Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
Start of World War II’s Battle of Britain; Telstar satellite launched; Millard Fillmore becomes President; Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev killed; Singer Arlo Guthrie born; Cartoon voice Mel Blanc dies.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
Everyone has a responsibility to not only tolerate another person’s point of view, but also to accept it eagerly as a challenge to your own understanding. And express those challenges in terms of serving other people.
First of all it will be another sucky blogging day because unless you’re interested in the Donald (I think he’s a hoot and hope he wins, TMC thinks he’s a disaster and has gone all prepper) or Greece (who knows and if Tspiras really was hoping he’d lose the referendum he should be the first one against the wall) or are convinced that Anonymous is attacking the tools of corrupt capitalism in the form of the NYSE, WSJ, and UAL (we can only wish it were true) instead of it being the logical outcome of their tightfisted parsimony and corporate beancounting ignorance, there isn’t really much new news, at least in science and technology.
However I did discover this sponsored link ad fishing around for material-
Been issued a speeding ticket? Failed to stop at a stop sign? What about your family members? And friends? If you are like most of us, the answer to at least one of those questions is “yes”-the vast majority of us have slipped up at least once or twice.
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Instant Checkmate aggregates hundreds of millions of publicly available criminal, traffic, and arrest records and posts them online so they can easily be searched by anyone. Members of the site can literally begin searching within seconds, and are able to check as many records as they like (think: friends, family, neighbors, etc. etc.).
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After that, search all of your family members. If your aunt gets a speeding ticket every month, you’ll know. If your parents have kept arrests hidden from you, you could uncover them instantly.
One of the most interesting aspects of Instant Checkmate is that it shows not only criminal records, but also more general background information like marriage records, divorce records, various types of licenses (medical, firearm, aviation, etc.), previous addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, estimated income levels and even satellite imagery of known addresses-it’s really pretty scary just how much information is in these reports.
Mine? Not so much.
Oh, I admit (kind of desire actually in a perverse sort of way) that ek hornbeck has left a screaming stain of infamy and obnoxiousness across the Tubz in 10 years of activity, but that’s not my real name. In the Army they have what is called a “Good Conduct” medal that is jocularly awarded for “years of undiscovered crime” and that’s true enough (though I have never been a member of any armed service).
Under ek my record of shame is easily discernible, under my real name not at all. Google doesn’t find me in it’s first 100 results and this service suggests 5 individuals, none of them me, and at that with the head start of the state I reside in.
Oh sure, if you happen to know my address you can get it on Google Maps, my phone number is pretty hard because it’s registered to my business, not to me. I’ve had my occasional run ins with Johnny Law, traffic tickets and such, but apparently they are not electronically available.
So why am I so despised and yet so hidden? It’s simple enough and I certainly encourage you to take these steps unless you are already compromised (and I’ll have some advice on how to fix that below).
I have never used my real name on the Tubz except in business situations (unavoidable if you want to buy stuff) and my credit cards are all business. Personal stuff I pay for in cash. Since there’s hardly any point to keeping your money in a bank at 0% I use one only where I must.
I belong to no social networking sites except Facebook (and blogs). All of my accounts lead to blind e-mails and when requested for personal information I lie my ass off. None of your damn business anyway. There is no page in my real name and even ek doesn’t have one. If you are my friend you know my friends only name (no, it’s not my real one) and that is strictly policed for privacy using independent accounts I haven’t revealed to anybody, to the average enquirer there is my Avatar and Background- that’s it.
Now what I’m mostly concerned about is casual harassment from companies that want to sell me stuff and people I’ve pissed off with my sentiments (you ‘Good Germans’ and rapist apologists know who you are). Surprisingly I still maintain my Welcome New Users mailbox so if you hate me enough you can direct your spam there where I can report it troll.
Nothing is going to conceal you from a government agency with sufficient interest so you might as well give up on that, but it’s impressive the amount of hassle and garbage you can avoid if you’re reasonably careful.
That’s all well and good, but I’m hopelessly exposed.
Say goodby to all that. What I mean is that you must abandon all your old accounts except as curiosities and contact points. Change your IP or get a VPN. Change your bank, preferably to a small credit union. Change your name if necessary (marriage is good for that and hardly raises an eyebrow, better yet get gay married).
Most importantly and hardest to do, you have to change your habits and the people you’re associated with. Not that I would, but if I were to sock dK in a serious way (I have half a dozen accounts I have access to, I don’t use them because dK is boring and silly) the very last thing I’d do is show up in the Daily Show diary posting as if nothing had changed.
As a matter of fact I got bit by troll hunting the other day at European Tribune. BruceMcF had said it was a good place to keep up on Greece and I hadn’t visited for a really long time. When I tried to log in I found out I had never registered. Ok- ek hornbeck, I’m not ashamed of my history, I have a body of work and I called out people who were assholes and bullies (that includes you Denise and you too Meteor).
In my introductory comment I mentioned my association with some past members of ET which generated the instant “How is it that this n00b knows these figures from our past? He must be a witch!”
Well, you know, better late than never.
Anyway my point is if I were looking to sock I would have been very careful indeed not to say anything which would indicate I had any experience at all other than what you’d randomly find in a casual Google covering the past couple of weeks. As it is I’m not very interested in being anyone except ek at this point nor do I have a need to.
Science Oriented Video
The law that entropy always increases holds, I think, the supreme position among the laws of Nature. If someone points out to you that your pet theory of the universe is in disagreement with Maxwell’s equations – then so much the worse for Maxwell’s equations. If it is found to be contradicted by observation – well, these experimentalists do bungle things sometimes. But if your theory is found to be against the second law of thermodynamics I can give you no hope; there is nothing for it but to collapse in deepest humiliation.
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Tokyo Bay; Industrialist John D. Rockefeller born; Word of what becomes known as ‘The Roswell Incident’; North Korea’s Kim Il Sung dies; Ziegfeld stages first ‘Follies.’
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
Terror bombings strike London’s transit system; Oliver North testifies at Iran-Contra hearings; Sandra Day O’Connor nominated for U.S. Supreme Court; Author Robert Heinlein and musician Ringo Starr born.
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for first time; Baseball’s first All-Star Game; Outbreak of the Biafran War; Painter Frida Kahlo born; Althea Gibson wins at Wimbledon; Singing cowboy Roy Rogers dies.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
“I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.”
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
Breakfast Tune: “That’s Alright Mama” by Elvis Presley sung by Washington Square group, NYC.
Elvis Presley’s “That’s Alright Mama” played by left to right Gene, Sean in the straw hat, Danny with the recorder, Ellen -banjo, Andri, Sue Ellen, Jim on guitar.
Today in History
Elvis Presley holds his first major recording session; Birth of the bikini; Enron’s Kenneth Lay dies; Arthur Ashe wins at Wimbledon; Larry Doby follows Jackie Robinson; Baseball’s Ted Williams dies. (July 5)
Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? And am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?
I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you this day rejoice are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today?
What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days of the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is a constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are, to Him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy-a thin veil to cover up crimes that would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation of the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of these United States at this very hour.
At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. O! had I the ability, and could reach the nation’s ear, I would, to-day, pour forth a stream, a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and the crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.
To Anacreon in Heav’n, where he sat in full Glee,
A few Sons of Harmony sent a Petition,
That he their Inspirer and Patron would be;
When this answer arriv’d from the Jolly Old Grecian
Voice, Fiddle, and Flute,
no longer be mute,
I’ll lend you my Name and inspire you to boot,
And, besides I’ll instruct you, like me, to intwine
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.
The news through Olympus immediately flew;
When Old Thunder pretended to give himself Airs.
If these Mortals are suffer’d their Scheme to persue,
The Devil a Goddess will stay above Stairs.
Hark! already they cry,
In transports of Joy,
A fig for Parnassus! To Rowley’s we’ll fly.
And there, with good Fellows, we’ll learn to intwine
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.
The Yellow-Hair’d God and his nine fusty Maids,
To the hill of old Lud will incontinent flee,
Idalia will boast but of tenantless Shades,
And the bi-forked Hill a mere Desart will be
My Thunder no fear on’t,
Shall soon do it’s Errand,
And dam’me! I’ll swinge the Ringleaders, I warrant.
I’ll trim the young Dogs, for thus daring to twine
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.
Apollo rose up, and said, “Pry’thee ne’er quarrel,
Good King of the Gods, with my Vot’ries below:
Your Thunder is useless” – then shewing his Laurel,
Cry’d “Sic evitabile fulmen”, you know!
Then over each head
My Laurels I’ll spread;
So my Sons from your Crackers no Mischief shall dread,
Whilst snug in their Club-Room, they jovially twine
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.
Next Momus got up with his risible Phiz,
And swore with Apollo he’d chearfully join –
The full Tide of Harmony still shall be his,
But the Song, and the Catch, and the Laugh shall be mine.
Then, Jove, be not jealous
Of these honest fellows.”
Cry’d Jove, “We relent, since the Truth you now tell us”;
And swear by Old Styx, that they long shall intwine
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.
Ye Sons of Anacreon, then join Hand in Hand;
Preserve Unanimity, Friendship, and Love!
‘Tis your’s to support what’s so happily plann’d;
You’ve the sanction of Gods, and the Fiat of Jove.
While thus we agree,
Our Toast let it be.
May our Club flourish happy, united, and free!
And long may the Sons of Anacreon intwine
The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.
What? You think I’m showing insufficient piety, deference, and patriotism towards the Defence of Fort McHenry? Might I point out that it only became the National Anthem in 1931 succeeding Hail Columbia and My Country, ‘Tis of Thee (which doesn’t really count because it’s a cheap knockoff of God Save the Queen). Oh, and I can still easily handle the one and a fifth octaves provided you start in the right key (I also do White Rabbit, blows them away away at the Karaoke Bar).
I am cursed with a rememberance of history. I remember that our founders were a motley collection of smugglers, slavers, genocidal murderers, tax cheats, frauds, and rabble. That we were conceived in Rebellion, violent armed struggle, against tyrany and corporate oligarchy.
We waz thugz, yo.
I remember Lafayette, which is a good thing because I got pigeonholed for an on camera interview with TV France 3 while visiting the Hermione at South Street Seaport Thursday and while the reporter no doubt expected a typically “exceptionally” dumb response (duh, he was French and served in the Civil War or something like that) I gave him 10 solid minutes of his (and France’s) importance to the Revolution, his relationship with Washington, his bravery at Brandywine, his lobbying the French Court for intervention (downplayed Ben a little for the audience), the strategic French thinking that went into Yorktown rather than New York (Washington’s choice and probably a big bloody mistake if it had happened), and his participation in the French Revolution of 1789.
I have more material but I sense you are sleeping already by the snores. What about History Major is so hard to understand? Do I get to talk to Farkle about Belgian Independence or is it Maya and Riley day (silly question, it’s alwaysMaya and Riley day).
Since I’m not quite recovered from the trauma of 12 hours on the road in addition to the week and a half of travel since June 20th and 3 more confronting me (what about busy are we not understanding?) it’s another sucky blogging day!
You’re welcome.
Besides it’s July 4th and nobody will read this except those who are truly desperate to escape the meat, heat, beer, fireworks, and family. There is no news. Fortunately my audience shrinks by the day and those who are left don’t expect much. I’ve been invited to participate in an off Broadway talent revue (in the sense that 400 miles is off Broadway) which I don’t think will come off actually but I can always favor them with Grandfather’s Old Ram.
Obligatories
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
I would never make fun of LaEscapee or blame PhilJD. And I am highly organized.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
This Day in History
Union forces win the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War; George Washington takes charge of the Continental Army; Algeria gains independence; Actor Tom Cruise born; Singer Jim Morrison dies.
Breakfast Tunes
Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac
The Internet is just a world passing around notes in a classroom.
The last time a boat sailed into New York Harbor bearing the Marquis de Lafayette, the arrival touched off a frenzy that would put Beatlemania to shame.
The year was 1824, and some 50,000 people – roughly a third of New York’s population – lined the streets for a glimpse of Lafayette, the “French founding father,” who was visiting the United States as part of a 13-month triumphal tour of the nation he had helped liberate nearly a half-century earlier.
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Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, a staggeringly wealthy provincial aristocrat who had married into one of France’s grandest families, was only 19 when he first landed in America, in 1777, having sailed across the ocean on his own dime to support the Revolution, in defiance of Louis XVI. He became a major general and something of an adopted son to Washington. After fighting at the Battles of Brandywine (where he was wounded) and Rhode Island, he returned to France, where he successfully persuaded the king to lend troops to the American cause.
While passed over as commander in favor of Rochambeau, Lafayette was sent ahead on the Hermione in May 1780 to personally inform Washington that a half-dozen ships and some 5,000 French troops were on their way. That support helped turn the tide of the Revolution.
“If America forgets its independence was due to French military assistance, that would be a sad thing,” Miles Young, the New York-based worldwide chairman and chief executive of Ogilvy & Mather and the president of the Friends of Hermione-Lafayette in America, said last week.
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The drawings for the original ship had been lost, so shipbuilders in Rochefort, on the west coast of France, worked from those of a sister ship held in British Admiralty archives.
The hull and masts were constructed from 2,000 French oaks. Each stitch in the 19 linen sails was sewn by a single sailmaker, and rigged by a team from Sweden. In all, the project involved about 400,000 wood and traditionally forged metal parts.
“It’s completely mad to build an 18th-century frigate with this kind of almost religious authenticity,” Mr. Young said.
I would like to say more about the Marquis de Lafayette and probably will at some point, but I just got back this evening from another meeting of the Gilmores that was, umm…, not to be missed and there are several more this summer.
Likewise TMC will be visiting with her family over the 4th and today is the only time we can do this. Besides, she tells me that the 4th in the City is a cruel joke on anyone who wants to get anywhere at all.
So no news except the personal kind. Saturday the 4th we will be celebrating the 5th anniversary of The Stars Hollow Gazette, the start of Le Tour, and the 2015 Women’s World Cup Consolation Match. Sunday will be Silverstone, Day 2 of Le Tour, and the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final.
Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungoverwe’ve been bailed outwe’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.
Breakfast Tune: Jon Eric playing “Cool Your Jets” on the Nechville ELECTRIC Banjo
Today in History
An assassination in Europe sparks World War I; Elian Gonzalez and his father leave for Cuba; Boxer Mike Tyson disqualified for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear; Richard Rodgers and Mel Brooks born. (June 28)
First of all it will be another sucky blogging day because unless you’re interested in the Donald (I think he’s a hoot and hope he wins, TMC thinks he’s a disaster and has gone all prepper) or Greece (who knows and if Tspiras really was hoping he’d lose the referendum he should be the first one against the wall) or are convinced that Anonymous is attacking the tools of corrupt capitalism in the form of the NYSE, WSJ, and UAL (we can only wish it were true) instead of it being the logical outcome of their tightfisted parsimony and corporate beancounting ignorance, there isn’t really much new news, at least in science and technology.
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