Kevin Marshall's America
The Golden Globe, one of the few statues given out in Hollywood that actors and producers don't bother putting on their mantle.
Holy crap you guys, the Golden Globes are on! It’s an exciting night of stars, statues, and slurred acceptance speeches.
Not wanting to miss out on the fun being had on Twitter and in the general blogosphere, I’ve decided to live-blog (provide running commentary in quick snippets and inserting them into the post as the evening wears on) the ceremony!
8:00pm
The festivities kick off! All the buzz surrounds the clash of titans in the race for Best Comedy or Musical! Will it be the universally panned and unwatchable “Burlesque” or the universally ignored and forgotten Jolie/Depp vehicle “The Tourist?” The anticipation has reached its climax and the checks have been written, let’s get this started!
8:02pm
Ricky Gervais’s monologue is always sharp, biting, and entertaining, which sets the tone for the rest of the evening where they only let him out like three more times!
8:35pm
Tilda Swinton makes her first appearance on camera, and gay men across the country call her a “handsome woman!”
8:46pm
Look, a star is drunk!
9:01pm
The internet explodes in disbelief over the wardrobe that a certain star has chosen to wear. Can you believe the color and cut of that dress? Heck, even calling it a dress is charitable! I wish she’d worn a garbage bag instead. Am I right, folks?
9:15pm
Jeremy Irons shows up with the blood of orphans that sustains him and keeps his undead corpse animated dribbling off his chin.
9:33pm
Somebody makes a joke about someone else having a bit too much to drink!
9:53pm
After an award winner is announced, the first reference to Pia Zadora is made in a hushed whisper in the crowd.
10:14pm
David Fincher wins Best Director for “The Social Network.” He thanks the members of the HFPA, none of whom saw the movie because Johnny Depp wasn’t in it.
10:35pm
Natalie Portman wins for Best Actress Who Isn’t Really That Good but is Good For How Pretty She Is.
10:43pm
Warren Beatty, the 6th most hated man in Hollywood, is shown in the audience.
10:51pm
Robert Downey, Jr. leans in to Johnny Depp and asks him how many meals and pictures he had to take with the HFPA geeks that masquerade as journalists to get “The Tourist” nominated. Depp smiles and says “enough to make me miss France.”
10:52pm
I got bored and changed the channel finally.
Strikeforce's Heavyweight Tournaments includes big names to longtime MMA fan, but how does it actually benefit the promotion?
Strikeforce has announced an upcoming Heavyweight Tournament to determine the #1 Heavyweight fighter in the promotion. The tournament includes name draws such as Fedor Emelianenko, Alistair Overeem, Josh Barnett, and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Rounding out the eight-man field are former UFC heavyweight Fabricio Werdum, Brett Rogers, former Pride heavyweight Sergei Kharitonov, and Antonio “Big Foot” Silva.
The winner will get a title shot at champion Alistair Overeem, who himself appears in the tournament. If he wins, he’ll simply be re-crowned and anointed (by Strikeforce at least) as the best Heavyweight fighter in the world.
The tournament concept has been around for as long as the sport itself. When the unregulated, bare-knuckle Ultimate Fighting Championships first appeared on the national scene in the early 1990s, the concept was a one-night tournament that would determine the best pure fighter in the world. It was accused of drawing in an audience based on bloodlust, though more can be attributed to the idea that one event would solidify which style of martial arts – and fighter – was the best in the world.
In the nearly two decades since its inception, the sport has seen dramatic changes, though it might be more accurate to say that it has since become a sport. With State Athletic Commissions providing oversight as well as the Unified Rules of MMA adopted by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission in 2000 becoming the standard in the industry, what we see today is an amalgamation of submission wrestling with a much tamer, safer version of kickboxing that bears little to no resemblance to the concept that was introduced to American audiences in 1994.
Much has changed in a sport that began as what could charitably be described as a freak show attraction on pay-per-view. Yet in 2011, Strikeforce wants to turn the clock back and sell itself to the mainstream using a Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament.
Normally, the shooting in Tucson is the sort of high-profile news event I’d blog about.
Ultimately I decided I shouldn’t and won’t. Too much of the discussion has veered off topic and into the realm of the ludicrous, especially with all the political insults shouted on the internet before the bodies had even cooled. Blame was laid at the feet of everyone from AM talk radio to Tea Party candidates for Congress, even though it was clear from the moment the shooter was revealed that his ramblings really didn’t have an ideology (or logic) one could pinpoint.
On that note, the real offense taken against Sarah Palin’s statement shouldn’t be the use of the phrase “blood libel.” Rather, it should be that she – like so many people including many reading this – took a terrible tragedy and made it about herself, and on the same day as the memorial for the victims. Though she can’t entirely be blamed; she was put on the defensive and like the vast majority of politicians at all levels of government in this country has the emotional maturity of a six-year-old but with far more complex insecurities.
I’m going to stop there because that’s the sort of talk that only makes it worse.
So rather than attempt to reflect and pontificate on this tragedy, I direct you to two men who can both provide much better insight.
First is David Kacyznski – Troubled Loner on a Misguided Mission
Second is Henry Rollins – Don’t Blame Sarah Palin, Just Stop Paying Attention!
Read them both and don’t pay nearly as much mind to this space.
On a related note – I don’t know much about Rep. Gifford, other than like me she’s a huge fan of Calexico. This is for her and all the victims of the shooting, both those no longer with us and those that are still healing physically and emotionally.
Before we begin: please take ten seconds out of your day to vote to revitalize downtown Troy in the Pepsi Refresh project. Let’s do this! Every vote counts, so do it early and often!
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Most of you – myself included – have a three-day weekend coming up. It seems like only yesterday was Christmas, yet I think we could all use the day off after what has been a very stressful week, work-wise and news-wise.
Though it (oddly) doesn’t happen as often here, it seems that many of the TU blogs have regular commenters that take out their life’s frustrations and angers on bloggers and other readers. Recent events, particularly the tragic shooting in Tuscon, have only exacerbated this problem.
It is my hope that you will take this Monday to reflect on what it means to truly believe in something and make a sacrifice. This great man, this man of peace and progress, remained adamant and resolute in his convictions without losing respect and love for his fellow man.
He changed the world not with violence and vitriol, but with conviction and compassion.
I think many who consider themselves believers and advocates would do well to study the words, deeds, and actions of men like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and ask themselves if what they’re pushing for truly is to improve mankind and, better yet, if they’re going about it the right way.
“A riot is a language unheard.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Kickstarts, billboards, and changing teams. This…is Blogorama.
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WE’RE YOUR SOURCE: This Week on the Times Union Blogs
Give a Thrust of the Foot to Alta Mira (CRUMBS / Andrew Gregory)
Some Personal Thoughts on Arizona and Guns (Daniel Nester)
Don’t Blame Talk, Blame Crazy (Rev. Alan Rudnick)
What Did That Kid Say?! (Amanda Talar)
Please Stop Insulting Vegetarians and Vegans (Table Hopping)
Poor Steve’s plea for reason falls on deaf ears. I feel your pain.
Theater of the DMV (Davenport Chronicles)
An Exception to the “Adults Can’t Change Teams” Rule? (Mark McGuire)
First, Do Some Harm (M.D. to Be)
Kindness of (semi-) Strangers (Schenectady/Sue Rock)
Treating All Men as Potential Predators Doesn’t Keep Our Kids Safer (Roger Green)
This Just In: Billboards Make You Gay (Schenectady/Will King)
Consumer Confidence Surges Everywhere But Albany (The Buzz)
Quail Street Boxers Excel at Silver Gloves Tournament (Boxing in the Capital Region)
On the Road with Robert (Running blog / Colleen Morrissey Wheatley)
Celebrity Vegans (Animal Rights)
A Beautiful Wedding on a Budget (Simpler Living)
More amazingness is after the jump.
Ted Williams, out of the booth and into the care of professionals.
After mounds of coverage and a tumultuous week that included an assault from his daughter and suspicions he had resumed drinking, Battle Plan Promotions – the company that had been managing Ted Williams’ recent interviews and voiceover gigs – has decided to pull him out of the spotlight and get him into a 12-step rehabilitation program.
After consulting with several psychologist and doctors we all agree that it’s time to allow private healing to take place. Ted would like to express his sincere thanks for all the love and support he has received.
It’s the right move.
The attention Ted received as a result of the viral video and mainstream interest in his story reminded me of what I once learned about people that are near starvation: that if you suddenly give them food and water and don’t closely monitor their intake, their body won’t be able to process it and they’ll essentially eat themselves to death.
In much the same way, Ted had gained some semblance of stability, but at a great cost. All of those things that he had before his fall from the industry were all suddenly thrust on him, and then some. Anybody who has battled their demosn will tell you that’s overwhelming in and of itself, but to have to do so on a very public stage is nigh insurmountable.
Me? I’m an optimist, and I think he’ll come out of this okay. It’s possible to overcome situations like his; I’ve seen it happen.
And I can’t help but feel sorry for those that have so little life experience and character that they would take enjoyment in Ted’s perceived failure this week.
Previously: Ted Williams, the Man with the Golden Voice: Not Homeless
The full release is after the jump.
Chickens, displaced by a misguided resolution in 2001, have resulted to criminal gang activity.
Previously: The Great Albany Cockfight
Tuesday night the Albany Common Council’s Public Safety Committee had a public hearing on the subject of repealing a 2001 law that prevents city residents from housing chickens in their back yards. Supporters of the repeat instead propose the law be changed to specifically prohibit roosters, whose noisy morning wake-up calls were the impetus for the original law, and limit coops in urban areas to five hens and at least 15 feet from neighboring residences.
A letter from the President Pro Tempore of the Buffalo Common Council urged Albany’s council to modify the law. Buffalo adopted a similar measure in 2009 and has not seen any decrease in quality of life associated with chickens.
The Committee took no action, however, and opponents still cite the smell (which isn’t as great as the smell produced by dog s***), unfounded concerns over diseases, and the presence of chickens driving down property values and/or making it less attractive to prospective buyers and residents.
Jim Lyons, a past-president of the Melrose Neighborhood Association who grew up on a farm in Illinois, said he polled his neighbors, many of whom have lived in their homes for decades and aren’t keen on change.
“Quite frankly, they don’t want chickens,” Lyons said. “They’ve lived there a long time. … They like it the way it is.”
I’m pretty sure that last line is what Mr. Lindner told the Youngers in A Raisin in the Sun.
In all seriousness, it goes back to my original point: this is not a matter of legitimate public health concerns, but rather a desire to control and dictate the behavior and appearance of neighbors. It overrides logic and reason, and is detrimental to environmental sustainability.
Unfortunately, like so many other debates pertaining to Albany and the State as a whole, facts won’t be allowed to get in the way. It doesn’t help matters that there is no shortage of politicians who would rather take the easy route of repeating disproven points than trying to assuage their constituents’ concerns with facts and reality checks.
Let them have their chickens, damnit. They’re not nearly as smelly and disease-ridden as most of y’all.
I recently re-established contact with an acquaintance that I hadn’t seen in over a year.
Comfort food and shortened life spans: a Friendly's.
For about six weeks we were perpetually running into each other at the strangest places. Well, okay, Troy’s not exactly Tokyo, so it isn’t as if we’re needles in a human haystack. Still, we decided we should either take it as a sign that we should become better friends or, at the very least, avoid the awkward surprise of these encounters and start planning them.
Last night I called her and asked if she still wanted to hang out. With the snow still coming down and nearby streets that hadn’t yet felt the sweet kiss of a snow plow (for my street it wouldn’t come until later in the evening which I noticed right before bed had completely buried the sidewalk I’d shoveled – thanks Troy DPW), we decided it’d be best to get dinner somewhere in walking distance.
I offered a couple suggestions. There’s the Notty Pine, a fixture of the collar city that doesn’t purport to offer anything sensational but maintains a consistency that’s kept the house full for as long as I can remember; Ali Baba’s, the Mediterranean restaurant that maintains a quaintness in its layout, genuine friendliness of its staff, and truly wonderful food; and the Recovery Room, the hotel sports bar and restaurant with staff dressed as referees serving food that tastes like it’s out of the bag or box and I suspect most likely is.
I offered these suggestions (without the lengthy synopses) to her. She paused, then said “…Friendly’s.”
At first I thought she was joking. I’d completely forgotten the place existed.
But to Hell with it. She wanted to go, so we went.
Continue reading »
Or at least, that’s not how he should be thought.
Over the course of the last two weeks, the story of Ted Williams has captured the attention a nation hungry and desperate for a feel-good story of redemption. In a video first released by The Columbus Dispatch, Williams was shown holding a sign purporting his ability to do voiceover work.
The initial reaction was one of wonderment. We’re so used to ignoring “street people” and thinking of them as strange, dangerous derelicts that the idea one of them could sound human and rational – let alone wonderful and charismatic – took us by surprise.
It perhaps said more about us than it did Williams.
Then a wonderful thing happened. Our need to validate the concept of “the American dream” changed the narrative of the Ted Williams story. Now, rather than be a borderline freak show oddity on the internet, Williams was instead an underdog for whom we were all rooting to find success and, ultimately, some semblance of redemption.
Williams, who is candid about his struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction, now had an entire nation behind him and job offers for VO work coming in from all manners of media and advertising.
Then we were reminded that though redemption is attainable, it is a journey wrought with mis-steps. Earlier this week, Williams was arrested and released following an altercation with his daughter in a hotel lobby. His daughter took to the airwaves claiming her father still drinks an entire bottle of vodka a night. Williams denied the assertion and said the altercation was an argument that had unfortunately escalated, and that his daughter had assaulted him. In his interview with Entertainment Tonight regarding the incident, Williams bears the bruises and scratch marks that seem to indicate some truth in his account (while his daughter appears defiant and unharmed).
Though unique in its coverage and scope, the story of Ted Williams is all too common.
We won’t know what really happened. All that’s certain is that Williams was released after an hour and not charged, which tells me the police didn’t think he had done anything wrong.
At least, not criminally.
Alcoholism is a unique disease in that those stricken by the disease aren’t just drinkers. The individual drinks, but the ramifications and symptoms afflict all those around him or her. The damage is felt by the family and often can be irrevocable. The reason Al-Anon exists isn’t just to help family members cope with alcoholism, but to address those issues they have as a result of their family member’s drinking.
Whether biological or emotional, alcoholism is hereditary, and you don’t have to be living on the streets to suffer from it or see the effects of the disease seen in Williams and his family.
Which is why he shouldn’t be thought of as simply “homeless.” Like so many others, his is a struggle against a lifelong disease for which there is no cure, and often gets the better of us.
Williams could have been living in a two-story home in nearby Clifton Park and still inflict the same level of pain and suffering to himself and those around him.
Which is I’m not rooting for the homeless man discovered on the street and pulling for him to get enough money to get an apartment. I’m rooting for the charismatic and talented Ted Williams, a man who once held so much promise but was decimated by a disease that afflicts millions of Americans throughout the United States. I’m rooting for him to not only find some semblance of stability financially, but to stay sober and help heal those wounds that clearly run so deep.
"Come, children! Let us dance our way to Price Chopper and buy all the peanut butter on the shelf! There's a storm coming!"
From the National Weather Service:
This Afternoon: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 24. Northeast wind between 3 and 5 mph.
Tonight: Snow, mainly after midnight. Low around 20. Calm wind becoming east around 6 mph. Chance of p…recipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Wednesday: Snow. High near 27. North wind between 6 and 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.
Wednesday Night: A slight chance of snow showers before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16. Northwest wind around 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 25. Northwest wind between 11 and 14 mph.
What am I, your next-door neighbor? Why am I boring you with the weather?
Because of a strange phenomena I call Solstical Amnesia.
Solstical Amnesia, as defined by me right now, is when residents of the greater Capital Region forget that the change of seasons brings about occassional accumulation of snow. Other symptoms include being susceptible to irritation due to (what should be) an expected drop in temperature and a general unpreparedness for Winter.
I work at a college and asked a guy who looked like a scientist – he had a bushy gray beard and spectacles – to explain the phenomena. Unfortunately he had no idea what I was talking about, so the true cause of Solsistic Amnesia remains a mystery.
Solstical Amnesia may also cause people to load up on items like milk and bread as if a few inches of snow was going to immobilize residents and bring commerce to a standstill, though I don’t discount the possibility of another regional mental illness being responsible.
Albany's hens are giving Albany residents something to crow about (photo: Paul Buckowski/Times Union)
I’m a bit late to the party, but I’d like to talk about about the kerfluffle in Albany over chickens in residential areas.
Controversy erupted last month over the right of a couple living in Albany’s center square Mansion Neighborhood (correction – thanks, Jess!) to keep hens in their backyard. Although the couple has kept hens for years without incident, a neighbor recently complained about the presence of the hens and called code enforcement.
As a result, the couple were informed they had to relocate their hens. They decided to take the fight to City Hall. They’re proposing an amendment to the law – which was adopted after a North Allen couple’s rooster was making a racket at an hour when most people were still drinking on North Pearl Street – to allow urban dwellers to keep hens in their back yard.
It has ignited a firestorm of controversy and debate, from the Mansion Neighborhood all the way to the Editorial Board of the Times Union (hi folks!). Opponents of the hens say they’re disgusting, vile creatures who make a mess of the neighborhood and life and also are racist and rob peoples’ houses. None of these are related to any facts or observations, mind you. Hens themselves don’t stink up the neighborhood (ever smell chicken poop? EXACTLY) nor do they spread diseases.
However, people see an animal in someone’s back yard that won’t sit in their lap to be pet and all Hell breaks loose.
The real issue is what happens when bored, cantankerous people don’t have enough creativity to stimulate themselves or find an outlet for their negative energy. The hens being kept by the couple weren’t creating a problem for the neighborhood; someone simply didn’t like them and decided they shouldn’t be there simply because they didn’t fit their vision of the neighborhood.
Well, Albany, that’s what having neighbors is all about. We can’t even get our own family members to look, act, and live the way we want them to. Why do we expect the same of strangers?
Difference is what makes other people…well, other people. The argument is that if someone wants to keep chickens, they should live in a rural area. But I’m going to flip that – if you don’t want people living in close proximity of you that have and do things differently, then maybe YOU’RE the one who should be the one to move to a rural area.
As a side note, I’m proud to say that my own city of Troy DOES allow you to keep chickens. Just another reason why it’s better on the other side of the river.
If you’d like to voice your opinion on the matter, the Common Council Law Committee will meet regarding the issue – and others – tonight at 5:30pm at City Hall.
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