Well that time of year is upon us. A time to celebrate our nation's Independence from the British...like just about every other country of the former British empire thanks to guys like Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Gandhi, and various warlords in Afrika. Yes, it is the 4th of July weekend, which is supposed to be filled with fireworks, parades, kids waving flags, playing in sprinklers, women in swimsuits slowly bronzing by the pool, awkward advances by horny men in their twenties, potato salad, hot dogs, barbecue sauce, fireworks at the grill, the yearly corn dog, too much beer for grandpa, sun sickness, sunburn, too much candy for li'l Joey, wedding anniversaries, the fun never ends. Personally, I will be heading up to my mom's tomorrow...hanging with her for the day, then Saturday we'll be going to a morning parade with the niece & nephew, maybe get a hot dog for them at the Eden City Fair that they have, spend the day just chillaxing, then when the sun sets over the beautiful Wasatch Front, gaze over the valley to enjoy the fireworks show...then set off a few of our own. It should be a grand time. Oh...and then I'll be working "bright" and early Sunday morning. It's gonna be an awesome weekend.
Air Kiwi - Have you ever been bored out of your mind while waiting for your flight to take off? Of course you have...or I envy you. Well, Air New Zealand has hit on a novel way to make sure even the most jaded flyers keep their eyes glued on its flight safety briefing. The national carrier's safety video for domestic services on its Boeing Co 737 planes show pilot and cabin crew dressed only in body paint...but the safety message is kept seemly by carefully chosen camera angles. Of course, a copy of the briefing has been posted on the YouTube. The safety video follows the same tactic as the airline's recent marketing campaign for its low-priced fares, which featured staff, including chief executive Rob Fyfe, adorned in only body paint. Why? Sex sells. If you don't believe it, you're simply in denial...and its not the big river in Afrika. Go ahead and check out the link. You know you want to. Go ahead. Press play.AHA!!! See? You clicked on it. You've proven my point. Thank you.
May God Strike Me Down - Police used a Taser on a pastor and pepper spray to disperse his congregants Wednesday after the pastor allegedly interfered with a traffic stop in the church parking lot. Congregants say they were in the Iglesia Profetica Peniel church for an early morning prayer when pastor Jose Elias Moran went to assist the stopped driver, a church member, by asking the police what had happened. An incident report on the Webster police department's Web site said Officer Raymond Berryman tried to calm Moran and arrest him...but police say he pushed the officer, went inside the church and returned with 40 other congregants. The congregants say Moran fled into the church when the officer grew angry and began to yell, and Moran's family disputes that the pastor touched the officer. Moran's son Miguel said 30 witnesses saw the officer turn aggressive and repeatedly kick the church door. Several members were hit with pepper spray and children were present, Miguel Moran said. "They treated him as if he were a drug dealer or murderer, but he is a pastor that tries to help the community. The police always want to be right but they are not." Moran's wife, Maria, said she tried to help her husband after he was hit with the Taser but police threatened to arrest her. "My husband has a heart condition and with electrocution who knows what could've happened. A pastor has to tend to his flock. That is all he was doing." Speaking from a hospital bed Wednesday night, Moran told The Associated Press he planned to hire an attorney to file charges against the officer. He was being held at the hospital overnight for additional tests. Police did not immediately return calls seeking comment and more details of the incident (no kidding). Police Sgt. James Lovel did not specify Moran's status, except to say he was in custody and negotiations for bail were taking place Wednesday night. Okay, so this got a little (lot) out of hand...but really, no matter what religion or nationality you are, or what position you hold in the church, you CAN'T TOUCH A COP...and then try to run inside of a church for sanctuary. That doesn't work anymore. However, there is one important question that I have for everybody involved: WHERE IS THE VIDEO FOOTAGE??? Did nobody have a cell phone with video capabilities? Security camera? I mean...it's not every Sunday where a pastor gets tasered in church. If it were, I'd probably still go weekly instead of...well, is decadely a word? Deca-annually or something like that? Weddings & tourism. That's my usual reason for going to churches...and it's rare. Anyway, show me to the video. Keep an eye out on YouTube everybody.
No More Russian Roulette? - Russia closed down its casinos overnight as gambling was banned nationwide, a move the industry says could throw a third of a million people out of work. The July 1st ban shut gaming halls, from gaudy casinos crowned by extravagant neon structures to dingy dwellings containing a handful of slot machines (and seedy basements for additional gaming purposes). "I feel terrible. We just let 1,000 people go," said Yuri Boyev, general director at Metelitsa, an upmarket casino where billionaires rolled the dice and Russia's gas giant Gazprom held a lavish Christmas party. Vladimir Putin, now prime minister, came up with the idea in 2006 when he was president after the Interior Ministry linked several gaming operations in Moscow to Georgian organized crime (the country, not the state). The Kremlin plans to restrict gambling to Las Vegas-style gaming zones in four rarely visited regions deemed to need investment, including one near the North Korea border, but nothing has been built and critics say the zones will fail. Though gaming establishments knew the shutdown date for at least a year, few thought the government would go through with it (much like the Cold War) but officials moved in overnight to close them down. The industry says the ban will axe at least 300,000 jobs but officials in Moscow put the national figure at only 11,500. Rows of slot machines, usually blinking around the clock in smoky, crowded halls, lay dormant and wrapped in cellophane. Moscow deputy mayor Sergei Baidakov, watching men dismantle poker tables and lay roulette wheels on the floor, said the state was ready to thwart any bid to move gambling underground. "We are confident we will control the situation," he said (probably while riding a tank and aiming an AK-47). He said the ban was to protect the health of society. Many critics in the gambling industry say it has more to do with Russia's poor ties with Georgia (apparently they're Gator fans). Georgians are thought to run many Russian gaming halls. City police stood on guard in case of protests by disgruntled former workers in the popular gaming halls that have sprouted since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and now pepper Russia's cities. A hotline was even been set up Wednesday to report on those suspected of operating illegal gambling. Moscow had around 550 gambling places, including 30 casinos in prime spots, symbolizing the capital's love of excess. Midnight on Novy Arbat street, the heart of the gambling scene, was muted as its flashing lights and loud music were turned off for the first time in over a decade. "I'm upset but I guess I'll have a little rest and re-visit my job situation in August," said Elena, a slot machine operator who has worked in the gaming business for five years...and now must resort to becoming a mail order bride (hey there, Mad Scientist). Each year gaming brought in up to $7 billion and paid $1 billion in tax, a gap the industry says will cause the state a budget headache (softened slightly by even MORE sales in vodka for unemployed workers). The development replacement zones -- in southern Krasnodar, the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, east Siberia's Altai region and the Far East -- require investment of up to $40 billion and have not been built...but now there are plenty of unemployed Ruskies to man those sites, I guess. Truly a sad day to see gambling end. What of gambling staples...like the free White and/or African-American Russians handed out by scantily-clad waitresses? Or everybody's favorite game of chance, Russian Roulette? Are you telling me that I have to go to seedy establishments in Southeast Asia after watching a Muay Thai kickboxing match to get my fix of a one-in-six chance of somebody blowing their brains out? Well, it's probably cheaper to fly to Bangkok anyway...so yeah, I guess so.Well, that'll do it for today. I guess I'll see y'all shortly. Probably after the weekend...but we'll see. I'm easily bored...and I always have crazy sh*t on my mind. Maybe I'll share some of it with you. Have a great weekend everybody!!!
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