Kevin Marshall's America
Battle of wills
If you’re male, there’s a stigma that comes with owning a cat. There are some that see it as creepy or weird that men would willingly opt in to keeping a cat as a pet, perhaps owing to the stereotype cat owners have of being lonely women.
But that’s narrow-minded, judgmental nonsense. I’ll say it here, loudly and proudly: I, Kevin Marshall, am a cat man.
Granted, I’m also a dog man. If I see a dog, I immediately fall into a million pathetic pieces and start speaking baby-talk gibberish. So really I should say that I’m just silly for four-legged domesticated animals.
Thing is, though, dogs are high maintenance. They require the attention that someone like me – who’s always on the go – may not have time to give. Some people are just too damn busy for dogs, and I’m one of them.
A cat, on the other hand, is a perfect companion for me. My cat and I are very much alike. Like me she strikes pretentious poses, is holier than thou, rarely gets motivated, and has an undeserved sense of entitlement. Her favorite habit? Sleeping, just like me. Also, although I’m very cuddly and affectionate, I’m also potentially dangerous.
My cat Zoe and I have a bond, having lived with it for so many years (she turned 19 last month), and I was always her favorite. She became a part of my family in 1992, and when my mother decided to move down to Virginia, I inherited her and brought her with me to my new apartment. She literally has been with me for my entire adult life, and was there for my highest highs and lowest lows, purring contently on the lower-left corner of my bed. Sure, pets aren’t given a choice as to who their owner is, but she has not even made an attempt to break out and go outside in about four or five years, and that has to count for something.
I’m Kevin Marshall, and I am a cat man.
Bob Reilly, anti-MMA advocate, whose positions are sold to the highest bidder
Disclaimer: The original title I wrote was “Bob Reilly sells MMA Vote to the Highest Bidder,” which was misleading and unnecessarily inflammatory. After some careful consideration and discussions with others in the comments section, it’s been changed.
UPDATE Friday 5/13/2011 10:11am – Since publishing yesterday, poster “Colonie” and a handful of other mutual friends/acquaintances have reached out to me and assured that Reilly’s position is not based on any assurances or contact with Unite Here or the AFL-CIO.
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State Assemblyman and professional disabled persons impressionist Bob Reilly’s blockage and opposition to regulated Mixed Martial Arts in New York State is getting more nonsensical as the real reasons behind it become clearer.
Reilly recently spoke with Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com (a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner) regarding the new pre-fight insurance policy instituted by Zuffa, parent company of the UFC and the recently acquired San Jose-based Strikeforce promotion.
The new insurance policy would provide coverage for fighters that get injured while training for a fight. Zuffa, who had shopped for a company willing to provide coverage for over a year and a half, already covered fighters who were injured during the course of a fight itself.
Reilly found the timing of the policy suspect, and was critical even while praising the company for its efforts. From the article:
“I think what MMA should be doing is, instead of providing insurance for injuries, is to do away with injuries.”
When I explained to Reilly that the UFC fighters were already covered for injuries suffered in fights and the new insurance would cover injuries, suffered in or outside of the gym, while training or not for an upcoming fight, Reilly added:
“It’s certainly not a bad thing that they provide this insurance, but it really does little or nothing to solve the problem of what will happen to fighters financially, of the physical damage done to fighters or the fact that this violent sport begets violence in our society. So it does nothing to address the systemic problems of MMA.
“I think it’s a positive thing, but I don’t think it’s a positive step. In the sense that it doesn’t address the systemic problems of MMA. But it’s certainly not a negative thing.”
Reilly’s opposition is pathological, which is nothing new. The only consistency in his arguments have been his method: he’ll cite a reason for not legalizing it, then when his claims are refuted by facts, he backtracks and makes up completely new reasons. It’s maddening, but hey, that’s politics, right?
Except Reilly’s nonsensical blathering and stubborn opposition works to the detriment of New York State. MMA could bring in revenue for the State, with advocates conceding a proposed and unprecedented 8.5% tax on the gate of MMA events (boxing promotions only have to pay 3%). New York is one of only two in the entire country that hasn’t legalized MMA and is the only one with an Athletic Commission. In addition to revenue lost from major shows occurring in nearby New Jersey, estimates are that at least 70 smaller, regional shows a year (overseen by Athletic Commission regulations) would occur if the sport were legalized.
If it seems like MMA opponents like Reilly have an ulterior motive, it’s because they do.
Various sources have confirmed that the source of the blockage is a dispute between UNITE HERE, which is the parent organization a local culinary union in Las Vegas, and Zuffa owners the Fertitta brothers. The Fertittas also own Station Casinos, which are the only casinos in Las Vegas that do not have a contract with Culinary Union Local 226. Helwani, who interviewed Reilly, earlier this week uncovered a memo from UNITE HERE member the New York Hotel Trades Council outlining their opposition to MMA.
In short: MMA is being blocked because of an out-of-state labor dispute.
As for Bob Reilly? UNITE HERE has been a consistent contributor to his campaigns, the State Democratic Election Committee, the Democratic State Assembly Committee, Working Families, Inc., and in 2006 were Reilly’s second largest individual contributor.
So New York State, which more than ever needs new forms of revenue, is having a major one – almost a no-brainer – blocked because of politicians like Reilly, who sell their votes to the highest bidder. Out-of-state interests trump our State’s financial situation, if the price is right.
UPDATE 8:40pm – from the comments section:
Stephen Koepfer: Kevin, assuming this is all MMA directed lobby cash by Unite Here is a big stretch, but, let’s assume it is. What have they done done since 2008. It is 2011. Where is your evidence that they are still any kind of significant barrier in NY?
Stephen & others: this is the problem with giving me a blog and having me write blog posts during my breaks at work. Sometimes I can get carried away with my word usage, and it can be – albeit unintentionally – misread and misleading. That’s my bad, and on issues such as this I should definitely exercise more caution.
I want to make it clear though: I’m not saying it’s cash that’s given to a campaign and said “hey, here’s X thousands of dollars, don’t vote for MMA.” I am saying that Unite Here specifically has a vested interest in keeping this from the vote, and they have a champion in Bob Reilly, for whom they are a major contributor. No single organization throws that much money at a candidate for a single issue, but when they do have so much invested and such a significant portion in a candidate, they do have sway on issues that concern them.
My point isn’t that UNITE HERE paid Bob Reilly specifically to say no to MMA, but that UNITE HERE has a lot of pull with Reilly due to their significant contributions, and as such may have had a significant influence on his position.
But that’s a good question. Where HAVE they been since 2008? I wondered myself and did some digging.
In 2005 UNITE HERE created a big shake-up when they split from the AFL-CIO and joined the Change to Win Federation. After many years of doing a lot of their own lobbying and money-spending, they mended fences and re-affiliated themselves with the AFL-CIO in September 2009. Whereas in 2008 UNITE HERE in its various forms (Unite Here Tip State & Local Fund, Unite Here Tip Campaign Committee, Unite Here State & Local Fund among others) spent over $4 million on New York State campaigns, in 2010 their contributions dipped significantly: a little over $1.6 million. A lot of that money that used to come from UNITE HERE was now coming through the AFL-CIO.
Reilly was involved in a tight race in the Fall of 2010, where he was re-elected to his fourth term by a mere 542 votes. In October and November, with Reilly losing ground, the State Democratic Committee increased its fundraising efforts and the money flowed in with renewed vigor for that and other races. In those two months, the New York State AFL-CIO Cope Fund contributed a total of $31,000 to The New York State Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee. Guess how much the New York State Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee donated to Friends of Bob Reilly in those two months?
$30,000. No guff.
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Related articles
There’s a part of me that misses the physical aspect of music: holding a record, looking at the cover art, reading the liner notes, etcetera. Most of all, there’s an entire generation of kids that won’t discover modern music while playing in the room they share with their older brother and, unbeknownst to him, playing his records while he’s out skateboarding with his friends.
That’s what I did with my brother Jack’s vinyl collection, which consisted largely of metal and hardcore records. He was part of the early Troycore scene as lead singer of a band called Rude Awakening. They never got famous, per se, but he made a lot of friends. If I go to a hardcore show in this area and hang around for more than twenty minutes, I invariably get approached by someone who sees a resemblance and asks me what he’s up to.
Well, if you’re one of those people – or if you like swooping, ambient post-hardcore a la deafheaven, Wolves in the Throne Room, Thursday, Envy, or Celeste – then check out his band So Hideous, My Love‘s new EP.
“To Clasp a Broken Wish with Fallen Fingers” is their second effort, and as much as I enjoyed the first this is I feel a more fully realized set of tracks. Though there are vocals, the focus is all on the instrumentation and composition. They don’t drive so much as bleed in with the melodies, creating a sound that’ll probably be unique listening for most of you reading this.
You can download the EP here, which also includes their first EP free of charge, and/or pre-order the forthcoming blood-red (yes, blood-red) vinyl.
Take a listen below for free via Play the Assassin Records.
Aquaman will take my death hard, as if anyone cares anything about Aquaman ever.
Something got me on a kick about death. I wish for the sake of content and context I could tell you it was related to the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the passing of a loved one, or a recent mid-life epiphany regarding my own mortality. The truth, however, is that I don’t recall what spawned it, nor am I too concerned with the actual prospect of it, but rather with what other people will be doing when I die and what will happen at my funeral.
It always strikes me as odd when I meet someone within a few years of me who experiences the loss of a loved one and then informs me that they’ve never dealt with that kind of loss before. Me, I’ve been to my fair share of funerals. My family’s life expectancy is roughly what it was for the general population during the Restoration.
Having full knowledge of that fact and having been to so many of these affairs, I know what I do and don’t want at my funeral. Here’s a brief list:
- The entry of my casket is to be accompanied by the song “Sandstorm.”
- No suits/make-up. I never felt comfortable in a suit in life, so I don’t see why I should be all dolled up in death.
- You know what? Closed casket.
- The funeral should be broadcast on YNN.
- If any one person speaks for more than ten minutes, a small orchestra will perform the same music that plays when they need to cut off an acceptance speech at the Oscars.
- Halfway through the ceremony, attendees will be selected at random to compete in a game show hosted by Anderson Cooper. They will answer trivia questions about me, with the winner getting a prize of $5,000. Also, each correct answer will be indicated by a musical sting and a flashing of lights on my casket.
- No shoes, no shirt, no service (as in you can’t attend). This one should be assumed but hey, you never know. Just want to cover all my bases.
- At the end of the ceremony, the procession should lead to a seaside cliff. A cannon should be prepared, from which my body will be shot into the ocean. Barring that, I’d like to be cremated.
Folks, what special requests do you have lined up for when you pass?
Seen above, the Pentagon has released home videos of Osama bin Laden that it attained during the Navy Seal raid that killed the terrorist leader.
Most revelatory:
He loved watching videos of himself on TV. Yes, he was that guy.
“Guys guys, check out this part…..WHAMMO, hahahahaaha! Right in the face of the infidels! Heh! Guys, HEY, guys, watch this! Are you watching? Shhhh, listen…YOWZA! Ouch, that one’s gotta hit close to home! Oh man, Allah Ackbar. Guys, watch this part…”
Totally deserved it.
All joking aside: I think it does reveal a bit of what’s not talked about, which is that despite insistence that the movement was to re-establish an Islamic caliphate to rule over the region, there was no shortage of ego and cult of personality behind Bin Laden’s efforts and the following he attained.
Like so many before him, he had charisma. Pundits and journalists mistake his soft speech and thoughtful pauses for a lack of it, but that’s misleading. It was a different type of charisma that Bin Laden exuded which gave him the appearance of a thoughtful, reflective holy man. Charisma is not exclusive to extravagance and pounding your fist on the podium during oratorical rants.
Like Carlos the Jackal and so many other terrorists before him, the more involved he became in the movement the less it became about the actual movement itself, creating a level of self-deification owing either to egomaniacal delusion or outright insincerity. This does not mean we should not examine the means and the cause. Rather, no matter who or where we are, caution should always be exercised when a man becomes bigger than the movement he propogates.
This is what fundamentalism in all its forms always, inevitably, breeds.
Back where we started.
Well folks, it might be time to wrap this adventure up, publicly at least. It’s been fun, but it’s getting me nowhere but crazy and insane. Clearly this person is stopping at a limited number of stops, but I’ll never catch him/her in time, and who knows if it would be safe to try.
There’s also nothing Troy PD can or is willing to do, which I’ve known since last night and makes sense. I can have the phone at a location, but that’s not probable cause to search. GPS can tell you approximately where something is, but not exactly where and especially not who has it. It is, of course, disappointing. You always hope that, in the end, someone does the right thing. Fortunately there are many other cases where it does happen, but not this time.
Maybe they think if someone dropped a Blackberry, they can afford to get a new one. That person doesn’t know, or probably doesn’t care, that I got that phone for free as part of my renewal with Sprint and that I’m as poor as (if not poorer than) them.
On the plus side, that last part is a realization that really got me thinking and reflecting about my own past; specifically where I’ve been.
One of the regular stops the person made throughout the course of the day was literally right across the street, or right at, where I grew up: Griswold Heights on Madison Ave., Buildings 2 & 4. Summer’s approach and today’s weather got me thinking even more about that place. I remember the handful of friends I had, the things we’d do outside, and the things I’d do on my own. I can remember one Summer reading my first book on my front porch. Our apartment was on the left corner facing the street, with the East wall running perpendicular to the North wall of the apartment next door. This gave us a unique advantage over other places: essentially two front yards, with the perpendicular brick walls providing a corner creating a shaded respite from the 80+ degree weather.
Did a three-faced, three-hundred foot robot take my Blackberry? Hey, it's possible.
It was in that spot that I read the first comic book I ever purchased. It was Amazing Spider-Man #329, where Spider-Man fought the Tri-Sentinel: a giant robot with three faces and three arms. The cover showed the metal monstrosity bringing his iron hoof down on the protagonist, a perennial underdog straining under the weight and in a fight of his life. In the story itself, he only survived the encounter after being granted the powers of Captain Universe, a universal force that bestowed unstoppable powers upon an individualwhen certain actions put an entire world or galaxy in peril.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that story encapsulated everything that would draw me towards comics: the idea that the meek, while maybe not one day inheriting the Earth, can still rise to the occasion and overcome what seem to be overwhelming obstacles. For me, it was not the allure of the American dream that got me thinking there was a way out of there, it was Spider-Man.
We ended up moving out of Griswold Heights before my 13th birthday. As my siblings got older, the mouths to feed got fewer and my mother was able to stretch her few dollars further. We moved into better accommodations and were freed from public housing.
Today was a healthy reminder of where I’ve been and how far I have to go still. Tools, gadgets, phones, and all those other peripheral accessories have no greater worth in the long-run than they do in their absence from my life. The important thing is that I have those things that cannot be replaced in my life, and gone from my life are all of those places and things that are present at so many of the stops my phone made today. I followed those stops in the hopes that there would be some sort of power granted through it and I’d have my own personal Captain Universe moment. That didn’t happen, of course, but at least we all had a laugh.
Enjoy your journey, my former Blackberry. Better you than me.
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It’s been an interesting journey and many of you have made offers I cannot possibly take you up on regarding replacement phones. Better to be without a phone than without a home, though, which so many in Alabama and nearby States are after last week’s devastating tornadoes. If you’re feeling generous, then please:
Current location of my phone as of 11:47am: corner of Congress & 4th, Troy
Last night, my zipper broke on my sweater, which contained my phone (Blackberry 3G Curve). As a result, I lost it somewhere in the vicinity of Seventh Ave. in North Troy between Hoosick and Park Avenue.
Someone picked it up, but didn’t answer any phone calls when I tried to call. I called the Troy Police, and they too tried to call it with no avail. The Desk Sergeant on duty suggested I fill out a police report in the AM, which I did before heading to work.
What I’ve also been doing in the meantime is tracking the phone using Sprint’s “Family Location” feature, which I just opted into for a free trial last night after I realized the phone had been lost.
I’ll be posting periodic updates of the location of the phone on my Tumblr, and you can also read real-time updates on Twitter @KevinMarshall.
Wish me luck, because I really don’t have the money for a new phone (spoiler: I am poor and this blogging gig literally does not pay).
Real quick:
- No, it is not in a cab.
- No, it is not on a bus.
I’ve written in the past, on this space and others, about my reluctance and apprehension towards jazz music. While I can appreciate some of the livelier aspects that crop up out of dixieland jazz and other forms in and around New Orleans, for the most part I’m not drawn to it. I can appreciate its place for the most part, but have a hard time swallowing attempts to force it into contemporary listening habits.
I’ve been proven wrong on more than one occasion, and that happened again on Saturday night I had the pleasure of getting my first full-fledged exposure to Latin Jazz through the “Ahora! Latin/Jazz” program “All Stars Tribute to Mongo Santamaria” at Union College‘s Emerson Auditorium, which further exposed me to modifications of the form that I can not only tolerate, but appreciate and become fully engrossed in.
Continue reading »
Photo: Butch Dill, Associated Press
Last week, a record 178 tornadoes ravaged areas of the South and claimed over 300 lives and counting. It was the third deadliest tornado outbreak on record and the worst natural disaster to hit our nation since Katrina.
In addition to the tornadoes, the Southern States were also victims of timing. The disaster was overshadowed by first the Royal Wedding, then the death of Osama bin Laden. While aid is coming to the South, the recovery process will be arduous and a harsh burden on those so unfairly stripped of everything they hold dear.
It’s important that we take the time during what’s been a very busy (and at times strange) news cycle to put the focus back where it’s needed. There’s a few ways you can help:
- Donate to the American Red Cross
- Volunteer your time to help aid in the recovery effort
- text “REDCROSS” to 90999 ($10 donation added to your phone bill)
Understandably, the people down there are shaken and many of them worry they’ve been forgotten these past several days, and they have. Let’s right that wrong.
STALK ME
