Another year has come and gone, 2008 will now officially come to a close, and looking back It was all in all a year filled with sadness, love, history, excitement, and utter boredom near the end.
For all those people driving tonight we urge you to be safe and have rides planned or have an alternate way to get home if you choose to get drunk which apparently everybody does on New Years except me 'cause I'm a loser, case in point I'm blogging just as if it were any other day(seriously I'm not even watching the New Year's special). Why do people romanticize New Years? everybody always wants to go to Times Square and watch the ball drop but its really overrated trust me, one it sucks if your by yourself or the third wheel in a group 'cause you're surrounded by couples everywhere, and two after the ball drops its like "now what?" and people wanna go home 'cause they've been waiting in the streets for 6 hours and absolute bedlam ensues. New Years is like Valentines Day 2.0 + Oktoberfest 2.0, two things always happen you either get drunk or spend the day with your significant other or if your like me you just don't really care and just eat lots of chocolate ice cream and watch a movie 'cause really does anyone ever come through on their resolutions? not me.
As for the year 2008 itself we here at Arbitrary Opinions would just like to remind everyone how devastating this year was to the entertainment industry as we lost countless legends such as: Heath Ledger (will win a much deserved Oscar for sure), Tim Russert (one of the greatest journalists and a great interviewer), Paul Newman (Oscar winner), Bernie Mac (one of the greatest comics ever), Roy Scheider (Chief Brody in Jaws), Charlton Heston (Oscar winner), Eddy Arnold (country music hall of fame member), Sydney Pollack (Oscar winning director), Isaac Hayes (soul music legend and chef on South Park), George Carlin (greatest funny man ever?), and many more; sorry to those who were left out you will all be remembered.
However 2008 had its upsides too with possibly the greatest sports year ever with the Olympics (Michael Phelps with 8 gold medals and Usain Bolt just making fun of the fastest men in the world as he shattered every sprint record), the heartbreak of the Patriots losing in the Super Bowl (carry over from '07) and Tom Brady, who's getting married to Gisele Bundchen (sorry ladies), getting injured on the first play of the '08 season. The Red Wings just making a mockery of the NHL and showing Bettman that the salary cap won't do anything for parity in the NHL as they dominated the league and won the cup. The Boston Celtics finally win a championship again and against the arch rival Lakers no less. Kansas upsets Memphis in the NCAA basketball championship after they were about to lose. LSU wins another BCS title. Tiger Woods wins the US Open on a broken knee as he was playing with a torn ACL (is he human?). Rafael Nadal beats Roger Federer at Wimbledon in an epic matchup. So for sports it was an awesome year filled with intrigue.
However the biggest story of 2008 however was made when a nation stood up for change and let hope be brought in by the name of Barack Obama. Okay so his first day as the President won't be until '09 but he was elected in '08 in a political race that was fierce as he battled party rival Hillary Clinton (is SHE human!?) and eventually beat her and then demolished John McCain when everybody thought it was going to be a tighter race and the pundits were claiming they were neck in neck after each made their vice president picks. Sarah Palin will forever be remembered thanks to Tina Fey and most people will probably forget about Joe Biden who actually is the vice-president elect.
Anyways I hope 2008 was a good year for you and that 2009 is no less exciting for you enjoy the night though you probably won't remember any of it and be safe, I'm gonna go play video games now by the way 2k sports can't call their games "2k10" and EA can't call theirs "'10" for next year 'cause neither sounds good at all.
Peace and Much Love To Ya
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
What New Years Means to Me...
It means a big fat nothing =) Not just because I'm Chinese and we have this crazy calendar where New Years lands somewhere in January or February and we get lotsa moolah...I need money...wait what was I talking about? Oh right, New Years. It's not that interesting you know why? Everyone gets drunk and forgets it anyway. And for those who don't go to parties and get drunk like ME (I'm a saint aren't I), we're stuck at home watching 3 different broadcasts of New Years from Times Square. Boo! I want to see Anderson Cooper without his shirt WITHOUT Kathy Griffin touching him and making him giggle. It makes me feel like I'm less than Kathy Griffin...which is just depressing.
Wanna know what I'm doing for New Years? Well, I'm blogging on a shiny new blog about how much I don't like New Years celebrations =) I'm probably done blogging soon so what I'll actually be doing right at the new year mark is watching the West Wing. Yes, I am ringing in the new year with a show that's been over for a few years now. I'm ringing in the new with the old.
I'm really just posting for the sake of posting becauseI can do what I want! I'm making my New Years Resolution the same as the one I had last year. I will try to blog as much as I can!
I'll count this one for tomorrow: the first day of what will be a (good/bad) year where I (will/will not) pass my first year of university. I (will/will not) continue to do this because I am (bored/bored).
On that note of arbitrariness (yes, I brought it up =P), I do wish you all a Happy New Year because I'm sure it means a lot to you (drunk/sober), (stone slackers/dull nerds) =) And because I'm a party pooper, the next actual post I make will be about either Gaza being blown up or Blagojevich being blown up. I actually much rather enjoy the latter...
Cheers!
- Franny.
Wanna know what I'm doing for New Years? Well, I'm blogging on a shiny new blog about how much I don't like New Years celebrations =) I'm probably done blogging soon so what I'll actually be doing right at the new year mark is watching the West Wing. Yes, I am ringing in the new year with a show that's been over for a few years now. I'm ringing in the new with the old.
I'm really just posting for the sake of posting because
I'll count this one for tomorrow: the first day of what will be a (good/bad) year where I (will/will not) pass my first year of university. I (will/will not) continue to do this because I am (bored/bored).
On that note of arbitrariness (yes, I brought it up =P), I do wish you all a Happy New Year because I'm sure it means a lot to you (drunk/sober), (stone slackers/dull nerds) =) And because I'm a party pooper, the next actual post I make will be about either Gaza being blown up or Blagojevich being blown up. I actually much rather enjoy the latter...
Cheers!
- Franny.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
When the world lost its economic virginity
After WWII,
The solution to this inflation - caused by living beyond the economy's means - was Volker's Disinflation which lasted from 1980-1982. Volker raised interbank lending rates to over 20%, and the banks passed on the heavy cost of borrowing to its customers. Industries (like farming and construction) which heavily depended on short term financing were crushed. But after 1982,
Now as a note, a current account deficit isn't a bad thing. It's just what it is. Whether it is for the best depends on its reasons. From 1865-1914
But the current account deficit that began in the 80's wasn't to build infrastructure or strengthen productive American corporations. What began as interest rate manipulations became a global culture. Suddenly everyone wanted to lend to
The 80's really didn't see much of an aggregate change in economic imbalances, it merely began them. When the Berlin Wall fell in '91, the global labour supply doubled. Overnight. Richard Freeman coined the term as the 'Great Doubling'. Suddenly communist posters were replaced with Coca-Cola signs, and the world scrambled to invest in these newly found post-communist countries. It took only around 10 years! But by the year 1999 (reforms in many of these countries began before '91), these new communist countries, became net lenders! What! The economic model was broken! Rich countries, having excess capital, should be lending to poor countries whose growing industrial capacity can repay the debts. But instead, the world, for whatever reason, still saw
Once people realized that a company which paid you nothing, and never made you any money wasn't a good investment, the NASDAQ (the index of technology stocks) crashed, and stocks slumped. But yet!
This all came to a sticky end in 2007. Housing prices slumped; the hundreds of billions of dollars of subprime loans became worthless, and were amplified by even more subprime derivative losses by banks (in layman’s terms, they bet the wrong way). Whereas in the 1980 everyone knew that the economy would go into recession (it was a planned action), the important people (aka the leaders of the major businesses/governments) in 2007 never saw it coming. What has been the response of 2008? The printing, spending, and borrowing orgy that caused the unsustainable economic policies of the 1970s of course. If there is anything positive in this whole mess, it's that we might just learn a lesson or two. Now that the world has lost its naivety, and we realize that we can't walk on water, me might get back to some common sense.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas!!
To everybody around the world, we here at Arbitrary Opinions wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and hope you all got the presents you wanted and if you didn't at least you spent time with loved ones.
I would personally like to give a shout out to all my friends and my family all over the world and a big one to my partners in crime Franny and Gentlemanly Capitalism (that's a long ass name lol) thank you guys for being wonderful people filled with love and making this thing work and awesome presents.
Since it is Christmas and I'm done watching the Celtics lose to the Lakers in a customary Christmas basketball game (my own little tradition) I want to share my favourite Christmas memory.
Ok I was like seven years old and my family went down to Seattle to celebrate with some of my extended family and I wasn't too hyped since my presents always consisted of being, well kid stuff you know rollerblades, toys etc... so I was expecting the same old stuff you know maybe a toy Gundam (I would totally join the army if I could fly one of those, but so far only in my dreams) but when Christmas rolled around I was in for a surprise.
The day started off snowing and when it was time to open presents I was really excited for a toy Gundam, while I opened my first present from my much older cousin I saw everybody smiling mischievously, though I didn't recognize them for what they were at the time, I thought everybody was just happy it was Christmas so when I opened my present my face fell as I realized it was a lump of coal (the barbeque kind) and I almost cried but everybody around me started laughing and they teased me that I was bad that year.
Shortly after I sulked and contemplated what I had done wrong that year my cousins came up to me and handed me my next present which I refused to take but they assured me that the first one was a joke. As I looked at their faces I saw they were sincere and filled with love so I hesitantly opened the present and low and behold it was the Gundam I had so desperately wanted along with the biggest Hershey Kiss ever!! I swear it took me like a month to eat the thing.
So there you have it my favourite Christmas memory although at the time I felt bad and then happy, looking back it was the last time I really celebrated with my cousins who now have their own families and I got some cool presents and spent my holiday with loved ones and visited the Space Needle on New Years and watched the fireworks.
If you have any special memories we would love to hear them in the comment box. Once again, Merry Christmas!!
Peace and Much Love To Ya
I would personally like to give a shout out to all my friends and my family all over the world and a big one to my partners in crime Franny and Gentlemanly Capitalism (that's a long ass name lol) thank you guys for being wonderful people filled with love and making this thing work and awesome presents.
Since it is Christmas and I'm done watching the Celtics lose to the Lakers in a customary Christmas basketball game (my own little tradition) I want to share my favourite Christmas memory.
Ok I was like seven years old and my family went down to Seattle to celebrate with some of my extended family and I wasn't too hyped since my presents always consisted of being, well kid stuff you know rollerblades, toys etc... so I was expecting the same old stuff you know maybe a toy Gundam (I would totally join the army if I could fly one of those, but so far only in my dreams) but when Christmas rolled around I was in for a surprise.
The day started off snowing and when it was time to open presents I was really excited for a toy Gundam, while I opened my first present from my much older cousin I saw everybody smiling mischievously, though I didn't recognize them for what they were at the time, I thought everybody was just happy it was Christmas so when I opened my present my face fell as I realized it was a lump of coal (the barbeque kind) and I almost cried but everybody around me started laughing and they teased me that I was bad that year.
Shortly after I sulked and contemplated what I had done wrong that year my cousins came up to me and handed me my next present which I refused to take but they assured me that the first one was a joke. As I looked at their faces I saw they were sincere and filled with love so I hesitantly opened the present and low and behold it was the Gundam I had so desperately wanted along with the biggest Hershey Kiss ever!! I swear it took me like a month to eat the thing.
So there you have it my favourite Christmas memory although at the time I felt bad and then happy, looking back it was the last time I really celebrated with my cousins who now have their own families and I got some cool presents and spent my holiday with loved ones and visited the Space Needle on New Years and watched the fireworks.
If you have any special memories we would love to hear them in the comment box. Once again, Merry Christmas!!
Peace and Much Love To Ya
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
The Soon-to-Be POTUS
Let me clear things up for you non-West Wing fans (unless this isn’t an exclusive term but I’d like to say it is). “POTUS” stands for “President of the United States” and the person I am referring to is Barack Obama. I’m sure many of you have heard of this person or have seen him grace the cover of many magazines from Newsweek to People – but who is this figure of hope and change? Being the amazing profiler I am even though this is the first profile I’ve done, I’ve decided to introduce you all to the next POTUS. It doesn’t matter that he’s not your president, you just have to accept the fact that he is one of the most influential men in the world and that definitely affects you.
Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii to a white Kansas woman and a black man form Kenya. For those of you who are confused, this makes him half-white and half-black. Barack’s parents divorced in 1964 and his mother re-married shortly afterwards relocating them to Indonesia. His father died in a car accident in 1982 in Kenya. Barack returned to Hawaii when he was 10 and lived with his maternal grandparents. His mother spent most of her time in Indonesia but moved back to Hawaii in 1994. She died of cancer in 1995.
Everyone knows he went to Harvard to study law but before this, he studied at a school in L.A. for two years before going to Columbia University where he received his B.A. in political science. At Harvard, he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, and if this were a very cheesy PBS documentary, I would end that sentence with, “Foreshadowing his precedence in Washington.” But of course, being the first black president of anything would garner him media attention and this led to his book deal, Dreams from My Father. He did a lot of business stuff (if I went into detail, you would stop reading if you haven’t already) before lecturing at University of Chicago Law for 12 years. His law license expired in 2002 (and people keep telling me to renew my driver’s license).
Now onto the good stuff! His political career began in 1996 when he was elected to the Illinois Senate in Illinois’ 13th District and became well known for his bipartisanshipI got marks taken off my essay for writing this about Bush, I don’t think my liberal professors would dock me anything for this one. In 2002, he ran for the U.S. Senate, enlisting David Axelrod (it’s an important name) to help him, and won with 70% of the vote. He wasn’t the first black senator but was the 5th, which doesn’t mean much to him except the fact that only FIVE African-Americans have been elected to the senate in all of its history. I would go into the many awesome things he’s done as senator but none of that really matters so let’s move on.
On February 10th, 2007 in Springfield Illinois, the halfer from Hawaii announced his candidacy at the same place Abraham Lincoln gave his “House Divided” speech in 1858. Fast forward to November 4th, 2008 when Democratic Nominee Barack Obama defeated Republican Nominee John McCain 365 to 173 electoral votes (I’m not putting the number of people who voted for each person because as we’ve learned in 2000, the popular vote means nothing). After an amazing speech at Grant Park, Chicago surrounded by 10 feet high bulletproof glass, the 44th President of the United States of America was decided.
Hopefully, after almost 500 words you’ve learned something about the president-elect. What has he been doing since Election Day and will be doing until Inauguration Day January 20th? He’s been announcing his cabinet/Team Awesome with names such as Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senior Adviser David Axelrod (remember him?). That’s all unimportant because right now he’s enjoying a nice little holiday in Hawaii looking like this: (My Xmas presents to you)
Gift Number One
Gift Number Two
Gift Number Three
Don't feel guilty for enjoying those pictures; he's the one who's flaunting it. I hope those pictures have made up for my lack of posting =) Until next time, Ciao!
- Franny.
Barack Hussein Obama II was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii to a white Kansas woman and a black man form Kenya. For those of you who are confused, this makes him half-white and half-black. Barack’s parents divorced in 1964 and his mother re-married shortly afterwards relocating them to Indonesia. His father died in a car accident in 1982 in Kenya. Barack returned to Hawaii when he was 10 and lived with his maternal grandparents. His mother spent most of her time in Indonesia but moved back to Hawaii in 1994. She died of cancer in 1995.
Everyone knows he went to Harvard to study law but before this, he studied at a school in L.A. for two years before going to Columbia University where he received his B.A. in political science. At Harvard, he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, and if this were a very cheesy PBS documentary, I would end that sentence with, “Foreshadowing his precedence in Washington.” But of course, being the first black president of anything would garner him media attention and this led to his book deal, Dreams from My Father. He did a lot of business stuff (if I went into detail, you would stop reading if you haven’t already) before lecturing at University of Chicago Law for 12 years. His law license expired in 2002 (and people keep telling me to renew my driver’s license).
Now onto the good stuff! His political career began in 1996 when he was elected to the Illinois Senate in Illinois’ 13th District and became well known for his bipartisanship
On February 10th, 2007 in Springfield Illinois, the halfer from Hawaii announced his candidacy at the same place Abraham Lincoln gave his “House Divided” speech in 1858. Fast forward to November 4th, 2008 when Democratic Nominee Barack Obama defeated Republican Nominee John McCain 365 to 173 electoral votes (I’m not putting the number of people who voted for each person because as we’ve learned in 2000, the popular vote means nothing). After an amazing speech at Grant Park, Chicago surrounded by 10 feet high bulletproof glass, the 44th President of the United States of America was decided.
Hopefully, after almost 500 words you’ve learned something about the president-elect. What has he been doing since Election Day and will be doing until Inauguration Day January 20th? He’s been announcing his cabinet/Team Awesome with names such as Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senior Adviser David Axelrod (remember him?). That’s all unimportant because right now he’s enjoying a nice little holiday in Hawaii looking like this: (My Xmas presents to you)
Gift Number One
Gift Number Two
Gift Number Three
Don't feel guilty for enjoying those pictures; he's the one who's flaunting it. I hope those pictures have made up for my lack of posting =) Until next time, Ciao!
- Franny.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
True Fans
Since there's no news of any kind I'm just gonna rant.
As I was watching the later stages of the Dallas Mavericks and Toronto Raptors game on TV, I heard an unusual sound from the fans at the ACC when superstar Chris Bosh touched the ball, it wasn't the cheers I was used to hearing or the chants of "M-V-P," he was being booed by his home fans. At first I was confused and thought maybe the Raps were playing in Dallas but sure enough it was the "loyal" ACC fans that were booing the only high profile player in the whole city of Toronto from any sport (except for maybe Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay).
The so-called die hard Raptors fans, are Not true fans. The only reason they probably even watch basketball is 'cause the Leafs suck ass and always will, at least the Raptors are good. However this isn't uncommon in the world of sports, Roberto Luongo was booed by the Canucks faithful at Trevor Linden's retirement ceremony!!, on many occasions home fans will boo and slander the players they believe are the best because they simply are having a bad game or season (i.e. Markus Naslund, Vince Carter, A.J. Burnett, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Vince Young etc...).
Even the best players can't produce great numbers game after game or season after season, they are humans just like the fans, they get tired (probably more so than normal people) and they get old.
However, what the ACC fans did to CB4 was uncalled for and unjust because he has been producing good numbers and is averaging personal bests in almost every category this season, plus he is the heart and soul of the Raptors and has carried them on his shoulders since he was 19 and Vince Carter left the Raps without an identity. Not only is he the best player but he is also the most humble and works harder than anybody on the Raps and has huge responsibilities outside of basketball in the Dallas (where he grew up) and Toronto communities through: NBA Cares, Read to Achieve, Chris Bosh Foundation etc...
The ACC fans should learn from CB4 who has actually been loyal to the franchise he could have went for more money or to a much better team when he was a free agent in 2006 but he stayed with the Raps (he donated $1 Million the day of his signing to local charities in Toronto), but with his contract expiring in 2010 many GMs of other teams are salivating at the thought of getting him on their teams especially the Atlantic Division rival New York Knicks who will have enough money in 2010 to sign marketing icon and superstar LeBron James and he might invite his good friend Chris Bosh to join him in going to the Knicks as they will have the money to pay both of them and Madison Square Garden and the city of New York are considered to be the Mecca of basketball.
To stop this from happening the Raptors fans must be that, true fans, and support the team through the bad times and not just the good times because if you make Chris Bosh feel unwelcome and unappreciated I'm sure the Knicks faithful will have no problem accepting him and his Double-Double (10+ points per game and 10+ rebounds per game) average with open arms. If that happens and the Raps lose arguably the best Raptor ever the Raps won't have a Chris Bosh like player to fall back on and hand the franchise to 'cause no one on that team comes even close to being young (he's only 23) and an all-star. The T-Dot can't fuck this up 'cause the franchise will be crippled and they'll be relegated to the painful task of watching the Leafs (that name is grammatically incorrect, cocky Torontonians) lose night in and night out.
I mean how can you not love CB4 check the vids,
CB4 on Leno
This one's CB4 in his early years as a Raptor, sorry 'bout the music but it does go with the vid,
Peace and Much Love To Ya
As I was watching the later stages of the Dallas Mavericks and Toronto Raptors game on TV, I heard an unusual sound from the fans at the ACC when superstar Chris Bosh touched the ball, it wasn't the cheers I was used to hearing or the chants of "M-V-P," he was being booed by his home fans. At first I was confused and thought maybe the Raps were playing in Dallas but sure enough it was the "loyal" ACC fans that were booing the only high profile player in the whole city of Toronto from any sport (except for maybe Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay).
The so-called die hard Raptors fans, are Not true fans. The only reason they probably even watch basketball is 'cause the Leafs suck ass and always will, at least the Raptors are good. However this isn't uncommon in the world of sports, Roberto Luongo was booed by the Canucks faithful at Trevor Linden's retirement ceremony!!, on many occasions home fans will boo and slander the players they believe are the best because they simply are having a bad game or season (i.e. Markus Naslund, Vince Carter, A.J. Burnett, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Vince Young etc...).
Even the best players can't produce great numbers game after game or season after season, they are humans just like the fans, they get tired (probably more so than normal people) and they get old.
However, what the ACC fans did to CB4 was uncalled for and unjust because he has been producing good numbers and is averaging personal bests in almost every category this season, plus he is the heart and soul of the Raptors and has carried them on his shoulders since he was 19 and Vince Carter left the Raps without an identity. Not only is he the best player but he is also the most humble and works harder than anybody on the Raps and has huge responsibilities outside of basketball in the Dallas (where he grew up) and Toronto communities through: NBA Cares, Read to Achieve, Chris Bosh Foundation etc...
The ACC fans should learn from CB4 who has actually been loyal to the franchise he could have went for more money or to a much better team when he was a free agent in 2006 but he stayed with the Raps (he donated $1 Million the day of his signing to local charities in Toronto), but with his contract expiring in 2010 many GMs of other teams are salivating at the thought of getting him on their teams especially the Atlantic Division rival New York Knicks who will have enough money in 2010 to sign marketing icon and superstar LeBron James and he might invite his good friend Chris Bosh to join him in going to the Knicks as they will have the money to pay both of them and Madison Square Garden and the city of New York are considered to be the Mecca of basketball.
To stop this from happening the Raptors fans must be that, true fans, and support the team through the bad times and not just the good times because if you make Chris Bosh feel unwelcome and unappreciated I'm sure the Knicks faithful will have no problem accepting him and his Double-Double (10+ points per game and 10+ rebounds per game) average with open arms. If that happens and the Raps lose arguably the best Raptor ever the Raps won't have a Chris Bosh like player to fall back on and hand the franchise to 'cause no one on that team comes even close to being young (he's only 23) and an all-star. The T-Dot can't fuck this up 'cause the franchise will be crippled and they'll be relegated to the painful task of watching the Leafs (that name is grammatically incorrect, cocky Torontonians) lose night in and night out.
I mean how can you not love CB4 check the vids,
CB4 on Leno
This one's CB4 in his early years as a Raptor, sorry 'bout the music but it does go with the vid,
Peace and Much Love To Ya
Friday, December 19, 2008
Where There's A Will...
Will Smith is by far the biggest star in Hollywood, the only person who can even come near him is Johnny Depp and its a bigger gap than one might think. Every movie that Smith stars in becomes a box office hit and achieves well over $100 million at the gates, but he has never won an Oscar. Everyone knows Will Smith can play the funny guy and smile on cue but can he act? the answer is yes and he's a damn good at it. He first was introduced to audiences as a gay con asrtist in the 1993 flick, Six Degrees of Seperation but he got no recognition he later moved on to do Bad Boys and the sitcom, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where he gained a reputation as a great comedic/action star.
It wasn't till 2001 when he did the biopic Ali and played the icon, the legend, the one who floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee, that Smith was regarded as a serious actor (he even put on 20 pounds of muscle to get to Ali's weight, in his prime, of 220 lbs) but he still didn't win the Oscar, though he was at least nominated this time. (Denzel Washington won for his role in Training Day)
However he fell back into what produced the big money and did the movies: Men in Black II, Bad Boys II, I Robot, Shark Tale, and Hitch. While these movies were all in there own way entertaining (and did huge at the box office) they weren't all that serious roles except for maybe I Robot where Will Smith showed he had a darker side to him rather than the bubbly, always smiling actor we were used to.
In 2006 Smith took his acting to a whole new level in the biopic Pursuit of Happyness, where he played the true gutter-to-corner office story of Chris Gardener. Smith showed a wide range of emotions in his acting and the audience was taken through heartache and finally hope at the end. Again Smith was nominated for Best Actor but lost to Forest Whitaker this time. Smith followed up the Pursuit of Happyness with I am Legend the following year and although he was good his performance wasn't Oscar worthy and he was not nominated.
2008 is now coming to a close and Will Smith still doesn't have that Oscar on his mantlepiece but it may finally be his time to win and I'm not talking about his role in Hancock. In Smith's new movie Seven Pounds he once again collaborates with Gabriele Muccino (director of Pursuit of Happyness) and delivers a stunning performance, this movie showed Will Smith at his best as he had the audience on the edge of their seats the whole time and ultimately had them in tears at the end (I was teary I must admit). The movie has faced mixed reviews so far but Will Smith was solid and opened up his range of acting more than ever before but will he win the Oscar? Only time can tell but for now he's ruling the box office and he is the king of Hollywood, Oscar or not.
Peace and Much Love To Ya
It wasn't till 2001 when he did the biopic Ali and played the icon, the legend, the one who floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee, that Smith was regarded as a serious actor (he even put on 20 pounds of muscle to get to Ali's weight, in his prime, of 220 lbs) but he still didn't win the Oscar, though he was at least nominated this time. (Denzel Washington won for his role in Training Day)
However he fell back into what produced the big money and did the movies: Men in Black II, Bad Boys II, I Robot, Shark Tale, and Hitch. While these movies were all in there own way entertaining (and did huge at the box office) they weren't all that serious roles except for maybe I Robot where Will Smith showed he had a darker side to him rather than the bubbly, always smiling actor we were used to.
In 2006 Smith took his acting to a whole new level in the biopic Pursuit of Happyness, where he played the true gutter-to-corner office story of Chris Gardener. Smith showed a wide range of emotions in his acting and the audience was taken through heartache and finally hope at the end. Again Smith was nominated for Best Actor but lost to Forest Whitaker this time. Smith followed up the Pursuit of Happyness with I am Legend the following year and although he was good his performance wasn't Oscar worthy and he was not nominated.
2008 is now coming to a close and Will Smith still doesn't have that Oscar on his mantlepiece but it may finally be his time to win and I'm not talking about his role in Hancock. In Smith's new movie Seven Pounds he once again collaborates with Gabriele Muccino (director of Pursuit of Happyness) and delivers a stunning performance, this movie showed Will Smith at his best as he had the audience on the edge of their seats the whole time and ultimately had them in tears at the end (I was teary I must admit). The movie has faced mixed reviews so far but Will Smith was solid and opened up his range of acting more than ever before but will he win the Oscar? Only time can tell but for now he's ruling the box office and he is the king of Hollywood, Oscar or not.
Peace and Much Love To Ya
Monday, December 15, 2008
Instead of Scrolling Sideways...
…You can scroll downwards! I’m, of course, referring to the ticker that appears on the bottom of the screen on news programs. You know, that thing you can’t stop reading when Beardy Wolf Blitzer, Potato Head Chris Matthews, or Bigger Potato Head Papa Bear Bill O’Reilly is ranting about…whatever they rant about. I don’t know what they’re going off about because I’m reading the ticker! So here’s the top stories you should know about but shouldn’t be debating about with your professor unless you do further reading! I’m just going to give you a taste and if you don’t like it, spit it out.
Which story will you be talking about tomorrow?
Countdown #5
I was hoping that the Blagojevich and Rahm situation would have died by now (like the Auto Bailout *zing*) but it’s been a very slow few days news-wise so the media has been clinging onto it like a safety blankie. Well, tough luck guys because President-elect Obama has denied any wrongdoings on his part, Rahm’s part, or his staff’s part. When did he do this? When a reporter from NPR, yes, I said it, the National Public Radio, asked Obama about said situation during his Green Team designations conference. NPR has no agenda against Obama (or any agenda for that matter) so why did this guy ask it at such an unnecessary time? Most likely for the attention from not the President-elect, but Mr. Emanuel himself…and he wants a dead fish for reasons I do not know nor do I want to speculate on. Wow that was long! Moving on!
Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of JFK *swoon*, is, as NBC has confirmed (well if they say it’s true…), seeking soon-to-be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s previously held senate seat in the state of New York. Why do we care? Well, we don’t really but apparently it’s a big deal? Her last name IS Kennedy and all…and her opponent could be The Nanny (please don’t tell me you’re too young to know what I’m talking about). Cat fight much? Puh-lease! The real fight is coming from Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) who compared Kennedy to ‘J-Lo’. Oh no he didn’t! J-Lo? I just received his cable bill and the only channels listed are C-Span and Latin MTV. Ok, that one sucked but you should hear the ones on MSNBC, they are fart bombs!
SNL’ssexy Fred Armisen is under fire for doing an impression of legally-blind Gov. David Paterson of New York. He, personally, wasn’t too hung up on it but did say, “The perception that disability equals inability to be responsible is totally wrong.” Ok, that’s fair. But why else does this matter? Well, it doesn’t. Why am I even writing about this story? All I have to say is that I love SNL and I love Fred. So shut up media and watch me kill this story. ---------- ← That’s the story flat lining.
I don’t even know how I managed to get 3 stories to talk about, but I did it so suck it monkeys! *cough* I actually have something quite serious to talk about. I wasn’t going to say anything because if I didn’t, no one would know. But my future press secretaries, Benny and Frangelica, insisted that I do, so I must comply. I had my Psychology test today quite early in the morning (I had to wake up at 5am) and I would say I was somewhat prepared for it. There were many questions I didn’t know the answers for but one of them was to do with “the size of the word not corresponding with its meaning” (in my words). I, not knowing what else to do, guessed and put ‘independent’ in the blank. What was the word? ARBITRARINESS. Yes, I am thoroughly embarrassed and I encourage all to laugh at my stupidity (and if you don’t get it, look at the blog name…idiot). *Is shamed* *Not shoe in the face shame* *But I must admit that’s damn impressive on Dubya’s part* *The most impressive thing he’s done in the past 8 years?* *Nah I wouldn’t say so* *Yes, I like Bush.* *And yes, I like Obama* *No I’m not a Democrat* (That’s just a sneak peek into my psyche)
Is that a sufficient post? Good because I’m returning to my West Wing. Ciao.
- Franny.
I was hoping that the Blagojevich and Rahm situation would have died by now (like the Auto Bailout *zing*) but it’s been a very slow few days news-wise so the media has been clinging onto it like a safety blankie. Well, tough luck guys because President-elect Obama has denied any wrongdoings on his part, Rahm’s part, or his staff’s part. When did he do this? When a reporter from NPR, yes, I said it, the National Public Radio, asked Obama about said situation during his Green Team designations conference. NPR has no agenda against Obama (or any agenda for that matter) so why did this guy ask it at such an unnecessary time? Most likely for the attention from not the President-elect, but Mr. Emanuel himself…and he wants a dead fish for reasons I do not know nor do I want to speculate on. Wow that was long! Moving on!
Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of JFK *swoon*, is, as NBC has confirmed (well if they say it’s true…), seeking soon-to-be Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s previously held senate seat in the state of New York. Why do we care? Well, we don’t really but apparently it’s a big deal? Her last name IS Kennedy and all…and her opponent could be The Nanny (please don’t tell me you’re too young to know what I’m talking about). Cat fight much? Puh-lease! The real fight is coming from Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) who compared Kennedy to ‘J-Lo’. Oh no he didn’t! J-Lo? I just received his cable bill and the only channels listed are C-Span and Latin MTV. Ok, that one sucked but you should hear the ones on MSNBC, they are fart bombs!
SNL’s
I don’t even know how I managed to get 3 stories to talk about, but I did it so suck it monkeys! *cough* I actually have something quite serious to talk about. I wasn’t going to say anything because if I didn’t, no one would know. But my future press secretaries, Benny and Frangelica, insisted that I do, so I must comply. I had my Psychology test today quite early in the morning (I had to wake up at 5am) and I would say I was somewhat prepared for it. There were many questions I didn’t know the answers for but one of them was to do with “the size of the word not corresponding with its meaning” (in my words). I, not knowing what else to do, guessed and put ‘independent’ in the blank. What was the word? ARBITRARINESS. Yes, I am thoroughly embarrassed and I encourage all to laugh at my stupidity (and if you don’t get it, look at the blog name…idiot). *Is shamed* *Not shoe in the face shame* *But I must admit that’s damn impressive on Dubya’s part* *The most impressive thing he’s done in the past 8 years?* *Nah I wouldn’t say so* *Yes, I like Bush.* *And yes, I like Obama* *No I’m not a Democrat* (That’s just a sneak peek into my psyche)
Is that a sufficient post? Good because I’m returning to my West Wing. Ciao.
- Franny.
President Bush Dodges a Bullet
Ok that may be an overstatement on my part but at least it got your attention right? and although he didn't dodge a bullet he was on the receiving end of the worst of all Middle Eastern insults on the weekend when an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at the outgoing US president at a press conference in Baghdad. Throwing a shoe at a person's head isn't, of course, considered insulting in only the Islamic world, though it does carry a particularly degrading symbolism (showing the sole of your shoes is considered deeply offensive; when the statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in Baghdad in 2003, Iraqis beat it with their shoes). However, this may improve Bush's image slightly
As he dodged the shoes he came out with a grin and a sharp gaze at his now sock-footed assailant as if to say, "I'm the President Bitch!!" Both shoes would have struck Bush if not for his quick reaction, which is being lauded by political analysts for both its physical deftness and the no-nonsense swagger that followed.
Through his eight years as president, President Bush has found himself in several embarrassing situations, from falling off his bike and a segway to nearly choking to death on a pretzel. With little over a month remaining in his term, however, the "shoe incident" could become a favourable bookend for that list, with the outgoing President calmly responding with humour, not to mention quick reflexes, when attacked. Bush waved off approaching security agents, barely missing a step before pushing for the meeting to continue.
"Everybody calm down please," he said over his attacker's shouting from the next room, before a small grin returned to his face. "First of all, thank you for apologizing on behalf of the Iraqi people. It doesn't bother me. If you want the facts, it's a size 10 shoe." One must admit that the President handled this situation calmly and gracefully too bad he couldn't do that when it actually mattered like when they were considering going to war and then ultimately rushed the decision and fucked up their country economically or when he did nothing when hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. And while the act might have won over some analysts and commentators in the twilight of Mr. Bush's presidency, his fiercest critics remain unmoved, like me. Thank god your leaving President Bush it was a crappy eight years, but I will say this you are better at dodging shoes than reporters' queries
Here's the vid,
Peace and Much Love To Ya
As he dodged the shoes he came out with a grin and a sharp gaze at his now sock-footed assailant as if to say, "I'm the President Bitch!!" Both shoes would have struck Bush if not for his quick reaction, which is being lauded by political analysts for both its physical deftness and the no-nonsense swagger that followed.
Through his eight years as president, President Bush has found himself in several embarrassing situations, from falling off his bike and a segway to nearly choking to death on a pretzel. With little over a month remaining in his term, however, the "shoe incident" could become a favourable bookend for that list, with the outgoing President calmly responding with humour, not to mention quick reflexes, when attacked. Bush waved off approaching security agents, barely missing a step before pushing for the meeting to continue.
"Everybody calm down please," he said over his attacker's shouting from the next room, before a small grin returned to his face. "First of all, thank you for apologizing on behalf of the Iraqi people. It doesn't bother me. If you want the facts, it's a size 10 shoe." One must admit that the President handled this situation calmly and gracefully too bad he couldn't do that when it actually mattered like when they were considering going to war and then ultimately rushed the decision and fucked up their country economically or when he did nothing when hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. And while the act might have won over some analysts and commentators in the twilight of Mr. Bush's presidency, his fiercest critics remain unmoved, like me. Thank god your leaving President Bush it was a crappy eight years, but I will say this you are better at dodging shoes than reporters' queries
Here's the vid,
Peace and Much Love To Ya
Invest In America!
If economic slogans and mantras determined economic policy, then by far, the most idiotic and dangerous ideas would be enacted. ‘Invest in America’ and ‘Reduce our dependence on foreign oil’ are always the preface before some moronic policies are proposed.
As the Big 3 automakers were on the brink of bankruptcy and Washington was debating what to do, the Detroit Free Press head story was titled ‘Invest In America’; and it got worse from there. The opening lines read “You don't want an economic disaster on your hands. Not when you could have prevented it.” And what would the repercussions be? Well, “There will be economic hell to pay — not just in Detroit, but all across America, including in your state, in your district.” Sounds ominous. Economic hell, disasters, these are never good things.
If these guys were in advertising, they’d win. You’ve scared the hell out of me, I want whatever you’re selling, and I’m too busy pissing my pants to give a damn about the details. But if you’re actually interested in helping the American economy and not debating complicated issues by using feel-good slogans, then the truth is that the Big 3 need to collapse. They need to be liquidated. Equity must be put to zero, bondholders suffer write downs, and union contracts must be broken. If you actually care about having an auto industry, Ford, GM, and Chrysler need to go broke.
First rule of capitalism: produce something someone wants, at a price that someone will pay for it. As it stands, the American car companies aren’t producing what people want (sales were down over 40%), and they’re certainly not producing at a reasonable price (did I mention they’re going bankrupt?). So are falling sales the problem? No, they’re the symptom of the problem. The real problem that can’t be fixed by any bail out is that Americans have spent themselves into bankruptcy. The problem isn’t that Ford doesn’t produce cars that anyone wants (well to a certain degree), as shown by the fact that the Japanese car companies saw sales decline by 40% as well! This shows that Americans don’t have the $15,000 to drop on a car. Hell the United States has one of the highest car ownership ratio in the world, does everyone really need to buy a new car every year?
So how will a government loan to the Big 3 help? It won’t! Giving a loan with interest means that you expect the borrower to pay the principal and the interest. These companies can’t even pay the principal if they’re sales are down by 40%! The real reason for these loans is so that the Unions can top up they’re legacy benefits before the companies go broke, and that CEO’s can abandon ship when they’re stock options are worth a little more than now.
But what about all those job losses? The truth is that there is going to be job losses no matter what. But the more you put it off, the worse the repercussions are going to be. The reason for that is that when you have a company or market that isn’t and will never produce anything efficiently, and you keep subsidizing it the losses will get bigger and bigger, and all the wrong signals will be sent. Capital, which is scarce, will be redirected from profitable industries to unprofitable ones, and in the end, even more jobs will be lost.
The way to have a viable US auto industry is to change production from producing cars in America for Americans (who are now too broke), to producing cars for the rest of the world. The US has around 750 cars for every 1000 people whereas China has around 40 cars per 1000 people. The current model is broken and trying to piece the pieces back together is both costly and futile.
As the Big 3 automakers were on the brink of bankruptcy and Washington was debating what to do, the Detroit Free Press head story was titled ‘Invest In America’; and it got worse from there. The opening lines read “You don't want an economic disaster on your hands. Not when you could have prevented it.” And what would the repercussions be? Well, “There will be economic hell to pay — not just in Detroit, but all across America, including in your state, in your district.” Sounds ominous. Economic hell, disasters, these are never good things.
If these guys were in advertising, they’d win. You’ve scared the hell out of me, I want whatever you’re selling, and I’m too busy pissing my pants to give a damn about the details. But if you’re actually interested in helping the American economy and not debating complicated issues by using feel-good slogans, then the truth is that the Big 3 need to collapse. They need to be liquidated. Equity must be put to zero, bondholders suffer write downs, and union contracts must be broken. If you actually care about having an auto industry, Ford, GM, and Chrysler need to go broke.
First rule of capitalism: produce something someone wants, at a price that someone will pay for it. As it stands, the American car companies aren’t producing what people want (sales were down over 40%), and they’re certainly not producing at a reasonable price (did I mention they’re going bankrupt?). So are falling sales the problem? No, they’re the symptom of the problem. The real problem that can’t be fixed by any bail out is that Americans have spent themselves into bankruptcy. The problem isn’t that Ford doesn’t produce cars that anyone wants (well to a certain degree), as shown by the fact that the Japanese car companies saw sales decline by 40% as well! This shows that Americans don’t have the $15,000 to drop on a car. Hell the United States has one of the highest car ownership ratio in the world, does everyone really need to buy a new car every year?
So how will a government loan to the Big 3 help? It won’t! Giving a loan with interest means that you expect the borrower to pay the principal and the interest. These companies can’t even pay the principal if they’re sales are down by 40%! The real reason for these loans is so that the Unions can top up they’re legacy benefits before the companies go broke, and that CEO’s can abandon ship when they’re stock options are worth a little more than now.
But what about all those job losses? The truth is that there is going to be job losses no matter what. But the more you put it off, the worse the repercussions are going to be. The reason for that is that when you have a company or market that isn’t and will never produce anything efficiently, and you keep subsidizing it the losses will get bigger and bigger, and all the wrong signals will be sent. Capital, which is scarce, will be redirected from profitable industries to unprofitable ones, and in the end, even more jobs will be lost.
The way to have a viable US auto industry is to change production from producing cars in America for Americans (who are now too broke), to producing cars for the rest of the world. The US has around 750 cars for every 1000 people whereas China has around 40 cars per 1000 people. The current model is broken and trying to piece the pieces back together is both costly and futile.
Stern Regrets Vancouver Experience
Hey! let me be the first to formally announce that we have a new member to our blog in Gentlemanly Capitalism, who you will hear from soon.
Okay, NBA commissioner David Stern, In a podcast interview with ESPN.com, was asked what decisions he would take a mulligan on over the course of his 24 years on the job.
"I wish we hadn't had the Vancouver experience," Stern replied. "Great city, and we disappointed them, and we disappointed ourselves." Now there are a couple things I find wrong with this statement, first of all a betting scandal involving a referee is pretty big and the failure of the Seattle Supersonics, a franchise that lasted 40 years and had tradition, is much worse.
Now for those who don't know the story here is a summary, in 1995 the NBA decided to expand into Canada with two teams, one in Toronto and the other in Vancouver (the two largest media markets in Canada) however the league set up the expansion so the teams could not succeed, first of all they denied both teams the right to the first or second picks in the NBA draft therefore they could not draft good players, the second was that the NBA had implemented bad management teams to both franchises (when the head is weak the body suffers), the third was the fact that the Canadian Loonie was roughly 65 cents to the US Greenback which not only made ticket prices ludicrously high to cover the costs but also good players wouldn't come to play for the Canadian franchises because they could make better money on US teams. Therefore the owner of the Grizz, who was losing money, sold the team to Michael Heisley in 2000 who promised to keep the franchise in Vancouver however one year later he cited bad attendance records as a cause to relocate the team to his hometown Memphis and the leaugue and Stern agreed.
What Stern failed to realize was that for a team that had a career .281 win percentage there were an average of 16,000 fans a game which is much higher than what the Memphis Grizzlies (they don't even have grizzlies in Memphis) draw for a team that has actually been to the playoffs and now they are in financial disarray and up for sale and relocation but that doesn't mean they'll go back to Vancouver because David Stern added that he didn't think the league could return to Vancouver.
"I don't think we can go back," Stern said. "I think that was a great city, and I think we just didn't take advantage of the opportunity."
The bottom line is that the NBA did work in Vancouver especially given that the franchise sucked but people still supported it. Though the Grizz didn't get many corporate sponsors, that was also because they sucked, they did have sufficient revenue, even with a weak dollar, to support a franchise and they had at the time a state-of-the-art facility in GM Place. David Stern please just retire already because you obviously didn't learn your lesson from the experience when you let the same thing happen to the Sonics who now play in... actually where do they play now? I know its in some small city with a crappy population and crappy media awareness but i just can't remember oh well who cares right 'cause we can watch them on tv right? I mean they do get on tv right!?
Remember This?
Peace and Much Love To Ya
Okay, NBA commissioner David Stern, In a podcast interview with ESPN.com, was asked what decisions he would take a mulligan on over the course of his 24 years on the job.
"I wish we hadn't had the Vancouver experience," Stern replied. "Great city, and we disappointed them, and we disappointed ourselves." Now there are a couple things I find wrong with this statement, first of all a betting scandal involving a referee is pretty big and the failure of the Seattle Supersonics, a franchise that lasted 40 years and had tradition, is much worse.
Now for those who don't know the story here is a summary, in 1995 the NBA decided to expand into Canada with two teams, one in Toronto and the other in Vancouver (the two largest media markets in Canada) however the league set up the expansion so the teams could not succeed, first of all they denied both teams the right to the first or second picks in the NBA draft therefore they could not draft good players, the second was that the NBA had implemented bad management teams to both franchises (when the head is weak the body suffers), the third was the fact that the Canadian Loonie was roughly 65 cents to the US Greenback which not only made ticket prices ludicrously high to cover the costs but also good players wouldn't come to play for the Canadian franchises because they could make better money on US teams. Therefore the owner of the Grizz, who was losing money, sold the team to Michael Heisley in 2000 who promised to keep the franchise in Vancouver however one year later he cited bad attendance records as a cause to relocate the team to his hometown Memphis and the leaugue and Stern agreed.
What Stern failed to realize was that for a team that had a career .281 win percentage there were an average of 16,000 fans a game which is much higher than what the Memphis Grizzlies (they don't even have grizzlies in Memphis) draw for a team that has actually been to the playoffs and now they are in financial disarray and up for sale and relocation but that doesn't mean they'll go back to Vancouver because David Stern added that he didn't think the league could return to Vancouver.
"I don't think we can go back," Stern said. "I think that was a great city, and I think we just didn't take advantage of the opportunity."
The bottom line is that the NBA did work in Vancouver especially given that the franchise sucked but people still supported it. Though the Grizz didn't get many corporate sponsors, that was also because they sucked, they did have sufficient revenue, even with a weak dollar, to support a franchise and they had at the time a state-of-the-art facility in GM Place. David Stern please just retire already because you obviously didn't learn your lesson from the experience when you let the same thing happen to the Sonics who now play in... actually where do they play now? I know its in some small city with a crappy population and crappy media awareness but i just can't remember oh well who cares right 'cause we can watch them on tv right? I mean they do get on tv right!?
Remember This?
Peace and Much Love To Ya
Friday, December 12, 2008
Please Don't Feed the Dumb.
I’m sure everyone has heard about the corruption scandal sprouting out of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s ass. Can I just say one thing? What an IDIOT! Pardon my language but where does this guy find the stones to be such a dumbass? “Pay to play” Chicago politics? This does not bode well for President-elect Barack Obama, his team, or the good politicians in Illinois.
For those who have not heard, Blago got busted for trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder. His office and phones were tapped and caught him saying things such as, “I’ve got this thing. And it’s [bleeping] golden. I’m just not giving it up for [bleeping] nothing,” and about Obama’s camp, “They’re not willing to give me anything but appreciation. Bleep them.” I really don’t care that he was trying to sell the seat, but he’s dragging Obama’s team into the dirt!
The main thing I want to discuss here is that the media is trying to link Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as the ‘adviser’ from the transition team that was part of the complaint against Blago. Firstly, this adviser was not named. Secondly, there is no evidence at all that this adviser is Emanuel. Thirdly, even if the adviser was Emanuel, he didn’t do anything criminal because he would only have been the communicator between the Obama camp and Blago. The press is so hungry for an Obama-related scandal that they’re willing to ruin Emanuel’s political career over speculation! Pardon my language again but this is bullshit!
The Chicago Sun-Times tried to pry Emanuel when he was at his children’s recital. Obviously Emanuel would be pissed about this invasion of personal space but he was kind enough to not punch the reporter and just denied to answer anything. Emanuel told a reporter from ABC that he had been getting death threats because the media has invaded his privacy and released information such as his residence. This is not high school. Rumors and gossip should not be considered truth or even close to it.
Hey media, take a look at this: AP: Rahm Emanuel is not a target of the Blagojevich Investigation. You know why? Because he’s not guilty of anything! Get it through your thick lenses. In summary: Blagojevich is a scumbag, Emanuel is innocent, and assuming that Blago will go to jail, he’ll be the 4th out of the last 8 governors of Illinois to do so.
I apologize if this post seems all over the place. I’m seriously incredibly pissed off about this. I’m starting a mental “Dead to Me” list. Ciao.
- Franny.
(P.S. I am not going to waste my time on the fail of the auto bailout on the senate floors because the White House will ‘come to the rescue’ anyway.)
For those who have not heard, Blago got busted for trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder. His office and phones were tapped and caught him saying things such as, “I’ve got this thing. And it’s [bleeping] golden. I’m just not giving it up for [bleeping] nothing,” and about Obama’s camp, “They’re not willing to give me anything but appreciation. Bleep them.” I really don’t care that he was trying to sell the seat, but he’s dragging Obama’s team into the dirt!
The main thing I want to discuss here is that the media is trying to link Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel as the ‘adviser’ from the transition team that was part of the complaint against Blago. Firstly, this adviser was not named. Secondly, there is no evidence at all that this adviser is Emanuel. Thirdly, even if the adviser was Emanuel, he didn’t do anything criminal because he would only have been the communicator between the Obama camp and Blago. The press is so hungry for an Obama-related scandal that they’re willing to ruin Emanuel’s political career over speculation! Pardon my language again but this is bullshit!
The Chicago Sun-Times tried to pry Emanuel when he was at his children’s recital. Obviously Emanuel would be pissed about this invasion of personal space but he was kind enough to not punch the reporter and just denied to answer anything. Emanuel told a reporter from ABC that he had been getting death threats because the media has invaded his privacy and released information such as his residence. This is not high school. Rumors and gossip should not be considered truth or even close to it.
Hey media, take a look at this: AP: Rahm Emanuel is not a target of the Blagojevich Investigation. You know why? Because he’s not guilty of anything! Get it through your thick lenses. In summary: Blagojevich is a scumbag, Emanuel is innocent, and assuming that Blago will go to jail, he’ll be the 4th out of the last 8 governors of Illinois to do so.
I apologize if this post seems all over the place. I’m seriously incredibly pissed off about this. I’m starting a mental “Dead to Me” list. Ciao.
- Franny.
(P.S. I am not going to waste my time on the fail of the auto bailout on the senate floors because the White House will ‘come to the rescue’ anyway.)
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The Not as Cool Intro
Hello, and welcome to the best blog ever!! I don’t exaggerate folks this blog will become a part of your daily life or at least I hope to make it that way, so bookmark it. We call it Arbitrary Opinions ‘cause that’s exactly what will be put on display, we are very honest people so we will try to bring you the truth about everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. You wanna know the latest in politics, Hollywood, sports, world news? We are the place to get your fix to know everything ‘cause we know the people who will read this are people like us, people who like to know everything. After all knowledge is power and we’re trying to create a monopoly of knowledge here. You may be asking yourself who is this person who wants to control everything and inject us with his outrageous ideas?
Well I go by the name of JabberWocky, as in the poem by Lewis Carroll and not the dance crew (though they’re awesome too), and I am the co-creator of this fine production and I’m here, metaphorically speaking, to hit you with some knowledge that will hopefully be useful to you in your everyday life. I have never fit into a clique (do people still say that?) but if I could sum up what I am like it would be, I’m a cool nerd/dork who reads books from Marvel to Machiavelli, watches lots of sports and news, and listens to everything from Bach to Tupac. I write about anything and everything but thankfully I have an awesome partner, that you’ve already been introduced to, who can help me so a big thank you is in order to Franny for making this possible. So strap yourselves in for a crazy ride and hopefully we can entertain you and make your lives better.
Peace and Much Love To Ya,
JabberWocky
Best.Post.Ever.
[Holiday] Greetings all! Welcome to our new blog, Arbitrary Opinions! (Because that’s exactly what we need, another blog). I’m Franny and I’m an alcoholic one of the two creators of this soon-to-be wonderful blog (watch your back Huffington!). I’ll start off with a little background information about this blog-sensation that has been called by some (me) as, “The best thing to happen to the internet since Obama Girl.” This blog will touch on topics ranging from the crazy world of politics to the testosterone filled balls world of sports. One can say this is a cross between MSNBC and ESPN (no, I’m not talking about Keith Olbermann), but I’d personally say this is a cross between random and thoughts.
Enough with the boring formalities, let’s talk about me! My role in this blog is to write about what I think is important and, therefore, what is important to you. Politics is my life but I’m not restricted to the scandal-ridden, corruption-driven, gay-republican Washington. I can write about other stuff like the scandal-ridden, corruption-driven, gay-republican Hollywood. Perez Hilton ain’t got nothin’ on me. I’d love to talk more about myself (I really do) but maybe I should cut this off right here and start working on my first article (I hear Blago calling – no wait, screaming – is that Rahm chasing him with a fish?). Thank you for reading and I hope you stick around! We sure need readers and we can’t lose to the Drudge Report, c’mon.
And soon you shall be hearing from the other half of this genius project. Ciao!
- Franny.
(By the way, viewer discretion is advised)
Enough with the boring formalities, let’s talk about me! My role in this blog is to write about what I think is important and, therefore, what is important to you. Politics is my life but I’m not restricted to the scandal-ridden, corruption-driven, gay-republican Washington. I can write about other stuff like the scandal-ridden, corruption-driven, gay-republican Hollywood. Perez Hilton ain’t got nothin’ on me. I’d love to talk more about myself (I really do) but maybe I should cut this off right here and start working on my first article (I hear Blago calling – no wait, screaming – is that Rahm chasing him with a fish?). Thank you for reading and I hope you stick around! We sure need readers and we can’t lose to the Drudge Report, c’mon.
And soon you shall be hearing from the other half of this genius project. Ciao!
- Franny.
(By the way, viewer discretion is advised)
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