Start your engines: from humble to rumble - Sturgis turns 70

Some 750,000 people are expected to attend the annual biker rally.

Pee-Wee Herman will be there to share another great adventure with fans, and to raise money for charities.

 I spent a day in 1971, at this great motorcycle event.

My hair was getting long (I got out of the Army in March) and I wore a leather vest with various Army patches and pot patches.

I went there in my 1964 “Competition Orange” Chevy Impala, as I didn’t have a motorcycle. I was wandering around the country living out of my car at the time, and happened to be in the right place to see it.

I recall seeing a lot of hard core Bikers from the Hell’s Angels, Mongols, and other gangs. There were plenty of fights. The event wasn’t as homogenized as it is now. There were a lot of bad dudes who came looking for a good time back then. Maybe they still do, but I kinda doubt it from what I read in the article link above.

What did I do that day? I honestly couldn’t give you a good accounting as I got gleefully smashed! I remember meeting a small group of Hell’s Angels from California. I was surprised because I knew one of them, Moon. He was from my old neighborhood in La Puente, and was a couple of years older than me. Anyway Moon lead, and I followed!

Buying a Political Office – wealthy ex-CEOs seek power over the public sector

They once used wielded power in the private sector, and now that lust for power is spilling over into the public realm.

Proving that money overcomes all when it comes in massive enough quantities, Meg Whitman (pictured),Linda McMahon,Rick Scott,Jeff Greene,and Rick Snyder are all shoveling millions into political ads this year.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg holds the U.S. record for self-financing, spending $108 million, or about $185 per vote, to win a third term last year. Meg Whitman is challenging that with her cash infusion of $99 million.

Wealthy political newcomers are spending big.

“In the midst of one of the worst recessions in decades, a host of former corporate leaders are spending millions in their quest for elective office, using their personal wealth to push past the political machinery and their own lack of experience.”

As It Stands: Accepting death is unacceptable to many Americans

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 08/08/2010 01:32:27 AM PDT

”When death comes around, nobody is willing to die and old age is no longer a burden.”

-- Euripides, Greek poet, 480-406 B. C., Alcestis

Death is as natural as birth, but we fear it in our society to the point of denial. The will to live is celebrated and “never give up hope because a miracle could happen” is an American belief. We've all heard metaphors like “it's not over till the fat lady sings” and other phrases glorifying those who fight death until the bitter end.

My sister Marjorie fought breast cancer in the '80s and finally succumbed to it in 1987. When I say fought, I mean she went along with some traditional methods of treatment, and when they didn't work she turned to the alternate methods touted at the time.

Laetrile was a popular alternative treatment for cancer then. She tried some of that vile concoction (it came in a brown bottle that had to be refrigerated), but couldn't stand the taste and disposed of it.

Claimed as a cancer cure for years, there is no supporting evidence that Laetrile, also referred to as Vitamin B17, has any metabolic function or dietary benefit.

For more information, Google “Food and Nutrition -- Laetrile,” or read “Unproven Methods of Cancer Management -- Laetrile” (source; Cancer J Clin; vol 41, ISS 3, 1991, P187-92 ref:35).

Laetrile is illegal now, but back then people had easy access to it here in California. I know this because

in 1979 I was introduced to a practicing Laetrile “doctor,” a Dr. H. Howard, by a friend.

Howard had an impressive list of degrees after his name on his business cards and stationery. He claimed to be an expert in numerous medical fields, including the questionable practice of shilling Laetrile. He wanted someone to write a fictional book about how Laetrile saved the life of a Hartford, Conn., bank robber's wife. I know; an odd storyline, but he was loaded with money and looking for a writer.

GO HERE to read the rest.

200,000,00th visitor to this blog comes from South Africa

It took me a little while this morning to locate the exact 200,000,00th visitor to As It Stands – and he/she is from Vanderbijlpark Gauteng, in South Africa.

The viewer spent almost seven minutes reading posts. The last one they read was on a rare plant that could only be found in Namibia, Africa.

It’s called the Welwitschia Mirabilis

 

 Our visitor lives in the southern part of the country.

This is also a real nice vacation destination, and as you can see, it has all the amenities. There’s tours, 4-star hotels, water sports, and plenty of city shopping. It looks like a nice place to go.

So here’s a special shout-out to my unknown 200,000,00 visitor – thanks for the milestone!

Warning - tongue piercing leads to health problems, gaps between teeth, chipped teeth, and more

Tongue piercing can cause chipped and fractured teeth, gum trauma, infection, hemorrhage and even brain abscess.

I’ve never met someone who thought barbells in the tongue was glamorous.It’s not that I don’t talk with younger people, I do. I’ve got nephews and nieces and friends of my sons who I can ask about fashion questions such as tongue piercing.

I’ll be blunt. I think it’s a piss-poor way to get attention (why else would you do it?) and it’s not a healthy thing to do. I suppose if you don’t mind experiencing the above side-effects of this tongue-in-check fad…it’s your way of making a statement. Unfortunately,that statement often comes with health drawbacks.

 

 

 

Vogue Italia's Off-Putting Oil-Spill Photo Spread: Art or Offensive?

I’d say this whole project is just a slick way to get people’s attention – and that I find it offensive.

What do you think?

Excerpt:

“We're big believers in the power of an image to convey the drama, sadness, and gravity of world events. In the case of the BP oil spill, that power was never more apparent, both in the photographs that captured the devastation and in the photographs that were forbidden from being taken. 
The latest photos causing a stir aren't photojournalism but a fashion spread in Vogue Italia, titled "Water & Oil." Uber-edgy photographer Steven Meisel shoots model Kristen McMenamy, clad in black, coated in oil, and draped across tainted beaches. In one shot, she has a black feather perched on her lips. In another, an oil-drenched feathered glove stands in for the hundreds of birds soaked in the spill.”

Maybe this is why some adults act like kids: our personalities may be set as early as 1st grade

Study: If you were at chatterbox at 6, you probably still are — and so on…

“Our personalities stay pretty much the same throughout our lives, from our early childhood years to after we're over the hill, according to a new study.

The results show personality traits observed in children as young as first graders are a strong predictor of adult behavior.”

image source

Meat-Eaters Beware: 1 Million Pounds of Ground Beef Recalled

7 people sickened by E. coli after eating meat from California company

A meat processor recalled about 1 million pounds of ground beef products Friday after seven people were sickened by E. coli contamination.

Valley Meat Co., of Modesto, sold the potentially contaminated beef patties and ground beef in California, Texas, Oregon, Arizona and internationally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The beef was processed from Oct. 2, 2009, to Jan. 12, 2010. Most of the products were sold frozen and the company was working to remove them from grocery store shelves.

Friday Follies: America’s Strangest Roadside Attractions

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing (and exploring) 28 of the 29 roadside attractions featured here.

Here’s the one attraction I somehow managed to miss:

Lucy the Elephant, Margate, NJ

“Lucy the Elephant’s original role, back in 1882, was to sell real estate. In fact, she’s the first example of zoomorphic architecture in the U.S. and has the patent to prove it. Located in Margate, NJ, this much-loved roadside folly is artfully crafted from wood and tin and has proved far more versatile than her creator imagined. At 65 feet tall, and housing a spacious hall, Lucy has at various times served as a bar, an office, and a summer home.” —Adam McCulloch

As It Stands’s Latest Scum of the Month Candidate: HP’s CEO Hurd quits over sexual-harassment probe

August is getting off with a bang as there’s already a bumper crop of scum eligible for the coveted, “As It Stands Scum of the Month Award.”

This will also make Hurd eligible for the “As It Stands” highly selective “Scum of the Year Award” that comes with a Life-time membership in the National Asshole Hall of Fame!

CEO filed erroneous expense reports to cover up relationship

Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd has resigned after a sexual-harassment probe that found he violated company standards, the computer maker said Friday.