Congratulations to my bike-riding, Scientology-busting ex-colleague Tony Ortega, who is now the new editor of the Village Voice. This marks the fourth major cross-country move for him in the last five years or so — starting from L.A., then Phoenix, Kansas City, Palm Beach, and now NYC.
And I think it’s okay to announce now that I am going to be a staff writer at the OC Weekly, headquartered in Santa Ana. This new job entails more of a focus on feature/cover stories than film reviews, but I have no intention of completely abandoning the latter.
So if anyone has any tips on weird things going on in OC, I want to know about it.
“…by that I mean that that the place I work turns out a quarter million barrels (that’s barrels, not gallons) of gas a day, 250,000+, and we sell every drop to folks just like you.”
and
“…how can alt-fuels ever have a future if you can’t possibly make enough of it, in large enough quantities, to replace the fuels currently used?”
So oil refineries ALWAYS produced hundreds of thousands of barrells a day? That’d be a big, fat, resounding NO! The fact is, supply and demand tend to grow together. As more people start to use alternative fuels and the demand grows, more will be produced. It will be a gradual shift, not the cataclysmic halt to transportation that you’re conjuring up.
Luke,
I’m a bit late to the party, but congratulations! Somehow I doubt that your corporate shilling is going to make you lose your edge.
~Peggy
Also, what exactly do you mean by ‘weird things going on in OC’? Things you would enjoy participating in? Or leads for stories?
Sorry to be slow getting back to you.. busy day
Ok, Justin, LYT, et al… I am, as I said, stirring up the pot, you got me on that. But it’s just so frickin’ easy and, in reality, you deserve to be bitch-slapped a bit because you are schilling for dollars.
Mario buddy, I don’t know who you are or where you come from, but your response was just what I wanted, in that my conversations here did expose the differences between old and new. I find it amazing that you would characterize the people who have left the OC as “Gutless Cowards” (By the way, you did that in all caps, kinda tasteless and over the top, or so I’ve been told) It was almost like having a Tom Cruise / Jack Nicholson moment – “You can’t stand the truth!” Right. …. The new owners are shining knights and those folks that left are just cowards afraid of change….. Right… we’re done talking on that one.
And Justin, my old friend (I kind of feel that way now, after all we’ve been through):
I’m not defending the oil industry, it is what it is. But I’d add that if you’ll look into it (Google, etc..) you’ll find that when the Democrats controlled the Senate at the start of the war, Senator Tom Dashle, the Senate majority leader, traded his vote to start the war for legislation mandating ethanol as an additive in gas ….hmmm any coincidence the world’s largest Agri-business, ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) is headquartered in his state? You might also remember how he ran for re-election in ’04 running TV commercials in his home state showing himself with his arm around President Bush’s shoulder on the Senate floor.
But I digress… though I would be willing to come back and talk about the Dem’s current “100 hour campaign” and how American Samoa was ripped off for a minimum wage hike ‘casue Starkist Tuna has major processing plants there and is headquartered in Pelosi’s home district….
Or how she bypassed Congresswoman Jane Harman, in line for Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, for that fella out of Texas who, when asked what the difference between a Shite and a Sunni was, couldn’t answer. – who says Democrats are weak on intelligence anyhow??!! Here’s the paste (a little rough in their use of English grammar) in case you think I’m making it up:
Pelosi’s Intelligence Man
Rep. Reyes, D-Tex, has been chosen by incoming Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He granted an interview last week to Jeff Stein, national security editor for Congressional Quarterly magazine.
Toward the end of a 40 minute interview, Mr. Stein asked Rep. Reyes whether al Qaeda was comprised chiefly of Sunni Muslims, or Shiites. “Predominantly — probably Shiite,” he responded.
Of course the opposite true. Al Qaeda is comprised of Sunni extremists who regard Shiite Muslims as heretics who deserve to be killed. Al Qaeda attacks on Shiite civilians are what have triggered the civil strife in Iraq.
The inability of Mr. Reyes was to answer basic questions about the sectarian nature of both al Qaeda and Hezbollah brings into question his qualifications to such an important chairmanship.
So again we have Pelosi and the Democrats distaining National Security for politics because they have bypassed Rep. Jane Harman as chairperson of the Intelligence Committee who served with distinction as ranking Member in the current Congress because Ms. Pelosi thought Ms. Harman was too hawkish and not partisan enough in opposing Bush Administration policy.
Anyhow…
Where’s the rarified air? Starbucks IS (sorry, caps thing got away from me again) more than 10 dollars a gallon and considering the fact they have something like 20,000 ka-zillion stores in the US (and more beyond our oceans) who do you think is buying the stuff – only the wealthy?
Also, I’m not wealthy, though I live well because I work my ass off – I spent all of January and February working 14 hour days, seven days a week, literally. My choice, but also my paychecks with 80, 90, 120 hours of overtime pay. I work. I spent the better part of the cold war riding submarines doing spook crap. Next time you’re at Borders or Barnes and Noble, grab a copy of Blind Man’s Bluff by NY Times investigative reporters Sherry Sontag and Christopher Drew. An excellent read. Seawolf, Parche that’s where I was at. So I’m not wound up. Wound up is having a guy with full-on spinal meningitis in the rack below you and having to steam 4 days out of your op area until you can break radio silence and get him off the boat. Wound up is having a Soviet Victor class on your ass 3000 yards out, in their backyard, not yours.
While we’re revealing things here, I’ll also tell you that I’m a single dad raising a 16 year old daughter. Her GPA is 3.85 and she’s taking all honors / AP courses. She’s a 10th grader who’ll be taking college courses this summer for extra credit. You’ll be bummed to know she wants to go to Harvard and pursue a law degree and that she has the best personality and is quite down to earth!
So I don’t think I’ve thrown in the towel on anything, nor am I justifying / re-justifying.
And I sleep like a baby every night, thank you!
I’m just pinging you guys ‘cause the OC staff got screwed and we lost a great paper. Guess I’m challenging the idea of just rolling over on this sort of b.s. And it does serve a purpose, truly, when little rats like Mario call Rebecca and the others gutless cowards… guess it’s kinda like my own style of investigative journalism… I don’t know Mario’s exact relationship with the OC, but my guess is the staff there will find his comments interesting… I will tell you though, lest you get my politics wrong, Obama is the man and will be the nominee in 08. I look for someone like Gov. Richardson out of New Mexico as the VP.
As for music Luke, well, everyone knows the Stones are the greatest rock ‘n roll band in the world! Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, Get Your Ya-Yas Out!
And now we’ve come full circle.
Music, that’s what this is all about, right?
John H
Ps- I did indeed miss the Becca post – my bad!
Well, here’s a hypothetical for you, John:
Let’s say that for the past two years, you’ve scraped together an existence doing freelance work, making approximately the equivalent of minimum wage and being confined to your apartment 90% of the time. During those years, you had a medical emergency that cleaned out all your savings. For a year or so, you apply for other full-time jobs but don’t find one.
Along comes a company you’ve enjoyed working for in the past (that still employs many of your friends and colleagues) and offers you a livable wage with benefits.
Do you, man of principle that you are, say, “Goodness no, I couldn’t possibly take a job that the guy before me resigned from!”
I certainly don’t.
If you give the new staff a chance, I think they’ll surprise you. We did great things at the old New Times LA.
This is all just really weird. Too many tangents. M John, you’re pretty funny, and I mean that in a decent way. One thing is that I think you’re kinda confused in that this is not the ‘us’ versus ‘them’ thing that you think ‘we’ have going here, re: New Times, Dems/Repubs, etc. You’re not ‘uncovering’ anything, as you say. That’s kinda funny. We’re a disparate bunch of freaks; I often have no idea what people are talking about, right now being a great, great, great example. This is ridiculous. Lurk longer and you’d see what I mean. Hats off to you and your daughter.
To get back to what matters~
go see THE HOST!
In the parlance of internet fandom it is ridiculously awesome.
Also, please listen & read:
http://jscreekbed.blogspot.com/2007/03/brad-delp-boston-to-be-sorely-missed.html
Justin – Dude, I told you three times – I’m just pinging. No “us vs them”. Boat sailors play rough. Buy the book.
Luke – too bad about your medical emergency. I had one too – my wife died of cancer leaving me an 8 year old girl to raise.
Take the job. Just remember the footsteps you walk in. However, given the recent spate of articles and items involving the demise of hard print news sources such as the LA Times (it sucks) or the editor of the NYT saying he wasn’t sure the paper would be printing in 5 years (kinda out there in my view), maybe it’s time to re-train and move on. Bitter medicine, but the reality is if you’re not established in the main stream by now odds don’t favor it. That’s life. You have a lot of years left. Better to re-group now and suffer the short term pain then to reach middle age and have to do it. Goverment health insurance is a fantasy!
Commie Girl was truly a great read every week! She has a beautiful mind and an affinity for alcohol – what could be better?
See ya, I’m out.
It’s been fun!
ps- Mario, you’re still a little rat bastard. You have my word the guys and gals at the OC will see this string and your comments. I don’t know what, if any, contact you have with the OC, but they’ll see the string.
Forgot to sign the above
Boat sailors have sex with other guys online.
johm h?
Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha……………….
john h, For one thing, I’M NOT LITTLE, and I am NOT A RAT. I am 6 ft and 1 1/2 inches tall, weigh about 180lbs, and can power lift 270lbs, and I’m 56 years old. As far as you calling me a rat? NOT QUITE. I was in Federal and State prison for drugs in the early 1980’s. I have QUITE-A-HISTORY……………..
Google my name johnny “BOY,” and you can find out more about me…………
And you calling me a bastard?
MarioGeorgeNitrini111
mariogeorgenitrini111
_____________
The OJ Simpson Case
Honestly, Mario talking to you is liked some sort of addictive candy, a guilty pleasure I shouldn’t indulge in!
What’s the connection between prison and not being a rat? Telling me you were in prison allows me to add two more descriptive phrases to my mental profile of you: dumbshit and fuckup.
Am I to be scared ‘casue of your “history”?
Bite me dude! Your awesome background / history will remain a mystery to me ’cause I got better things to do – besides which, I might get nightmares! You could always post these frickin awesome details about yourself right here – kinda “share the awesomeness” with us, so to speak!
Two things I don’t understand here:
1) Do you actually know Luke or anyone here on this site or are you just an interloper like me ? (Well, in your case a DINGBAT interloper, but an interloper none the less)
2) I’m confused about your journalistic skills – you alluded (do you know that word? Knowing that you’re a bad-ass felon now, I’m not sure of your educational level.) (I’ll assume you do for the sake of expediency) Anyhow, what exactly do you write and for whom? Is it like felon turned scribe or what? Did you have writers block in prison?
Please clear up these points of confusion for me.
John
ps Are you still on parole?
pss Justin – lame swioe at me – you can certainly do better! I mean, that sort of comment, it’s like something some feloneous, dingbat interloper to a web site would write! Honestly!! I am so disappointed!!!
all those who left are starting a paper in long beach.
Johnny “BOY.”
As of this day, I have never met Luke Y. Thompson in person.
Where did you get the idea that I am a journalist? Well Johnny “BOY,” I am not a journalist.
I have been off State and Federal Parole since 1987.
Johnny “BOY”? You called me a little rat bastard. I’ve been called lot’s of names in my life. No problem for me.
As far as a distinction of prison and being a rat, I was in Terminal Island Federal Prison, Lompoc USP, Chino State Prison, and more prison’s. Johnny “BOY?” you don’t seem to strike me as dumb, SO, I will let you figure out the distiction of being a rat and being in the prison’s I just named.
Johnny “BOY,” I don’t want you to be scared of me, but calling me a “little rat bastard,” and referring to me as “little rats,” I feel that putting you on a “LEVEL PLAYING FIELD” with me, is appropriate.
Johnny “BOY”? what “ELSE” are you “CONFUSED” about?
I have to say one thing, I have never been compared to “ADDICTIVE CANDY.” First time for everything, Uh?
MarioGeorgeNitrini111
mariogeorgenitrini111
_____________
The OJ Simpson Case
I will not reapond
I will not respond
I will not respond……. must……break……addiction
you’re a friggin’ moron!!
sorry, relapsed a bit there!
Justin – saw your blog – there is a screenplay lurking here – can you see it?
John
ps Not you Mario, just Justin.
Hey! Did you know that Mario haa the same number of letters as MORON and also starts with an “M”?
Coincidence or fate????
Damn it! Another relapse!!
‘Course IDIOT also has 5 ….
That’s quite enough of that.
You guys want a flamewar, take it to another blog.
[This post has been deleted. I'm serious; quit with the personal attacks, fellas -- LYT]
I’m in love with the internet!