- Some holiday lighting displays are a metaphorical “Eff
you” to one’s neighbors. Adorning your yard with enough wattage and voltage to
land a 757 on the front lawn and illuminate the entire county in the process
has nothing to do with Christmas cheer and everything to do with showing off
and throwing it in the neighbors’ faces that your display is bigger and better
than theirs. That makes it downright laughable that Denham Springs, La.
resident Sarah Childs has received so much bile from her neighbors and even
local law enforcement for one of the most creative holiday displays in recent
memory. Childs found herself embroiled in a dispute with some of her neighbors and
decided to send a message with her decorations. She hung her Christmas lights
in the shape of a middle finger and the display so rattled her neighbors that
they called the police, who threatened to arrest Childs. In response, Childs and
the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana sued the city. A Baton Rouge
judge sided with Childs on Thursday, clearing the way for her to put her
literal “Eff you” in lights back up. "I imagine it will be back up before
too long," said ACLU of Louisiana executive director Marjorie Esman.
Childs has actually been forced to take the lights down from her roof twice, once
after a police officer told her she could be fined and again after another
officer threatened to arrest her, her lawsuit said. U.S. District Judge James
Brady’s decision should hold off ass-hatted city officials for now, but his order
temporarily barring them from interfering with the display will only protect
Childs until a Jan. 7 hearing. In the two-page order, Brady wrote that the
city's "continued efforts" to prevent Childs from displaying her
holiday lights will violate her rights to free speech and due process. Denham
Springs attorney Paeton Burkett said the city will comply with the order, but
the issue appears to be a long way from over. For now, a display showing two
hands with extended middle fingers feels pretty freaking festive………
- Berlin, you’ve gotta fight….for your right…..to keep your
gas street lamps. That fight has become a pressing one now that Germany’s
capital city is pressing forward with a plan to modernize and make itself more
environmentally responsible. City officials have announced their intention to phase out the
vast majority of Berlin's historic gas lamps as part of a
far-reaching project to make the city carbon-neutral by 2050. Berlin currently
has nearly 43,000 gas-powered streetlights, more than any other city in the
world. More than one of every six streetlights are gas and many of that number date
back to the 19th century. Others were erected immediately after World War II by
the occupying Soviet forces attempted to restore light to the devastated city.
Guided tours to areas of the city where the lights remain prevalent have become
popular and the distinctive warm, yellowish glow of gas lamps is akin to
Beacon
Hill in Boston or San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. As pretty as the lights are,
however, rising fuel costs and maintenance as much as $700 for some lamp models
have made the gas lamps an easy target for cost-cutting politicos. Mix in carbon
dioxide emissions almost ten times that of an equivalent electric light and the
push for electric alternatives picks up steam to the point that a modernization program to replace
8,000 highway lamps, mostly dating from the early 1950s, with new electric
lights has been approved. Officials argue in the modernization plan that the energy
used by those 8,000 gas lamps could power 100,000 electric lights and claim
that replacing them would cut energy costs by 90 percent. For the tree huggers
out there, the appeal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 9,200 tons per
year should ring true. Petra Rohland, spokeswoman for Berlin's Department of
Urban Development, said the changeover is expected to be completed by 2016. "Five
percent of the historic gas lights, especially the candelabra, will be kept as
originals in the future," Rohland said. Thankfully, a group known as Gaslight Culture is calling for the
dismantling plan to be suspended. The group is pushing for a meeting of all
interested parties to seek alternative solutions. Maybe a fundraiser concert
fronted by New Jersey rockers The Gaslight Anthem would be a solid idea……….
- For the first time in two and a half weeks, LeBron James
was found guilty of a crime – a crime on the court, that is. In a league where
stars get blatantly preferential treatment and the obvious benefit on foul
calls from officials the NBA insists are calling the game right down the
middle, James had not been whistled for a foul since Dec. 8. That streak ended
Tuesday when the Miami Heat forward was called for a foul against Oklahoma
City's Serge Ibaka with 7:57 left in the first quarter of the teams' NBA Finals
rematch, James went up to block a dunk attempt by Ibaka, but instead was
whistled for his first foul in 254 minutes, 7 seconds of on-court time. His
previous foul came when he was whistled for backing into New Orleans' Lance
Thomas with 2:30 left in the first quarter of that game on Dec. 8. James also
racked up a technical foul on Christmas, but neither that misdeed nor the first
foul he had been called for in weeks – not the first he had committed, just the
first he had been called for – were enough to derail the Heat. They bested the
Thunder 103-97 by making all of the plays down the stretch as Oklahoma City
self-destructed and looked like a 1-year-older version of the team that was
outmatched in losing three straight games in Miami in the Finals last season as
the Heat closed them out and won the franchise’s second NBA title. As another
calendar year ends, it’s reassuring to know that the absurdly preferential
treatment for NBA stars remains one of the world’s most-reliable constants……….
- Fools who inject toxins into their face in a futile
attempt to stave off the hands of time don’t deserve the protection or efforts
of the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration on their behalf, right? The bureaucrats at the FDA
clearly do not agree, otherwise they would not have sent warning letters to eight
Massachusetts Botox providers have been sent letters from cautioning them they
may have unapproved and unsafe versions of the anti-wrinkle injection. The
unsafe Botox (an oxymoron of sorts because its very nature makes it unsafe no
matter how it is used) came from foreign suppliers owned by Canada Drugs and so
far, the agency has alerted more than 350 medical practices across the country
that they may have received the unapproved version. Using unapproved Botox
means the agency cannot vouch for the safety and effectiveness of the product
or if the box has the appropriate warnings for patients, leaving providers in
Hyannis, Framingham, Newbury, Fall River, Melrose, Marblehead and Dartmouth in
a plastic surgery pickle of sorts. Included on that list are two plastic
surgeons, three oral surgeons, one dermatologist and one spa, all of which
received products from suppliers owned and operated by Canada Drugs and known
under the names Quality Specialty Products (QSP), A+ Health Supplies, QP
Medical, Bridgewater Medical or Clinical Care. This isn't the first time Canada
Drugs has tried to ship unapproved and counterfeit medical supplies, according
to the FDA. In the past, the company has also attempted to send unapproved and
counterfeit cancer drugs. In this case, however, the potential patients
receiving the drugs deserve any unexpected side effects or pain they may incur………
- JJ Abrams has a dork code of ethics. Nerds
everywhere who believe there is a clear line drawn ‘twixt “Star Wars” and “Star
Trek” and never the twain shall meet should be thrilled to know that Abrams has
reportedly turned down the chance to direct “Star Wars: Episode 7” because he wants to remain loyal to all of
the Trekkies out there. Abrams is grinding away on his new film “Star
Trek Into Darkness” to get the
project ready for its May 17 release, but came up for air long enough to admit
that he was approached early on by Disney to direct all three of its planned “Star Wars” sequels, an
offer he turned down in order to focus on his current sci-fi project. "There
were the very early conversations and I quickly said that because of my loyalty
to Star Trek, and also just being a fan (of Star Wars), I wouldn't even want to
be involved in the next version of those things,” Abrams said. “I declined any
involvement very early on. I'd rather be in the audience not knowing what was
coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them.” So far,
Disney hasn’t found the right cinematic visionary to lead its revival of George
Lucas’ outer-space franchise, although “Toy Story 3” writer Michael Arndt will pen the script. “X-Men”
director Matthew Vaughn has also been linked to the director search, but
nothing is official just yet. What is official is the 2015 target for the
release of “Star Wars: Episode VII,” giving the franchise’s dork-tastic fans plenty of time to speculate
and salivate over what the movie will look like………
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