- Mayor Buzzkill is at it again. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is
overreacting it typical elected official fashion, seeking to respond to
violence in the theater district by instating club curfews. Yes, there has been
a wave of violence in the area, including a shooting that killed a veteran of
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Menino’s call for a curfew comes just days
after Afghanistan veteran Stephen Perez was shot to death in the theater
district after leaving a nightclub. Menino is under the misguided impression
that instituting curfews will do something other than move the night-ending
violence up an hour or two. “So if you want to go to the theater and go to a
restaurant down there, it’s very safe. But after 2:30 in the morning, it
becomes a hell hole,” Menino said. To drive his point home, Menino sent a
scathing letter to the city’s licensing board, “suggesting” that they make
changes to the closing times of six clubs including Rumor, Venu, Royale, Guilt,
Caprice, and Cure. Why those clubs specifically? Because the mayor says they
all have had a troubled disciplinary history. His jacked-up plan calls for
staggering closing times for these establishments so the bars stop letting out
all club-goers at the same time. “I as mayor, I got to ensure people who live
there and work there that it’s a safe place. What happened over the last four
months really shows in some of those establishments,” Menino explained. His
proposal has met with mixed reviews, but the licensing board has two weeks to
schedule a hearing………
- A $240 million investment is supposed to
pay off immediate and significant dividends. It is not supposed to lead to
entire Major League Baseball franchise’s fan base letting out a collective
groan when that $240 million man strides to the plate. So far, that has been
the Albert Pujols experience in Los Angeles. The slugger, who signed a 10-year, $240 million contract with the
Angels this offseason, has yet to hit a home run and has posted a .194 batting average and the five RBIs
through his first 27 games in the American League. He’s struggling through the
longest home run drought of his 12-year career and on Saturday, manager Mike
Scioscia decided the team was better off without Pujols, at least for one game.
Pujols was not in the Los Angeles Angels' starting lineup for their game
against the Toronto Blue Jays. He sounded very welcoming of the decision, as a
group of reporters approached his locker prior to the game and Pujols said:
"Go ask the manager, not me, guys. I don't make the lineup." Well, then.
With Pujols out, Mark Trumbo, who moved from first base to playing third and in
the outfield after the Angels signed Pujols, started at his original position
Saturday night. Scioscia informed Pujols of the decision Friday night after
another disappointing effort from the former MVP, who has gone a career-worst
33 games and 137 at-bats without a home run since late last season.
"Sometimes you're grinding, and nobody grinds harder than Albert,"
Scioscia said. "I think he's frustrated just from the fact that he knows
there's a lot he feels that he can contribute. Sometimes when you're trying to
find something and you're pounding your head against the wall, you need to just
get off that treadmill for a second and get back on the next day."
Considering he’s already feuded with hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, Pujols’
issues with Scioscia don’t portend good news for the Angels. However, he is
confident he can turn the season around. "I can't get myself down, because
that's not who I am," he said. "I'm a leader in this clubhouse, just
like I was in St. Louis. And when you're struggling around this time of the
year, this is when the ballclub really needs their leader to step up.” Yes, it
is time to get steppin’ for Pujols……….
- Crazy or not crazy? The definition of insanity nearly
changed and probably would have if a panel of psychiatrists charged with updating the
reference manual used to diagnose mental illness in the United States has its
way. The panel was considering controversial plans to add new diagnoses for
people with mild psychosis and those who are simultaneously anxious and sad.
All indications were that the panel would fly in the face of convention and
approve the changes, but the committee caved to pressure and won’t approve the
changes despite leaving in place a host of other proposals that have sparked
fierce criticism from professionals in the field. The drama commenced last week
when the American Psychiatric Association revealed the possible addition of two
new conditions to the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, or DSM-5. That is the massive volume considered the bible of
modern psychiatry, also known as quality bathroom reading when one has plenty
of time to kill. After the possible changes were revealed, many in the psychiatric
community were outraged. The first condition, “attenuated psychosis risk,”
denoted young people in danger of developing a full-blown psychotic disorder as
they aged. However, many psychiatrists complained that there is little evidence
that the symptoms, such as occasional mild hallucinations or delusional
thinking, are a reliable predictor of later psychosis. These naysayers also
contended that such a diagnosis could lead to unnecessary treat young people
with powerful antipsychotic drugs that have harmful side effects. A second
controversial proposition was the addition of a category for “mixed anxiety
depressive disorder” that critics charged could label the challenges of
everyday life a mental condition. In a sense, that designation would have
played right into the excuse-loving culture where everyone is traumatized,
everyone is a victim of something and everyone has an excuse for every failure.
Instead, the committee will place both new categories in a section of the DSM-5
for conditions requiring further research. All of the changes were part of a
series unveiled Wednesday that will be open to a third and final round of
public comment lasting six weeks, through June 15. The 162-member group charged
with revising the DSM-5 could make further changes in the next several months
before delivering the final draft to the printer by the end of the year. “We
have not made decisions ahead of time,” said David Kupfer, a professor of
psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and chairman of
the task force. “I am spending 24-7 with 160 colleagues trying to do the best
we can to listen to everybody.” Listening to everyone may be part of the
problem in a process that has dragged on for years, beset by delays and
allegations of disorganization and secrecy. The DSM-5 is important because its
wording can affect what treatments a person is prescribed, whether their health
insurance pays for it and what services they are entitled to. Put differently,
it’s kind of a big deal………..
- Another (alleged) coup attempt in a far-flung corner of
the world? Awwwwe-some! Not only is this a coup in a remote part of the globe,
it comes from the tiny island nation of Curacao, previously known best for
dominating its region for Little League World Series baseball qualifying.
Curacao is a country within the
Kingdom of the Netherlands with the Dutch monarch overseeing foreign affairs
and defense, but it has its own government as well, helmed by a prime minister.
Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte is at the heart of the alleged coup attempt and
has suspended the island's entire secret service agency because of it. Granted,
Schotte may be a bit tardy in acting, but a good coup story is a good coup
story because such tales have no expiration date. The supposed coup was plotted
in 2010, but Schotte announced the suspension of the entire secret service
Friday, along with the decision to leave an unidentified number of members on
paid leave pending a parliamentary investigation. Even when that investigation
is complete, Schotte plans to restructure a new agency with assistance from the
Dutch intelligence service. Unfortunately, Schotte did not provide details
about the alleged coup. The prime minister has had several well-publicized
run-ins with the secret service agency since the Dutch Caribbean island
obtained greater autonomy in 2010 following the breakup of the Netherlands
Antilles. A cynic might argue that Schotte is merely paranoid or an
exceptionally insecure leader, but an optimist would say, “Who the hell cares? A
coup story is awesome regardless!” If only the whole world could grasp that
optimistic way of viewing the world……….
- Damn. There isn't a better response to the overpowering
success of “The Avengers” at the box office in its opening weekend. The superhero
six-pack from Marvel made a whopping $200.3 million in its debut, a record for
opening weekends among all films. The margin of victory for “Avengers” over its
closest pursuer was also a record, as undeserving defending box office champion
“Think Like a Man” was a mere $192 million behind with an $8 million weekend to
raise its three-week domestic tally to $73.1 million. “The Hunger Games”
impressively hung in third place despite being in its seventh week of release,
adding $5.7 million to its coffers for running total of $380.7 million
domestically. Unwatchably bad Zac Efron vehicle “The Lucky One” was fourth with
$5.5 million and has earned $47.9 million through three weeks. “The
Pirates! Band of Misfits” was fifth in its second weekend in theaters, making
$5.4 million despite dropping off 51 percent from its opening last weekend.
Through two weeks, its unimpressive total is $18.6 million. Fellow mediocre
second-week movie “The Five-Year Engagement” ranked sixth with $5.1 million and
has so-so’ed its way to $19.2 million in domestic earnings thus far. John
Cusack’s “The Raven” landed in seventh place with a $2.5 million effort to inch
up to $12 million in total earnings in its first two weeks. “Safe” continued to
disappoint, making $2.4 million to average just over $1,000 per theater and the
action flick was eighth for the weekend. Disney’s “Chimpanzee” secured the
ninth spot on the list with a $2.3 million weekend and Fox’s uninspired revival
of “The Three Stooges” rounded out the top 10 with a measly $1.9 million for a
four-week haul of $39.6 million and counting. The lone film to drop out from
last week’s top 10 was horror flick “The Cabin in the Woods (No. 11)…………
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