Jonny Quest

There are some who will tell you this was merely a cartoon series. Yet more Hanna/Barbera crafted fodder for the masses.

But for those of us who were little boys when Godzilla movies, tin-friction cars, Erector Sets, Girders 'n Panels and Matchboxes ruled the day, Jonny Quest was the cartoon equivalent of an action, sci-fi and drama thriller all rolled into one.

Later

BlogFest outtake

Never know...

Definately a Democrat.

Later

Video: "Ghetto Bastards"

This video gets rolling when a black dude starts letting loose with the N-word again and again and again. Actually, his rant takes me back to Bill Cosby's pleas for sanity right before he was banished and never heard from again.

But near the end, we hear the truth of the matter from the host of the show---that Democrats and liberals are the racists who's textbook model should be copied by all other up-and-coming racists far and wide.

Later

Wilkes-Barre 2001-2006

I was poking around in my Youtube account when I learned that this video, which last I knew was suspended due to some bogus copyright complaint, was back live and ready for public consumption again. And it's amassed 5,775 views!

Whether you agree with my reasons for creating it, this here slideshow of Wilkes-Barre is comprised mostly of pictures I took over a six year period--from 2001 to 2006. It provides more than a glimpse of where we are versus where we once were.

The run time comes in at a whopping 17:23, so iffin' you're interested, make some popcorn, grab a root beer and settle in.

Wilkes-Barre 2001-2006

By the way, I've been working on the sequel.

Later

Global March to Jerusalem

Well, the sh*t hits the fan tomorrow morning.

The missile attacks are increasing in intensity. There have been a few cross-border skirmishes. The IDF is ready. And intelligence sources say Iran has flown thousands of (pick a word) in for the big march.

The Global March to Jerusalem: A brave and admirable attempt to awaken the world’s conscience

Later

A spin through Hell

I've never been flooded, like so many of us that reside and those who have resided here in Flood Central--The Wyoming Valley.

With that stated, I'd take a 49-foot crest over this nightmare scenario...

Yikes!

Later

Gort goes viral on WILK

Mr. Henny B. Gort--a lowlife blogger--went and broke this local story just this past Sunday: Kathleen Kane had 15 parking tickets dismissed

And then yesterday it went viral on both the morning and afternoon talk shows on Wilk:News/Facebook/Radio.

While the scoop was attributed to Mr. Gort by Sue Henry, the voluptuous morning talk jock, it was not attributed to it’s rightful source during the afternoon show hosted by The Great One.

Go figure.

I see that all of the kiddies out there in the vast electronic etherlands have hit the big time at last with this one…

The Weekender: Connecting the blogs

Bloggers, readers to gather at NEPA Blog Fest

I’ll betcha that one garners nary a mention during any afternoon on WILK.

I have suffered a lower back injury that makes me somewhat jealous of the multitudes of people addicted to prescription narcotics. As of this moment, I could partake of some oxi-whatever. And a 12-pack chaser.

But, as always, I limit myself to layer after layer of Icy/Hot, over-the-counter aspirin and the vibrating heat pad.

Oh joy.

As far as attending BlogFest is concerned, if I can stand up straight without wincing, I might be there.

I had me an interesting conversation with one of the zealots who wants our Wilkes-Barre City Council members tortured to death.

First of all, I do not vote for the same people over and over, evidenced by the fact that our council has had plenty of turnover and currently has no long-term players.

Secondly, I do not have a problem with their salaries being what they are, nor do I think multiplying that figure by five makes for a huge taxpayer outlay.

And thirdly, yes, acting like a loose cannon at a public meeting is not a way to effect meaningful change. There! I said it again.

While this is not a shot taken at any current member of council, I do have a serious, serious problem with council folk drawing pensions of any kind or any denomination.

With that said, droning on and on and on about these and other taxpayer-provided pensions--especially at public meetings--gets old as well as gets us nowhere.

By way of referendum, the size of city council was reduced. And the process by which we elect council members was drastically altered, also by way of referendum.

What I’m suggesting is…either do something about it, or shut the funk up already!

Banalities and redundancies should not be confused with efficiency or effectiveness.

Later

Barry O'Carter

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the commie after all?

Later

Back to the drawing board?

Looks like we're headed for a 5-4 vote against Obamascare.

If the vote shakes down as expected, does Barry have to pay for the Scotch tape necessary to put the Constitution of the United States back together again?

Later

Ants versus Termites

They're herrrrrrrrrre!

Get your magnifying glass or your Radio Shack pocket microscope and get to it, man.

Later

Obama to Putin: I will deep-six more weapon platforms

Well, it's obvious that a vote for Barry Oblahblah is a vote for less missile defense systems, both here and abroad.

Not to mention the reduction in aerospace jobs. Don't worry, those furloughed workers can collect unemployment for life as long as the Democrat party rules the roost.

The text as recorded by an open mic…

President Obama: On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space.

President Medvedev: Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…

President Obama: This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.

President Medvedev: I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.

He cannot and will not work with Republicans, i.e., Americans.

But he obviously has no difficulty working in concert with the Russians, i.e., the remaining Soviet communists.

Treason? Self-sedition, anyone?

Later

Grandrodent pics

I love my grandkids.

And I love all three of my kids. And the more I see of the many uploaded, continuing trials and tribulations of my five grandkids (also known as the five grandrodents), the more it makes me wish I had a digital thingamabob at my disposal at all times while my kids were growing up.

Later

Obama's "weight class"

To those who would still cling to hope that Obama is not the clueless buffoon that he obviously is...

He punches harder than his pencil-neck geek weight class. On Xbox, that is.

Next to this guy, Dan Quayle looks menacing.

Later

WBASD: Detention for 6-year-olds?

Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say that there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.---Francis Vincent Zappa

It’s been an unusually warm March.

It feels more like June than March. So much so, in fact, that I’m all for activities that could exacerbate and accelerate any and all effects that can be attributed to Global Warming, Climate Change, or whatever the communist infiltrators are calling it these warmest of days.

Before any further circumlocutory meanderings, I copied the following from the Wilkes-Barre Area School District Web site…

Shorts-

1. Shorts may only be worn from April 1st through October 31st inclusively.

2. Students will be permitted to wear solid color (Khaki (Beige/Tan), Blue, Black, Brown, Gray, Olive or Dark Green) shorts that are sized to fit. No plain white shorts are permitted.

Unbeknownst to me, my grandson, Jeremy, wore khaki shorts to school one week ago--March, 15, 2012. On that particular summer’s day, he attended kindergarten, came home as usual on the bus and that was that.

Turns out, today he wore those same khaki shorts to school. Only this time, someone from the office at Heights Elementary made their way through the parent-provided contact list because this time Jeremy was made to sit in the principal’s office until this most egregious of violations of the WBASD’s dress code was corrected.

His mother was called, but she was showering in advance of shuffling off to work. Next a message was left on our imported answering machine. A call to his other grandmother quickly followed. Around the same time, Wifey called his father who was at work. At approximately 9 AM, his mother noticed the missed call and contacted the school. The following is what she was told…

Paraphrasing here: Bring a pair of approved long pants to the school, or little Jeremy will spend the day sitting in the principal’s office.

So his mother rushed the legal pants to the school, Jeremy changed in the nurse’s office and he was allowed to get on with his regularly scheduled education.

Here’s my problem with all of this…

Jeremy has been a student in this school district since September of 2011. Dress codes, discipline, rules and regulations are things I’m pretty sure he’s not well schooled in. His parents should be, or, at least, need to be. But not him.

Further, it’s not like he’s a seventh-grader and knows the dress code inside and out. He’s a little kid but weeks removed from his 6th birthday. And I do not believe for a nanosecond that he should have been made to sit on a seat he had to consider to be a hot seat for any oversight or infraction made by his parents.

I’m sure the staff did their level best to make him feel at ease, but at that tender age, being yanked out of line and told to sit tight in the principle’s office had to cause him some unrest. And not only do I see that as totally unnecessary, I’m just a bit ticked off over the mishandling of this entire non-event.

Of course, we were treated to the well-worn banalities about zero tolerance. And we were told that despite the almost summer-like conditions of late, shorts were still unnecessary because the school is air-conditioned (as if all schools are so cooled).

To that I say, poppycock!

To reflexively cite zero tolerance policies in lieu of hands-on problem solving mixed with a smidgeon of compassion is the crux of intellectual laziness. Somebody erred in response to an error. Not an affront to civilization, mind you…an error that went uncorrected just a week prior.

And the long and short of it all is, somebody scared a little kid when they didn’t need to. And that somebody is partly entrusted with the intellectual and emotional development of little kids.

This is what happens when those who would be the leaders of our future leaders are devoid of leadership qualities. This is what happens when the future of one’s local school district is decided by way of little more than an electoral popularity contest. This is what happens when the inept and the corrupt carve out half-thought public policies.

So let the impressionable kindergartners beware.

And let the voters of Wilkes-Barre finally remove their fat heads from where their own excrement is processed.

Later

Helmet cam on interior attack

I've got my first ever fantasy baseball draft scheduled for 90 minutes from now, so I ain't got time for any profundities tonight.

But, this video did catch my eye. A helmet cam on an interior attack of a burning two-story structure. Too cool. That daylight sure helps.

Fireman Dan, we await your critique.

Later

Cinnamon challenge

Geez, I think we need this guy providing the entertainment at BlogFest.

Note to Gort: We may need paramedics put on standby.

Anybody up for the "Ground Clove Challenge?"

G'nite

Your constitutional rights are outdated

This is the jumbled mindset that the relentless shredding of the Constitution of the United States by the leftists can lead you...

Our 1st amendment rights can be terminated?

Really? Just like that?

Sez you?

Wow!

Later

Look into the ring

I've been known to say to those who would have me, "You can't do anything without a computer," an obvious reference to everyday life in today's private sector.

As per my longtime blogging pursuits, I've been called everything from a trailblazer to "The Blogfather." But the fact is, I bought my original Hewlett Packard in 1996 because I knew my three kids would need to know their way around computers so as to be successful in an increasingly competitive business environment. It wasn't about me having fun, it was about my kids having maximized their earning potential. A good call, I'd say.

Still, that $2,000 expenditure made absolutely no sense to Wifey at that time, so it caused a bit of friction between us. And after I taught myself HTML, Javascript and started flirting with XTML, she was outwardly annoyed with the vast amount of time I was spending at my expensive keyboard. Er, when I was creating and later pounding away at Wilkes-Barre Online.

As for that aforementioned business environment, I have had access to all sorts of electronic do-dads in the ongoing struggle to first detect the presence of termites in structures and then to expel them from said structures. Stud finders. Moisture meters. Methane detectors. And high-tech electroscopes.

And, yes, we can even use the latest electronics to trick termites into revealing their arrival..

We even have a system by which invading termites would fax our office via a modem. True, I swear.

The way I see it, it won't be very long before we're all wearing a computer in the form of a ring a la Sean Connery's 1974 sci-fi flick "Zardoz."

Personally, with practically every person I now encounter being so consistently distracted by their sexy hand-held devices, their needless texts, their assinine sexts, their useless tweets, their inane Facebook gibberati and whatever other vapid garbage those old, overpriced PCs have led us to, I now yearn for the day when our requests of the ring would lead to that retort of "not permitted."

Look into the ring.

Later

"Blog this!" revisited

I’ve never been reluctant to pick a fight with those I take serious issue with.

Whether in real life, in real time where real fights lead to mostly unfortunate consequences, or in the ether that is the electronic Internet, I don’t take too kindly to people systematically hacking away at my credibility.

Enter WILK, the local purveyors of news, talk, radio and enough Facebook to make even the technologically-savvy fight off a robust puking event.

Don’t get me wrong, there are folks who toil away at WILK who I could excitedly hang out with. And there are those who, ideologically speaking, make me yearn for the mindless days of my longtime haunt--Rock 107.

More to the point, there are a few on-air hosts at WILK who constantly and relentlessly tell their listeners that the Internet is not where a learned, thoughtful, thinking person would turn to acquire accurate information.

More specifically, they tell those who would have them over the free airwaves that blogs and bloggers should be avoided at almost all costs while in pursuit of reliable, certifiable information. Rather, they point to the American version of Russia’s Pravda--The New York Times--as the word of God as it was once told to Moses.

I’m not stupid, nor am I nearly as crazy as I make myself out to be on the now suspect (?) Internet. I realize that newspapers vet their sources, and still search for more sources to confirm what the initial sources might be telling them. And I will not deny that what the blogosphere offers on most days is opinion based on and culled from what the newspapers have to report.

But, with that said, the opinion of a local radio talk show host is no more valid or accurate or bankable than is my opinion, the opinion of someone who is not bereft of any source of news or information or video clips that are available to the big, bad talkers.

Bloggers in this area, since the inception of blogs, have produced untold numbers of scoops, eye-popping pictures, thought-provoking posts, first-hand testimonials and fill-in-the-blank type supplements to many breaking news stories in Luzerne County.

Some of us--bloggers--have been doing it for years on end. Some of us have been doing it longer than most of the self-impressed, self-absorbed and easily dismissive talk jocks on WILK have been employed at WILK. We’ve been plugging away for years, as have some of the folks at WILK.

But what’s up with the steady stream of disrespect coming our way?

Being that the ratings for WILK during the latest rating period were so shockingly low, I’m wondering if the self-annointed know-it-alls are simply wildly flailing out at anything and everything they might deem to be the competition.

They won’t make mention of “The Talker,” as if it doesn’t exist with it’s recently enhanced AM ratings. But they will tell you not to trust any aspect of the Internet. No peaceful coexistence, just the inane and vapid rapid-fire insults directed at those who would happily admit to playing second fiddle to any and all local news sources.

Of course, this comes from a guy who once tricked a WILK talk show host into ranting and raving about an online April Fool’s Day joke of a post titled “Wilkes-Barre Air Rescue.”

And who, pray tell, was the station manager who forced that aged talk show host kicking and screaming onto the then-fledgling Internet? That would be the very same one-sided woman who once wrote “Blog this!”

Sorry, but WILK isn’t the only informational game in town.

Despite what they may say to the contrary, it never was, nor will it ever be.

Warts and all, the Internet is here and here to stay.

Now learn to deal with it.

Buh-bye

"F-U" Obama fundraiser

How presidential is it to reduce the office of the presidency of the United States to gutter trash, street parlance and unacceptable indulgence?

I think the chickie nailed it...time for an adult.

Later

Bitter, clinger poll

It seems as if Obama is not polling too well in Mississippi.

Later

Do Ya?

I’ve never been known to pray at the altar of musical convention.

Quite the opposite, all too often the unconventional will win me over in spades.

Google “Fugs.”

Back in the 1970s when Freddie Mercury & Co. hit it big with their operatic excess, I noticeably yawned while most others my age hit the Book & Record Mart on South Main Street in search of vinyl singles.

It’s not that I could not recognize and appreciate Queen’s deviation from the tried-and-true 3-minute, formulaic musical fodder. It’s just that if what I truly wanted was to be sidetracked by operatic hogwash, I could have joined the Westmoreland Club and pretended to be all cultured and the like. You know, fake.

Thanks, Freddie. But, no thanks.

But there was this one underrated musical outfit that came long before Boston patented the “Rock Man” pedal, who perfectly married the soaring sonic and the beautifully harmonic.

Yes, long before Boston, there was The Electric Light Orchestra, by which the sonic and the harmonic collided in unconventional musical bliss.

Mark! Mark!! Mark!!! Turn that down!!!

What, mom?

Later

Hollywood to the rescue

Slick. Real freaking slick.

“The Road We've Traveled” from Academy Award®-winning director Davis Guggenheim.

Gee, it all sounds so wonderful.

But…yesterday I spent over eighty dollars to purchase enough fresh foodstuffs and basic necessities to get through a single weekend. And you don’t want to know what the gas pump topped out at after filling a 30-gallon gas tank. Plus, I’m tiring of the pressure at work to do more and more with less and less: our current workplace reality. We’ll skip the tirade about the layers of new regulations added to the previous layers of regulations.

The so-called poor get goodies, and the working folks get forced closer and closer to being categorized as working poor. Sorry, but bringing up the bottom by lowering the expectations of the hard-working folks in the middle is not economic equality, economic fairness or whatever Marxist parlance or dogmatism one may attach to the current goings-on.

Our new age Robin Hood seeks reelection based on the multitude of freebies he’s handed out, freebies, by the way, that have yet to be paid for.

Yeah, I know, he flipped a coin and it came up heads as embodied by Osama. Obama got Osama. God bless Amerika.

But the making of a pot of homemade cream of cauliflower soup with a potato base has set me back twenty dollars. Twenty dollars for a pot of soup. Twenty dollars for a pot of soup?

Economic pressures being what they are, I’d say the new American Dream--the twice monthly cash transfers from the government to the unemployed, the underemployed and the never employed--is preferable to busting your hump only to never get ahead.

Time for a change. Change we can afford.

Later

When even the white boys are outraged, you know it's wrong

This sort of malarkey is exactly why black people do not trust white people. Or more specifically, why they have absolutely no faith in the white police. Oh, and now the white crime watch goofs.

The Gun versus Skittles case...

This is shameful. It has and it will continue to have repercussions far, far from Florida.

Sign the 257,565-strong petition to prosecute the killer of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin

Later

Romney the Warmonger?

Why would you shout "End the war, Romney," or "Quit killing innocent people" at a Republican hopeful while a Democrat president has our depleted armed forces actively engaged in seven different countries, and very soon to be nine? Well, that is, hopefully only nine.

Why?

Because you are a politically energized leftist. And in your spinning vortex of detached reality, derangment is never frowned upon.

Warning: Cuss words, cuss words and more cuss words.

Dude's lucky I wasn't on that detail.

Later

Launch to splashdown in 400 seconds

Here's a new take on a space shuttle launch--4 cameras attached to the two booster rockets. Maximize the picture and turn up the volume.

Seatbelts not required.

Later

FZ...A View From Inside the Insanity

If you're interested in music, this 4-part Dutch documentary about Frank Zappa is a must-see.

With Flo & Eddie (Mark Volman & Howard Kayman of Turtles fame) on vocals, that dates the making of this film as being right around 1970 or so. Parts of it are filmed in Frank's Laurel Canyon home, which includes his then-toddler children as well as his real home within his home--his basement studio.

Remarkable stuff. The man was simplicity wrapped in layers of complexities.

Later

Dirty words: public sector pension reform

Expect to see more stories like this one until the United States finally adopts fiscal sanity as a national plan.

Cash-strapped California city gears up for battle with unions over pension reform

Facing an ocean of debt, San Diego is offering voters in June a potential lifeboat: public employee pension reform.

“Taxpayers have had it,” former Mayor Roger Hedgecock said. “A huge portion of the city budget is going to fund these pensions far beyond anything in private sector.”

The initiative would force new city workers into private-sector style 401(k)s. Current employees would pay more, and their retirement payments would be based solely on base salary – not accrued sick leave and vacation time, often used to inflate pension pay.

Welcome to the revolution.

Later

Wilkes-Barre CTA

If this group is devoted and serious, they'll need to get after the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board in a big, big hurry.

The link: Wilkes-Barre City Taxpayer Association

The right-to-know assault on City Hall was all well and good and revealing, but there are bigger, more bloated and more wasteful fish to fry.

And in such hoped-for pursuits, they can count me in.

Later

Trash talking to the King

I guess Mick Jagger was unavailable, so Baroke “Let their cars burn cake“ Oblahblah decided to do NCAA basketball and dissed the Western Kentucky players at halftime, especially their shooting.

So…

That’s why pencil neck geeks ought not sound off on sports.

And the British P.M.?

What the funk?

Later

Jim

James Barber, 50, of Sweet Valley died Friday, March 9, 2012 in Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Plains Township, following a long illness.

He was born Dec. 31, 1961 in Kansas City, Mo., the son of Bonita Barber. He resided in the Poconos for many years and, prior to his illness, coached the Pleasant Valley Bruins, volunteered for the Chestnut Valley Parks, and served as past president of the Sun Valley Home Owners Association in Effort. He was previously employed by Target Homes in Marshall's Creek.

Surviving are his wife, Susan (Asbury) Barber, whom he married three months prior to being stricken by Whipples Disease and who cared for him at home; his ex-wife, Maryann (Johnson) Barber; son, Jon, step-daughter, Melissa Mitchell, brother-in-law, Marc Cour, sister-in-law, Jenifer Diamond, all of Pennsylvania; and sisters, Alice Logan, Florida, and Gayla Gonzales, Missouri.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Bonita Woods, Nev.; daughter, Katlyn, Pennsylvania; brother, Joesph, Missouri., and beloved brother-in-law, Raymond Dumond.

Donations are appreciated and may be made by contacting zorcong@earthlink.net.

Arrangements are by Yeosock Funeral Home, 40 S. Main St., Plains.

Later

The terrorism they never show you

This is the sort of stuff you will never see on the 9,000 or so networks that are force-fed into our homes by the television providers.

Please correct me if I'm somehow misleading you, but isn't a deliberate attack on a population center an overt act of terrorism?

Yeah, well, welcome to Israel.

I know, I know. The Israelis are warmongers. They control the strings tied to Washington D.C.

Iron Dome interceptors...

Those Israelis, they are meanies through and through while their defensive weapons fire off into the night sky.

Blah, blah, conspiracy theory, blah.

Later

Time to join the out-migration?

Once again, another frayed fiber has been torn from the continually unraveling quilt that is, er, that was the public’s confidence in it’s local leadership.

A prominent local attorney is suspected of bilking tens of millions of dollars from other prominent locals. Said prominent local attorney just happens to be the solicitor to the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board, the board that paid the “part-time” solicitor $328,956 in fees for 2011 alone. No, that’s not a typo…$328,956.

If that’s not enough fun to be had, said prominent attorney who is suspected of bilking tens of millions of dollars from other prominent locals is also said to have bankrolled his son’s victorious campaign for elected office. His son has since parlayed that victory into a seat on the county judiciary. But as of today, the early reporting suggests that the son implicated his own dad.

As for the solicitor’s exorbitant 2011 salary, our school board members are going all rope-a-dope on us by trying to pass the blame somewhere down the line, a tactic no doubt learned from our roping, doping and ultra slippery but thankfully former county commissioners.

With all that’s gone on in this corrupt county over the course of the past few years, it’s enough to make a growing man/boy such as myself yearn for five or ten remote acres, a forty-year-old mobile home, a couple of shotguns and a small army of junkyard dogs all waiting my on command to maim and later kill.

Lonesome Cowboy Mark lives!

Said through my hulking wad of chew while staring down a sawed-off 12- gauge…

Boy, you best git yer ass back on down to the main road where it belongs before I take an interest in disfigurin’ you. Yer girlie friend stays. Now git!



L to R: The Cour Boys

  

Opal! Opal!!! Get me a goll danged beer, you hot 'lil bitch!

Who’ll join me in my “gated,” triangular forward fire base?

Seriously, it might be time to join the out-migration.

Later

The "I" word...Impeachment

From World Net Daily.com…

Let the president be duly warned.

Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-N.C., has introduced a resolution declaring that should the president use offensive military force without authorization of an act of Congress, “it is the sense of Congress” that such an act would be “an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor.”

Specifically, Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution reserves for Congress alone the power to declare war, a restriction that has been sorely tested in recent years, including Obama’s authorization of military force in Libya.

In an exclusive WND column, former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo claims that Jones introduced his House Concurrent Resolution 107 in response to startling recent comments from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.

“This week it was Secretary of Defense Panetta’s declaration before the Senate Armed Services Committee that he and President Obama look not to the Congress for authorization to bomb Syria but to NATO and the United Nations,” Tancredo writes.

This led to Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., introducing an official resolution calling for impeachment should Obama take offensive action based on Panetta’s policy statement, because it would violate the Constitution.”

House Concurrent Resolution 107

From Senator Sessions’ office…

WASHINGTON, March 7—Under question from Sen. Sessions at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing today, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey indicated that "international permission," rather than Congressional approval, provided a 'legal basis' for military action by the United States.

Didn’t mighty King Oblahblah order the Constitution of the United States to be recycled as toilet paper and exported to Moscow? I swear I read about that somewhere. I dunno.

Later

Sacrifice

The following is a compilation of WWII combat footage.

Note: It contains some very graphic footage which could be disturbing for some. Somewhere in the middle stages, what looks to be an American soldier executes a prisoner, or combatant or some sort. Also in the later stages, you can see the D-Day invasion force just off of the beaches of Normandy.

Later

We stopped dreaming

Neil deGrasse Tyson's passionate argument for renewed spending on NASA.

I think a more apt title would be Washington D.C. stopped dreaming. Or, Baroke Oblahblah never believed in the dream, the American dream or otherwise.

Perhaps this is his vision for equality in manned space exploration. As in, none at all equals fairness for all. Each according to his needs.

What a shame.

Later

The tree-huggers' Xanadu

Not to single anyone out, but I may have stumbled upon Kayak Dude's future retirement home.

Although, if and when he heads for the elevated pleasure garden, methinks he may have to go it alone.

Later

Be vigilant!

Since most all of the anticipation-filled electronic locals seem to be posting reminders about the upcoming BlogFest soiree, I figure I should do something along those lines.

I’ll start with this comment that was posted at Another Monkey a while back...

Annee Mchughes said...

Mark's my cousin and I love his style. We come from a long line of writer's. Blogging is neither dead nor dying but will continue to morph with time. Those who first blogged discovered a way to share their thoughts publicly without cost or submission required for paper publishing. All writers get writer's block from time to time, we get busy doing other things or simply experience burn-out. No writer can ignore the urge to journal indefinitely. Twiddle and face-space sites will never replace the true art of writing. Blogging is not about interaction, although comments are a by-product. Blogging is not about net-working or connecting. It's all about expression. Period. And writing, pen/keyboard-wielding friends, will never be a lost art! My own blogs (too many to count) are stagnant because of lack of time and energy. But I will go back to them or write new ones when the storm blows over. Because that's what this writer does. That's two cents worth from this "penurious" writer...

10/16/2009 11:46 AM

When first I ventured onto the then fledgling Internet, I had yet to run across the words blog or blogging. And when I did discover what they meant and that they could and later would be applied to my efforts, I was reluctant to use either of them. Because, in my mind I was writing and not blogging.

Back in the day, local polibloggers tended to hide behind screen names for fear of retribution, problems with their employers or because they were woefully short on testicular matter. Hell, we’ve still got a local poliblogger who refers to himself in the third person. And he thinks we don’t know who he is. Big dummy.

I, or course, loudly, proudly and probably stupidly attached my name as well as my picture to my words. Oh, and my address.

And as some of you know, that led to some official intimidation, chest-bumping, verbal toe-to-toes, bicycle chases around town and a seemingly endless array of middle fingers being prominently displayed no matter where I went.

But once people arrived at the fact that I would remain undeterred, they retreated and resorted to anonymous electronic sniping, which, to be honest, still cracks me up to this very day.

Hey, have at it. I surely know the laughable drill by know. I’m bald, fat, ugly, unemployed, ignorant, pompous and in the loop for a cushy city job. Call me anything but a pussy.

Now, I bring up what it was like in those earlier days to make the huge leap, the comparison to what it has all become today. For the most part, less guerilla tactics and much more acceptance, that’s where it’s at. Or, at least, they tolerate us to some degree.

I shot this so-called secret video at the first Operatic Society & Incest Creek Mud Wafters event I attended in 2006. Those Operatic/Incest gatherings have come to be known as BlogFest events, and are now much better attended. I actually posted pictures of some of the attendees from that long ago night, but that went down like a case of oozing genital warts at a gang bang.

They were later deleted. Such was poliblogging at that time.

Secret Video (0:38)

Did you check that shortest of videos? It’s hard to fathom that that--a handful of people clamoring for filled ashtrays--could morph into this…

Times Leader: Getting the message across by the minute

And this…

Citizens‘ Voice: Candidates meet the faces behind the screen names

These days, it seems as if we walk a fine line by partying with the movers and shakers, while reserving the right to criticize them when next we post. The latter of which can lead to accessibility issues for those who dare venture into that world of localized politics.

As for myself, I think I have carved out the easily niche by which to blog about local issues. If damn near everybody hates your guts from the get-go, then you don’t have to concern yourself about who you might annoy with the next posting.

And if you care not about who might be annoyed, then the dreaded writer’s block never really kicks in. Or should I say, self-censorship.

Look, I’ve been threatened with lawsuits, sued once, promised fisticuffs and spat upon. I once tricked a local talk show host into ranting and raving about an April Fools post of mine. I’ve scooped the newspapers so many times, my old site used to be mentioned as Wilkes-Barre’s third newspaper. They way I see it, if you’re in, then you’re all in come what may.

We live in Corruption County, Pennsylvania where county commissioners, county judges, school board members, lawyers and prominent entrepreneurs have been jailed for their various and sundry misdeeds.

And if we’re going to finally do away with the rampant culture of corruption that persists to this very day, we’re going to need as many people as humanly possible paying attention to those we elect, as well as to those they appoint.

Despite what some may tell you, in this traditionally tainted culm pile of a place, we don’t have too many bloggers, nor could we have too many.

Be vigilant!

A moment it time, November 23, 2006...

A later moment in time, October 31, 2011...by Michelle…

I'll see ya’ll at the big blogger soiree.

Later

Why they sank Titanic

When a caller to WILK's Sue Henry launched into this, my Conspiracy Kook alarm went off. It was deafening.

But, being the curious type I am, I decided to investigate this documentary...Why they sank Titanic.

As the facts, figures, dates and names rolled by, I became less and less skeptical. Think what you will of it, but it's fascinating stuff.

Insurance fraud in an industry rife with corruption at the time? Nah! It could never happen.

This is Part 1, the links to parts 2 through 6 will appear in the viewing box at the conclusion of the first clip.

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73 seconds

Privately-held Super 8 film unearthed...

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Comedy Central, W-B style

It's the same handful of folks, the same disruptive malcontents who think the rules of decorum apply to everyone but them.

What! No sock puppets? Dammit!

A caller to WILK's Sue Henry this morning who claimed to be in attendance asked why a concealed firearm was allowed into council's chambers last night with emotions running so high from month to month, from meeting to meeting?

Good question. Perhaps that should be addressed.

And quickly.

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Mammalian Protuberances 101

I’m home from work early today because my sister’s husband passed away early this morning. She’s an emotional wreck in need of an unflappable sort such as myself.

I saw the following Citizens’ Voice story this morning, and it immediately made me wonder about the priorities of the parental units involved.

Fifth-grader suspended for wearing 'I (Heart) Boobies' bracelet

Carolyn Branch pulled into her doctor's parking lot last Wednesday afternoon when an unexpected voicemail came from the Kistler Elementary School in Wilkes-Barre: Her granddaughter Krystina had just received a one-day out-of-school suspension.

The crime: Wearing one of the $4 "I (Heart) Boobies" rubber bracelets that supports breast cancer awareness, even after being told to take the band off.

"I could not believe they were suspending her," Branch said. "What's so lewd about breast cancer?"

Anyway, this afternoon I turned on my radio to take in the WILK top of the hour news, but with everything that’s gone on so far today, my attention quickly wandered off to somewhere else. But at some point, I realized that that irritating background noise was Steve Corbett’s talk show, the radio equivalent of titanium-reinforced fingernails being dragged across a blackboard.

Much to my surprise and later dismay, there was this very spirited debate about the “I Heart Boobies” story going on. Raising awareness. Free speech rights. Pink ribbons. A.C.L.U. boobs. All of that sort of stuff.

This is a quote from the host of the show: “This (breast cancer) is something our children should be made aware of.”

A supportive caller had this to say: “It’s a child making a statement.”

Huh? Seriously?

Gee, I sure hate to rain on your implant parade, but when my kids were in the 5th grade, I hounded and pounded them over subjects such as reading, writing, arithmetic, geography and the already frowned upon American History since 1865. Call me weird if you will, but I wanted my kids to grow up to be reasoned, smart and very, very literate.

But, raising awareness? Little kids? What? After recess or during? After the cucumber and the condom demonstration? What's so lewd about actual educating now, and the self-important activism bit later?

Uh, yeah. Maybe when you grow up and actually demonstrate that you know what you’re going on about on most days. Then you can rumble thee forth and bore others with what you find to be so vitally important. Learn now. Pretend you’re learned later on.

And boobies? My girls knew all that they needed to know about boobies at that age: they should remain covered in their entirety.

Sorry, but all things boobies, Mammalian Protuberances 101 need not be a part of the curriculum at the local elementary school.

Instead, try the Three Rs that were obviously lost upon Generation Text, as well as Generation Sext. I really hate to break it to you, but too many of our young people are functionally illiterate.

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"Suspicious" pigmentation

For many years, I have repeatedly heard these sorts of calls come over my police scanner, the quote/unquote “suspicious person” calls, a close cousin to the “suspicious vehicle” calls.

What a waste of resources.

Being a scanner veteran, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the vast, vast majority of the “suspicious” calls come from members of the various and sundry crime watch organizations.

Family of Florida boy killed by Neighborhood Watch seeks arrest

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The family of a 17-year-old African-American boy shot to death last month in his gated Florida community by a white Neighborhood Watch captain wants to see the captain arrested, the family's lawyer said on Wednesday.

Trayvon Martin was shot dead after he took a break from watching NBA All-Star game television coverage to walk 10 minutes to a convenience store to buy snacks including Skittles candy requested by his 13-year-old brother, Chad, the family's lawyer Ben Crump said.

As I alluded to, the dead giveaway…

As Trayvon returned to the townhome, Sanford police received a 911 call reporting a suspicious person.

Dispensing with the gooey niceties that political correctness affords us, the report of a “suspicious person” coming from a crime watch devotee usually amounts to little more than a vulnerable-feeling white person with a tin badge being distrustful of a person with a noticeably darker pigmentation.

As far as I’m concerned, nobody should request police assistance for anything that is far less than actionable. When the ATV flies down your street at a high rate of speed, recognize that it’ll be long gone before the police can arrive on scene. So why waste their time and efforts?

And if a black kid appears where black kids do not normally appear, that is not suspicious behavior except to the watchful eye of those who would excitedly assume the role of a self-appointed auxiliary police officer for lack of anything productive or meaningful to do.

Long circumlocution being cut short, being black does not equate with being suspicious. Rather, suspicious behavior alone should arouse your suspicions.

As I have been known to say, policing is best left to the police.

Not the yahoos from the neighborhood watch, the fu>king police!

Later

From the email inbox: chemicals or baiting?

Since somebody asked via the email inbox, let's do this.

I get this question over and over and over again. I have termites. Should I go with the chemical treatment or the baiting system?

I cannot effectively answer that question without first inspecting your property. But from what you described, specifically the condition of your foundation walls, the suggested baiting system will provide you with long-lasting protection.

For all intents and purposes, we did not have a Winter. It was too warm, and practically devoid of ground frost or snow cover.

In anticipation of Spring's arrival, I always begin tuning up the hundreds of termite monitoring/baiting systems I have installed in the field on March 1st. But during a typical wintery March, I may or may not encounter a live termite in the field.

With that stated, I have run into live termites on multiple occasions since mid-February, which for me is unheard of. Plus, I was stunned to find live, but cold and sluggish termites in a ground station this past Monday--March the 5th--despite the overnight low temperature being in the teens.

In my opinion, for those few of us that deal in termite control, this is going to be one helluva slog. No matter though. I'm all stocked up on extra strength Icy Hot, batteries for my AM radio and I'm ready to rock.

This here video will explain a lot.

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Oblahblah: Take the pain!

This pretender is as clueless as he is dangerous.

Gradual adjustment of gas prices?

Tire Pressure?

A new record?

Jimmy Carter II. Isn't that what we were told to expect?

Where's my sweater?

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Zappa coming to W-B

F.M. Kirby Center...Thursday, June 28th...7:30 PM...be there for...

Zappa plays Zappa

I've been collecting the video series of Zappa plays Zappa, with each concert being filmed in a different city.

What is Z plays Z?

Basically, Dweezil Zappa and world-class musicians perform the music of Dweezil's prolific and eclectic father, Francis Vincent Zappa. In addition, many of the shows feature musicians that recorded and toured with the elder Zappa. There's even an appearance by Moon Unit Zappa performing her one and only hit, Valley Girl. That particular video is on Youtube.

This will prove to be one kick-ass show, so give it a shot.

I'll see you there.

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You wanted the best and you got it...

...The hottest band in the land...KISS!!!

Yeah, I was there at the Paramount theatre in 1974, when a couple of then-unknown upstart bands---KISS and Rush---opened for the headlining Blue Oyster Cult.

I still repeatedly kick myself over skipping KISS as the headliner at King's College a few years later while they were traveling with Mott the Hoople, or Queen or Rio or some such band as their opening act.

Thing was, Hoople's guitarist left for greener musical pastures and was replaced by my one and only version of a rock 'n' roll god...Mick Ronson of David Bowie fame.

Oh, well. Mick's long since passed, and I still regret my decision to skip that world-class show. I talked to his gracious widow a while back. Gave me chills. The kind that make your short hairs stand on end.

But, but some of those who pass themselves off as tour bus lizards are still kicking. And some of them are very well-read...

Enter Gene Simmons...

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Coal Gasification

From an energy standpoint, are we idly sitting atop a network of flooded gold mines?

Got me.

G'nite

The Perfect Storm? Nah. Try, The Approaching Storm

Barry Oblahblah hates coal.

He's said as much so as to gain political favor with the well-intentioned but misguided folks who mistakenly believe we can power our digital DJ machines by way of vegetable scraps, scum scrapings and the blessed wind, if and when it decides to blow.

And, jobs? Screw jobs if it means the clean-burning of coal. We've got extended unemployment benefits for life for all of that, for the newly-created "less fortunate."

The town of Craig, CO is dependent on the production of affordable and reliable coal energy. The onslaught of federal and state regulations on coal energy is causing this town economic hardship. Many do not realize that policy have direct consequences on individual lives.

Energy For America

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Oblahblah's "civil discourse"

This, from his $1,000,000 contributor...

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Intemperance on parade

Breaking news out of Wilkes-Barre: From this day forward, the Wilkes-Barre Zoning Board shall only rule against the wishes of white property owners.

They have been warned.

Yawn.

Tell me if this makes any sense.

The former commissioners of Luzerne County invested $6 million in the soon-to-be razed Hotel Sterling. Then, with the eventual fate of the dilapidated structure having seemingly been determined, they promised to invest yet another $1 million in the demolition of the property.

But since Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton has refused to waive a perplexing $50,000 permit fee in advance of the impending demolition, the newly-seated Luzerne County Council is balking?

Sterling fees W-B council’s call

The expenditure of $7 million for what will turn out to be a vacant, muddy lot is doable. But $7,050,000.00 would be a deal breaker?

It must be me.

Let’s see, we lost three structures today as the result of two structure fires some ten hours apart.

I got home in time to hear that the 911 folks were desperately trying to contact off-duty firefighters for a second fire go-round during what amounts to a single shift for the fire department. Exhaustion immediately comes to mind.

If we’re ever going to bolster the ranks of this department, we’ve got to oust the socialist losers from the White House and get this economy of ours humming again. There’s less and less Fedrule Govmint dollars available, now that Barry has spent us three-quarters of the way to oblivion. And less and less coming from the cash-strapped state.

If you’re not registered to vote, get your ass in gear. Eight months until next we pick a new president.

I cracked up when I read this quote from Barry Oblahblah offered in response to the Rush/slut dustup…

“I don’t know what’s in Rush Limbaugh’s heart, so I can’t comment on the sincerity of his apology,” the president said. “All decent folks can agree that the remarks that were made don’t have any place in public discourse.”

While that’s all well and good and hollow, I think he should start policing the public discourse by muzzling his own supporters as well as those who have that “D” preceding their names.

The left-leaning could easily be called Name-calling Inc., evidenced by Sarah Palin being called a “cu>t” on a television show by one of Barry Oblahblah’s biggest financial contributors.

Nice try, one-term Barry. Save it for someone who’s eyes don’t gloss over when you incessantly babble again.

Note: The preceding was typed by a bitter, clinging, right-leaning, gun-toting, bible-thumping, homophobic racist who has been conscripted in the War on Women now that he‘s done beating on the “less fortunate” homeless and bombing abortion clinics.

Did I get it right, Barry?

Later

If Israel attacks Iran...

Richard Clarke, a frequently cited expert on geopolitics and the like, gets it wrong about as often as he gets it right.

But with this one, I think his assessment of what we can expect is spot-on.

Time for an inventory of the basement?

Batteries? Check. Candles? Check. Canned goods? Check. Water? Check. Police scanner? check. Ammo? Check.

Later

Rules for radical presidents

So, as it turns out, Barry Oblahblah is a communist radical, a masquerading subversive after all.

And you voted for him.

The Vetting, Part I: Barack's Love Song To Alinsky

BONUS: Arpaio: 'Probable cause' Obama certificate a fraud

Note: Make sure to watch the short videos that follow the Arpaio article.

Later

The NFL's bounty-gate

I get it. I do.

I totally get that mad adrenaline rush that almost immediately accompanies the delivery of a debilitating hit upon one’s gridiron opponent. You hoot. You holler. You mock. And you taunt.

I get it. The arched back, the sudden look skyward and the unfettered primal scream.

Weight plus velocity equals impact, with tenacity being the only synergist.

I get it. Been there, done that.

It’s a manly thing not many so-called men are capable of these days. But for those of us who can still deliver a well-timed kill shot on purpose; having the most basic, the purest of adrenaline-fueled football violence sullied by the alleged pay-for-injury bonuses is sickening.

Supposedly, we injure for sport, not for additional pay.

Williams, Payton, Loomis, players all may face long suspensions

Lengthy and unprecedented suspensions appear to be coming for those involved in the Saints’ practice of paying bounties to players who injured opponents.

Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports that the NFL is considering long suspensions for head coach Sean Payton, General Manager Mickey Loomis, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and players who were involved in bounties.

Is nothing sacred anymore?

Whatever. If it's bad for the Saints, it'll likely turn out to be good for The New York Football Giants.

Amen.

Later

The Monkee & The Uber Babe

Boy, what I wouldn't give...

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Say YES! to the dress

Finally, now at last, we know why Russian mail-order brides are in such heavy demand.

Turns out, it's an accessibility issue. As in, easy, immediate access.

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Bang the gong

I’m not sure what all of the contraception hoopla is about, save for the fact that the Dependentcrats want to deflect from the obvious, that you are not better off than you were four years ago. Hell, if it gets any worse, you’re not even better off than your grandparents were decades ago.

I figure we’re not supposed to be annoyed that Barry has brought his trademark Chicago-style corruption and strong-arm thuggery to Washington in order to ram though his massive, union-benefiting welfare-state agenda while the prices of all known basic, must-have commodities continue to soar to new apogees.

He, the gifted all-knowing one, wants us to pay more for gasoline so as to wean us off oil in favor of algae, or pond scum, or soap scum or some other heretofore nonexistent alternative energy. Sorry, but being financially forced to our knees is not the change anybody had hoped for.

And what’s the latest entitlement tally? Free health care. Free condoms. Free contraception. Free college. Free mortgages (we can simply walk away from if it suits us). It’s a free, free free-for-all while we simultaneously delete the U.S. military. I hate to break it to y’all, but drones don’t do urban combat. Only boots can bust down doors.

Still, the party faithful will not admit that Barry’s financially disastrous rule by executive fiat has been a colossal failure. They will begrudgingly admit to being somewhat disappointed, but nothing more. Picayunish, they say. Intellectual dishonesty, I say.

During the run-up to the crowning of the eventual Republican nominee, I’ve watched the media and the GOP candidates themselves vetting away like never before. And I’ve also listened to the glee-filled Democrats as they characterized the GOP candidates as being crazy and what have you.

Personally, I think each and every candidate should be fully vetted, which is a process much unlike what the Democrats did when they spurned Hillary for the presidential candidate with the paper bag over his head.

Let the GOP candidates sling as much mud as they want at each other, allow them to hang it all out there and in the end we’ll have us a tested candidate ready and willing to topple the unknown president.

I’ve believed from the very beginning that Mitt Romney would eventually win out over the rather threadbare field of Republican hopefuls. And if it comes down to Mitt versus Barry, the left and the media will attempt to paint Mitt as being rich, privileged, aloof and not in tune with the hoi polloi such as ourselves.

But the way I see it, nothing says rich, privileged, aloof and not in tune with the hoi polloi such as ourselves as the man, Barry Soreto, who has never in his entire life held down a private sector job. The man who went deaf in the pews every Sunday for twenty years. The man with the photo-shopped birth certificate. The man who’s past reads like a book full of blank pages. The man who should not have been our elected king.

So it’s time to atone for your most recent egregious mistake, my Democrat friends. If it’s Mitt, it’s Mitt. Bring on President Romney. As in, it’s high time that we dispatch with the phony, clueless and destructive man wearing the paper bag.

Bang the gong.

Later

Girls on Film (uncensored)

Ah, the stuff they never showed you, or, the stuff they couldn't show you on MTV back in the day.

I was in to this band, Duran Duran. Not sure why, but they were stylish, they were girlie pretty, they could rock it out when they felt like it and they almost always had that pedestrian disco beat driving the tunes.

Warning: Frontal nudity, suggestive posings and girls cavorting all about.

Duran Duran - Girls On Film [Uncensored] by hushhush112

I'm not dreaming right now. Nope, I'm, I'm fairly certain I'm posting.

Later

Avatar II trailer

I am so excited, I'm like an athiest willing to fight for what I don't believe in.

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Frackbert

What more proof do we need?

Dilbert.com: Fracking Awesome

Zorbert.com: The continuing adventures of Kayak Dude & Blog Dork

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