Old School Friday * Heatwave

There is a great television series produced by TV-One called 'Unsung'. The episode this week focused on the group Heatwave. I have deep memories of Heatwave songs from my time in college. However, until I saw this show I never knew the background of the group. I knew the Heatwave logo ... but, never knew about the tragedy that followed the group.
  • the original six members came from five different countries
  • one member was shot and killed in Chicago
  • one member was stabbed by his girlfriend in London
  • the two lead singers were brothers
  • the founder of the group spent the last 25 years of his life as a quadriplegic
  • the organist in the group wrote majority of Heatwave songs and eventually left the group to become full-time songwriter. He wrote the top-selling song in music history -- Thriller, sung by Michael Jackson
I didn't know any of these factoids. All I knew is that Heatwave could bring the noise in a soulful, funky or upbeat (...y'all remember Boogie Nights!) manner. Here are two of my favorite Heatwave songs.











What is your favorite Heatwave memory?

Large 50-Ft Snake Found Dead (Video)

I don't have any real reason to share this video with y'all ... I don't like snakes much. However, this video had an impact on me...




...did it have impact on you as well? (smile)

Zindagi Milegi Dobara - Upcoming movie

Abhay Deol , Katrina Kaif , on Shooting at Maldives

New Punjabi Film - Kabbadi ik Mohabbat

New AfroSpear Member: The Essentials of Cool

This blog has been a member of The AfroSpear for a couple of years now. There are truly some remarkable bloggers of African descent in The AfroSpear. You can see the full blogroll at the bottom of the left-hand sidebar.

The AfroSpear added a new member recently. Barry Belt is the owner of 'The Essentials Of Cool'. He began the blog in April 2008.

When asked about the purpose of the AfroSpear he wrote, "I see the AfroSpear as a source to receive news on various topics from an informed Black perspective. Basically, I see the AfroSpear as picking up the ball that the mainstream media has dropped. We can't hold our breath for BET to."
Shawn, better known in cyberspace as the Bohemian Hippie Chick, shared her insights on The Essentials of Cool. She has been following Barry's current blog since its inception in 2008 and noted that the blog regularly posts on issues in the Black community such as technology, music, entertainment and politics. She was very complimentary on three specific blog posts:
  1. Where Are The Black Tech Bloggers
  2. Afrolatinos: The Untaught Story
  3. Race & The Last Airbender
Barry and his blog, 'The Essentials of Cool', are a great addition to The AfroSpear. I hope that you will take a moment to share your Village Voice' (or COMMENT) to welcome the young brother to the crew!

Succes 2010: Rochus Misch, bodyguardul lui Hitler. Ultimul supravieţuitor al Führerbunkerului

Rochus Misch a fost garda de corp a dictatorului nazist Adolf Hitler, din 1940 pâna în 1945. Misch l-a urmat pe Fürer pâna la sfârsitul celui de-al III-lea Reich, fiind martor la marirea si prabusirea conducatorilor nazisti.

Vreme de cinci ani, Rochus Misch a fost garda de corp, curierul şi operatorul telefonic al lui Adolf Hitler. "În anturajul lui Hitler eram gărzi de corp", a povestit Misch, într-un interviu pentru BBC. "Când Hitler călătorea îl însoţeam într-o altă maşină. Însă când ne aflam în apartamentul lui Hitler în Cancelarie aveam de asemenea şi alte îndatoriri. Doi dintre noi lucram mereu ca operatori de telefonie. Cu un şef ca Hitler, trebuia să răspundem întotdeauna la multe telefoane".


Odată cu înaintarea Aliaţilor, Hitler s-a retras în buncărul său din Berlin. Rochus Misch îndeplinea funcţia de operator telefonic.

"Lucram într-o cameră mică unde era un telefon şi o maşină de scris", îşi aminteşte el. "În acea cămăruţă se mai putea adăposti doar o singură persoană în cazul unui raid aerian. Buncărul nu era chiar atât de mare. Era alcătuit din cămăruţe de 10 sau 12 metri pătraţi", a mai povestit Misch.

Rochus Misch este ultimul martor al dramei de la 30 aprilie 1945, când Adolf Hitler şi Eva Braun s-au sinucis.

"Deodată, am auzit pe cineva strigând la adjutantul lui Hitler: 'Linge, Linge, cred că s-a întâmplat!' Auziseră o împuşcătură, dar eu nu am auzit nimic. În acel moment, Martin Bormann, secretarul lui Hitler, le-a spus tuturor să facă linişte. Toţi din încăpere au început să şuşotească. Eu vorbeam la telefon şi ridicasem tonul intenţionat pentru a face gălăgie, nu voiam să pară că suntem într-un buncăr al morţii", a declarat Misch.

"Bormann a ordonat ca uşa de la camera lui Hitler să fie deschisă. L-am văzut pe Hitler prăbuşit cu capul pe masă. Eva Braun zăcea pe canapea, cu capul îndreptat spre el. Genunchii îi erau aduşi către piept. Purta o rochie bleumarin cu volane albe. Nu o să uit niciodată acea imagine".
Misch a părăsit buncărul lui Hitler ultimul, cu câteva ore înainte să fie invadat de Armata Roşie, dar a fost capturat rapid şi şi-a petrecut următorii nouă ani în lagărele de muncă sovietice. Capturarea buncărului a devenit un simbol al victoriei Aliaţilor în al Doilea Război Mondial.

Misch s-a stabilit la Berlin, dupa noua ani de captivitate petrecuti în URSS. Astazi traieste singur, la acceasi adresa din apropierea bunkerului, in casa in care s-a mutat dupa ce l-au eliberat rusii. Si-a povestit viata in cartea "Am fost garda de corp a lui Hitler", carte publicata si in Romania, la editura Meteor Press, in 2007.


Rochus Misch (born 29 July 1917) is a former Oberscharführer in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler who worked as a courier, bodyguard and telephone operator for Adolf Hitler from 1940 to 1945. As of 2011 aged 93, he is the last living survivor of the final days in the Führerbunker.
Misch was born in Alt-Schalkowitz near Oppeln in the Province of Silesia (now Popielów, Poland). He became an orphan at the age of two and grew up with his grandparents. He worked as a painter. He has a daughter named Brigitta Jacob-Engelken.


In 1937, Misch joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), the predecessor to the Waffen-SS. The SS-VT trained alongside Hitler’s personal bodyguard, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) that continued to serve exclusively as his personal protection unit. Misch was badly wounded in Poland when negotiating the surrender of Polish troops. As the last living member of a Lower Silesian family, his company leader recommended him for the Führerbegleitkommando rather than front service.

Misch was transferred to the LSSAH. As a junior member of Hitler's permanent bodyguard, Misch travelled with Hitler throughout World War II. When not serving as a bodyguard, Misch and others in the unit served as telephone operators or couriers. On January 16, 1945, following the German defeat in the Battle of the Bulge, Misch and the rest of Hitler's personal staff moved into the Führerbunker in Berlin. He did not leave it for any significant period of time until the end of the war. Misch handled all of the direct communication from the bunker.

Following the suicides of Hitler and Joseph Goebbels on 30 April and 1 May 1945 respectively, Misch and mechanic Johannes Hentschel, two of the last people remaining in the bunker, exchanged letters to their wives if anything were to happen to one of them. Misch had witnessed the discovery of the bodies of Eva Braun and Hitler after their suicide, and was present (in the bunker complex) during the time the Goebbels' poisoned their children.[2] Misch fled the bunker on 2 May only hours before the Red Army seized it.[2] He was captured shortly thereafter by Soviet forces. Misch was then tortured as they tried to extract information regarding Hitler's exact fate. Misch spent nine years in Soviet labor camps.
After his release from captivity in 1954, Misch returned to Berlin where he lived two miles from the Führerbunker. Following the rediscovery of the bunker in the 1990s, Misch stated publicly that the bunker should not be completely destroyed, being an important part of world history.

He struggled for several years with what to do with his life post captivity. He was offered various odd jobs among others as a bodyguard and as a driver. While he entertained these offers, which for the most part were through his war veteran contacts, all early offers would entail moving away from Berlin which his wife refused unconditionally. He finally obtained credit backed by wealthy German philanthropists to buy out a painting business from a retiree in Berlin. He ran this modest business successfully, and during the early Allied occupation of Berlin also became involved in the making of peanut butter destined for American troops. This sideline became so successful that he considered exiting painting. His wife, again, intervened and he remained in the painting business until retirement. He wrote his memoirs in German, Der Letzte Zeuge (The Last Witness) which was published in 2008.

In May 2005, Misch appeared in the news when he was accused of taunting the sensibilities of Holocaust victims after calling for a plaque in memory of the Goebbels children, who were murdered by Magda Goebbels, shortly before her own suicide on 1 May 1945.


Since the deaths of Bernd von Freytag-Loringhoven on 27 February 2007, and Armin Lehmann on 10 October 2008, Rochus Misch is now the last survivor of the Führerbunker.

On the occasion of the release of the 2004 German film Downfall (Der Untergang) in France, a French journalist (Nicolas Bourcier) interviewed Misch on multiple occasions during the second half of 2005.[clarification needed] The resulting biography was published in French as J'étais garde du corps d'Hitler 1940–1945 (I was Hitler's bodyguard 1940-1945) in March 2006 (ISBN 2253121541). Translations were released in South America, Japan, Spain, Poland, Turkey and Germany in 2006 and 2007.

Misch served as consultant to writer Christopher McQuarrie on the 2008 film Valkyrie, a depiction of the 20 July plot.


As of January 2010, Misch still lives in Berlin in the same house he moved into when he was released from prison by the Russians. The house is located in the district of Rudow in South Berlin. Misch regularly receives visitors from the public who wish to speak to or interview him.

Monsters (2010)

"Excellent movie, misleading title..."


"Alien life forms have spread throughout the southern U.S-Mexico border region leading to the quarantine of half of Mexico. The U.S. and Mexican military are battling to contain the creatures, with a wall stretching along the American border. The story follows Andrew, an American photojournalist helping his wealthy employer's daughter, Samantha, get back to America. Their journey takes them across Central America and eventually into the 'infected zone."

Monsters
is a great little movie. If you liked Cloverfield or District 9, Monsters has jsut about the exact same feel to it, which is a good thing in my book, and why I think is has such a compelling appeal. It feels real. It's a glimpse of our world, our normal world, which has been inundated with abnormal forces which pose a threat to our humanity, whether realistically or perceived.

The problem, and basically the only one, with this movie is in the title; Monsters isn't really about monsters at all. There are monsters in it of course, a few anyway, but the movie is more about how we as people live in a monster inhabited world, rather than a group of people fighting for their lives against said threat. There is little external conflict involving monsters, and a ton of internal conflict both between the main characters, and within themselves.

What we do get of the monsters is pretty awesome, and I do think that the minimalistic approach to our exposure to them makes the movie work better as a film, if not a monster/horror flick, but some people are going to feel cheated, expecting a movie packed with action that just isn't there.

Please understand, I think this is an excellent little movie. I loved the hell out of it, and really it didn't step wrong the whole time for me. I can however see how many people may be pissy after seeing this movie, expecting a glut of monsters and getting more of a relationship/characters in internal conflict study instead. This movie isn't for those people though. They should go see Saw 43, and enjoy the hollow, yet visually jam packed spectacle of it all.

Hats off to Whitney Able and Scoot McNairy -Yes, his name is Scoot, not Scott- neither of whom I really knew much about, but did a killer job in the main roles. I empathized with them and cared about what they were going through, and managed to become invested in them and their burgeoning relationship. Whitney is really easy to look at too, and makes me want to go back and check out Mandy Lane again, just to see her have that near lesbian experience with Amber Heard... Yes, everything comes back to hot chicks for me. Stop judging!

And really quick here, why Scoot? It' s hard enough knowing that there's a guy in Hollywood that calls himself McG, and now we have a Scoot? Cool guy, good actor, but come on!

This movie is for film geeks, Indie lovers. People who need more substance and less flash from their flicks. I personally think this movie is for everyone, or at least should be; it has a great premise and setting, characters we come to really give a shit about, some pretty awesome (sparse as they may be) monster encounters, and an ending that made me think, then go back and look to make sure that I wasn't getting it wrong. It made me tense at times, and was scary in that it felt so damn real, and the monsters were so large and imposing. It sucked me in.

Monsters is a subdued Cloverfield, a District 9 light if you will. And while it may be light on the action and monster filled carnage, it's not light on much else. If you don't mind more story than action, you won't have a problem. If deliberate pacing and a slow build up with less of a visual payoff makes you mad, you will.

The Master Says- A (9.0/10) See it now on Comcast On Demand (a month before it hits theaters), or catch it on October 29th on a big screen near you, in limited release. Either way, see it.

Watching her on screen for 90 minutes was not a bad thing at all.

Taser Lawsuit: Kelly Brinson (Cincinnati, OH)

The family of Kelly Brinson, a University Hospital psychiatric patient who died in January, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court. [SOURCE]

The lawsuit alleges University of Cincinnati Police Division officers used excessive force when they electrocuted the 45-year-old patient who admitted himself to the hospital for mental reasons.

It also alleges the hospital was negligent in its care for Brinson. The hospital was placed under probabtion by the Ohio Department of Mental Health. The department questioned whether police response was too excessive. The probation was lifted in April when the death was attributed to "natural causes" by the Hamilton County coroner's office.

The seven officers involved in the incident, the chief of UCPD, University Hospital and its trustees are among the 16 people including in the suit.

Frozen (2010)

"Frozen will make you afraid of snow, scared to ski and hesitant to play with wolves..."

FROZEN
Sub-Genre- Ski Lift terror!

Cast Members of Note- Emma Bell, Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers, a pack of mean wolves, and a cameo by Kane Hodder!

What's it About?- Frozen is a story about a pack of rather cunning wolves that roam the woods surrounding a remote ski lodge, setting traps for unaware skiers, all in the name of murder! That's right. Let's just say that the wolves turn the table on we humans, voraciously hunt dumb slope bunnies and ski bums, only to kill and eat them in the end. We are the hunters, not you, you glorified dogs! Then again, if we humans are dumb enough to fall for a wolf trick...

Yep, you're going to end up as dog treats!

It's our fault really, we ask for it; we bribe our way onto ski lifts, we decide to go for "just one more run" as the lodge is closing for the week, because it's so rad, we get trapped on the ski lift and piss ourselves, creating a small slick of piss-ice in our pants that makes us even more uncomfortable and miserable... Instead of just saying "Hey, good day man. Let's leave now" when it makes sense, we push our luck and set ourselves up to be hugry wolf fodder.

Did you enjoy your last run? To wolves sure did.

Once we realize were trapped alone, in the sub zero dark, and hundreds of feet off of the ground, what do we do? We cry. We piss ourselves. We argue. We whine. We try to have a threesome that just doesn't work because the guys are "turtling" in the frigid cold. Then, in a flash of pure genius, we decide "hey, let's just jump down." Awesome plan for everyone involved except for our legs; they're the ones who break and shoot through our skin, and then refuse to help us walk... mainly because they can't.

Ouch.

So, with one of us crippled, another piss covered, and yet another scared to shimmy 12 feet across a wire to a frigging ladder, we freeze to death and deteriorate. At night, the ice dogs come, and they want blood! This is what we, as humans, do to ourselves. How can we possibly escape such a situation? How can we respect wolves after they make it so clear that they hate us? How can we get rid of this uncomfortable piss-ice? Don't ask me, I'm actually a wolf, and I don't know your human ways.

Sans sheep clothing.

The Good- How they made a 90 minute movie about 3 people stuck on a stalled ski lift interesting, I'll never know. They pulled it off though, and it managed to thoroughly entertain us. Frozen is a lot like Burning Bright (which we recently reviewed) in that they both have crazy premises that seem impossible to pull off, and yet both films do exactly that, and they do it well.


This movie is bleak, depressing and tense as hell, and we felt spent after watching it. It's not fun to watch if you have a fear of heights either, as I felt my goods tingle and clench up on me far too often as they swung, hung, and fell. Helplessness is the feeling that the movie gives you the most of though; watching three kids slowly begin to realize that are really screwed and look to have no hope of getting home un-scarred, if at all. The movies like this, that are grounded in reality, always seem to resonate more with our fear meters... because this could happen. If it did, it may well play out exactly like it does in the movie. Now that is terrifying to think about.

This is why I always wear my mittens when it's cold.

The Bad- One last run? The ski lodge, which you have basically cheated your way in to, is closing imminently, but you feel the need to go int he opposite way of everyone else; into the dark, lonely, bitter cold woods. Go ahead, take your last run. I'll be right here at the warm, safe lodge, sipping cocoa and not dying. Dummy.

The Downright Horrendous- *SPOILERS* So your friend dies because you're too scared to shimmy 12 feet across the cable above you, to a waiting ladder that's connected to the ground, but later on, you shimmy across in a matter of minutes and reach the ground safely... congratulations on killing your friend, you procrastinating pussy.


NOT better late then never. Not for all of you anyway.

The Gory- Plenty of nasty frostbite and wolf induced violence, and some of it was cringe-worthy. Who knew frostbite could be so gruesome?


The Naked- None. Really, boobs had no place in this movie. I can't believe I just typed those words. Shame on me.

What did we learn?
- Don't push your luck. Also, cheaters never win. Wolves on the other hand, always seem to come out on top of things. So I guess don't push your luck with wolves is the ultimate message here.

The Master Says- B+ (80./10) Frozen is a cool (no pun intended) little movie that makes you feel like you're the one trapped on that ski lift for the entire running time, letting you experience a bit of the dread and panic that the characters themselves are drowning in. The best thing I can say about the movie is that it get's the job done while feeling fresh and new. In a horror genre full of stale cliches and gluts of far too similar movies, that's a very good thing. Grab it on DVD when it comes out tomorrow, and enjoy.

Final Thoughts-Cute little Emma Bell will next be starring in Final Destination part 12. At least we get to see more of her on screen?


More GOP Racism: Why Would Any African American Join the Republican Party?

Politics is rather boring this year in Ohio. We don't have the same excitement that is occurring in other parts of the nation.
  • In Delaware it appears that a GOP civil war is about to break out now that Christine O'Donnell is their candidate for senator.
  • The GOP candidate for New York governor, Carl Paladino, is a guy who sends out racist and pornographic emails to his GOP buddies. He's also made controversial statements such as teaching welfare recipients job training and "personal hygiene" while housing them in converted prisons and calling outgoing Gov. David Paterson a drug addict.
  • South Carolina heavy-hitters in the Republican Party hosted 'The Southern Experience' at the Country Club of Charleston a few days ago. SC Gov. Mark Sanford and SC Senate President Glenn McConnell (shown in the above photo) hosted this event in which the only Black people present were dressed up as slaves.
I have never voted for a Republican candidate on a state or national ballot.  The policies, actions and culture of the Republican party never appealed to me. I don't feel any different about the Tea Party. They seem like a bunch of folks who strongly believe in white privilege and who've never interacted on a professional or personal basis with a Black person in America.

I don't like the way that the GOP and Tea Party have taken such a personal and pre-meditated hatred of our nation's first Black president and turned it into a 'Just Say No' or 'birther' or 'socialist' mantra over the past year. The GOP leadership is now calling our president a 'con' and a man with a 'Kenyan, anti-colonial world view'. What kinda shyt is that?

I try to stay open-minded. I include A Political Season and Booker Rising on my RSS-feed so that I don't miss any blog postings that either Aaron or Shay put on their blog.  However, I still don't have a clue why any person of African descent would become a member of the Republican Party.  It must be lonely to be a Black Republican. If the African Americans in Alaska weren't fooled by Sarah Palin ... why should those of us in the lower 48 be fooled?

Can any of y'all explain it to me?

How can a Black Republican have so much self-hate in them that they would want to be associated with these racist wackos who have no love for people of African descent living in America?

Succes 2010: Steve MacLean, astronaut


Steven Glenwood MacLean (born December 14, 1954) is a Canadian astronaut. He is the current President of the Canadian Space Agency, appointed on September 2, 2008.
In December 1983, MacLean was one of six astronauts selected by the National Research Council of Canada. He began astronaut training in February 1984 and, in December 1985, was designated as the Canadian Payload Specialist to fly with the CANEX-2 set of Canadian experiments in space. MacLean was assigned to mission STS-71-F that scheduled for launch in 1987, but was canceled after Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. His mission, STS-52, took place October 22 to November 1, 1992.

From 1988 to 1991, he was astronaut adviser to the Strategic Technologies in Automation & Robotics Program (STEAR).

From 1987 to 1993, he was program manager of the Advanced Space Vision System (SVS). In July 1992, NASA agreed to outfit the shuttle fleet with an operational version of the Orbiter Space Vision System (OSVS) which will give eyes to the Canadarm on board the space shuttle, and the Advanced Vision Unit (AVU) which will be used with the Mobile Servicing System (MSS). The MSS is Canada’s contribution to the International Space Station. MacLean was Program Manager for the OSVS until his interim assignment, in July 1993, to a collateral duty as Science Advisor for the International Space Station.

In 1993, he became an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies.

In April 1994, he was appointed acting director-general of the Canadian astronaut program. In July 1996 he was selected to attend NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Training at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. MacLean was initially assigned technical duties in the astronaut office robotics branch. More recently, he served as a CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) in the JSC Mission Control Center.

MacLean served as a Mission Specialist on STS-115, which launched on September 9, 2006 and returned on September 21, 2006. He became the first Canadian to operate the robotic arm Canadarm2. On September 13, he performed his first spacewalk, a 7 hour EVA to activate the solar panels on the P3/4 truss — the second Canadian to do so, after Chris Hadfield.

Taser Death: David Cornelius Smith (Minneapolis, MN)

Another day ... another unarmed US citizen killed by taser-happy police. This time the taser-related killing occured September 9th in Minneapolis MN. David Cornelius Smith, 28, was accused of disturbing members at a Minneapolois YMCA. The police were called and confronted Smith in the sixth-floor gym.

When officers Timothy Gorman and Timothy Callahan tried to physically remove Smith from the YMCA, he fought with them for several minutes, injuring one of them slightly before he was electrocuted with a taser gun. After he was arrested, it was clear that something was wrong and Smith was rushed by ambulance to the hospital.

Smith was brain-dead and in a coma for 10 days.  He stayed on life support at the Hennpin County Medical Center until September 18th ... when he died.

Some reports indicate that Smith was handcuffed and restrained before the taser gun was used. Family members claim that they have seen marks, consistent with taser barbs, on his back.

"For them to take his life in the prime of his life is wrong," said Diane Smith, David Smith's mother.
She said what happened to her son was mean, cruel and unnecessary. See video (embedded version not available).

"What gives man the right to take another person's life for something as simple as a little disorderly conduct at a gym that you were a member of?" she continued.
Diane Smith said her son loved to play basketball at the downtown Minneapolis YMCA. His sister Angela said he was known there. That's why his family is having a hard time understanding.

"How could a healthy, smart, God-loving young man full of life go into the Y and come out in a coma?" said Angela Smith, David Smith's sister.
Gorman and Callahan were placed on standard paid administrative leave, but they are now back at work and the investigation continues.

His family believes there is more to the story. They want to know why he had to die this way.

"I could have seen it if he had a gun. I could have seen it if he had a knife, throwing it at them. I wish they would have shot my son in his leg, anything, sprayed him with pepper spray. He's not a very big guy anyway and he's not a violent guy," Diane Smith said.
David Smith's mother and sister said there were no drugs or alcohol found in his system.

Archive Meme: Searching for Online Treasure in My Blog Archives

This blog participated in the Archive Meme three years ago. I thought it would be nice to do it again in 2010. The Archive Meme rules are simple enough:
  1. Link 1 must be about family.
  2. Link 2 must be about friends.
  3. Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are... what you're all about...
  4. Link 4 must be about something you love
  5. Link 5 can be anything you choose.
Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintences so that you get to know each other better.... and don't forget to read the archive posts and leave comments! So villagers, here are my five links...
  1. About Family - Kyra Hicks is my sister. She announced publication of her latest book, 1.6 Million African American Quilters, earlier this month.
  2. About Friends - One of my professional friends is the president and CEO of the Cincinnati Museum Center. His museum is host to an astounding exhibit -- America I AM: The African American Imprint. I hope that all villagers in driving distance of Cincinnati, Ohio check out this exhibit before it leaves town in January.
  3. About Me - This post shares some insights into the demons that plaque me. I'm nowhere close to the father that my father was. But, everyday I have the opportunity to do better.
  4. Something I Love - I love the lessons that I've learned from my Dad. He transitioned a few years ago and I miss him very much. Even writing this entry on my blog about him brings up some raw emotions for me.
  5. Wild Card - One day I need to figure out how I got so engaged in tracking taser-related deaths!
Now then ... the next step is for me to tag five bloggers that I enjoy reading on a regular basis:
  1. Michael Lang (Noire Digerati)
  2. Patrick Phillips (The Intersection of Madness & Reality)
  3. Anna Renee (Anna Renee is Still Talking)
  4. LaShawn Sithole (One In A Billion Consulting)
  5. Symphony (Essential Presence)
I enjoyed putting this together. I hope that the five tagged bloggers will participate as well!

Taser Death: Gary Grossenbacher (Oklahoma City OK)

Oklahoma City was the hometown of a great television series called, 'Saving Grace'. Now it is the home of the latest taser-related killing in America. 48-year old Gary Grossenbacher was electrocuted to death by two inexperienced police officers yesterday morning. The two officers, Bryan Jones, a two-year veteran, and Joshua Norton, a one-year veteran, responded to a domestic violence call at 6:40 a.m. on September 16th. A couple were in an altercation at their house. [SOURCE]

The officers used a Taser and pepper spray while trying to subdue the man. Paramedics already on the scene treated Grossenbacher and took him to Mercy Hospital, where he died.

The officers have been placed on routine administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.

Please let this blog know of any new information that you may hear on this taser-related death.

[VIDEO] Taser Death: Freddie Lockett (Dallas TX)

It happened again. Freddie Lockett, 30, electrocuted to death by taser fire from an unidentified Dallas police officers. The man was trying to flee police officers who were answering a robbery call earlier today.

According to a police incident report, a man told officers he was sitting inside his vehicle at a gas station in the 2900 block of South Westmoreland around 11:30 p.m. on   Saturday night (September 11) when Lockett approached the car and asked for money. The man in his car said he didn’t have any money and began to roll up the driver’s side window.

That’s when the driver said Lockett opened the door and started punching him in the face. Afraid, the victim told officers he crawled across his car and got out using the passenger side door. He ran inside the gas station and asked for someone to call police.

While he was in the store, he said the suspect went into his car and took his cell phone. Police said when they got to the area, they saw a man matching the description of the suspect. When they tried to talk to him, he ran away; but officers were able to catch up to him.

The officers decided to punish Lockett by electrocuting him on five separate occassions with at least 50,000 volts each time from their taser guns.







The officers knew right away that something was wrong. They called emergency medical technicians to treat the man, who was taken to Methodist Central Hospital and pronounced dead at 1:05 a.m. Sunday, September 12.

Please let us know if you have any additional information that you can share about this taser-related killing.

Village Tip: Business Cards


We will share occassional Village Tips in support of the Declaration of Financial Empowerment. Today's tip is for those of you thinking about starting your own business.

Business cards are not just little cardstock rectangles with your name and contact information. They are a representation of you and your business, and a reminder of who you are and what you do.

But when you settle for a second rate (or third, or fourth, or fifth) business card, you might as well kiss a lot of potential customers and clients goodbye. What happens when you give someone your business card, they slip it into their wallet, forget all about it, and then come across is three weeks later? Well, if you have a flimsy, poorly designed business card, they probably throw it in the trash. But if you have a classy, high quality card, they will save it and remember you every time they see it.

So before you go home and print your business cards on your home printer, think about how those business cards will represent you. You don't want to spoil the good impression you make with a bad business card.

Succes 2010: James Leavelle





James R. Leavelle (born August 23, 1920) is the former Dallas, Texas homicide detective who was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby.
Another view of Ruby's shooting of Oswald, from the Warren Commission report.

In a 2006 interview Leavelle, who was the first to interrogate Oswald after his arrest, recalled joking to Oswald before the transfer, " 'Lee, if anybody shoots at you, I hope they're as good a shot as you are.' He kind of smiled and said, ‘Nobody’s going to shoot at me.’ ”

He personally believes that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, and says[citation needed] that in a 2006 discussion, he was told by Oswald's brother Robert that he believes the same thing, "because I knew my brother."

Leavelle was a sailor on board the USS Whitney during the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Suck (2010)

"Stylish and fun, Suck does not suck, although is does fall a bit short of rockin' good time..."


SUCK
Sub-Genre- Vampires/Horror Comedy/Horror Musical?

Cast Members of Note
- Jessica Pare, Malcolm McDowell, Nicole De Boer, Dave Foley, Iggy Pop, Alice Cooper, Henry Rollins, and Moby.

What's it About?- A lame Canadian rock band called The Winners -yes, that's actually their name- just can't seem to find a break in the music biz. Their songs are lame, they look lame, they're kinda geeky... their only saving grace is the hot ass bass player Jennifer. That's why it's called Suck, because the band really sucks. Except for her.

Suck, indeed.

Luckily for the band, Jennifer is a whore and takes off one night with a fangy, feminine-looking guy, with hopes of getting filled out like a job application, only to be turned into a vampire. I guess that's the price you pay in Canada for being slutty! She comes back to the band even hotter than before, but far too pale and desperately hungry for human blood. That's why it's called Suck, because that's how vampires eat.

She's a messy eater.

As Jennifer turns each band member into a vampire, they become more popular, eventually garnering themselves a record deal. Of course the price for their new found fame is a trail of bodies along their tour route, which no one seems to notice. The band even kills a DJ on air an no one says a word... which makes no sense, because their music still sucks, so why let them get away with murder? Why am I even asking about this? It's in the script. That's why it's called Suck, because the script kinda does.

Oh Henry, you so crazy!

From here on out it turns into a typical "Van Helsing descendant shows up to save the day" kind of flick. Yeah. Can the band kill the master vampire, and escape their vampire curse? Can Iggy Pop talk sense into Joey, the whiny lead singer? Will their music ever stop sucking? I don't know about any of that, but Alice Cooper looks pretty awesome with black wings.

Cooper is God. Well, one of them anyway.

The Good- Suck is a fun movie. It could have been great, a cult classic even, but its lack of action and jumbled feel made it fall a bit short of cult status in our eyes. Some will still call it a cult classic I'm sure, and I can see why they would, but it didn't have a ton of impact and cult classic is a heavy moniker to put on something that doesn't really do much.

Suck is pretty sharp and interesting visually, although it never maintains the sharpness for too long, instead reverting to some cheesy camera editing tricks to add to the "creativity." We were fond of the use of color and tone, not so fond of the whole bobble head/accelerated movement thing.

The cast is awesome, from Dave Foley to Malcolm McDowell, and rock gods Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins, Alice Copper... and Moby? I've never been a huge Moby fan, but I have to admit that he was pretty funny in this movie. If nothing else, it was fun to see the rock royalty acting all crazy throughout this one.

This is the funniest guy in the movie.

The Bad- Nothing really happened. I mean, there was a lot of singing, some good funny bits, some blood here and there, but the plot really didn't go anywhere. There is a plot, and it moves forward, but it doesn't accomplish anything. It just felt flat and uneventful. Maybe it was because it never decided if it was more comedy, horror, or quirky indie? Confused, it was.

The Downright Horrendous- The super fast vibrating movement thing. Why do so many filmmakers feel the need to use that trick, amongst others, in their movies these days? This film was visually interesting enough and was a bit ruined for us by the more than occasional vibrating head or stuttered/quick stop motion movement.

The Gory- There is some blood and gore to be had here, though it's all given to us in a fairly tongue in cheek manner. Still, it's there.

The Naked- Though the sexy Jessica Pare has been naked on film before, no such luck here. For shame. Same goes for the pixie-like Nicole De Boer. Methinks Canadian Filmmakers play it too safe!

ME-OW!

What did we learn?- Canadian rock bands kinda suck. Not you though, Glass Tiger. We still haven't forgotten you long after you've been gone. Also, Alice Cooper is awesome. Ditto Henry Rollins and Iggy Pop.

The Master Says- C+ (6.0/10) Suck didn't suck at all, and in many ways was an enjoyable if a flawed viewing experience. The movie is definitely played for laughs more than horror, and it even delves into musical territory every so often, which wasn't all that painful to sit through... mostly. Stylish,. fun and amusing, Suck is definitely one to check out if you like your horror a bit on the quirky side.

Final Thoughts-
Jessica Pare makes a sexy vampire. Next time though, be naked.


Wordless Wednesday: Dinosaur 'Senior Moment' Results in Extinction

Taser Death: Joseph Frank Kennedy (La Mirada, CA)

Authorities say Joseph Frank Kennedy, a 48-year-old parolee, has died after unidentified deputies electrocuted him with a Taser gun during a struggle outside a hotel in south Los Angeles County. [SOURCE]

Sheriff's spokesman Michael Parker says deputies patrolling the parking lot of the hotel in La Mirada were attacked after contacting Kennedy He fled on foot, then re-emerged to attack again and a struggle ensued.

Parker says Kennedy tried to disarm one of the deputies and threatened to kill them.  However, it turns out that the man was UNARMED!

The unidentified deputies used a Taser to subdue the unarmed man ... then they handcuffed him.  The police realized that something was horribly wrong as Kennedy had difficulty breathing.  Paramedics performed CPR on the man and took him to La Palma Intercommunity Hospital in La Palma, where he was declared dead at a hospital.

Coroner's officials were trying to determine the cause of death.

Investigators found substances they believe were drugs on Kennedy.

Succes 2010: Robert Curl, laureat al Premiului Nobel pentru Chimie (1996)


Robert Floyd Curl, Jr. este un chimist american, laureat al Premiului Nobel pentru chimie (1996).

Succes 2010: Ueli Steck, alpinist. Cel mai bun căţărător solitar din lume




Ueli Steck is a Swiss climber. He is a skilled carpenter and lives in Ringgenberg in Interlaken.

Steck is one of the world's best solo climbers. At the age of 17, he achieved the 9th Difficulty rating (UIAA) in Climbing. As an 18-year-old he climbed the north face of the Eiger, and the famous Bonatti Pillar in the Mont Blanc massif. In June 2004, he climbed with Stephan Siegrist the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau within 25 hours. Another success was the so-called Khumbu-Express in 2005, for which the climbing magazine "Climb!" named him one of the three best alpinists in Europe. The project consisted of the first solo-climb of the north wall of the Cholatse (6440 m) and the east wall of the Tawoche (6505 m).

In 2007, whilst climbing up the direct line on the southern flank to the summit of Annapurna in the Himalayas, he was hit by a falling rock which smashed his helmet. He was knocked unconsious, slipped more than 200 feet, but survived with just bruises and a concussion injuries. In May 2008 again climbing Annapurna he broke off his ascent of the route to a assist a Spanish climber Iñaki Ochoa de Olza who had collapsed. Medical help was slow in coming and the Spanish climber died despite Steck's help.

In 2008 Steck was the first recipient of the Eiger Award for his mountaineering achievements.
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