Following the jump is a graphic and disturbing image.
Random notes: May 9, 2012.
May 9th, 2012Notoriously anti-gun RINO Richard Lugar went down in flames like a tax-fattened hyena last night. Tam and Roberta X have more.
For the record: NYT obit for Maurice Sendak.
Nelson.
May 8th, 2012Keenan Alex stole a Cadillac Escalade.
Mr. Alex did not know that the car was actually a “bait car” being used by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to bust car thieves.
Mr. Alex also did not know that the “bait car” sting was being filmed by TruTV for their series “Bait Car”.
Mr. Alex was stopped and arrested by LACSD.
Ooopsie. The case against Mr. Alex has been dropped. Detective Shapiro is being investigated by LACSD.
Snark snark aborted snark.
May 7th, 2012You’d think that they could at least wipe off that video screen first. But this is California; they do things differently there.
I was going to make a snarky comment that this NYT article on what killed Vladimir Ilyich Lenin didn’t include my own favorite theory. Except that it does:
Well, darkness has a hunger that’s insatiable, and lightness has a call that’s hard to hear.
May 7th, 2012 He went home three years later. He explained no more than to say, “I lived with the Crows for a while. It was sometime before I could leave. They called me Horse.”
He did not find it necessary either to apologize or to boast, because he was the equal of any man on earth.
—”A Man Called Horse”, Dorothy M. Johnson
Instapundit and other folks have written eloquently about the “higher education bubble”. Other people I know and respect, like TJIC, have commented on ridiculous majors and the ridiculous people who pursue them.
So why did I go back to school? Why did I spend six years and <mumble mumble> dollars pursuing a degree? And why St. Ed’s? I’m not Catholic.
Obit watch: May 6, 2012.
May 6th, 2012Obit watch: May 4, 2012.
May 4th, 2012Daring Fireball is quoting sources as reporting the death of Adam Yauch, aka “MCA” of the Beastie Boys, aka “Sir Stewart Wallace”, aka “Nathan Wind”.
To be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of the Beastie Boys, with the exception of two songs. One is “Rock Hard”. And the other? Like you couldn’t guess.
Academic update Spring 2012, part II: If you can make one heap of all your winnings…
May 4th, 2012No, really, I haven’t been obsessively checking the university’s website waiting for that last grade.
Once every hour half-hour quarter-hour five minutes isn’t obsessive, is it?
The email from the professor came in at 10:29 AM yesterday, about the same time I was checking the website for the 1×101010 time.
As a reminder, the grade I was waiting on was the one for the big final paper; the “Capstone” project as they refer to it, which is supposed to be a summation of what you’ve learned up to the end of your academic career. At least in terms of ethical analysis, critical thinking, research skills, ability to write prose that makes sense, and maybe something to do with your actual major.
And?
A roundup of items from the legal beat.
May 3rd, 2012Back in January, I noted the indictment of DC Council member Harry Thomas on embezzlement charges. Thomas pled guilty, as expected, and was sentenced today to 38 months in prison. Guidelines called for 41 to 51 months; his attorney was asking for 18 months plus six more in “home confinement”.
I was going to put this in the earlier post, but I forgot, and it fits better here anyway:
11 of those charged were charged with felonies. If the charges are proven, I have no sympathy for those charged, and I hope they draw long, hard time.
I’m not sure what happened here: did I miss the story until Balko drew it to my attention, or has it been buried by the mass media? A Google search for references to “James M. Woosley” specifically on nytimes.com and latimes.com turned up nothing: the same search on washingtonpost.com turned up some references to Woosley’s suspension from his post and the convictions of other people in this scheme, but nothing about Woosley’s conviction.
FSBO.
May 3rd, 2012No?
Of course it quacks, it’s a duck!
Okay. Last offer. Want to buy the Righthaven trademark? Act fast! Supplies are limited!
I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned.
May 3rd, 2012Random notes: May 3, 2012.
May 3rd, 2012Obit watch: Junior Seau, former linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, and New England Patriots.
And the Kennedy assassination conspiracy has claimed another victim: Earl Rose, the Dallas County medical examiner who wanted to autopsy Kennedy but was overruled. Dr. Rose also did the autopsies on J.D. Tippit (the police officer Oswald shot), on Oswald himself, and on Jack Ruby.
I am aware of the rumors that I was the winning bidder on Munch’s “The Scream”. At this time, I have no comment.
TMQ Watch: May 1, 2012.
May 2nd, 2012Yes, we know we are a little late with this week’s TMQ Watch. ESPN has made it incredibly difficult to find TMQ, and we’ve been somewhat overwhelmed with plans for an upcoming party and work-related issues. Let’s jump right into it, shall we?
But not before noting that by publishing on Tuesday, TMQ missed two of the biggest NFL stories so far this year. Of course, he knew what he was getting into when he bought the tickets. We say let him crash.
Working for the crackdown.
May 2nd, 2012The NFL has announced disciplinary actions against four players for the New Orleans Saints for their roles in the bounty scandal.
- Jonathan Vilma: out for the entire 2012 season.
- Anthony Hargrove (now with Green Bay): suspended for eight games.
- Will Smith: four game suspension.
- Scott Fujita (now with Cleveland): three game suspension.
It looks like the the Vilma and Hargrove penalties were harshest because of their level of involvement. Vilma was the defensive captain at the time and allegedly assisted Gregg Williams with the bounty program, as well as offering “$10,000 to any Saints teammate who knocked Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre out of the 2009 NFC championship game.”
Hargrove apparently obstructed the investigation and lied to investigators; his punishment may have been mitigated somewhat because he flipped later on, submitting “a signed declaration that established not only the existence of the program at the Saints, but also that he knew about and participated in it.”
According to Pro Football Talk, all four players plan to appeal. This could turn into an interesting legal battle.
I’m trying to think of harsher player suspensions in the NFL, and I’m not coming up with much; Vick got an “indefinite” suspension that basically worked out to two years (most of which he spent in prison). Albert Haynesworth got five games for stomping on a guy. Plaxico Burress got four games for shooting himself. Roethlisberger got a six-game hit which was reduced to four games. And apparently a few players (Dexter Manley being the most famous) have gotten lifetime bans for multiple failed drug tests.