dream Team".
Famous folk born on this date:
Thomas Paine
William Henry Harrison (U.S. President who spent the shortest amount of time in office)
Carmen Miranda (her headgear was born later)
Dean Rusk (Secretary of State)
Joe Pesci
Mia Farrow
Vince Papale (see the film "Invincible")
Travis Tritt
Amber Valleta
Vladimir Guerrero
Zhang Ziyi
posted by me at 2:43 PM
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