Rolling blog.....Ray Rice,part 2,Jack Benny and Crash

It's 11:09 pm

   Looking outside at the darkness outside,a car just drove by the house. The cheetah is downstairs again,he is buzzing from the catnip I gave him earlier and is happy that I got new batteries for his laser pointer.



   Been feeling a bit aimless this week,Jennifer Blanc-Biehn's writing challenge has turned out to be much harder then I thought. I don't want to put up just fluff to fill the challenge,I want it to mean something more then that,you know?
  Everything that I was grateful for is pretty much gone now...trying to reach out and grasp on to what is left is much harder then it looks. But I will keep after it,I think its actually a pretty good piece of therapy if you want my honest opinion.



   I wrote a few entries ago about how my friend Sue and I went to a new deep discounter called Oillie's. They had a few good deals and I found a real gem,a 39 episode collection of the old Jack Benny Show that aired from 1950 to 1965.

  I discovered many old time performers while listening to the old radio programs that were king back in the 30s and 40s. Bob Hope,Jack Benny,George Burns,Eve Arden,Jack Webb,William Conrad,etc got their real starts in radio before going into films and later on,television.
   I had heard of Jack Benny and how funny he was but it wasn't until I listened to his radio show that I could hear just how funny he really was. His cast of characters included his personal assistant Rochester,his long suffering girl friend,Mary and a various cast of different folks including Mel Blanc.

   So when I saw this collection for only 3.00,I knew it was perfect Dollar Tree Theater material. I have noticed I don't have a lot of comedies to watch so I have been looking hard for shows and films that make me laugh....
   So a couple of days of days ago,I put on the Jack Benny DVD and wow,he WAS very funny. The show was presented by Lucky Strikes cigarettes (Jack was a once in a while cigar smoker) and somewhere in the program,there was always a segment about Lucky Strikes. The DVD included the old ads as well.

   Jack was pretty fearless...his schtick included never aging past 39,his never spending a dime and how bad he played a violin. The truth of the matter was he was a very generous man and a excellent violin player. His girlfriend on the show,Mary Livingstone,was actually his wife in real life. He never missed the chance to be the butt of the joke,to put over his guest stars,who included the biggest names at the time....John Wayne,Kirk Douglas,Marilyn Monroe,etc...and since the show was live,many,many times Jack and his guest would simply struggle to keep a straight face but often failed to stop from laughing.

  The quality of the episodes varies,some are clean and crisp while some are a bit muddied up a bit but over all,well worth picking up. Sort of sad that these classic performers are so rarely mentioned anymore,just glad that DVD distributors like Mill Creek continue to put collections like this so that new folks can stumble across them.

  I also wrote a few entries ago about the mess that is the Ray Rice incident. Rice plays professional football for the Baltimore Ravens. He was caught dragging his then fiance out of a elevator. He was suspended two games by the NFL and was put in a very cozy diversion program that only money can by. His first practice got a rousing standing ovation from 22,000 fans. His fiance ended up marrying him,thus saving him from having her testifying against him.
   But then the complete tape was released and the shit has hit the fan,Roger Goodell,the commissioner of the NFL has been revealed to be a coward and an enabler. Ray Rice is shown to have an explosive temper and his wife is one of the most blind and clueless people I have seen in a LONG time.  She blamed the MEDIA for causing the fallout that led to Rice being cut and banned.
  Wow.....you barely missed being seriously injured when you got knocked out,got dragged out of the elevator and yet its the media fault? But maybe she does have a point....if the NFL had taken domestic violence more seriously and the owners been more proactive in writing contracts with clauses that would allow a club to cut a player who has been convicted of said crime maybe this could have been avoided and not become a media circus. You got players being suspended for four games for smoking a joint,first offense....and Rice only two games for almost taking his girl's head off. Goodell dropped the ball here plain and simple....watching the bubble heads at ESPN (owned by family friendly Disney) do the same is also bad. I wrote how ESPN Radio had a bumper for a show that asked the question "How will Ray Rice's suspension affect the Ravens offense?" Now all the bubbleheads there are condemning Rice and domestic violence and "demanding" he get punished.
What a bunch of immoral hypocrites,you should have been as outraged if not more so when Michael Vick got busted fighting dogs. No one stood up and said Rice should be suspended for the season,ESPN was looking FORWARD to his coming back for pity's sake!!!
   I will this,the Ravens surprised everyone by releasing him....its not that Rice is a fringe player or at the end of his career,he was a key and important player yet the Ravens saw something that Rice's wife fails to grasp...her life was more important then Rice's playing football for them.
  Domestic violence,or domestic terrorism as I call it,is insidious. Once a person,strikes another while in a relationship,its extremely rare it will end at the one slap,push,or punch.  Maybe the psychical violence MIGHT end but the mental abuse will not.
   Unless the abuser gets anger management classes or the person who is being abused leaves the relationship,more often then not the altercations will escalate.
  I asked my own mother why she never left her abusive second husband...he used to beat her so badly until I got older and was able to hold him off. The cops came so often that knew us kids by first name whenever they saw us around town.
  I asked my mother....its the same answer far too many women respond with...."I have no place to go" Women's shelters are already in short supply and shelters that can handle whole families that displaced due to abuse are even harder to find and get into...education,lack of a skill set,financial hardships often force the woman back into the same home where they were abused in and the cycle begins all over.
   Sadly,a lot women are forced to return and before they get a chance to explore a viable exit strategy,some are murdered by their abuser.

• Every 9 seconds in the US a woman is assaulted or beaten.

• Around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Most often, the abuser is a member of her own family.

• Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury to women—more than car accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.

• Studies suggest that up to 10 million children witness some form of domestic violence annually.

• Nearly 1 in 5 teenage girls who have been in a relationship said a boyfriend threatened violence or self-harm if presented with a breakup.

• Everyday in the US, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends.

• Ninety-two percent of women surveyed listed reducing domestic violence and sexual assault as their top concern.

• Domestic violence victims lose nearly 8 million days of paid work per year in the US alone—the equivalent of 32,000 full-time jobs.

• Based on reports from 10 countries, between 55 percent and 95 percent of women who had been physically abused by their partners had never contacted non-governmental organizations, shelters, or the police for help.

• The costs of intimate partner violence in the US alone exceed $5.8 billion per year: $4.1 billion are for direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for nearly $1.8 billion.

• Men who as children witnessed their parents’ domestic violence were twice as likely to abuse their own wives than sons of nonviolent parents.

Source: Domestic Violence Statistics.org

  The last statistic really surprised me....you would think a young boy would do everything in his power to never let that happen in his own life. Glad my brother and I never became that last statistic!

  My mother said she had nowhere to go and with a limited education,not many options either as her husband was the primary breadwinner. She could leave but she wouldn't leave us behind. And so lies the trap for many women.  The causes for abuse are many.....kids,economics,job loss,infielity,drug abuse,etc....who knows what sparked Rice's outburst,some say it was drinking,but I bet that was just the match that lit his fuse.  

  The fact is,his fiance chose to stay...will this happen again? I like to think Ray Rice will seek out anger management class and come to grips with this before anything else happens.

  

This is now a "rolling entry".....

I got to Crash sit this past weekend when Marlene (his mom) got to go to New York for a girl's weekend.  I always leave a diary whenever I cat sit for anyone,so they can see what their cat is up to. 

When Marlene and I talked,she mentioned she would leave a pad of paper and a pen for me. My sit was pretty short this time,only two days as Dylan was to handle the other two days.

  My first day was on Saturday and as I came in,Crash was in full Crash mode,meowing a mile a minute. I said hello back and went into the kitchen where I saw the pad and pen...and something else.

  Last year when Lori passed,I had asked if anyone could lend me a camera in order to film the service and our friends Amy and Michael stepped in and filmed it. A couple of weeks later I got the disc in the mail...and I happen to see Marlene that same day. I told her what I got and she offered to hold it for me until I was ready.
   Well as you can see,I got the disc but no,I haven't watched it as of this writing. I don't think I will share that when and if it happens....

I am so far behind in my writing


Guess I will post this,next entry I will try and catch up with my writing challenge.


Shout outs

Keith Smith- The Dallas Cowboys might have been watching the Carolina Panthers! Welcome to the NFL!!

Snowy - Wishing you a quick recovery!

Ivy - Thanks for being so supportive always

Jimmy - Can't wait to see what you cook up at the Rockbar

Fil - Thank you for bringing SoFA back,the pictures of the folks having a great time were priceless!

Cezanne - Only you could make Honey Boo Boo so much fun....

   

Guest blogger Susan Smiley - "The Death of Journalism"

It is 11:22 pm

    I am glad to welcome back guest blogger Susan Smiley who has graced my blog with stories about running,owning the best dog ever and sharing her life with an amazing cat who brought our worlds together.
She is also the pro who guided me through my interview with Karen Dumas...






                                                     The Death of Journalism

   I was one of those kids who spent the summer between junior high and high school glued to the television watching the Watergate hearings unfold. I read the related stories every day in the newspaper and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein became the people I most wanted to emulate. It was that summer that I knew I wanted to be a journalist.

   I learned to read at a very young age and always liked to write. I was constantly crawling into the chair by my mom’s typewriter and penning stories about my cats, my pet ducks and chickens and our family dog. Following the stories of Woodward and Bernstein sparked my interest in a different kind of writing; journalism. I could break important stories. I could investigate things and write about them to increase public awareness about various situations. I could even write about people and become a great interviewer who could unearth information that had not yet been revealed to anyone else. I could help my readers feel as if they really KNEW the subject of my profiles.

   I did become a journalist after earning my Bachelor’s Degree from Wayne State University. I had internships at a now-defunct Detroit magazine and did a fair amount of freelance writing for the Metro Times. I worked in radio – first in the newsroom of a music station and then as a producer at a news radio station. While at the music station I produced a public affairs program, covered Detroit City Council when Coleman Young was the mayor of Detroit, and – because the other two people in the newsroom had zero interest – covered all sports-related stories. Although I had no experience in radio, I snared the internship because the news director was looking for a writer.

    “We can teach you the technical stuff,” she said. “But we can’t teach the passion for writing.”

Many interns had worked in that newsroom who really aspired to be on-air talent spinning tunes and talking about music. I was the first whose number one interest was writing and reporting.

My first print job was with C&G Publishing. At the time the company had 13 weekly and bi-weekly newspapers in various suburbs of Detroit. I started covering city council and schools as well as writing
 ideas would be chosen and sent to the event with a photographer. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I’m proud of the work I did as a journalist for that event.

     After eight years, I went to a small daily paper as a sports writer. While it wasn't like busting open the Watergate affair, there were so many great stories to tell. For the most part I covered prep sports and I became an expert in wrestling. I loved what I did and felt like I was, in some cases, really impacting the lives of the people I wrote about as well as my readers. Although sports writing tends to be upbeat most of the time, there were also serious topics to tackle. One of my state champion wrestlers died of a heroin overdose some 18 months after graduation and I wrote a column about it. It won an award and the wrestler’s parents told me they displayed the story at their son’s funeral because the story gave them some sense of peace.

    In 2000 I moved to Boston and wrote for the Boston Globe for two years before getting laid off and moving back to Detroit. Since them I have not been able to find a full-time job as a journalist. Papers are cutting back and whey they DO hire people, they prefer to hire younger writers who do not command such a high salary. I did a good amount of freelance work for the Detroit Free Press for awhile until budget cuts eliminated most freelancers from the Freep’s regular assignment list. I did continue to string for my old paper, The Royal Oak Daily Tribune, because after all this time I still loved to write and tell a good story.

    What I didn't understand until recently is that no one cares about good writing anymore. That’s not what journalism is about these days. It’s about Twitter and Facebook and how many clicks your story gets on the newspaper’s web site. Photos are important. The photos do not necessarily have to be good photos, there just have to be a lot of photos to entice readers to click through the entire slide show.

    Today’s “journalism” is less concerned with accuracy and more focused on being first and being sensational. Stories that even 10 years ago might not have been considered newsworthy are now touted as “breaking news.” features.
    After I had been there a couple of years, the sports editor approached me about coming to work in his department. He liked my writing and thought I could add something to the sports section that readers would like.

  Although small papers like the Warren Weekly, the Troy Times, the Fraser-Clinton Chronicle and all the rest of C&G’s papers don’t have the cache of The Washington Post, this was a great atmosphere for a young journalist to blossom. I wrote a lot. I learned how to ask the right questions, how to make interview subjects feel comfortable, and how to write with an edge when the situation called for it.
 

   I had the opportunity to interview Jim Bouton, former pitcher for the New York Yankees and the author of "Ball Four, the book that gave readers a glimpse into the then-secret world of professional baseball. Bouton had just written his first fictional book and was touring the country. We talked about baseball, of course, but I also asked him about the differences between writing an autobiographical piece of non-fiction and a novel. Bouton told me that he battled writers block by going into his yard and building a stone wall. He confessed that at the time he probably watched more hockey than baseball because he felt like at the time, hockey was like baseball was when he played – a lot of down-home players who were gritty and playing for the love of the game. I wrote the story and was shocked when a couple of weeks later Bouton called my office at C&G to tell me that mine was, he thought, the best interview he had done.

  “You were the only person who asked me about anything other than baseball,” Bouton said. “I loved that you asked me about the craft of writing. And your story made me sound so interesting!”

  Also while at C&G I was able to go to Washington D.C. to cover Bill Clinton’s first inauguration ideas would be chosen and two writers were to be sent to the event with a photographer. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I’m proud of the work I did as a journalist for that event.

After eight years, I went to a small daily paper as a sports writer. While it wasn’t like busting open the Watergate affair, there were so many great stories to tell. For the most part I covered prep sports and then a  couple of months ago, freelancers at The Daily Tribune were informed that instead of being paid $50 per story – which is very low by industry standards – we were going to be paid $20 per story. If we wanted to make additional money for a story, we would be required to take and submit photos – at least 50 of them. When I talked to one of the editors about the new decree he said: “Honestly, the writing is just not important.”

   After agonizing for several days, I made the decision to stop writing for the paper. Despite being passionate about writing, I just felt that I had to put my foot down and say, “My work is worth more than that.”

   It disturbs me greatly that people don’t read newspapers anymore. It also disturbs me that important news stories are often ignored by editors and reporters in favor of sensationalism. The latest antics of Ray Rice take precedent over investigative pieces or even an in-depth profile of Rice that is more than a couple of paragraphs that really say nothing. Print reporters are stretched thin as papers cut budgets and demand more work from fewer employees. It is not enough anymore to write a good story, cultivate reliable sources and localize important national issues. Print reporters now must take video, take photos, tweet and post to Facebook. While Twitter and Facebook can be great communication tools, they don’t replace the bona fide newspaper story that gives readers background information, input and response from various sources and detailed information they otherwise might not know.

   If Woodward and Bernstein had been covering Watergate today, I wonder if they would have been able to cover the story the way they did back in the 1970s or if they would be required to also produce a slideshow and quiz: who is the hottest member of Nixon’s staff – Vote here! 

If you are Twitter,you can follow Susan @leglace19 and myself @Jinzo_2400

Thank for reading and feel free to drop a comment!

Up on my Soapbox

Its 12:27 am

*warning...this post has some salty language,so if you are easily offended....this entry is not for you.

     Summer decided to leave SE Michigan for a couple of days as yesterday we had a massive thunderstorm hit our area with heavy rain,winds and hail. I was at work and as the sky grew darker by the second,we waited for the deluge to hit us. Soon...we could hear the sound of rain hitting our roof....but it only lasted 5 minutes. For the all that sudden dark cloud cover,it was rather anti-climatic.

  My co-workers and I were commenting on the sad size of the storm while waiting for the sun to come out. And come out it did...even while it was still raining.  We continued to work and a couple of hours later,the scene repeated itself but the second round was the real deal...this storm just pounded our area.
It lasted a hour before it ended,we had to put some buckets out because we had some leaking in the store.


I like to take a minute to thank everyone who supported my newest "8 Questions with...." interview with Karen Dumas. This interview not only has gotten the most comments on my blog but is now the 2nd most viewed in my series. I am very grateful not only to Karen but to everyone who took a moment to comment.
My next two interviews,with professional photographer Suzanne West and musician Dave Miller of the band Talky Tina are in the chute and will be online soon.


 Had a weird day...I tweeked my elbow at the job this past week...normally that would send someone to our healthcare clinic but I decided to wait and work out the week because we had a crew working overnight polishing our floors and I was asked if I would stay over to help reset the aisles after they were done. I agreed and so I worked it through. I have had sprained ligaments before but this time its a little different as I think I have pinched a nerve as I have numbness all the way to my fingertips.  Its not painful but I do notice a weakness in my hand so I decided to go yesterday to the clinic but the one closest to us was closed. So my ASM said to go today,Monday. Now I have only been there once in 2.5 years with the company and I had a idea of where it was at...so at 11:00 am I headed to the clinic and promptly spent the next three hours looking for the damn place and that was with even asking for directions. I thought I had overshot it and gotten the street address wrong so I backtracked to where I thought it was but to my chagrin,I was wrong again. Now I know many of you are wondering,use your cell phone and find this place...well that is why I asked three different businesses where it was at...I mean,doesn't a industrial medical clinic have to standout??

 So after fruitlessly driving in 3 big circles in busy traffic looking for this place,I pulled the chute and headed home where I looked up the address and all three businesses had given me the wrong information and that included one using Google Maps!!! I didn't feel so foolish afterwards but I also don't think I have been to this place as I had originally thought.
  So tomorrow morning I will venture once again into the mix to have my elbow looked at. I hope its something that can be dealt with easily as we are headed into our inventory time and we need all the help we can bring to get this done....I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.


Its almost time for my fellow pals to drag me to see "Guardians of the Galaxy" which has been getting decent  reviews and I guess based on pre-sold ticket sales,already has been green lighted for a sequel. I know my fellow fanboys will over the moon to hear this bit of news....but I am on record as not being impressed and while I do think James Gunn is a talented director,I just can't get over with the changes from the source material which I have written about over and over. But you know Disney is going to make cute Rocket and Groot toy figures and cram this film down our throats. But based on the rather underwhelming Spider-Man 2 movie and the X-Men film (which I don't hear ANYONE talking about now) this is not a wise course of action...movies that ignore the audience that made them possible in the first place tend to crash and burn quite loudly (Catwoman and Green Lantern anyone?).
  The one bit of good news is this sudden interest in the Guardians has sparked a new series from Marvel featuring the original GOTG team and I'm pretty happy about that.

Its 2:24 pm - Tuesday

    Just got back from my 2nd attempt to find this medical center,I did my homework this time and was able to finally find it. I got the usual work clinic treatment plan:

1. 800 mg motrin
2. a x-ray (on a sprained ligament,this was not needed but hey,they have to bilk,err,bill my company somehow)
3 Psychical Therapy

I have to admit,my arm was a lot more sore then I thought so being put on light duty isn't such a bad thing but since there really isn't too many things under 5 pounds,I don't know how this is going to work out. I also had my feet looked at and I have corns....lovely,right? But now that I know this,I can go online to find out the best way to get rid of them.
   And one last thing about my TMI trip to the clinic....I am not the only one who has not been able to find this place,it happens quite a bit actually. But next time,I will be ready...I may not have a phone but I do have a iPad...which could have saved me so much trouble yesterday,all I would have had to do is go to a WiFi hotspot and well....look for this place myself....


  Been watching the Ray Rice circus play out this week in the press. Rice is a football player who knocked out his fiancee while they were in a hotel elevator. He was charged with assault but quickly married because a wife cannot be compelled to testify against her husband.

   The NFL turned its head yet again on a domestic violence/sexual assault case against one of its bigger stars and only suspended Rice for two games. The dumb fucks at ESPN condoned the violence,led by Stephen the Ass Smith,which after a harsh backlash,was given a paid one week vacation after his half assed apology.
But the one that floored me was the lead in on ESPN radio...."With Rice suspended two games,how will this impact Baltimore's offense"?
  Excuse me???What the fuck is THAT all about??? The man knocked out his fiancee cold,scrapes by with a slap on the wrist by the justice system (remember women,you aren't anything by a babymaker or target practice),a even lighter slap by the NFL and the only thing ESPN is concerned about is how this is going to effect the Raven's offense????
  Its things like this why I follow sports less and less these days,I have no real passion for anything pro related because of assholes who commit these kind of acts to the even bigger assholes who condone it.
Like the knucklehead Ravens fans who gave Ray Rice a standing O when he hit the field..the moral decay of America is continuing to gather more and more steam.

  My brothers and I saw domestic violence up close and personal and it is not pretty. There is nothing to condone or excuse hitting a woman for any reason. When I worked the clubs,I had to break up a few girl on girl fights and yes,I got scratched and even hit a couple of times but never have I even raised a finger against a woman.

  I don't understand the reasoning behind it,if both parties are that worked up....the man needs to walk AWAY and let things settle down. It should never escalate to where violence is introduced. But what more can I say,men are the weaker of the two sexes. Its the truth and until men learn how to communicate with their better halves,Americans will continue to see the rise of violence on women and sadly,some will even give it a standing ovation.


And while I am up on my soapbox....I listen to a local sports talk station as I drive home at night. Selling ads on talk radio is a extremely tough job,CBS owns the radio station I listen to and they are ALWAYS looking for "young bright professionals" who want to sell ads. The thing is,NO ONE really wants to buy a fully produced ad. They will go the budget route and have the personality with the highest listening audience read a ad copy instead of paying for a radio produced one.
  The late night shift is the graveyard for ads in radio,no one buys ads for the 1:30 am spot on Lesson and Leach. Many times,you will hear the host comment on the open lines and try and get you to call in. Open lines mean no one is bothering to call the show,the host is on his/her own until someone decides to call.
Many of the ads are state funded Public Services Ads (PSAs) with a few federal ones thrown in by the Department of Homeland Security.

   But the ones that crack me up are the gambling PSAs...you hear various folks talk about how gambling has ruined their lives and a voice over actor says if you have a gambling problem,call this number. What it fails to do is address that the STATE has created this problem by allowing casinos to invade the state so they can collect a wad of cash...they have led these folks down the road of destruction. I find it sort of twisted the same money the state collects for taxes on the casinos is then used to warn of the risks of gambling! What kind of logic is that?

 Okay....I am off my soapbox. Just had to get that out there...

Alright,I am going to end this....I know this wasn't the most cheerful entry you have read here but not everything is peaches and cheetahs....sometimes even a blogger has to cut to loose a little bit.
For those who stayed in the drift with me on this one....thanks for understanding.


If you are on Twitter,please,follow me @Jinzo_2400


Shout outs

Camille and Mocha - Sending you love and peace
Stephen Clark - thank you for your honest feedback and I will get better.
Pat Caputo and Tom Leyden - Thanks for letting me be a one man army for tiny EMU on your pages.
My friends on the "Plateau"...your support and RTs are just awesome!
Sydney - Glad you are back writing
Ken Helwig - Where do you want the Dodgers to send your broom to??
Ivy - Hope your vacation is going well! Should have asked for a URI sweater!
Tim Teets - Can't wait to see your shirts and your new project
Rachel Thompson - Thanks for giving us a bloggers a voice! #MondayBlogs
The Fluffy Twins - just because
Cheryl - For helping me find my feet
Jessica Clackum - for The Last Ship recaps,I have read them all!