Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Schwarzenegger: "Dear Assembly: No. Also, Fxxx You"



Gigantic knife-wielding Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill today in the highly offensive letter above.

Why so offensive? Read it vertically.

Read the whole San Francisco Chronicle account.

Gray Lady discovers Kingston beer - and likes it

Mother's Milk, a stout made by Keegan Ales in Kingston, was picked today as the 10th best North American Stouts by The New York Times.

Here's the rundown.

Full disclosure: I'm a big fan of Mother's Milk. And Joe Mama's (it's a stout with coffee, so spare me the snark).

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Climate change solved

It's true!* You can thanks the Model X7 SurvivaBall, Unit Z5-11, Version 11.7, brought to you by The Yes Men. The Freeman spoke with them about their efforts.

Here's guide to the basic functions and properties of the Halliburton Model X7 SurvivaBall for use in catastrophic or potentially catastrophic conditions.

And check out some informational videos:









* It's not.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Testosterone and the election

From the study's conclusion:

Confirming our first hypothesis, we found that men who voted for Barack Obama (winner) had stable post-outcome levels of testosterone, and men who voted for John McCain or Bob Barr (losers) had decrements in their testosterone levels.

Testosterone and the Election

Newsman in peril

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

If you don't want to search for search studies ...

... here are the links of the studies mentioned in "Web searches may aid brain (waste away)."

* UCLA study finds that searching the Internet increases brain function.

* First-time Internet users find boost in brain function after just one week.

* The Internet as a Diversion.

The full survey is below.

PIP the Internet as a Diversion

Searches and puppies

In my perennial quest for irrelevancy, I managed to include a reference to this video in "Web searches may aid brain (waste away)":



As you can see, it was totally worth it.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Friday, October 16, 2009

Burning questions, redux

Some members of the First Ulster County Militia were (reasonably) not amused by "A battle for the burning of Kingston" and the post below.

Mainly, as one commenter said, Militia members want to convey that the incident was serious and was "not a prank."

Below is a photo provided by Gene Tozzi, the Mercury's captain, of the boat when it was found on Tuesday afternoon.



The good news is that it seems the boat will be able to participate in the burning of Kingston this weekend.

The perpetrator(s) is/are still at large/delusional.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Burning questions

I told you to keep an eye on him.

No longer after filing "A battle for the burning of Kingston" on Tuesday, the newsroom received a report that the Burning-bound boat "The Mercury" had been stolen. Police Chief Gerald Keller and the craft’s captain, Gene Tozzi reported the boat, which was going to reprise the role of The Lady Washington during the Burning re-enactment, was recovered late Tuesday afternoon.

I had written this before that report:

What actually happened in Kingston on Oct. 16, 1777, was this:

About 1,600 British troops under the direction of Maj. Gen. John Vaughan — who had called the then village “a nursery for almost every villain in the country” — camped out at Marist College and had one of their boats stolen by local gadfly Allan Wikman because he was angry about historical inaccuracies and because he had a lot of free time. The troops then called 911 to report a stolen boat, recovered the boat after Wikman lost it and then arrived at what is now Kingston Point Beach, which, thankfully, was open to the public that year.



Not only has Wikman admitted to taking a boat in 2007, he even gave photos of the incident to journalist Steve Hopkings, who wrote extensively about it.

The photo at right is of the 25-foot-long boat DeSager on the night the boat was stolen.



I received an e-mail today from a very tickled Wikman, who wrote:

“About 7 AM yesterday (October 13), a woman called me. 'Thought you'd like to know we borrowed 'The Lady Washington.' Had a party out on the Hudson. Left her tied up to a tree. If you have a camera and you hurry, you may get some pictures."

Wikman asked me if I wanted to see the photos, I told him yes.

Behold:



There were 10 photos. The time stamp in them has them being taken between 7:51 and 8:01 a.m. Tuesday. According to police, the boat was stolen from the Maritime Museum between 7:30 Monday and 7:45 a.m. Tuesday, when it was reported stolen.

So I asked Wikman the obvious question.

He swears he didn't do it.

Monday, October 12, 2009

'Moises' Mardi Gras Against Cancer'

Kingston Mayor James Sottile announced on Monday that in the city, every second Tuesday of October will officially be known as, “Moises’ Mardi Gras Against Cancer Day.”

The late Moises Perez Jr. died Thursday afternoon at Benedictine Hospital after a long struggle with cancer.

“Moises Perez was a great man whose undeniable respect and contributions to this city stands second only to the strength he showed during his long battle with cancer. Now he will never be forgotten,” Sottile said in a prepared statement.

Keegan Ales will hold a Fat Tuesday-style event at 5 p.m. today in remembrance of Moises.

“The Moises' Mardi Gras Against Cancer” will begin 5 p.m. at Keegan Ales at 20 St. James Street, Kingston and boast a pig roast, live zydeco with Prof. Louie and the Cromatix, as well as Fat Tuesday-style clothing, beads and a parade starting around 9 p.m. from Keegan Ales to Snapper McGee’s on North Front Street, where an official toast will take place at 10 p.m.

Keegan Ales already raised more than $800 at its anniversary party on Oct. 3 to help Mr. Perez. Said Keegan, “This was Moises’ last wish and we want it to be honored. Our plan is to party in the name of Moises while donating all proceeds to the Rosemary Gruner Fund [a division of the Benedictine Health Foundation]. Now with the Mayor’s blessing, we will be able to continue celebrating the life of our dear friend, while continuing to raise money for a great cause.”

The Rosemary D. Gruner Memorial Fund provides financial assistance to cancer patients and their families in Ulster County. More information about the fund and how to donate can be found at www.bikeforcancer.org. More information about “Moises’ Mardi Gras Against Cancer” can be found at www.keeganales.com.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Moises was my roommate, but this event was not organized by yours truly, but by Tom Keegan, whom I also know.

UPDATE: More than $1,200 was raised for the Rosemary Gruner Fund.

Monday, October 5, 2009

CBS fights unwinnable fight

'CBS Removes David Letterman’s Mea Culpa From YouTube,'
reads a headline in The New York Times, in a story that adds, "The network did not provide an official copy."

Not mentioned is the fact that the whole 10-minute video - unofficial, I must assume - has been on the New York Times Web site since last week.

And here.

And there's a short version here ...



... and here ...




... and plenty of other versions, on YouTube, more than a dozen times.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

The Messenger premiere



For more videos, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/woodstockfilmfestiva.

Yes, the link doesn't have the last letter in "festival." Blame the Interne.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Walkway opening ceremonies also online



If you are unable to attend the opening ceremonies of Raining, I mean, Walkway Over the Hudson, you can still see the entire opening festivities a Saturday online from the dry, dry comforts of your home.

The link is http://www.totalwebcasting.com/live/walkway/

Opening performers include folk legeng Pete Seeger of Beacon and Highland's Voices of Glory, who placed fifth in "America's Got Talent". Gov. David Paterson will be on hand for the "Tying of the Knot" ceremony (and probably to say that, darn in, he's running for re-election no matter what everyone says).

The grand puppet procession across the river by 3,000 Ulster and Dutchess county volunteers is at 1 p.m.

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome antique planes are expected to fly over the bridge at 2:30 p.m.

The Walkway is 212 feet above the river, and a mile and a quarter long. It is the longest pedestrian bridge in the world.

Robert Feldman of Total Webcasting is donating his services to provide the feed of the opening ceremonies and parade. The feed will also be archived online.

For more information about the grand opening and schedule of events, see www.Walkway.org