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No Country for Old Men Sucked.

There, I said it. It’s rare that I discuss anything as trivial as movies or entertainment but this movie deserves special recognition. Not because of how overwhelmingly good it was but instead what an absolute let down it ended up being. EVERYONE hyped this movie, even my best friend Daryl. So I was damned excited to see it. I liken this movie to interrupted sex. A complete let down. And before all the superior intellects start attacking with “you just didn’t get it” let me be straight with you: I got it. Once I started studying Euclidean geometry and reading Tolstoy I think I garnered the intellect to grasp good guys, bad guy, bad guy gets away. My problem with it was that it was BORING and not entertaining. I wasn’t even tired and I almost fell asleep.

I hated the time I spent watching this film so much that I Googled “No Country for Old Men sucks” this AM and found a thread on Rube Chat where a disagreement between contributors summed up the way I felt about it perfectly.

Old Country is a film that only the pretentious like…..because it allows them to tell those that dare to disagree, that they just don’t get it, or that they lack the intellect to wrap their minds around this movies supposed greatness. Answer me this…..what was the driving force of this film? The plot was thin, and there was really no point to all of the madness. DIE HARD is a simple formula done to perfection. There is a plot, a conflict, and a resolution. Much like the film that got robbed at the Oscars…..”Juno”.

Reply:

This is one of the most rediculous assertions I have ever heard on rube chat. There is so much to learn from this movie and for somone to just write it off like you are is so disappointing. The moral of this movie is so poignant that I am sad for people like you that just miss it, for some reason. It is unfortunate.

Oh no sir, a lot of us did not miss the “poignant moral” of this movie. Like I said before, I got it and I still thought the movie was boring as hell. Smokin’ Aces gets a better entertainment grade as far as I’m concerned. If you’re someone who was touched by this movie through a revelation that evil things happen and your powerless to stop them, you simply don’t get out of your own little comfort zone enough and face reality. Hell, just watch the news, or Die Hard.

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Unsolved Triangle Murders

Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill are nationally known as the Triangle Area. The name references the Research Triangle Park that sits in the middle of these three cities. I’ve lived in the Triangle since I was 8 years old. My wife was born in Raleigh. We’ve seen a whole lot of 2 lane roads turn into 6 lane interchanges over the past 20 years. The growth has been explosive because of the nice neighborhoods, jobs and a relatively low crime rate with the exception of areas in Durham. Raleigh alone is now bigger than Minneapolis, St. Louis and Charlotte. If you add in all the surrounding suburbs the Triangle could be the national model for urban sprawl.

In the past few years the area has gotten some pretty negative national attention because of crime. There was, of course, the Duke rape scandal. Crystal Magnum and Mike Nifong be damned. But that case was sensational grandstanding by a politically motivated prosecutor. The more disturbing cases are the unsolved homicides that have occurred in the past two years. As of yesterday morning the list of unsolved murder victims includes the former Student Body President of UNC, Eve Carson. What a beautiful girl she was.

Of course we don’t have any details in the way this case is being handled by law enforcement. We just need to hope it’s managed better than other area homicides involving women have been. Such as the case of Michelle Young, a pregnant 29 year-old mother murdered in front of her 2 year-old daughter who was found crying beside the body in November of 2006. The Wake County Sheriffs Department focused a lot of attention on her husband Jason, who was “out of town on business” and called his sister several times to go get a fax from his house. She went and found her sisters body. Apparently the Sheriff hasn’t been able to bring a case against Jason Young. He’s roaming free, likely guilty of killing his wife.

And if that wasn’t disturbing enough there is the case of another pregnant mother Jenna Neilson, 22, who was delivering USA today newspapers when she was attacked and stabbed to death on June 14, 2007. her body was found behind a local convenience store. USA Today ran a national ad for information in the case. There was a composite of a person of interest circulated by the Raleigh Police Department. Most people thought the composite looked like a woman but it was labeled “Hispanic Male”. That’s it. That’s all they’ve got as far as the public knows.

Sure there have been other murders in the area as well as killers who’ve been caught. But having followed the details of local homicide cases closely I can tell you most were solved through dumb luck. They caught confessed serial killer Samual James Cooper after he robbed a bank, ran from the cops and hid inside a Domino’s Pizza. This apprehension was 5 previously unsolved homicides past due. The deaths of beautiful and pregnant women seem to be the most difficult for Triangle area law enforcement. They have no leads, can’t pin cases, solidify evidence or make arrests. In these cases the bad guys are winning.

I’m aware this is reality and not an episode of CSI but progress needs to be made. People are getting scared. The perception is quickly emerging that you can be gunned down, beaten or stabbed to death in a suburban neighborhood and there’s a high probability that the killer’s going to get away with it because the police can’t build a case. I’m not advocating a drag net that sweeps up innocent people to parade them in front of the media. I am asking for better police work. The investigating agencies should call in the Feds if they need help and combine the resources of multiple agencies. It’s time an arrest is made in one of these cases surrounding these murdered wives, mothers and daughters.

The hardest thing for me to digest when writing this article is, based on this track record, the parents of Eve Carson have no reason to believe there will be a killer arrested in the death of their daughter. Some random thug may have beaten the Chapel Hill law enforcement community. At this point every agency and officer involved in these homicides has their reputation on the line.

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Is Raleigh going to run out of water?

Probably so.  At this point we’d need two back to back Hurricane’s to save us.  Last night the city held a public forum on the topic.  The media reported people expressing their concerns about conservation, future water sources… blah,blah, blah.  Did anyone bother to ask about or elaborate on the contingency plan for when the taps run dry?

The discussion around our house has been “where are we going”? I’ve already got plans in action to send the wife and kids to Virginia if necessary.   I’m glad I’m working on it because it doesn’t sound like the city planners are.  Or at the very least they’re not letting the public in on the plan.

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Back to the court house…

So far I’ve got no report that my license has been suspended or that a warrant has been issued for my arrest for a failure to appear.  The Wake County Clerk of Courts office told me that I would have to fill out a form to appear in “VL Court” on a Monday or Thursday.   I have no idea what that is.  At the same time I received an email from the Clerks office which specified that I can go to court room 1A any day between 2:00 and 3:30PM to dispose of the case.  I think I will try that recommendation first.

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This is what I pay taxes for? More fines, fees and inconvenience?

Okay, in this post I’m going to disclose a mistake I made, the ramifications and most importantly the extreme annoyance that is the NCDMV and Wake County Courts.

In October I was pulled over for an expired vehicle registration. I didn’t realize it had expired. I got a ticket requiring me to appear in court on Nov. 17th. Within the week I had my valid registration via the Internet. I completely forgot about the court date and did not appear. Within two days I went to the Wake County court house and filled out a motion for continuance as instructed by the clerk of courts office. I was given a new court date of Dec. 20th.

On the morning of Dec. 20th I told Amy “I have to go to disposition court today” where the standard procedure is you show the District Attorney a copy of the valid registration and he in basically says “thanks, dismissed, go home”. Well the 20th was a busy day at work. As a result I completely forgot to go down to the court house again. So on January 2nd, when the courts opened back up after the holidays, I went down and filed another motion for another court date. Yes, it is my fault that I missed both dates and I was trying to make it right. So I filled out the paper work and handed it to the clerk.

This time instead of giving me a new court date the clerk said “You’ll be mailed a new court date within 2 weeks”. Okay, whatever. It will probably be moved out of disposition court to district where I’ll have to pay fines and all kinds of court costs. Not cool but that’s the price to pay for missing two set dates.

Tonight I got home and as usual I went to check the mail. I had a letter with a return address from the Wake County Clerk of Courts. I opened to find out my new court date. Instead what I got was a piece of paper that said only “Case Number 07CR### – Motion Denied. No new court date”. – That’s it. Absolutely nothing else.

So a little while ago I went to the Wake County Clerk of Courts website to see if I could tell what this means. The only information they have is this:

“If you have missed your court date by more than twenty (20) days, a late fee of $50.00 will be added to the fine and court costs. Additionally, the Division of Motor Vehicles will start the process to suspend your driver’s license.

If your personal court appearance was required and you failed to appear on your court date, the court will issue an Order for Arrest. You may also be required to post a bond to insure your appearance in court at a later date.

You may get more information regarding missed court dates by visiting the Clerk’s Office Criminal Division, located on the 1st floor of the Wake County Courthouse. Please see Directions for our location and directions.”

So let me see if I’ve got this right. Instead of assigning another court date they have decided that my license should be suspended, I should be arrested for a failure to appear (because the sheriff’s department has nothing better to do, like find criminals), post bond, appear at a later date in another court, pay fines and court costs and then fight with DMV to get my drivers license re-instated? All for a registration that was expired for 43 days total.

Tomorrow morning I’m going back to the Clerks office as early as possible to see what I have to do. Am I a wanted fugitive who needs to turn myself in before they arrest me at home or work? Why did they wait until exactly 20 days after the court date to “deny” my request for another court date? I’m not certain I’ll get any straight answers to these questions from the clerks office. They’re just low paid state employees who don’t care about anyone or their jobs. It’s all a system to them. My next post will be a follow up on what I learn tomorrow.

As far as I’m concerned this type of thing is nothing more than another revenue generator engineered by the County and State (DOT). This kind of annoyance, in combination with property tax re-evaluations right at a time when property values are decreasing, really bad schools and school boards are just some of the reasons why a move to Amherst county Virginia is looking more and more like a reality. I rarely, if ever, experienced or heard of this kind of garbage while living up there. It seems like in Wake County and NC the theme of each day is fines, fees and taxes in a cycle. Which wouldn’t sting quite as much if the municipal systems in the area didn’t suck beyond comprehension. For example, since Wendell now buys it’s water from Raleigh I pay about 20% more for water than anyone inside Raleigh and don’t get the garbage collection those in the city limits do.

In closing I would like to wish the Raleigh City Council good luck with their pretty new convention center, planned auditorium and one million dollar high class restaurant, suitably called “The Mint”, as we head straight into a recession. Pretty smart people you folks in Raleigh elected. They have very shiny silver spoons and real high opinions of themselves. I’m just glad I can’t vote in Raleigh city elections so I can’t be blamed for their self serving decisions. Anyone thinking of relocating to the Raleigh area, do yourself a big favor and don’t. Even the newly renovated, 8.9 million dollar, Fayetteville Street Mall is a huge flop just like your children’s educations will be. It’s hard to concentrate on academics in a trailer. Ya, no lie, a trailer. That’s what our new schools are and the Wake County school board is proud of this “innovative” solution to accommodate growth.

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The State of NJ apologizes for slavery.

By god this must have been the most pressing piece of legislation decided in the US this week.

Seriously, the fact that a single tax payer dollar went into the passage of this “feel good” bill presented by Assemblyman William Payne, The Deputy Majority Conference Leader (who’s black) should be embarrassing to blacks and New Jersey. There is not a person alive today directly responsible for the slavery of any black man or his ancestors so get over it. Do you feel better now Mr. Payne? Got that out of your system? Good. Sit down and shut up.

Oh and by the way, the guilt is killing me so I apologize for the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII. I wasn’t alive at the time but I’m sorry.

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1st Annual Forecast

My Predictions for 2008:

Financial: A major US recession is coming due to the massive credit bubble bursting, an inability of the central banks to continue using credit to create a false sense of prosperity, and continued stagflation. Look for expanded government backed plans like the sub-prime mortgage rate freeze to combat the falling value of the dollar.

Health: Health care costs will continue to rise during a long period of stagflation as health corporations attempt to increase profits or reduce profit loss for their shareholders. When was the last time you heard of a hospital corporation posting a quarterly profit loss? Based upon direct influence of the insurance industry lobby more “mandatory health insurance” laws will be passed at the state and federal level. This will further reduce access to health care for millions and provide fuel for the aforementioned recession. No end to this cycle is in sight based upon public opinion that health care costs should not be influenced by the government (the aging free market argument).

Politics: This is a hard one. My hope is that the Christian Coalition, Southern Baptists, and Evangelical Church don’t win any elections (i.e. Huckabee). By now anyone that knows me should understand that I don’t interfere with the worship practices of anyone but I have strong disdain for anyone supporting pulpit politicians. Remember, we’re fighting to keep terrorism at bay, not Muslims. This includes stopping domestic terrorists in the form of abortion clinic bombers and other extreme activists. The United States is not Jesus Camp. Nor was it founded as a “Christian Nation” under any written doctrine.

My prediction is that the race will be tight. It will be a race between those who support Holy Wars against Muslims and legislating morality verses those who know that if we keep this up “Fascism will come to America wrapped in a flag carrying a cross”. – Sinclair Lewis

Also, Ron Paul will not be your next President. Sorry Internet.

Music: Look for me at any nearby shows performed by KT Tunstall or The National. I may finally start my review of local shows on this blog and if I don’t get in trouble for it I might join a blues band to start playing dive bars.

Technology: Microsoft will continue to take a beating for creating Vista and if the new 2008 Server is released it will not be embraced at any influential rate. For this reason the number Mac sales and Ubuntu installations will continue to rise while XP will continue to be the dominantly installed OS (boy I hope I got that one right huh?).

Look for more touch screen cell phones to flood the market in response to the iPhone rage. Don’t expect better service though.

Flat panel LCD and plasma TV’s will fall below $750 for a quality 42″ 1080p model.

Playstation 3’s will fall to a steady $299 this year and Wii’s will be more widely available as Nintendo increases production.

IBM Network Services Division contractors should be wary of the coming acquisition by AT&T. This could mean more layoffs in Research Triangle Park and more IT workers on the market in NC. Unix Admin’s will all be moving to Lenoir where the new Google data center is located.

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The Castleton Group saga continues.

The more I learn about Suzanne Clifton the more irritated I am. Through research on her companies, The Excutive Staffing Group and The Castleton Group, I’ve discovered that she was also named one of Enterprising Women Magazine’s “2007 Enterprising Women of the Year”. Of course we can’t blame the magazine for such a mistake, but we can blame Clifton for feeding everyone many spoonful’s of BS by pretending everything was OK with her company while under investigation by the NC Insurance Commission.

Effectively, without notice, Clifton accepted this award while facing corporate insolvency and went on to insist to her clients everything was just fine right until the end. Have no doubt that her actions and inactions (in the form of disclosure) touched many who work in the Raleigh, NC area and I am beginning to hear from those affected personally. Suzanne skipped town out of embarrassment and may not come back (if we’re lucky).

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American women are now paying Indian surrogates.

As a society we should have a problem with this. First we accepted, without argument “elective cesarean section” for rich women who sit in Starbucks browsing the latest gene catalogs to engineer themselves the perfect child by selecting the sperm. Much like they selected the unique interior of the Mercedes SUV they intentionally double parked. Now these same women will claim they “can’t have their own kids” and ship the selected sperm and their eggs off to India where they’ll pay a surrogate mother around $5K US dollars to be pregnant for them.

So, a 42 year old woman who feels she’s “achieved enough success” in her business and social life to finally have kids can ship off some eggs, some select sperm and viola! In about 10 months Fed-Ex delivers a healthy new born. Now all she’ll have to do is hurry and hire the nanny so she can avoid having to do the annoying parenting part until she’s in her 60’s. After all women of this importance can’t afford to let go of too much “me time” can they?

I hope that by the time my kids are in high school there aren’t so many of these unnatural kids running around that they end up getting labeled. I’ve always called them “Vetros” and Amy hates it (I’m told it’s not nice to stereotype). These kids won’t be intellectually superior or have super human strength for all the selective process that goes into them. They won’t be ultra successful because mommy and daddy were rich, aristocratic assholes. They will be normal kids with delusional parents. The same parents who will be in their late 50’s trying to understand why their investment just got busted driving drunk for the second with half a joint in the ash tray and two tickets to the High Times Cannabis Cup in the glove compartment.

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