You don’t have to be a baseball fan, or even a Brad Pitt fan (I know you’re out there) to enjoy the movie Moneyball. It’s about the underdog 2002 Oakland As and their general manager’s unconventional methods of building a winning ball team. Apart from the high quality of the film, I was also struck by the two trailers leading up to it. One was for the upcoming One for the Money, based on mystery writer Janet Evanovich’s main protagonist, Stephanie Plum, the Trenton, N.J.-based bounty hunter. The other was for a film entitled Haywire, directed by Steven Soderbergh, about a female covert operative who had been set up and is out for revenge. It’s great to see women in the role of protagonists instead of just eye candy or props for leading men.
In his novel Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut uses an illustration resembling an asterisk to represent a particular part of the human anatomy. Sometimes people behaving badly are referred to by this part. It looks remarkably like the new Walmart logo.
Anyone who uses a phone, cell or otherwise, has probably heard the computerized lady who follows any voice mail with the prompt, “After the tone, please record your message. When you are finished recording, blah, blah, blah.” I find this kinda redundant – don’t most folks say “leave a message after the beep” on their own recordings? Why repeat it? We all know the drill. Beep, message, done. And who the hell presses “five” to leave a callback number? I called AT&T to ask them to remove this feature from my phone. Guess what? After explaining my request to at least four “technicians” I was informed that is not possible – cyber-lady and I are bound for eternity – or until my contract runs out. I then timed the digital prompt, 14 seconds. That’s 14 seconds I’m paying for as well as the poor fool who calls me and gets a message. You don’t suppose those 14 seconds eventually add up in AT&T’s favor, do you?
In 1803, the United States of America purchased a vast tract of land once claimed by France, the Louisiana Territory. The Arkansas River served as one of the borders of these 828,800 square miles of land. Based on a number of hikes taken in the South Ark Hills my question is: Why are all the rattlesnakes on the “French” side?
It appears that while Republicans in Congress are busy working to deny women’s access to health care, cutting benefits for the poorest among us, fighting to keep tax breaks for the wealthiest, de-funding NPR, denying global warming and Obama’s birth certificate, the Chinese are kicking our asses in alternative energy technology.
I am definitely not among the one percent. I doubt any of our readers are either.
The Obama Administration’s justice department has now decided to go after newspapers and radio stations in California that run ads for medical marijuana dispensaries. First Amendment, anyone? I guess we’re probably next here in Colorado. My only guess is that after two years of turning a blind eye toward the burgeoning MMJ industry, Obama’s advisors don’t want the Repubs to use the issue against them in 2012. Good luck with that one, Barack.
Last month a computer glitch created some havoc with Patty LaTaille’s article on Restorative Justice. The first paragraph should have read, “August 10, 2011 was an historic day for Restorative Justice in the state of Colorado. Restorative Justice HB 11-1032 went into effect, having been signed by Governor Hickenlooper earlier in July. This law requires that victims be informed of their right to use restorative processes, allowing for victim-initiated restorative justice only. Restorative Justice involves a fostering of dialogue between the offender and the victim, and has shown the highest rates of victim satisfaction, true accountability by the offender, and reduced recidivism.”
– Mike Rosso
