short notes:
will brady's ruminations
will brady's ruminations
2007-12-29
portrait photography
A hilarious collection of bad studio portraiture, for example:
They might or might not be from Olan Mills, but they are corny portrait photos gathered in one site. Weblogger "carymc" has gathered the two images here and a whole slew of others as one of his List of the Day projects. Carymc also came up with the captions, which are pretty funny too.
A pose like this will get you kicked right out of the Convention.
They might or might not be from Olan Mills, but they are corny portrait photos gathered in one site. Weblogger "carymc" has gathered the two images here and a whole slew of others as one of his List of the Day projects. Carymc also came up with the captions, which are pretty funny too.
I got a 20 that says he drives a Camaro
Found referenced at: Ron's Log
Labels: humor, portraits. 1970s
¶ 19:31 1 comments
predatory reporting
Am I the only one who finds Dateline/MSNBC's show To Catch a Predator as sleazy and disgusting as the guys they go after? Don't misunderstand this; adults should not be stalking little kids for sex partners. However, watching MSNBC 
correspondent Chris Hansen in action makes me wonder if he's not getting his own jollies from doing this. There is something disturbing and puerile in the whole process. Law enforcement officials should go after sexual predators, but making the arrest process a form of voyeuristic entertainment is, in my mind, just as perverted as those the police are arresting.
Maybe I wouldn't feel so offended were MSNBC to go after - with equal zeal - corporate criminals like former CEO of body-armor manufacturer DHB Industries David Brooks or the slimeballs who tried to profit on the backs of the poor during the subprime mortgage loan scandal.
DHB Industries, [now known as Point Blank Solutions] is the largest supplier of body armor to the U.S. military, having shipped more than 1.3 million Interceptor vests since 1999. However, the product suffered test failures in 2005, prompting the Marine Corps to switch to a different supplier earlier this year.
I realize that little children who have been coerced or conned into having sex with adults can very likely be traumatizing for the kids, and, as a society we need to do what we can to protect vulnerable children from that.
But having a loved one in the military injured or killed because of shoddy protective equipment is traumatizing too the families as well.
Moms and dads - along with their innocent children - who get evicted because they can no longer afford to be gouged by predatory [and immoral] lenders - can be every bit as traumatic, and affect a much larger number of the American citizenry, than the harm these child molesters that MSNBC would apparently rather have us pay attention to that we could in learning about the horrors these fiscal predators wreak upon their victims.
I'd watch those busts of corporate criminal predators with a greater degree of satisfaction. I remain skeptical that the main stream media would even consider such a programming partnership with the appropriate level of constabulary supports. I'm more apt to believe that there are only certain kinds of predators that the main stream media want us to remain focused upon.
UPDATE: #-1 My only experience seeing a corporate predator doing the perp walk was when John Rigas, the former head of Adelphia Communications, "...was arrested and charged with looting the cable TV company of hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for luxury condos, a golf course, and to cover personal losses". The criminal complaint against Rigas, alleged that he engaged in fraud and criminal self-dealing and that he and other family members "looted Adelphia on a massive scale, using the company as the Rigas family's personal piggy bank, at the expense of public investors and creditors."
Ironically, John Rigas' perp walk, shown on TV, took place the same day I got my monthly cable bill from Adelphia with an announcement that it was raising its "rates to cover necessary expenses." I'll bet.
UPDATE: #-2 Mr. Hansen's reportage has not always been that squeaky clean. In November 2006 Hansen and the camera crew from his film group [Perverted Justice] were on-site when a suspect, Louis William "Bill" Conradt, Jr. a district attorney from Texas, committed suicide prior to police coming to arrest him. Hansen initially denied that he or his crew were onsite, but staff from Esquire Magazine confronted him about his involvement in the entrapment and arrest of the man.
Police told Esquire Magazine reporters that they would not have served the warrant with camera crews rolling and did not know they were there.
Because of this, and other incidents, Hansen has been accused of either colluding with police departments [presumably to get footage] or even pressuring police departments to conduct sting arrests. If this were the case, it is all the more disturbing that a civilian might so manipulate legal authorities just to get exciting footage for a quasi-pornographic tv show. According to an entry about Hansen on Wikipedia, Hansen angrily denies ever colluding with police departments to make arrests.
correspondent Chris Hansen in action makes me wonder if he's not getting his own jollies from doing this. There is something disturbing and puerile in the whole process. Law enforcement officials should go after sexual predators, but making the arrest process a form of voyeuristic entertainment is, in my mind, just as perverted as those the police are arresting.Maybe I wouldn't feel so offended were MSNBC to go after - with equal zeal - corporate criminals like former CEO of body-armor manufacturer DHB Industries David Brooks or the slimeballs who tried to profit on the backs of the poor during the subprime mortgage loan scandal.
DHB Industries, [now known as Point Blank Solutions] is the largest supplier of body armor to the U.S. military, having shipped more than 1.3 million Interceptor vests since 1999. However, the product suffered test failures in 2005, prompting the Marine Corps to switch to a different supplier earlier this year.
I realize that little children who have been coerced or conned into having sex with adults can very likely be traumatizing for the kids, and, as a society we need to do what we can to protect vulnerable children from that.
But having a loved one in the military injured or killed because of shoddy protective equipment is traumatizing too the families as well.
Moms and dads - along with their innocent children - who get evicted because they can no longer afford to be gouged by predatory [and immoral] lenders - can be every bit as traumatic, and affect a much larger number of the American citizenry, than the harm these child molesters that MSNBC would apparently rather have us pay attention to that we could in learning about the horrors these fiscal predators wreak upon their victims.
I'd watch those busts of corporate criminal predators with a greater degree of satisfaction. I remain skeptical that the main stream media would even consider such a programming partnership with the appropriate level of constabulary supports. I'm more apt to believe that there are only certain kinds of predators that the main stream media want us to remain focused upon.
UPDATE: #-1 My only experience seeing a corporate predator doing the perp walk was when John Rigas, the former head of Adelphia Communications, "...was arrested and charged with looting the cable TV company of hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for luxury condos, a golf course, and to cover personal losses". The criminal complaint against Rigas, alleged that he engaged in fraud and criminal self-dealing and that he and other family members "looted Adelphia on a massive scale, using the company as the Rigas family's personal piggy bank, at the expense of public investors and creditors."Ironically, John Rigas' perp walk, shown on TV, took place the same day I got my monthly cable bill from Adelphia with an announcement that it was raising its "rates to cover necessary expenses." I'll bet.
UPDATE: #-2 Mr. Hansen's reportage has not always been that squeaky clean. In November 2006 Hansen and the camera crew from his film group [Perverted Justice] were on-site when a suspect, Louis William "Bill" Conradt, Jr. a district attorney from Texas, committed suicide prior to police coming to arrest him. Hansen initially denied that he or his crew were onsite, but staff from Esquire Magazine confronted him about his involvement in the entrapment and arrest of the man.
Police told Esquire Magazine reporters that they would not have served the warrant with camera crews rolling and did not know they were there.
Because of this, and other incidents, Hansen has been accused of either colluding with police departments [presumably to get footage] or even pressuring police departments to conduct sting arrests. If this were the case, it is all the more disturbing that a civilian might so manipulate legal authorities just to get exciting footage for a quasi-pornographic tv show. According to an entry about Hansen on Wikipedia, Hansen angrily denies ever colluding with police departments to make arrests.
Labels: criminal justice, exploitation, predators, sensationalism
¶ 02:17 5 comments
2007-12-28
reflections
¶ 15:05 0 comments
Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.Alan Watts
2007-12-26
christmas
Images from our annual sunrise trip
For those who don't know me, every Christmas morning my friend Lorraine and I drive to Misquamicut Beach to witness the sun rise. This year we also witnessed the full moon setting in the west.
Unlike past years, there was no bagpiper to provide music. He usually played facing the ocean standing atop the decks to the state park buildings shown above. We missed his presence. Those high-pitched tunes had become part of our Christmas tradition. I hope he is well.
Our annual sojourn gives us times to reflect on our lives during the past year, share our joys and rough moments, and to pay homage to those we have loved who have passed on. Each sun rise reminds us that their energies live on.
Although we arrive early every year, we have rarely been the first ones visiting the beach. This year some sand buggy riders ignored the "do not disturb the dunes" signs, remnants of their tire tracks marring the fragile strata. We didn't see them but we ran into a man exercising two dogs who arrived before us.
Although we once watched a team of surfers [more intrepid souls than I] engaged in otherwise summer fun in all the years we've come [I've been doing this since 1991] we've never been able to buy a chili dog or rent an umbrella. Disappointing to say the least. Maybe some day.
The last part of the trip is to stop at a lone cedar tree that stands apart from the bunch by the side of the road. We have never been there first. Someone always puts something on the tree before us, though we've never seen them.
Oft times people drive by, honking "hello". This year someone actually stopped while we were decorating. We first thought it was the police, the ready to ticket us for littering. But it was one lone soul who asked if we needed some help.
When we first started doing this, people would look at us as though we were, well, odd. We think it is in keeping with the spirit of the Day. Of late, more people say they like it, but tell us they lack the wherewithall to commit to rising early. We much enjoy our holiday tradition. Don't know of others like ours. Do you?
Conside this an invite to share your unusual holiday story.
¶ 08:08 0 comments For those who don't know me, every Christmas morning my friend Lorraine and I drive to Misquamicut Beach to witness the sun rise. This year we also witnessed the full moon setting in the west.
Unlike past years, there was no bagpiper to provide music. He usually played facing the ocean standing atop the decks to the state park buildings shown above. We missed his presence. Those high-pitched tunes had become part of our Christmas tradition. I hope he is well.
Our annual sojourn gives us times to reflect on our lives during the past year, share our joys and rough moments, and to pay homage to those we have loved who have passed on. Each sun rise reminds us that their energies live on.
Although we arrive early every year, we have rarely been the first ones visiting the beach. This year some sand buggy riders ignored the "do not disturb the dunes" signs, remnants of their tire tracks marring the fragile strata. We didn't see them but we ran into a man exercising two dogs who arrived before us.
Although we once watched a team of surfers [more intrepid souls than I] engaged in otherwise summer fun in all the years we've come [I've been doing this since 1991] we've never been able to buy a chili dog or rent an umbrella. Disappointing to say the least. Maybe some day.
The last part of the trip is to stop at a lone cedar tree that stands apart from the bunch by the side of the road. We have never been there first. Someone always puts something on the tree before us, though we've never seen them. Oft times people drive by, honking "hello". This year someone actually stopped while we were decorating. We first thought it was the police, the ready to ticket us for littering. But it was one lone soul who asked if we needed some help.
When we first started doing this, people would look at us as though we were, well, odd. We think it is in keeping with the spirit of the Day. Of late, more people say they like it, but tell us they lack the wherewithall to commit to rising early. We much enjoy our holiday tradition. Don't know of others like ours. Do you?
Conside this an invite to share your unusual holiday story.
