A Crime To Remember

Today, August 9, 2009, marks the 40th anniversary of what is still viewed as one of the most horrific crimes in history, the Sharon Tate murder. That morning in the peaceful Benedict Canyon suburb of Los Angeles, ex-convict Charles Manson and his followers arrived at 10050 Cielo Drive, and when they departed they would leave behind carnage beyond belief. A housekeeper, arriving for her morning shift would discover the bodies of actress Sharon Tate, pregnant with her unborn son, and four other people brutally murdered throughout the sprawling compound. Manson and three other family members remain incarcerated to this day and every year of parole eligibility has brought them denials, as should be the case. Only the death penalty being ruled unconstitutional has kept them alive all these years.

An Ignored Child

Perfect title for this post, don't you think? Now that I've become a victim of history on my other blog, I don't get to this corner as often. This morning I sat here sadly having awaken to reality once again, having just returned from my favorite place....the ocean. Why is it that vacations are so stressful in their own ways? Many of us spend extra time getting everything in order at home so that we can go on vacation, and when we return, we feverishly catch up to get back on track again. That alone probably makes you wonder why you went in the first place. But, while you're there, it all comes together to make it seem worthwhile. I managed to get in two days of golf, how I did is quite another story, however. But for anyone who might play occasionally, seeing different scenery seems to make the game more interesting. Of course, vacation time wouldn't be complete without a little cycling, which I tried to get in as often as I could. The funny thing about me is that even though I love the ocean, I manage to keep my distance, so to speak. Of my eight days at the beach, only one saw me actually taking a dip in the big 'o', with the rest finding me in the more convenient pool. The reality of it is that it must be such things as the relaxing sound of the tide coming in thru your window at night that contribute to the overall atmosphere. And who could go on without mentioning the seafood? I mean, who goes to the ocean and eats pizza? I realize there are those who do, but I can't bring myself to dining out at a steakhouse when I find myself at a place where seafood is a specialty. And now the only thing probably left to ponder is whether I would look at all of this in a different light if I were a seaside resident. Until that happens, however, I will continue to look forward to my next trip to the beach.

Why?

News coming across the wire this morning described how the police in North Carolina have shot and killed the serial killer who had been tormenting that state. Now, make no mistake about my personal view on this issue; I couldn't be more pleased that this low life is off the map. But the question we should ALL be asking is: "Why, with a rap sheet that is 25 pages long, was this creature allowed to be released from prison, to begin with?" All the deaths that resulted from this killer being on the loose can be blamed on the system, or should I say the lack of it! (Note to readers: The killer's name was purposely omitted, as per my policy of not promoting their agenda.)

The Michael Jackson Funeral

In case anyone out there has not heard as of yet, the king of pop, Michael Jackson has died on June 25th, and is scheduled to be laid to rest tomorrow. My point, obviously, is that we've heard just about all there is to hear over the last 9 days or so, and now I think it's time to give this poor guy a decent burial. Tomorrow, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, a memorial service is scheduled for Jackson, and the attraction is nothing less than sensational. With anyone attending this service having to fork up $25, we are now seeing just what Michael Jackson meant to anyone associated with his inner circle.......MONEY! We can all understand the magnitude of a celebrity like Michael Jackson and the impact that his passing away has had on his many many fans. But all the indecision and bickering between parties in charge, including the family, with regard to everything from his funeral to his very resting place has turned a sad occasion for many into a circus for the masses!

They Come In Bunches

It is often said that deaths come in threes. Well if you go back the past eight days, that figure was better than doubled in the entertainment community. On June 23rd, we received word of the passing of Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's sidekick on the original Tonight Show, who was 86. Two days later on the 25th, we lost 62 year old Farrah Fawcett to cancer, which she had been battling for the past three years. Within hours of Fawcett's death came the shocking news of the passing of pop icon Michael Jackson, who was only 50 years old. On June 27, Gale Storm, age 87, of television's 'My Little Margie' fame died of natural causes. The following day, Las Vegas stand up comedian Fred Travalena was struck with a heart attack and passed at the age of 66. Also on the 28th, the Oxi Clean man himself, Billy Mays also died of a heart attack. Mays was 49. And today, the entertainment community lost 97 year old Karl Malden. Best known for his starring role in the tv series 'The Streets of San Francisco', Malden's cause of death was not disclosed. To say I've had enough would be an understatement!

Westboro Baptist Church

Today the United States Supreme Court upheld the right of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church to continue their tasteless protests at the funerals of US servicemen. Chants like 'Your son is going to hell', and 'Your son is a murderer' are freely shouted directly at the families at the funeral services. These people, supposedly Christians, should be spreading the word of God, but looks to me like this particular loser bunch failed to get the message. This is not a Christian church, or any kind of church, for that matter. These cold, thoughtless, unkind, non-caring individuals, from the pastor on down, are sinners in my book. They could care less about helping people. They're all about sensationalism, and a poor example of it, at that. If I were a Baptist, I would give conversion serious consideration.

Not A One Sided Loss

Now far be it for me to celebrate death, but something seems terribly wrong with the tragic events that have been bestowed upon us in the past 36 or so hours. Within a 12 hour time span on Thursday June 25, 2009, the entertainment world lost two great talented individuals; one expected and the other unexpectedly. Thursday morning we were sadly informed of the passing of Farrah Fawcett after her long and courageous battle with cancer. At about five that afternoon, I had just gotten home and learned that Michael Jackson had been taken to LA Medical Center suffering from a possible heart attack. Around 5:20 doctors reported that attempts to resuscitate him had failed and he was pronounced dead shortly after. Farrah Fawcett was 62 years old and had been courageously fighting the disease that claimed her life. Her long time companion, Ryan O'Neil was at her side when she passed. While the two had a son together, they never married, something O'Neil was hoping to rectify in the near future. Having been asked for her hand many times in the past by O'Neil, Fawcett always declined, but this time would be different. She finally agreed, but sadly as fate would have it, her time would run out before they could tie the knot. The thing that seems so out of balance with all this is that all we seem to be hearing in the media is about Michael Jackson. Farrah Fawcett seems to have been the forgotten victim in their coverage. Now, I realize that Jackson's death was the more shocking event of the two, as it truly was unexpected. But to not devote a respectful portion of the coverage to Fawcett is unfair. A special entitled "Farrah's Story' was to air tonight, but was pre-empted by Jackson coverage. Make no mistake about the fact that I enjoyed Michael Jackson's music as much as anyone else, but I also admired Farrah; not only for he talent, but for her courage she displayed during the final days. This was a loss on both ends, and shouldn't be perceived as a one sided one.

Stupidity Personified

This morning I was gazing at some news videos when all of a sudden I'm watching the President swatting a pesky fly during an interview. He actually eyes him up and with sort of a hypnotizing glare and hand positioning goes for and actually makes the kill. OK, mission accomplished, let's get this interview back on track. Now any of us here have always done pretty much the same thing when it comes to the pain in the butt critters. Summertime is prime time for this type of thing when flies seem to pop up just about everywhere we go. I have to control my laughter while typing at this point because PETA, you know the organization that represents animals in the court of life, has issued a formal complaint to the White House regarding the fly execution. They even went as far as sending them a device which allows the fly to be caught and released back outside. Yeah, that's just what I plan on doing with the flies I confront from now on, just release them back into the wild. For what; so they can come back for an encore? Haven't these people anything better to do with their time? Hey PETA, what about germs, disease, infections, food contamination, and things like that? Are you so focused and obsessed with animals that people have taken a lower position in the food chain? I'm not an animal hater, I really am not, but there are times when priorities have to kick in. Do I have to say anymore about this silly fly thing? (I didn't think so).

Threats To The Free World

Now that the alleged election has come and gone in Iran, and with the incumbent Mr Amedinejad retaining the presidency, we have to ask the obvious question.......who gives a crap? As if the election was meant to have people express themselves and perhaps get a slight taste of freedom. I think that despite wanting the election to realistically work, it's 'outcome' should not have been any sort of surprise to us in the long run. We are talking about Iran, the very Muslim, very fanatical, very religiously governed country that can be considered one of the most dangerous threats to the free world. With Iran's ever growing nuclear capabilities, they are slowly joining North Korea in its' defiance of the free world.

Elections in Iran

Recently, the republic of Iran held elections where the main candidate, current president Mahmoud Amadinejad was facing serious opposition. Well into the election, Amadinejad's fate seemed to be almost sealed with reports of his trailing his opponent significantly. However, what does not seem clear in the least is the time period immediately following the election. Following what seemed to be a rather lengthy lack of communication regarding its' outcome, the election's outcome was finally announced, with Mahmoud Amadinejad being declared the winner by a landslide. Now my question on this matter is what happened from the time he was said to be losing significantly to his alleged landslide victory? We may never know, but then again, the answer is sort of obvious!

I Have The Right To Do What?

If I told anyone of you out there that the FBI is reading detainees in Afghanistan their Miranda Rights, would you believe me? Would you actually think, let alone believe, that this really applies to international terrorism? Well it's all true, unfortunately. It seems that these detainees, who are not American citizens in the first place, are being introduced to the American justice system. For what reason are we attempting to turn these terrorists into just common criminals? I believe there is a difference, and while the current administration is trying to soften up the country's stand on terrorism, these people are now and will always be terrorists. Come on Mr. President, it's time to stop letting the tail wag the dog!

I Did

In October 2003, David and Christina Watson were on their honeymoon in Australia. They set out one day on a scuba diving adventure that would prove to be deadly for Tina and result in David being charged with her murder. As illustrated in the picture above, Tina's body can be seen on the ocean floor just behind an unidentified diver. A diving instructor can be seen rushing to her aid in the background. Australian authorities, having conducted an extensive five year probe and investigation into the incident, have concluded that David Watson willfully turned off her air supply and allowed her to drown before turning it on again to cover up the crime. The investigation also uncovered a major possible motive, when it was learned that her then fiancee had asked her to change her $160,000 life insurance policy to reflect him as the sole beneficiary. With all of the above information as a result of their probes, authorities in Australia have recently issued an arrest warrant for David Watson, and are seeking his extradition back to Australia. OK, I'm just an ordinary person without a law degree or a degree in psychology for that matter, but it really doesn't take rocket science (and I don't have a degree in that either) to figure this out. Asking your intended spouse to make you sole beneficiary to her small fortune before you even say 'I Do', and then wasting her on the honeymoon isn't very bright on your part. I mean, did this guy actually think he was going to get away with it? We have to assume that he is innocent until proven guilty, but the beneficiary thing just looks too suspicious to escape this one.

Amazing Project

Today it was announced that the tail section of the Air France Air Bus that crashed in the Atlantic while headed from Brazil to Paris had been found. Pictures were shown to the media by French officials and the accompanying video was truly amazing. With this find, along with 15 more bodies, officials now have a tough area to focus their underwater sonar search. I remember reading about the underwater sonar sled when Robert Ballard was searching for the Titanic in 1985. The sled is dragged underwater by a tugboat in a grid pattern. It then bounces sonar signals off the ocean bottom at a steady rate, resulting in the sonar images being recorded in the on board computers in the tugboat. In the Titanic search, a sonar image in the shape of a ship's boiler was recorded; a quick reference of the shipbuilder's blueprints revealed the type and size boilers built into the luxury liner. Today's find will establish a search grid to look for the flight recorder box. The search area is an underwater mountain range, with high peaks and valleys that have been measured as far down as 18000 feet. An accompanying deep diving submerge able sub is also being brought in in case it should be needed to go down farther that humans can dive. Once the Titanic was located 2 1/2 miles, down, this mini sub was utilized to go down and verify the find.

Tienanmen Anniversary

June 3 & 4 will mark the twentieth anniversary of the Tienanmen Square student protests in 1989. We can all vividly remember the scene where a lone brave student stood face to face with a Chinese tank in the square, literally halting the huge machine in its' tracks. I recently read that in preparation for the possible observance of this occasion, the Chinese government has done all they possibly can to keep it quiet. They have rounded up dissidents and shipped them to locations out of the country. In addition, social Internet networks such as Face Book and Twitter have been totally shut down in an attempt to ensure that no online discussions can be generated. So now that we in the free world see what's taking shape in China, some very important things should come to mind. Freedom should never be taken for granted......never! Our soldiers in the military put their lives on the line daily so that we have these freedoms. We should also think long and hard about the defense of that freedom, and what we are willing to sacrifice. The next time you see an American citizen wearing that "Close Gitmo" t-shirt, take a moment to think about what would happen if these thugs and killers were set free. How they would return to the battlefield and kill more of our citizens.....maybe even your loved one. And finally, this correspondence is possible because of my freedom to express myself, something the people of China can only dream of!

Jon & Kate & Millions

Maybe the above title is way more suited for the 'sucker biting, who gives a rat's behind' pathetic reality show 'Jon & Kate & Eight'. I think I know the answer to this question, but maybe there's a slight drop of decency out there and hope for humanity to boot: Why would someone, anyone for that matter, put their private life out there as entertainment for others. Especially when they seem to be having personal problems of great magnitude? Well, bulletin to all, I'm just not buying this stuff. My take on it, and I realize it's only worth 2 cents, is that this is all staged and scripted. It's just plain difficult for me to believe. Would any responsible parent put their kids' lives out there for scrutinizing? On the outside chance that this thing is legit, maybe social services organizations should step in and save these people from themselves!