End of the year newz collection

Woman avoids jail by agreeing to have no more children
The professional examination of poo
Senate OKs acountless, warrentless wiretapping for CIA, FBI
Florida EPA run by former industry and business lobbyists
 Breastfeeding doll for children comes with nipple-bra
 Gov. says woman cant breastfeed while waiting tables/serving food
 Latest teacher-student sex scandal is girl on girl
 The end of the Hawaiian Islands is neigh!
 Kid find 13,000 year old bones
 Bellingham man randomly punches baby in face
 Swedish woman found guilty of sex with skeletons
 DSHS ignoring abuse in group homes - just like Florida
Extreme high tides threaten west coast waterfront homes
Germany -just- banned animal-human lovemaking
8 types of nanotech that exist today
NASA awards kids who throw toilet paper the farthest
Fish plays dead to catch birds

What's in your bedroom?

In my option, a lot of the symptoms of poverty come from poor, unsafe, unstable housing.  This excellent photo essay really puts the have and the have-nots in perspective, when it comes to what environment kids call home. While I loved the Mercer Island house I grew up in..it was huge. Smaller homes bring/force family togetherness. I often fight with my parents about the cost of their currnet home. I feel it is morally repugnant to own house thats value exceeds an average mans lifetime income. Everyone deserves nice things but their house is a symbol of the monetary divide in America. I could provide good quality housing for 10-20 homeless families with the money from this condo for 2 people.

Les Mis movie review: Sam Barks is a hottie

In the traditions of my people I saw a movie on Christmas day. Les Miserable is certainly one of my favorite musicals and the 1998 non-musical movie with Liam Neeson wasnt half bad. I wasnt fond of the casting choices in the new les mis..they weren't terrible..I thought Russle Crow was a good choice unlike some people..and this Samatha Barks actress is a prefect woman..woof woof woof! though didnt have much of a role..the rest of the cast didnt work for me. The singing is still great, at least for half the movie. I've always felt the 2nd half of Les mis was never on the same level of story or song as the first. Its worth seeing if you havnt heard the music recently and its not in any way a bad movie. But seeing it in a theater venue is better. And the 1998 movie is better (but no singing). And the CD is better.

Arm the schools please!

I gotta side with the NRA (aka the people who know and deal with gun people) on this one. There is no magic faery dust that will remove all the guns from America nor effective way to prevent people from getting guns who shouldn't. No matter what you think about guns - there are 10s of millions of them out there and government isnt able to keep track of them all. It may look good for a politician to say they want to ban guns but actually eliminating the threat of bad guys getting their hands on a gun is impossible. We live in a flawed world and realistically we need to arm schools to provide protection for our kids. That doesnt mean every kindergarten teach needs to pack heat though. Thats a red herring argument. Treat them like defibrillators or another emergency devices. Have 1-2 in the building locked up somewhere and train a few members of the staff to use them if the need arises. We should ban high capacity magazines and the weapons that fire them, but unlike the toothless Clinton Assault weapons ban, lets not just ban all new weapons and magazines but the all old ones too. It wont keep us 100% safe and it wont prevent people from stockpiling illegal guns and ammo..but its something.

Hobbit Review :: Pleasantly Suprised

I went into this movie expecting to hate it. I didnt like the 3 lord of the rings movies and I remain repulsed by the cult like attitude some people have toward those movies. I also read a lot of complaints and negetive reviews online from early Hobbit showing.

When I came out I wanted more, though maybe not 2 more movies. The guys waiting to pee in the bathroom seemed to agree. I honestly didnt notice the lenth at all and if fact there were a few scenes which I wish they expanded upon. I also didnt notice the change in film speed - I saw the non 3d version and it didnt appear washed out to me. My only real complaints would be over a few animated falls characters took that didnt look remotely survivable. If you fall 100+ feet accompanied with stones and  huge logs that made up a bridge, and then have a 500+ pound Ogre land on you, your not walking way without some sort of serious injury or limp.

This movie succeeds IMHO because it stays about the story and doesnt focus on individual characters nearly as much as the previous 3 films. Gandalf and Biblo get one or two real scenes of his own, but the rest of the movie is a chorus of rotating dwarfs who were all generally likable and not annoying like Legolas and Gimlee. There was a Jar-Jar Binx character for the kiddoes and I thought he got all the time he deserved and not a moment more.

Anyhoo go see and lets hope they keep it to two movies, not three, because they covered at least 50% of the content of the book in this one movie. Also be sure to check out The Hobbit Cartoon which was an excellent flick for its era.

Lets make music together

One of the forefathers of modern MMO's has been resurrected! Ashrons Call 2..which so many hated but I still believe had one of the most "living" worlds ever made has been brought back online. One my favorite aspects of AC2 was the music system as seen below.

Joe's list of movies everyone should see

sorta work in progress..no particular order..click below for the list..I welcome feeback in the comments section..use name/url so I know who you are

3 child welfare news items

First - Florida has decided it is a good idea to check the criminal record of parents accused of abuse via the State Child Abuse hotline (1-800-962-2873). Really? We werent doing this already? Really?

Second -DSHS in Washington has settled yet another neglegecy class action brought by foster children abused in the system. So the tax payers are on the hook for 11 million but where is the accountability for caseworkers and administers who knew about the problems and did absolutely nothing. Still likely employeed no doubt or collecting their pension on some tropical island.

Here is another one...for 12/12/12 a man drew a pentagram on the back of his 6yo son with a knife. He's been charged obviously...but the child remains in the care of the wonderful woman with such good judgement to live with and have a child with this guy. I think the child is safer with the pentagram carver.   

Dec13 big meteor shower + more news

Got some good ones this month! Check them out!

DEC 13 Geminid meteor show expected to be best ever

woman "suffering" from constant arousal commits suicide
Adoption agency gives away child of soldier serving overseas
5yo saves family from fire
Elementary students foaming at mouth took LSD
Florida school closed for whipping students open again
Faster Than Light spaceship engine may be too destructive to use
Blackwater mercenary guild still gainfully employed by taxpayers
Child dies hours after Tulalip NA unit caseworkers close case
Florida placing kids in nursing homes due to lack of caregivers
Many sick kids in US given liquid weed by doctors
Walla Walla 13yo charged with felony for having pot in locker
City lets boy with autism keep therapy chickens
11yo nearly killed by water bottle stuck to tongue

Nothing kills like success(Taco Lu)

Just a little update on the Taco Lu new location - HATED IT. The new building feels like a fancy restaurant (not a taco cantina) and looks like a ski/hunting lodge(not a taco cantina). Being literally the only place to eat in Jax the people who couldnt get into the old location now flock to the new. I still can only get a seat by snagging one at the bar unless I want to wait 45 mins. Everything that was intimate and "real" (if crowded) is gone replaced by a -store- that belongs with the chain restaurants at St. Johns Towncenter. The old bar was busy but had dark nooks that buffeted you from the throngs. The "open" ski lodge design brings everyone's noise into your face like a school cafeteria. Parking is still impossible even with the larger lot and I lol'd at the huge line for the "free" valet.

I wonder if they'll be able to maintain quality and price with such an increase in demand. I guess nothing kills like success.