Happy Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween 2011, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

Happy Halloween from The Digital Hairshirt . . . hope it's a HOWLING good time!

Honey Cain

The MSM is having orgasms either in their denunciation of Herman Cain's "smoking" ad or the charges now (you know, when he's a front runner) of inappropriate behavior.

Adice to Mr. Cain"  emulate the Honey Badger.  Don't care.  Don't give a shit.  Just keep on heading to the White House.

In God's Wheelbarrow

My church has been using a video by Dr. Edward Sri to explain the changes to the Mass that start with Advent.  This resonated with me:

A man walked a tightrope across Niagara Falls.  The crowd cheered below him.

Reaching the other side, he heard their accolades and asked them, "Do you believe I can walk back blindfolded?"

"Yes!" they cheered.

"Do you believe I can walk back blindfolded and pushing a wheelbarrow?"

"Yes!  Yes!"

"Do you believe I can walk back blindfolded, pushing a wheel chair, and have someone sitting in the wheelbarrow?!"

"YES!  YES!!!"

"Great - who wants to sit in the wheelbarrow first?"

The point was to illustrate that our belief, as recited in the Creed, is both one of intellectual belief AND placing all trust in God - in a sense, getting in His wheelbarrow.

Are you there yet?

And your little dog, too!!!

Happy Halloween!

SATG Halloween_33, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

On Saturday, October 29th, my church - St. Albert the Great - had a helluva Halloween party for the parishioners.

The party featured "trunk-or-treat" for the young kids, where parishioners decorated their cars and had treats to hand out.  Not bad - there were some 20 to 30 cars, whch meant a lot of candy for the trick-or-treaters.

After that, we had a easy dinner for all of hot dogs, chips, and chili, and a "safe" hayride for the little kids.  But really, what people wanted to see was when night fell and the "big kid" ride started:  our Haunted Hayride!

Some background:  in late September, our pastor asked high school students and their parents to attend a meeting to start a Youth Group.  I went with my high school freshman daughter, Katherine (that is her in the picture above, on the right).  At that meeting, the Youth Group committed to putting on the Haunted Hayride.  Not much time to get things together, but . .  they did it. 

With help from the Mens Group, these kids mapped out a story along the trail on bthe back part of the church property:

Scene 1 - cemetery with the Grim Reaper warning the people on the wagon not to go any further, or one of them would die.  I played that part - as a freeze was expected in Eastern Tennessee that night, I was a rather pudgy Grim Reaper given my multiple layers of clothing.

Scene 2 - ruined Boy Scout camp.  Body parts strewn.  Dazed and shaken survivors (lucky parents - they built a campfire that kept them warm) saying "he" had come out of the woods and it all happened so fast.  Meanwhile, the Mens Group had rigged up a narrative on a computer, with speakers, on the wagon.  Our local troop did the wrecked camp; one Scout proudly showed me the severed hand reching for the manual on how to control severe bleeding.  Nice.

Scene 3 - the riders learn that a local man was falsely accused of the death of the Scouts and lynched by a mob.  Scaffold with hanging dummy.  Thank the Mens Group for building that.

Scene 4 - accused man's crazy mother in a rocking chair, telling the rides they killed her baby and laying a curse on them.  The mom playing that had on long johns, multiple layers, and a lap robe, lucky woman.  I loved the fake crow she found and glued to her shoulder.

Scene 5 - the drag off!  Unbeknownst to the riders, the young (and not so heavy) child sitting at the very back of the wagon was a "plant", one of the teens' younger siblings.  As the wagon approched this scene, two girls with creepy masks stood silently to the left while music played.  This distracted the riders, so that two teens in hockey masks appraoched on the right . . . and as one grabbed the plant - who was instructed to scream as loud as they could - the other brandished a chain saw (chain taken off for safety), meancing the riders.  Screaming heard.

Scene 6 - one of the surviving Boy Scouts was there . . . but he had gone mad.  Sitting at a sort of Mad Hatter tea party with two puppets, he chastises one when it "reveals" the imminent danger ahead.

Scene 7 - the grand finale.  Highway flares are set off and lights blink . . . and as the wagon stops, the teems emerge from the wood line as zombies.  Hungry zombies.  They lurch towards the riders and chainsaw boy appears again.  Just as it seems the zombies will attack the wagon - it pulls off and heads back to the safety of the parish picnic area.

Cool, huh?  I was too busy to take many pictures but more can be seen here.

Halloween's no drag . . .

The Jesus Church of Latter-day Saints and some of its members fought back against criticism Friday after a flier for a Halloween event said no ‘cross gender’ costumes were allowed, Utah’s Fox13 reported.

The flier for the trunk-or-treat-event, an LDS event where kids trick-or-treat in the parking lot of one of the religious centers, also specified that the children not wear masks.

Raquel Smith, a Sandy, Utah mother, told Fox13 that she felt the event sends the wrong message to the children.

"It has everything to do with not loving your fellow man because they choose to dress a specific way," Smith, who is not a Mormon, told the station.

Then, Raquel - don't go to the friggin' party.

Seriously?  Maybe this mother can  remove the pole from her ass and thank the Mormons for hosting an event where her little Octavius or Pollyanna can go and get some candy, bob for apples, and just have fun.  Because not every get-together has to cary some political or social message.

When I was a school Mom at St. Joseph in Santa Ana, CA, we had this issue ach year because part of the Mexican culture thinks - ha, ha - it's funny for guys, in cluding biys, to don drag as a costume.  That's okay to a  certain point - but one year, we had a 7th grader show up in a costume that can only be described as Drunk Fat Chick, which included the word "boobs" written across the front of the tube top and a tramp stamp in the lower back.  No, that was not going to fly and the principal and pastor said, "Sorry - you're not in the school parade."  Nowadays, I'm afraid the principal might check first to see if the kid's parents pay full tuition, but that was the policy then.

I AM THE 75%!

. . . of American adults who wear corrective lenses . . .

Halloween just isn't friendly to we eye glass wearers.

Real vampires suck . . .

The DigiAnnals of Bad Photography

As you may have guessed, I really love photography.  I have made some good shot, I think, but I have also made some pretty awful ones as well.

But . . . sometimes I can take heart when I see work presumably done by a professional and it's so bad, I realize, hell, even I have a chance to make money in this business.  So starts a new feature to my blog:  The DigiAnnals of Bad Photography.

And what better to get us in the mood than some staged Halloween-themed shots of a starlet wannabe at a pumpkin patch in West Hollywood.

Mmmm, broad-side lighting.  Makes her cheeks look like those of Jigsaw from the Saw franchise.

Harsh lighting, disembodied sword coming in from the right, distracting background and breasts - add the drunken stupor look and it's a winner!

You can see more, as well as Patton Oswalt's Twitter feed on this woman's "shoot" at this pumpkin patch.  Her names is Phoebe Price - as to who the hell she is, beats me.





Or do I prefer Knoxville at night in black and white?

Knoxville Night Scene, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

Se previous post.

From Atop the 11th Street Garage

From Atop the 11th Street Garage, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

I am taking a photography course through the extension program at the University of Tennessee. One of our assignments was to grab a night shot. The instructor suggested the top of one of UT's parking structures, so I went up.

TIL that 15 people commit suicide EVERY HOUR in India

This has to be one of the saddest statistics I have heard.

The poor farmer’s crop failed and he defaulted on the $6,000 loan he had taken to buy a tractor. The bank’s collectors hounded him, even hiring drummers to go round the village drawing attention to his shame.

“My father found it unbearable. He was an honorable man and he couldn’t take the humiliation. The next day he hanged himself from a tree on his farm,” his son Ram Gulam said Friday.

Hiring drummers?  Really?  Sometimes I can only shaky my head at the cruelty of people.

Suicide is never the answer.  There is help out there.

¿Hablas Liberal?

Unfair attack: They quoted me.

This is why video is a wonderful thing.

You might be a redneck if you go to a family reunion to pick up women . . . or you might be in New Hampshire

A bill that would repeal New Hampshire’s 2009 law legalizing same-sex marriage would also allow two citizens of either sex to enter into a civil union — even siblings.

New Hampshire Republican state Rep. David Bates, the sponsor of the bill, confirmed this to The Daily Caller.

Asked about the logic behind allowing siblings to enter into civil unions, Bates responded, “You have that question backwards. By definition in the bill, a ‘civil union’ means a contractual agreement that provides reciprocal benefits and obligations to the parties to the agreement.”

“The proper question is: What logical or legally defensible reason is there to exclude anyone?” Bates said. “There is none.”

Actually, when California enacted its registered domestic partnership statute back in the early 2000's, it also included the provision that opposite sex partners could register, providing that one was at least 62 years old.  And it was made so preceisely for the reasons stated by Rep. Bates - for example, I could be in a regsitered civil union with my elderly father so that he could beome a dependent on my employee-supplied health insurance.

Perhaps this is a good chance for states to scrap "marriage" altogether and simply ay "civil unions."  Marriage would then be defined by a religious or spritual or intellectual entity.  So if sae-sex couples wanted to be "married", they can enter into a ivil union and then find some church to make it "marriage."

Sam and Patrick

Sam and Patrick, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

Taken October 25, 2011. My son had come downstairs before heading out to school and curled up on a chaise lounge. I did not notice the puppy climbing up next to him, but when I turned around and saw this, I was happy to have had my camera next to me.

Dogs really are wonderful.

Because Schuller did such a good job the first time . . .

Crystal Cathedral Ministries' board of directors have "reluctantly" endorsed Chapman University's proposal to buy the 40-acre church campus for $50 million, church officials said Wednesday.

The committee of creditors to whom the Crystal Cathedral owes millions endorsed proposals submitted both by Chapman University and the diocese. However, the diocese's plan does not not give the cathedral an option to buy back the core buildings.

Doti said Chapman's $50 million offer stands. Its proposal was tweaked to change the buyback period from four to five years so the church will have one additional year to come up with the $23.5 million needed to buy back some of the core buildings, he said.

So . . . the Reformation can continue in Garden Grove.  No Popery will disgrae the buildings.

So . . . the Schullers can get another bite at the apple at running McChurch.  And if Dad isn't around, Sheila is.

So . . . Tod Brown will not leave any legacy of catherdral-building unless the Pope extends his tenure as Bishop of Orange and big money donors cough some up.  Which isn't likely.

So the next big question for Catholics in the Diocese of Orange is what happens after November 15th.  Tod turns 75 and by canon law, must tender his retirement to the Pope. 

She said no, no, no . . .

The coroner in the UK has ruled Amy Winehouse passed from "death by misadventure" after consuming a huge quantity of alcohol. No - dying while attempting to summit Everest might be, but this is alcoholic poisoning. Be honest and call it what it is to let others know of the risk.

Fool Me Once, Shame on You - Fool Me Twice . . .

In what many are hailing as a breakthrough solution to Greece’s crippling debt crisis, Greece today offered to repay a bailout from the European Union nations by giving them a gigantic horse.

Finance ministers from sixteen EU nations awoke in Brussels this morning to find that a huge wooden horse had been wheeled into the city center overnight.

The horse, measuring several stories in height, drew mixed responses from the finance ministers . . .

Admiral Akbar, if you please . . .

If you don't understand the humor behind this news story, thank your public school . . .

"You will suffer a wrath more hellacious than Satan himself!"

Comedy friggin' gold . . . careful, he's got a pair of handcuffs and he knows how to use them!

Statistics show . . .

Richard Dawkins proves again to be an insufferable prick . . .

Rich, don't be such a dick . . .

“I wrote [an] article called ‘Atheists for Jesus,’ I think it was… Somebody gave me a t-shirt: ‘Atheists for Jesus.’ Well, the point was that Jesus was a great moral teacher and I was suggesting that somebody as intelligent as Jesus would have been an atheist if he had known what we know today.”

Thus spake Zarathu . . . aw, no, it's biologist Richard Dawkins, demonstrating once again tyhat a condition of atheism seems to include the obsessive need to mock and ridicule believers of a faith, particularly Christians (because Muslims will kill you, especially in London).  They cannot be content living with their non-belief and allowing others to live with their chosen faith traditions.

What do we know today that would have changed Jesus' mind?  Nuclear physics?  The mapping of the human genome?  Even if you want to take the posiiton that Jesus was not God, His teachings point to the fact that he spoke to the essence of human nature . . . which remains today as it was 2,000 years ago.

Perhaps an intelligent and moral man that Jesus would be today would have said to Dawkins, "Stick with what you know."

My Life is Complete

Econ 101 Fail

Millions of student loan borrowers will be eligible to lower their payments and consolidate their loans under a plan President Barack Obama intends to announce Wednesday, the White House said.

I see this along the same lines as "Cash for Clunkers."  For the 28-year-old with the Masters in Sociology who has racked up $100,000 (actually, there was an actual New York Times story about such a student except it was only her Bachelor's degree, she had a double major in Comparative Religious Studies and Womens Studies, but it was still $100,000 in debt), it has already been demonstrated that he or she lacks financial savvy to understand that you have to weigh the value of something before you assume debt to acquire it.

So, chances are, a reduction in debt on this person's personal balance sheet is likely to be replaced with more debt.  I would even be willing to bet it will be consumer debt - the new notebook, car, or backpacking trip to Katmandu.



Yeah, gotta reuse this picture because this is the target audinece of this latest plan from Obama.

Or worse, someone will think, "Great, now I can move to Greenpoint and open that sustainable vegan latte-and-cupcake bar I've always wanted!"

A veritable garden spot, let me tell you . . .

More than half a billion dollars -- that's the amount of welfare assistance that is now pumped into the city annually, according to a report prepared by the county's Legislation and Research Unit, Human Services Group.

Nearly 46 percent of the city's residents are on some form of welfare - be it cash benefits, food stamps or Medi-Cal benefits.

At the same time, Paxton said the welfare assistance represents a significant amount of money that is spent in the city, as residents shop, eat and pay rent.

"That's an infusion of dollars into our city that's a major part of our economy," he said.

I have made appearances as an attorney numerous times at the courthouse in downtown San Bernardino. It is simply an armpit.  The courthouse itself, built in 1926, is a beautiful structure, but its environs are ugly and dirty, with the desert winds whipping trash about.  The line of people going through security each morning represent some of the human trash you would expect to live in ramshackle trailers and small stucco home, with cinderblock foundations.   

From my own experiences, the majority of parties appearing in court are mostly Black, followed by Hispanics.  In the Family Law courts, it is usually a fight over money, especially child support.  Everyone wants to pay less and get more.  Everyone is pointing the finger at the other person.  And in the mid-morning on the 3rd floor, you will suddenly hear what sounds like sleigh bells approaching.  That's when sheriif deputies shoo everyone over to one side, because it's time for perp walk, when criminal litigants are brought in for their court hearings.  The sleigh bells are the shackles and manacles they are wearing, along with their bright orange county jumpsuits. 

If you think the sight of a line of male or female prisoners chained together in a line, shuffling to court, would sober some of these people up, think again.  "That's where you're gonna be, n**** if you don't pay me more support!"  "Shut yo' mouf, bitch, before I do it for you!"

I don't miss it.

Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's . . .

. . . but render unto God what is His.

The Vatican called on Monday for the establishment of a “global public authority” and a “central world bank” to rule over financial institutions that have become outdated and often ineffective in dealing fairly with crises.

It called for the establishment of “a supranational authority” with worldwide scope and “universal jurisdiction” to guide economic policies and decisions.

Good Lord.  I consider myself a devout, albeit imperfect, Roman Catholic.  But, Holy Father, check your Justice and Peace Department.  The thought of a "central world bank" - especially if it were to be under the aegis of a body such as the United Nations - is frightening.  I could see corruption running rampant and the "distribution" subject to cronyism and blackmail.

And is this really in the authority of the Vatican.  One of my priest friends remarked about this, "Fortunately, the Church has never claimed to be infallible in matters of economics."  And  nor should it be.  I would ask that the Vatican stick to the game plan of its founding - winning souls for Heaven.  Leave Caesar's material world to Caesar.

Why do I have the heebie-jeebies about this.  Something about the Church seeking to influence global finance has an uneasy eschatological feel to it.

I'm in the Photograph . . .

And if you want beautiful, pitiful, have me in a
picture
And if you want make me dance, throw me round, spin
upon your finger

Blind labors the blind and I am unwilling to uncover
my eyes

And if you want take your time rifle through, find a
very nice one
If there's a crease in my face over time, there's
plenty more where that came from

Words frozen, will thaw when I am wasted, I am...
better shut up
And a frame is quite confining, hang me up... hang me
up

I'm in the photograph
I'm in the photograph
I'm in the photograph... yeah yeah

-- Photograph by TheVerve Pipe

Last week we had two fill-ins for the instructor of my photography course at UT Extension.  One of the fellows, Dee, was discussing why we needed a good tripod.  "And most important of all, " he said, "You need to get into the picture, too, so use your tripod and set your shutter on delay."  A number of us - women, of course - protested, because we did not like having our picture taken.  Dee got serious.  "No, you need to be in the picture.  I lost my son eight years ago and I could not find a picture of me and him together.  You never know.  Do it for your family."

Message received, Dee.

BTW, I want this song played at my memorial when I'm dead.

Really?

Libya's liberation: interim ruler unveils more radical than expected plans for Islamic law

No shit, really?  Is anyone surprised by this?

If power to the people means denigration of the individual, I want nothing of it . . .

From a letter written to a friend:

What I do want to tell you about is a comment made to me by Patrick as we were driving home Saturday night.  I mentioned that we had a quick cleanup after the festival ended at 6:00 pm because people were polite and did not leave their trash on the tables.  He said he remembered how hard I had to clean up the Parish Hall after each night of the fiesta and then added, "I think it's the celebrities in California."  I asked him to explain, which he did:  "Mom, celebrities have a lot of power in California.  Well, a lot of the people at St. Joseph in Santa Ana are poor, and they don't have a lot of power.  So maybe making a mess is their way of feeling like they do - you know, they can make a mess because they know someone else will clean up after them.  It's like you work for them."  Heavens!  I have to say, that is a rather insightful observation for an 11-year-old!  I remember reading the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (in fact, (I've read it many times and if you never have, you should consider picking it up) and in the book, when the protagonist, Francine Neely, graduates from grade school, her mother and aunt take her to a soda parlor for ice cream.  Set in the Early 1900's, Francine's mother is a poor widow at this time and the change from the tab is twenty cents.  In the book, Francine's mother looks at the money, thinking how she can use that to buy the provisions for a few meals, then grandly waves it away, telling the waitress to keep it.  Scolded by Francine's aunt, her mother explains, "For once I wanted us to feel like millionaires. And if twenty cents can make us feel rich, it's a cheap price to pay."  Patrick's comments made me think, has our society changed that while once we bestowed our benefice on another to lift ourselves up - like tipping a waitress when we know how poor we are - now people instead reach up to drag a person to a spot below them in order to feel empowered - like leaving a mess for "someone else" to clean?  Listen to our children, they give us good food for thought.

When I lived in California, as long-time readers of this blog know, I gave a lot of my time to my church, St. Joseph in Santa Ana.  When I left, I had been a parishioner for about 15 years.  I used to volunteer at our annual fiesta each year, and for many years I was La reina de la venta degunda - the queen of the rummage sale.  One thing that used to DRIVE ME CRAZY was how people would come through and utterly TRASH the rummage sale.  If there was a set of something - say, drinking glasses, they'd open the box and leave them strewn on the tables.  Half-eaten food items would be left among the items for sale.  Often, children were allowed to run through the area unchecked, and they would pull out the toys that were for sale, leaving bits and parts all over the floors.  I would purposely take zip ties to connect shoe pairs together so mates would not be lost, only to have people cut them and then not buy the shoes, leaving me to trace down the pair, with one shoe on one side of the parish hall and the other one God knows where.

Why?  Are people that uncouth?  I wonder if my son (the aforementioned Patrick) hit upon something - people, in desperate circumstances, engage in such behavior to make themselves feel as if they have some power.  But really?  Is acting like a slob and expecting someone to clean up after you a show of power . . . or has "self-dignity" or "self-esteem" been redefined where yu no longer attempt to so something "noble" and thus raise yourself, but instead get someone to do something for you, although undeserved.

I will say it again:  there is NO innate nobility in poverty.  The "fat cat", over-consuming bigwigs of Wall Street and the welfare queens demanding entitlements while they flash expensive cosmetic procedures are equally despicable.

Shea Hall in Knoxville, TN

KofC, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

I was volunteering for my son's school's annual Fall Festival, and had to pick up stuff that was in storage at hall where the local Knights of Columbus meets. Shea Hall is in a 120-year-old former church, that was once a Lutheran and Baptist church. No the Papists hold court there.

More photos can be seen here.

I suggest ordering an extra side of bacon and don't skip dessert . . .

Back in May, after a failed prediction of the Rapture, Pastor Harold Camping said that today was the actual date for it to occur.

So treat yourself today.  Because if he's right, by midnight tonight you'll either be in Paradise or still stuck here on Earth - as I suspect most of us will be - and either way you'll be grateful for some sweetness to your day.

Sick Humor Friday

I used to do Obscure Music Friday on this blog, but in honor of my life coach, Buzz Bannister, who shared with me this affirmation, I am going to start Sick Humor Friday.  Because I can and we all need a laugh to start the weekend.

Video:  NSFW language

I Saw This on My Friend's Desk

I always suspected him of having a gay agenda.

Is Qaddafi Still Alive?!?

Farrakhan is a Doody Head Racist

Because Louis Farrakhan said that the White establishment in Washington DC has turned Barack Obama into an assassin.

H8er!  Can't a brother become one on his own merit?!

Raindrops in Powell

Raindrops in Powell, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

It's a rainy day today, which means the opportunity for some macrophotogrpahy presents itself. Coming into the kitchen, I noticed this just off the porch.

Style Icon Dead at 69

And every day they vote one out of the park, right?

I read that MTV is casting in Zuccotti Park - site of the Occupy Wall Street protest - for people to appear in a new installattion of the station's show Real World.

And why not?  Reality TV shows have become our new circuses.  We watch them for the drama.  We watch them for the angst.  We watch them for the secret titillation of viewing how sick someone could go with hoarding, how delusional some housewife can be with her singing career, how inept someone can be with raising their children or their dogs, or how stupid criminals really are.

And we make competition out of them.  Outsmart, outrun, outlive.  Or out lose if it's weight, or out bid if it's an abandoned storage locker, or out scream if it's a toddler beauty pageant.  Hell, compete with others to find a mate, presumably one for life or at least until the next edition of People comes out.

So let's do that with Occupy Wall Street because it really isn't a solidified movement, just street theater of the narcissicist.  We can have contests - who can score a free Dunkin Donuts, how far someone can go without arrest, who can a new slogan on a piece of cardboard to get spotted by the media outlets  - to challenge each contestant.  The tribe will vote with down twinkles to  cast one person out of the park. 

Fuck it, they can even have dance offs.  With celebrities.  Because Hollywood and Occupy Wall Street are kindred spirits, populated by people desperate for relevance.

Dilemma at the OC Weekly

Per the OC weekly . . .

• The Fullerton city council is bad, because of what happened to Kelly Thomas.
• But John and Ken of KFI are bad because they are hilarious haters who don't want illegal Mexican aliens in the US.

But now, John and Ken are asking for the recall of the Fullerton city council because of the Kelly Thomas case.  So I went to the OC Weekly to see what they had to say about John and Ken being on their side . . .

Cue the crickets.

Maybe their crack reporters were off covering the non-event of the Occupy Irvine movement and didn't know John and Ken were going to show up in Fullerton.  I'll keep checkig Navel Gazing to see if the OC weekly covers it . . . or ignores it as a means of creating their own Gunkist memories of OC history.

Update:  shortly after I posted this, the OC Weekly covered John and Ken's appearance on Navel Gazing as straight news.  Meaning they didn't have Gustavo Arellano on the story.

Hipster Lincoln

As if Maroon 5 gave the money back . . .

. . . after FOX paid the royalty.

Seriously?  Fuck them, their music is not that good anyway.

Guess Who's Funding It?

The program is designed to improve Vietnam's labor relations policies and initiatives by strengthening labor law enforcement and labor inspection, increasing the capacity for a more effective dispute resolution system for workers and employers, improving worker organizations' ability to represent employees and engage in collective bargaining and other methods of dispute resolution, and equipping the government to promote collective bargaining and tripartite cooperation.

Here, let me spare you the click -through . . . it's the US. Department of Labor.  And they are spending $1.5 million.  Sure, that's hardly enough to buy decent real estate in Southern California, but in these economic times, perhaps you - like me - would expect them to focus on the jobs situation here in the good old U.S. of A. than, oh, say, a Communist country.

I'm just saying . . .

Not a Worthwhile Investment

Apparently, she lacks the wherewithal to make any decisions for herself, as her actions are governed only by the choices of others.  So why would we want to throw good money after bad by giving someone like her a free education?  She evidently is not smart enough to pursue a life of her own, as she sees the only alternative to not being a college student is to mount a stripper pole.

And she may not even be good at that. 

Has she thought about waitressing?

From an excellent pictorial essay by Zombie and Ringo.

The Mouse Overlord

It's a world of laughter,
A world of tears.
A world of hope -
And a world of fears . . .

I had time this moring to read an article and give it thought, and have come to the conlcusion that someone at Disney has lost their mind. 

In the basements of the Disneyland and Paradise Pier hotels in Anaheim, big flat-screen monitors hang from the walls in rooms where uniformed crews do laundry. The monitors are like scoreboards, with employees' work speeds compared to one another. Workers are listed by name, so their colleagues can see who is quickest at loading pillow cases, sheets and other items into a laundry machine.

Employees in the Anaheim hotels are required to key in their ID when they arrive, and from then on, their production speed is displayed for all to see. For instance, the monitor might show that S. Lopez is working at an efficiency rate of 37% of expected production. The screen displays the names of several coworkers at once, with "efficiency" numbers in green for those near or above 100% of the expected pace, and red numbers for those who aren't as fast.

According to Barrera, the whip has led to a sort of competition among workers, some of whom have tried to race to the head of the pack. But that has led to dissension and made other employees worry that a reasonable pace won't be enough to keep the boss happy. Barrera and Beatriz Topete, an official with Unite Here Local 11, said employees have been known to skip bathroom breaks out of fear that their production will fall and managers will demand an explanation. They say they felt bad for a pregnant employee who had trouble keeping up.

Pillow cases  Really?!  I am all for monitoring productivity in the workplace.  The trick has always been to find what is the proper benchmark and how do we go about measuring it.  I have worked as an IT consultant and as an attorney, so I am very familiar with the practice of using billable hours in those fields as a means of determining how "well" an employee is working.  I use the term "well" as a general sense since I have seen where billable hours is a number that does not always correlate with the quality of a job.  Likewise, I have seen cases where the circumstances of a case are such that extra time is needed for a commonplace task - such as when the client is difficult - but partners say "We can't bill that much!" and cut the hours, thereby eliminating it as a tool to measure productivity.

But here I think Disney grossly misses the mark in what it has implemented.  I would think the last thing a company wants is for its employees to be "clock watchers" - or, in this case, "board watchers" - when the means of measuring productivity could actually harm productivity.  If I am afraid of my name showing up in red on the board, I will be checking more than working at my tasks.

And is this accurate?  We have all had "bad days" when conditions have us operating at less than peak.  A minor cold, a worry about a child home sick, a broken off relationship.  What happens if, in this case, I am having a "red" day?  Does it matter?  Or does an overall trend really show how productive a worker I am?

The article does not describe how the worker's "rate" is entered into the system behind the scoreboard.  Is there someone entering the number of pillow cases and sheets stuffed into a laundry machine?  That allows for a margin of error if the person entering the data makes a mistake.  Is there some sort of scanner that tallies the number of sheets and pillowcases going in?  I suppose in order for that to be accurate, a worker would have to separately load each pillow case and likely would hesitate to make sure the pillocase got recognized, slowing them down.

I am also curious to know how the proper "rate" or producivity is set.  I wonder if the workers really go at it, and exceed the 100% - is a new and higher rate set, based on that?  That is not unlike what was seen in the old Soviet Union, where "giving it 110%" was rewarded by even higher expectations and failure to reach that meant punishment.  So the workers game the system.  For example, a shoe factory in Minsk might have a quota of 10,000 shoes produced each month.  And 10,000 were produced - all size 8 and for the left foot.  If 10,000 pillow cases at Disney are to be washed, who is to say that a worker does not overlaod a machine in an effort to keep the numbers high, resulting in 10,000 badly washed pillowcases.

There is no one statistic that can say the best is achieved.  Yes, raw numbers like this count but it also has to be weighed in consideration of other things.  For example, what is the customer satisfaction - are there complaints about a lack of bedding or its quality?  Has housekeeping been hampered by the laundry facilities?  How old are the laundry machines?  How old are the pillowcases? 

And what about the people actually doing the work?  I have always hated when supervisors use a status meeting to unload on a team member - it's undignified, it's degrading, and it rarely has the desired effect of making the person change their course.  In fact, more often than not, it causes further deterioration of the quality of their work.  What is more effective is more timely and private feedback, where a manager takes someone aside and says, "I notice x, y, and z, and things are slipping - let's talek about it.  Is there something you think can be done to help you in your work?"  Yes, it means the manager actually has to have skills in management, but that's how good business is done. 

No one needs their "dirty laundry" - pun intended - aired to their coworkers.  And just because people are doing manual labor does not mean they should be measured as machines. 

The Day the President Was Silent

A local NBC affiliate in Richmond, Virginia reports that thieves stole a truck carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that travels with President Obama, including his Teleprompters.

They say the President was left speechless by the theft . . .

Actually, it makes you wonder - it's the President of the United States' stuff and it still gets jacked?  Has anybody seen the Football lately?  Who was supposed to be watching it - Joe Biden? 

Check eBay - I bet someone is selling this stuff.

Relativity, bitch!

(Oh, someone's gonna jump my shit about my language . . .)

Samson

Samson, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

Samson, at nearly 15 weeks old. Taken October 17, 2011 in Powell, Tennessee.

If anyone is interested in obtaining a Weimaraner, I cannot recommend enough the breeder from whom e got Sam. WNC Weimaraners is located outside of Asheville, NC.  They have folks come in even as far as the Midwest to get pups.  Their sire, Drake, is a massive blue Weimaraner, while their dams are all silver ones, meaning any litter may have a combo of both colors.

You are known by the company you keep . . .

Dems Deepen Associations With 'Occupy Wall Street' Movement

A movement that has spread overseas, such as to Italy:

Ora pro nobis, o Maria.

He's the Man

He's the Man, originally uploaded by Stephanie A. Richer.

Bul elk and his harem, shot at Hatfield Knob near La Follette, Tennessee on October 15, 2011.

He was bugling for awhile with another bull about 300 yards from him - but when that other bull lay down, I knew there wasn't going to be a fight. This guy is a man's man. And the ladies know it.

Genius . . .

A good reason to spend all your goddamn money before some undeserving grandchild gets it

Revolutionizin' is easier when ya got yerself a trust fund . . .

It oughta be an interesting conversation at the Thanksgiving table.  Oh, he'll show up - free grub is never too bourgeoisie . . .

OH GOD, NO!

Wise words from a Southern lady

My dear friend in Peenix has the sweeeetest wife, a lady from the South.  I love this story I heard from him:

Reason number 567832 not to screw with my sweet wife. Yesterday were watching TV and Axl Rose of Guns and Roses was on TV talking about beating alcoholism and he said “when I was a boy my dad was always cheating on my mom and we all knew about it and that is why I am an alcoholic”.

The Missus looked up from her nail filing job she was engrossed into and said in her deepest southern accent, “Really, I came home from third grade and there was a strange man on the couch and my mom was packing to leave us. I think that’s why I'm such bad driver”.   

Oh, snap! 

No Death Zone Viewing!

See a 360 degree view from the top of Mount Everest. 

Without risking life. 

The case of Hannelore Schmatz is an infamous one. On October 2, 1979, after a successful summit, and for reasons unclear, she died of exhaustion 100 meters short of reaching Camp IV. For years, any climber attempting the southern route could see her body, sitting, leaning against her backpack with her eyes open and brown hair blowing in the wind. Despite being so exposed and so visible along the well-trodden climbing route, rescue operations are virtually suicidal in the Death Zone. A Nepalese police inspector and a Sherpa who tried to recover Hannelore's body in 1984 both fell to their deaths. It was finally high winds that blew her remains over the edge and down the Kangshung face.

First Location Weddings, Now Location Divorces in California

A location wedding is the idea of combining a wedding and a vacation in one (wacation?) by marrying at some resort spot.  Maui is a preferred one, although many like the cliffs overlooking the sea down in Laguna Niguel, California.  At sunset.  Challenge for photographers but romantic.

Now, however, you can have a location divorce by those same cliffs . . .

Existing law prohibits a judgment of dissolution of marriage from being entered unless one of the parties to the marriage has been a resident of this state for 6 months and of the county in which the proceeding is filed for 3 months before the filing of the petition.

This bill would authorize a judgment for dissolution, nullity, or legal separation of a marriage between persons of the same sex to be entered if the marriage was entered in California and neither party to the marriage resides in a jurisdiction that will dissolve the marriage.

Query:  what law applies?  One of the factors of someone being domiciled in a state (putting aside military) is that they are there voluntarily and thus have made themselves open to the law of the state.  Many people do not realize that you can get married anywhere but generally must get divorced in the jurisdiction where you are domiciled.  And while there are many similarities between the divorce laws of ach state, there are also some distinct differences, one of the more significant being that California is a community property state.

So, let's say John and Tom[1] were legally married in California during the period when such unions were legal (after In re: Marriage Cases and before Proposition 8 passed).  John and Tom dream of owning a gay dude rnch (why not?) and move to Tennessee, where Tom uses $100,000 of a trust fund as a down payment on 50 acres.  Because Tom has lousy credit, though, the property title and mortgage is in John's name alone, with Tom signing a quit claim in Tennessee.  For five years they have worked together to build up Fabulous Dude Ranch.  But a handsome cowhand, Sven, hired to keep the chaps smooth with regular applications of lanoline, caught Tom's eye and, alas, the love is gone.  On January 2, 2012 (one day after this law will be in effect), John flies back to West Hollywood and, heartbroken but bitter, files for Dissolution of Marriage in Los Angeles Superior Court.

How is the property divided?  Well, both are now legal residents of Tennessee, so does the California law apply Tennessee law would give each probably a half interest under an equitable division?  Does Tom get back his investment of $100,000, which would be applicable under California Family Code section 2640?  Is the property John's separate property under the California case Marriage of Mathews because Tom is not on title?  What if Tom wants to fight even getting divorced?  Under Tennessee law, John would have to prove fault (presumably, adultery with the cowhand) whereas in Califrnia, he only checks the box for "irreconcilable differences."  And if Tom gets an order for spousal support from the California court, would Tennessee honor the wage garnishment for something it does not recognize?

Of course, a workaround would be for John to file for a Legal Separation in California, which has no jurisdictional requirement, and remain in the state for six months to establish jurisdiction, then petition the Court to turn it into a Dissolution of Marriage.  But John has fallen in love with the Smokies and Vols football (Tom always suspected John had straight tendencies he was keeping in the closet) and wants to remain in Rocky Top forevah.  So the question remains.

I point this out because I have seen where legislators in Sacramento like to pass laws without running them by attorneys and judges in the field, just to see, you know, how these laws would actually be implemented.  I think this is an example.  If I am representing either, I am going to fight to apply the law which favors my client.  I might argue that the Tennessee quit claim is evidence of a contract in which it is implied Tennesee law holds.  Without delving into legal reseearch, I know brilliant - and utterly stupid - legal minds that could make arguments on either side of the issue and will.  And so long as they are made in good faith (and even that's debatable), the court must hear them.  And remember, whn faced with thorny - read, not clear cut - legal issues, the judicial officer is always thinking in the back of his or her mind, shit, if this goes up on appeal, am I gonna get overturned?

I still think professional photographers should be hired for divorce pictures.  I'll do it.

[1] Names chosen because I know two gay guys, one named Tom and one named John.  Y'all can speculate who they are.

Dogs At Play

I never tire watching my dogs play with one another.  It's so fierce at times, but any dog owner can recognize the growls of play versus when it is a real fight.  I love the "fairness" of it - not to ascribe anthromorphic characteristics to my animals, but it seems they "take turns" pinning each other in these death matches.  At one time, Samson, our puppy (fyi, that's a 13-week-old blue Weimaraner) had Josie, the tri-colr Pembroke Welsh Corgi, by the throat . . . and 30 seconds later she had him in the same position.

Sam is probably about 35 pounds now, maybe even 40.  He's gonna be a big boy.



Trip to New York City

At the end of this month, I am planning a trip to New York as my dear friend, the lovely Imelda, is running her first marathon and has never been to the city before, so I want to be there for her.  I will plan a trip to Zucotti Park in lower Manhattan to see - and likely, smell - for myself the Occupy Wall Street crowd.

I think I need to make a fake press ID to help gain the confidence of the crowd.  I'll see if I can get video as well as still pictures.

And then I'll take a long, hot shower . . . I am not being facetious.  I have followed the videos already posted and the park is turning into a veritable cesspool, with garbage piling up.  In addition, the conduct of some of the occupiers involves drugs and casual sex, meaning a hazmat situation of body fluids.

The 99%

And Nancy Pelosi continues the canard that Tea Party members spit at Black members of Congress.  That accusation has never been substantiated, despite a reward offered by Andrew Brietbart to anyone producing proof of such.

I have attended Tea Party rallies.  You do not see this there.

Warning:  video has language NSFW.

Senselessness in Seal Beach

The deadliest shooting in Orange County history unfolded Wednesday afternoon in a crowded Seal Beach beauty salon when a lone gunman opened fire, leaving eight dead and one critically injured.

Coworkers and customers of those killed speculated that the gunman may have been motivated by a long-running and bitter custody dispute with one of the stylists at Salon Meritage. Court records show that Dekraai has been involved in a divorce and custody case since 2007 and was in court for a hearing on Tuesday.

When I told my husband about this story, he wryly remarked that the Santa Ana winds are presently blowing in Southern California, adding, "The winds start blowing and people start dying."  I don't open with this to sugest that my husband is uncaring, only to illustrate the madness of a situation like this.

To those involved in a custody dispute, I know how ugly it can get.  But I want you to consider this:

The blue circle represents your time alive on Earth.  The green circle is your child's life span.  See the overlap?  During the majority of that time, your child is an adult.  That is the time of their life when they get to choose whether or not to have a relationship with you.  That means that no matter what order is made in court for child custody or child support . . . it is temporary.  Your child will eventually reach the age of majority and those orders will become moot.

So my advice is to take the high road.  Demonstrate to your child ethics and integrity in any failed marriage, keeping in mind that a divorce is the death of a marriage, but not of a family.  The family is just taking on new dynamics.  I knw ex-spouses can sometimes be real bitches/bastards, but short of them fleeing the country with the child or truly being a danger to the child, deal with it.  Your only responsibility is the relationship you have with your child and always keep your eyes on the big picture above. 

Be the adult you want your child to be.  And if remonstrate, "But the other parent is a real asshole!", well, if that is true, they will not be the only asshole your child meets in life.  Now is the time to tea ch your child how to deal with such people so that you do not stoop to their levels.

What a senseless act in Seal Beach.  It is a no-win situation.

Hope the rent check has cleared by then . . .

In an effort to send a message to big banks, some organizers, who are supported by the protestors of the Occupy Wall Street movement, have organized an event to remove all funds from banks and into credit unions.

Organizers are calling the event "Bank Transfer Day" and are encouraging people nationwide to participate November 5.

"Together we can ensure that these banking institutions will ALWAYS remember the 5th of November!! If the 99% removes our funds from the major banking institutions on or by this date, we will send a clear message and give the 1% a taste of the fear that we experience every day when we aren't able to pay for our rent, food, medication, utilities, student loans, etc."

This reminds me of those glurge emails that suggest we "send a message" to OPEC by not buying any gasoline on a given day . . . never realizing that the need for the product is just as present the next day and you will head to Exxon to fill 'er up.

The same thing here.  Assuming there is any money to withdraw - because, after all, aren't they claiming to be broke - you are not going to send cash to Sallie Mae to pay that student loan, or Macys for the credit card, and the money will be redeposited.  Whether it makes it to a credit union remains to be seen.

But what's really funny is that November 5th is . . . a Saturday.  While many banks do, in fact, have Saturday hours, because of increased expenses a lot have closed branches on a Saturday.  Or have shortened hours.