Monday, May 31, 2010
Memorial Day New York by Suzannah B. Troy
From downtown NYC to Millerton NY: I am posting a photo of the sculpture I used to sometimes include in long runs downtown around by the WTC; this artwork above somehow survived although damaged from the WTC attacks 9-11. The art work has been moved to Battery Park with an Eternal Flame that burns in front of it.
I think of Sept. 11 on Memorial Day. I am part of a group that feels the rescue workers that ran downtown that day and gave their all literally should be honored with their rank and department. It was the largest loss of rescue workers in our City, State and Nation’s history and many were also highly decorated serving in the military and within their dept. Here is my letter in The Wall Street Journal "Betrayal at Ground Zero". The betrayal has grown exponentially.
I think of a fireman that wasn’t my lover but made me feel loved and clearly admired by passion and intensity who died downtown that day and he was highly decorated by the FDNY and also a Viet Nam Vet who remembered how they were treated on their return home.
I was in Millertown, New York today and there there was an American flag every few feet, a parade and a somber speech given by a soldier who served in Iraq. He made reference to Sept. 11 and it was very serious, not a day about shopping, sales or barbecues but about serving your Country and also it is hard not to think of all those now and in the past lost. It is all heart breaking the loss of life, military, civilians and truly it is a somber day and a day of respect.
I also think of my Dad who served in World War 2. He understands fully the seriousness of this day. If he had not survived World War 2, clearly I would not be here writing to you now and I also know how lucky I am that he is alive today. (One day I have quite a story to tell you about that in regards to my life and almost losing my Dad just before I sold my home under the most sick and disturbing of circumstances.) Today is a day to thank your blessings if you are loved ones are here and mourn the many who have died in the line of duty...mourn them and prayers for all their loved ones as well and of course those injured as well.
The above Memorial is for the Korean War and at the exact time that peace was obtained the sun shines thru the art work as a sun dial honoring Peace. I find this one of the most moving unique memorials because the missing space -- the artist term "negative space" -- the solder is missing and that empty space goes on for eternity....it is not definable. When the Parks Dept. mistakingly planted trees that would obscure the sun dial aspect of the Memorial I wrote them and I received a letter back telling me that I and a bunch of Korean War Vets had written and the trees were removed. Rest in Peace...truly courageous souls and all that loved them...
Dennis Hopper dies family battles Hollywood News -- Suzannah B. Troy
Tila Tequila in row with Zennie62's Nikki Raney
Nikki Raney has advice for Tila |
Nikki Raney is a star blogger and journalist at Zennie62.com. But before we look more into that and her row with Tila Tequila, some background on Tila Tequila from this space' perspective.
In the middle of accusing San Diego Chargers Linebacker Shawne Merriman of assault, when he was just trying to stop her from driving drunk, this space revealed what Tila said about herself:
"i like people who are really fucked up...I am very high strung and suffer from multiple personalities...I do a lot of things that are self destructive. I try not to...I am also bi-polar so that should explain my irratic postings."
Here's the video on the entire incident between Merriman and Tila Tequila:
Of course, the charges against Shawne Merriman were dropped and after it was revealed that Tila lied; Tila Tequila said she did not drink but in one video was seen living it up with the bubbly.
After that, Tequila tried various ways of gaining attention, which just drew more critics, who then criticized her. That led Tila Tequila to start her own blog called Miss Tila OMG, with the idea of getting gossip revenge on all who said mean things about her. In other words, a gossip blog.
But Tila Tequila doens't want to be called a gossip blogger; she says she's a journalist. That's 180 degrees opposite this blogger, who never claimed to be a journalist. Fortunately, Nikki Raney was here to provide much needed guidance to the poor celeb, but Tila wasn't having it.
Tila blocked Nikki Raney from commenting on her blogsite. Now unlike some commenters Nikki is not hateful and gives great feedback. In fact, that's how Nikki Rany came to be at Zennie62.com. She's a celeb gossip and "future of media" blogger and gaining a following. One that's sure to increase after this row with Tila Tequila's put out there. Here's Nikki's blog post comment on that:
Today, Tila Tequila called herself a journalist on her blog. That was the last straw for me...Somehow, Miss Tila finds a way to incorporate herself into every blog entry.
I really never wanted to post a rude or judgmental post about anyone, but I think that enough is enough. I already wrote how there is a difference between blogging and journalism, but this is something that needs to be addressed.
Tila Tequila has blocked me from commenting on her blog, because of how critical I have been. This is not meant to be a hateful rant, but meant to inform and educate about what blogging is.
Tequila claims to run a celebrity gossip blog which costs so much money to run, but it is filled with articles that are about things that happened a few days prior. She also has a section called "hottie of the week" which she has updated five times in the span of 3 days. She has made herself "hottie of the week" three times.
In her blog post Nikki does a great job of exposing Tila's mistruths; it's worth reading and part of a three blog series on Tila; you have to read about Tila as "an army of one" here: click.
I closing, this blogger has nothing but love for Tila Tequila. (If Tila wants to call herself "hottie of the week", cool, but include some other women!) We all know this is a game; bloggers, you can't take it too seriously or you lose grip on reality. Let's hope that hasn't happened to Tila.
Stay tuned. And hey Tila, treat Nikki well, will ya?
Happy Memorial Day 2010! Thank A Soldier Today
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Oakland, CA - Note. This was originally posted on Memorial Day, 2009. It's worth reporting as this blogger prepares to make the same trip in 2010.
I went to my stepfather's burial place today. Even though I was really ill, I forced myself to go and place flowers at his grave site as I've made it a habit to visit him on Memorial Day each year. He fought in World War II.
But this time, I took my biological father's burial flag with me. Both my father and stepfather died in 2005.
To some who are anti-war, the title of this video-blog will upset them. It should not. I'm against war and always have been, but the reality of my life is that both my late father and stepfather fought in World War II, and in my father's case, Zenophon Abraham Sr. I have his name (he lives in Chicago), and I am the proud owner of his neatly folded burial flag and two bullets wrapped in them. I've never unraveled it.
Chester Harding Yerger III of Oakland is my late stepfather and he often talked of his time in the service and of attending "Officer Candidate School", and being taught how to kill. While the stories were never ones I looked forward to, I learned that sometime people go to war not because they want to harm people but because they feel their duty to protect America. I used to question this "duty" but now I honor it, even as I disagree with the idea of war.
Why? I frankly can't explain the reason as well as I'd like to but I'll try. I think as I reach deep it's because I now know some people don't feel its their job or "place" to question authority, yet, those same people made it ok for me to question authority. That was my father and my stepfather, especially as they aged.
I think it's also because people who have taken the lives of another in a time of war generally have an appreciation for life that can't be measured. At times my stepfather would think back to the war and cry. That was hard to witness. My father never talked about the war, so I never asked him about it.
My dad talked about Chicago architecture, planes, trains, and automobiles. Not the war. It wasn't until he died and his funeral that I understood his role in the war; he received a 21-gun salute that October day in 2005 and I can feel the noise from the gun fire pass through me today.
It's those memories that cause me to thank a soldier when one is in my presence. I did that on a plane ride as I was standing next to a Army officer in uniform. I asked him where he was going and he responded "Home. And I'm so happy." I said "Hey, thanks for your service"; he said "I tell ya, I really appreciate that."
I got what he was saying. He was telling me, "You know, what we do isn't appreciated by a lot of people and believe me I understand why. But I'm glad you see that I'm carrying out my duty to my country, even if I may not agree with what we're doing all the time."
Thank a soldier today. Even though you may be anti-war, don't blame them for our foreign policies of the past or present. They're doing the best they can in an impossible situation.
Thank a soldier today, or any day. Even though you may be anti-war, don't blame them for our foreign policies of the past or present. They're doing the best they can in an impossible situation. They're serving our country and could die doing so.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Dennis Hopper passes: Blue Velvet his best performance
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The legendary actor Dennis Hopper passed away last Friday and from complications due to prostate cancer. Hopper was 74 years old.
Dennis Hopper and Isabella Rossellini in Blue Velet |
When Blue Velvet was released in 1986, it was the must-see film of my friend at Berkeley and since I liked her, it was mine too. Frankly, for reasons having nothing to do with Blue Velvet or Dennis Hopper or the movie's famed director David Lynch, I went to see it with her.
Wow.
If you've never seen Dennis Hopper as Frank Booth, we can now see a brief replay thanks to YouTube. BravoTV has Hopper's performance as one of the 100 most scary in movie history:
Here's another scene without the off-film commentary. It's simply shocking and contains strong language to say the least:
Here below, Dennis Hopper tells Bob Costas how he convinced David Lynch to use another gas as a "reference" drug that Frank Booth inhaled. (Meaning Hopper didn't actually use nitrous oxide in the movie.) Hopper explained that Lynch wanted to use Helium gas, but Dennis explained all that would do was make him "sound like Daffy Duck."
Of all of Dennis Hopper's movie roles, Frank Booth was the best.
Dennis Hopper: 1936 - 2010.
But never really gone.
Jamarcus Russell: Oakland Raiders try at getting $10 million back silly
Jamarcus Russell |
Oakland Raiders Manager of The General Partnership wanted Jamarcus Russell over Notre Dame Quarterback Brady Quinn for the first pick of the 1st round of the 2006 NFL Draft, and righty overruled then-Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin. Kiffin later said he wanted another quarterback, like Stanford's Trent Edwards, but Kiffin made that specific claim after Russell was released, not before.
Hindsight is always 20-20; everyone has it including the Oakland Raiders. What the Raiders did not exhibit was foresight in having a multi-year plan for Jamarcus Russell's training and growth.
Because of that, it's only right the Oakland Raiders absorb the entire $39 million signing bonus they gave Russell, and not attempt to recover any portion of it. That part of it was a "salary advance" is immaterial; it was guaranteed. The Raiders are trying to undo the bad deal they created for themselves. Good luck.
The fiscal pain is undoubtedly hard to deal with given the current economic climate, but its a just punishment for the vast array of organizational problems the Silver and Black have exhibited over Russell's time in the NFL, and before it.
Moreover, it's the Raiders punishment for giving into media pressure and releasing Russell rather than admitting organizational failures and making the necessary changes. The mainstream media reacts with a "throw them out" mentality and knows nothing of football strategy.
The Oakland Raiders Failed
But most of all, the Oakland Raiders caused Russell to hold out of training camp for a long time. A great management owner like The Houston Texans Bob McNair said that "signablity" is important in evaluating first round picks, even though he backed away from the statement in the second video below. Bob McNair would not have picked Russell on that basis alone. That's a criteria the Raiders apparently did not consider, but should have.
That written, Jamarcus Russell was still a good pick by the Raiders; the Raiders just didn't handle him well.
Here's Bob McNair talking about his considerations in picking Reggie Bush or Mario Williams as the first pick at the 2006 NFL Draft:
And talking about picking Mario Williams after the selection was made:
The Raiders signed Jamarcus Russell and gave him a guaranteed contract. It's not Russell's fault the Oakland Raiders weren't ready to develop an offense around him or bring him along over a period of years.
Let's hope they learned their lesson.
Tila Tequila: Time to face reality -- by Nikky Raney
Today, Tila Tequila called herself a journalist on her blog. That was the last straw for me.
Somehow, Miss Tila finds a way to incorporate herself into every blog entry.
Recently she made this claim explaining how her blog is different than all the others:
"I now have MY OWN celebrity Gossip site too, and mine is actually MORE LEGIT, because I don’t put out lies and stories about celebrities trying to defame them by pretending to interview “confidential, unidentified “sources” as they(the media oulet) put it!) so anyway my heart just crushed into 2 pieces because they said some really nasty things about me that were not true at all, and of course as a “CELEBRITY GOSSIP BLOGGER” (and now that I’m in that world) It is a VERY competitive industry!!!! It’s VERY VICIOUS and those other “DIRTY BLOGGERS” as I would like to calll them, are SO DESPERATE to keep their traffic up, that they would write ANYTHING just to say that it was THEIR “EXCLUSIVE” and EXPLOIT and hurt celebrities when it’s not even true!"
I really never wanted to post a rude or judgmental post about anyone, but I think that enough is enough. I already wrote how there is a difference between blogging and journalism, but this is something that needs to be addressed.
Tila Tequila has blocked me from commenting on her blog, because of how critical I have been. This is not meant to be a hateful rant, but meant to inform and educate about what blogging is.
Tequila claims to run a celebrity gossip blog which costs so much money to run, but it is filled with articles that are about things that happened a few days prior. She also has a section called "hottie of the week" which she has updated five times in the span of 3 days. She has made herself "hottie of the week" three times.
"HAPPY PRE-MEMORIAL DAY! I NOW PRESENT YOU WITH THE “HOTTIE OF THE WEEK! GUESS WHO IT IS????????? I DON’T KNOW WHO SHE IS BUT DAMN SHE FINE! LMAOOOOOO!!!!! JK JK! I HOPE YOU ARE ALL HAVING A GREAT WEEKEND SO FAR! AS FOR ME? I’M JUST DOING THE SAME ‘OL SHIAT…. BLOGGING. REPORTING. JOURNALISM. LOL BUT I LOVE MY JOB! YAY! AND YOU LOVE IT TOO CUZ YA KEEP COMING BACK HERE TO READ WHAT’S NEW! YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I ALSO LOVE? TYPING IN CAPS! LMAO!!!! KEEP IT FUNKY YO!"
I think that "celebrity blogging" needs to be redefined.
A celebrity gossip blog is a blog that is focused on celebrities, not on yourself. Posting "dear diary" posts is not about celebrity gossip.
She posted recently about Britney Spears having more twitter followers than Ashton, but this had already been talked about on May 23rd.
Journalism involves interviews, research, editing, and an assortment of things that her blog does not possess. From the numerous grammatical mistakes to the all caps of her titles, I cannot understand how she can call herself a blogger.
She calls herself a mogul as well.
She has recently decided to start an advice section on her gossip blog, but who wants to take love advice from someone who had two failed reality dating shows?
A celebrity gossip blog does not consist of that.
A celebrity gossip blog should have fresh stories and not just attack celebrities.
Tila's desperate attempts to get attention from celebrities is a bit insane. She says that Ke$ha is a "TIla wannabe." And that Hayley from Paramore is "trashy."
She says of Ke$sha:
"Anyway, you fail horribly trying not ONLY to steal my rap swag, and sound stupid while doing it cuz our mutual friend producer(I won’t put his name out on blast for the sake of our friendship but looks like it’s headed to an EX-FRIENDSHIP if he keeps stealing my swag and my writing skills and my sound!!! ughhh! So annoying!) Anyway Kosher, I mean Ke4sha or whatever your name is you fake, pre-packaged, once country singing, folk singer turned “TILA TEQUILA WANNABE” you need to fall back honey!"
and to Hayley she says:
"I SEE WE HAVE OURSELVES A NEW FAMEWHORE HERE PEOPLE AND HER NAME IS HALEY WILLIAMS! "
Her "open letters" to Lindsay Lohan are attempts to attract attention. If Tila truly wanted to help Lindsay and give advice she would have e-mailed or called her. Posting open letters on a gossip site that Lindsay Lohan will never read does not accomplish anything.
You would think all the negative comments that get "thumbs up" would be a sign, but it seems as though she just wants to do what she is doing without making any improvements.
I don't understand how someone could possibly be so delusional.
If you are going to label a story as "breaking news," you should at least post it the same day as it was reported by every other media site.
Writing about yourself in every single post does not contribute anything at all. No one wants to read about yourself. Make a diary if you want that, a celebrity gossip blog is supposed to consist of celebrity gossip, not your innermost thoughts and aspirations.
Tila has spoken about how other bloggers write about scandals and lies and attack celebrities, but she is doing the exact same thing.
"My site isn’t like that. My site delivers to you guys REAL stories and events that has happened and we just deliver the news to you as it is and add our opinions on the stories, just like YOU, the READERS, can state your opinion on each blog post of the news as it comes in…. But here at OMG, we NEVER go out and interview “RANDOMS” and say “HEY GUYS WE GOT THE FIRST EXCLUSIVE” and say nasty, horrible and TOTAL LIES and post it on my site!"
(photo courtesy of benny hollywood)
She consistently posts Twitter updates saying how much she is working on blogging, but then we see the author of the blog entries as "Tila Staff."
"FUCK THAT BITCH! I KNOW HER PERSONALLY AND JUST PUT EVERYTHING ON BLAST! READY FOR THE MAGIC BUTTON?"
"can't write a "Dear Diary" cuz it would be this: Dear Diary, I blogged until I couldn't blog anymore. passed out. woke up. now blog again!"
""alright guys. News is really slow this weekend... so I'm gonna post up some more of my exclusive celebrity dirt on bitches fucked w/me ok?"
She claims to have put her heart and soul into creating this gossip blog, but no one is buying it.
"Also I have spent every single dime that I have left in to building this site, paying the monthly costs, paying my OMG Staff, paying for all the accounts and all the other technical stuff I don’t want to bore you with but so far let me tell you I have spent a hefty amount of money building this site,"
Now, I don't know what staff she is speaking of, because every blog entry inevitably ends up being about her. And the lack of advertisement on her site makes it seem unrealistic. I paid 10 dollars for my domain name, and I can't imagine that it cost her much more for her own domain name. I do not know what "monthly costs" she is speaking of.
Didn't she just post in the first quote I showed, that she is being paid to do this. She claims that this is her job, but then she says that she is paying others. I wish she would just get her story straight.
I think that Tila needs to face reality, and realize the ways she has become what she claims to hate.
So Tila, as you sit on your high and mighty horse and truly believe and claim that you are unlike the others. I would like to point out that your actions speak louder than your words.
So I leave you with some quotes from Tila's "celebrity gossip blog." And I'll leave you to judge if this is "journalism" "reporting" or just bashing. Do these quotes express that Tila is following the standards that she has set for her blog?
"YEA THAT’S RIGHT BIAAAAAATCH! DON’T EVEN TRY TO GET CLOSE TO THE REAL “BADDEST BITCH ON THE BLOCK” CUZ YA ASS WOULD BE CRUSH IN A SECOND WITH YA COUNTRY/FOLK SINGING ASS TURNED “TILA TEQUILA” WANNABE! *SNAPS FINGERS* UH UH HONEY! NEXT!!!!"
"I have gone to these events many times but damn how fun would it be to totally change it up, and now since I have my Celebrity Gossip Blog, I can get a MEDIA PRESS PASS so I can INTERVIEW ALL THE CELEBS FROM THE OTHER SIDE THIS TIME!!!!!!!!!! OMGGGGGG THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to go there as “PRESS” and bring my film and camera crew and my own paparazzi crew to take exclusives for our site!!!!"
"I”m serious! This is beyond me. But hey. This is “NEW’s I guess????????? I don’t really think it’s news worthy however since I launched my site about 3 weeks ago, I haven’t yet done a Britney Spears Post, so I figured I would Do one today, and ironically, it’s not news at all! LOL.
Oh well, at least I have her in my archives now."
"Ok well this is a Miss Tila Hottie of the week THROWBACK PICture fro last summer!! Yap! This was me last summer………. Deamn times flies and peoplle sure do grow and change a lot right? I feel like a Totally different woman that I am today, then in this picture and the behind the scene video!"
"Plus Piggy, you are NOTORIOUS and KNOWN to talk shit about a celebrity one day, and then try to kiss their ass the next day! That is so sad! This is so pathetic, that I’m not even going to make fun of him anymore cuz that will be blood on my hands when he’s out of a job for real and although I like to joke, I don’t joke when it comes to serious subjects, such as Piggy Perez. I used to really not like that guy/girl/Diva but now, and I’m being TOTALLY SERIOUS when I say this, now I really and truly fill pitty and sorry for the guy."
"They Justice System went SOOOOOO EFFING EASY ON HER! I have TONS of friends from the past who had committed similar crimes as Lindz did but they actually went to jail for ONE YEAR AND ON TOP OF THAT THEY WENT TO EACH COURT DATE ON TIME EVERT TIME!! For Lindz to get off so easy with the REALLY criminal behavior she did, stealing someone’s car, coked up out of her mind, speeding down the highway, almost driving over some people, holding people hostage, I mean WTF!!!!!!!"
So my final words are. Here you go Tila, you are now getting the attention that you have been craving. And this is my final send off. This is the last thing I will write about regarding Tila Tequila. This is something that I needed to get out of my system.