You are looking at posts that were written in the month of November in the year 2007.
Posted on November 30th, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: News.
Rudy in an interview with Katie Couric, explained that the way in which funds were handled and “security” bills were paid, was completely above board. Unfortunately, what Rudy seems to fail to comprehend is that this money seems to have been spent in part while he was hooking up with his mistress and likely leaves some Republicans (religious right) more cemented in their opposition to his candidacy.
Rudy Giuliani: ….The story turns out to be a totally false story. This practice was going on in my first term as mayor. It didn’t just happen in my second term as mayor. The police department paid for all of these expenses. But since the police department would sometimes be slow in payment. City Hall would pay it first, then the police department would reimburse every single penny of it. And now we’ve been able to confirm that. So this was really, I know what this was. This story is five years old. It came out two hours before a debate. It’s a typical political hit job with only half the story told … not that second part told … that every single penny was reimbursed … that all of this was public. All of this was discoverable. It was not done in a way that nobody could see it. But it was a typical - this particular case - it was sort of a debate day dirty trick.
Couric: But according to accounts, the bills were spread across, as you’re saying, several government agencies - from the NYC loft board to the office for people with disabilities. And one former New York budget director said today there’s no good reason to do this except to have nobody know about it …
Giuliani: He’s just wrong. And that’s probably a political opponent. The fact is, that by doing it that way, it was more discoverable. Had it been paid by the police department, it never would have been discovered because their records are security records and they can’t be discovered. The reality is: All those agencies that you’re talking about, all of it was fully reimbursed within that year. They’re all in the mayor’s office. This was a way of expediting payment. All of it on the record, all of it discoverable, all of it going on for five or six years. And perfectly appropriate and three budget directors have asserted that but of course the press doesn’t cover that.
So there’s nothing wrong with the city of New York fronting the bill for rendezvous with your mistress? Great, I’m really glad he clarified his position.Â
Couric: …You think it won’t matter in terms of the election itself - this story?
Giuliani: Of course not. I mean there’ll be 100 more stories … and we’ll see.
One hundred more stories? Stories like this one? Oh Rudy, I bet you’d like to take that one back. As for Couric, she continues to prove that she seems to lack the fortitude necessary to be a good journalist. Why not ask the guy, “Was any of this money spent while you were engaged in an affair with Judith Nathan?” and a nice follow-up would have been, “Should the taxpayers of NYC been responsible for subsidizing in part, this affair?” You want ratings Katie? Ask a tough question once in a while!Â
Posted on November 28th, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: News.
So this guy bills the city of New York for “security” while he’s off running around the Hamptons with his shrew mistress. No wonder this guy has so little to say about his pal Kerik. He was doing almost the same thing that good ol’ Bernie was… albeit he didn’t use an apartment that was meant for 9/11 aid workers like a cheap motel room. I can only hope that Bernie has told Rudy, “Fix my problem or your skeletons come out too.” Giuliani used to impress me. I used to think that his seeming law and order mentality was something that was sorely lacking in government. Unfortunately, it seems that Rudy isn’t quite the icon of right and goodness that he holds himself up to be.
The documents, obtained by Politico under New York’s Freedom of Information Law, show that the mayoral costs had nothing to do with the functions of the little-known city offices that defrayed his tabs, including agencies responsible for regulating loft apartments, aiding the disabled and providing lawyers for indigent defendants.
At the time, the mayor’s office refused to explain the accounting to city auditors, citing “security.â€
But the practice of transferring the travel expenses of Giuliani’s security detail to the accounts of obscure mayoral offices has never been brought to light, despite behind-the-scenes criticism from the city comptroller weeks after Giuliani left office.
The expenses first surfaced as Giuliani’s two terms as mayor of New York drew to a close in 2001, when a city auditor stumbled across something unusual: $34,000 worth of travel expenses buried in the accounts of the New York City Loft Board.
No wonder why his kids have issues with him. I mean if these charges for “security” were above board, why hide them deep within the budgets of obscure agencies? I suppose Giuliani is going to have just as hard of a time preaching fiscal responsibility as he does morality and decency. The only thing that turns the stomach more than Hillary as President is Judith Giuliani as first lady!
Hey New York, your tax dollars hard at work… making sure your mayor is well serviced. *snickers*
Posted on November 24th, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: Entertainment.
Television is actually a pretty lame source of entertainment these days. With the internet and a constant barrage of movies hitting the local Blockbuster it seems pointless to even bother to watch. Thank goodness for the DVR which allows you to record television shows and to then skip all of the lousy commercials. In addition, you don’t need to be tethered to your television at a specific time. Yeah VCRs and recordable DVDs have been around for some time, but the DVR doesn’t sacrifice quality and is effortless when it comes to programming.
Still, there are some quality shows on television (broadcast and cable) that deserve a mention. Here are my top five best shows currently on television:
1.  Battlestar Galactica - Scifi Channel Going into its fourth and final season Battlestar Galactica has kept the story moving along at a fairly nice pace. Some complained that last season included a lot of “filler” episodes and not enough plot development, but I think the show has maintained a high level of quality throughout. Yes there have been some slow episodes and some of the developments as of late have left a bit to be desired, but overall it’s just flat out fantastic. I can only imagine that with this being the last season and the writers needing to sew up all of the loose ends, we’re in for a hell of a ride. Will they find Earth?  Will it be our Earth? Who are the final Cylon models? Are Tigh and the rest really Cylons? Is Starbuck truly alive and is she honestly going to lead Galactica to Earth? So many compelling reasons to watch, you can’t help but tune in!
2.  Curb Your Enthusiasm - HBO Hands down the funniest show on television. It has consistently had me in stitches for years, and this last season was great. Any show that can make a neurotic, antisocial, ahole, funny has my vote. The addition of the Blacks was great this season and the final scene of the last episode is a classic. All Larry needed in order to put Susie in her place was a black girlfriend. Go figure.
3.  Dexter - Showtime Serial killer stalks his own kind while juggling girlfriend, sister and job working as a forensics (blood) expert for the Miami Police Dept. This is a quirky show that I just recently got into. I caught up on all of Season 1 and am now working through Season 2. I really like the way the story is narrated through Dexter’s thoughts. You can’t help but root for the guy on some very base level. There is something very cool about the premise; a nice turn of events in which those that prey upon people are they themselves preyed upon. The show has had a great story arc thus far, and now the walls seem to be closing in on our anti-hero. Here’s to hoping he can keep it together for another season!
4.  Heroes - NBC Yeah, I’m sick and tired of all of the cliffhangers and all of the questions, but I still tune in. The show has kept up’ing the “saving the world” angle, first dealing with a nuclear explosion in NYC and now moving on to a virus that will wipe out most of mankind. There have been some cool developments in the last couple of episodes and it looks like we’ll finally come to understand what the first bunch of heroes was up to back in the day. An added plus, the show is employing two original Star Trek cast members… and you have to love that!
5.  Lost - ABC What’s to say? I guess I’m a sucker. I can’t help but want to know the whole deal about the island. I’ve invested so much time by this point that it seems like I’m owed. Of course if Abrams and company don’t deliver in the end (the show is in its final season/season and a half), I’ll be mightily pissed, but then I suppose I won’t be alone. This show is still the banter of the watercooler set, even with its ‘Sopranos’ like hiatuses. Last season threw a heck of a lot more people into the pot that is ‘Lost’ and you really saw that it hurt the development of some of the established characters. I don’t know how they are going to handle this ever expanding cast and keep a cohesive story in the run-up to the end, but I’m dying to find out.Â
So there you have it, the five best shows on television as determined by me. Agree, disagree… frankly I don’t care. This is how I sees it. *snickers*
Posted on November 21st, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: Just Dumb, My Life.
I know it’s a dopey topic, but I was talking to someone about live concerts and how crappy it is that so many artists today lip sync. Some people don’t care, I think many just expect that these acts lip sync and they’re there for the “experience” (whatever the hell that is… maybe paying $7 for a beer is something to be enjoyed?). When I go to a concert I don’t expect to hear a song sound just like it does on the disc. I expect to hear something that’s a little different. I go to experience the artistry of the musicians that are playing. I love it when they mix it up a little. It’s almost like they’re saying, “YEAH THIS IS THE REAL DEAL, NO TAPE HERE!”
I’ve seen a lot of great shows by a lot of great bands, Floyd, Yes, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Sting, on and on and on… I’ve seen alternative bands, classic rock bands, metal bands and just out there bands like the B-52s (they still rock). All of them have their own distinct memories, but a question that was asked by a friend was, “What’s the loudest show you’ve ever been to?” The answer came readily because after seeing Emerson, Lake and Powell at Madison Square Garden in the summer of 1986, my ears rang for THREE DAYS. I thought for sure that I had suffered permanent damage. Still the memories are great. I got dumped a week before the show so the double date concert that was to be, turned into me alone with a friend and his girl. Managed to sell the extra ticket to some hippy. Joints were being passed around the row, which kinda weirded me out… not the pot mind you, but the sharing part!  Just days after my 16th birthday, and there I was in Madison Square Garden. A quick trip on the Long Island Railroad… but back then it seemed like a journey around the world.  I’d done it the year before for another concert, (Thompson Twins/OMD) so it seemed old hat by then. I don’t even think my mother realized I was running the city with my little friends at 14. I would not trade growing up in New York for anything!
Emerson, Lake and Palmer/Powell isn’t the standard listening fare for most teens, but I loved prog bands and between Lake’s great vocals and Emerson’s keyboards (I still love electronic music to this day), I was hooked. What a kick ass band and what a hell of a show. What a hell of a LOUD show. Here’s Touch and Go from that tour… (not the specific show). Ah, memories……..
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Posted on November 19th, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: Entertainment.
Over the past two weeks, I have gone and seen ‘adult’ flicks. I don’t know why, I suppose after a summer full of mediocre action movies I wanted to see something with a little meat on its bones.
‘Into the Wild’, is a superb film. The locations that it is shot in are beautiful, even if the story is tragic. Sean Penn directed this film about Chris McCandless, a kid in his early twenties that graduates college and then intentionally disappears. The wife and I read the book by Jon Krakauer before seeing this film and it made the movie all the better. Chris McCandless is a dreamer that has been conforming for the benefit of his parents, doing as they ask but resenting it all the way. After graduating from Emory University he drives into the desert, abandons his car, burns his money and sets off on foot for nowhere in particular. For two years his family hears nothing from him as he travels the country on foot, hitchhiking and riding on freight trains. Along the way he befriends some folks that help to recount that missing two year period and have related their experiences with Chris (who uses the name Alexander Supertramp). It is through them that we come to see how the idea of a solo journey into the Alaskan wilderness becomes the focus of Chris’s life.  Nothing will deter him from venturing into the wild to live off of the land. It is a zen fantasy that requires planning, but Chris at this point is all spontaneity.Â
The film differs from the book in slight ways that don’t truly matter in the scheme of the story. That said however, Chris McCandless made a lot of lousy decisions that I don’t believe Penn’s film addresses thoroughly. McCandless was woefully underprepared and it cost him. He made a lot of stupid decisions and they are rarely pointed out. Chris’s parents take a beating in this film, coming across as detached robots that are somehow directly responsible for their son’s fate. I thought it was an unfair representation. Parents make mistakes and perhaps it’s my age that has brought such wisdom.Â
I hope that the message that kids and young adults get from this movie is not the wrong one. I hope that this isn’t looked at as “living life to the fullest”. I think that Chris missed out on a lot of what was important and undertook a selfish pursuit. He could have told his sister that he was alive, that might have been a kind thing to do. Who among us in youth has not contemplated life, wondered what it meant and gazed into the abyss that is “purpose”. We all seem to do it at several points in our life. We wonder where we fit in and why we’re here in the first place. We do it in our teen years (and Chris seemed to carry this over into his twenties because he was IMMATURE), our middle age (ye olde midlife crisis) and finally in our later years when we lament the mistakes that we’ve made. It is a fire that can be observed but one that you dare not get too close to lest you suffer the fate of the moth. Chris suffered the moth’s fate.Â
At the end of the film we see Chris alone in an abandoned bus, slowly dying. In his journal he scribbles, “Happiness is only real when shared.” This is the story’s truth, and the message that people should take from the film. For all of the wonder of Chris McCandless’s journey it seems hollow and lonely. In the end meaning comes in forming bonds and relationships with other human beings and a sharing of this crazy experience called life. A great movie and if it’s already out of your local theater (it’s been out for weeks), RENT IT ON DVD!
‘Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” is a melodramatic movie that stars Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei. It’s the story of a failed heist that ends up tearing a family apart. I hesitate to get into the details because this is the kind of film I was glad to go into knowing next to nothing.  What starts off as a simple robbery cascades into an ever more tangled series of events that puts the characters and the audience through the ringer. By the time all is said and done, you’re feeling as stressed out as the poor bastards trapped in this nightmare scenario.
All of the actors do a great job of conveying the dizzying emotions that these characters are feeling. Ethan Hawke is the seemingly helpless baby of the family, unable to get anything right and behind in child support. Philip Seymour Hoffman is the older brother. A wannabe with an attractive wife (Tomei) that is out of his league but enjoys the monetary security he brings to the table, or seems to bring to the table. Albert Finney is the father of these two flawed souls, turning in another quality performance as he deals with the tragic death of his wife. Marisa Tomei, naked for much of the movie (ain’t nothing wrong with that) walks a fine line between catty opportunist and sympathetic witness to the events that are unfolding and consuming this family.
I know this is all vague, but I really don’t want to get into the story. You should go into this “spoiler” free. I thought that the ending was a little abrupt and seemed to leave a lot of questions, but that led to the wife and I discussing what we thought would happen beyond the credits. This is not an action packed flick, this is a look at the dark side that sucks you in and keeps hold of you. It’s not your average popcorn flick and the very first scene had me wanting to toss up the buttery goodness. When you go and see this, you’ll know what I mean *snickers*.
Posted on November 10th, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: Editorials, News.
The medical examiner’s report is back on Carol Anne Gotbaum and the official determination is asphyxia, with intoxication from alcohol and prescription pills likely playing a factor.
Six weeks after a hysterical Carol Anne Gotbaum died in a holding cell at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport, a medical examiner on Friday ruled she was intoxicated by alcohol and prescription pills and that she accidentally strangled herself.
The official cause: Asphyxia by hanging.
Carol Anne Gotbaum, the 45-year-old stepdaughter of NYC Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, was arrested for disorderly conduct after becoming irate when she missed a connecting flight that would have taken her to an alcohol treatment center. Surveillance video showed the mother of three struggling with police, who handcuffed and shackled the screaming woman to a holding cell bench and left her alone.
When they returned, they found her in a sleeping position, with the chains of the handcuffs around her neck.
The woman put up a heck of a fight and she was obviously extremely aggressive towards the police. I have had no doubt since the very beginning that she was capable of having done this to herself. If you’ve never dealt with a drunk or somebody that is under the influence you likely cannot fathom how something like this could occur. Count your blessings and put away your daggers. I have dealt with people under the influence and they are destructive, violent and a danger to themselves and those around them.
At his wife’s funeral, Noah Gotbaum couldn’t hold back his anger.
“If the airline or the police authority had treated Carol with any modicum of sensitivity and grace, or one single person had put an arm around her shoulder, sat her down and given her some protection, she might still be with us today,” he said.
The Gotbaum family has hired a pathologist to conduct their own autopsy. The results from his examination could determine whether the family sues the Phoenix Police Department.
I feel for her husband, but I also wonder how long he’s going to remain in denial for what happened. The blame for this rests with HIS DEAD WIFE, not with the police or the airline. He calls to the police requesting information and makes comments that she’s fragile and even suicidal. Huh? He sent a fragile and suicidal woman alone across the country? Wouldn’t it have been the right and decent thing, to accompany this poor woman on this hugely stressful and emotional trip? I’m sorry Mr. Gotbaum, but it was YOU, that needed to put YOUR arm, around YOUR wife, and offer her “protection”. That was YOUR job. I know drunks and addicts, you don’t send them off on their own for treatment across the COUNTY, much less the COUNTRY. If you’ve been dealing with this for some time, you knew better.Â
Still the only one to be blamed here is Carol Gotbaum. She’s the one that drank, popped prescription pills and became irate. She’s the one that likely struggled (while alone) to the point of passing out and ended up dead for it. When I hear this talk about lawsuits it makes me angry. There are worthy cases argued in our courts every day but this isn’t one of them.Â
I suppose I should sue the State of Florida because my mother flipped her car after driving drunk and ending up dead for it? I mean if there had been a shoulder on the road she might not have over-corrected and therefore wouldn’t have ended up being ejected from the vehicle. Should I speculate as to why she had to over-correct and wonder if perhaps she was cut off by someone who should be held responsible? Who was drunk? Who was reckless? Who was in the wrong? I mourn my mother’s passing every single day, but I never spent a moment blaming anyone else for it… accept for perhaps myself… because she needed to be in treatment and she needed help. I can at least take some comfort in knowing I was 18 years old and hardly in a position to do what needed to be done. I feel for Carol Gotbaum’s kids and her family, but this isn’t anything more than a tragic death brought on by the abuse of alcohol and drugs. Unless there is some kind of major reversal on this autopsy, I won’t be commenting further. All that’s left to say is that I hope that Carol rests in peace and that her family can come to terms with what happened and move on.
Posted on November 6th, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: Just Dumb, My Life, Writing.
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking… my cat walked across my keyboard.Â
Actually, November is National Novel Writing Month… or NaNoWriMo… and it’s unwittingly become a catalyst of sorts where it concerns my writing. I infrequently frequent writing blogs, sites and forums… but I’d never heard of this little literary adventure (that had its start in 1999) until just recently. Apparently in the month of November we novel writers (or hacks) can sign up and join the NaNoWriMo event which sets an individual goal for all participants of 50,000 words between Nov. 1 and November 30. This can either be the length of the entire work you are writing or it can be a portion of a larger project, the goal is simply TO DO. You have to love the simplicity of it all.
I can appreciate the spirit in which this whole thing is intended, so I have elected to make a go of it myself. Will I do 50,000 words… maybe. I know a lot of writers just write and figure I’ll make revisions/corrections when it’s done… but I can’t bring myself to do that. My writing tends to be a bit more labor oriented, and that slows me down. Just reading the last chapter to familiarize myself with where I left off can lead to hours of on the spot revision and well…. that could mean a pretty slim new batch of words for a day. I didn’t sign up to be a part of the event so I’m basically lurking it. Nobody is going to be let down if I don’t do 50,000 words… least of all myself. I’m just excited to be seriously committing time and my imagination to this new project… I think it has the legs to go somewhere and I won’t be “rushing” through that!
Good luck to all that might be participating in NaNoWriMo and stumble across this blog… it surely isn’t EASY!
Posted on November 2nd, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: Just Dumb, My Life.
Yep, I’m still writing. Not nearly as much as I would like to, but writing requires a great deal of discipline… and therein lies the problem. It’s tough to shut out the world. I toss on the headphones and a soundtrack of some sort (music without words to set moods) but it’s still very hard to immerse yourself into something in a space that isn’t exactly solitary.Â
Regardless, I do write when I can… and when I drive, I’m almost always formulating plots and dialogues in an effort to create a compelling tale. Today, as I drove home I was thinking about the story I am currently working. I’m not going to get into detail but I was really struck by the attitude of a main character where it concerns the idea of “fate”. I don’t know that I really think that we are doomed to a certain fate, but it does seem that we humans have a nasty penchant for repeating mistakes. Whether it be emulating our parents bad behaviors (some of which I have in turn passed onto the boy and the girl), or our leaders taking the world down roads of doom that have been well traveled, it almost seems an inclination inbred in the species.
Anyway while I was driving, I was considering this character’s motivation, and he spoke up for himself in a way that I found profound. I get bored with the “artist” types that say, “My characters speak to me.” It really makes me want to gag just typing it out. Your characters are extensions of your imagination, you are speaking to yourself is what I’d like to shout back… but for the first time I can see from where they might be coming. Fate, faith and doing what we are meant to do on this earth before we die are key elements of my story. One of the characters despises the concept of fate but accepts that it might have its place. He says about it, “If fate is an inevitability then free will is the variable that determines how we come to face it.”
I don’t know, maybe I’m seeing something there that other people might not… but I thought it was a damned good counter to the back and forth that he and another character were having. It ends the argument and it’s a pretty sound reasoning for why it is that he continues to do what he does, eventhough it might be futile. I think it answers a lot of questions I have when it comes to religion too. I’ve always had an issue with God knowing all before it even happens and then granting us free will as if that makes it all fair and square. I don’t know, color me a cynic but it seems like we’re being dealt from the bottom of the deck when it comes to divinity knowing our fate.Â
Posted on November 2nd, 2007 by Mark.
Categories: My Life.
I didn’t go anywhere. I think I just got tired of posting about all of the ugliness of the world. I needed a little break. I took one. Not much more to say on the whole situation.Â
I wish I had more to say… all is basically status quo. Work is still slow, but the stresses of life still run high. I’ve taken to drinking copious amounts of espresso… even got the machine. I usually drink it over ice with some creamer and sweetner… nothing too fancy. I was doing the whole milk steaming thing for a while but that got old. I do it for the wife on the rare occassion that she joins me, but me… I’m not too fussy. It’s nice to be bouncing off of the walls when you feel them closing in… *grins*.
I’ve been considering some more artistic ventures as of late, but I don’t want to jinx them by discussing them at any length. Just looking at some options and considering the future. Always a wise thing to do when you’re in your late thirties! Thankfully, although I feel the weight of the world is on me I find myself still feeling positive. I don’t know if that’s a credit to the B-complex, the caffeine, or blissful ignorance but I’m sure not going to look too deeply into the matter. Why question a positive? I suppose a lot of adversity as of late has just shown me that I am capable of a lot more than I thought. It’s not all about brains, it’s about getting in there, getting dirty and developing a callus or two. Which reminds me, I need to upload some kitchen pictures to this blog. Color me amazed by the abilities of myself and my lovely wife.Â
Anyway, there you have it. A nebulous and rambling explanation without… well, an explanation.