A question from one of my students

Several of my former (and current) students are friends of mine on Facebook.  One of them posted a question today and then further on down in the discussion, asked for my thoughts on the question.  Facebook's limits on what you can say in reply to a post drove me to post them here.  First, the question:

"Earlier today Neil degrades Tyson tweeted "Just an FYI: The year 1980 is as far in today's past as 1947 was to 1980."

Why does it feel like the national conversations & cultural shifts between 47-80 seem to be so much larger to me than 80-2013? I can see such large changes from the 50-60s, but don't feel much from 2000-2010 other than focus on terrorism & smartphones. Is this an effect of getting older, or have my lessons of history got me seeing things completely out of context?..."

Before analyzing national conversations and cultural shifts between 1947, 1980 and 2013, it's important to describe the state of the nation and world in those three chosen years and how things changed moving forward from the first to the middle to the last.

In 1947 it was considered constitutional to:

Ban interracial marriage.
Outlaw sodomy.
Permit racial discrimination in any public setting in the South.

In 1947 we also saw:

The Japanese who were interned in camps like Manzanar struggling to recover economically, having lost everything during their internment.
The nation's economy dealing with moving from a wartime footing to a peacetime footing, while absorbing the returning veterans into the workforce.
A nation with only 48 states.
A segregated military (integration would begin the following year).
A much smaller gap between rich, middle class and poor than exists in 2013.

What changed between then and 1980 that would frame the national conversation?

The Korean War.
The Vietnam War.
The end of the draft.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The first resignation of a President.
The failure of the states to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
Court-ordered integration of public schools and busing.
These decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court:
 Roe v Wade.
Doe v Bolton.
Brown v Board of Education.
United States v Paramount Pictures, Inc.
Feres v United States
Hernandez v Texas
One, Inc v Olesen
Trop v Dulles
Flora v United States
New York Times Co v Sullivan
McLaughlin v Florida
Griswold v Connecticut
Miranda v Arizona
Loving v Virginia

We had "free love", the "sexual revolution", LSD and other hard drugs, along with a proliferation of marijuana use.  We had Jimmy Carter's WIN plan to "Whip Inflation Now".  We thought we had a "peace dividend" after Vietnam had fallen but it never really came into being

* * *

In 1947, if a restaurant owner anywhere wanted to, he could deny service to anyone based on the color of their skin, their religion, their gender, or any other factor about themselves they could not change.  33 years later that was not the case.  In his brilliant autobiography, Colin Powell wrote about the discrimination he faced in the military in the early 1960s.  How he could not find adequate quarters in the community outside the base where he'd been assigned.  The military on-base housing that had been promised to him and his wife wouldn't be available for months.  How he went to a burger joint near the post and was told they would hand him a burger out the back door.  And, how he went back there and ate in the front of the place after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 took effect.

Technology started to progress on a faster scale.  The personal computer was just around the corner. In 1981 the development of CSNET (Computer Science Network) followed quickly by the TCP/IP protocol's standardization.  The internet was on its way to becoming the realm of the people rather than just university and government scientists.

Now in 1980, things accelerated even more in the growth of technology and how fast it improved.  The military started issuing personal computers to the lowest level echelons of command in 1984.  These early computers (mostly Zenith-Z100s) used an early version of DOS and very simple programs written in languages like Basic.  In 1988 I had my first home computer, a 286 CPU with math co-processor.  It was a 12 megahertz machine with a 2400 baud modem.  Top of the line stuff.  Less than two years later it was replaced by a 486 CPU that was more than twice as fast and a 9600 baud modem.  It's only grown faster since, with more RAM, more HDD space and faster and faster BUS speed.

I have a solid understanding of the current versions of Windows, but I also know all the prior versions.  In fact, if we all of a sudden found ourselves in a world where the only computers that worked were working on one of the old versions of DOS, I'd have no problem making them work.

I use that to demonstrate that there are parallels.  From 1947 to 1980, how students learned to do math changed.  There were no calculators early on in that period.  Everything was done by hand with pencils, erasers and for the advanced student, a slide rule.  You learned your multiplication tables through rote memorization.  Then came the handheld calculator.  Ten years later (or sooner), the students who relied on those calculators to do basic math could not do the equations by hand, for the most part.  Using DOS is the same thing.  The old will always work, if you know how to do it.

* * *

I'm getting long winded so let me see if I can summarize.  It's now 1947 and you're doing a paper for a class in college.  You go to the library and get the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature and begin looking for articles that have information on the subject of your paper.  Office photocopiers didn't come along until 1959.  Microfiche storage of magazines was common and printers attached to readers provided very poor quality prints.  By 1980 it was better, but not great.

Today if you need to research a paper you go to Google or Bing or Yahoo and start searching.  Everything you need is available on-line.

But there's a much simpler way to look at all of this.  The speed of change is actually fairly constant over the long term.  The M-134 "Minigun" is just an updated, highly upgraded version of the old Gatling Gun.  It shoots faster, it shoots better bullets, but the basic design is the same.  The Gatling Gun has been around for 150 years now.  100 years ago, pilots started carrying handguns for the first air to air combat.  Now drones don't need to have a human aboard, the pilot can fly the plane safely from an air-conditioned office somewhere.

One last thought.  If someone were to ask me what books they should read to prepare to be successful in life, the list I'd give would be an interesting one.

"The Book of Five Rings" - Miyamoto Mushashi, published first in 1645.
"The Art of War" - Sun Tzu, first translated into French in 1772 and into English around the year 1905.
"Who Moved My Cheese" - Spencer Johnson, first published in 1998.
"How to Win Friends and Influence People" - Dale Carnegie, first published in 1936.
"The Prince" - Machiavelli, first published in 1532.
"Motivation and Personality" - Abraham Maslow, first published in 1954.

If anyone has questions, let me know.  You can follow me on Twitter @cyclist1959

Death Valley temperatures soar near record levels and other headlines

The all-time record temperature at Death Valley is 134 degrees.  It didn't get quite that hot on Sunday, but it did get close to 130 degrees.  At that level of heat, the human body can sweat out a gallon of fluid per hour.  I read today that deaths from hot weather exceed all other types of deaths caused by weather.

Jim Kelly has died over the weekend.  He was 67.  He became famous after co-starring with Bruce Lee and John Saxon in 1973's "Enter the Dragon"  He was a last minute replacement for an actor who left just before production started.  Kelly went on to star in a number of "blaxploitation" films.  He later became a professional tennis player on the senior circuit.  His last film appearance was in the direct-to-video "Afro Ninja."

In a related story, US Airways had to cancel flights on Saturday because the temperature in Phoenix went about the 118 degree level.  Aircraft are not certified for take-off at higher temperatures.

Oh and tonight's "low" in Furnace Valley (where the Death Valley Visitor Center is) is predicted to be a chilly 96 degrees.

While "Monster's University" held on to the top spot in the box office wars this weekend with $46.1 million, "The Heat" generated a lot of heat in soaring past projections at $40 million to land a solid #2 spot.  "World War Z" dropped only one spot to #3 with $28.9 million as the other big film opening this weekend, "White House Down" could only manage $25.7 million and the #4 spot.  "Man of Steel" rounded out the top five at $20.2 million as it nears the quarter-billion dollar mark. 

Eric Garcetti won't be the only new face around Los Angeles City Hall tomorrow.  There will be a new city attorney (Mike Feuer), a new controller (Ron Galperin) and six new City Council members.

As Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition in a Pretoria hospital, his family is fighting over the grave site of his three deceased children.  The issue involves Mandela's desire to be buried with his children upon his passing.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy denied a petition by the proponents of Prop 8 to stop same-sex marriages in California, on procedural grounds.  The group can take their petition to another Supreme Court Justice but for now the weddings will continue.

On the season premiere of TNT's lawyer dramedy "Franklin and Bash", they took a page from the "L.A. Law" playbook by having two women share a kiss.  Heather Locklear and Jane Seymore smooched in the episode.

In more than a dozen towns in Connecticut, there are more guns than there are people.

Also in Connecticut, in the town of Stratford, one resident is flying a Nazi flag as his "form of protest against President Obama."

The Preuss School is a charter high school on the campus of the University of California at San Diego.  This year, 100% of its graduates were accepted to a four-year university.

A man who spent 30 years in jail after being wrongfully convicted of rape says the hardest thing to adjust to on the outside is all the choices he has.  "...inside you don't have the freedom to choose you got to get what ever they give you."

If the Miami Heat can win a third NBA championship next season, one of the people who will profit handsomely is team president Pat Riley.  Not from any bonus in his contract, but because long ago he trademarked the phrase "three-peat".  He has earned nearly $1 million from that phrase since he filed and received the trademark.

Quality of life and other early morning thoughts on a Sunday

I'm trying to figure out what will improve the quality of my life.  First, things that would definitely improve my life but aren't going to happen:

It would definitely improve my quality of life if:

I woke up tomorrow morning with the physical health I had at age 25.
I had enough money that I would never have to think about how much something I want costs, I could just buy it.
I were six inches taller.
World peace could be achieved so I would never again hear a beauty pageant contestant say what she really wants is world peace.
I could eat anything I want without gaining an ounce or otherwise harming my body.
I had a device that would allow me to mute people I don't want to hear.
I was able to spend time in real-life with the good friends I have on-line.
I could sleep for 20 minutes and be as rested as if I'd slept 8 hours.

There is a excellent chance that the quality of my life would be improved if:

I was able to make at least some progress in healing the damage that's been done to my body.
I could work full-time and had a job I enjoyed that paid enough to keep a roof over my head, food on the table, the bills paid and a little left over to have a social life.
I was able to teach (that's coming soon, at least on a small scale).
I could run road races again, even if only once a month or every other month rather than nearly weekly like I used to do.
I were physically able to bowl and could get past my hang-ups about how technology has ruined the sport.
I could learn to better tune-out the people I don't want to hear.
I could be a better listener to the people I want to hear.
It wasn't such a struggle to make healthy eating choices.
I didn't have to watch people I care about struggling.

Since the items on the first list are almost certainly impossible to achieve, I'll have to focus on working on those things on the second list.

* * * *

In today's Los Angeles Times sports section, Bill Plaschke tells the heart-warming story of Ira Hawkins, who was an usher working for the Dodgers.  He joined the team when they moved here in 1958 and stayed until they finally carried him out in an ambulance last month.  Less than a month later, he died at the age of 91.  It's a great read.

* * * *

People should be able to marry whoever they want, assuming the other person is of age and sound mind.  Same-sex, opposite-sex, whatever.  But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blew it this week.  They should not have lifted their stay in the Prop 8 case until the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in that matter was finalized.  That takes at least 25 days from the date the court's decision is announced.  Now, because the 9th Circuit listened to the pleas of CA Attorney General Kamala Harris to lift the stay early, opponents of same-sex marriage have some new bullets in their gun.

Will these idiots prevail in this matter?  Ultimately, no.  But they may well win a Pyrrhic victory if they can invalidate all the marriages that were performed after the stay was lifted prematurely, forcing these couples to have to get married a second time.

The reason for the 25 day delay is primarily to allow the losing side to present a petition for a re-hearing in the case.  Such petitions are almost never granted, but there is a process for a reason.

Hopefully the Supreme Court will give the 9th Circuit a pass on this.

* * * *

Today is the last day the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium will be in operation.  While no plans have been made yet to tear it down, and there is an effort to try to save the building; it appears its days are numbered.

I'm not going to list all of the concerts I saw here, or during how many such concerts I was working in the parking lot of the bowling alley across the street.  Back in the day, the owners of that bowling alley would pay me to stand in the parking lot and make sure concert-goers didn't park there.  They didn't want bowlers coming to bowl and being unable to find parking.

I hope the building can be saved.

* * * *

This Date In History:

On this date in 1520, Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortes fought their way out of Tenochtitlan.
On this date in 1559, King Henry II of France is mortally wounded in a jousting match (didn't his opponent watch "A Knight's Tale" and learn you don't kill the monarch?)
On this date in 1859, Charles Blondin crosses Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
On this date in 1882, Charles J. Guiteau is hanged in Washington, D.C. for having assassinated President James Garfield.
On this date in 1917, Greece declares war on the Central Powers.
On this date in 1921, President Warren G. Harding appoints former President Taft to be U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice.
On this date in 1934, the "Night of the Long Knives" takes place in Germany.
On this date in 1937, the first emergency phone number, 999 is introduced in London.
On this date in 1953, the first Corvette rolls off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan.
On this date in 1959, an Air Force F-100 fighter crashes into an elementary school near Kadena Air Base on Okinawa.  11 students and six residents were killed.
On this date in 1969, Nigeria bans aid to Biafra.
On this date in 1971, Ohio ratifies the 26th Amendment, which puts it into effect; lowering the voting age to 18.
On this date in 1985, 39 U.S. hostages from TWA Flight 847 are freed in Beirut after being held for over two weeks.

Famous Folk Born On This Date:

Oswald Pohl
Walter Ulbricht
Harry Shields
Dan Reeves
Susan Hayward
Lena Horne
Ed Yost
Harry Blackstone Jr.
Nancy Dussault
Tony Musante
Florence Ballard
Terry Funk
Ron Swoboda
David Alan Grier
Esa-Pekka Salonen
Mark Waters
Mike Tyson (I think he's had an earful about ear biting)
Monica Potter
Chan-ho Park
Fantasia Borrino
Cody Rhodes

Movie quotes for the day come from "Miss Congeniality" in honor of having laughed out loud today at "The Heat":

[to models refusing pizza and beer]
Gracie Hart: It's lite beer, and she's gonna throw it up anyway.

#2

Stan Fields: Miss Rhode Island, please describe your idea of a perfect date.
Cheryl "Rhode Island": That's a tough one. I'd have to say April 25th. Because it's not too hot, not too cold, all you need is a light jacket.
(Miss Utah topped that at the 2013 Miss USA pageant)

#3

Kathy Morningside: Of course he had a gun. This is Texas, everybody has a gun. My florist has a gun!
Stan Fields: I don't have a gun. My ancestors were Quakers.

#4

Victor Melling: Why is New Jersey called "The Garden State"?
Gracie Hart: Because it's too hard to fit"Oil and Petrochemical Refinery State" on a license plate?

I expected this and other news headlines

The proponents of Proposition 8 have filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to stop gay marriages in California because the 9th Circuit Court violated proper procedure and the language of the stay that they issued in the lower court case.  While I totally support legalizing same-sex marriage, they have a very real, valid legal argument and I believe they are right.  The 9th Circuit's order read that gay marriages would not be legal until "...final disposition by the Supreme Court."   That means until SCOTUS issues a mandate, which will not normally happen until at least 25 days after their ruling is announced.  The people waiting to marry have waited this long, a few more weeks to avoid a challenge to the legality of their weddings would have been much wiser.  Now the 9th Circuit has given these homophobes another way to fight this in court.

Until Dwight Howard and his agent make a decision about where he is going to play next season, the Lakers are basically in limbo.  They don't know what moves to make until he decides.  He can get a five-year deal from the Lakers for $118 million while the most any other team can offer is $88 million over four years.  But is it about money?  Whether it is four or five years from now, Howard is still going to be on the "right" side of 35.  He has another big dollar contract in his future.  So it isn't about the $30 million more.  It is about playing where he will be happiest and has the best chance to win a title.

Alec Baldwin is trying to rationalize and defend his statement that a reporter is a "toxic little queen" by claiming he doesn't consider the word queen to be homophobic.  He claims the term has a different meaning for him.  Now if he could only explain why another tweet of his isn't proof of his homophobia.  "If (sic) put my foot up your f*****g ass, George Stark, but I'm sure you'd dig it too much."

Four players on the Vanderbilt University football team have been dismissed from the squad in connection with an investigation into an alleged incident in a school dormitory.  Sex crime police are conducting the investigation.

Ballantine Books has cancelled publication of Paula Deen's newest cookbook, which was set for release in October of this year.  Advance sales had sent it to the top of Amazon.com's best seller list. 

In a related story, former President Jimmy Carter says Deen should be forgiven.  "I think she has been punished, perhaps overly severely, for her honesty in admitting it and for the use of the word in the distant past. She's apologized profusely."  Some have already.  Some may never forgive her.

A non-profit set up to assist the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing has begun the disbursement of $61 million in donations.  Victims and their families will receive between $8,000 (physical injury but no overnight hospitalization) and $2.2 million (loss of life or double limb amputation).

Once again, wealthy men in South Florida are being targeted by attractive young women who pick them up in bars, and then drug them before robbing them.  The Broward County Sheriff's Department is seeking at least four women in connection with several robberies.

This next item requires no words beyond the horrifying video:  http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2013/06/28/erin-nj-home-invasion-suspect-arrested.cnn#/video/bestoftv/2013/06/28/erin-nj-home-invasion-suspect-arrested.cnn

A six year old's dying wish is to have 1 million fans of his Facebook page.  He has a very rare neurodegenerative disease.  Here's the link to his page:  https://www.facebook.com/Xansfans

A woman in Michigan thought she'd finally gotten the paperwork she needed.  She was brought to the U.S. against her will by "snakeheads" who wanted to use her in their sex trade.  She was 14 at the time.  Now 25, she thought she was receiving the documents from the government that she needed.  It's the right documents but with the wrong name.  They were issued in the name her captors had given her.

If you're reading news stories on the internet that claim actress Charlize Theron has broken up with her boyfriend Stuart Townsend, check the date on them.  They broke up in 2010 but for some reason, news stories dated June 28th of that year are showing up again.

The homes of Kasey Kasem and the late Gianni Versace are among the latest multi-million dollar homes to have their asking prices reduced by 25% or more.  Versace's home had been listed at $125 million originally but has been reduced by $25 million, twice.  It is now an apparent bargain at only $75 million.

There are a lot of jobs where the boss may fire you in the middle of your shift.  Fast food stands out as a prime example.  But being the caddy of a professional golfer doesn't seem to be a job where you'll get fired in the middle of a round in a tournament.  Unless you're Jason Gilroyed who was fired mid-round by Jessica Korda during the third round at the U.S. Open.  Fortunately for her, her boyfriend was there to caddy for her during the last nine holes.

The body of former Dodgers pitcher Justin Miller was found this week in Florida.  He was only 35.

Inmates and staff at the jail where former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is being held without bail have been warned.  No autograph requests, or photographs.  Further, any employee who treats Hernandez any differently than any other inmate faces disciplinary action; including termination.

PureMature.com, a MILF website has offered Paula Deen a six-figure contract to become their spokesperson.  They made it clear that no nudity would be required.

A metaphor for life

The Ironman Triathalon in Hawaii was the first and remains the most famous.  For those who don't know the specifics, contestants swim 2.4 miles (wetsuits that would improve buoyancy aren't allowed), then jump on a bicycle and ride 112 miles, followed by the last leg, a 26.2 mile race (traditional marathon distance).

It is a perfect metaphor for life.  For everyone, not just those who undertake the major commitment that training to complete an Ironman entails.  It begins with the swim.  The swim represents our childhood and teen years.

The swim is the "fastest" event in terms of actual time, but seems to be the slowest.  It seems like you'll never get to the next stage of life, where you gain more rights and more freedom, along with more responsibility.  It separates the pack, with those who are blazing a trail to be the leaders of society finishing faster, while others plod along in the middle of the group.  At the rear are those who plod through childhood, those we refer to as "late-bloomers."

Next comes the event that takes the most hours but seems to be the shortest event in terms of how quickly it passes.  Young adulthood through middle age, until we wake up one morning and suddenly find that we grew old overnight.  The cyclists race through the 112 miles at high speeds which matches how life seems when you're an adult prior to entering the stage where most consider you old.  We know when we get there that we aren't really old.  We don't feel old.  We don't think we look old.  But that's how others perceive us.

That's where the third stage begins, the marathon.  Because while the adult stage of life seems to race by, retirement seems to drag forever if you don't find ways to occupy yourself.  I have the unique perspective of watching a group of people navigating this marathon daily.  Some enjoy it by keeping busy, engaging socially and not just sitting around waiting for the race to end.  Others just sit there, waiting to cross the finish line.  They don't want to get there, as we don't know what's on the other side.  But once you stop caring about the race and enjoying it, the inevitability of that finish line can be overwhelming.

Life is a triathalon.  Savor every stage.  When you run (or walk or crawl or are wheeled) over the finish line, that's it.  There's no next race that I know of.

* * *

Time to give outgoing City of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa his report card.  I give him a C+. 

Yes, he went out and found a way to spend billions on the Metro rail system.  How well it will continue to attract riders once they finally lock the gates and stop freeloaders from riding without paying remains to be seen.  Also remaining to be seen is if a large enough number of residents will abandon their cars to ride the rail system.  Some certainly will.  For some it is a necessity.  Rail is faster than riding the bus.  But far too many people are married to their cars and aren't willing to consider a trial separation; let alone a divorce.

Yes, violent crime is down.  But DOJ stats tell us that it's down all over the nation.  Yes, Mayor V finally managed to somehow push the number of officers employed by the LAPD over the magic mark of 10,000.  That seems laudable.  Right up until you look at some numbers:

     Area

Los Angeles - 469 square miles
New York City - 303 square miles
Chicago - 234 square miles
Washington, D.C. - 68 square miles
Philadelphia - 142 square miles

     Number of police officers per 1,000 population

Washington, D.C. - 6.7
Chicago - 4.7
Philadelphia - 4.7
New York City - 4.3
Los Angeles - 2.5

Something is horribly wrong with those numbers.  The City of Los Angeles covers far more area, with a smaller force per capita.  Fewer cops per person, fewer cops per mile.

The city's finances remain a mess, a mess worsened by Mayor V's choice to cave in to the unions and approve increases in salaries and benefits the residents simply can't afford.  There will come a day when the unfunded pension liabilities that were worsened by his choices will come due.

Businesses continue to flee the city and they aren't being replaced by others as fast as they depart.  The gross receipts tax incentivizes people who work from home to consider living elsewhere, if they don't qualify for the small business exemption.  Remember it's a gross receipts tax.  So if you sell $500,000 worth of something that cost you $400,000 to buy, ship and so on, you are taxed on the $500,000 worth of sales, not your net profit.  Having to pay two or three percent of your gross sales is a big hit in a situation like that.

I don't know if Eric Garcetti will do any better, but we can hope.  Mayor V might have gotten a B- if he hadn't been so scandal-plagued.

* * *

Alec Baldwin is the latest in a long line of celebrities who were forced to apologize for things they said on Twitter or elsewhere in social media.  Amazing how people will say "those words do not reflect how I feel or believe" after they've said something.

If that isn't what you believe or how you feel, why in the world would you say it?  He was very angry with a reporter over a story about Baldwin's wife tweeting at the funeral of James Gandolfini.  Understandable. 

However, if someone truly believes in equality and supports LGBT rights, would he use the phrase "toxic little queen" as an insult?  Probably not.

The underlying theme in these apologies seems to be "judge me by what I do, not by what I say" and in that respect Alec Baldwin has definitely supported LGBT rights by his words and by his actions.  Give the man his due.  Right up until he tweeted what he tweeted.

I don't think we should revile the man forever over this.  He said he's sorry.  The apology should be accepted.  I just hope he doesn't do this again.

* * *

This Date In History:

On this date in 1613, the Globe Theater burns to the ground.
On this date in 1864, 99 people die in Canada's worst railway disaster.
On this date in 1880, France annexes Tahiti.
On this date in 1927, a U.S. Army Air Corps aircraft completes the first transpacific flight, from the mainland U.S. to Hawaii.
On this date in 1956, the Federal-Aid Highway Act is signed, creating the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
On this date in 1974, Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union.
On this date in 1976, the Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom.
On this date in 2007, Apple releases the first iPhone.

Famous Folk Born On This Date:

George Washington Goethals
William James Mayo
Harry Frazee
Nelson Eddy
Slim Pickens
Robert Evans
John Bradshaw (longest hours of my life were being forced by my 2nd wife to listen to one of his talks)
Little Eva
Gary Busey
Fred Grandy
Colin Hay
Rick Honeycutt (he had a bad night last night)
Maria Conchita Alonso
Rosa Mota
Sharon Lawrence
Amanda Donohoe (one-half of TV's first "lesbian kiss"
Melora Hardin
Nicole Scherzinger (yes, if I had a girlfriend, I'd wish she was hot like her)

Today's movie quotes come from a film Robert Evans was involved in producing, "Urban Cowboy":

Aunt Corene: Damn Bud, Ya'll live like pigs!

#2

Bud: Now, you gotta learn something - there are just certain things a girl cain't do.
Sissy: Name one.
Marshall: I can name serval, pissin' on the side of a wall, gettn laid while your pants are still on...
Sissy: Why would you want to?

Orange County woman who cut off husband's penis sentenced today

In Santa Ana, 50 year old Catherine Kieu was sentenced to life in prison for torture and aggravated mayhem in a case where she drugged her husband's food, tied him up and then awoke him before cutting his penis off with a ten inch knife.  She then put his body parts into the garbage disposal.  Doctors tried but were unable to surgically reattach his penis.  She will be eligible for parole in only seven years.

A Pomona man spent ten days sleeping on a roach-infested mattress at the Bangkok Airport after he was refused permission to fly home.  Apparently he'd been placed on the secret "no-fly" list.  The existence of the list is not a secret, but whose names are on it is.  He isn't the first to be marooned that way, but he was allowed to fly home today.

Outgoing L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is touting his accomplishments over his two terms as mayor in a bus tour today.  The new mayor, Eric Garcetti will take over officially on Monday.  I'll have a report card for the departing mayor in tomorrow's daily blog.

The Iowa dental hygienist who was fired because she was "too irresistible" will have her case reconsidered by the all-male Iowa Supreme Court.

Michael Patterson of Georgia has died after three weeks of hospitalization following his amazing rescue of a four year old girl.  He dove into a creek to save her and was paralyzed as a result.

Cher says that Tom Cruise is "among the top five" on her list of lovers.

Beyonce got a new pair of shoes for her baby, Blue Ivy.  A pair of heels custom-made by designer Tom Ford.  The shoes were a gift, although she could certainly afford to pay his usual $1,500+ price for a pair of heels.

He promised to "be back" in the first Terminator trilogy and now Arnold is set to reprise his role in a film slated for release in 2015.  Reportedly the first of a new, stand-alone trilogy, siblings Megan and David Ellison and their respective production companies will partner with Paramount to make the movie.

Former Phillies catcher Darren Daulton currently hosts a talk-radio show on baseball.  On Thursday, he announced that he has two brain tumors and will have surgery next week.  Get well soon, Dutch.

A 96 year old woman who is a major fan of the Georgia Bulldogs football team got the thrill of a lifetime.  She arrived thinking she'd won a tour of their facilities in a contest.  While there was no contest, there was a tour.  Better still, the team's star quarterback Aaron Murray conducted the tour.

When people say "stress kills" they aren't kidding.  People who suffer from serious levels of stress are more than twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as those who do not suffer from stress.

Dan Cathy, president of Chick-Fil-A apparently prefers the taste of his foot in his mouth rather than his company's excellent tasting chicken.  He tweeted his personal disapproval of the decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn part of the Defense of Marriage Act and to let stand a lower court ruling that declared Prop 8 unconstitutional.  His tweet was quickly deleted and the company released a statement saying his tweet did not represent company policy.  That's hard to swallow since he and his father own the company.

Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak is pregnant with her fifth child and is still smoking.  She'll certainly get criticized for that.

Hero or Zero?

Sergeant First Class (E-7) is a U.S. Army rank, and among enlisted personnel, it signifies several things.  It is one of the top three enlisted ranks and is considered to be in the group of "senior NCOs".  It is the rank held by platoon sergeants, typically the senior enlisted person in a platoon.  A Sergeant First Class may actually serve as a platoon leader if there is no officer assigned to the platoon, until one is assigned.

It's usually a sign of accomplishment.  You just don't get to be an E-7 without having been good at what you do.

It also means that a soldier who reaches that rank can remain on active duty for up to 29 years.  The lower the rank, the less time a soldier can remain on active duty.

There's a guy who reached this rank, one SFC Dillard Johnson.  In a new book entitled "Carnivore" he makes some extraordinary claims about his military service.  Claims I find totally unbelievable.  The subtitle of the tome is "A memoir of one of the Deadliest American Soldiers of All Time" and that's probably not true.  The book claims that he had 121 confirmed kills as a sniper, the most of any U.S. Army soldier ever.  That's definitely not the case.

But the most ridiculous claim is that he had 2,746 confirmed kills during his time in Iraq.  Put that word confirmed in major league quotations because these kills were confirmed by SFC Johnson, himself and he.  All three are almost certainly lying.

SFC Johnson left Iraq in 2007.  At the time he departed, estimates are that the entire "body count" of all coalition forces was less than 20,000.  If his claim were to be true, he'd have personally killed 14% of all militants killed during his time in-country.  That stretches even the most flexible shred of credability well beyond the breaking point.

Let's be fair.  He did earn a Silver Star.  He did command an armored vehicle and his troops describe him as someone who "did great things."  But his claims are akin to someone who didn't finish basic military training claiming they made it through SEAL or Ranger training and went on to serve with distinction in the Special Forces.

* * *

Next week is the Fourth of July.  There will undoubtedly be a new episode of "As The Assisted Living Facility Turns" that day or the next, especially since the monthly meeting of the Resident's Council will be held on July 3rd.  I am probably going to repeat what went on when it was Memorial Day.  I'll stay in my room and let them bring me food from the lunch barbecue rather than go down to the madhouse that is the dining room.  People will be walking in and out so often it won't be cool there, and the scramble to get a table when both of the scheduled seatings are there at the same time gets old.  On the other hand, it would probably be good to put in an appearance.  Maybe I will have lunch there.

Like many holidays I think we tend to forget the real importance of the holiday.  It becomes a celebration to just celebrate without focusing on what it is we are celebrating.  I might have gone to this video on that day but might as well use it now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-beyMTEBys

Do kids today really study in detail why the colonists sought independence from a nation that taxed them?  Because we now have a political party named after the Boston Tea Party, they might know about the Tea Act.  They might even know about the Stamp Act.  I doubt they're familiar with the Sugar Act.  I'm certain they don't know that these acts were illegal under the Bill of Rights of 1689 passed by Parliament in England.

We can't say with any degree of certainty how the nation we live in would look today had those brave men and women chosen to fight for liberty, for freedom from a monarch who saw the colonies only as a cash cow to enrich him.  But I can say we are almost certainly better off now than we probably would be, were the lands we live in still colonies and/or territories of Mexico and France.

* * *

Saw my primary care doctor yesterday.  I've been assigned to a new one.  He's pretty good, and definitely thorough.  Everything seems good, except that now I have a vitamin D deficiency.  This means yet another drug, because the normal treatment for this is more exposure to sunlight and that runs contrary to the instruction to avoid the heat.  How to get sun without being exposed to heat is a riddle I can't solve.  One big pill per week for eight weeks and then smaller daily pills.  At this point one more pill is meaningless in my mind.

* * *

Items I'm pondering today:

Will the 405 expansion projects that are snarling traffic now really provide any relief to the utter gridlock that exists on that freeway in that area during drive-time?

Who wants to bet that outgoing L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will try to get a free meal today when he stops at Pink's Hot Dogs during his "farewell bus tour?"

Sharon Osbourne called Kanye West "average looking" and an "average talent."  Anyone else think she's just being Kris Jenner's proxy since Kris can say what's on her mind about Kim's baby daddy?

Are people really that dumb?  SMPD posted a photo of three persons of interest in an arson and someone wrote in the comments section that the trio didn't "look like arsonists to him."  Just what does an arsonist look like?

Why do these kinds of mornings, where traffic accidents bring freeways to a standstill during rush-hour; always happen on a Monday or a Friday?

Did officials at the DMV in an un-named state really ask a woman to go see a doctor and get a pap smear to prove she's female?  She went to renew her driver's license and her birth certificate listed her as male.  The records people cleared it up by reviewing the birth certificate of her son, which listed her as the mother.

Why do some people object to 66 year old actor James Woods dating a 20 year old woman?

Who had the winning time in the pool on how long it would take before Alec Baldwin melted down on Twitter again?  My entry lost about two months ago.

* * *

This Date in History:

On this date in 1098, warriors of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosull.
On this date in 1461, Edward IV is crowned King of England.
On this date in 1519, Charles V becomes Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
On this date in 1776, Thomas Hickey, Continental Army private and bodyguard to General George Washington is hanged for mutiny and sedition.
On this date in 1865, the Army of the Potomac is disbanded.
On this date in 1894, Labor Day becomes an official holiday.
On this date in 1919, the Treaty of Versailles is signed in Paris, officially ending World War I.
On this date in 1950, Seoul is captured by North Korean forces.
On this date in 1969, the Stonewall riots take place, marking the beginning of the Gay Rights Movement.
On this date in 1978, the Supreme Court rules that colleges can't use quota systems in their admissions process in the Bakke case.
On this date in 1994, members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult release sarin gas in Masumoto, Japan.  Seven are killed, hundreds injured.
On this date in 1997, Mike Tyson is disqualified in Tyson - Holyfield II, when he bites off part of Evander Holyfield's ear.

Famous Folk Born On This Date:

Pope Paul IV
Henry VIII of England
Henri Lebesque
Pierre Laval
Carl Spaatz
Richard Rodgers
Mel Brooks
Hans Blix
Leon Panetta
Al Downing
Kathy Bates
John Elway
John Cusack
Mary Stuart Masterson (same year as Cusack)
Danielle Brisebois
Kellie Pickler

Movie quotes of the day come from "Blazing Saddles" today, to honor it being the birthday of the incredibly talented Mel Brooks:

[Recalling his gunfighting career]
Jim: I must have killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille.

#2

Bart: I better go check out this Mongo character.
[Bart reaches for his gun]
Jim: Oh no, don't do that, don't do that. If you shoot him, you'll just make him mad.

#3

Jim: [consoling Bart] What did you expect? "Welcome, sonny"? "Make yourself at home"? "Marry my daughter"? You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons.

L.A.'s MTA playing shell games with taxpayer funds and other headlines

Leaders in L.A.'s South Bay are crying "foul" after discovering that the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority is going to take $100 million from road and highway projects in that area away, in order to close a funding gap on the proposed light-rail line from Crenshaw to LAX.  MTA pulled a fast one, by shifting the LAX area into the South Bay in 2009 without allowing input on the change.

Rachel Jeantel finished her testimony in the murder trial of George Zimmerman, saying she could not explain what "wet grass" sounds like.  She withstood a withering cross-examination by Zimmerman's attorney, but inconsistencies he raised in her various recollections of events could be problematic.

The Food Network, Target, WalMart, Caesar's, Home Depot, Smithfield Foods and Novo Nordisk have all dropped or suspended their business relationship with celebrity chef Paula Deen.  One noted crisis manager says she may also have a target on her back, because of her claim on the Today show that she'd used the "n-word" only once in her life.  If someone can prove that claim false, it could be the final straw in her financial empire's collapse.

Student loan interest rates will double next week because the Senate will not vote on a bill to extend the lower rates currently in effect until July 10th.  However, a bill that keeps rates at present levels could be passed that would prevent the increase on a retroactive basis.

Former New England Patriots tight-end Aaron Hernandez is having another really bad day.  His request to be released on bail was denied by a judge, one of his endorsement deals was terminated and police are now investigating his possible involvement in an earlier murder case.  Bad week for him.

The Los Angeles Lakers will be the final team to meet with their center Dwight Howard after he becomes a free agent this coming Sunday night according to multiple sources.  What he will do after that is anyone's guess and there is no scheduled time for that meeting just yet.

Governor Jerry Brown has signed the California state budget that will go into effect on Monday.  It's still amazing to me to see a state budget signed before the deadline.

NBA star Gilbert Arenas was arrested after police discovered a large quantity of fireworks in his vehicle during a traffic stop.

In Texas, the husband and wife who are accused of murdering the DA and an assistant DA in Kaufman County are getting a jailhouse divorce.

10 year old Sarah Murnaghan had her breathing tube removed, but she struggled without it and doctors chose to re-intubate her.  They said it doesn't change her long-term prognosis, it just means she needs more time to recover her strength so she can eventually breathe on her own.

A minor league baseball team in Pennsylvania has an interesting giveaway going on.  It's an essay contest and the winner will receive a....funeral, all expenses paid up to $10,000.

The parents of an Indiana teen girl who disappeared two years ago are now suing the three men who were with her the night she disappeared.

A Texas man can no longer eat beef, lamb or pork after he contracted the alpha-gal allergy to meat from a tick bite.  There is no cure.  Doctors say the allergy may just go away, in a few years.  He can't even kiss his wife if she's recently eaten meat.

A second Orange County woman has had valuable jewelry sold at a garage sale for a pittance and she's hoping she'll be as lucky as the first woman.  That woman got her $23,000 wedding ring back.  Dori Rhoades had hidden a pair of earrings worth $18,000, $1,500 in cash and a ring from her husband in the pocket of a denim jacket in case they were robbed.  She sold the jacket herself at a garage sale.  Remember, if you're selling things at a garage sale, look inside them first.

In Aurora, CO there are 48 pending sexual assault cases that may not be able to be prosecuted because the DNA evidence in those cases has been destroyed.

Kerri Walsh Jennings didn't follow her long-time beach volleyball partner Misty May-Treanor into retirement.  Instead she's now going to team up with April Ross, half of the duo that Walsh/May beat in the 2012 Summer Games to win the gold medal.

An Air Force F-16 crashed in the Arizona desert near Phoenix, but the two pilots were able to eject to safety.  The flight was described as a "routine training mission".

In Snohomish, WA a pig farmer is feeding marijuana to his pigs in an effort to produce meat that tastes better.  The meat may taste better and commands a premium price, but it won't get you high.  Better still, this is also a "green" program, as what he's feeding the pigs is "pot plant waste" which must be ground up prior to disposal.

Does "the Beast", the heavily armored limo the President travels in actually contain an emergency supply of his blood type?  This claim has come to light as people try to find out what really happens in a "lockdown" situation at the White House, before the movie "White House Down" opens tomorrow.

The amount the U.S. spent on food stamps in 2012 was more than double what was spent on that program in 2008.  Food stamp enrollment is soaring.

A man traveling throgh Saskatchewan, Canada stopped in a diner.  The owner and he got to talking and he learned that the owner's daughter had just been diagnosed with cancer.  The man stopped there again on his way back for a burger and fries, and left a slightly larger than normal tip.  He left $10,000.

WWE superstar C.M. Punk has been granted a restraining order against his mother.  Actually he'd been granted a temporary order but the judge extended it for two years from today.  She had allegedly bombarded him with threats after he cut her off financially.

No sale

I heard someone say "God decreed that marriage is between a man and a woman" at least 58 times yesterday as I watched the news coverage of the decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court in the cases of Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.  I'm tired of hearing it.  I don't want to hear it again.  Because it has no validity.

The word "marriage" didn't exist prior to the 13th century.  What scripture was received then, where God defined the term?  The answer is none.  Those who claim this decree exists are interpreting scripture from the Bible.  If everything in that book is a real decreee from God, please explain to me why those who insist that we follow the decree of God about marriage (the one that doesn't exist) aren't out there insisting the enforcement of some other decrees.

     Why can't we eat meat and dairy together?  Oh wait, it doesn't say that in the Bible, it says something about not cooking a kid in its mother's milk.  From that someone interpreted that God had decreed dietary laws exist.

     Why is it that "priests" who marry later in life can marry women who clearly aren't virgins?  The Bible says the woman that a priest marries must be a virgin.  Since the Bible doesn't differentiate between Catholic priests, and Christian ministers, something must be wrong here.

There are a lot more examples but I think the point is made.  However, to reinforce it, I turn to one of my favorite tomes of fiction, "Shogun".  In that book, Jesuits are spreading the Word in Japan and the issue of "rice Christians" is discussed.  Those are the Japanese who converted to Christianity, but only follow this decrees of God that serve and suit them.

The bottom line is that marriage in the 21st century in the U.S. is purely a social construct; in terms of what benefits are extended to couples.  This isn't an issue of religion or faith.  It is an issue of equality.  If two women live next-door to one another, and both lose their spouse; why should the one in a same-sex marriage have to pay estate taxes that the one in the opposite-sex marriage does not?  It is simply unfair.

You can shout that this is God's decree all you like.  You are certainly entitled to that opinion, but on a factual basis you're incorrect.

* * *

Last night I drove through the South Bay.  Parts of it that I haven't driven through much, if at all, in the 26 months since I finally got out of the hospital.  Considering that I lived in El Segundo for more than 21 years, the South Bay still feels like home in some ways.  It was werid seeing all the changes, and things that brought up memories.

I drove past the veterinarian's office where I had to make one of the most difficult decisions of my life, more than a decade ago.  I had to tell the doctor to go ahead and put my beloved dog, Scooter, to sleep.  I didn't want to let him go.  I wanted to fight the cancer that was ravaging his body.  I would have gladly begged or borrowed more money if needed.  However, he was suffering.  I decided I couldn't be so selfish as to make him continue living in agony just because I wasn't ready to let go.  I don't think of him every day, or even every week now, but when I do, the memories flood my mind.

When Blockbuster had its first crisis, a lot of their locations closed.  But since one particular store survived, I expected it to still be there.  It isn't.  It's a bank now.  The building that was the Stick and Stein Sports Grill for more than a decade sits empty more than two years after they closed for the last time.  The owner of that building must own it outright, or she's going broke paying a mortgage with no tenant and apparently little hope of getting one.  The old Comfort Inn has been renamed.  Since it was one of the courtesy van drivers who nearly totalled my car with me in it, that actually felt good to see.  So much change and yet so much had remained just as it was over two decades ago.

* * *

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teljgwFfl94

That's the one song weather forecast for Southern California for the next few days.  I plan to spend as much of it indoors as possible.  Preferrably in a well air-conditioned place like home.

Other stuff I'm pondering this morning:

Will the federal government have to pay interest to the woman who won the DOMA ruling yesterday? (I'm almost certain the answer is yes) 

How much will the economy of California be improved because of the sudden increase in weddings, receptions and so on that will be going on in a few weeks?

Will Aaron Hernandez and O.J. Simpson ever play in a prison football game together?  Given how O.J. looked in his most recent court appearances, will the coach move him to "wide out"?

Are people really wagering large sums on what the "royal baby" will be named?  Why not just bet on whether or not the sun will be shining at 8:22 a.m. the next day?  The sun would be a better bet.

What went wrong in the rearing of a New York teen who wanted to go join al-Qaida?

Why in the world did the Starbucks just up the street close?  It was always busy as heck.

Is there any physical look that Jared Leto can't pull off for a movie?  If you're not sure what I'm referring to, check out the pictures here:  http://movies.yahoo.com/photos/jared-leto-shapeshifter-1372270778-slideshow/jared-leto-shapeshifter-photo--2118803309.html

Will the dispute between the Men's Wearhouse and its founder George Zimmer go on for a long time?  Actually, it will.  I guarantee it.

* * *

This Date In History:

On this date in 1358, the Republic of Dubrovnik was founded.
On this date in 1844, Joseph Smith Jr. (and his brother) were murdered by a mob.
On this date in 1899, A. E. J. Collins scores 698 runs "not out" the highest total recorded in the history of cricket.
On this date in 1905, sailors aboard the Battleship Potemkin mutiny.
On this date in 1923, the first aerial refueling of a plane takes place.
On this date in 1954, the first nuclear power plant opens near Moscow.
On this date in 1974, President Richard M. Nixon visits the Soviet Union.
On this date in 1982, Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on the final "test" flight.
On this date in 1985, Route 66 is officially removed from the U.S. highway system.

Famous Folk Born On This Date:

Paul Mauser
Helen Keller (alright, which ones among you immediately thought of the old joke, "how do you punish Helen Keller? - rearrange the furniture")
Antoinette Perry
Willie Mosconi
Bob Keeshan
Ross Perot (he can bill me for the "H")
Charles Bronfman
Avi Lerner
Vera Wang (wait a minute, she competed in figure skating??)
Julia Duffy
Isabelle Adjani

Movie quotes of the day come from "The Last Castle", to honor James Gandolfini, whose funeral is today (he portrayed Colonel Winter):

Winter: See, I too share the burden of command. You may not think that I've ever set foot on a battlefield, but that's because you've never sat behind this desk. This desk! My men and I are vastly outnumbered. We spend every day behind enemy lines because, make no mistake about it, Mr. Irwin, they are the enemy! But then, I don't have to justify myself to YOU, do I, Mr. Irwin?
Irwin: I don't know. Do you?

#2

Winter: Tell me, Mr. Yates, how does a man like you get into West Point?
Yates: My father was a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, sir.
Winter: [with disdain] Oh, right. Sometimes the apple does fall far from the tree.

#3

[observing Irwin "leading" the inmates in rebuilding the wall]
Winter: Bring him to my office!
Capt. Peretz: Who's that?
Winter: The Prince of Venezuela! Who do you think I mean?
Capt. Peretz: General Irwin.
Winter: *Mr* Irwin!

Just FYI, it isn't a great movie but Gandolfini is great in it.

Texas prepares for 500th execution and other headlines

Kimberly McCarthy, convicted in 1998 of the stabbing death of a 71 year old neighbor during a robbery is scheduled to become the 500th convict executed by the state of Texas on Wednesday.  Her attorney says that all of her appeals have been exhausted.

Nelson Mandela is reportedly now on life-support.

It may take until the end of July, but same-sex marriages will be happening in California and it is unlikely that anyone will be able to revive Proposition 8 anytime soon. 

Aaron Hernandez was arrested, charged with murder and dropped by the New England Patriots.  Not a good day for him.

That filibuster by Texas State Senator Wendy Davis fell a few moments short, but the people in the gallery make sure that the bill limiting abortion rights did not pass, last night.

LAPD has released a photograph of the man believed to have shot at two detectives yesterday, causing a major manhunt that tied up traffic near the Wilshire Division station on Venice Boulevard for hours.

The family of a teen girl who was attending Chino Hills High was awarded $5.6 million by a jury, after she was abused by a science teacher after school officials were notified that the molestation was going on.

The opening of "White House Down" with Jamie Foxx playing a president who takes up arms to defend the White House has people wondering, which real-life president was the "toughest".  I'd have to say JFK.  In spite of a back injury and suffering from Addison's Disease, he saved another sailor's life during WWII.  That LBJ received a Silver Star and JFK "only" a Navy and Marine Corps Medal for lifesaving is one of the great injustices in military history.

Graduates of Radford University got a surprise on their diplomas.  Apparently they went to school in the Commonwealth of Virgina, not Virginia.  At least that was how it was spelled on nearly 1,500 diplomas.

Would someone please tell the three morons sitting along the third base line at last nights game between the Dodgers and Giants, when one of the home team's players is trying to catch a foul ball, don't fight him for it.  Get the heck out of the way.  Do you really need a $10 baseball more than your team needs an out?  No!

Custom-made bicycles belonging to veterans who were in Alaska training for races were stolen.  The missing bikes are worth tens of thousands of dollars.  Whoever stole them in a major scumbag.

San Francisco Giants third-base coach Tim Flannery says the Dodgers blew it when they honored 10 year old Casey Johnston.  Casey lives in the Bay Area but he is a Dodgers fan.  Video of him saying so in a speech at school went viral and the Dodgers invited him to throw out the first pitch.  Flannery takes issue with the fact the Dodgers failed to tell the crowd that Casey is donating the profits from his YouTube video to help defray the cost of treatment for Bryan Stow.

Paula Deen did okay in her Today show interview but that didn't stop WalMart and Caesar's from cutting ties with her.  Some now estimate that the losses she will suffer from her deposition may exceed $10 million.

A 69 year old New Jersey man who emigrated to the U.S. from Poland 30 years ago slipped into a coma and awoke...in Poland.  In a growing, disturbing trend, he became one of a number of immigrants without insurance who get deported by hospitals who don't want to have to pay to treat them with no hope of reimbursement.  The hospital claims he was aware he was being sent there but that seems highly unlikely, given the fact he was still comatose when he arrived in Poland; and is still unable to speak.

The House of Representatives spends $2 million annually on coffee and breakfast snacks for its members.

What's the item on the menu at McDonald's with the highest calorie count?  It isn't a burger.  It isn't french fries or chicken mcnuggets either.  It's the "big breakfast" which comes to nearly 1,400 calories if you use the syrup and margarine provided.

The nearly 15,000 square foot home of the late Liberace is for sale in Las Vegas and the price is low.  Less than $550,000.  A real steal.

Hollywood's fashionista crowd is not going to like this factoid, but actress Emma Watson says she only owns eight pairs of shoes.  Worse yet, one of them is a pair off the rack at an "affordable" store.

The Supreme Court's rulings on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and on Proposition 8

Before discussing the ruling of SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) on DOMA, it's necessary to understand what DOMA did, when it was signed into law by President Clinton 1996.  It has three sections.  Section 1 merely gives authority to cite the law as the 'Defense of Marriage Act' 

Section 2 says that any state, territory or possession of the U.S., or any Indian tribe, is NOT required to recognize a legal same-sex marriage performed in any other state, territory, possession or by any Indian tribe.

Section 3 says the government of the United States defines "marriage" to mean only a legal union between a man and a woman, as husband and wife; and that the word "spouse" refers only to persons who are the husband or wife to a member of the opposite sex.

What SCOTUS did today was issue a ruling that says Section 3 is unconstitutional.  The court held that Section 3 violates the "equal liberty" provision of the Fifth Amendment.

SCOTUS did not address the constitutionality of Section 2, which was not being challenged in the case being heard.  That case was brought by a woman, Edith Windsor, whose wife had died.  They had been legally married in Ontario, Canada in 2007 after 40 years together.  In 2009, her wife died and at that time, the state of New York (where they lived until the wife's death) recognized same-sex unions performed in other jurisdictions.

Ms Windsor was billed for more than $363,000 in federal income tax because she did not qualify for the spousal exception to the inheritance tax (which is unlimited).  She sued.  Now she has won.

So what does this mean for everyone else?  Until now, over 1,100 benefits at the federal level were denied to same-sex couples who married legally.  Social Security, dependent health insurance for federal employees, equality of treatment under the federal income tax code and many more.  Because of this ruling, those benefits will now be available to same-sex couples.  If a federal employee wants to put their same-sex spouse on their health insurance plan, they can now do so.

Does this mean that all employers will have to do that?  No.  The ruling is limited to federal benefits and has no impact on benefits provided by non-government entities.

There will be 12 states, plus the District of Columbia that recognize same-sex marriage once all current legislation goes into effect.  That means 38 states do not recognize same-sex marriage and it is illegal within their borders.  Will these 38 states now have to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states?  No.  Section 2 of DOMA remains in force. 

DOMA isn't dead, in spite of the media's statements that it is.  It is alive and well in Section 2.  Two men who were legally married to one another in Massachusetts and who now live in Dallas wanted a divorce.  The Texas courts ruled they cannot legally divorce in Texas, because their marriage is not recognized by the state.  Today's ruling by SCOTUS won't change things for them one bit.

If an Arizona same-sex couple comes to California to legally marry, Arizona will not recognize their union.  Our work involving getting DOMA completely overturned is not done yet.

* * *

SCOTUS actually did NOT rule that California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.  It ruled that those who were seeking to have the lower court decision that ruled it unconstitutional overturned, did not have standing to appeal that lower court's decision.

Jerry Brown was then the CA Attorney General and when the lawsuit that SCOTUS ruled on today was filed, he refused to defend Prop 8.  The official sponsor of the proposition, ProtectMarriage.com moved to intervene and defend Prop 8.  The judge allowed them to do so.

Now SCOTUS has held that this was not proper.  In doing so, they have effectively ended the attempts to keep Prop 8 alive and since Governor Brown and CA Attorney General Kamala Harris will not attempt to protect this proposiiton, it is dead.  It will take a few weeks for paperwork to flow, but sometime in late July, the 9th Circuit Court will vacate the stay they had issued to keep Prop 8 in force, and then same-sex marriage licenses will become available immediately afterward.

* * *

Was SCOTUS right in making these rulings?  They could not have been more divided, both decisions coming on 5-4 votes.  The dissents by the minority on the court were scathing indictments of the majority opinion in each case.

I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on television.  But I agree with both of these rulings.  If we were all created equal, and we are all entitled to equal liberty and equal protection under the Constitution, the right to marry someone of the same sex must be recognized.  Now if you want to eliminate all marriages performed by government and outside of organized religion; and call them all civil unions, go ahead.  States are free to do this.  Organized religions can conduct "marriage" ceremonies that states can recognize as fulfilling the requirement to codify a civil union via ceremony.

The real issue in that case is equality of treament.  If someone marries a member of the opposite sex and gets all of the benefits afforded under federal law, someone who marries a member of the same sex is being discriminated against if they are not afforded those same benefits.

As for Prop 8, the majority that narrowly passed that moronic measure into law no longer exists here.  Were it not for the influence of religious zealots from outside the state, it would have never passed in the first place.

* * *

Just remember, the work is not done yet.  Section 2 of DOMA has to go before we achieve real equality in this area when it comes to benefits and recognition of same-sex marriages.  Let's roll.

Prince Jackson is going to testify

I still maintain that Prince is a title when it comes to people, and should be limited to royalty.  As a name, it should only be used for cats and dogs.  Perhaps an exception should be made for great musicians who dump the name to become a symbol anyway.

But now Prince Jackson will be on display in the wrongful death trial where his family is seeking an absurd sum of money from AEG over his father's untimely death.  Is this good for him?  Will it add to the "abnormal" experiences that make up his life thus far?  Why is it that some who are thrust into the spotlight when very young handle it just fine, while others never adjust?

This trial isn't about assigning guilt for Michael's death.  The criminal courts did that.  Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted, albeit of a lesser offense than what might have been appropriate.  He's in jail being 'punished'.  This trial is all about greed.

Joe and Katherine Jackson raised some amazingly talented children.  Then they proceeded to live off the money generated from those children.  Soon, with the exception of Janet, they were all living more or less from money that Michael was bringing in.  The power of The Jackson Five, later The Jacksons (due to a lawsuit settlement that freed them from Motown Records) to generate revenue disappeared when Michael left the group after their "Victory" tour to focus on his solo career.  They have had little, if any, success as solo acts or in reuniting since Michael died.

There are a lot of Jacksons and even in death they seem to view Michael as a 'cash cow' to support their lifestyles.  That's why a teenager is being forced to take the witness stand and talk about his father's 'wrongful' death.  Very, very sad.

* * *

I'm reading the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning DOMA and will comment more on it later, but it isn't the complete victory people think it is.

* * *

I did something last night I haven't done since getting out of the hospital.  I had a can of soup.  I've been avoiding them because they totally blow my daily allowance of sodium all out of whack.  This was "reduced sodium" soup, which automatically means reduced flavor.

I won't be doing that again.  Soups made in restaurants may have the same sodium problem, but they don't do to me what having this can did.  I feel like I've walked in a desert for hours.  Thirsty as all get out.  Worse yet, because I am supposed to take in only a limited amount of fluids each day, I can't quench this thirst.  Between now and the end of the day, unless a small amount of water can make me feel better, I'll blow the daily fluid limit or I'll be really uncomfortable.  Either way, lesson learned.

It makes me sad.  I love having a "cup of noodles" in the evening as a snack.  No more.  I get 1,500 milligrams of sodium daily and one cup of noodles has almost 1,200.  Apples, oranges and other fruits will have to do.  Not such a bad fate.

* * *

Random ponderings:

If Glenn Beck and other Paula Deen fans feel she should have cable cooking shows, why don't they just go out and start the new "Paula Deen Cooking Network"?

Why are people surprised that prison overcrowding and failure to deliver adequate mental health services to those in need; resulted in the homeless guy who stabbed and killed a woman in Hollywood having been arrested 46 times and yet he was still on the street?

Does Don Mattingly's recent complimentary talk about the play of Andre Eithier mean that Eithier is the outfielder who will get traded once Crawford and Kemp are healthy?  They can't trade Kemp and moving Yasiel Puig would result in fan revolt.

Does Edward Snowden realize that if he turns over the classified information he stole to the Russians, they will no longer have a reason to protect him?

Did the Republicans in the Texas State Senate really think they could turn back time to pass their idiotic abortion bill?  Maybe they've listened to too much Cher music.

Why is it the fault of Monster energy drink that a teen who drank two bottles a day of the stuff ended up dying of a heart attack?  It has caffeine and guarana and 27 or more grams of sugar in every can.

Does anyone else worry that reducing the size of the U.S. Army by 80,000 might be dangerous?  Not to our safety, ability to defend ourselves, or our ability to deploy military force anywhere in the world; but to the economy of the communities adjacent to the bases where thousands of soldiers will no longer be assigned?

* * *

This Date In History:

On this date in 1541, Francisco Pizzaro is assassinated in Lima.
On this date in 1740, a combined force consisting of Spainards, freed blacks and Indians defeat a British garrison in the Battle of Jenkins' Ear (I just liked the name of the battle).
On this date in 1870, Christmas is declared a federal holiday in the U.S.
On this date in 1917, the first U.S. troops arrive in France to fight against the Germans.
On this date in 1927, the Cyclone roller-coaster opens on Coney Island.
On this date in 1934, FDR signs the Federal Credit Union Act into law, creating credit unions.
On this date in 1945, the UN Charter is signed in San Francisco.
On this date in 1948, the Western allies begin the Berlin Airlift.
On this date in 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opens.
On this date in 1974, a UPC was used to scan and sell an item for the first time.

Famous Folk Born On This Date In History:

Cho Shik
Branwell Bronte
Edward Holyoke
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
Bernard Berenson
Willy Messerschmitt
Lt. General Louis B. "Chesty" Puller (five Navy Crosses for gallantry)
Stuart Symington
Salvador Allende
Colonel Tom Parker (always had a peanut butter and fried banana sandwich in his pocket)
Babe Zaharias
Paul Castellano
Billy Davis Jr.
Mick Jones
Chris Isaak
Gedde Watanabe
Patty Smyth
Greg LeMond
Terri Nunn
Shannon Sharpe
P. T. Anderson
Chris O'Donnell
Derek Jeter
Michael Vick

Movie quotes today come from "The Bachelor", not the TV series, but the very funny comedy starring Chris O'Donnell and Renee Zellweger:

Priest: It's a wonderful thing, as time goes by, to be with someone who looks into your face, when you've gotten old, and still sees what you think you look like.

#2

[after Carolyn explains to Jimmie the symbolism between flowers and vaginas]
Jimmie: I'm not interested in your goddamn vagina, all right? I just want to marry you!

#3

[while listening to love song from Titanic]
Natalie: What kind of dumb bitch lets Leonardo DiCaprio drown?
Anne: Nat, mind your own business

State Senator in TX trying to filibuster abortion bill and more headlines

It's 6:00 PDT, which means that Texas state senator Wendy Davis has to hold the floor of Senate there for another four hours for her filibuster to be successful.  She's trying to stop the most restrictive limitations on a woman's right to abortion from becoming law in Texas.  She can't lean and she can't take a bathroom break.  I hope she makes it.

The man who was arrested and faces a murder charge in the stabbing death of a Lynwood woman on Hollywood Boulevard had already been arrested 46 times previously, including seven arrests for assault with a deadly weapon.

Someone tried to assassinate two LAPD detectives as they were trying to enter the police parking lot at the Wilshire Division station on Venice Boulevard just after 4:00 on Tuesday morning.  The detectives suffered only minor injuries and were back assisting in the manhunt hours later.  A suspect has been detained and the investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, two former LAPD officers who were convicted of perjury and conspiracy to obstruct justice will not receive any jail time.  The attorney for the man they were convicted of attempting to frame has criticized the sentence, calling it far too lenient.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says that Edward Snowden is in the transit area of Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow and at this point he will not be turned over to the U.S. for extradition.  There is no extradition treaty between the U.S. and Russia.

Former South African president and Nobel Peace laureate Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition at a Pretoria hospital.

The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act in a decision released on Tuesday but still hasn't ruled on cases involving Prop 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act.  Rulings on those two cases are expected tomorrow morning.

Today is the 4th anniversary of the death of Michael Jackson and hundreds of his fans gathered at his gravesite at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.

It's their insistence on trying to pump up the Nook e-reader that is killing the last nationwide retailer of books with physical storefronts.  Barnes & Noble lost money in their 4th quarter, even though in-store revenues are climbing.  Look for someone to buy up the stores when they finally go broke, close some and make a nice profit on the others.

Whoever planned out the parade route for celebrating the Miami Heat's latest NBA championship is probably in hot water, after the passengers in the top of the double-decker bus had to duck as the bus passed under a number of overpasses.

Did Marlon Humphreys, a cornerback who is one of the most highly recruited players in the class that will graduate next year really see a KKK rally while on a recruiting visit to Ole Miss with his older brother?  He's backed off earlier tweets that said he did.  There was a KKK march on campus in 2009 by 12 KKK members, surrounded by over 250 students protesting the march.

Marie Osmond is going to become a grandmother for the first time.  Congratulations.

Miley Cyrus is blaming a tweet that appeared to threaten her father Billy Ray Cyrus to reveal something about himself or she'd do it for him on a technical glitch.  Yeah, right.

The name Asian Tiger Mosquito sounds bad and judging from the fact they can transmit more than 20 different diseases, they are bad.  They can now be found in 26 U.S. states, mostly in the East.

FBI agents at John F. Kennedy International Airport are saying "show me the money" after $1.2 million in cash apparently disappeared from the cargo hold of a Swiss Air Lines jet that landed there on Monday.

One of the great feuds in the WWF (now the WWE) was the one between Randy "Macho Man" Savage and George "The Animal" Steele.  The object of the feud was Savage's wife and manager, Miss Elizabeth.  Now, in a very well-written memoir, Steele tells all about the feud and his whole career.  It's called "Animal" and it is definitely worth a read.

The Vermillion Cliffs National Monument was established in 2000, and its area reaches into both Arizona and Utah.  There is one area there known as "The Wave" that involves a hike of six miles roundtrip for which only 20 permits are granted each day.  Last year almost 50,000 people applied for the 7,300 permits that are granted annually.  10 via an on-line lottery and 10 more by a daily lottery conducted each morning at 9 a.m.

Reality show star and former Hugh Hefner girlfriend Holly Madison is now engaged to her "baby daddy."  Now where is that autographed photo of her in her Hooters uniform?

A.J. Clemente is that guy who dropped the "F-bomb" within 30 seconds of starting his first and last attempt at anchoring the news on television.  Now he's earning $2.23 an hour (plus tips) at a dive bar.

Did NY Yankees GM Brian Cashman say that star player A-Rod should "shut the f*** up?"  Yes he did.

Scottie Pippen says the man he hit outside of Nobu in Malibu called him the "N-word" and spat on him before shoving him, at which point he was just "defending himself."

Lies, damn lies and statistics, part??

Someone who I've never met in person, but admire and consider a "friend" (in the online vernacular) posted a link to an interesting statistical analysis.  It shows that women are even more unrepresented in the pool of people who are selling spec scripts.  You can read that excellent piece here:  http://t.co/bpwFhFtnEk

You know how I am about numbers.  I did some research on my own and found out a few more interesting things that might put those numbers into an even more startling perspective.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics crunches a whole lot of numbers.  They tell us that the following was true of the U.S. labor force as an average, during 2011:

Of the total available population of men 16 years and older, 70.5% of them were in the labor force (combines employed and seeking employment).  For women, that figure is only 58.1%.  Now that disparity makes sense if we assume that in opposite-gender two parent households where only one parent is working outside the home, it is still more likely that person is the man.  But what is really interesting is that in 1999, it was 60.0%.  That was the peak year.  The 2011 figure was a 0.5% reduction from the 2010 figure, for women.

However, it is also worth noting that in 2011 the unemployment rate was 8.5% for women in the labor force, compared with 9.4% for men.  Do we assume that women are having an easier time finding work, when they seek it?  That's what the numbers seem to indicate but that is a dangerous conclusion.  It could be that unemployment is lower in specific industries where women are more likely to work than men.  It could be that all of these numbers are skewed by the fact they don't include those who were unemployed and stopped seeking work.  There isn't enough data to make a good conclusion about this particular disparity.

Women are more likely to be enrolled in college than men, according to the 2011 numbers (72% women versus 65% men).  Women are also more likely to be working at more than one job (5.3% of working women versus 4.6% of working men). 

What does this all mean?  First off, the fact that 1 of 2 bestselling books, versus 1 of 7 working writers in television, versus 1 of 8 spec scripts sold is interesting, but it lacks a little context.  We don't know how may writers are out there trying to publish novels, versus seeking work as a television writer, versus trying to sell spec scripts in total, let alone broken down by gender.  We also can't use best-selling novels as a benchmark for working TV writers and sales of spec scripts because they are measures of different things.  One is based on sales of books, but to the population as a whole.  One is based on an employment statistic in a specific industry that we know to be male-centric in every measure of employment.  And the third is based on sales of spec scripts to a highly limited market of studios and producers, who we also know to be male-centric.  I won't even get into which genre of spec script might be selling better than another, versus how much more likely it is that spec scripts in that genre were written by one gender over another. 

The numbers in this analysis that hold real validity are in the first .jpg.  You can definitely conclude from this data that women are selling fewer spec scripts than men as a trend over the last two decades or so.  That's troubling on a number of fronts.

We know that Hollywood and the film industry has a very strong male bias in terms of access, success and choices.  How many of the six major studios are headed by women?  How many of the "minors"?  Of the total pool of directors who can get a film greenlit simply be being attached to the project are men, versus women?  How many actresses are in the $20 million salary club, versus actors?  Like it or not the movie industry is still pretty much a "boy's club" and it doesn't look like that's going to change a lot in the short-term.

The "powers that be" argue that box office results dictate that how they are making these choices is correct and until they start having worsening results, these trends should continue.  Women represent roughly half of the potential audience and films that are "targeted" at this population segment continue to be more and more absent from the projects being looked at.

This seems to be part of another disturbing trend.  Making fewer movies with bigger budgets.  I was actually pleased to see that the sale of spec scripts took an upward turn in 2011 and 2012 over 2009 and 2010.  Producers and studios are being short-sighted in my opinion.  "Iron Man 3" is now over the $400 million mark domestically and over $1.2 billion worldwide.  Let's break those numbers down for a minute. 

Depending on the structure of the deal, studios will earn between 45% and 60% of worlwide box office receipts (55% domestically is a pretty good number).  55% of $1.2 billion is $615 million.

The production budget was roughly $200 million.  I don't have a good number of what they spent on marketing worldwide, but we'll ignore that for the moment.  So if the film continues to perform well, without counting future Blu-Ray and DVD sales, they will get back 4 or 5 times their initial investment.  That's a pretty good return, and in raw dollars it's between $800 million and $1 billion in profit based solely on production costs.  I'm sure you'd love to get 4 or 5 times earnings on the money in your bank account over a three to four year period.  I would.

Now let's look at "The Purge".  It has earned $68 million at the box office on a production budget of $3 million.  That means that the profit for this film is $37.3 million that far.  If it gets to a total profit of $42 million that's 14 times the original investment (yes, I know we are working strictly on production budgets and that acquisition costs drive numbers up, I'm trying to make a specific point).

Two final examples to drive the point home.  "End of Watch" grossed $48 million on a budget of $7 million.  That's a profit of $26.4 million which is nearly 4 times the production budget.

"Prometheus" grossed $403 million worldwide on a production budget of $130 million.  That's a profit of $221.65 million.  Less than 2 times return on production budget.

The issue here is risk.  It relates both to the choices made by studios and producers on which spec scripts to buy and ultimately produce, and which movies will make money in the end.  Which would you rather do?  Make 1 "Ironman 3" and earn a 4 or 5 times profit on a huge investment, or make 40 films like "The Purge" and "End of Watch"  where you may hit a major home run, or at least do just as well as the blockbusters you're risking hundreds of millions on.  Yes, there are the "Iron Man 3" and other mega-hits, but there are also the "Battleship" and the "John Carter" misses.

It takes a lot of the mega-hits to make up for one or two of the misses when your production budgets are over $100 million.  It takes nowhere near as many big hits at the box office when your production budgets are under $30 million to make up for the misses.  But now Hollywood has become a high-limit blackjack table where they will only bet big, because they think that's the only way to win big.

That is why I think this "boy's club" is much more likely to bet on a spec script written by a man than by a woman.  Risk.  Potential for big money.  Look at the movies in the 2012 top 25 at the box office.  How many can you find where the source material, be it original or adapted screenplay; was written by a woman?

It's a real catch-22.  Women will only start selling more spec scripts when more of what they've already sold has translated into big profits, and that can only happen if more members of the boy's club will take a chance on a woman's spec script.

Just some random thoughts on an interesting analysis.  Sorry if I got long-winded.