Amici:
A break from the SNHU MFA Graduates this week (still waiting on some info) ... so it’s back to our regularly scheduled program.
Just when you and I and everybody else thought Stand Your Ground was an insane law that would victimize African-American kids until it is abolished, turns out we’re Goddamn right. A kid named Jordan Davis was another kid killed for no good reason under the sun (also in Florida), except this time the situation is even more absurd than the Trayvon Martin case ... (compliments of Rolling Stone) ... yes, that magazine ...
Jordan Davis was in the back seat of an SUV the shooter thought was playing “thug” music too loud ... neither Davis nor the shooter left their cars ... an argument ensued and the shooter claims he saw the kids in the car picking something up (like a shotgun) ... so he did what any self-respecting paranoid lunatic in Florida does when there’s an SUV with African-American kids playing “thug” music ... the shooter fired into the car several times (8-10 x's) ... even after it took off ... and Jordan Davis was killed. Of course the shooter is claiming he was standing his ground ... whether he goes through the actual Stand Your Ground hearing or not, just like the Zimmerman trial, Stand Your Ground will be part of the jury charge (i.e., it is what the jury will have to accept as the law of the state of Florida in the case at hand) ... bypassing the SYG hearing does NOT preclude the jury from dealing with SYG.
I’m not sure what it’ll take for this law to be condemned, but if I’m an African-American living in Florida and my boys are in their teens, we’re going to the shooting range and getting our licenses, guns and ammo, end of story.
Heaven Help Us ... a hilarious 1985 movie about growing up in a Bay Ridge all boys catholic school. Kevin Dillon is wonderful in this movie that my wife INSISTED I watch ... and sorella, was she right. Good memories from some strange times ... and although the catholic school I attended was nothing as severe as the one in the movie, both Nuns and Priests weren’t shy about taking a swipe or two at us. I chronicled one such instance in my fictional memoir, a scene that to this day makes me shiver ... when a classmate was clocked (and I mean clocked) by the giant priest in our parish ... he did a complete 360 before landing on one knee and to this day I have no doubt my friend suffered a minor concussion ... and why do I think that? Because I’m positive the giant priest thought so as well, which was the reason he didn’t clock me (I was next in line) ...
Detroit vs. Wall Street ... so what happens when union workers live in a city that goes bankrupt? They lose their pensions. What happened when Wall Street went bankrupt? They received a bailout and record bonuses. Way to go, Mr. President. It’s good to know you’re still looking out for us ... but the balls on you to FINALLY acknowledge the destruction of a middle class, as if your carte blanche policy to Wall Street wasn’t the most significant factor in its demise, makes me wonder how your balls would compare to Anthony Weiner’s ...
I’m just sayin’ ... about now, Mr. President, you’re the biggest bust since “the Boz” ...
Dennis Farina … died this past week at the age of 69 … bummer. Nobody used the F-bomb like Mr. Farina … although my wife insists I’m pretty good at it myself ...
The Bulger Trial … I’ll say this much for Whitey Bulger’s trial, it’s friggin’ colorful … federal witnesses (former partners of Bulger) have no problem exchanging Dennis Farina-like F-bombs with the defendant … apparently Bulger takes offense at being labeled an FBI snitch and a pedophile … but what about being called a murderer, yous ask? No problem, Whitey had the FBI’s blessing …
What a country!
Mayor Weiner ... hey, I don’t know about yous, but I’m dying to see the size of the balls on this guy ... like, maybe they reach his shoes? He was still sending pictures of his pecker a year after he got caught? Those balls have to be HUGE ... same goes for the balls on the morons who still want to vote for him ... seriously, people, WTF?
Momma Stella on Weiners?
Me: Ma, what would you think if I put pictures of my pecker on the Internet?
MS: What!
Me: What would you think if I put picture of my ... (points to crotch) you know, on the Internet?
MS: You’re a sick bastid, you know that?
Me: This guy running for mayor now, Anthony Weiner, he did it even after he was caught.
MS: He’s another moron.
Me: Seriously, what would you think?
MS: Get the hell out of here.
Me: It’s sick, right?
MS: You’re sick.
Me: Ma, I’m not gonna do it. I’m just asking what you’d think.
MS: I think you need your head examined.
Me: Okay, I won’t do it.
MS: (shakes her head, then laughs)
Me: What?
MS: (still laughing) It’s not big enough.
Me: (long pause while MS laughs) Nice, Ma.
MS: That’s what you get for being a stupid ass. Now go shit in your hat.
I love my Mommy!
Baseball Roidationals ... hey, I make up words as I go ... Ryan Braun lied ... Alex Rodriguez is a Bobby Bonds wannabe ... Bartolo Colon ... some Cruz guy ... a bunch of other guys ... here’s how Knucks sees it: Either you (MLB) are going to acknowledge how you looked the other way and continue to look the other way (and permit drugs of all kinds, which will not make a dent in how I view a game I once loved and now can’t stand {but that has more to do with your fugazy rule changes, scheduling, and moving the fences in}) ... or you’re gonna ban the cheaters and live with the fact you need to erase a ton of records from the books and/or publish them separately (no asterisks) ... if it’s the latter, a 2 time abuser should be kicked out of the game (you had the nerve to do that to Pete Rose?) ... make believe it’s stickball (2 strikes and you’re out) ... but, please, enough with the melodrama.
And yes, if MLB is going to proceed with restricting PEDs, of course Ryan Braun should be stripped of his 2011 MVP ... duh.
NFL Football camps open this week … even my beloved New York State Buffalo Bills are undefeated at this stage of the season … and will remain so until our usual 0-4 pre season debacle, followed by our regular season debacle … oy vey …
Knucks' AFC Eastern Division Prognositcationals … The Cheatriots (those who aren’t in jail) stand to regain the title of the weakest division in football once again, but this time it won’t take 12 wins with a fugazy schedule … this time the Choketriots will win the division with an embarrassing 9-7 record, but fear not Belicheat haters, they’ll fall like an anvil in the first round. Following on their heels will be the Dolphinations of Miami with a respectful 8-8 (or maybe a tie 9-7) … then come my beloved New York State Buffalo Bills at 7-9 … and the Y-E-T-S, Yets, Yets, Yets with a 5-11 (so long Rex) record.
More on the NFL locks of the year in the weeks to come.
God, I can’t wait for hockey ...
And Next Week ... Hopefully another SNHU MFA graduate, two book reviews: one on Corruption by a former high school teammate who has gone on to lead an exemplary life--very much the opposite of myself (at least until I met the Principessa Ann Marie) ... Vincent E. Green’s extensive career has taken him to various countries, including the Republics of Tanzania, Liberia and Haiti. He has had the opportunity to partner with more than 75 countries and organizations around the world to create and share the best practices on how to overcome corruption in their respective communities.
The other book will be Of Human Bondage, by W. Somerset Maugham ... a wonderful read, amici. I hear there are 3 movie versions, but they’ll have to wait until I’m finished reading the novel ...
—Knucks
Yes, more Opera! How about Samuel Rammey from Arrigo Boito’s Mefistofele ...
Dame Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne singing the Flower Duet from Léo Delibes Lakme ...
