The Weekly Poll
Results
The 'Good-bye 2008' Edition
What word would you use to describe 2008? And why?
A. Good No responses
B. Bad No responses
C. Tough
Adam the cine-sound Pro said:
C- tough... Work was slow all year, but I paid all of my bills and saved a little each month according to plan (but did little else). For some reason I think 2009 will be a little better, but rationally I expect it will be worse.
Hope for the best, but expect the worst. That way any surprises are good ones...
Sally P(al)
This week you query: What word would you use to describe 2008? And why? I will respond: C. Tough... Here is why: We started out the year with a tough race between Barack and Hillary, which became a nail-biter until he eventually won the nomination in June. Then, we had to endure the tough Obama/Palin race (well, it really was between those two) until his glorious victory in November!... It was a tough year in nature as well. This year alone, we had over 1,000 wildfires in southern CA (31.0 BILLION dollars damages and over 150 dead) and in Sylmar, CA 800 people lost their homes - in this corrupt economy. This summer we had record flooding in the Midwest, and in early September, Galveston sustained a massive hurricane, as did the people in Haiti in their massive spring floods. In May, can we ever forget that devastating hurricane and suffering in Myanmar (We STILL don't have the statistics from the former, 'Burma' either). This December, we have record snows in the states of Washington, Oregon, and Michigan - don't know of any deaths, but bet is was a real tough time for all of the above. China suffered a massive earthquake right before they hosted the 2008 Summer Olympic Games; how tough was it to witness (in those opening ceremonies) just how massive and disciplined are the Chinese - compared to our culture... Was it was "tough" for our blond, Barbie gymnasts when facing off against their 12-year old competitors, or what? Who didn't hold his/her collective breaths for swimmer Michael Phillips and/or cheered for those plucky Jamaican runners in the Birdnest Stadium? Actually, they all "hung tough" for the games!
September was also a, "tough" year for the baseball fans - The Phillies Vs, 'who' again?? See, you can't remember either...
It was a tough year for the warring/terrorist factors too: Breakaway country, "Georgia" Vs the motherland, Russia - who decided to rein in her pesky, US backed, rebels... She won - tough titties for all there.
Talking about tough, 2008 saw a resurgence of fighting in Afghanistan, and in early September, the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad was bombed with 54 people left dead. This was followed by the November massacre in Mumbai, India, where 10 men held the city hostage for days - after killing many hostages, the siege ended with all but one of them dead as well. Right now, as I type, the rioting continues in Athens, Greece - who know why? (As an observation, people worldwide are angry; just mad as Hell...) The news from Darfur continues to depress, and the Israeli's and Palestinian's continue in their mutual quest to kill one another off - or, as I prefer to call it: "The big land grab" in the name of God - of course. Tough for all those innocent's in the vicinity, huh? Killing babies in NEVER excusable for any reason (my thought here). Least we forget, we ended the year with a man dressed as, "Santa," shooting to kill everyone at a CHRISTMAS party - then he burned the place down - what a big, tough, piece of crap was he? Now, as we wrap up 2008 we are still smarting from the "collapse" of Wall Street (greed) and in Detroit (exploitation by the 'Power's that be') - and it is tough NOT to see any one of the despots IN JAIL! Tough though it may be, I guess that about sums it up for me, pal - how about you? Hang tough in '09, kiddo,
(sigh) I'll sure try to...
mj replied:
I've got to go with C. tough. Even allowing for Obama's historic victory, the acrimony on both sides during the primary; the absolute, bald-faced, disingenuous manipulation of the Republican general election campaign as it further played on divisive themes; and the almost instantaneous disillusionment that has erupted based on slights against base constituencies (perceived or real) by the incoming administration leave me weary. We won't talk about the last minute turds in the punchbowl W is leaving behind to crown his most disastrous year yet. And I've got a cold.
Sorry about the cold. I have a headache, myself...
D. Historic
joe with the little j with...
Hi Bob... I have to say D. Historic, never did I think a man of color would be President. The High School I went to, had a rebel flag, rebel band uniforms and the Dixie song representing my school. So I have to say it is HISTORIC, guys I knew that were Dems. their whole life
told me they would not vote for Barack because he was black, but as things got worse they had a change of heart, I'm not making this up one friend asked me you don't think that if Barack gets elected he will seek revenge on white people!! told him to get his head out of his ass(he voted for Barack). So Historic it is for me.
I only heard one person say that the he wouldn't vote for BHO because he was black. But, he was inclusive, though, by saying he wouldn't vote for any black person no matter the party. Jeesh! What a maroon..
E. Memorable
Maw succinct as always...
E. Memorable because the electorate of the country finally realized how incompetently Bush and his administration is and elected brains rather than swagger.
Amen to that, Maw...
an additional category was offered...
F. Fucked
Paul of Seattle stated...
F. Fucked. The 8 years of bush finalized to the economic disaster as was inevitable.
and finally here is...
rdmcd collectively saying...
All of them If you think about it...
Yuppers
Well, thanks to the responders and all you readers. Yer the best!... I'm gonna take a break for a week or two to catch up from the holidays and focus on some personal affairs (mainly relocation closer to my immediate family).
I'll be back soon, I assure you!... Meanwhile, don't let the bastards get ya down!
BadToTheBoneBob ( BCEpoll 'at' aol.com )
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Fighting Off Depression (nytimes.com)
Let's not mince words: This looks an awful lot like the beginning of a second Great Depression. Will we "act swiftly and boldly" enough to stop that from happening?
FRANK RICH: A President Forgotten but Not Gone (nytimes.com)
WE like our failed presidents to be Shakespearean, or at least large enough to inspire Oscar-worthy performances from magnificent tragedians like Frank Langella. So here, too, George W. Bush has let us down. Even the banality of evil is too grandiose a concept for 43. He is not a memorable villain so much as a sometimes affable second banana whom Josh Brolin and Will Ferrell can nail without breaking a sweat. He's the reckless Yalie Tom Buchanan, not Gatsby. He is smaller than life.
Al Norman: Cops Blame Wal-Mart For Trampling Death (huffingtonpost.com)
The police in Nassau County, New York released a report this week that clearly lays the blame for a Black Friday trampling death on Wal-Mart.
Henry Marchand: Books are the Things With Pages (irascibleprofessor.com)
Like most of the educators I've worked and spoken with during the 17-and-counting years I've spent teaching English courses at various colleges and universities, I have vivid memories of junior high and high school teachers who embody, for me, the best and worst of our profession.
Rob Horning: "George Orwell: Forgiving and Championing Bad Art" (popmatters.com)
It's a shame that the word Orwellian now signifies totalitarian surveillance and remodeling reality with lies. Judging by the persona George Orwell establishes in his essays, of which Harcourt has recently issued two new collections, Orwellian could easily have come to mean a bluff impatience with pretentiousness, or the tendency to evoke the ordinary person's point of view as a defense of one's own tenacious positions, or the no-nonsense voice he achieves by preferring to risk overstatement rather than waste words.
Tom Robbins: Reviving Lead Belly (villagevoice.com)
A hefty collection of articles and photos plumps up the legacy of the blues great.
Ellen Gray: Advice for the TV networks in 2009 (Philadelphia Daily News)
'Tis the season to promise our better selves that we'll do better.
And with TVs in the average U.S. household now on for a record eight hours, 18 minutes a day, according to Nielsen, a New Year's resolution that involved a bit of shut-eye for one of our busiest appliances might not be a bad idea.
Dan Savage: Savage Love (villagevoice.com)
I Was Raped. Now My Boyfriend Wants to Roleplay Rape Scenarios.
David Bruce: Wise Up! Problem-Solving
Jane Russell and Bob Hope once entertained at the Paramount Theater in New York. Ms. Russell had trouble dropping off to sleep - too many drunks made noise in the hallways of her hotel across the street. One day she overslept, threw a fur coat across her nightgown, then ran across the street where Mr. Hope was getting ready to introduce her. Standing in the wings, Ms. Russell threw open her fur coat, showing Mr. Hope her nightgown. Mr. Hope laughed, then told several more jokes, giving Ms. Russell time to put on a sequined gown and some lipstick.
Edited by David Bruce: Outstanding!
Free Download. Mostly humorous autobiographical essays.
"Sylvia" by Nicole Hollander
replied:
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny, but brisk for these parts.
Turkey Restores Citizenship
Nazim Hikmet
Turkey restored the citizenship of its most famous poet Monday in a symbolic step meant to show it was addressing criticism of its human rights record in hopes of joining the European Union.
Turkey stripped Nazim Hikmet of his nationality in 1951 at the height of the Cold War because of his communist views, branded him a traitor and imprisoned him for more than a decade.
He died in exile in Moscow in 1963 but his work lived on - and the government's decision to restore his rights is meant to show Turkey is ready to embrace a limited amount of criticism.
Considered to be one of Turkey's first modern poets, Hikmet's deep love for his country and rich use of free verse earned him the esteem of artists, intellectuals and champions of free expression.
Freed in 1950, he left Turkey after two attempts on his life. He became a Polish citizen through family ties and never returned.
Nazim Hikmet
Cuba Opens Archives
Ernest Hemingway
Cuba on Monday made the first of thousands of digitized documents, photographs and books that belonged to writer Ernest Hemingway available to scholars after the items languished for decades in the basement of his home outside of Havana.
Most of the papers have never been published and will give new insight into the 21 years Hemingway spent at Finca Vigia in San Francisco de Paula where he wrote some of his greatest works, said Ada Rosa Alfonso Rosales, director of Museo Ernest Hemingway.
Scholars "will be able to study important documents that shed light on the Cuban period of Hemingway, which was very important and not well known by his biographers," she said.
The material includes more than 2,000 documents ranging from manuscripts of some of his works to letters to store receipts, 3,500 photographs and 9,000 books, some 2,000 of which Hemingway was known to have read because he made notes in the margins, she said.
Ernest Hemingway
Lionsgate To Buy
TV Guide
Lionsgate agreed to buy TV Guide and TV Guide Network, seen by 83 million homes, for $255 million, from Macrovision Solutions Corp, the companies announced on Monday.
At the same time, Macrovision ended an agreement made last month to sell the properties to Allen Shapiro and One Equity Partners for the same price.
"On the surface it's the same price," said Alan Davis, an analyst with D.A. Davidson& Co., of Lake Oswego, Oregon. But he said the deal with Lionsgate was better because it has a closing date of February 28, sooner than the other deal, and fewer contingencies.
Lionsgate's television business includes many television shows, such as MadMen for AMC, South Park and Family Feud.
TV Guide
Co-Founder Quits Band
Kraftwerk
Florian Schneider, the co-founder of legendary German electronica band Kraftwerk, has quit the lineup, leaving it with just one original member.
His departure was revealed Monday on Kraftwerk's official fan Web site. No reason was given, but Schneider did not take part in Kraftwerk's 2008 world tour as he is reportedly working on other projects.
The band, headed by co-founder Ralf Huetter, is still scheduled to open for Radiohead on the British group's first tour of Latin America, which begins March 15 in Mexico City.
Schneider and Huetter co-founded Kraftwerk in early 1970, eventually expanding it to a four-piece group with a revolving lineup of musicians. They transformed electronic music in the 1970s with such synthetic yet oddly engaging tunes as "The Robots" and the 22-minute "Autobahn." David Bowie, in his own electronica phase, paid tribute to the band with his 1977 instrumental "V2-Schneider."
Kraftwerk
Baby News
Dolly Rebecca Rose & Charlie Tamara Tulip O'Connell
Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell are new parents - times two.
A publicist for the "Ugly Betty" actress says twin daughters Dolly Rebecca Rose and Charlie Tamara Tulip were born Dec. 28. They are the couple's first children.
Publicist Lewis Kay said in a statement Monday that "mother, father and both girls are all home and doing well."
Dolly Rebecca Rose & Charlie Tamara Tulip O'Connell
Politics Slowed Drug Arrest
Alaska
A drug investigator says authorities delayed the arrest of a woman tied to Gov. Sarah Palin's family until after the November election, in which Palin was the Republican vice presidential candidate, a newspaper reported.
Sherry Johnston - whose son Levi Johnston is engaged to Palin's daughter, Bristol - was arrested Dec. 18 on six felony drug counts. She is accused of selling Oxycontin, a strong prescription painkiller, and pleaded not guilty Monday.
Investigator Kyle Young sent an e-mail to the Public Safety Employees Association saying the search warrant of Johnston's house was delayed for political reasons, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
"It was not allowed to progress in a normal fashion, the search warrant WAS delayed because of the pending election and the Mat Su Drug Unit and the case officer were not the ones calling the shots," Young wrote in the Dec. 30 e-mail.
Alaska
Fisk University Appeals Ruling
Georgia O'Keeffe
A court order has forced Fisk University to reopen the gallery displaying a collection donated by artist Georgia O'Keeffe, but the school isn't giving up its legal fight for the right to sell the artworks.
The state Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments this week over last year's ruling that Fisk can't sell any of the donated artwork, and that it would lose the entire collection if it wasn't retrieved from storage and put back on display.
The gallery on Fisk's Nashville campus reopened to little fanfare in October after nearly three years.
The artworks were part of a collection that belonged to O'Keeffe's late husband, photographer and art promoter Alfred Stieglitz. Art historians say the collection has an appealing unity because many of the American artists were part of O'Keeffe and Stieglitz's circle of friends. Besides two paintings by O'Keeffe, the 101-piece collection includes works by Picasso, Renoir, Cezanne, Marsden Hartley and Diego Rivera.
Georgia O'Keeffe
China Maker Collapses
Waterford Wedgwood
Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the maker of classic china and crystal, filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday after attempts to restructure the struggling business or find a buyer failed.
Four administrators from business advisory firm Deloitte were appointed to run the company's businesses in Britain and Northern Ireland, while a Deloitte partner in the Irish Republic was appointed as receiver of Waterford Wedgwood PLC, the ultimate parent of the U.K. companies, and other Irish subsidiaries.
The U.K. joint administrators said they intended to continue to run the business as they seek a buyer. Trading in the company's shares was suspended on the Irish Stock Exchange where they languished at just one-tenth of a euro cent and the company's directors - including Anthony O'Reilly, the Irish publishing magnate who along with his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris owns more than half of all Waterford Wedgwood shares - handed in their resignations.
Waterford Wedgwood, which employs around 7,700 worldwide, is the latest in a burgeoning list of iconic British companies to succumb to the global economic slowdown and credit squeeze. Department store veteran Woolworths, the queen's tailor Hardy Amies, tea and coffee merchant Whittard of Chelsea and fellow ceramics stalwart Royal Worcester and Spode have all filed for bankruptcy protection in recent months.
Waterford Wedgwood
Accounts Hacked
Twitter
The Twitter accounts of US president-elect Barack Obama, singer Britney Spears and other prominent figures were hacked on Monday and fake messages sent out in their names on the micro-blogging service.
Twitter founder Biz Stone, in a post on the official company blog, said a total of 33 Twitter accounts had been hacked including those of Obama and Rick Sanchez, a CNN television anchor with tens of thousands of followers.
"We immediately locked down the accounts and investigated the issue," Stone said, nothing that because of "transition issues" Obama has not updated his Twitter account since winning the US presidential election in November.
According to reports on technology blogs, other prominent "Twitter-ers" whose accounts were hacked included those of Fox News television and singer Spears.
Twitter
Tokyo Auction
Bluefin Tuna
Two sushi bar owners paid more than $100,000 for a Japanese bluefin tuna at a Tokyo fish auction Monday, several times the average price and the highest in nearly a decade, market officials said.
The 282-pound (128-kilogram) premium tuna caught off the northern coast of Oma fetched 9.63 million yen ($104,700), the highest since 2001, when another Japanese bluefin tuna brought an all-time record of 20 million yen, market official Takashi Yoshida said.
Yoshida said the extravagant purchase - about $370 per pound ($817 per kilogram) - went to a Hong Kong sushi bar owner and his Japanese competitor who reached a peaceful settlement to share the big fish. The Hong Kong buyer also paid the highest price at last year's new year event at Tokyo's Tsukiji market, the world's largest fish seller, which holds near-daily auctions.
A slightly bigger imported bluefin caught off the eastern United States sold for 1.42 million yen ($15,400) in Monday's auction.
Bluefin Tuna
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