Friday, June 08, 2007

i am so enjoying this

thank you Judge Sauer.

Hilton sent back to jail in hysterics

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent

LOS ANGELES - Screaming and crying, Paris Hilton was escorted from a courtroom and sent back to jail Friday after a judge ruled that she must serve out her entire 45-day sentence behind bars rather than in her Hollywood Hills home.

"It's not right!" shouted Hilton, who violated her parole in a reckless driving case. "Mom!" she called out to her mother in the audience.

The 26-year-old hotel heiress was taken handcuffed from her home in a black-and-white police car, paparazzi sprinting in pursuit and helicopters broadcasting live from above. She entered the courtroom disheveled and weeping, hair askew, without makeup, wearing a fuzzy gray sweat shirt over slacks.

She cried throughout the hearing, dabbing her eyes, and her body shook constantly. Several times she turned to her parents, seated behind her in the courtroom, and mouthed, "I love you."

Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer was calm but apparently irked by Sheriff Lee Baca's decision to release Hilton three days into her sentence due to an unspecified "medical condition."

"I at no time condoned the actions of the sheriff and at no time told him I approved the actions," Sauer said. "At no time did I approve the defendant being released from custody to her home."

The hearing was requested by the city attorney's office, which had prosecuted Hilton and wanted Baca held in contempt for releasing Hilton despite Sauer's express order that she must serve her time in jail. The judge took no action on the contempt request.

A member of the county counsel's staff said Baca was willing to come to court with medical personnel. The judge did not take him up on the offer.

Assistant City Attorney Dan F. Jeffries argued that Hilton's incarceration was purely up to the judge. "Her release after only three days erodes confidence in the judicial system," he said.

Hilton's attorney, Richard Hutton, implored the judge to order a hearing in his chambers to hear testimony about Hilton's medical condition before making a decision. The judge did not respond to that suggestion.

Another of her attorneys, Steve Levine, said, "The sheriff has determined that because of her medical situation, (jail) is a dangerous place for her."

"The court's role here is to let the Sheriff's Department run the jail," he said.

The judge interrupted several times to say that he had received a call last Wednesday from an undersheriff informing him that Hilton had a medical condition and that he would submit papers to the judge to consider. He said the papers never arrived.

Every few minutes, the judge would interrupt proceedings, state the time on the clock, and note that the papers still had not arrived.

He also noted that he had heard that a private psychiatrist visited Hilton in jail, and he wondered if that person played a role in deciding her medical needs.

The last attorney to speak was another deputy city attorney, David Bozanich, who declared, "This is a simple case. There was a court. The Sheriff's Department chose to violate that order. There is no ambiguity."

As the final pitch was made for Hilton's further incarceration, her entire body began trembling. She clutched a ball of tissue and tears ran down her face.

Seconds later, the judge announced his decision: "The defendant is remanded to county jail to serve the remainder of her 45-day sentence. This order is forthwith."

Hilton screamed.

Eight deputies immediately ordered all spectators out of the courtroom. Hilton's mother, Kathy, threw her arms around her husband, Rick, and sobbed uncontrollably.

Deputies escorted Hilton out of the room, holding each of her arms as she looked back.

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this has my vote

A Solid Candidate for Photo of the Year (now with picture goodness)



(via Best Week Ever)

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today is brought to you by the letter "J"

as in jury duty. i had it. and thank whatever gods there are that kept me out of it.

got up at the asscrack of dawn to head into cambridge goto the cambridge courthouse. parked at the galleria and hoped like hell that i'd be out before the 5th hour was up. (that's when parking goes from $8.99 to $20, talk about a jump)

so at 7am sharp, i pulled into the garage and parked. a quick stop by dunkin' yielded a large ice coffee. a short walk up the street and i arrived at the courthouse. waited my turn going thru security and waited for them to let us upstairs to the jury pool area (read: cattle pens). and there i sat, listening to Opie and Anthony and waited with my fellow jurors for the next hour until we were herded into a room to watch a 17 minute cinematic masterpiece that instructs us on the duties of a juror. ($5 if interested.)


i had to laugh a few times during it at the wonderful production qualities. the old lawyer with his hands clutching both lapels of his suitcoat. set a top hat on the table next to him and you'd think it was filmed a long time ago.

so, by 9am the video finished, and we were told that we'd have a 50 minute break and we had to be back by 950a. and on the 2nd floor, the cafeteria had food so i wandered down. turns out it was a corp cafe so i laughed (we have one at work, didn't see Stingy S at this one). while looking out the window, i spotted a bus and a few state police cruisers and started to get a little nervous.

when dad was a jury foreman (lucky him), they bused people to the site where the accused did his deed, so knowing that i was afraid that we'd be going for a ride. it wasn't until i was upstairs (and remembered i had a camera on my phone) that i realized that maybe that was the bus used to transport the accused to the courthouse. thankfully that's what it appears to have been the case. i had to chuckle when i first saw the police cruiser that was numbered 666 (you can sorta make it out on the roof - sorry, didn't have time to get a better picture)

i found it humorous as most state police cruisers are crown vics but this one was a dodge charger.

so around 10am, jurors whose number was between 2 & 75 were asked to assemble in the hall. they did a roll call and all told, there were prolly ~60 of us (i was in the 60's). we were then led upstairs to the court room and asked to take a seat. the room was circular with what reminded me of an eyeball with an extra ring on the ceiling, i suppose to provide that faux sense of natural light.

the bailiff then explained a few things to us, swore us in, the judge comes in and he starts informing us of the details we needed to know. at the 2 tables were 3 people, 1 on the left, 2 on the right. the guy on the far right had the look of an overworked underpaid public defender with beady eyes, crappy haircut and big chin. turns out he was the accused.

the judge explained the hearing to us, a convicted sex offender was petitioning for release. he was convicted in 1993, served his 9-12yr sentence and since then has been incarcerated. currently there were 10 jurors seated, and they needed 4 more. so i figured ok, the odds are in my favor. then he told us the expected duration of 2-3 days testimony and a day for deliberation. any hardship problems? a few raised their hands. ok, so far so good. being out of work for more than a day wasn't thrilling, but if need be, ok, i'd live with it.

then the question was raised as to whether people would be able to deliberate objectively. then i started getting a little nervous as i didn't raise my hand and 2/3 of the people seemed to. (don't blame them, but i realized that i wouldn't be able to come up with a convincing reason, tho i now realize that i do have one.) so we still needed 4 jurors, and my number was high enuff that i stood a chance of not being picked.

then the players were introduced and i realized that i was sitting not 15 feet from a convicted sex offender. (i won't list his name as i'd rather not have someone plug his name and have my blog pop up). turns out he was the beady eyed, crappy haircut big chin guy. i knew something was slimey, but i thought it was lawyer slime, not convicted sex offender slime.

a few final formalities and jurors were brought into the judge's chamber, ~10 at a time. after the 2nd batch of people were brought in, the bailiff gave us 1 of the 2 things that all jurors want to hear.

1) if you are excused, you can go home.

because MA has this one jury one trial thing, if you aren't selected to sit on a case, you are not excused. you have to return to the jury pool and wait in case you are needed for another trial. you don't go home. unless told otherwise.

a few more groups go in and then the last group walks in, and walks back out a few seconds later and the bailiff announcses the 2nd thing that all jurors want to hear.

2) you can go home, your service is complete

the bailiff then informed us that we'll get a form in the mail 8-10 days from now stating that we served. he also suggested making a copy for future reference in case we get called back as that's our get out of service (for a period of time, minimum of a year). if we can't produce documentation that we served, we'd have to serve again. so i'll keep it in a safe place.

so, just past 11am, i headed out of the courthouse and headed back to my car, pleased that i'd be out before that $8.99 turned into $20.

and the best part, i didn't get stuck in traffic on my way home.

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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Happy Birthday Bonzo



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Wednesday, May 30, 2007

a few days later

even tho the anniversary was the other day, as today is the 30th, i figured i'd say happy 30.

happy 30 star wars.

han shot first!



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Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Happy Berfday Rhea


21 years ago today (hey, she'd be legal if she was people, and she certainly considered herself to be) a golden ray of sunshine was born into this world. Rhea McW. a lovely dark red-gold (sometimes confused for an Irish Setter), a silver streak on her chest, a wag in the tail, looking for the ultimate in pillows (usually my brother's bed). an excellent specimen of the breed. i still think of her, and smile when i see the pictures i have on my fridge. there some saying that it's hard to look at a golden retriever and not smile, and she certainly brought many smiles to my face.

(Berf (n) - the sound Rhea made when she wanted your attention, but didn't want to bark)

photo credit: PBW

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Thursday, May 24, 2007


Your Score: True Neutral


40% Good, 48% Chaotic




Plane of Existence: The Outlands, "Plane of Concordant Opposition". Description: The plane between all other outer planes.


Examples of True Neutrals (Ethically Neutral, Morally Neutral)
Red XIII, "Nanaki" (FFVII)

Vincent Valentine (FFVII)

Cid Highwind (FFVII)

Mr. Spock

Linus Torvalds

Dr. Strangelove

Scott Evil

Batman

The Punisher

Switzerland

Canada


Not actively for or against anything. Has his or her own reasons for doing everything. Usually difficult to understand.


Will keep their word if in their best interest

May attack an unarmed foe

May use poison

May help those in need

May work with others

Indifferent to higher authority

Indifferent to organizations



True Neutral "Pure Neutral"

"Balancer"


Some neutral [people] commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They are of the true neutral alignment as described in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons.

A true neutral [person] sees good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. He advocates the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run.

Some true neutral [people] actively support balance in the world, and seek to avoid having any one side, law or chaos, good or evil, become too powerful over them or anyone else, and will work against whichever side is the most powerful. They tend to side with the underdog in any situation, and are often opportunistic in their actions.

True neutral is committed to the avoidance of extremes, and is non-judgemental.


Other Alignments and Tendencies (Tendenices are what you would more often sway towards; esp. for Neutrals):

0-39% Good, 0-39% Chaotic:Lawful-Evil

0-39% Good, 40-60% Chaotic: Neutral-Evil

0-39% Good, 61-100% Chaotic: Chaotic-Evil

40-60% Good, 0-39% Chaotic: Lawful-Neutral

40-60% Good, 61-100% Chaotic: Chaotic-Neutral

61-100% Good, 0-39% Chaotic: Lawful-Good

61-100% Good, 40-60% Chaotic: Neutral-Good

61-100% Good, 61-100% Chaotic: Chaotic-Good




Link: The Alignment Test written by xan81 on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

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Monday, May 21, 2007

i semi-watched the season end of 24.

all i can say is 'eh'

actually, it was pretty bad. i remember thinking that last season was pushing it, but this season it completely jumped the shark. and then made some yummy shark fin soup.

i actually missed chunks of episodes and you know what? for a show that if you miss something, you're pretty much screwed, it pretty much sucked.

so, season 6 of 24 was pretty bad. and we get a 7th season in january. i wonder if i'll watch it. or find something else...like watching the paint drying channel.


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Sunday, May 06, 2007

i'm up to 60 miles now

for the 3rd year in a row, M, F & I did the Project Bread - Walk for Hunger. it's a long 20 miles by foot, but it was fun. this year it took us 6 hours, but 30 mins was break (official & unofficial rest stops). started out grey and overcast, cleared a bit, then clouded over again before finally clearing up when we were at memorial drive. was cool and breezy for most of the walk. good thing M bought me a lightweight windbreaker at target (gotta love clearance).

so here's the start and finish.






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Saturday, May 05, 2007

30 years

30 years ago saw the birth of Rhetticus Molius, whose name i have taken in his honor.


Happy Birthday Rhett.

our laps are colder without you.


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Wednesday, May 02, 2007

...and he chased the whale

'Moby-Dick' Pushed As Official State Book Fifth-Graders Advance Melville Novel

BOSTON -- From its iconic opening line -- "Call me Ishmael" -- to its cataclysmic conclusion, "Moby-Dick" has inspired generations of readers with its impenetrable mystery of the white whale.

Now students at Pittsfield's Egremont Elementary School want to add one more laurel to Herman Melville's literary masterpiece: "official book of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." and he chased the whale.

The fifth graders, whose school is less than a mile from Arrowhead (Mol edit: NOT TRUE - TRY 2.3 MILES. GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT JACKASS), the house where Melville penned the massive tome, have filed a bill that would do just that. A legislative committee is to hold a hearing on the proposal on Tuesday. and he chased the whale.

"I think it should be the book because mostly everyone I know likes to read books that are adventurous and cliff-hanging, and how you have to keep reading until midnight to finish them," said 10-year-old Andrew Macfarland. and he chased the whale.

The book -- the full title is "Moby-Dick: or, The Whale" -- has long been the bane of high school students baffled by it brilliant and maddening digressions. and he chased the whale.

But those same digressions -- into philosophy, the nature of obsession, and an encyclopedic inventory of 19th century New England whaling arcana -- has made "Moby-Dick" one of the most celebrated novels in the American canon. and he chased the whale.

Much of the brilliance, of course, is because "Moby-Dick," published in 1851, is about so much more than a hunt for a whale. and he chased the whale.

Melville had gained fame and popularity as an author of high seas adventure stories like "Typee" and "Omoo." By the time he set about writing "Moby-Dick," he had come under the sway of thinkers like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. and he chased the whale.

Melville quickly began redrafting the book, added chapter upon chapter studying the nature of Ahab's vengeance and the relations between the crew, including the South Sea islander Queequeg, Native American Tashtego, and African harpooner Daggoo. and he chased the whale.

"The thing about `Moby-Dick' is the extraordinary metaphysical scope," said James Wallace, a literature professor at Boston College who teaches a course called "Melville and his Era". and he chased the whale.

"You have chapter after chapter on the sea and the relation of humans and nature and the nature of obsession and the psychology of Ahab and the marvelous poetic probings of what it means to be human," he said. and he chased the whale.

The book is also intensely parochial. Ishmael begins his adventures in New Bedford. The narrative moves to Nantucket before the whaling ship Pequod sets out on its doomed quest. and he chased the whale.

"Moby-Dick" has also inspired pop culture. Movies from "Jaws" to "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" have mined its themes. and he chased the whale.

In many ways, the book became a kind of "Moby-Dick" for Melville himself. He could never match the breadth of the novel and died in relative obscurity. and he chased the whale.

Karen McHugh, a fifth grade teacher at the school, said part of the inspiration for the bill was to teach children the legislative process. Classes routinely file such bills to learn how state government works. and he chased the whale.

She also conceded that "Moby-Dick" isn't generally a book assigned to fifth graders. and he chased the whale.

"Even though they haven't read the book, most of them are familiar with Melville," she said. "`Moby-Dick' was written right around the corner." and he chased the whale.

Fifth grader Matt Capeless, 11, said he'd vote for the book, describing it as story "about a guy named Captain Ahab who is trying to catch a big white whale named Moby-Dick." and he chased the whale.

Not everyone is convinced.

Mike Frederick, director of the Thoreau Society, concedes "Moby-Dick" is a great book, but said if he had to choose, he'd have to go with a nonfiction masterpiece, "Walden." and he was a drunk.

"I suppose the big case you could make for `Walden' being the book for the Commonwealth is that it's also emblematic of the intellectual revolution" that helped the United States craft its own literary and philosophical tradition, he said. and he was a drunk.

Don't tell that to fifth-grader Andrew Macfarland.

"All I know is it's about the crazy sea captain, I don't know if it's revenge or something," he said, "but it's next on my reading list." and he chased the whale.


thanks JJ.

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Monday, April 30, 2007

way to go

while i was watching 24, the news teased a bomb threat (in tewksbury) and not being aware of the 2 prior threats (WTF????) i didn't know, so i head over to boston.com to see if i can find out where. i do a quick search, and this is what popped up in the sponsored links.



way to go!

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Friday, April 27, 2007

30 Years ago this evening...

30 years ago tonight, Led Zeppelin performed a concert at Richfield Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. while the performance was ok, the recording of the show was better than ok. (Personally, the following night (4/28) is one of the finest 1977 shows they did, but the recording isn't as good)

as any Zep bootleg collector can tell you, the recording from this night is pretty common. and while there are better performances from the 1977 tour (as i mentioned above), this one holds a special place in my heart. until 1992, i wasn't aware of Zeppelin bootlegs. it never occured to me that people recorded bands other than taper friendly bands (eg: Grateful Dead, Phish), so when JW (my roommate) borrowed Destroyer from WP, i was surprised. JW was trying to get me to listen to The Dead and he would make copies of shows that WP had, but on a trip to NYC, WP came back with Destroyer (2cd version, didn't have Over The Top/Moby Dick).

for me, live Zeppelin to this point was only The Song Remains The Same. i liked it a lot, but wasn't educated in the ways of bootlegs to realize that it wasn't a very good live document of Led Zeppelin. Destroyer was a better document. a near complete version of the show and i was facinated. but it wasn't until i listened to White Summer that my mind was completely blown away. i was familiar with White Summer (Jimmy included the version from the BBC session (6/27/69) on the box set). what i didn't know was in concert, White Summer crashing into Kashmir was going to change my view on Led Zeppelin forever. i remember sitting in the money chair (you could always find change that had fallen out of pockets in it) with my 2 big speakers on either side of me. volume up, but not too loud. late afternoon/early evening. grey and rainy day (similar to what it's like now). the closing strains of White Summer playing and out of nowhere, the entire band goes crashing into the opening chords of Kashmir. that transition of calmness into the power and majesty that is Kashmir sent the chills running up and down my spine for the next few minutes. i was completely dumbstruck by what had just happened. i listened to it again, and again chills. i must have listened to that sequence a few times before i was able to pull myself together enough to try and figure out what i had just listened to.

i quickly dug out some tapes so i could record the show, and eventually i had to return Destroyer to WP, but from that point on, i knew i needed more. my 2nd Zep bootlegs were from 2 separate (incomplete) shows in 1973 (soundboards that had been stolen from Jimmy in the late 80's) and from there i was as good as screwed. i began to discover that there was much more available (all for a price of course) and other shows quickly followed (Brussels 6/20/80, New York 2/12/75, Copenhagen 5/3/71) and by the time i graduated from college, i had a pretty decent sized collection of Zeppelin bootlegs. i quickly discovered that bootlegs of other bands i liked were available (most notably Pink Floyd), and ever since then, i've been collecting shows. i very rarely buy bootlegs these days, on occasion i might, but for the most part, it's all digital. it's become somewhat of an obsession, and i realize that i can't listen to all of them, but it doesn't seem to stop me.

and it all started with a recording of a show that Led Zeppelin did 30 years ago tonight.

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Monday, April 23, 2007

stoopit WBCN

opie & anthony = funny
opie & anthony + 2 weeks vacation = 2 weeks of funny reruns
toucher & rich + 2 weeks morning radio != funny

i want my opie & anthony funny reruns when i wake up. not toucher & rich who even said after less than a minute that they don't want to be there anymore than we (the listeners) want them to be there.

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Thursday, April 19, 2007

hahahahahaha

i'm so glad this loops. i can watch this over and over and over again....


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