Off to help a friend move; the task I loathe most in the world.

I see your "law" and raise you "reason".

Martha Moxley essentially says, "Do your time like a man."

Patience is a virtue; some things are worth the wait.

was really looking forward to the new maps on MW3. Alas, nada.

I see you, Steve Tisch. Go Jumbos!

Yay! A Super Bowl worth watching!

Time flies...

Celebrated 6 months with my girlfriend Thursday. Yes, we're marking each month together. We're happy. You do that when you're happy. Plus we were both bitter about relationships and people thus were both surprised to have found someone who makes sense. Well, we didn't do it, a close friend set us up. Beyond that, I'd claim divine intervention. But yeah, we hit it off on how much people suck and here we are.

Though, my closest friends know my penchant for brief relationships seeing that in a month or so I know all i need to about where things are going, usually just waiting for the other person to realize it so we can have a mutual split. Three months is the average. Next month it will be the second longest relationship I've been in. Pretty much good to go from here.

Ben and Zarla go to White Castle
...the extremely scenic way.


My former bandmate slash good friend accompanied by his lovely lady are conquering the roads of America. As well, they are wonderfully capturing the nation's beauty in photographs and the heart of the people through conversation. Check out their journey: A Travel Blog by Ben Bornstein and Zarla Ludin

BBC News - Golf icon Tiger Woods faces police questions over crash:
"Golf icon Tiger Woods faces police questions over crash."

(BBC News) Police are expected to question world number one golfer Tiger Woods later on Saturday more than a day after a car crash outside his Florida home.
The star was found semi-conscious with facial injuries after his car reportedly hit a fire hydrant and tree.
Officers were told Woods' wife Elin had used a golf club to break the rear window of the car and help him out after the accident early on Friday.
The 14-time major champion was admitted to hospital and later released.

____________Editorial______________

There are TWO Black men that are not allowed to EVER break the law. Tiger Woods and Barack Obama. Tiger... your f*cking up!!

Obama Rushes to Quell Racial Uproar He Helped Fire - ABC News:
"Obama conceded his words had been ill-chosen, but he stopped short of a public apology."~Nancy Benac, AP

_______Editorial:________
Rightly so! Unless Sergeant James Crowley, the arresting officer, apologizes for his overreaction in the incident then President Obama should not be compelled to apologize for saying the officer "acted stupidly" because the same ill-thinking that started this lingers in the form of Crowley's stubbornness to admit that error. The officer had a judgment call in arresting Professor Gates but let his pride get in the way of what was right. He may not have been technically wrong but he was out of line subjectively. That said, if Crowley can't own up to his faults, how are we to believe he has really grown or in this case stopped 'acting stupidly'? Which also speaks volumes about the police unions standing behind Crowley.

However, just because someone 'acts stupidly' doesn't mean that person is stupid. It is merely an intelligent individual having a less than stellar moment. But, it is still right to call them on it, especially in the hopes that everyone learns from that blunder.

Cops arrest renowned scholar for breaking into his own home...

Cambridge, Mass., Sgt. James Crowley arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr. in his home last week after he responded to a report of two black men attempting to break in to Gates' home.

It turned out that Gates, head of Harvard's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research, had broken into his own home after being unable to find his keys upon his return from a trip to China.

A police report of the incident written by Officer Carlos Figueroa, who responded to the call with Crowley, says Crowley was already in the house when he walked in. The report says Crowley had asked Gates for some identification and Gates shouted that he would not give any information and called the sergeant a racist.

According to the report, Gates then yelled, "This is what happens to black men in America." When Crowley tried to calm him down, Gates shouted, "You don't know who you're messing with."

The report continues that the shouting went on after Gates and the officers walked out onto the front porch. When Gates allegedly wouldn't cooperate or calm down, Crowley arrested him.

(Source: Cambridge Police Officer To Obama: Butt Out of My Arrest)

Sgt. Crowley's side of this argument is "bitchassness" at it's (and apparently Cambridge's) finest. How are you going to arrest someone for public disturbance in the privacy of their own home? What public? At best it would have been on this man's front porch. Was the tongue-lashing that severe? Did he insult your mother/manhood/intelligence to that degree? Even further, to arrest someone for what must of been the most epic verbal abuse ever just makes Crowley look like even more of a wuss. "Creating a public disturbance" eh? Were there formal noise complaints from the neighbors filed? Even just a "keep it down" from anyone not in uniform? Or what he just creating a scene. I see scenes created all the time, but I don't see people being arrested for those without formal complaints. Maybe that's why the charges were dropped.

Also, someone called the cops on this man for breaking into his own home. It says something about America that your own neighbors don't know you. I must admit, I don't know any of the people that live around me. Not sure that I want to. However, if I lived in a neighborhood like the one in which Professor Gates resides I'm sure my neighbors would know who I was. I may not know my neighbors but I bet they know where I live. Just as I'm pretty sure he stands out as the "different" neighbor near Harvard Square. So then you have to wonder about the relationships and biases of the people in the neighborhood. I'm sure the police were quick to arrive.

Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. being arrested essentially for insulting Sergeant James Crowley over his disturbance entering Gates' home is also a matter of class relations too. By that I mean the role the education Crowley received versus that of Professor Gates plays into the incident. Anyone would have been upset about the situation. Think about the history a man in Professor Gates position has lived through and to get to where he has professionally. Which would lead into a discussion on the hiring practices throughout history of law enforcement, what jobs were essentially "given" to what class of immigrants versus the requirements to become an officer today which also changed with the increase in diversity. As well as professional incomes and why some people are paid more for their education/profession than others. Though I'm sure there would be broad generalizations carelessly cast about in these debates, I know this sure is an EXCELLENT example to reference in the age of Obama.

The Associated Press: Obama losing some support among nervous Dems: "'This is the worst economic time anyone under the age of 80 has ever experienced, and you can't discount people being afraid. Now that we are in July, the fear is turning to disappointment that the president hasn't fixed everything yet. I don't know why they thought he could change everything by now, but some did.'" ~ Steve Glorioso, Democratic strategist

Michael Jackson dies at age 50
A tale of rise and fall fitting a King...

The Los Angeles Times was the first to report his hospitalization and passing. Then announced that Jackson was in a coma before confirming that, at age 50, Michael Jackson suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.

This week's tweets:

--->: Apparently teachers are just as fun/funny if not more so than your average partiers when inebriated. (2 seconds ago from TwitterGadget)


--->: EZ Pass is my new favorite invention! No doubt about it. (about 2 hours ago from TwitterGadget)EZ Pass is my new favorite invention! No doubt about it.

--->: Off to another gig. Hello Jersey. Allow me to sing for you. (about 9 hours ago from TwitterGadget)Off to another gig. Hello Jersey. Allow me to sing for you.

--->: Yay! My vehicle is legal again! Sidenote: New York DMV is not nearly as bad as one would assume. Just gotta have your forms ON POINT! ... (about 15 hours ago from web)

--->: Just returned from a trip to Boston. Went to surprise someone but they kind of waylayed the plans. Fun times. (about 15 hours ago from web)

--->: Off to rehearse with the band again. Hmph, I wonder if someone calls the initial rehearsal a "hearsal"? A "hearing" maybe? Eh, too legal. (06/17/2009 10:50:38 AM from TwitterGadget)

--->: I just discovered that I CAN live without the internet. I just prefer not to. (06/16/2009 5:43:27 PM from TwitterGadget)

--->: All I'm saying is... you SHOULD be offended if I start cleaning your place without you asking me to help. (06/15/2009 2:07:55 PM from TwitterGadget)

--->: Whether you dream big or dream small, if you aren't confident you can make things happen, what's the point? Might as well go to the movies. (06/14/2009 11:59:37 PM from TwitterGadget)

--->: Just killed it at not one, but two gigs! Love singing. I should really record something beyond the Melodesiac album. (06/14/2009 2:08:01 AM from TwitterGadget)

--->: Gig in New Jersey tomorrow. Yet, I have no idea what songs will be called. Dah well. Guess that's what makes it a show, ha.☻ (06/12/2009 10:24:54 PM from TwitterGadget)

--->: You know how they say "It costs money to make money." Well, they should also say that money is expensive. (06/12/2009 12:04:13 PM from TwitterGadget)

--->: The Boondocks is easily my favorite television series. (06/12/2009 12:39:06 AM from TwitterGadget)

--->: Just re-strung a guitar for the first time! Correction: my guitar. (06/11/2009 7:16:49 PM from TwitterGadget)

--->: Must get rid of the noise. Gah...mixers, cables, computers!! (06/10/2009 11:04:49 PM from TwitterGadget)

--->: My drummer and bassist are the jam. Where's T.W. at?! (06/10/2009 9:04:09 PM from TwitterGadget)

--->: Off to band rehearsal with ... hmph... we should think of a name. (06/10/2009 12:56:05 PM from TwitterGadget)

--->: Is there a sign on me that begs for investigation or is there something else about me that draws police attention? Hmmm. (06/10/2009 3:16:10 AM from TwitterGadget)

--->: Google Calendar is making my life easier. (06/10/2009 12:13:50 AM from TwitterGadget)

--->: I enjoy that moment when you realize you have new liberties but then don't really know where to go/start with that freedom. (06/09/2009 8:03:48 AM from TwitterGadget)

First Financial Bank, Experts at Committing Credit Card Fraud

(Courtesy: Matthew Miller)
I've been trying to close my First Financial Credit card for three months now. It all started when I got a bill with a positive balance. As their customer service was closed when I opened the bill, and the car had carried a zero balance for a number of months, I reported an unauthorized transaction.

The charge was later revealed to be an "Annual membership fee."

Over the next couple months, despite repeated calls to cancel the account and promises that the charges would be reversed, I got another bill for January 2008. [more]


Editorial:
I didn't even want their card, but my mom insisted I get it when I was 18. I agreed on the condition that she pay for it. I don't know if she even missed a payment but the harrassment calls started. After resolving everything, I could have sworn we closed the account but apparrently not. Recently the calls started again. One around 10am, another around 4pm and usually one more around dinner time.

Numbers they "can be reached at":
786 217 9720
218 940 5230
281 668 5176

I seriously hate them and encourage everyone to report them to the BBB. Love Bank of America though. Never been called by them unless it was something useful like stopping fraudulent charges from Kyrgyzstan. WaMu was great when it existed as well.

Burma's Suu Kyi 'to face trial' | BBC NEWS
Ms Suu Kyi is reportedly suffering from low blood pressure and dehydration, but clearly she must be a threat to the state.


Synopsis:
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is to face trial for breaching the conditions of her detention under house arrest, her lawyer has said.
Ms Suu Kyi will stand trial on 18 May, the lawyer, Hla Myo Myint, said.
She was taken to a prison from her home in Rangoon, where she has spent most of the past 19 years, to hear the charges.
A US man whose uninvited visit to her home led to the charges, will also be tried on immigration and security offences, the lawyer added.

The American man, John Yettaw, was arrested after swimming across a lake to her house and staying there secretly for two days.
The charges are yet to be confirmed by the government.
But it looks as though this is a device to keep her detained until elections due in 2010 which the generals think will give them some legitimacy, says BBC South-East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head.
Another of her lawyers said they would contest the charge.

'The charge is going to be violating the conditions of her house arrest and what her lawyer is going to argue is that of course that's ridiculous because, yes under the terms of her arrest she cannot invite people to visit her but she of course did not invite this person to visit her,' Jared Genser told the BBC.
'If somebody shows up at her door step in violation of Burmese law she can not be held responsible for it.'

We gon' party like it's ya birthday!


I hereby claim my birthday as a Holiday. Everyone should do something special for themselves in my honor. Your welcome. :-)

NYC!

"I paid a hundred tolls, a hundred tickets, I live in New Yo-o-ork. New Yo-o-ork!"

Last Boston post...

There really is no point to this one here. I just wanted to write my last post from Boston... ever? Okay, maybe if i'm on tour here again. Other than that, it will be the last post from here for a good while. So, later Beantown. It was wicke... nah, still can't say it. It was cool enough. I'll see ya around.