Writing Challenge- Day 5

Its 9:08 pm





    Sipping on some iced coffee and still cranking the Eric Stuart Band out on the CD player. The night is cool but the day was drop dead beautiful. The weather is slowly warming up and I know that tomorrow will see me tackle the leaves in the yard. My yard looks so sad and I don't want it to look like that,Lori and I really enjoyed how it looked and I am going to have dust the cobwebs off my brain and jump start this project.
  I know I have fallen waaaaay behind on my challenge but I will catch up...and will be featuring a new installment of my interview series, "8 Questions with...." with Tim Teets of o73 Films,a small indie company out of New York.
  I like to once again thank the kind folks who came by and dropped a comment on my reposted movie list. My blog has zoomed past the 20,000 visitor mark and I am pretty stoked by this. I love looking at the traffic list and seeing where the readers are coming from. The blog is truly international and I am very thankful for the support...


  Been on a reading jag as of late,my huge backlog of books keeps staring back at me when I sit down and start writing. I have decided to really put some effort into knocking down the pile. And with that in mind,Dollar Tree Bookstore is now in session. Yep,Dollar Tree Theater has a companion...sort of funny that I have gotten so many books and DVDs out of one small store that is by my house. But as brick and mortar stores slowly decline,you have to take what you get in terms of finding good deals where you least expect it.

  I finished "Captive: My Time As a Prisoner of the Taliban" by CBS journalist Jere Van Dyk.
Van Dyk was a seasoned reporter who had covered the Pakistan/Afghanistan region for over 20 years. He arrived in Kabul in the summer of 2007 in hopes of interviewing several Taliban leaders,many of those same men that the United States had backed during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan during the 80's. He slowly changed his appearance and put out feelers before crossing the border into Pakistan. With three other men,he made his crossing in Feb of 2008.
  The group was 20 minutes away from meeting his Taliban contact with they are captured by another Taliban group. The book covers the 45 days that Van Dyk was held captive and the high tension he lived under,not knowing if he was going to live or die.

   I know this may seem strange but I found this book to tedious and boring. Which is rather surprising given the subject matter. Being kidnapped and basically being forced to convert to Islam just to stay alive by learning the prayers and writings of the Koran should be a edge of your pants read but Van Dyk spends a lot of his time hating/dreading/liking/not trusting either his captors or the three men.
He does talk about the different tribes and cultures of Pakistan and how deeply rooted violence and religion are entwined together. His two main captors,a man of honor,Golub and the head of the cell that holds the four men,the Maulavi,are a study of contrasts...Golub,who has vowed to keep Van Dyk as safe as that is what his tribe's ways dictate,is really the key to the story. He too,is a prisoner in his own home as various groups of Taliban roam the area and would have killed everyone if they had found that Golub and his men were holding a American. The Maulavi wants Van Dyk to learn Islam and talk about it when he gets back to America.
  The only thing that save Van Dyk is that fact the group wants to ransom his life. At first,it doesn't seem very likely as the Taliban want prisoners being detained by the US and one million dollars. The US and the Pakistanis have launched a massive manhunt for him as well,they do not want another Daniel Pearl/Nicholas Berg incident. Time is a factor as cramped quarters and poor food is weakening then four men....but after 45 days,Van Dyk is released for 200,000 dollars. The ending is a little twisted as his one real ally turns out to have been part of the plot and has received money for it. The FBI and the US Government isn't too happy either as Van Dyk had broken the law when he crossed the border.
  All in all,I think this is a okay book to read but only if you can find it at a Dollar Tree or a yard sale.
Buying it new would be a waste of money.

  Pretty jazzed up to finally get another interview on here,I started my series on MySpace where it quickly became my most popular blog entries,I love the fact I have no set idea on who I am going to interview,I just let myself be drawn to the person I wish to know more about.
  This is how I found Tim Teets,I accidently stumbled across his Facebook page for o73 Films,I scanned down and saw the DIY ethic and passion of a man who has a dream to share. For me,that is exciting and so with my blog finally started to generate some real traffic,I think a interview is the right thing to do. I will try and have this up within 10 days....so stick around!


 Speaking of films....I like to say "Thank You" to group of folks I have befriended on Twitter.
A few years ago before the cable TV glut overtook the airwaves with Honey Boo Boo and Swamp Creature Guy, there used to shows created for syndication for smaller TV stations. A lot of stations were not with NBC,CBS or ABC but still wanted and needed original programming for their audiences. I mean,how many old western or crime movies can you keep repeating? So finding good shows that filled the gap became the goal of these stations.

  I have blogged about one show,"Renegade",that was a syndicated show. But there were many others that popped up and I actually watched more of those then what was on the networks back then. I had a lot of favorites back then..."Mutant X",which came out after the first X-Men movie, "The Lost World" based on Sir Conan Doyle's novel,"Relic Hunter" which came on after the Lara Croft video game became huge and "Beastmaster" which became a cult hit on TV after being shown 24-7-365 all over the country.
  Some shows did very well....like the shows I mentioned,some failed and were quickly cancelled (Queen of Swords,anyone?). Some were marred by tragedy like "Adventure,Inc" starring Michael Biehn. That show was a LOT of fun but after young star Jesse Nilsson died of heart failure,it was canceled.
 But the landscape of TV was changing and soon production and distribution companies who provided these shows found the market shrinking despite solid ratings. "Mutant X" and "The Lost World" were two prime examples of this,both shows were quite popular but were still canceled after their 3rd seasons.

 Fans are still out there who cherish these shows....and I am one of them. I absolutely loved "Mutant X" and never missed a show. Thanks to Twitter,I have met a small group who still keeps the flame alive for "The Lost World". We talk about the show and enjoy remembering it. We figured that Paladin would be able to handle most of the dinosaurs (personally,I would take Derek Jeter) on the show.
  Now I have never seen TLW on DVD so it was a pleasant surprise to get a DVD of the very first show in my mailbox. It wouldn't play on my Blu-Ray so I will see about getting it copied so I can watch one night soon. I just thought it was the coolest thing to see something other then bills in the mailbox for a change.So thank you for that treat!

Had a nice chat with one of Lori's angels. When Lori was doing chemo,we were able for the most part to go across the street to the U of Michigan hospital's Infusion clinic. It was there that we were so blessed to meet three young nurses,Melanie,Karen and Terrie,who took great care of us. If you look at the tags on the right,you can follow our story by clicking on Lori's name. It will you back to the start of this blog and you can follow it back to this moment.
  For now,it was nice to chat to Melanie,who fights for her patients lives every day the clinic is open. This extends to those whose bravery truly stands out. She said she was so sorry she was unable to save Lori. But Melanie,you did...your dedication and compassion extended Lori's time here. Not everyone can truly say they made a critical difference in stopping uterine cancer but I know without you,Karen and the sweet Terrie,we would haved had less time then we did.
  I wish Terrie and you a most wonderful trip to Florida and I can't wait to see you both in May.

Well I will wrap this up but I will be back tomorrow....and thank you very much for reading this.


If you are on Twitter

follow me @Jinzo_2400

And I am looking for someone who is experienced with Blogspot,I am looking to revamp my page. If you think can help,please leave a comment with a email addy and I will be in touch.


shout outs


TLW Team - Thank you!
Tim Teets - Can't wait to share your dream
Elissa - practice,practice and watch Tom Cruise's "Cocktail"
Detroit Tigers - c'mon,why is Phil Coke still here?
Tina- Thanks for stopping by,I don't know why your comment didn't show
UConn - Amazing!!!
Jere Van Dyk- Thankful you made it out alive.
Sending light to my co-workers. Hurry back Crystal!

















Detroit
Melanie,Karen,Terrie

Saying goodbye to Amy.

Its 2:41 pm

   Last night I read that Amy Rauch Neilson had passed from her breast cancer. She had been fighting for many years which included a period of remission. About two years ago it came back and she had been hitting a brave fight ever since.
   Regular readers here and the IC group have heard me talk about Amy and her fight for a while. I never met Amy or even talked to her except via email but her blog and those emails helped a very scared husband come to understand what my wife was facing in dealing with her cancer. Because of her,I was able to read about therapies,questions to ask our doctors,how to prepare and react to both chemo and radiation. Never once did I ever feel out of my element and a large part of that was because of Amy Neilson.
 I cannot thank her enough for sharing her illness and fight with us,her legacy,one of many,will be how her writing in what she was going through helped so many others either deal or overcome this terrible monster and how not to let cancer define who we are. I am terribly saddened at her passing,I sat here last night and wept for her husband and her little boy. Such a tight loving little family who lived life at its fullest. I have taken that to heart and despite facing many hardships even today,my wife and I are living our lives with that gusto...we never let this slow us down and inspired by Amy,we'll continue to do so...no matter what tomorrow may bring us.

Its a cool chilly day today,overcast and grey. Listening to some Mermaid Kiss on the iPod while typing this entry. Derek has moved his prime sleeping place from the bed to in front of my dresser drawers. He is curled up in a big ball of fur and looks very peaceful.
   I'm waiting for a gentleman named Leon to call me,we decided we are getting the gutters cleaned this week. We have used a website called ServicePro which is sort of like a Angie's List except that its free to help us find a good service. So far we have been very happy with the quality of the help,the repairs we have had done have been fairly priced and as I said,the work is good.
  Would have done this earlier except I had to go to the dentist at noon and after taking advantage of a free coffee coupon from Biggby's,I didn't get home until 1:45 pm so while I'm waiting,I'm doing this blog.
  Last week I wrote about a 54 year woman in my subdivision who committed suicide by setting herself on fire. While we had thought it was on the other side of the subdivision,it turns out it was about 500 yards from our home and I never heard a peep,no sirens,no screaming,nothing. Its pretty sad,I have walked that cul-de-sac where it happened a few times but never have seen anyone outside as I tend to walk at night. Still....its the 2nd major incident in this sub....a couple of years before we moved here,a man was tied up and beheaded by two teens who are now locked forever.
  Overall our neighborhood is very quiet and we have some very nice neighbors. I just wish whatever demon that woman was living with hadn't caused her to kill herself like that.

  My wife called me yesterday morning,she came across a homeless person living in her car and she had parked by my wife's job. She was scared at first because she thought the girl might have been hurt by the way she was lying across the seat. Once she could see inside,she saw the girl was sleeping on a pillow.
The car looked very dirty and the sleeper looked like she may have some mental health issues as it appeared she had hoarder issues based on the look of the car.
   Lori asked if she should call the cops but I said as long as she isn't bothering anyone,no harm is being done. Despite the recession,we have hardly seen any signs of homelessness in our area which does surprise me a little. We have seen 3 people in the past 5 years who have appeared in this condition and that is despite the foreclosures in our town. The only sign that people are still struggling is the skyrocketing of shoplifting that is coming from the poorer people. Not a day goes by that 2-3 cop cars are at the local Walmart/Kroger taking away a shoplifter(s). My wife's store has been a few times by a few folks as well.
  But as far as people walking up and asking for money or food,not really seen that around here.
Lori called her assistant manager and asked her to drop by McD's and buy a breakfast meal for the young lady but by the time it got there,the person had woken up and driven away. Hope she will okay.
  Alrighty then,the gutter guy called and is on his way....so its time for me to scoot.



Thanks for reading.





Thank you again Amy.

21st Century Battlefield Detroit- Good vs. Evil.

Its 9:03 am
 
  Sorry for such a shorty punchy entry yesterday,just couldn't find my writing mojo....but lets see if we can't change that a little bit today.
 As soon as I finish this post,going to take the trash out and then walk over to the U of Michigan medical center and make a appointment for Lori to get her chemo port flushed. A port has to be flushed once every 4-6 weeks to prevent any issues in case it needs to used,one doesn't want to have a blocked port,its a pain in a ass to clean,or so we have been told.
  Lori has to have her port for a year to the day that Dr. Johnston says she is in remission. So,despite her surgery being almost a year ago already (I know,amazing,right?) we still have to live with it and that means putting on lidocaine once every 4-6 weeks and getting flushed.
  So I decided to put Derek's bed under the window where he has taken up residence for next 6 weeks...figured he would enjoy the bed and the softness of his blankets. I took a peek this morning and the goofy cat was curled up besides the bed sleeping away. Needless to say,the bed was moved back to its normal spot and he went back to sleep where the bed had been. Gotta love my cat!
   Had a couple of interesting stories come through the city this week. Seems like a local attorney,David Dunn,who defends a lot of dangerous thugs,is now himself in jail facing the same murder charge his client is after being arrested for trying to get a witness to commit perjury. Dunn is also facing eight other counts,including the murder charge he was defending 22 year old Andre Collins from. The witness was supposedly wearing a wire and not only did they catch Dunn trying to cajole this witness but he was also was heard bragging that he had done this on other cases as well.
 
"Mr. Dunn's alleged behavior is a poison arrow in the heart of the criminal justice system," Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. "The evidence will show that he's done this more than once.

Pretty damn sad if you ask me....how many murderers,rapists,thugs has Dunn broken the law for in order to get them off and collect his now blood money? Now the DA's office will have to back and re-investigate every case Dunn has defended to see just how bad this miscarriage of justice runs.  The one good thing is that is that more likely that Collins will never see the free world again. And hopefully,if Dunn is also convicted,this will discourage any other lawyers from doing such a terrible crime.
    Another example of just how bad of a Police Chief Ralph Godbee is for the city of Detroit. I mean,can this guy do more then bumble and stumble his way in to work everyday?  We had a tourist in from New York in for a convention who vanished and after 4 days,his family got worried when they hadn't heard from him.
Mike Treder was here for a engineering and science expo but has simply vanished after checking in his hotel. He told his family and girlfriend that he was a guest speaker at the expo but it turns out that wasn't the case.
So the family reached out to police and they responded...led by Chief Godbee himself and at least 3-5 other officers. Now I can hear you saying "Why are you spracking on Godbee like this? It isn't every day that a major city police chief will take such a active role in finding a missing tourist!"
  And you would be right,normally this WOULD be a feel good story and I am very much hoping that Treder is found safe and sound,this is a weird case,that is for skippy.
   But this why I'm once again ripping on the chief and also the Mayor's office.
Detroit has 700,000 citizens living in it and at least 4,000 are convicted sex offenders who have had to register as sexual offenders. This means they have to let the police/probation office know where they,the offenders,are as far as living and working. If they plan on moving,they have to tell the cops,if they get a job,same deal. Now with 4,000  registered offenders,you would think the cops would have a dedicated force to keep a wary eye on these folks,right? I mean,if the police chief and 3-5 cops are looking for a missing tourist,we probably have at least 30-50 cops of sex offender duty...
   Well we don't. We have ONE cop to keep track of those 4,000 offenders...oh wait,I forgot to tell you the best parts,at least 650 offenders are now unaccounted for,they for all purposes,have flown the coop,they're in the wind. They have neglected to tell the cops where they are,where they are working,if they are drug-free,if they haven't raped a 12 year old lately.
   But in defense of Godbee,the department has had budget cuts to be sure...which forced the reduction of the sexual offender task force. So just how many cops USED to be on this section being it was reduced to one cop? Try TWO cops. Two cops to track 4,000 dangerous felons in a city of 700,000.
 But we can get our chief and 3-5 cops to track down a missing tourist,once it made the local news.
Now are you sure you want to visit Detroit if you're a woman? Sort of makes you think twice about that doesn't it??
  And this is Bing's folly as well....how the hell could you let your fucking ego get in the way of a damn good cop like Warren Evans doing his job??? The city has gone to shit and it really did start with Warren being asked to resign. This city has a special talent for turning on the people who really want to help Detroit recover....Warren Evans,Gary Brown,Robert Bobb,Dennis Archer,Roy Roberts...all being attacked just because they want to be honest and not sugar coat that the people here have to be accountable for their actions.
  But going to end this on a positive note....
Last January a man lost his life when he fell while working on the Ambassador Bridge. Kent Morton was painting when something went terribly wrong and he fell into the Detroit River. He survived the fall but with all the heavy gear he had on plus the injuries he sustained,he drowned before any help could reach him...to this day,his body has not been recovered.
Kent left a little girl and his fiance,who was expecting their first child together. By all accounts,Kent was a good man,a loving father and a kick ass brother.
  Kent and his fiance,Kristi Waltsgott,had bought a home and were just starting to renovate it when Kent was killed. Kent had painted his daughter's room and Kristi was getting the kitchen ready on the day he passed away. For two months now nothing as happened as Kristi being pregnant was and is finding it harder to get along. And I'm sure money is also tight for the little family. The Western Wayne Plumber and Mechanical Association reached and as contributed time,labor and manpower in help Kent and Kristi realize their dream home. But they still needed some help and so they reached out to Fox 2 for that help.
The media covered this story very compassionately when Kent was killed and that is one thing I love about the people who report on our area,they don't simply file a story and move on. Over and over they revisit it and bring us updates.
  Our best journalist,Amy Lange,covered this story and after meeting with Kristi,the work crew and seeing the house...she called a local store,ABC Warehouse (I blogged about these guys before),who jumped at the chance to help. They are supplying brand new kitchen appliances to Kristi,top of the line gear to help this woman get ready for her upcoming son,Kent's legacy,who she is expecting to come in August.
 What a beautiful thing that these men,ABC Warehouse and Amy did for this family. We are blessed to such angels in our community,we really are!

Well,that is it for now. My postman is downstairs and he has some new news on how Rick Santorum is really Ron Paul's love child.

be safe!