Monday, November 24, 2008
Things Always Seem To Have An Equal Balance...
Although I wrote many positive things about New Orleans on my previous post. There are also some disturbing aspects to that wonderful city. Including the fact that throughout the early and mid 90's and early 2000's and as recently as last year based on a report that was just released, New Orleans was crowned (not something to be proud of) the "murder capital of the world". It is the city with the most murders per capita in the country yet again. The city just needs to change its culture with this terrible trend. Now most murders occur in the projects which are essentially secluded from the rest of the city and many tourist or suburban murders are very rare, it is a terrible statistic. These acts are senseless.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Broadcasting Live From Planet NOLA...
For those of you that don't know it, NOLA stands for New Orleans Louisiana (LA being the abbreviation for Louisiana). If any of you were unaware (highly unlikely lol), this is the area where I grew up. I am here for the week and wanted to take a couple of minutes to talk about the city I love. New Orleans is known by many people for the city's various draws. I wanted to be an advocate for this wonderful city and go over some of the things that the millions of people that come and visit New Orleans experience. Excellent cuisine is one of the more well known reasons that tourists come visit New Orleans. Dishes such as jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice, po boys and a variety of other cajun, creole and seafood platters. There are renowned restaurants such as Commanders Palace, Brennan's, and Emeril's or you can sit along side the Mississippi River and have some delicious beignets at Cafe Du Monde any time day or night, the original location is open 24 hours. Of course, no visit to New Orleans would be complete without trying out a good crawfish meal, preferably going to a crawfish boil.
New Orleans is a very old historic city, having been part of both Spain and France before becoming part of the United States during the Louisiana Purchase. Because of this multi-cultural history many people enjoy the different style of architecture throughout the city. You can go visit the famous Oak Alley Plantation which you may have either heard of or seen in pictures as it is a famous photo op spot. The oldest active Catholic church (1720) in the United States, the Saint Louis Cathedral, is also located in New Orleans and brings devout Catholics throughout the country to the city. New Orleans cemeteries have above ground tombs, rather then burying the deceased because they city is below sea level and digging deep enough to bury someone would lead to hitting water. The city is known for swamp tours, voodoo, vampires, Jazz and Heritage Festival and several other interesting events. New Orleans is home to the NFL New Orleans Saints, who I frequently write about in my blogs, as well as the NBA's New Orleans Hornets.
Now we can't talk about New Orleans and not talk about Bourbon Street. It is in the part of the city called the French Quarter and thousands of people visit this area every year. It is a street lined with bars, strip clubs, hotels, and restaurants. People from all over the country come here all year round and enjoy the wild sights. Mardi Gras is the biggest draw to New Orleans and everyone should experience it at least once. The streets are lined with thousands tourists and there are daily parades all throughout the city in celebration for 2 straight weeks. This coming year Mardi Gras Day is February 24, 2009, so make arrangements. Ok, well there A LOT of other things I can explain about New Orleans but just wanted to cover the basics. There is no place like home.
Now we can't talk about New Orleans and not talk about Bourbon Street. It is in the part of the city called the French Quarter and thousands of people visit this area every year. It is a street lined with bars, strip clubs, hotels, and restaurants. People from all over the country come here all year round and enjoy the wild sights. Mardi Gras is the biggest draw to New Orleans and everyone should experience it at least once. The streets are lined with thousands tourists and there are daily parades all throughout the city in celebration for 2 straight weeks. This coming year Mardi Gras Day is February 24, 2009, so make arrangements. Ok, well there A LOT of other things I can explain about New Orleans but just wanted to cover the basics. There is no place like home.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Nancy Grace Is A Big Jerk...
As I sit here flipping through the channels looking for something informative to watch (in between watching such guilty pleasures as old Simpsons reruns and anything on ESPN) I stopped for a moment on CNN Headline News (not to be confused with the reg CNN channel which I actually enjoy), and I see news anchor Nancy Grace on her self titled news show. I can not remember a time when I have watched this woman for more then 5 seconds without her quickly reminding me why I can not stand her. She should have no place on television. She shows no professionalism or remorse towards any of her guests and uses Bill O'Reilly's tactics of insulting and trying to intimidate whoever she has on her program.
I don't understand why this woman remains on television. I am by no means what so ever even implying that she is not educated or anything of that nature. This is a woman who worked as Special Prosecutor for the DA's office in Fulton County, Georgia for high profile felony murder, rape, and drug cases. It was in this capacity that she was already showing her arrogance and high levels of improper behavior. At least 3 of her cases were brought to various appellate courts in response to ethical issues as a prosecutor.
The main arguments I have against her though are in relation to her actions on her television show. The more well known example is that of when Nancy was interviewing 21 year old mother Melinda Duckett, who was the mother of a missing child at the time of the interview. Melinda Duckett had not officially even been named as a person of interest, but Nancy Grace took it upon herself to bombard Melinda with a barrage of questions as to where she was the day her child went missing. Before the interview was over, the talk show host was pounding her desk and demanding, "Where were you? Why aren't you telling us where you were that day?" The following day Melinda Duckett committed suicide by shooting herself. Duckett's family filed a wrongful death suit in her defense. Yet Grace insists her line of questioning was reasonable.
Journalists should be unbiased in their views in order to present the news in the correct manner, yet Nancy Grace is narrow minded and quickly jumps to conclusions. In the 2006 Duke lacrosse scandal in which a female college student accused three Duke lacrosse players of rape, Nancy Grace repeatedly called the players "guilty". When Duke decided not to cancel the lacrosse season while the students were on trial (innocent until proven guilty right?? Not according to Nancy Grace) she stated on her show "I'm so glad they didn't miss a lacrosse game over a little thing like gang rape!". The three students were acquitted when it was later proven in court that the female student had fabricated the story. The day after the students were freed of charges, Nancy Grace had a "guest" host on her show and did not appear herself. The fill in host broke the news of the acquittal.
During the well documented Elizabeth Smart kidnapping, when the first suspect Richard Ricci was arrested by police on the basis that he had a criminal record and had worked on the Smarts' home, Nancy Grace spoke on Court TV and on Larry King that he was "guilty", and even stated several times that Ricci's girlfriend was also involved in the cover up of the crime. When the true criminals were captured (Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee) it was disclosed that Richard Ricci had never had any contact with these individuals. Richard Ricci died while in confinement, a innocent man. Again Grace was proven incorrect (even though she is a news anchor and should not be making the judgement in the first place!) and yet her only response was to say that Ricci was "a known ex-con, a known felon, and brought suspicion on himself, so who could blame anyone for claiming he was the perpetrator?"
Lastly, the most despicable thing I can think of when I think or see Nancy Grace is how she supposedly came about going into the legal profession and eventually news television. The story she gives is that at the age of 19, her fiance was murdered by a random thug. She stated in the past that the murderer was finally caught and that once the trial was over that jury deliberations went on for several days, and then once the guilty verdict came in that a string of appeals ensued. She has also stated that she rejected the option of the death penalty because it was against her beliefs. This was what changed her life in her words, to go into law as a prosecutor. This is a very tragic story and a commendable means of inspiration to go into the legal field. Too bad Nancy Grace is such a conniving and disgusting person that she would even lie about this as well. The New York Observer did a investigative piece on that crime and this inconsistencies came up:
Her fiance was murdered by a known co-worker not a stranger
Deliberations went on for a couple of hours, not several days
The death penalty was asked for and rejected because the murderer was mildly retarded
The murderer never had an appeal; he filed a habeas application and it was denied
The killer had no prior convictions although when she recounts the story she calls him a previous felon
She has stated on a couple of occasions that the crime occurred in 1980 when it was actually 1979
Grace told the Observer she had not looked into the case in many years and "(tried) not to think about it". She said she made her previous statements about the case "with the knowledge I had." Even her ex fiance's brother has stated "“The reality of it is, the guy killed him. I know that. Our family knows that. There’s nothing we can do to bring him back. What she’s gonna say, she’s gonna say. I’m not gonna stop it. But if she doesn’t tell the truth, it’s gonna come out sooner or later.”
I don't understand why this woman remains on television. I am by no means what so ever even implying that she is not educated or anything of that nature. This is a woman who worked as Special Prosecutor for the DA's office in Fulton County, Georgia for high profile felony murder, rape, and drug cases. It was in this capacity that she was already showing her arrogance and high levels of improper behavior. At least 3 of her cases were brought to various appellate courts in response to ethical issues as a prosecutor.
The main arguments I have against her though are in relation to her actions on her television show. The more well known example is that of when Nancy was interviewing 21 year old mother Melinda Duckett, who was the mother of a missing child at the time of the interview. Melinda Duckett had not officially even been named as a person of interest, but Nancy Grace took it upon herself to bombard Melinda with a barrage of questions as to where she was the day her child went missing. Before the interview was over, the talk show host was pounding her desk and demanding, "Where were you? Why aren't you telling us where you were that day?" The following day Melinda Duckett committed suicide by shooting herself. Duckett's family filed a wrongful death suit in her defense. Yet Grace insists her line of questioning was reasonable.
Journalists should be unbiased in their views in order to present the news in the correct manner, yet Nancy Grace is narrow minded and quickly jumps to conclusions. In the 2006 Duke lacrosse scandal in which a female college student accused three Duke lacrosse players of rape, Nancy Grace repeatedly called the players "guilty". When Duke decided not to cancel the lacrosse season while the students were on trial (innocent until proven guilty right?? Not according to Nancy Grace) she stated on her show "I'm so glad they didn't miss a lacrosse game over a little thing like gang rape!". The three students were acquitted when it was later proven in court that the female student had fabricated the story. The day after the students were freed of charges, Nancy Grace had a "guest" host on her show and did not appear herself. The fill in host broke the news of the acquittal.
During the well documented Elizabeth Smart kidnapping, when the first suspect Richard Ricci was arrested by police on the basis that he had a criminal record and had worked on the Smarts' home, Nancy Grace spoke on Court TV and on Larry King that he was "guilty", and even stated several times that Ricci's girlfriend was also involved in the cover up of the crime. When the true criminals were captured (Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee) it was disclosed that Richard Ricci had never had any contact with these individuals. Richard Ricci died while in confinement, a innocent man. Again Grace was proven incorrect (even though she is a news anchor and should not be making the judgement in the first place!) and yet her only response was to say that Ricci was "a known ex-con, a known felon, and brought suspicion on himself, so who could blame anyone for claiming he was the perpetrator?"
Lastly, the most despicable thing I can think of when I think or see Nancy Grace is how she supposedly came about going into the legal profession and eventually news television. The story she gives is that at the age of 19, her fiance was murdered by a random thug. She stated in the past that the murderer was finally caught and that once the trial was over that jury deliberations went on for several days, and then once the guilty verdict came in that a string of appeals ensued. She has also stated that she rejected the option of the death penalty because it was against her beliefs. This was what changed her life in her words, to go into law as a prosecutor. This is a very tragic story and a commendable means of inspiration to go into the legal field. Too bad Nancy Grace is such a conniving and disgusting person that she would even lie about this as well. The New York Observer did a investigative piece on that crime and this inconsistencies came up:
Her fiance was murdered by a known co-worker not a stranger
Deliberations went on for a couple of hours, not several days
The death penalty was asked for and rejected because the murderer was mildly retarded
The murderer never had an appeal; he filed a habeas application and it was denied
The killer had no prior convictions although when she recounts the story she calls him a previous felon
She has stated on a couple of occasions that the crime occurred in 1980 when it was actually 1979
Grace told the Observer she had not looked into the case in many years and "(tried) not to think about it". She said she made her previous statements about the case "with the knowledge I had." Even her ex fiance's brother has stated "“The reality of it is, the guy killed him. I know that. Our family knows that. There’s nothing we can do to bring him back. What she’s gonna say, she’s gonna say. I’m not gonna stop it. But if she doesn’t tell the truth, it’s gonna come out sooner or later.”
I know this was a VERY long post..but I can not stand this woman. Why is she on TV? Nancy Grace is a big jerk...
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Wow, I Have Been Pretty Lucky...
I have sat at the country's first Starbucks with a hot cup of coffee and gone to the top of the Space Needle in Seattle. I have walked across the Golden Gate Bridge and eaten amazing Ethiopian, Indian, Thai, and Filipino food in San Francisco. I have walked on a rainy night along Baltimore's Inner Harbor. I have eaten a buffalo burger in Denver and I have walked through the snow in Boise. I have viewed wonderful art at Dallas' Museum of Art and have gone bar hoping on 6th Street in Austin. In Miami I have cruised 8th Street/Calle Ocho in Little Havana and walked down Ocean Blvd on South Beach. I have seen the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution, sat inside the Supreme Court, been inside our nation's capital building, and worshiped at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. I have visited John F. Kennedy's grave site and sat in awe of the Iwo Jima Memorial at the National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. I have gambled in the casinos in Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. I have swam in the beaches of San Diego and beautiful Orange County. I have stood at Tieniman Square, visited the Temple of Heaven, and walked on the Great Wall in Beijing. I have taken a boat ride down the Yellow River and seen the amazing skyline at night in Shanghai. I have hiked up a volcano, taken a high speed boat ride, and met some great people in the Philippines. I have laid out on a hammock with friends on a peaceful beach in San Felipe and had a couple of crazy nights in Rosarito while in Mexico. I have visited family in my parents homeland of El Salvador. I have sat at a coffee shop with a good book in Portland. I have shopped in Buckhead while in Atlanta, and I have caught a professional baseball game in Houston. I did most of my growing up in life in Kenner, LA and walked down Bourbon Street with thousands of others in New Orleans. I have gone out with friends here in Southern California in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Hollywood and Pasadena. I have been in Phoenix and laid out by the pool in Scottsdale, AZ. I have played miniature golf in Biloxi/Gulfport, Mississippi and spent a week on the beach in Destin, FL. I have fired a rifle, thrown a grenade, and learned hand to hand combat in Oklahoma. I have toured the state capital and LSU stadium in Baton Rouge and played soccer in Mobile, Alabama. I live in Huntington Beach, CA. I have been able to share most of these experiences with many many good people. Wow, I really have been pretty lucky...
Thursday, November 6, 2008
New Web Site For The President Elect...
President Elect Barack Obama's new website. Check it out. Lots of information on his views and future policies. Click on the link above or go to http://www.change.gov/
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Mister Jurassic Park Passed Away...
Author Michael Crichton passed away today from a battle he had against cancer. He was a really good author and I really got into reading at an early age because of him. I read his books Andromeda Strain, The Great Train Robbery, Sphere, The Terminal Man, Congo, Jurassic Park, Lost World, and Rising Sun. (I really got into his books for a period of time lol) Anyway, lost an interesting and imaginative author today.
R. I. P.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
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