Pot Luck

Rep. Cummings' nephew killed (4.00 / 1)

Cummings' nephew shot to death in Va.

JUNE 12, 2011

A nephew of Rep. Elijah E. Cummings was shot to death Friday in his off-campus apartment near Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., according to Cummings' office.

In a statement, the Baltimore congressman describes the attack on Christopher Cummings as a "random shooting." He says his nephew's roommate is in critical condition.

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by: count @ Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 02:38:47 AM UTC

anyone headed to NN11? (4.00 / 2)

I'll be there, at the Center for Media & Democracy table in the Exhibit Hall.  

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 05:11:01 AM UTC

I will be there... (4.00 / 2)

...in spirit.  And maybe soul.

;)

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 07:57:50 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Awww (4.00 / 2)

I got really excited when I read the title. You know? I don't even really want to go. Doing it for work this time around. I didn't go last year and I don't know what this year will be like, but NN was best its first year, still really good the second year, and it's gone down since then.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 12:12:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

I had a very gracious offer... (4.00 / 1)

...to help me attend the Seattle thing you'll be at soon, as well, but honestly I can't even swing the train fare and the small registration fee these days.  Fooey!

We'll have to smuggle you up here to PDX for something again one of these years.

:)

Here's hoping you enjoy yourself there at least, and as always can't wait to hear how it goes!

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 13:52:20 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Clarence Clemons... (4.00 / 1)

A source close to Clarence Clemons has confirmed that he has suffered a stroke. The source, who offered the information on the condition of not being identified, did not know how serious the stroke was.

Veteran entertainment journalist Roger Friedman wrote, on the web site showbiz411.com that the beloved saxophonist, known as the Big Man, had suffered a stroke at his Florida home, and is "seriously ill."

Clemons is an original member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, and the oldest member of the band, at 69. He is someone whose importance to the New Jersey music scene can't be overstated, and who is utterly irreplaceable.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 07:53:44 AM UTC

Sax solo... (4.00 / 1)

A video of a live sax solo from Jungleland at the link...

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 07:56:05 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

how sad (4.00 / 2)

He just played on the latest Lady Gaga CD

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by: LeeN @ Mon Jun 13, 2011 at 11:34:26 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Well, I went and did it (4.00 / 1)

I ordered a microscope from Amazon. It should be here by the 20th. Can't wait to start collecting some poo and looking at it. Especially when I find out that the dewormer I've been using on the goats is probably not working. I've been using Fenbendazole and several people have told me that the dosage on the label is about 1/3 of what it needs to be for goats.

There are very few meds approved for use in goats. Not because they don't work, but because a drug company has to pay a lot of money to do the studies for each species. So a lot of goat meds (especially for parasite control), are used off label in goats. One of the few with the official pat on the head is fenbendazole, and it really pisses me off that even as approved and it doesn't have the right dosage. The stuff's pretty expensive, and now I have to give it at 3X the rate on the bottle, but I'd rather do that than waste the dewormer over the course of a year and still have skinny, stunted goats.

It'll be nice when I get the microscope here and I can start doing fecal floats. I figure that if I do one month's worth of tests the thing will have paid for itself. And now I can check the horses, goats, emus, chickens, everyone.

The microscope is a 500X Celestron. I've been watching YouTube videos on fecal floats this afternoon.

Yup, I'm a biology geek...

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Tue Jun 14, 2011 at 05:22:03 AM UTC

LA Schools Sugar Milk Ban... (4.00 / 1)

The school board on Tuesday voted to eliminate chocolate and strawberry milk from schools as of July 1.

LAUSD joins a growing number of school districts nationwide, including in the District of Columbia, Boulder Valley, Colo., and Berkeley, Calif., that serve only plain milk because of the added sugar contained in flavored versions.

The proposal by Superintendent John Deasy came after popular British TV chef Jamie Oliver criticized the district in recent months for serving flavored milks, saying they contain the sugar equivalent of a candy bar.

LAUSD is the second-largest public school district in the US, only after New York City.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Jun 15, 2011 at 07:23:51 AM UTC

George "Grin" Bradley... (4.00 / 1)

Found the answer to a random question that popped into my head tonight, who pitched the first no-hitter in baseball history?

1876, the first season of the National League and a date some use as the official beginning of Major League Baseball.  George "Grin" Bradley, of the St. Louis Brown Stockings.

Bradley threw the first official no-hit, no-run game in major league history.[2] He pitched for the St. Louis Brown Stockings in the club's victory over the Hartford Dark Blues on July 15, 1876.

I was -103 years old at the time.

Heh -

After 1876, Bradley was not as effective as a pitcher and played mostly other positions after 1879.

Yeah, maybe this was why?

That year [1876], he completed 63 of St. Louis' 64 games, winning 45 and leading the league with a 1.23 earned run average. He also threw 16 shutouts, setting a record that has not been broken.[2]

63 complete games in one season?!?!??!?!  His arm didn't go flying off into the bleachers during a random pitch in August of that year?

Bradley became a Philadelphia police officer following his baseball career. He died in Philadelphia[1] at his home. At the time of his death, he was retired on a pension from the police department which he had received beginning in September 1931. Bradley was interred at the Northwood Cemetery in Philadelphia.[1]

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Wed Jun 15, 2011 at 07:40:39 AM UTC

Things that matter. (4.00 / 1)

Elsewhere on Teh Toobz, at a certain blog nicknamed The Great Orange Satan, Congressional Crotch is no longer on the menu.  Phew!  Unfortunately, in its place is a huge navel-gazing meta blowup this evening as to whether or not it's okay to refer to President Obama as a monkey.  I shit you not.  Here's the answer - FUCK NO!

I've decided to retreat to the peace and quiet of other e-venues for the rest of the night.  :)

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 06:48:26 AM UTC

Q of the day (4.00 / 1)

Why do tennis players shirk their obligation to cover themselves in tattoos?

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by: count @ Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 07:08:32 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I do not know. (4.00 / 1)

But when golfers and bowlers start showing up with flame tattoos on their necks, that's when we'll know the end is near.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 07:16:44 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yes (4.00 / 1)

it's only OK to call republicans things like "Chimpy"

;-P

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 14:15:55 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Simple logic. (0.00 / 0)

Privileged, upper-caste WASPs have not been pejoratively referred to as simians for hundreds of years with the intent to dehumanize them.

Black people have.

Open and shut case, Jo.  But you knew that already.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 19:25:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

So if George W. Bush was being called (0.00 / 0)

"Chimpy" and not being refered to as a sub human primate, exactly what was he being called? And if the intent wasn't to dehumanize him, pray tell, what was it?

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 23:04:18 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ignore or deny history all you want... (0.00 / 0)

...but it's there.  Your dodge isn't working, there is simply no comparison between calling an black man a monkey and calling a white man a monkey, and my participation in, and legitimization of, this ludicrous, all-too-typical, sad and silly act of yours ends here.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 23:13:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

And as to this (0.00 / 0)

Privileged, upper-caste WASPs have not been pejoratively referred to as simians for hundreds of years with the intent to dehumanize them.

All you have to do is watch the protests that happened in Portland Oregon during Bush's presidency to see that you're wrong. I saw plenty of picket signs in those protests with pictures of Bush turned into a chimp. Of course, maybe, those being made and held by democrats makes that OK.

Normal people scare me.... But not as much as I scare them.

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by: JoanneRigutto @ Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 23:22:04 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

June 17... (4.00 / 1)

An interesting day...

1775 - The Battle of Bunker Hill took place near Boston during the Revolutionary War.

1789 - The Third Estate in France declared itself a national assembly and undertook to frame a constitution.

1856 - The Republican Party opened its first convention, in Philadelphia.

1885 - The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship Isere.

1928 - Amelia Earhart embarked on the first trans-Atlantic flight by a woman.

1940 - France asked Germany for terms of surrender in World War II.

1961 - Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West while his troupe was in Paris.

1963 - The Supreme Court struck down rules requiring the recitation of the Lord's Prayer or the reading of Biblical verses in public schools.

1994 - After leading police on a chase through Southern California, O.J. Simpson was arrested and charged with murder in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole, and Ronald Goldman.

2008 - Hundreds of same-sex couples got married across California on the first full day that gay marriage became legal by order of the state's highest court. (However, California voters banned gay marriage in November.)

Also, happy birthday to Barry Manilow!  Heh.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 07:14:38 AM UTC

The best of what blogs can be... (0.00 / 0)

Heh, so now for some good stuff from that other place, a fantastic series of daily reports on the Bonn climate talks this week courtesy of my buddy, the intrepid boatsie -

Bonn Talks: Youth Demand Diplomats To "Increase Ambition!"

Bonn Talks: Bangladesh & Robin Hood Rule!

Bonn Talks: It's the Weather, Stupid!

Bonn Talks: The Cochabamba Protocol?

Bonn Talks Conclude: "You Can't Negotiate with Science"

Unfortunately, this remark from Kate Horner, senior analyst at Friends of the Earth (US), pretty much sums up our 'contribution' -

"Perhaps the biggest contribution the US government could make to these talks would be to cut the carbon of sending people to negotiations who refuse to negotiate."

Sigh.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Sat Jun 18, 2011 at 00:37:52 AM UTC

Apparently, this is legit (4.00 / 1)

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by: Crider @ Sat Jun 18, 2011 at 16:30:40 PM UTC

Will Allen on Kunstlercast... (0.00 / 0)

I haven't listened yet, but for those interested Will Allen of Growing Power makes a brief appearance on a recent KunstlerCast (Jim Kunstler's podcast series) -

In the first of many installments to come, Duncan updates James Howard Kunstler on the recent Congress For the New Urbanism, held June 1-6, 2011 in Madison, Wisc. The Congress for the New Urbanism is a professional association of planners, architects, developers, political leaders and activists who are committed to revitalizing cities and curb the continuation of sprawl. During this show, we hear from: Andres Duany, New Urbanist architect; Ed Glaeser, Harvard economist & author; U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR; Paul Soglin, mayor of Madison, Wisc.; Paul Minett, Ridesharing Institute; Will Allen, Wisconsin farmer and founder of Growing Power; Charles Waldheim, Harvard professor and leader of the Landscape Urbanism movement; and Stefanos Polyzoides, New Urbanist architect. JHK reacts to some short sound bites regarding Landscape Urbanism, skyscraper cities and the development of New Urbanism.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Sat Jun 18, 2011 at 19:23:11 PM UTC

Heh... (0.00 / 0)

This should be fun -

JHK reacts to some short sound bites regarding Landscape Urbanism, skyscraper cities

:)

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Sat Jun 18, 2011 at 19:25:02 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Clarence Clemons passes away... (4.00 / 1)

:(

Clarence Clemons, the saxophonist in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, whose jovial onstage manner, soul-rooted style and brotherly relationship with Mr. Springsteen made him one of rock's most beloved sidemen, died Saturday at a hospital in Palm Beach, Fla. He was 69. [...]

Clarence Anicholas Clemons was born on Jan. 11, 1942, in Norfolk, Va. His father owned a fish market and his grandfather was a Southern Baptist preacher, and although he grew up surrounded by gospel music, the young Mr. Clemons was captivated by rock 'n' roll. He was given an alto saxophone at age 9 as a Christmas gift; later, following the influence of King Curtis - whose many credits include the jaunty sax part on the Coasters' 1958 hit "Yakety Yak" - he switched to the tenor.

"I grew up with a very religious background," he once said in an interview. "I got into the soul music, but I wanted to rock. I was a rocker. I was a born rock 'n' roll sax player."

Mr. Clemons was also a gifted athlete, and he attended Maryland State College (now the University of Maryland Eastern Shore) on a scholarship for football and music. He tried out for the Dallas Cowboys and the Cleveland Browns, but a knee injury ended his hopes for a football career.

He was working as a youth counselor in Newark when he began to mix with the Jersey Shore music scene of the late 1960s and early '70s. He was older than Mr. Springsteen and most of his future band mates, and he has often commented on the oddity - even the liability - of being a racially integrated group in those days.

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by: JayinPhiladelphia @ Sun Jun 19, 2011 at 01:26:13 AM UTC

I am so saddened by Clarence's death. (4.00 / 2)

He was such an amazing sax player. And such a nice guy. This is a huge loss all the way around. The Big Man was special.

Condolences to his family and friends.

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by: caseyOR @ Sun Jun 19, 2011 at 01:48:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Jay~ (4.00 / 1)

I was just coming to make sure you had heard....
The Billboard Article

amazing solo here...


come firefly-dreaming with me....

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by: RiaD @ Sun Jun 19, 2011 at 02:00:14 AM UTC

[ Parent ]