Bent Corner

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Medical Hold Unit have been told that they must awake up at 6 a.m. every morning and have their rooms ready for inspection at 7 a.m.

Also on an unrelated matter, they are not to speak to the media.

Instead of telling a reporter how bad their living conditions are, they are to use the chain of command.

For those of you who have not been in the military, daily room inspections are used as a form of punishment. The military may not be able to outright punish a service member for speaking to a reporter, but they certainly can and will punish you for having dust on a light bulb.

Link

Sometimes somebody posts a comment that makes me re-think my position on a subject that I blogged about. This is not one of those comments.

ilike_kidrock@hotmail.com wrote:

thank all this is bull shit i am not a nazi but i like the nazi stuff every mother f***er need to get over the Sh** it is a part of history we shouldn’t forgit it yea and go ahead and call me what you want but we do have a fredom of speach and yea it may offend people but it is something we don’t need to forgit everyone wants to forgit it but we shouldn’t

Normally I try to cut people slack that are even worse spellers then me, but this fella that loves to profess his admiration for Kid Rock doesn’t even know how to use a period.

Police are reporting a significant increase in Britney Spears umbrella attacks. The first attack happened in front of the home of hip hop superstar Kevin Federline. The victims of this unprovoked umbrella attack were professional photographers who just happened to be in the neighborhood on a totally unrelated matter.

Since this initial Britney Spears umbrella attack, dozens of people have reported similar attacks. Though the time of day and the locations differ, the attacks all have a very similar theme. Britney Spears jumps out from a hiding place and attacks with her umbrella.

Police have tried to find a pattern to her umbrella attacks. So far, they have been unsuccessful discovering anything that will lead them to identifying a pattern to the Britney Spears umbrella attacks.

They have discovered though that Britney Spears is not the first to use the umbrella as a weapon. There was actually someone before Britney Spears who used the umbrella to cause harm.

It’s important to note that this person used his umbrella differently then Britney Spears. This person used his umbrella to fire knockout gas out of the special tip. He didn’t bludgeon or spear anyone if you will with it like Britney.

So far Britney Spears has not attacked anyone with gas.

This weekend kicks off the 2007 New York Comic-Con.  This will be the second year for this event.  Hopefully for everyone's sake, it goes better then it did last year.  Last year's event was marred by overcrowding and massive  organizational problems.  Some people who pre-paid for tickets were not even allowed admission because too many people were already inside.  Once people were allowed in, they would have to wait hours to get back in.  Even retailers and comic professionals with booths had to wait in line to get back in.  By most reports, it was pretty bad.  

This from Publishers Weekly:

Although the hall was, by unanimous opinion, too small and the aisles far too narrow, according to show organizers fewer than 5,000 advance tickets had been sold a week before the show began. The last-minute influx of ticket buyers caught everyone flatfooted, although the big line on Friday night should have been a sign.

Saturday's show was a logistical logjam from the moment the doors opened. Both New York State police and the NYPD were on the streets around the Javits Center warning people that the show was sold out and telling them not to go in. Even some people who had paid in advance for three-day passes were left standing in line for up to two hours—or not allowed in at all.

When the convention floor wasn't completely shut down, people were being allowed in as only others left the floor, leaving even celebs like film director Kevin Smith and cartoonist Frank Miller standing in line, unable to get to signings and meetings. And with many inside the exhibit hall unaware of the problems getting back in, even a quick smoke break could lead to disaster, with exhibitors and artists unable to return to their booths.

Exacerbating the problem was a lack of organization in the lines to get badges. Professionals, people with VIP passes, three-day ticket-holders and walk-up attendees were all sent to the same line, resulting in chaos and long waits.

When you have Kevin Smith and Frank Miller standing in line with a fat guy dressed like Batman, you have a problem.

Part of the problem was that con organizer Greg Topalian was only able to secure a small portion of the Javits Center to hold the convention.  Reportedly he was able to secure a much larger portion this year. 

Topalian also sold tickets with the idea that people would come to the con and stay for only a few hours.  He believed that just because you bought an admission ticket for the whole day didn't necessarily mean you were going to stay the whole day.  He also believed that just because you purchased a 3-day ticket didn't mean you were going to attend all three days.  These were some of the excuses Topalian gave on the Comic Geek Speak podcast for overselling so many tickets.

In my opinion, that was the real problem.  It wasn't that he didn't have enough floor space.  If you only have room for 10,000 people you should only sell 10,000 tickets.  What difference does it make if you get enough space for 30,000 people if you then go and sell 60,000 tickets?

You will have the same problem.  It will just be on a bigger scale. Overselling tickets to a comic book convention is just as wrong as Jim Bakker overselling time shares at a cheesy evangelical Christian luxury hotel.  Something I believe he went to prison for.

Every year there is a large Anime convention held in nearby Baltimore called Otakon.   Instead of selling single day tickets, they sell $50 memberships for the whole weekend.  They only sell as many memberships as they can accomidate.  They don't oversell memberships hoping that some wont show up.  Once the set number memberships are sold, that's it.  No more are sold.  From what I gather, things go a lot more smoothly at Otakon.  Not that I've ever been to Otakon.  I just hear that people really like it. 

Then again, the people that run Otakon are not about making profit.  Not to say that they are a bunch of commie hippies.  It's run by a not-for-profit organization dedicated to putting on the best Anime convention ever.  The goal of the New York Comic-Con is to make money.  Seemingly, as much money as possible. 

Barak Obama was speaking to a large crowd in Austin, Texas and spoke about British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision to withdraw 1,600 troops from Iraq. Obama pointed out that Blair recognizes the fact that Iraq’s problems can’t be solved militarily. As though we are only one epic tank battle away from bringing peace to Iraq.

“Now if Tony Blair can understand that, than why can’t George Bush and Dick Cheney understand that?” Obama asked thousands of supporters who gathered in the rain to hear him. “In fact, Dick Cheney said this is all part of the plan (and) it was a good thing that Tony Blair was withdrawing, even as the administration is preparing to put 20,000 more of our young men and women in.

“Now, keep in mind, this is the same guy that said we’d be greeted as liberators, the same guy that said that we’re in the last throes. I’m sure he forecast sun today,” Obama said to laughter from supporters holding campaign signs over the heads to keep dry. “When Dick Cheney says it’s a good thing, you know that you’ve probably got some big problems.”

A spokeswoman for Cheney, traveling with him in Australia, said they had no comment on Obama’s remarks.

Obama points out something very important about Cheney. The man is always wrong. He is never right. Some people like to concentrate on the fact that he is an extreme asshole. That’s true, but that wouldn’t matter if he was ever right about something.

Take Donald Rumsfeld’s “farewell ceremony”. Cheney spoke about Rumsfeld in a way that seemed down right kooky. Even for Cheney:

“In his regard for our people in uniform, in his unwavering strength through unprecedented challenges, in his example of leadership and patriotic service, I believe the record speaks for itself: Don Rumsfeld is the finest Secretary of Defense this nation has ever had.”

Don Rumsfeld was an awful Secretary of Defense. That’s precisely why he was fired. Most of the problems now in Iraq are the direct result of Rumsfeld’s incompetence and mismanagement. Only Cheney would praise a man being forced out of a job because he was bad at it. If he is (was) the finest Secretary of Defense this nation has ever had, why isn’t he still Secretary of Defense? We are involved in two wars. It seems to me that now is not the time to fire your finest Secretary of Defense.

Cheney is always wrong.

At least if my state delegate gets his bill passed.  This from the local Hagerstown Herald-Mail:

ANNAPOLIS - Washington County Sheriff's deputy Matthew Bragunier figures that he sees, at least once a day, fake bull genitals flopping from the hitches of pickup trucks. 

They're only a toy, but they're also unpleasant to look at, said Bragunier, worried what his 2-year-old girl might think someday. 

"My daughter's going to see this," he said. "She's going to ask what this is. I don't want to be put in that spot. I don't think I ever want to be in that spot." 

Del. LeRoy E. Myers Jr., R-Washington/Allegany, agreed. 

This week, he filed a bill for Maryland to ban the toys and others like them. 

The bill prohibits any "model, sign, sticker or other item" that shows uncovered human or animal genitals, as well as human buttocks or female breasts, from motor vehicles.

I too saw a pickup truck with fake bull genitals flopping from a trailer hitch.  Once.

I thought it was stupid.  I didn't think a special law needed to be passed.  What's next?  What part of the redneck culture will be regulated with a special Maryland law?  Rebel flags?  Dale Earnhardt tribute decals? Worn out 2000 Bush/Cheney stickers?  If you take away a redneck's right to hang fake bull genitals from his trailer hitch, what's next?

I just think it's funny that the anti-fake bull testicle bill was sponsored by a guy named "LEROY".

A least the uppity ones that join unions. This from Think Progress:

Last night on Fox News’s Hannity and Colmes, right-wing radio host Neal Boortz claimed that teachers unions are “destroying a generation” and are “much more dangerous than al Qaeda.” He stated, “Look, Al Qaeda, they could bring in a nuke into this country and kill 100,000 people with a well-placed nuke somewhere. Ok. We would recover from that. It would be a terrible tragedy, but the teachers unions in this country can destroy a generation.” Sean Hannity agreed, noting, “They are ruining our school system.”

Neal Boortz? I’m still not convinced he is a real person. Part of me thinks he is a fictitious character created for the sake of comedy.

I wonder what the troops would think if they heard what Sean Hannity and Neal Boortz had to say about the enemy they are fighting. That al Qaeda are a bunch of pussies compared to unionized teachers. I’m tempted to say that they would be demoralized, but I have to believe they would simply think that Hannity is an idiot. I doubt the troops have ever heard of Boortz.

The Oscars are in four days. The movies up for awards are all from this past year. I think that’s a mistake. We ought to wait a while before bestowing awards to movies and the people that make them. Let the dust settle so we can reflect on what is truly award worthy. It’s not like any of the movies up for awards this year were actually made in the last 12 months.

In baseball, a player must be retired from Major League Baseball for five (5) years before he is eligible for the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The Oscars are sort of like the Hall of Fame. They are both very prestigious and considered to be the crowning achievement of one’s carrier. The following movies are up for Best Picture this year:

• Babel
• The Departed
• Letters from Iwo Jima
• Little Miss Sunshine
• The Queen

Are we going to feel the same way about any of these movies in 2012? Granted, when I was a kid I figured that I would be too busy riding around in my flying car to be watching movies. For some reason I now don’t see myself in a flying car in 2012.

Here is a list of the movies nominated five (5) years ago for Best Picture:

• A Beautiful Mind
• Gosford Park
• In the Bedroom
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• Moulin Rouge

The winner was A Beautiful Mind. It featured Russell Crowe as a mathematical genius who also had schizophrenia. I never saw it. I thought it sounded both boring and depressing. I also never watched Moulin Rouge or Gosford Park.

Did anyone watch Gosford Park?

I did see In the Bedroom and thought it was a great movie. I might even be willing to say that it was the best movie I watched that year if I hadn’t watched The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

It’s a movie I’ve watched over and over and over again. I own it on DVD. Both the theatrical version and the extended boxed set. It’s a fantastic movie. There is no way I believe that Russell Crowe acting like a crazy guy who is good with numbers is better then Gandalf fighting a Balrog in the mines of Moria.

I cannot help but believe that five years later, the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would have realized that.

Even though the U.S. Mint facilities in Denver and Philadelphia have made a combined 300 million of these, the only place I’ve seen them is on eBay. I’m sure they will eventually turn up in everyday life. I’m looking forward to using them.

I like coins. I’m not a coin collector, but I’m pretty sure I have the coin collecting gene. I’ve just really never allowed it to fully manifest itself. It takes a lot of money to collect coins. They don’t call it the Hobby of Kings for nothing. The inference is that kings have a lot of money. More money then electronic technicians such as myself have. It’s true. Kings make more money then electronic techs. I looked it up on Wikipedia once.

I don’t even know who “they” is.

These $1 coins kick off a new $1 coin program that will each feature a dead president. Even the ones nobody really remembers. Even the ones nobody really likes anymore. Every three months, a new $1 coin will be released. The first coin is Washington and the final coin will be of Reagan. I expect right-wingers to go crazy about that one.

Right-wingers love Ronald Reagan. They will have to wait till 2016 to use them.

Larry Johnson of No Quarter links to an article in the Washington Post that details conditions troops being treated at Walter Reed Army Center as out-patients. It’s pretty disgusting.

Behind the door of Army Spec. Jeremy Duncan’s room, part of the wall is torn and hangs in the air, weighted down with black mold. When the wounded combat engineer stands in his shower and looks up, he can see the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.

Call me a liberal, but I don’t think our troops injured in Iraq should ever have to live someplace where phrases such as “mouse droppings” or “black mold” are used to describe the living conditions.

At a bare minimum, American service members injured in Iraq receiving out-patient medical treatment should be treated no worse then the Bush twins. If Jenna and Barbara were receiving medical treatment on an out-patient basis. Not that they would ever be caught serving their country. They might be caught using fake ID’s so they can illegally drink, but you won’t ever see these two doing anything even remotely associated with patriotism. Even the fake kind that is popular with so many Republicans.

This is one of the results of waging war on the cheap.