Tuesday Talk: cup of joe goes up, tattoo artist tries to stop film release, mysterious copper heiress dies, and tourism future for bin Laden’s compound considered!

Good morning Humboldt County!

Pull up a chair, or a beanbag, and have a cup of tea or coffee with me. I got a late start this morning so I had to pour my first cup over my head! While slurping on my second cup, I read that coffee drinkers will soon be getting another jolt at the supermarket as the Price for a cup of joe is going up ... again.

Huguette M. Clark, the mysterious copper heiress who became the subject of public fascination and police investigation after a century of life as a recluse, died Tuesday morning at age 104, registered under a fake name at a hospital in New York City. Her empty mansions, and a criminal investigation into the handling of her fortune, were the subject of a series of reports last year on msnbc.com.

I blogged about her last year. The criminal investigation continues into the handling of her money by her attorney and accountant, with detectives and a forensic accountant poring over the many years of Clark's financial records.

Her wealth was managed by her scoundrel attorney, Wally Bock, 79, of Queens, N.Y., and her certified public accountant, a felon named Irving H. Kamsler, 64, of the Bronx, N.Y. I hope these two get the justice they so richly deserve for stealing from Huguette all these years!

A tattoo artist almost stopped the release of the movie “Hangover II” this weekend

S. Victor Whitmill, the tattoo artist who created the original mark for boxer Mike Tyson (shown here on actor), who appears in both Hangover films, sued April 28 seeking an injunction and damages for copyright infringement.

Story: Can 'Hangover 2' serve up another round of success?

My wife and I went to Chico this past weekend and it was hot. Sun burn hot. Living on the coast has spoiled me, and I’m only comfortable with moderate temperatures these days.

We once lived in the desert, Twentynine Palms. Never again!

Extreme heat and sun calls for protection. Do you know what the top sunscreen is? According to this report, the cheapest is the best! 

That ought to be good news for everyone heading into warmer climates this upcoming Memorial Day Weekend.

I thought I saw the most absurd thing in the world a while back when I watched a documentary on Chernobyl, and how it’s become a tourist attraction today – despite still  being highly radioactive! But no! Now some people are looking into making Osama bin Laden's compound a tourist attraction! No shit!

The official tourist map for Abbottabad urges visitors to discover its "hidden" treasures.

"It was a very important event, and I believe people from around the world would be very interested to visit it," said tourism official Yar Mohammed.

PHOTO - A Pakistani youngster collects metal pieces from a wheat field outside the house where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden lived in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

Time for me to head on down the road…

As It Stands: Have you already read this crazy column?

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 05/22/2011 07:25:12 AM PDT

Déjà vu to you, and does this column look familiar? I hope not. I'll explain why later, but right now let's cut to the chase. Have you ever had the feeling you had experienced something in the past when the experience was actually a new one?

Kinda creepy, huh? It has been for me, numerous times. As far as I've been able to determine, there are two schools of thought on that sense of déjà vu. You have the scientific viewpoint, and you have the folks who believe those feelings of déjà vu come from psychic abilities possessed by some people.

So what is it? Disorders in the brain or memories of a past life? What is déjà vu? Let's start with those researchers who spend their lives trying to find the answer. The feeling has been attributed to schizophrenia, anxiety and a malfunction of the electrical system in the brain.

Certain medicines are believed to be factors responsible for déjà vu. Medicinal drugs such as amantadine and phenylpropanolamine have been observed to cause it.

A popular theory says our brains tend to associate different situations. Even more interesting, the brain often tries to experimentally reproduce a situation it has never faced. The result? Your anticipation of a certain event might make you think you've encountered a similar experience before.

In my reading on the subject, I found there are several types of déjà vu. Fair warning; this gets a little tricky. Basically, you have deja senti, deja vecu, and deja visite.

With deja senti, the feeling you have refers to something “already felt.” According to researchers, something felt in the past was very similar to that felt in the present. The similarity in the two experiences can make a person feel they've done it in the past.

When you visited a completely new place, have you had the funny idea you knew what was going to happen next? That's called deja vecu, and those who experience it feel they have a portal to the future.

There's a fine line between deju vecu and the last form of deju vu called deja visite. As the name implies, deja visite is all about going to a place for the first time and claiming to know it despite never having been there in reality.

It's funny, but most of my deju vu experiences were like “Oh, no! Caught again!” I knew a guy in the Army who always claimed to experience déjà vu, and after a while, I wondered if he was a psychic or a wacko. Luckily, we were stationed together for only a few months, and I never had to find out.

While trying to understand this mysterious déjà vu stuff, I came across one explanation that was an eye opener. Scientists say one of the human eyes perceives a certain thing before the other. One eye actually records the incident earlier, they claim.

Meanwhile, the other eye, which records the same incident milliseconds later, gives the brain a feeling of recollection. Researchers suggest that one eye perceives something and the brain interprets it. The other eye lags in time by a few milliseconds, perceives the same thing and sends the image to the brain.

So what happens? The brain perceives the image milliseconds later and thinks you've seen it before. Sound good? Well ... maybe not. People with only one eye experience deju vu, too, a fact that has left those researchers scratching their heads and bumping into walls. I'm sure this will only be a temporary setback, and they'll have another explanation for deju vu one of these days.

I'll try to stay tuned to any further theories about this fascinating subject that may be worth updating in a future column. I'll just have to be careful to remember that I've already written about the subject so I don't have a case of deju vu when I do!

As It Stands, if you think I wrote this column before, please squint one eye and blink the other a couple of times until the feeling goes away!

Websites carrying this column: 

SiloBreaker – NEWS SEARCH, ANALYSIS,INSIGHT

Circulator 38 – Google Groups News

Yasni.com - Pukumundalu Blogspot Com

Everyones still here, a stolen moon rock, and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s death is announced

So here we are; drinking our coffee and tea, and enjoying the morning. The Rapture apparently didn’t get you and me.

Either we’re sinners and didn’t deserve to get scooped up out of our clothes, or it’s not the End of the World. What’s Harold Camping going to do now?

 

Meanwhile as the world turns: 

A woman offering to sell a moon rock for $1.7 million was detained in a NASA sting, authorities said Friday. It is illegal to sell moon rocks (which I didn’t know). They’re considered national treasures. The gray rocks, which were gifted to each U.S. state and 136 countries by then-President Richard Nixon, can sell for millions of dollars on the black market.

How about those crazy people in Texas? The legislature acts to make state safe for "noodling"

Texas may still have problems like a multi-billion dollar budget deficit and public schools facing major spending cuts, but its legislature has moved to make the Lone Star State safe for "noodling."

Noodling, the time-honored Southern practice of catching catfish by hand, has been illegal in Texas, and noodlers were subject to a fine of up to $500.

However, lawmakers from east Texas, the part of the state most steeped in Southern culture, have long claimed it is wrong to ban what is also called by some "Hillbilly Hand Fishing."

 

According to a report from the Galactic Empire Times, Obi-Wan Kenobi Is Dead, Vader Says

Obi-Wan Kenobi, the mastermind of some of the most devastating attacks on the Galactic Empire and the most hunted man in the galaxy, was killed in a firefight with Imperial forces near Alderaan, Darth Vader announced on Sunday.

In a late-night appearance in the East Room of the Imperial Palace, Lord Vader declared that “justice has been done” as he disclosed that agents of the Imperial Army and stormtroopers of the 501st Legion had finally cornered Kenobi, one of the leaders of the Jedi rebellion, who had eluded the Empire for nearly two decades.

It’s been fun. Time for me to head on down the road…

‘It is almost impossible to watch a sunset and not dream’

photo source                                            Quote by Bern Williams

It Can be Hard Keeping a Straight Face as a COURT REPORTER

These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

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ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?

WITNESS:    He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'

ATTORNEY:  And why did that upset you?

WITNESS:    My name is Susan!

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ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?

WITNESS:    Yes.

ATTORNEY:  And in what ways does it affect your memory?

WITNESS:    I forget..

ATTORNEY:  You forget?  Can you give us an example of something you forgot?

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ATTORNEY:  She had three children, right?

WITNESS:    Yes.

ATTORNEY:  How many were boys?

WITNESS:    None.

ATTORNEY:  Were there any girls?

WITNESS:       Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new

attorney?

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ATTORNEY:  How was your first marriage terminated?

WITNESS:    By death.

ATTORNEY:  And by whose death was it terminated?

WITNESS:    Take a guess.

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ATTORNEY:  Can you describe the individual?

WITNESS:    He was about medium height and had a beard

ATTORNEY:  Was this a male or a female?

WITNESS:    Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.

photo source

Preakness Stakes Infield: Where Debauchary Runs Wild While the Horses Run in Second Leg of the Famous Triple Crown

I had no idea that horse racing offered such diverse entertainment.

If the world doesn’t end tomorrow (and I suspect it won’t) then consider going to this party:

Pimlico race track officials offer a wild party in the infield of the famous race track. They walk a fine line, every year between losing control of these annual parties… and losing the event. Something no one wants to happen. It makes money. That’s the real name of the game isn’t it folks?

The People’s Party, also dubbed by locals as the “Biggest Outdoor Frat Party in the World,” offers an infield crowd of diverse groups of people, with professionals, racing fans, college students. It’s typically a fun-seeking, younger crowd, but there are plenty of veterans who have been partaking in the celebration for decades. The array of outfits and costumes is befitting for a carnival.

Many will be well-inebriated hours before the Preakness is run. It’s not your average day at the racetrack. It certainly isn't a place for children.The 2010 infield scene featured more security and much-improved dining options and beverage stands. But the insanity still existed. You could still witness the “Toilet Run,” also known as the running of the urinals, where participants must dash across the top of numerous porta-potties while getting pelted with objects from onlookers. There also were passed-out people all over the ground, some fighting and, of course, women flashing their bare-skinned chests.

The Obama Deception: Why Cornel West Went Ballistic

The moral philosopher Cornel West (shaking hands with Obama), recently said if Barack Obama’s ascent to power was a morality play, he would be the voice of conscience. Rahm Emanuel, a cynical product of the Chicago political machine, would be Satan. Emanuel in the first scene of the play would dangle power, privilege, fame and money before Obama. West would warn Obama that the quality of a life is defined by its moral commitment, that his legacy will be determined by his willingness to defy the cruel assault by the corporate state and the financial elite against the poor and working men and women, and that justice must never be sacrificed on the altar of power. (click here for more on this Opinion piece by Chris Hedges)

Friday morning musings: the world ends tomorrow, and other stuff

Pull up a chair, grab a cup of hot coffee, and get confortable: this may be your last day on earth! Judgment Day is set for Saturday…

Thousands of people around the country have spent the last few days taking to the streets and saying final goodbyes before Saturday, Judgment Day, when they expect to be absorbed into heaven in a process known as the rapture. Nonbelievers, they hold, will be left behind to perish along with the world over the next five months.

With their doomsday T-shirts, placards and leaflets, followers — often clutching Bibles — are typically viewed as harmless proselytizers from outside mainstream religion. But their convictions have frequently created the most tension within their own families, particularly with relatives whose main concern about the weekend is whether it will rain.

Photo - Abby Haddad Carson and Robert Carson say Saturday is Judgment Day; the children, Joseph, Faith and Grace, right, do not.

Not gnarly! Lifeguard pay of $200,000 riles Calif. beach city

Who had any idea lifeguards made this much money? They make more than nurses and many other professions that require years of schooling. Heck, all you have to do is sit and watch the pretty girls in thongs!

The debate over the merits of having lifeguards as well-paid as some CEOs has divided this wealthy coastal city, spawned a pro-lifeguard Facebook page and created headlines as far away as England ("Time for a Career Change? California's Baywatch lifeguards paid up to $210,000 per year!").

Happy Birthday Cher! You’re 65 today and still look great!

When it comes to Cher, the regular rules don't apply. Born Cherilyn Sarkisian, she was a bride  by 18, a No. 1 pop star by 19 and a TV star by 25. It was during her stint on "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" that she developed her signature style with the aid of designer Bob Mackie and an ocean of faux locks. She has had "every color wig you can imagine," she once told InStyle. "You cannot do things with your hair because all that styling ruins it. And I love my hair." Cher may be outrageous, but the Hollywood veteran is certainly not reckless.

 Baby ospreys saved from gators as flood rises

The rising waters unleashed in parts of Louisiana by the opening of the Morganza spillway, to protect New Orleans and Baton Rouge from Mississippi River flooding, has sent people and wildlife searching for higher ground while leaving birds such as the osprey chicks at risk.

In recent days, bird rehabilitators have swooped in and rescued osprey chicks and eggs from this lake in the Atchafalaya Basin.

A guide who usually shows them to tourists and photographers got federal approval, saying the nests would soon be under water or in reach of alligators.

That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by. It’s time for me to head on down the road…

Part II: Pursuing more psychodelic posters just because…

   

What can I say? I love these old 60s and 70s posters. I remember making a few of my own, but with nowhere near the expertise displayed here.

   

It’s strange seeing them after all of these years. I still remember my first black light poster – it was The Doors. Rock on!

  

All of these images are available at Google Images Public domain. I’ll share more on another day.

The Social Security/Medicare "Crisis" Is Really a Choice - Between the Middle Class and the Wealthy

Guest Opinion

By Richard (RJ) Eskow

“The word for today is "choice," not "crisis."

It's time to stop saying the country "can't afford" Medicare, Social Security, or other programs that benefit the middle class. If I told my mother that I "can't mow the lawn" or "I can't do all that homework" when I was a kid, she'd say: "Don't say you can't. Say you don't want to." (The outcome of these exchanges was inevitable. Hello, lawnmower ...)

Now we're told there's a "crisis" and we can no longer afford the middle-class American dream. The truth is the opposite: Our long-term problems aren't caused by the middle class, but by politicians who choose to sacrifice the middle class for wealthy interests.

All this talk about a "debt crisis" is a way for politicians to avoid telling the truth: They'd rather say they "have to" sacrifice the middle class than admit they're making a choice.” Read the rest here.

Image source