The first work day of the last week
I can only wish that I was able to work full-time. I know that the odds of me being able to do that again in this lifetime are not good. I'm struggling to manage to work the few hours that I am working and it is taking a serious toll on me. But, I must admit that I am very happy that when this week ends, I will not work again for two full months.
Two months during which I can focus on my health. Two months during which I can try to catch up on rest. Two months where I can work on the creative writing I've mostly ignored since this past November. I wrote two film reviews on Sunday, the first time in ages I've managed to crank out more than one review on a given day. Even that wore me out.
I also managed to sit down and watch a 40 year old movie that in my mind is still excellent. "The Longest Yard" was on and I sat and watched it. Everyone remembers how good Burt Reynolds and Eddie Albert were in the film, but I really enjoyed watching the late Michael Conrad and the late Harry Caesar in their smaller, critical roles. It may not be the best prison movie ever, but it is one of the best football movies ever, and certainly the best prison football movies ever (not that there are a lot of those).
Today is the 21st anniversary of the L.A. riots. We all remember the late Rodney King. But I'll wager money few of you remember the name Arthur McDuffie. The similarities are remarkable except that McDuffie was beaten to death and only three people died in the rioting that broke out after the cops who beat him to death were acquitted. Janet Reno was the prosecutor who blew that case, although she had a fairly bad set of facts to work with. Friends of mine lost their businesses (I was stationed in the Miami area at the time). The Miami riots pre-date the L.A. riots by 12 years.
So why do we all know about King, and no one outside of Miami knows or remembers McDuffie? Video. There was no one using a video recorder to make a record of the beating death of Arthur McDuffie.
A few months ago, in the throes of boredom, I created a new profile for Match.com. Now, I get a daily email telling me that I have 24 new matches. Exactly 24 new ones, every single day. Something about that just seems strange, don't you think?
Things to ponder:
Are female identical twins still identical if only one is pregnant?
Why do some traffic lights have "countdown" meters on the walk/don't walk thing, and when they get to zero, the light goes immediately to yellow and then red, while others have a ten second or longer delay from zero to yellow to red?
Why can you gain five pounds from eating a one pound box of chocolates?
How many licks does it really take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Why is it that these map programs instruct you to make a left at a specific intersection but don't tell you that you can't make a left there from X to Y hours? (sometimes they do tell you)
There's an L.A. attorney who has eaten at 6,297 Chinese restaurants, and wants to find more to try. I wonder if he's eaten here:
It's in Florida, so he'll have to make a trip.
Former Hollywood madam, Heidi Fleiss lives in the Nevada desert with a bunch of macaws now, and doesn't have the money or time to put together her planned "stud ranch". Maybe one of the local whorehouses has a need for a part-time pimp?
This Date in History:
On this date in 711, Moorish troops landed at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian peninsula.
On this date in 1429 Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans.
On this date in 1587, Sir Francis Drake leads a raid at the Bay of Cadiz, sinking at least 23 ships of the Spanish Fleet.
On this date in 1770, James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia.
On this date in 1945, Adolf Hitler marries. He and his new bride will commit suicide the following day.
On this date in 1967, Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title, for having refused induction into the U.S. Army the previous day.
On this date in 1968, the musical "Hair" opens on Broadway.
On this date in 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces cross into Cambodia to "hunt" the Viet Cong.
On this date in 1974, President Nixon announces the release of of edited White House tape transcripts related to the Watergate scandal.
On this date in 1975, the U.S. begins evacuating U.S. citizens from Saigon.
On this date in 1992, the Los Angeles riots break out, following the acquittal of the four cops accused of beating Rodney King.
On this date in 2004, Oldsmobile builds the final car in its 107 year history.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
William Randolph Hearst
Duke Ellington
Emperor Hirohito
Celeste Holm
Rod McKeun
Luis Aparicio
Zubin Mehta
Bernie Madoff (thief)
Tommy James
Jim Ryun
Tammi Terrell
Nora Dunn
Jerry Seinfeld
Kate Mulgrew
Daniel Day-Lewis
Michelle Pfeiffer
Eve Plumb
Carnie Wilson
Andre Aggasi
Uma Thurman
Movie Quote of the Day comes from a movie released on this date in 1994, "When A Man Loves A Woman":
Michael Green: Good meeting huh? You guys drop acid or something?
Alice Green: Like I said... I'm having a really bad day and I don't mean to take it out on you.
Michael Green: What is it? You want a drink real bad?
Alice Green: That wouldn't distinguish it from any other day, Michael.
Michael Green: One of your friends fall of the wagon?
Alice Green: Nothing happened, Michael. Nothing has to happen for me to have a bad day. That's the thrilling part of all this. It just comes and hits and runs me over like a goddamn freight train.
Tax Tip of the Day:
Did you know that here in California, you can establish different numbers of withholding allowances with your employer for Federal tax withholding, and State tax withholding? If you break even with the Feds and get big refunds from the state, you can decrease just your state tax withholding by adding one or two additional allowances by filing out form DE-4.
Two months during which I can focus on my health. Two months during which I can try to catch up on rest. Two months where I can work on the creative writing I've mostly ignored since this past November. I wrote two film reviews on Sunday, the first time in ages I've managed to crank out more than one review on a given day. Even that wore me out.
I also managed to sit down and watch a 40 year old movie that in my mind is still excellent. "The Longest Yard" was on and I sat and watched it. Everyone remembers how good Burt Reynolds and Eddie Albert were in the film, but I really enjoyed watching the late Michael Conrad and the late Harry Caesar in their smaller, critical roles. It may not be the best prison movie ever, but it is one of the best football movies ever, and certainly the best prison football movies ever (not that there are a lot of those).
Today is the 21st anniversary of the L.A. riots. We all remember the late Rodney King. But I'll wager money few of you remember the name Arthur McDuffie. The similarities are remarkable except that McDuffie was beaten to death and only three people died in the rioting that broke out after the cops who beat him to death were acquitted. Janet Reno was the prosecutor who blew that case, although she had a fairly bad set of facts to work with. Friends of mine lost their businesses (I was stationed in the Miami area at the time). The Miami riots pre-date the L.A. riots by 12 years.
So why do we all know about King, and no one outside of Miami knows or remembers McDuffie? Video. There was no one using a video recorder to make a record of the beating death of Arthur McDuffie.
A few months ago, in the throes of boredom, I created a new profile for Match.com. Now, I get a daily email telling me that I have 24 new matches. Exactly 24 new ones, every single day. Something about that just seems strange, don't you think?
Things to ponder:
Are female identical twins still identical if only one is pregnant?
Why do some traffic lights have "countdown" meters on the walk/don't walk thing, and when they get to zero, the light goes immediately to yellow and then red, while others have a ten second or longer delay from zero to yellow to red?
Why can you gain five pounds from eating a one pound box of chocolates?
How many licks does it really take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?
Why is it that these map programs instruct you to make a left at a specific intersection but don't tell you that you can't make a left there from X to Y hours? (sometimes they do tell you)
There's an L.A. attorney who has eaten at 6,297 Chinese restaurants, and wants to find more to try. I wonder if he's eaten here:
It's in Florida, so he'll have to make a trip.
Former Hollywood madam, Heidi Fleiss lives in the Nevada desert with a bunch of macaws now, and doesn't have the money or time to put together her planned "stud ranch". Maybe one of the local whorehouses has a need for a part-time pimp?
This Date in History:
On this date in 711, Moorish troops landed at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian peninsula.
On this date in 1429 Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans.
On this date in 1587, Sir Francis Drake leads a raid at the Bay of Cadiz, sinking at least 23 ships of the Spanish Fleet.
On this date in 1770, James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia.
On this date in 1945, Adolf Hitler marries. He and his new bride will commit suicide the following day.
On this date in 1967, Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title, for having refused induction into the U.S. Army the previous day.
On this date in 1968, the musical "Hair" opens on Broadway.
On this date in 1970, U.S. and South Vietnamese forces cross into Cambodia to "hunt" the Viet Cong.
On this date in 1974, President Nixon announces the release of of edited White House tape transcripts related to the Watergate scandal.
On this date in 1975, the U.S. begins evacuating U.S. citizens from Saigon.
On this date in 1992, the Los Angeles riots break out, following the acquittal of the four cops accused of beating Rodney King.
On this date in 2004, Oldsmobile builds the final car in its 107 year history.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
William Randolph Hearst
Duke Ellington
Emperor Hirohito
Celeste Holm
Rod McKeun
Luis Aparicio
Zubin Mehta
Bernie Madoff (thief)
Tommy James
Jim Ryun
Tammi Terrell
Nora Dunn
Jerry Seinfeld
Kate Mulgrew
Daniel Day-Lewis
Michelle Pfeiffer
Eve Plumb
Carnie Wilson
Andre Aggasi
Uma Thurman
Movie Quote of the Day comes from a movie released on this date in 1994, "When A Man Loves A Woman":
Michael Green: Good meeting huh? You guys drop acid or something?
Alice Green: Like I said... I'm having a really bad day and I don't mean to take it out on you.
Michael Green: What is it? You want a drink real bad?
Alice Green: That wouldn't distinguish it from any other day, Michael.
Michael Green: One of your friends fall of the wagon?
Alice Green: Nothing happened, Michael. Nothing has to happen for me to have a bad day. That's the thrilling part of all this. It just comes and hits and runs me over like a goddamn freight train.
Tax Tip of the Day:
Did you know that here in California, you can establish different numbers of withholding allowances with your employer for Federal tax withholding, and State tax withholding? If you break even with the Feds and get big refunds from the state, you can decrease just your state tax withholding by adding one or two additional allowances by filing out form DE-4.
posted by me at 8:11 AM
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