B. Jones: Bullshit

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

And just because the outcome was known two years ago, doesn't make it less bullshit, it only makes it predictable bullshit.

So, we can add David Stern to the list of people on the list, alongside Barry Ackerman, Wally Walker, Bob Weiss, Howard Schulz (who may be removed pending court decisions), and Clay Bennett.

"wahwah, we're prepared to stay in Seattle, but we're looking at $30 million losses because they refuse to update their arena wahwah."

You know what, douchebag? When the Arena went in for renovations back in the 90s (a mere 12 years ago, a blink of an eye in terms of arena-aging), it was renovated to be what was considered state of the art at the time. How the fuck was the city to know that "state of the art" would be obsolete less than six months after renovations were complete?

Fucking A, that's less time than it took for my iPod to be obsolete, and that's saying something.

But you know who could've said something about that at the time? You, douchebag, that's who. But you kept mum, probably knowing that doing so would make it easier for your "poor" owner group to demand upgrades to arenas nationwide.

And so now, you're all uppity about the fact that Seattle has been saying no to your fucking renovations*, and you're making it so that your owners could throw hissyfits when they don't get these demands met. For fuck's sake, the renovations weren't even a decade old when Schulz started his end of the bullshit, the city was still paying it off, how do you expect the City to reply?

My suggestions to cities, make sure you have a clause that says that whatever major sports entity you're building a new stadium/arena for has to wait at least 30 years before demanding another renovation, barring safety concerns.

All is not shitting rain over here, though. The city, season ticket holders and Schulz himself are suing the Bennett team and the NBA over this bullshit. My personal hope is that Schulz decides to go anti-trust on the fuckers.

Slim hopes, but that's all we've got now.

Oh, for those who don't care, I know. STFU.

*There's been movement in caving in to the demands, thanks to this bullshit.

Politically Linked

It has been a week...hell, a month, on so many fronts, that I am just going to talk about the one thing that vexes me the least. Which is not to say that the topic doesn't get me riled, but it's one that I can address at least somewhat objectively...

So, let's start out with something easy: Geraldine Ferraro. What in the hell was going on here? I can go along with the story that she wasn't trying to be racist, and that she was comparing him to herself about 20 years ago, but even then...The fact that she refuses to see how her remarks damn her just paints her as even more ignorant than before...I am reminded of a conversation here about how hating Israel's policies in the Middle East could be construed as anti-semitic (for the record, I was the one in Ferraro's shoes, if the two could be compared). Joe Conason does a good job of parsing out how Ferraro's comparison is also off-base.

Then there is the matter of how Clinton's feeble attempts at denouncing Ferraro's statements paints her complicit in all of this. Combined with the vaguely, borderline racists stances her campaign has adopted in recent months...well. I want to like her, but there's a lot about what she has been doing (starting with her refusal to leave the stage this late in the game. The time to fight was when things were not going her way, which would've been around the time of Iowa's primary. Could you imagine how Obama would be perceived had the shoes been reversed?), particularly the Rove-esque kitchen sink approach to the campaign (see the oft-referred to "3 a.m." ad) that is leaving a truly unpleasant taste in my mouth.

So, you can imagine how relieved I felt that Keith Olbermann, someone who comes across as passionate as I can on these matters, even if he is a kajillion times more eloquent than I am, decided to reply to all of this, in the form of an impassioned plea. Thanks, Keith.

Which leads me to the next possible tactic to be used against Obama, likely by McCain, if Obama ends up being the Democratic nominee: Reverend Jeremiah Wright. (Click on the link for an ABC News feature on the Reverend.) Why? Because the reverend has the audacity to say that the US Government is influenced by the KKK; also that terrorist attacks on US soil is the result of the abuse our government has heaped on third world countries the globe over. Whether you agree with these sentiments or not (and I've been saying that latter assertion as my own for 'lo these many years); how is this worse than blaming Katrina on pro-choicers? Blaming AIDS on homosexuals? Blaming 9/11 on both of those elements, and a general sinful society "running rampant in NYC?" In a sense I do hope they bring it up, time to expose some hypocrisy up in this bitch.

But our democracy is an odd beast, particularly during election time. Truth is, we're not that far removed from the tactics favored a century ago. We're maybe two steps removed from the graft and shady methods used at Tammany Hall. For proof, look no further than Street Fight, a hell of a documentary about the mayoral race in Newark back in '02. Not only does it expose our nation's politics for what they are, and shows how the system could be, and is, abused; it also serves as a corollary to our current presidential race, AND provides a very hopeful note at the end of it all. Highly recommended viewing.

And so, I'll finish on a light note: Spitzer's very cute folly (another scenario where I wish I was French, instead of dealing with priggish hypocrites...like Spitzer himself), led to the happy promotion of Lt. Gov. David Paterson, making him the first African-American and legally blind governor of New York. As if that weren't enough, the man has a sense of humor. When asked by a reporter whether he ever had sex with a prostitute, Paterson replied, "only the lobbyists."

This is still cracking me up.

In Which The Blogger Pretends It Hasn't Been That Long

Right, so...Hello.

Anyway, I've been spending time recently putting the finishing touches on an edit of the Noir piece mentioned over there on the right (I've been calling it the "no fat" edit, due to the fact that it is now bare-boned...I have the pieces in place, and now I can add layers making it stronger)...I feel pretty good about it, though I'm dying for more feedback (why, yes, that was a hint, people from whom I asked for feedback!), though that which I have received thus far has been pretty helpful.

That, and I'm piecing together material for the new solo, which was inspired by my ruminations on my trip back to PR a number of years ago.

So that has taken up some time.

Also, I am once again roommate free! So, more time has been used up moving things around, cleaning like a charwoman, and enjoying the space with the K. Oh, the former roommate was unable to take both of her cats with her, so I adopted that guy, and now the K has a buddy. He's taking his usual time warming up to her.

Other than that, it's been pretty normal, to the point of participating in a wonk-off session with PalJJ and PalHound over Mike Daisey's latest theatrical endeavor (click on that link, and scroll down for a very small response to the hoopla. If you reach naked redheaded twins with leaves over their privates, you've scrolled too far).

It's interesting what the phenomenon created by Daisey's fluff essay in the Stranger has wrought: People pro and con of what he said going on and on...in Seattlest, and the Theater Puget Sound board, actually talking about what does and doesn't work in the regional theater model. Particularly from people who haven't actually seen the show in question.

I have my thoughts, but after the previously mentioned wonk-off, I just ain't gonna get into it here. Just noting my fascination with it all. Wondering what effect, if any, it will have once the NYC run begins.

Anyway, that's the essence of life lately. Oh, yeah: Here's my new favorite comic strip for the next few weeks: Tom the Dancing Bug.

And hey, you want a semi-regularly written blog that both entertains and makes you laugh? You could do far worse than the oft-pimped-on-these-pages PalJoe's blog. Motherfucker even has a podcast now, The Conversation with Bob Felcher and Karl Baloneypants. With a name like that, you know you can expect klass.

I'm Gettin' Nuttin' For Solstice

Nah, nothing that dramatic...Afact, a very mellow affair.

Sibs are hilarious, Mom is a trip. Nothing new.

Rosie Perez's Yo Soy Boricua... is an enjoyable little marvel.

Not sure if I'll be around much this weekend, but if not, hope your holidays, in whatever form they take, are as enjoyable as possible.

-tbo

Separation of Church & State

Fuggin' Evangelicals...I was going to say Xtians, or Christians, but then I'd get PalJJ all up in my face because I'm damning all Christians in this manner.

I'm going to address this further, but first, read this for some context.

For the click-averse, essentially this is an essay found on HuffingtonPost.com, talking about the recent bill that passed the House of Representatives, to the tune of 372 - 9, that will recognize "the importance of Christmas and the Christian Faith." (The bill's wording, not mine.)

Before going further, let me state that yes, I am primarily pissed off at the politicians for allowing this travesty to pass. Even then, this is the sort of thing I have come to expect from the Republicans; Democrats, on the other hand...well, I know there are more than 9 of them in there, and I would expect to be able to count more Democrats than I have digits on my hands to stand up against this.

So, yeah, I'm pissed at the selling out of the foundation this country was based on for some fuggin' voting bloc, that will likely turn against the Dems come election time.

But what about the other half of this equation? The half of this entry that will likely set PalJJ, possibly PalLyam, maybe PalDeni, and myself to go through page after scrollable page spewing hot air over.

PalJJ's stance, in essence, is that he doesn't like it when one member of a religious organization points fingers at members of another religious organization and cries "foul."

"When people share what their Truth is, I am engaged," he says, "when people point out what is NOT Truth in others' beliefs, that's when they lose me."

He says this to me, a lot, because I am an outspoken Buddhist (member SGI-USA, a layman organisation that espouses the Buddhist practice established by Nichiren Daishonin, c.1200's) with a tendency to heavily criticize things I see done in the name of Christianity in this country (as well as heavily criticize Christianity in general, but that's a different matter today.)

And, during my more sedate periods, I can dig where he's coming from. But then things like this happen. And the thing is, I'm crying foul, not as a Buddhist, but as a fuggin' citizen of this country. This is a group of people trampling all over my opinions and beliefs, why?

Do I not have the right to call these fuckers out, regardless of their religious orientation? And what am I to call these fuckers?

Sure, "Evangelicals" is accurate, but is that what they call themselves?

"That the House of Representatives --

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world."

I'll let y'all figure out the political implications of the above segment, but please notice the capital "c" word that is sprinkled like jimmies on a donut in this piece of legislation. It ain't cocksmoker.

Who identifies as fervently Pro-Life? Who's against gay marriage? Against porn? Against the legalization of marijuana? Against teaching evolution in schools? Against the separation of church and state?

It ain't cello players.

Look, have I met Christians I can hold a reasonable conversation with, one whose view on life comes close enough to mine that we could get along? Yes, I have. I can't say the same about Evangelicals, but I'm not going to rule out the possibility.

But here's the thing, that is talking about a one-on-one connection. As a collective? Evangelicals, who identify themselves as simply Christian, are fucking with me and mine, and, as a rule, I never sit quietly about that shit.

Now, I head to Denver for the holidays with family.

The Solstice Is The Reason For The Season! Merry Solstice, Bitches!

What The World Needs Now Is Hate

Pardon me if you've already seen this clip. For those of you who do not regularly visit Warren Ellis' site (the graphic novelist, not the cult violinist), please take a gander at the following: Spoonful of Sugar

[It is recommended that you try to stick with it to the end; but I can't necessarily blame you for just wanting to jump ship early. So here's what you do: After the first chorus, you could either see what other BS they get to (nothing like accusing homos that they eat their children, created in some satanistic ritual or something), or pause the song, wait until it's done loading, and skip to about the 4:50 mark.]

Where do I start? Do I start with the statement that I once performed with a sketch group called The 13th Step (sketch for/by drunks) that did its own parody of "We Are The World" called "We Can't Do Porn" that was about as Xtian as this musical Chick tract? Add to this the dissonance of the perpetrators of the "porn" song when combined with the "xtian" adjective.

Do I marvel at the ingenious come hither ploy they attempt to attract new converts with? "God hates everyone but us, so, quit whatever you're doing and be saved."

Do I say that this is another obstacle in PalJJ's (amidst other like-minded individuals) noble desire to reclaim the word "God" from its current adherents?

How about we don't and say I did?

[Tip o' the keyboard to PalBrannon.--tbo]

Sometimes...

You just need to be away for a month, you know?

A month in which to live, start new lifecycles, finish some projects, host family members...That crazy thing called life, in other words...

So, yeah, I've been gone. Not as long as some, but longer than others, and I've got a thirst...I need to yammer incoherently, I need to rant pointlessly at the wrongs of our current administration, I need to flirt subversively.

Besides, only 39 more posts until I reach 300.

I'll be back. Sooner rather than later this time.

Promise.