Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Jesse James sad over Sandra Bullock divorce; will miss baby Louis



Jesse James said to People Magazine he's sad over Sandra Bullock's divorce from him and will miss baby Louis Brado Bullock. Jesse James said to People Magazine:

My whole life has been full of hard decisions. The decision to let my wife end our marriage, and continue the adoption of Louis on her own, has been the hardest. The love I have for Louis cannot be put to words. Not having him around to love and to hold has left a huge hole in my heart.

Sandy is the love of my life, but considering the pain and devastation I have caused her, it would be selfish to not let her go. Right now it is time for me to beat this addiction that has taken two of the things I love the most in life.

I have always taken great pride in proving people wrong. That time has come once again to show that I am not what everyone says I am. I know in my heart that I can be the best father possible to my four children, and the mate Sandy deserves, and realize that this is an incredible mountain to climb. But I believe that the steps I have taken in the last 30 days are the foundation for making this happen. The lifelong commitment I am making is what being a real husband and father is all about.

I ask that you please do not judge Sandy for the things I have done. She has done no wrong. She played no part in any of this. She has been an amazing wife, mother, and best friend, for the over 6 years we have been together.

Very sad to see that Jesse James and Sandra Bullock were not able to overcome his trespasses and maintain their marriage, but in some old sort of way, perhaps this is best for James.

Meanwhile, Sandra Bullock starts a new chapter in her life with baby Louis. But you've got to wonder of Ole Miss is going to come calling on him 16 years from now.

Something must be added here: Jesse James obviously has no standard racial issues if he was part of the adoption of Louis, who's black. Perhaps we can put that to rest.

And bravo to People Magazine for a brilliant Internet play!

Stay tuned.

Jeff Ireland: On Dez Bryant blast Dolphins GM called "A-list A-hole"

Dez Bryant's a Dallas Cowboys now and is able to look back on the horrible way he was treated during his path to the 2010 NFL Draft and by Jeff Ireland of the Miami Dolphins.

Just because Dez Bryant lied about his association with NFL Legend and NFL Network Analyst Deion Sanders, Dez Bryant was said to have "character issues". The media - except this blogger and a few others - picked up on it and sullied Dez Bryant. Fortunately Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones saw through the garbage to make Dez Bryant the Cowboys first round pick.

But in looking back Dez Bryant told this blogger's friend Yahoo! Sports Senior Writer Mike Silver that Jeff Ireland asked the young man if his mother was a prostitute. You read that correctly. Jeff Ireland reportedly apologized for the blast, presumably because it was made public, but the damage is just getting started in New Media. In a number of places Jeff Ireland's question would have earned a knuckle sandwich; only in an NFL interview can a person get away with that.

Mike Silver lowered the boom on Jeff Ireland calling the Miami Dolphins General Manager a "jerk" and an A-list A-hole." Silver quotes former NFL Lineman Kyle Turley:

"I don’t care who you are or who you’re talking to – that kind of question usually gets your [expletive] teeth kicked in," says former NFL lineman Kyle Turley(notes). "I mean, where do these people come from? That's just completely [expletive] classless and totally unprofessional."


And NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should step in and stop this practice once and for all. Too many rookie players have been harmed by NFL team personnel staffers acting like knuckleheads. In an age of Twitter, YouTube, and blogs, Goodell needs to have these teams clean up their act.

Finally, was Silver within bounds? Yes. Jeff Ireland's a public figure. He's fair game. Mike Silver wasn't using a fake name either; he was rawly telling it like it is.

Good for Mike.

Louis Bardo Bullock - Sandra Bullock gives son Jewish circumcision



Louis Bardo Bullock is the name of Sandra Bullock's newly adopted black son from New Orleans. And as the World swoons over photos of happy mom and son, interesting news from the People Magazine exclusive interview are coming out. One is that Bullock gave son Louis Bardo a Jewish circumcision ceremony with "full on Jewish brit."

The rite of of circumcision is called brit milah and performed on the eighth day of a boy's life, according to ReligiousFacts.com, which reports:


Circumcision is commanded in Genesis 17:10-14 as an outward sign of a man's participation in Israel's covenant with God, as well as a sign that the Jewish people will perpetuate through him. The commandment is incumbent upon both father and child - fathers must see that their sons are circumcised, and uncircumcised grown men are obligated to perform the rite...During the ceremony the child is held by a person designated as the sandek, who is usually a grandparent or family rabbi. An empty chair is set aside to symbolize the presence of the prophet Elijah, who rebuked those who had forsaken the ritual. He now presides over all circumcision ceremonies to ensure the continuation of the ritual...Before the procedure, the infant may be given a couple of drops of wine to ease the pain. The mohel recites benedictions of circumcision, then the father offers the blessing.


What's interesting is that Sandra Bullock, isn't Jewish. Moreover, the mohel came to Bullock's home to perform the ceremony. (No word on the wine used.)

Sandra Bullock calls the private circumcision "the greatest moment I have ever had in my life" in People Magazine. Considering all the pain she's gone through with Jesse James in the cheating scandal, Bullock deserves more great moments.

Congratulations to her.

Sandra Bullock adoption, People Magazine, top Internet search

Related: sandra bullock adopts black boy, people magazine, sandra bullock baby, sandra bullock, bret michaels girlfriend

Sandra Bullock's adoption of 3-and-a-half-month old Louis Bullock, and People Magazine's exclusive story about it have topped Internet searches as of this hour. In fact, at this point the terms "Sandra Bullock adoption" and "People Magazine" are ranked one and two on Google Trends.

It proves that if traditional media captures an exclusive story and properly writes and installs it and distributes it online it can gain that kind of search placement.

The bet here is that People Magazine didn't deliberately know that was going to happen. But the reason it did happen, in part was that People Magazine's authors used the words "People Magazine" right in the body of the text about the Sandra Bullock adoption.

The result was to cause the name "People Magazine" to be boosted with links to the article and repeat mentions of People Magazine.

People Magazine has had exclusives on a number of hot stories, but never one where its name was ranked so high in a search.

Sandra Bullock update: Louis Bullock is adopted baby boy

Much as Sandra Bullock is getting a divorce from her husband Jesse James, Sandra's also becoming a new single mother to a baby boy named Louis Bardo Bullock according to People Magazine.

Louis is a 3-and-a-half month old, round bundle of bady boy joy that Sandra Bullock, 45, and Jesse James, 41, worked to adopt under secrecy four years ago. Louis was born in New Orleans, which means he's going to be a Saints fan since LA's lacking an NFL football team. But there's no word yet on who the original mother of Louis is or how he came to be Sandra Bullock's son.

In an odd way, Sandra Bullock's decision to adopt little Louis seems to both mirror her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side and perhaps explains why she went after the role of the wealthy white Memphis business woman who takes in homeless black Michael Oher, who then becomes a football star at Ole Miss and now plays for The Baltimore Ravens.

Very interesting art-and-life intersection. Stay tuned.

Sandra Bullock divorces Jesse James; has adopted baby boy

Related - sandra bullock baby, sandra bullock adoption, sandra bullock divorce, jesse james divorce, Michelle Bombshell McGee

Academy Award-winning Actress Sandra Bullock is divorcing her husband Jesse James after his alleged affairs became public, as did his interest in Nazi garb and other activities that caused some to ask if he was a closet white supremacist, as I explained in this video:



While Sandra Bullock was filming The Blind Side, for which she would win the Oscar for Best Actress, Jesse James was having an affair with Michelle "Bombshell" McGee. When it became clear that Jesse James was not leaving Sandra Bullock, Michelle "Bombshell" McGee went to tell her story to the tabloid Star Magazine for an alleged payment of $30,000.

The publication of that story sullied Sandra Bullock's Oscar glow and plunged her life into one colored by scandal as a parade of mistresses came out to say they slept with Jesse James, from Michelle "Bombshell" McGee, Melissa Smith, Brigitte Daguerre, and a fourth and fifth woman, one who reportedly was represented by a lawyer.

While Jesse James' life was being rolled out in an array of stories about cheating and his time at a sex-addiction clinic in Arizona (of all places) kept secret was the couples adoption of Louis.

Louis Bardo Bullock is a cute, 3-and-half month bundle of baby boy joy that People Magazine reports close friends and family knew about but kept a secret. Sandra will raise Louis as a single parent.

Stay tuned.

Sandra Bullock has baby -- Suzannah B. Troy

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/popwrap/bullock_baby_best_kept_secret_ever_jDqWqOhM5tkZWmRlWnYJgP

Folks, I found this on The New York Post and apparently she adopted a baby and it was the best kept secret yet in the Bullock -- James saga.  Go to link to see Sandra with her adopted baby.

Photos and more details including Bullock filing for divorce will be on news stands Friday in People and I am sure this edition fly off news stands based on the publics' interest in the girl next store and Oscar winning actress betrayed by bad boy husband.

Is Sandra Bullock  the next Angelina Jolie?

Greek Debt - Greece should suspend military spending

The Greek Debt Scandal is the news and Greece' economy is in trouble. The international credit crunch threw a spending choke chain around the World's 27th largest economy such that it's budget deficit and public debt have reached fantastic proportions.

A number of European countries are readying massive loan assistance programs to help in the Greek Debt problem, but given that Greece' credit rating is at a "junk" level there's no guarantee of a timely repayment

In the view of this blogger, the one best target is Greece military spending. It's 3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product; it should be reduced to one percent or less through a multi-year elimination of non-essential spending. Event if Greece has to go without a military save for paid soldiers, that move would make a large dent in spending.

The process of raising taxes from people who don't have jobs should be halted. Instead, Greece should dramatically increase tariffs on good imported.

The Greek Debt Scandal is threatening to plunge that country into a state of economic collapse. Greece does not need to spend money on war. Better to drop the system before its too late for everyone.

Stay tuned.

Tiger Woods mistress Joslyn James claims Tito Ortiz roughed up Jenna before post by Suzannah B. Troy


http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/04/28/2010-04-28_jenna_often_hurt_sez_tiger_gal.html

This story just gets uglier with one of Tiger Woods' porn star mistresses Joslyn James stepping forward claiming she witnessed Ortiz roughing up Jenna Jameson on several occasions.  Read The New York Daily News article where Ortiz is quoted as saying he is innocent and Jenna Jameson is an addict and unstable.  Ortiz states he had to call the police in December to prevent Jameson from killing herself.

Ortiz has people standing up for him including his ex-wife who he also has kids with.
http://www.tmz.com/2010/04/27/tito-ortiz-ex-wife-kristin-ortiz-jenna-jameson-domestic-violence/

TMZ has been on top of this story from the get go even supplying "he said", "she said" video tape interviews as Ortiz was lead out of his home by police and Jameson later exiting with her father.

And just to add more confusion to this story TMZ has a post of Jenna Jameson contradicting herself
giving two different accounts of what went on....
http://www.tmz.com/2010/04/27/jenna-jameson-tito-ortiz-beating-arrest-video/

If you watch the TMZ series on this you will see Ortiz at a press conference and he states he is in fact innocent.  That he never laid a hand on her and in fact he has been supporting her dealing with an addiction to Oxycontin.  He is compelling.  Although Jenna's father is quoted in The NY Daily News article saying she is not addicted to anything but caring for her twin sons, in her book she describes what appears to be such an extreme addiction to a drug that she skin and bones and as I recall returns home to her father to be cared for by her family.

I have no idea how this story will be played out and if she was man handled or not.  I am sure we will hearing a lot more on Tito Ortiz and Jenna Jameson.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Oakland bar application for Golden Bear / Dapper on Grand is problem

The location at 389 Grand Avenue of what was once my favorite Oakland, California hang, The Golden Bear, has been closed for what seems to be about a year now. It was most recently called "Dapper" which was an odd name for a bar to this blogger. It was a nice place that seemed to cater to one type of young, black, Hip Hop-oriented audience.

Dapper had a weird vibe: if you weren't exactly and narrowly from that group, you could feel uncomfortable. It's almost like how Cafe Van Kleef in downtown Oakland has changed. It seems to fit a young, white grunge artist crowd and if you're not part of that group, it can feel weird.

But, I must confess to some interestingly fun one-night stands out of Cafe Van Kleef. Being bald is fun, but I digress.

Someone has filed an application to reopen Dapper bar and some residents in Oakland's Adams Point neighborhood are upset about it. One person just didn't see the reason for a bar there. I disagree.

Bars in the Grand Lake area have always served as the community gathering point. It's the one place that, if done right, can bring together young and old, and black and white and everyone in between.

The last place that did that was The Golden Bear under the legendary Cal Rugby Assistant Coach Jerry Figone. The Golden Bear served as that community gathering place, and there was no moment that more demonstrated that then after the Loma Pierata Earthquake in 1989. I was there, er, here.

I was supposed to meet a friend / client at The Golden Bear that October 17, 1989 day when I was basking in the glow of a Cal Masters Degree in City Planning and all that came with it. But on that day, degrees didn't matter. I had finally arrived at the Golden Bear after a confusing trek to get their using public transit: AC Transit.

BART was disabled due to systems checks. The earth shook, but I didn't know what happened. Some blind lady with a radio on the bus said the Bay Bridge collapsed. Of course, everyone thought she meant the whole bridge.

When I arrived at The Golden Bear, the whole neighborhood was there. Friends who lost their cars to falling bricks from who knows where. People who couldn't get to San Francisco. People laughing and crying. It was a wild scene.

In the middle of it all was Jerry Figone. Talking to everyone. Giving free drinks to those who didn't have money and encouraging others who had money to buy drinks for folks if they wanted them. But mostly people talked. And the coolest memory I have of that day is people who normally don't talk to each other as was the group nature of The Golden Bear at times - Hey, it was a Cal Bar, which is why I went there - suddenly did.

That was a great moment. For me it ended in exactly the way I wanted it to, and given my sentence about Cafe Van Kleef, you can guess what that was, stilettos and all.

Bars can bring people together. The only place that does that now is The Alley on Grand Avenue. I don't know what the person or persons has planned for The Golden Bear space, but I hope whatever it is, they bend over backwards to make it inclusive of everyone. The Golden Bear under Jerry Figone did that and Oakland needs that.

Iron Man 2 reviews are out: bad reviews have wrong take

Iron Man 2 is supposed to be released May 7th, but Jon Favreau is so confident in his second take on the story of a weapons genius and his famous exoskeleton that he let some so-called critics see it.

Thus, Iron Man 2 reviews are out, but while the reviews pan the movie, they are awful themselves. This blogger's never seen a set of reviews that seem so bent on finding something wrong they wind up becoming studies in nitpicking. As exhibit one, let's take The Hollywood Reporter (THR).

Kirk Honeycutt of THR does a lot of explaining that Iron Man 2 isn't logical without explaining why. We just have to understand his logic. But considering the Arizona Governor's decision to approve a horribly psychotic immigration law in that state, we have to be careful to trust anyone's logic now, even that of a movie critic.

What Kirk Honeycutt seems to miss is that Iron Man is grounded in a high level of realism. That Tony Stark is dying from his own creation has to cause some kind of emotional response from him. Trouble is Kirk Honeycutt doesn't tell us what that is. That's not right, because fans of Iron Man know the story, so it's a good idea for the reviewer to tell us what the movie is doing so we can at least know how it works. I can't tell that from Kirk Honeycutt's review.

Then there's Den of Geek, a cool-ass name for a website. But Simon Brew's review confused me. I can't determine if Simon Brew's telling me Iron Man 2 is better than the first, or the opposite.

But I'll give Den of Geek credit because, well, they're geeks. From that, Iron Man 2 seems just OK, but not at the level of The Dark Knight.

Frankly, I wasn't expecting that anyway.

Roch the Casbah

Arizona illegal immigration law invites psychotic behavior

Governor Brewer's creating a psychotic environment
That the Arizona illegal immigration law is psychotic is without argument. The law, approved by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, calls for the identification, prosecution, and deportation of those presumed guilty of illegal immigration.

 This is where the environment that invites psychotic behavior is created and why the law itself is psychotic. First, we must understand the definition of the word "psychotic."

To be psychotic is to have a "loss of contact with reality, usually including false ideas about what is taking place or who one is (delusions) and seeing or hearing things that aren't there (hallucinations)" according to a definition at Google Health. What's interesting and directly apply to the Arizona illegal immigration law and its drafters and implementers are the symptoms of psychotic behavior:

Abnormal displays of emotion
Confusion
Depression and sometimes suicidal thoughts
Disorganized thought and speech
Extreme excitement (mania)
False beliefs (delusions)
Loss of touch with reality
Mistaken perceptions (illusions)
Seeing, hearing, feeling, or perceiving things that are not there (hallucinations)
Unfounded fear/suspicion

"Abnormal displays of emotion" can be seen if one visits YouTube.com and searches for "arizona illegal immigration rally." The result has the first four videos from a rally by Nazi's or the "National Socialist Movement" showing the very "Abnormal displays of emotion" of those yelling "white power" and showing "unfounded fear/suspicion" by saying "We believe they should go back to Mexico and make their own country strong. This is out country." Here's one video:



That statement reflects not just "unfounded fear/suspicion" but "mistaken perceptions", "Loss of touch with reality", and "extreme excitement." Why?

Consider that a person could be an illegal immigrant and be from, say, Ireland. That has nothing to do with Mexico, but the man in the video is so out of touch with reality that he displays his mistaken perceptions and false beliefs.

Because of this the Arizona illegal immigration law becomes a tool with which a psychotic has license to be, well, psychotic. A psychotic can pick out anyone they believe fits their race-based fantasy of what an illegal immigrant looks like, totally passing by the Irish waitress and going for any person who the psychotic thinks comes from Mexico. To take the psychotic's possible actions to their logical conclusion such a person may try to make a citizen's arrest, and that would be an "abnormal display of emotion."

Clearly Arizona's got a problem. Moreover, the problem is its number of people showing psychotic behavior in crafting and passing the illegal immigration law. Governor Jan Brewer herself said on Fox News "We can't tolerate it. It's an invasion. An invasion of our country." I next expected Governor Brewer to yell "white power." Take a look at the video below and compare it to the video above several times, and note the "abnormal display of emotion" by both the Governor and the Nazi in each video:



In the video, Governor Jan Brewer sounds less like an elected official and more like a member of The Arizona Nazis. A very scary person exhibiting psychotic behavior.

If Governor Jan Brewer doesn't scare you in that video, well, maybe you're psychotic? Just being honest. Psychotic behavior is something one should work to remedy.  Thinking of someone as "the other" only causes problems for both you and the person who's the unfortunate target of your loss of contact with reality.

In my next blog post, we'll look at what remedies the Governor, and others, should use to get better.

Stay tuned.